• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.361-371
• /
• 2002

Multifunctionality of agriculture has been an important international issue in terms of environmental benefits and public concerns. We calculated soil loss mass in national basis using the USLE, and attempted to evaluate its economical benefits by replacement cost method. Soil loss mass ranged from 1.4 to $18MT\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$ was fairly fitted to measured values for 13 cropping systems. In national basis, the factors in USLE were evaluated as: 429.4 for rainfall and runoff factor. R, 0.15 for soil erodibility factor, K, 1.72 for topographic factor, LS, 0.275 for cover and management factor, C, and 0.856 for support practice factor, P. The soil loss estimated from upland farming using the USLE was $26.1MT\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$, but soil loss from the bare soil was $110.8MT\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$, the ratio of soil loss from upland farming to bare soil was 23 percents. Function of reducing soil loss in comparison with the bare soil was $84.7MT\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$, of which national soil loss mass was 62.6 million MT per annum in south Korea. Agriculture economic replacement cost of soil loss reduction was 497 billion Wons(398 million dollars) for the cost of upland soil dressing. For conservational purposes to increase the environmental benefits of upland farming, the agricultural practice including contour, strip cropping, terracing and division ditches should be implemented.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2016.05a
• /
• pp.1-1
• /
• 2016

Many of the world's large ecosystems are severely stressed due to population growth, water quality and quantity problems, vulnerability to flood and drought, and the loss of native species and cultural resources. Consequences of climate change further increase uncertainties about the future. These major societal challenges must be addressed through innovations in governance, policy, and ways of implementing management strategies. Science and engineering play a critical role in helping define possible alternative futures that could be achieved and the possible consequences to economic development, quality of life, and sustainability of ecosystem services. Science has advanced rapidly during the past decade with the emergence of science communities coalescing around 'Grand Challenges' and the maturation of how these communities function has resulted in large interdisciplinary research networks. An example is the River Experiment Center of KICT that engages researchers from throughout Korea and the world. This trend has been complemented by major advances in sensor technologies and data synthesis to accelerate knowledge discovery. These factors combine to allow scientific debate to occur in a more open and transparent manner. The availability of information and improved communication of scientific and engineering issues is raising the level of dialogue at the science-policy interface. However, severe challenges persist since scientific discovery does not occur on the same timeframe as management actions, policy decisions or at the pace sometimes expected by elected officials. Common challenges include the need to make decisions in the face of considerable uncertainty, ensuring research results are actionable and preventing science being used by special interests to delay or obsfucate decisions. These challenges are explored in the context of examples from the United States, including the California Bay-Delta system. California transfers water from the wetter northern part of the state to the drier southern part of the state through the Central Valley Project since 1940 and this was supplemented by the State Water Project in 1973. The scale of these activities is remarkable: approximately two thirds of the population of Californians rely on water from the Delta, these waters also irrigate up to 45% of the fruits & vegetables produced in the US, and about 80% of California's commercial fishery species live in or migrate through the Bay-Delta. This Delta region is a global hotspot for biodiversity that provides habitat for over 700 species, but is also a hotspot for the loss of biodiversity with more than 25 species currently listed by the Endangered Species Act. Understanding the decline of the fragile ecosystem of the Bay-Delta system and the potential consequences to economic growth if water transfers are reduced for the environment, the California State Legislature passed landmark legislation in 2009 (CA Water Code SS 85054) that established "Coequal goals of providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Delta ecosystem". The legislation also stated that "The coequal goals shall be achieved in a manner that protects and enhances the unique cultural, recreational, natural resource, and agricultural values of the Delta as an evolving place." The challenges of integrating policy, management and scientific research will be described through this and other international examples.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.184-194
• /
• 2022

Triplochiton scleroxylon K. Schum is the plant species most affected by logging activities in the East Region of Cameroon due to its market value. This logging has impacted the ecological niche of the fern plant for which limited research has been done. The aim of this study is to contribute towards improving knowledge of fern richness and biomass on T. scleroxylon within the Central African sub-region. Fern data collection was done on 20 felled/harvested T. scleroxylon where, in addition to fern inventory, fern biomass was collected by the destructive method. The diameter and height of T. scleroxylon measured were used as explanatory variables in allometric equations for fern biomass estimation. Fern inventory was characterized using diversity index. Eight fern species were recorded on T. scleroxylon (≈5 species/T. scleroxylon). The minimum diameter where fern could be found is 59.4 cm. The average fern biomass found was 23.62 kg/T. scleroxylon. Pearson correlation coefficient showed a positive correlation (r>0.55) between fern biomass and T. scleroxylon diameter. For allometric equation, the logarithmic model improved better the adjustment than the non-logarithmic model. However, the quality of the adjustment is improved more when only the diameter is considered as an explanatory variable. Fern biomass is estimated to 90.08 kg/ha^-1 with 76.02 kg/ha^-1 being lost due to T. scleroxylon exploitation in the study area. This study is a contribution towards increasing knowledge of fern diversity specific to T. scleroxylon, and also fern biomass contribution to climate change mitigation and the potential carbon loss due to T. scleroxylon exploitation.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.41.1-41.11
• /
• 2020

