• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.75-84
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• 2023

Background: Knowledge of the spatial trends of plant invasions in different habitats is essential for a better understanding of the process of these invasions. We examined the variation in invasive alien plant species (IAS) richness and composition at two spatial scales defined by elevation and habitat types (roadside, forest, and cultivated lands) in the Makawanpur district of Nepal. Following an elevation gradient ranging from 500 to 2,400 m asl along a mountain road, plant species cover was recorded within sample plots of size 10 m × 5 m. Systematic random sampling was adopted in every 100 m elevation intervals on three habitat types. Results: Altogether 18 invasive alien plants belonging to eight families were recorded within 60 plots, of which 14 species (representing 80%) were from tropical North and South America. The most common plants by their frequency were Ageratina adenophora, Chromolaena odorata, Bidens pilosa, Lantana camara, and Parthenium hysterophorus. We found a significant relationship between species composition and elevation in the study area. Low-elevation regions had a higher number of alien species as compared to high-elevation regions within different habitat types. Conclusions: The species richness and density of IAS were higher in the road site followed by the cultivated land and forest sites. This pattern occurred throughout the elevation range and habitats. IAS were found mostly in the open land with high sunlight availability. Information from such scientific assessment of invasive alien plants will assist in developing appropriate management plans in the Makawanpur district.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.173-180
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• 1995

We investigated levels and distribution of genetic variation in Korean populations of Calystegia soldanella and C. japonica, clonally reproducing herbaceous perennials. Calystegia soldanella is one ofecologically important beach plants growing only on sand and beach dunes in Europe, East Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the west coast of North America. In contrast, C. japonica usually grows on small mounds of paddy fields, roadsides, and waste places with patchy distribution. Starch gel electrophoresis was conducted on leaves collected from 13 populations of C. soldanella and eight populations of C. japonica. The levels of genetic variation of the two species are very comparable; means of expected heterozygosity (Hep) were 0.100 and 0.099 for C. soldanella and C. japonica, respectively. These values were also very similar to those for species with similar life-history and ecological traits. However, the proportion of total genetic diversity partitioned among populations (GST) of C. soldanella (0.146) was considerably lower than that of C. japonica (0.383). In addition, means of Nei's genetic identity (Ⅰ) for C. soldanella and C. japonica were 0.985 and 0.900, respectively, which supports a restricted gene flow resulting from obligate clonal reproduction of C. japonica. Significant differences in allele frequency were detected among populations at eight and nine of nine polymorphic loci for C. soldanella and C. japonica (P<0.01), respecitvely. Considering the ecological importance of C. soldanella, the isolated beach populations coupled with present destruction of natural habitats of the species may result in erosion of genetic diversity in the near future. In this respect, conservation efforts should be focused on those populations that currently maintain the most genetic diversity such as those populations in the eastern and southeastern Korean Peninsula and Hamduck Beach, Cheju Island.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.155-161
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• 2020

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), which has never been recorded in South Korea, appeared on Jeju Island in 2018 and re-emerged in the inland area of Seocheon-gun (South Chungcheong Province) and in Goyang-si (Gyeonggi Province) in the following year. This study aims to report the progress in observing P. falcinellus in the inland areas of South Korea in 2019 and to predict its origin region and future propensity for habitats in the country through literature review. On 5 May 2019, an individual of P. falcinellus with breeding feathers was observed in a farmland in Wolsan-ri, Seocheon-gun. Twelve days later, another one was identified in a farmland in Janghang-dong, Goyang-si, about 173 km north of Wolsan-ri. The observed birds fed and rested in the area and stayed for only a day. The individual birds spotted in South Korea in 2019 are conjectured to have come from either Southeast Asia or Australia, among areas located in East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). This is because P. falcinellus, a species with excellent dispersal capacity, forms a population in new areas during extreme environmental changes in their current habitats, especially droughts. For 2 years, P. falcinellus was observed to be migrating in spring; however, in the future, they may exhibit the same propensity for breeding and habitats as that of birds migrating in autumn. As it is a conspicuous species, effective detection of their arrival requires a survey system that classifies the country by habitat type and involves periodic and multiple observations by experts and citizens.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.527-540
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• 2011

