• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.663-673
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• 2023

The purpose of this study was to scientifically activate the forest healing program activities for the elderly. The predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD), which are indices of thermal comfort in the thermal environment, and degree of canopy closure were compared and analyzed. Based on this information, the study objective was to present the appropriate conditions for maintaining the best comfort for the elderly. Six deck road shelters, which are the most active locations in forest healing programs among the National Center for Forest Therapy, were selected as the study sites. The results indicated that in the case of the conditions of 1 clo (clothing insulation value) and 1 met (metabolic rate) at an air temperature of 19 to 21 degrees in September on the measurement date, the PMV values ranged between -1.85 and -0.98 at all sites, and PPD values ranged between 25.60% and 68.68%. On the other hand, in the case of 1.3 clo and 1.6 met conditions, the PMV values ranged between -0.08 and 0.23 for all sites and PPD values ranged between 5.40 and 6.18. As shown above, the difference in thermal environment comfort and satisfaction according to the condition of the amount of metabolism and the amount of clothing could be confirmed. In addition, an analysis of the relation between PPD and canopy closure suggested a significantly positive correlation between them, and it was found that canopy closure was a factor affecting thermal comfort. Studies on effects of forest thermal environmental comfort and canopy closure on forest healing program areas should be conducted extensively according to seasonal conditions to provide information that can be used for more effective forest healing programs.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2004.10a
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• pp.638-641
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• 2004

Returned laser pulse has certain relationship with vegetation canopy structure (canopy closure, height, LAI, biomass). This study attempts to analyze the characteristics of airborne laser scanner data over very dense forest canopy. Discrete pulse laser scanner data were obtained on April 25, 2004 along with digital aerial color imagery. Using forest stand maps, 14 sample stands of 7 species groups were selected and the elevations from the first and last laser return were compared. From the preliminary analysis, we found that the difference between the first and last return was higher with deciduous forest stand than in coniferous stand. Although difference between the first and the last laser returns often corresponds to tree height, it would not be the case for the forest site having very dense canopy structure.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.72-74
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• 2003

Forest canopy density is an ideal representative of the forest habitat situations. It can directly or indirectly depict the canopy structure and gap size in the forestland, thus could be applied to assessment of wildlife’s diversit y. Since population survey of vegetation and wildlife diversities is a key issue for sustainable forest ecosystem management, many research efforts have been focused on forest canopy density using multispectral data in the last two decades. Unfortunately, prediction of canopy density using large scaling remote sensing data remains a challenging issue. Due to recent advances in hyperspectral image sensors hyperspectral imagery is now available for environmental monitoring. In this paper, we conduct experiments to monitor complicated environments of forestland that can be captured by using hyperspectral imagery and further be analyzed to test a prediction model of forest canopy density. The results show that 95% of canopy density could be well described by using 2 difference vegetation indices (DVIs), which are difference of blue and green reflectances rband_100-rband_150 and difference of 2 short wave infrared reflectancse rband_406-rband_410 With the wavelengths of band no. 100, 150, 406, and 410 specified by 462.39 nm, 534.40 nm, 918.22 nm and 924.41 nm respectively.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.328-330
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• 2003

The land cover of burned area has changed dramatically since Daxinganling forest fire in Northeastern China during May 6 ? June 4, 1987. This research focused on determining the burn severity and assessment of forest recovery. Burned severity was classified into three levels from June 1987 Landsat TM data acquired just after the fire. A regression model was established between the forest canopy closure from 1999 forest stand map and the NDVI values from June 2000 Landsat ETM+ data. The map of canopy closure was got according to the regression model. And vegetation cover was classified into four types according to forest closure density. The change matrix was built using the classified map of burn severity and vegetation recovery. Then the change conversions of every forest type were analyzed. Results from this research indicate: forest recovery status is well in most of burned scars; and vegetation change detection can be accomplished using postclassification comparison method.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.279-288
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• 2008

Vertical forest distribution is one of the important factors to understand various ecological mechanism such as succession, disturbance and environmental effects. LiDAR data provide information, both the horizontal and vertical distribution of forest structure. The laser scanner survey provided a point cloud, in which the x, y, and z coordinates of the points are known. The objectives of this study were 1) to analyze factors of forest structure such as individual tree isolation, tree height, canopy closure and tree density using LiDAR data and 2) to compare the forest structure between outer and interior forest. The paper conducted to extract the individual tree using watershed algorithm and to interpolate using the first return of LiDAR data for yielding digital surface model (DSM). The results of the study show characters of edge such as more isolated individual trees, higher density, lower canopy closure, and lower tree height than those of interior forest. LiDAR data is to be useful for analyzing of forest structure. Further study should be undertaken with species for more accurate results.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 2020