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) is a positive-sense single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The viral genome encodes twelve genes for viral replication and infection. The third open reading frame is the spike (S) gene that encodes for the spike glycoprotein interacting with specific cell surface receptor - angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) - on the host cell membrane. Most recent studies identified a single point mutation in S gene. A single point mutation in S gene leading to an amino acid substitution at codon 614 from an aspartic acid 614 into glycine (D614G) resulted in greater infectivity compared to the wild type SARS-CoV2. We were interested in investigating the mutation region of S gene of SARS-CoV2 from Korean COVID-19 patients. New mutation sites were found in the critical receptor binding domain (RBD) of S gene, which is adjacent to the aforementioned D614G mutation residue. This specific sequence data demonstrated the active progression of SARS-CoV2 by mutations in the RBD of S gene. The sequence information of new mutations is critical to the development of recombinant SARS-CoV2 spike antigens, which may be required to improve and advance the strategy against a wide range of possible SARS-CoV2 mutations.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.33-39
• /
• 1994

This survey was conducted to investigate the factors affecting on salt accumulation and chemical components of soils cultivated with horticulture crops in plastic film houses. The soil samples were taken from 40 sites in the northern central areas of Korea and were analyzed for the chemical properties and soil separates. The data were evaluated with soil texture and years of cultivation as major factors. The results are summarized as follows : 1. The chemical properties of surface soils in plastic film house were pH 5.80, EC $3.59mScm^{-1}$, O.M. 4.20%, Av. $P_2O_5$ 1,178ppm, $NO_3-N$ 180ppm, Av. $SO_4{^{2-}}$ 353ppm, $Cl^-$ 240ppm, Ex. Na 0.40me/100g. 2. Compared to the outside soil of plastic film house, the inside soil had 2.5~3 times higher contents of $NO_3-N$, Av. $SO_4{^{2-}}$ and $Cl^-$, 1.2~1.8 times higher exchangeable base elements, and 2.8 times higher electrical conductivity. But pH value of the inside soil was lower than the outside soil by 0.3 pH unit. 3. Soil texture classification showed that sandy loam, loam and silt loam were 32.5 %, 37.5 %, and 30.0 %, respectively. The contents of $NO_3-N$, Av. $SO_4{^{2-}}$, $NH_4-N$ and EC value were very high in silt loam soils. Av. $P_2O_5$ content and pH value of sandy loam soils were higher than those of silt loam and loam soils. 4. The contents of O.M. and Av. $P_2O_5$ were higher in long term cultivation, but the contents of $NO_3-N$, Av. $SO_4{^{2-}}$, $Cl^-$, Ex. Mg and Ex. Na including EC of the soil with 2~4 years cultivation were higher than those of the soil with above 5 years cultivation. 5. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that contribution degree of soil chemical properties to the EC was high in the order of $NO_3-N$ > Av. $SO_4{^{2-}}$ > Ex. Na > $Cl^-$ > Av. $P_2O_5$ > $NH_4-N$ > Ex. Mg>Ex. Ca. Among the soil chemical properties the contribution of anions was remarkably high. 6. EC value correlated with ${\sum}A$(total content of anions)as $r=0.932^{**}$ and with ${\sum}C$(total content of cations) as $r=0.452^{**}$.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.42 no.2
• /
• pp.71-76
• /
• 2015

