• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.4
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• pp.511-529
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• 2022

The forest vegetation of the Korean Peninsula is dominated by deciduous Fagaceae forests. The study aimed to comparethe correlation between species composition and environmental factors in Namsan, Odaesan, and Ulleungdo. A vegetation survey of 75 sites was conducted from May to August 2018. Seven vegetation types were classified. The inland representative vegetation was classified as a Quercus mongolica community, and the island representative vegetation was classified as a Fagus multinervis community. The Quercus mongolica community was subdivided into the Aria alnifolia group, representative of cities, and the Tilia amurensis group, representative of mountainous regions. Analysis of important values and indicator species to examine the succession trends according to regional types showed that urban and island forestswere maintained as Fagaceae communities, and that mountainous region foreststransitioned to broadleaf species, such as Tilia amurensis and Carpinus cordata. A CCA analysis of vegetation type and site environmental factors showed that altitude had the biggest effect on species composition at the same latitude. The study results should contribute to a better understanding of the Korean Peninsula forest ecosystem characteristics and provide basic data for establishing a systematic conservation and restoration plan.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.307-315
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• 2022

In terms of habitat conservation, it is essential to develop a habitat assessment system that can evaluate not only the suitability of the current habitat, but also the health and stability of the habitat. This study aimed to develop a methodology of habitat quality assessment for endangered species by analyzing various existing habitat assessment methods. The habitat quality assessment consisted of selecting targeted species, planning of assessment, selecting targeted sites, assessing performance, calculating grade, and expert verification. Target sites were selected separately from core and potential habitats using a species distribution model or habitat suitability index. Habitat assessment factors were classified into ecological characteristic, landscape characteristic, and species-habitat characteristic. Ecological characteristic consisted of thirteen factors related to health of tree, vegetation, and soil. Landscape characteristic consisted of five factors related to fragment and connectivity of habitat. Species-habitat characteristic consisted of factors for evaluating habitat suitability depending on target species. Since meanings are different depending on characteristics, habitat quality assessment of this study could be used by classifying results for each characteristic according to various assessment purposes, such as designation of alternative habitats, assessment of restoration project, and protected area valuation for endangered species. Forest habitat quality assessment is expected to play an important role in conservation acts of endangered species in the future through continuous supplementation of this system in regard to quantitative assessment criteria and weighting for each factor with an influence.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.230-240
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• 2008

The primary aim of this study is to estimate the home range of a pair of raccoon dogs(Nyctereutes procyonoides koreensis) and to compare with the previous study of raccoon dogs in a rural area of Gurye, the southern part of South Korea. Radiotracking was regularly carried out on 2 raccoon dogs for 2 days every 2 months(in June, August, October and December, 2006). During the 2 days, radiotracking was usually conducted every $1{\sim}3$ hours through day and night. The analysis of tracking data with a total of $46{\sim}64$ bearings showed that the total home range size of the pair was $0.41km^2$, and mean home range size was $0.32km^2$ by 95% minimum convex polygons(MCP) estimate. The home ranges of the male and female were largely overlapping(about $70{\sim}95%$), and the sizes were not very much different from each other. However, there was a big difference between day $(0.01km^2)$ and night-time $(0.35km^2)$ home ranges, and it was largest in summer$(0.56km^2)$ and smallest in winter $(<0.01km^2)$. In addition, the home range of the pair included 1 core area and 4 different feeding areas. In conclusion, our raccoon dog home range data using the same individuals but with more frequent bearings per day and more extended tracking intervals still showed very similar results to the previous study with less frequent bearings per day and more extensive tracking days.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.158-166
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• 2018

