• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.907-916
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of vegetation structure, vegetation succession, and species diversity of artificially planted Chamaecyparis obtusa (CO) stands. The study was carried out by performing vegetation survey for eight CO stands located in Jeollanam-do Province, Korea. Analysis on vegetation classification and ordinations of the stands was conducted using the data from the vegetation survey, and as a result, the stands were classified into five types of communities. Community I showed a considerably lower index of species diversity when compared to other communities because the canopy of the dominant CO was so highly dense that the low-height vegetation was not able to develop or the low-height vegetation almost disappeared due to elimination of weed trees. Meanwhile, the Community II - IV had relatively higher indices of species diversity because various native tree species mixed with the low-height vegetation and competed with each other in the understory and shrub layers to some degree of stability or in their early stage of vegetation development. Community V, lastly, showed higher use intensity as a recreational forest, thus developing simpler vegetation structure on account of artificial intervention. There was positive correlation between photosynthetically active radiation entering the forest floor, number of observed species and index of species diversity. Such characteristics of vegetation structure in CO stands are closely associated with forest management and prescription for planting reforestation, thinning, and brush cutting in the past. There was a slight difference in vegetation structure and species diversity by communities, based on rotation time of the vegetational succession, process of disturbance frequency and disturbance, development, and maturity by planting CO stands. However, when compared to natural forests, the CO stands showed simpler vegetation structure. Because artificial forests are vulnerable in ecosystem service with lower species diversity, a drive for ecological management is needed for such forests to change into healthy ecosystems that can display functions of public benefit.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.917-925
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• 2019

All of the animals and the plants in ecosystem are intimately connected to one another and the changes of forests and surroundings affect directly wild animals. This study was conducted at Hangyeong-myeon Cheongsu-ri located in the western part of Jeju Island belonging to Hangyeong Andeok Gotjawal Zone and Jocheon-eup Seonheul-ri located in the eastern part of Jeju Island belonging to Jocheon Hamdeok Gotjawal Zone. The survey on advent of birds was carried out twice a month from January 2014 to December 2015. We divided habitat environments into three survey sites such as a forest, a shrub forest and a farmland. A total of 65 species and 4,802 individuals were observed during the survey period. In a forest, 36 species and 1,287 individuals were observed while A shrub forest had 40 species and 1,554 individuals. And in a farmland, 41 species and 1,961 individuals were observed. The only 10 species were observed in forest and the only 7 species in shrub forest and the only 10 species in farmland. The species diversity and the evenness of a farmland were the highest, and the species richness was the highest in a shrub forest, and the dominance of a forest was the highest among the three areas. The similarity index between a shurb forest and a farmland was high while that between a forest and a farmland was low. The similarity index related with breeding appeared that a forest and a farmland was different from each other.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.19-28
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to estimate carbon dioxide emissions from soil microbial respiration by forest type of Sobaeksan National Park. As a result of estimating the annual soil microbiological respiration volume by forest type in Sobaeksan National Park, broad-leaved forests, coniferous forest, artificial forests were similar to around 19.5 CO₂-ton/ha/yr. In the case of coniferous forests in sub-alpine and grassland near Birobong Peak, 12.2 CO₂-ton/ha/yr and 8.1 CO₂-ton/ha/yr, respectively, were lower than general forest areas. And as a result of analyzing the changes in soil microbiological respiration rate according to forest type in Sobaeksan National Park, the soil microbiological respiration rate in coniferous forests, broad-leaved forests, artificial forests, and sub-alpine areas was the highest in the July survey in summer and the lowest in November in late autumn. The change in soil microbial respiratory volume according to the measurement time in Sobaeksan National Park was the highest between 12:00 and 16:00, when the soil temperature was generally the highest among the days. It is known that the soil temperature is relatively low and the amount of soil microbial respiration decreases during winter, and the change in respiratory volume over the measurement time during the day was the smallest in November, when the amount of soil microbial respiration was relatively smaller than the May-September survey. However, this study has limitations in revealing the causal relationship of various environmental factors that affect the soil microbial respiration. Therefore, it is suggested that long-term research and investigation of various factors affecting soil respiration are needed to understand the carbon cycle of forest ecosystems.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.73-83
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• 2016