Developed countries have set seed industry as a new growth engine, which demands strong support from the government. Multinational seed companies such as Monsanto and DuPont have made huge financial investment to secure their major roles in the global market. To spur domestic seed industry performance, Korean government laid out the foundation for developing seed industry through policy promotion in the late 2000s. In this paper, I look at the current state of the domestic and international seed market to provide information for improving the efficiency of the propulsion of the Golden Seed Project (GSP) along with its vision. The increasing size of global giant companies has been regarded to monopolize the world seed industry wherein ten renowned companies occupy 73% of the overall global market. In effect, this causes a price hike due to limited seed choices. Domestic seed market has been stuck in a range due to a sustained low agricultural production resulting in decreased seed demand and market size. Though breeding technologies for rice and vegetables are world-class, the technologies for top global crops such as cabbage, paprika, and forage are insufficient therefore professionals in this field are not easily employed. Moreover, there is a lack in appropriate infrastructure set up in the universities which adds to ineffective training of professionals. Being a key-supporting industry for agriculture, seed industry should be granted with strong and sustainable investment support from the government. In view thereof, GSP, which started in 2012, ambitions to spur researches outlined by excellent professionals in universities and seed companies aimed to drive seed export volume and quality and attain domestic seed self-sufficiency through adoption of export- and import-substitution seed types (10 varieties each) development strategies. To develop Korea's seed industry excellent achievement of GSP's goals should be drawn successfully and to do this beside development of high quality seeds, support programs for promotion of seed exports are also needed.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
• /
• v.53 no.2
• /
• pp.110-139
• /
• 2020

Reclamation is the act of creating new lands by constructing dikes in offshore tidal flats to utilize them for various purposes, including the establishment of farmland to secure food for an increasing population. Based on the fact that reclamation has resulted in drastic changes in the environmental, economic, social, and cultural aspects of land expansion and development, population movement, and the formation of cities since ancient times, I reviewed the value of reclamation sites and addressed the issue of how to preserve and utilize them. "Reclamation culture" refers collectively to the recognition and concept system, behavior styles, and cultural products created by changes in the environment, and the tangible, intangible, and natural heritage generated directly and indirectly by reclamation is defined as "reclamation cultural heritage". It shows that the historical background of reclamation accords with prevailing trends, and that the reclamation sites possess cultural heritage value due to their historical, academic, and scarce characteristics. Numerous reclamation cultural heritage sites at the Gwangwhal and Gyehwa dikes are on the verge of being destroyed, with their original function having ended after the construction of Saemangeum Sea Wall. I propose measures to preserve these under the principle that utilization is based on the basic premise of conservation. First of all, modern and contemporary reclamation sites must necessarily be designated and managed as registered cultural properties, local cultural heritage, future heritage, and agricultural heritage. In particular, as it has been confirmed that reclamation sites created after the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties and the 1950s have not been designated as cultural heritage sites. It is necessary to review the characteristics and values of such reclamation sites through a full survey of national reclamation data. Effective and sustainable utilization of reclamation cultural heritage, which has not been acknowledged in the past due to its close relationship with our lives, is necessary to search for hidden stories found within that heritage, to organize governance for the efficient use of reclamation resources, and to build a museum to collect and display the history and culture of the reclaimed areas. Finally, through links with countries with experience in reclamation, we will be able to cope jointly with international issues such as those pertaining to society, culture, and environment, and would be able to implement various projects to further the advancement of human beings.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.27-45
• /
• 1990

Two opposing views prevail regarding the economic impact of rural out-migration on the rural areas of origin. The optimistic neoclassical view argues that rapid rural out-migration is not detrimental to the income and welfare of the rural areas of origin, whereas Lipton (1980) argues the opposite. We developed our own alternative model for rural to urban migration, appropriate for rapidly developing economies such as Korea's. This model, which adopts international trade theories of nontraded goods and Dutch Disease to rural to urban migration issues, argues that rural to urban migration is caused mainly by two factors: first, the unprofitability of farming, and second, the decrease in demand for rural nontraded goods and the increase in demand for urban nontraded goods. The unprofitability of farming is caused by the increase in rural wages, which is induced by increasing urban wages in booming urban manufacturing sectors, and by the fact that the cost increases in farming cannot be shifted to consumers, because farm prices are fixed worldwide and because the income demand elasticity for farm products is very low. The demand for nontraded goods decreases in rural and increases in urban areas because population density and income in urban areas increase sharply, while those in rural areas decrease sharply, due to rapid rural to urban migration. Given that the market structure for nontraded goods-namely, service sectors including educational and health facilities-is mostly in monopolistically competitive, and that the demand for nontraded goods comes only from local sources, the urban service sector enjoys economies of scale, and can thus offer services at cheaper prices and in greater variety, whereas the rural service sector cannot enjoy the advantages offered by scale economies. Our view concerning the economic impact of rural to urban migration on rural areas of origin agrees with Lipton's pessimistic view that rural out-migration is detrimental to the income and welfare of rural areas. However, our reasons for the reduction of rural income are different from those in Lipton's model. Lipton argued that rural income and welfare deteriorate mainly because of a shortage of human capital, younger workers and talent resulting from selective rural out-migration. Instead, we believe that rural income declines, first, because a rapid rural-urban migration creates a further shortage of farm labor supplies and increases rural wages, and thus reduces further the profitability of farming and, second, because a rapid rural-urban migration causes a further decline of the rural service sectors. Empirical tests of our major hypotheses using Korean census data from 1966, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985 support our own model much more than the neoclassical or Lipton's models. A kun (county) with a large out-migration had a smaller proportion of younger working aged people in the population, and a smaller proportion of highly educated workers. But the productivity of farm workers, measured in terms of fall crops (rice) purchased by the government per farmer or per hectare of irrigated land, did not decline despite the loss of these youths and of human capital. The kun having had a large out-migration had a larger proportion of the population in the farm sector and a smaller proportion in the service sector. The kun having had a large out-migration also had a lower income measured in terms of the proportion of households receiving welfare payments or the amount of provincial taxes paid per household. The lower incomes of these kuns might explain why the kuns that experienced a large out-migration had difficulty in mechanizing farming. Our policy suggestions based on the tests of the currently prevailing hypotheses are as follows: 1) The main cause of farming difficulties is not a lack of human capital, but the in­crease in production costs due to rural wage increases combined with depressed farm output prices. Therefore, a more effective way of helping farm economies is by increasing farm output prices. However, we are not sure whether an increase in farm output prices is desirable in terms of efficiency. 2) It might be worthwhile to attempt to increase the size of farmland holdings per farm household so that the mechanization of farming can be achieved more easily. 3) A kun with large out-migration suffers a deterioration in income and welfare. Therefore, the government should provide a form of subsidization similar to the adjustment assistance provided for international trade. This assistance should not be related to the level of farm output. Otherwise, there is a possibility that we might encourage farm production which would not be profitable in the absence of subsidies. 4) Government intervention in agricultural research and its dissemination, and large-scale social overhead projects in rural areas, carried out by the Korean government, might be desirable from both efficiency and equity points of view. Government interventions in research are justified because of the problems associated with the appropriation of knowledge, and government actions on large-scale projects are justified because they required collective action.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.287-292
• /
• 1990