Contrary to urban development, urban regeneration is a process of land development through conservation, restoration, and management. In particular, ecologically based urban regeneration is an attempt to improve the quality of life in an area, establish a stable settlement space, and revitalize the local economy by considering the ecological environment. In this regard, the objectives of this study were to establish theoretical concepts and analyze the successful foreign cases of ecologically based urban regeneration, and propose a direction of socio-economic regeneration along with the physical-environmental regeneration of urban areas in Korea. The study results suggest the following. First, strategies must be developed to coordinate public transportation, such as buses and subways, by considering the importance of bicycle riders, along with the sustainable-commuting system. Second, both the importance of planning parks and trails around water systems in various scales while maintaining the existing natural environment as well as using natural elements, such as electric vehicles and wind-power generation systems, were emphasized. Third, urban regeneration for increased energy efficiency requires specific architectural planning and facilities. Fourth, education and research for easy access by the public, as well as public-private partnership, will be needed in the regeneration process.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.3
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• pp.345-354
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• 2013

To understand the community structures of the vegetation of the beaches and coastal dunes of Seocheon-gun, Boryeong-si, Anmyeon-do, Taean-gun in Chungcheongnam-do and Buan-gun in Jeollabuk-do at the west coast of South Korea, a plant sociological vegetation survey was carried out to make a classification of correlation vegetation communities, a cluster analysis and an inorganic component analysis on the soil and plant body. Regarding the vegetation of the coastal dunes, plant communities were classified into 31 communities by correlation dominant species, and as a result of a cluster analysis on the vegetation communities, they were classified into five vegetation types such as Calystegia soldanella community, Rosa rugosa community, Imperata cylindrica community, Vitex tend community and Elymus mollis community. The soil pH was highest in Seocheon area ($7.54{\pm}1.18$) while lowest in Buan area ($6.29{\pm}2.15$), and regarding inorganic components, the nitrogen content was highest in Robinia while lowest in Imperata cylindrica. The soil PH of vegetation I was highest (8.23) among the five vegetation types, and the organic matter was lowest (71.58). As a result of CCA ordination analysis to examine the correlation among environmental factors, Calystegia soldanella community, Rosa rugosa community and Imperata cylindrica community among the five vegetation types were distributed while they were not affected by soil environmental elements, but Vitex tend community and Elymus mollis community were distributed mainly at the places with high $K^+$ content in the soil.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.114-128
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• 2013

Rapid industrialization and economic growth have led to serious problems including reduced open space, environmental degradation, traffic congestion, and urban sprawl. These problems have been exacerbated by the absence of effective conservation and governance, and have resulted in various social conflicts. In response to these challenges, many scholar and government hope to achieve sustainable development through the establishment and management of environment-friendly planning. For this purpose, we would like to analyze functional change for ecosystem by future land-use/cover changes in South Korea. Toward this goal, we predicted land-use/cover changes from 2010 to 2060 using the future population of Statistics Korea and urban growth probability map created by logistic regression analysis and analyzed ecosystem service value using costanza's coefficient. In the case of scenario 1, ecosystem service value represented 6,783~7,092 million USD. In the case of scenario 2, ecosystem represented 6,775~7,089 million USD, 2.9~7.6 million USD decreased compared by scenario 1. This was the result of area reduction for farmland and wetland which have high environmental value relatively according to urban growth by development point of view. The results of this analysis indicate that environmentally sustainable systems and urban development must be applied to achieve sustainable development and environmental protection. Quantitative analysis of environmental values in accordance with environmental policy can help inform the decisions of policy makers and urban developers. Furthermore, forecasting urban growth based on future demand will provide more precise predictive analysis.

• Journal of Korean Society of Coastal and Ocean Engineers
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.278-284
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• 2014

Water temperature due to climate change can be estimated using the air temperature because the air and water temperatures are closely related and the water temperatures have been widely used as the indicators of the environmental and ecological changes. It is highly necessary to estimate the frequency distribution of the air and water temperatures, for the climate change derives the change of the coastal water temperatures. In this study, the distribution function of the air temperatures is estimated by using the long-term coastal air temperature data sets in Korea. The candidate distribution function is the bi-modal distribution function used in the previous studies, such as Cho et al.(2003) on tidal elevation data and Jeong et al.(2013) on the coastal water temperature data. The parameters of the function are optimally estimated based on the least square method. It shows that the optimal parameters are highly correlated to the basic statistical informations, such as mean, standard deviation, and skewness coefficient. The RMS error of the parameter estimation using statistical information ranges is about 5 %. In addition, the bimodal distribution fits good to the overall frequency pattern of the air temperature. However, it can be regarded as the limitations that the distribution shows some mismatch with the rapid decreasing pattern in the high-temperature region and the some small peaks.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.456-464
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• 2016