Background: Natural forests are generally considered to be less prone to biological invasions than other modified ecosystems, particularly when canopy cover is high. Few decades of management of degraded forests by local communities in Nepal has increased canopy cover and altered disturbance regimes. These changes might have reduced the abundance of invasive alien plant species (IAPS) in forests. To understand the status of IAPS in such forests, we studied two community managed Shorea robusta forests (Sundari and Dhusheri) of Nawalpur district in central Nepal. In these two forests, vegetation sampling was done using circular plots 10 m radius at forest edge, gaps, and within canopy. Variation of IAPS richness and cover across these microhabitats were compared, and their variation with tree canopy cover and basal area analyzed. Result: Altogether 14 IAPS were recorded in the study forests; among them Chromolaena odorata, Ageratum houstonianum, and Lantana camara had the highest frequency. Mikania micrantha was at the early stage of colonization in Sundari Community Forest (CF) but absent in Dhuseri CF. Both IAPS cover and richness was higher at forest edge and gap than in canopy plots and both these attributes declined with increasing canopy cover and tree basal area. Conclusion: The results indicate that increase in canopy cover and closure of forest gaps through participatory management of degraded forests can prevent plant invasions and suppress the growth of previously established IAPS in Shorea robusta forests of Nepal. This is the unacknowledged benefit of participatory forest management in Nepal.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.98-105
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• 2009

The objective of this study is to develop numerical simulation model for analysing the wind speed reduction effect by coastal forest belts. The horizontally homogeneous turbulent flow equations, which are derived from the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes method, both above the tree canopy and within the canopy were first formulated, and a first-order closure scheme with the capability of accounting the bulk momentum transport term within the canopy was employed. The averaged equations were solved numerically by finite difference method, FTCS (forward time centered space) scheme. The proposed model was also used to numerically investigate the effects of structural characteristic of forest belt on the wind speed. The effects of maximum leaf area density were evaluated, with the leaf area density of $1.0m^2/m^3$, $2.0m^2/m^3$, $3.0m^2/m^3$, and $4.0m^2/m^3$. Vertical distributions of leaf area, both uniform and varied distribution with a height, were also considered. A comparison of wind profile indicated that there was in good agreements between simulated and measured wind speed. Also, the results showed horizontal wind speed decreased under a height of the tree with increasing maximum leaf area density. In conclusion, in applications where computational efficiency and simplicity are desirable, the proposed numerical model has of great capability to determine the vertical turbulent momentum transport and wind profile in the costal forest belt.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.76-81
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• 2021

With continuous decline of Philippine forest cover, sustainable forest management and restoration are essential to restore destroyed forest ecosystems. Unfortunately, of ten most planted trees in reforestation projects in the Philippines, eight are exotic species, with large leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) being the most dominant. In this study, effect of Swietenia macrophylla in reforestation projects on native tree species was evaluated. Effects of S. macrophylla leaf litter, frequency, and canopy closure on the growth of the Philippine native species Pterocarpus indicus were investigated. Results showed that S. macrophylla leaf litter significantly inhibited the growth of P. indicus seedlings based on root collar-to-shoot height. The standardized growth rate of seedlings in plots without S. macrophylla leaf litter was significantly higher than the growth rate of seedlings in plots with leaf litter. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the standardized growth rate of seedlings between plots without leaf litter and a control plot. On the contrary, S. macrophylla tree frequency and canopy closure showed no significant effect. These results attest to the negative effect of widely planted S. macrophylla to a valuable Philippine native tree P. indicus. With accumulating scientific evidence about negative effects of S. macrophylla on native trees, discontinued use in tree planting and reforestation efforts with active management of restoration sites previously planted with large leaf mahogany are needed.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.103 no.1
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• pp.23-29
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• 2014

Open- to closed canopy stage and it's ecological characteristics in vegetation succession are commonly described, but poorly understood in Korea. Vegetation development on structure, environment and understory abundance were studied for 16 yr in post-clearcut Pinus densiflora forests in the southern Gangwon-do province by applying space-for-time approach. We sampled 210 plots (10 for structure and 200 for understory) for four seral stages (1yr, 3yr, 10yr and 16yr). After clear-cut, mean stem density increased gradually to $5,714{\pm}645$ stems/ha after 16 years and mean basal area was also from $5.5{\pm}0.7m^2/ha$ after 10 years and doubled at $10.0{\pm}1.6m^2/ha$ in 16 years. Woody debris and bared soil on the forest floor peaked at 11--- after 10 years and at 10.3--- after 3 years, respectively. In understory mean cover declined with all growth form groups following succession, but in richness, forb specie increased with structural development during 16 years. Our study suggested that overstory development did not suppressed whole understory properties especially in richness, thus appeared to act as a filter selectively constraining the understory characteristics. However only long-term studies are essential for elucidating patterns and processes that cannot be inferred form short-term or space-for-time researches. Strong negative relationship between overstory and understory characteristics in conventional models surely reexamined.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• v.2
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• pp.543-546
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• 2006

NDVI has been very frequently used to estimate several biophysical parameters that are required for ecosystem models. Leaf area index (LAI), canopy closure, and biomass are among those biophysical parameters that are estimated by empirical relationship with NDVI. However, the type of remote sensing signals (raw DN value, at-sensor radiance, atmospherically corrected reflectance) used can vary the calculation of NDVI. In this study, we tried to attempt to compare the influence of NDVI linked with forest LAI for the watershed-scale ecosystem models to estimate evapotranspiration. Landsat ETM+ data were used to obtain various NDVI values over the study area in central Korea. The NDVI-based LAI and the resultant evapotranspiration estimation were greatly varied by the remote sensing signal applied.