• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2021

The application of nature-based solutions, such as low impact development (LID) techniques and green infrastructures, for stormwater management continue to increase in urban areas. Plants are usually utilized in LID facilities to improve their pollutant removal efficiency through phytoremediation. Plants can also reduce maintenance costs and frequency by means of reducing the accumulation of pollutants inside the facility. Plants have long been used in different LID facilities; however, proper plant-selection should be considered since different species tend to exhibit varying pollutant uptake capabilities. This study was conducted to investigate the pollutant uptake capabilities of plants by comparing the dry matter and nutrient contents of different plant species in roadsides, LID facilities, and landscape areas. The dry matter content of the seven herbaceous plants, shrubs, and arboreal trees ranged from 60% to 90%. In terms of nutrient content, the total nitrogen (TN) concentration in the tissues of herbaceous plants continued to increase until the summer season, but gradually decreased in the succeeding periods. TN concentrations in shrubs and trees were observed to be high from early spring up to the late summer seasons. All plant samples collected from the LID facility exhibited high TP content, indicating that the vegetative components of LID systems are efficient in removing phosphorus. Overall, the nutrient content of different plant species was found to be highly influenced by the urban environment which affected the stormwater runoff quality. The results of this study can be beneficial for establishing plant selection criteria for LID facilities.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.228-236
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• 2015

Urbanization causes many environmental, hydrological and ecological problems such as distortion of the natural water circulation system, increase in nonpoint source pollutants in stormwater runoff, degradation of surface water quality, and damage to the ecosystem. Due to the increase in impervious surface by urbanization, developed countries apply low impact development (LID) techniques as important alternatives to reduce the impacts of urbanization. In Korea, LID techniques were employed since 2012 in order to manage nonpoint source pollutants. LID technology is a technique for removing pollutants using a variety of physical, chemical and biological mechanisms in plants, microorganisms and filter media with the reduced effluence of stormwater runoff by mimicking natural water circulation system. These LID facilities are used in a variety of filter media, but an assessment has not been carried out for the comprehensive comparison evaluation of adsorption and desorption characteristics for the pollutant removal capacity. Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the adsorption and desorption characteristics of various filter media used in the LID facilities such as sand, gravel, bioceramic, wood chips and bottom ash etc. in reducing heavy metals(Pb, Cu). In this study, the adsorption affinity for Pb in all filter media was higher than Cu. Pseudo second order equation and Langmuir-3 isotherm are more applicable in the adsorption kinetic model and adsorption isotherm model, respectively. As a result of the desorption experiment, the filter media does not exceed KSLT which is the hazardous substance leaching limit, showing the capability of the filter media in LID. The bioceramic and woodchip as filter medias were evaluated and exhibited excellent adsorption capacity for Pb.

• Clean Technology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.151-157
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• 2020

Rapid urbanization has elevated the risk of urban flooding due to the increase in the impervious surface, causing environmental disasters and environmental pollution problems, such as lowering the groundwater level and increasing water pollution. In Korea, low impact development (LID) techniques have been introduced to minimize these environmental impacts and maintain the water cycle soundness. However, most small-scale development projects are in blind spots because there is no legal basis for rainfall runoff management. Small-scale development projects that increase the surface runoff of rainwater are required to mandate the application of LID facilities in accordance with the polluters' responsibility principle. Therefore, it is necessary to implement a preliminary consultation system for water cycle recovery. This study focuses on the cost-benefit analysis on the application of LID techniques for small-scale development projects. The scale of nationwide small-scale development projects used for cost-benefit analysis were defined as buildings with a land area of more than 1,000 ㎡ or a total floor area of 1,500 ㎡. As a result of analyzing the cost-benefits from the installation of LID facilities, they were found to be much lower than the economic standard value of 1. This might be due to the high cost of facilities compared to the scale of the project. However, considering the overall environmental value of improving the water environment and air quality by the installation of LID facilities and the publicity of reducing the operating cost of sewage treatment facilities, the introduction of a prior consultation for small-scale development projects is inevitable. In the future, institutional and financial support from local governments is required to improve the cost-benefits with the introduction of a prior consultation for small-scale development projects.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.49-57
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• 2019

The street trees increase the liveability of cities by reducing stormwater runoff, improving air quality, storing carbon, providing shade, and ameliorating the urban heat-island effect. In this study, the health status of street trees in Suwon was evaluated, and the factors affecting the growth of the trees were also derived. In order to evaluate the growth and health of street trees, field survey was carried out on a total of 125 trees in 25 sections of the Deogyeong-daero where is through the city. During the field survey, the following items were examined: Street trees health status (i.e. species, height, DBH (diameter at breast height), planting types, vigor, etc.), soil factors (i.e. soil temperature, humidity, pH, hardness, etc.), and environmental factors (i.e. landuse, road width, etc.). As the results of field survey, the main species of the street trees was Zelkova serrata, which was healthy in most of the sections. The factors such as planting types, soil temperatures, tree root cover, road extension, distance from the road were derived to affect the growth and health of street trees, and the differences were significant. The results of this study were derived the following conclusions for vigorous street trees: First, it is important to install and maintain the protection facilities like tree root cover for the growth of trees. Second, it is necessary to discuss how to plant multiple trees in narrow spaces like a street green space. Third, it is important to provide appropriate soil conditions continuously for growth of threes. Finally, it should be utilized as a mitigation measure of urban heat island effects.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.384-391
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• 2019

Nutrients in stormwater runoff have raised concerns regarding water quality degradation in the recent years. Low impact development (LID) technologies are types of nature-based solutions developed to address water quality problems and restore the predevelopment hydrology of a catchment area. Two LID facilities, infiltration trench (IT) and infiltration planter (IP), are known for their high removal rate of nutrients through sedimentation and vegetation. Long-term monitoring was conducted to assess the performance and cite the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the facilities in nutrient removal. Since a strong ionic bond exists between phosphorus compounds and sediments, reduction of total phosphorus (TP) (more than 76%), in both facilities was associated to the removal of total suspended solids (TSS) (more than 84%). The efficiency of nitrogen in IP is 28% higher than IT. Effective nitrification occurred in IT and particulate forms of nitrogen were removed through sedimentation and media filters. Decrease in ammonium- nitrogen (NH₄-N) and nitrite-nitrogen (NO₂-N), and increase in nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) fraction forms indicated that effective nitrification and denitrification occurred in IP. Hydrologic factors such as rainfall depth and rainfall intensity affected nutrient treatment capabilities of urban stormwater LID facilities The greatest monitored rainfall intensity of 11 mm/hr for IT yielded to 34% and 55% removal efficiencies for TN and TP, respectively, whereas, low rainfall intensities below 5 mm resulted to 100 % removal efficiency. The greatest monitored rainfall intensity for IP was 27 mm/hr, which still resulted to high removal efficiencies of 98% and 97% for TN and TP, respectively. Water quality assessment showed that both facilities were effective in reducing the amount of nutrients; however, IP was found to be more efficient than IT due to its additional provisions for plant uptake and larger storage volume.