Korea established an inventory of 1,916 sites of inland wetlands during a nationwide investigation from 2000 to 2010. If inland wetlands is included in or near various protected areas designated by the government, it can be selected as a wetland to be managed with priority. This study evaluated the aspect of management of inland wetlands by analyzing the correlation between locations of national protected areas and inland wetlands. As a result, it was shown that a considerable percentage of current inland wetland was located in areas that were designated and managed as protected areas by the government, as they had a high value of natural environment protection (527 sites, 31.61 %). When the range was widened to a radius of 1 km for protected areas, 959 sites were included and 57.53 % of sites were located in or nearby the protected areas. Among them, 46.79 % of sites were distributed up to or within a 1 km radius of waterside areas and rivers; it accounted for 81.33 % of wetlands located in protected areas. Therefore, it was found that locations of current inland wetlands were mostly in contact with rivers. The results of overlay analysis were classified into high, medium and low; the correlation of location with inland wetlands was analyzed through the analysis of separation distance of various protected areas. The number of wetlands located in areas of a 'high' value of protection was 998 (59.87 %); 289 sites (17.34 %) were distributed in areas of a 'low' value of protection. This implies that these wetlands are located in artificial areas and are more exposed to environmental pressures. Thus, these wetlands could be determined as inland wetlands, which we considered for the establishment of measures to prevent damage.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.487-501
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• 2016

This study aims to establish basic data of operating status for ecological learning facilities in Korea, investigate their characteristics for operating methods, and present proposals for the efficient operation and management of ecological learning facilities. For this purpose, a list of ecological learning facilities in Korea was established and 50 facilities were surveyed about the current status regarding the operation and management. Based on the survey, operation form, interpreter and volunteer, visitor, budget and revenue, promotion method, and other items were analyzed. Concerning the operating forms, most of the facilities were direct-operated facilities by government, and they are operating mainly by officials. Visitors are mostly families on weekends, while kindergarten children are main visitors during weekdays. Most facilities have higher proportion of visitors nationwide, and they get information mainly from websites operated by facilities and related organization. The annual operating budget and revenue depend on the facility size and operating forms, and the direct-operated facilities by government use higher budget compared to commission-operated ones. For the efficient operation of ecological learning, expert with specialized knowledge should participate in the operation, and intuitive and informative websites should be established and continually managed. In addition, it is necessary to support revenue of by national and local governments and to secure external funding network like local companies and donation.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.12-21
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• 2015

Social demand for ecological engineering and technology has increased in tandem with national economic growth in order to improve the environmental capacity of civil infrastructures. To meet this demand, the Korean Society of Ecology and Infrastructure Engineering (KSEIE) was established in January 2013 and has contributed to the development of ecological engineering technologies. However, the establishment of an educational system for human resources training in ecological engineering is still at an early stage, and it is imperative to develop a curriculum for producing the human resources that can understand and apply ecological principles and functions and that is equipped with the abilities required for ecological conservation, restoration, and creation. As part effort, the KSEIE held a forum, entitled Founding the Education for Ecological Engineering, to discuss the establishment of the education system for ecological engineering in Korea. In this paper, based on the discussions and suggestions made during the forum, we analyzed the current status of ecological engineering education in various disciplines - civil and construction engineering, biology and environment, and landscape planning - in domestic universities, and attempted to seek possible solutions based on the cases of foreign universities. Generally, ecology and other application curricula are taught as fragmented subjects and fields in domestic universities. The development of new education strategies and systematic curricula for multidisciplinary education, ecological response to climate change, and the expansion of research fields is required.