A study has been conducted since 1954 to elucidate the effects of longterm application of ammonium sulfate (AS), urea, compost, and calcium silicate(CS) fertilizers on major soil nutrients and rice yields in wetland soil. The soil pH in the AS plot become lower than that in the urea plot but had little influence on rice yield. Continuous application of AS and urea with compost and CS raised the soil pH compared with single applications of AS or urea. Soil organic matter content increased yearly in plot with no fertilizer and in those with AS and urea, and increased considerably in plots with compost and CS. Application of compost and CS promoted rice top growth as well as root growth, resulting in increased dry matter. Soil contents of N, $P_2O_5$, Ca, Mg, and $SiO_2$ in the NPK with composts plot increased considerably compared with the NPK plot; however. the exchangeable K content was rather low. Rice growth increased with compost application. which enhanced K uptake, and the coarse texture promoted K leaching. With compost and CS addition, con tents of exchangeable Ca and Mg in the AS plot decreased considerably more than in the urea plot. Probably this was the result of higher Ca and Mg precipitation by sulfate in the AS plot. The re are no significant differences in rice yield between AS and urea plots. With compost and CS treatments, rice yields increased in the AS plot compared with the urea plot. The increase in yield is considered to be the effect of S. which is a constituent of AS.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.123-130
• /
• 2003

In this study, current status of domestic deer farms and its feeding were surveyed. The information of supply and demand of feed f3r deers including its industry were also examined and then analyzed to make fundamental data for deer farms and government policy. The results are as follows. 1. Over 40 years old farmers were about 63％ of total deer farms while 20­30 years olds were less than 1％ indicating that young people still evade agriculture. Moreover, considering education, over 52％ of the farmers have bachelor degree showing much higher rates compared to the other agricultural fields. The reason can be assumed that the labor burden is not serious in deer farming while it is not dirty job compared to the other livestock management. Those high­educated people can be easily trained as experts of deer farming to improve its international competition. 2. Most of investigated farms raise Korean spotted deers and Elk showing that the percentage of Elk has greatly increased(However, many farmers have complained about purchasing methods and they insisted that the sales organization should be controlled by government). 3. 57％ of total cost of production is for feed while most of feeds are imported from abroad. It indicated that it is urgent to make counterplan for saving feed cost. 4. It is necessary to develop feeds for deers in the near future while most of the examined farmers currently use normal assorted feed. Typical roughage sources feeds are rice straw, alfalfa hay, browses feed, and so on. Most of them are currently imported except the rice straw indicating urgently needed to develop domestic bulky feed. 5. The present questions are development of processed goods of velvet antler, establishment of reasonable management system, difficulty of velvet antler selling, feed supply, and so on. It is necessary for government and academic world to develop reasonable policy and scientific research program.