Forest degradation reduces ecosystem services provided by forest and could lead to change in composition of species. In North Korea, there has been significant forest degradation due to conversion of forest into terrace fields for food production and cut-down of forest for fuel woods. This study analyzed the phenological changes in North Korea, in terms of vegetation and moisture in soil and vegetation, from March to Octorber 2013, using MODIS (MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) images and indexes including NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDSI (Normalized Difference Soil Index), and NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index). In addition, marginal farmland was derived using elevation data. Lastly, degraded terrace fields of 16 degree was analyzed using NDVI, NDSI, and NDWI indexes, and marginal farmland characteristics with slope variable. The accuracy value of land cover classification, which shows the difference between the observation and analyzed value, was 84.9% and Kappa value was 0.82. The highest accuracy value was from agricultural (paddy, field) and forest area. Terrace fields were easily identified using slope data form agricultural field. Use of NDVI, NDSI, and NDWI is more effective in distinguishing deforested terrace field from agricultural area. NDVI only shows vegetation difference whereas NDSI classifies soil moisture values and NDWI classifies abandoned agricultural fields based on moisture values. The method used in this study allowed more effective identification of deforested terrace fields, which visually illustrates forest degradation problem in North Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.97-106
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• 2010

Earthworm, a prominent ecosystem engineer within many terrestrial ecosystems, can exert profound influences on various abiotic/biotic environments through bioturbation processes such as burrowing, casting and mixing of litter and soil. In this study, we investigated how the presence or absence of earthworm (Oligochaeta) can alter the soil physico-chemical conditions and ultimately the distribution and abundance of Collembola which constitutes a large proportion of the soil fauna. During September 2010, soil organisms along with soil samples were collected from randomly installed 20 plots in Mt. Gwan-ak. We examined the differences in the abundance of Collembola among plot samples in respect to the presence/absence of earthworm and soil physico-chemical conditions (i.e., pH, $PO_4^{3-}$, $NO_3^{2-}$, organic matter (OM), electrical conductance and water content). Analysis of soil physico-chemical environment revealed a significantly higher organic matter content and electrical conductance in plots with earthworm compared to plots without earthworm. Abundance of Collembola were not only higher in plots with earthworm than in plots without earthworm, but were also positively correlated with availability of OM present in the environment. The results suggest that positive impacts of earthworm on the abundance of Collembola in this study may have been due to their ability to effectively modify soil physico-chemical conditions favored by Collembola. Such conspicuous influence of earthworm's activity on below-ground community suggests their potential significance in forest restoration or revegetation process.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.24-33
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• 2011

Wingstem, Verbesina alternifolia of North America origin, was introduced in 1981 into the Korea terrestrial ecosystem. It scattered in a number of places with limited population size in most cases. Its population has spread into the forest at the Chiaksan National Park and occupied the natural vegetation. Distributions of wingstem were the most popular along the 12 road sites, especially in Route 453, Seohwa-myeon, Inje-gun, Gangwon-do and in Route 31, Yeongyang-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do with 60% coverage of wingstem. It was also distributed in the 5 forest sites and 5 riversides. Despite of its attractive yellow flower, it is recommended to limit cultivation in the nature reserve or other ecosystem of conservation value.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.264-271
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• 2023