The investigation was made about distribution and ecological characteristics of Rhododendron mucronulatum var. mucronulatum, R. dauricum and R. schlippenbachii on Mt. Changbai in China. The Ericaceae plants are known to be highly ornamental and easy to cultivate. The results of investigations are like followings. The plant species diversity was the highest in habitats of R. mucronulatum var. mucronulatum, followed by those of R. schlippenbachii and R. dauricum. R. mucronulatum var. mucronulatum community was found in the northwest exposure areas of 300m in altitude. Corylus heterophylla, Carex humilis var. nana, Atractylodes japonica species also grew in the R. mucronulatum var. mucronulatum community. R. dauricum communities were widely distributed in the west exposure areas of 1226-1860m above sea level. R. schlippenbachii populations were found in areas of under 300m above sea level, which has dry soil. But humidity of air was relatively high in the place. Artemisia japonica, Lespedeza bicolor and Dactylis glomerata were found around the habitats of R. schlippenbachii. Phalanx type of plants were dominant near the habitats of Ericaceae plants as 61%. Further, there appeared higher plant life totalling to 72 taxa comprising 54 species, 16 varieties and 2 forma with 31 families and 59 genuses at the whole survey area. Among these, Compositae plants excellent in resistance to environment was surveyed the most, accounting for 30.0%.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.39-60
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• 2018

National parks are designated for the purpose of maintenance, conservation and utilization of different habitats. Therefore, it is necessary to select habitats of a high value as a protected area in order to balance conservation and development. However, the existing national park boundary adjustment and new designation criteria only focused on the endangered species and protected area, without proper evaluation of the habitat value of actual species. Therefore, this study aims to quantitatively evaluate habitat function in terms of biodiversity and habitat value, so that it can be referred to for the designation and boundary adjustment of national parks. We assessed species diversity and habitat values for each of the habitat types, for mammals only, as they are able to choose preferred habitats. In order to evaluate biodiversity, we used Maxent to derive species richness map and used InVEST's Habitat quality model to evaluate habitat value. As a result of evaluation, species richness was high in the national park boundary area. Also, even if the same edge is adjacent to the development area depending on the land cover, the species richness is low. Compared with Wolaksan and Sobaeksan National Park, the species richness and habitat value of the northern area, which is connected with other forests, were higher than those of the southern area where roads were developed. Therefore, it is expected that the use of the result of this study for the national park boundary adjustment and management will enhance the function of the national park as a habitat.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.276-287
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• 2020

An algific talus slope is composed of broken rocks with vents connected to an ice cave, releasing cool air in summer and relatively warmer air in winter to maintain a more stable microclimate all year round. Such geological features create a very unusual and delicate ecosystem. Although there are around 25 major algific talus slopes in Korea, lichen ecology of these areas had not been investigated to date. In this study, we report the first exploration of lichen diversity and ecology at an algific talus slope, Jangyeol-ri, in Korea. A total of 37 specimens were collected over 2017-2018. Morphological and sequencing analysis revealed 27 species belonging to 18 genera present in the area. Of particular interest among these species was Solorina saccata, as it has previously not been reported in Korea and most members of genus Solorina are known to inhabit alpine regions of the Northern Hemisphere. We provide here a taxonomic key for S. saccata alongside molecular phylogenetic analyses and prediction of potential habitats in South Korea. Furthermore, regions in South Korea potentially suitable for Solorina spp. were predicted based on climatic features of known habitats around the globe. Our results showed that the suitable areas are mostly at high altitudes in mountainous areas where the annual temperature range does not exceed 26.6 ℃. Further survey of other environmental conditions determining the suitability of Solorina spp. should lead to a more precise prediction of suitable habitats and trace the origin of Solorina spp. in Korea.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.130-142
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• 2021