Environmental crises caused by climate change and human-induced disturbances have become urgent challenges to the sustainability of human beings. These issues can be addressed based on a data-driven understanding and forecasting of ecosystem responses to environmental changes. In this study, we introduce a long-term ecological monitoring system in Korean Long-Term Ecological Research (KLTER), and a plan for the Korean Ecological Observatory Network (KEON). KLTER has been conducted since 2004 and has yielded valuable scientific results. However, the KLTER approach has limitations in data integration and coordinated observations. To overcome these limitations, we developed a KEON plan focused on multidisciplinary monitoring of the physiochemical, meteorological, and biological components of ecosystems to deepen process-based understanding of ecosystem functions and detect changes. KEON aims to answer nationwide and long-term ecological questions by using a standardized monitoring approach. We are preparing three types of observatories: two supersites depending on the climate-vegetation zones, three local sites depending on the ecosystem types, and two mobile deployment platforms to act on urgent ecological issues. The main observation topics were species diversity, population dynamics, biogeochemistry (carbon, methane, and water cycles), phenology, and remote sensing. We believe that KEON can address environmental challenges and play an important role in ecological observations through partnerships with international observatories.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.96 no.5
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• pp.503-509
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• 2007

The major objective of this study was to analyze the difference of the chemical characteristics of acid deposition in Quercus forests in Korea and Japan. The pH values of rainfall at the experimental forest of Kangwon National University (KS site) were higher than those at the Foresta Hills in Japan (JP site), and all chemical contents of throughfall and stemflow were much higher than those of rainfall in Quercus forest stands at the KS and JP site. The pH values, $Ca^{2+}$, $NO_3{^-}$ and $SO{_4}^{2-}$ concentration of throughfall and stemflow at the KS site showed seasonal variation. While at the JP site, the same pattern was shown in the pH values of throughfall and stemflow, however, did not show any difference among seasons. Also, the annual input of all nutrients in these two contrasting forests varied seasonally. These results can be used to predict the amounts of air pollutant that are washed off and leached by the rainfall and Yellow Sand (Asian dust), including NOx and SOx acid pollutants transported easterly from China in the spring. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify the inputs of dry and wet deposition throughout a full year to gain a more complete understanding of the effects of acid deposition on the nutrient cycles in these forest ecosystems.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.167-176
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• 2008

Atmospheric N deposition has far-reaching impacts on forest ecosystems, including on-site impacts such as soil acidification, fertilization, and nutrient imbalances, and off-site environmental impacts such as nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emission. Although chronic N deposition has been believed to lead to forest N saturation, recent evidence suggests that N retention capacity, particularly in the forest floor, can be surprisingly high even under high N deposition. This review aims to provide an overview of N retention processes in the forest floor and the implications of changing C-N interactions for C sequestration. The fate of available N in forest soils has been explained by the competitive balance between tree roots, soil heterotrophs, and nitrifiers. However, high rates of N retention have been observed in numerous N addition experiments without noticeable increases in tree growth and soil respiration. Alternative hypotheses have been proposed to explain the gap between the input and loss of N in N-enriched, C-limited systems, including abiotic immobilization and mycorrhizal assimilation, both of which do not require additional C sources to incorporate N in soil N pools. Different fates of N in the forest floor have different implications for C sequestration. N-induced tree growth can enhance C accumulation in tree biomass as observed across temperate regions. C loss from forests can amount to or outweigh C gain in N-saturated, declining forests, while another type of 'C-N decoupling' can have positive or neutral effects on soil C sequestration through hampered organic matter decomposition or abiotic N immobilization, respectively.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture Conference
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• 2007.10b
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• pp.186-190
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• 2007

We examined three nature restoration projects in urban areas of Japan, China, and Korea. A prefectural park(29ha) has been under construction since 2005 on an abandoned industrial site in the southern part of Amagasaki City, Hyogo Prefecture, central Japan. Shanghai Central Park(28ha) was redeveloped in 2002 on a site that was formerly the old downtown in central Shanghai. Seoul Forest Park was developed as a large urban park(116ba) in 2005 in Seoul. All three parks were developed as urban parks by local governments. Citizen involvement is common to all three examples. One of main purposes of the Hyogo prefectural park and the Seoul Forest Park was the reuse of unused or abandoned areas. One goal in Hyogo, Shanghai, and Seoul was to restore the urban ecosystem and preserve the environment. We discussed the meaning of nature restoration in urban areas.