Background: Climate change is occurring rapidly around the world, and is predicted to have a large impact on biodiversity. Various studies have shown that climate change can alter the geographical distribution of wild bees. As climate change affects the species distribution and causes range shift, the degree of range shift and the quality of the habitats are becoming more important for securing the species diversity. In addition, those pollinator insects are contributing not only to shaping the natural ecosystem but also to increased crop production. The distributional and habitat quality changes of wild bees are of utmost importance in the climate change era. This study aims to investigate the impact of climate change on distributional and habitat quality changes of five wild bees in northwestern regions of Iran under two representative concentration pathway scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). We used species distribution models to predict the potential range shift of these species in the year 2070. Result: The effects of climate change on different species are different, and the increase in temperature mainly expands the distribution ranges of wild bees, except for one species that is estimated to have a reduced potential range. Therefore, the increase in temperature would force wild bees to shift to higher latitudes. There was also significant uncertainty in the use of different models and the number of environmental layers employed in the modeling of habitat suitability. Conclusion: The increase in temperature caused the expansion of species distribution and wider areas would be available to the studied species in the future. However, not all of this possible range may include high-quality habitats, and wild bees may limit their niche to suitable habitats. On the other hand, the movement of species to higher latitudes will cause a mismatch between farms and suitable areas for wild bees, and as a result, farmers will face a shortage of pollination from wild bees. We suggest that farmers in these areas be aware of the effects of climate change on agricultural production and consider the use of managed bees in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.896-907
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• 2016

The habitat characteristics of Aconitum austrokoreense Koidz. were investigated to provide basic data for conservation and restoration. The altitude ranged from 260m to 728m with inclinations of $4-39^{\circ}$. As a result of vegetation survey within natural populations, a total of 147 taxa were identified inside 20 quadrates in 7 natural habitats. The importance value of Aconitum austrokoreense was 23.0% based on the coverage and frequency of the herbaceous layer and sat is more dominant. Species diversity was 1.23, and dominace and evenness were found to be 0.22 and 0.77, respectively. The soil type were silty loam (four sites), sandy loam (two sites) and loam (one site). The average field organic matter was 7.83% and the total nitrogen and pH were 0.35, and 5.69. Correlation analysis between environmental factors and population characteristic showed the correlations between chlorophyll content and slope, flowering rate and soil humidity. Conservation on habitats conditions is important for stable maintenance the flora and the surrounding area including habitats has to be designated a protection area for habitats conservation.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.545-552
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• 2009

This study was conducted to provide basic information for development of habitat-based conservation strategies of biological diversity in agricultural ecosystem. The carabid beetle assemblages were examined at four kinds of habitats(levee, dike, forest patch remnants and streamside) from three differently stressed areas located in Paltan-myun, Hwaseong city, Korea: agricultural and forest area(site 1), industrial area(site 2), and residential area(site 3). Pitfall trap samplings were carried out 39 times from November 2000 to November 2002. Our study's findings were that the composition of carabid beetle fauna, dominance species, and pattern of carabid beetle assemblage were different among the habitats. The similarity index was highest between two levees in site 2 and 3, and lowest between hillock in site 2 and streamside in site 3, and that among habitats fragmented by road with high traffic was lower than that among any other habitat types. So, we could know that agricultural land use respectively do an important role in diversity conservation and networking. These findings will be used to establish the land use and management plans in the aspects of conservation of biodiversity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.408-416
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• 2017

This research aimed to identify the diversity and the distribution of invasive alien plant species in the metropolitan city of Busan, South Korea. According to our results, we discovered 10 species of invasive alien plants distributed in Busan, demonstrating that this urban area has a high domestic plant diversity. A cluster analysis identified that the dominant communities of Aster pilosus, Lactuca serriola, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Rumex acetosella and Solanum carolinense were highly similar in species composition. Different species of invasive alien plants tended to occur together in dominant communities, indicating their preference for shared habitats. The most extensively distributed species in Busan were Lactuca serriola (16 districts), followed by Ambrosia artemisiifolia (11 districts), Aster pilosus (11 districts) and Rumex acetosella (10 districts). The administrative districts with the most diverse invasive alien plants were Gangseo-gu (8 species) and Buk-gu (8 species), which are both areas with high human interference and diverse habitats. Additional environmental information was collected for these species' habitats in Busan. The results of this research can be used to assess the current status of invasive alien plants in Busan and can provide basic data useful for effectively controlling and preventing the spread of invasive plants.