• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.83-88
• /
• 2018

Purpose - This study conducts an empirical analysis on gasoline pricing of Korean retail gas stations focusing on spatial effects. Unlike previous studies, the study uses an official land price for a proxy of the importance of location, and also allows the spatial effects from other competing gas stations as well. Research design, data, and methodology - In collection of data, we obtain more abundant data than those of previous studies. The gasoline prices used in the study are 909,084 observations as daily data from January 1 to July 31 of the year 2016. A proxy for the land price is collected by linking official public land price data with address information on each gas station. For the estimation, the study employs the Panel Spatial Dubin Model to make the best use of the collected location information. Results - As expected, spatial properties of gas stations have significant effects on the gasoline price. As the price per square meter increases by 100 thousands won, the price of gasoline rises 9 won per liter. Among other characteristics, the price increases by 16 won per liter if the station has a convenience store, and about 5 won if it has a car wash service. Gasoline price in Singapore accounted for 26% of variations in domestic gasoline prices. SK Energy and GS Caltex are the top brands in terms of price. The study also finds prices and other important properties of competing gas stations have significant effects on others' prices. Prices of competing gas station have a positive relationship with those of others. If a competing gas station raises the price, the gas station also raises the price, and lowering the price lower the price. Among brands, GS Caltex has the greatest downward pressure on nearby gas stations. Conclusions - The study confirms that location value of gas stations affect their gasoline prices, and the prices of the competing gas stations also have a significant effects on their prices. It suggests that the prices in the competing retail areas tend to be synchronized with each other.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.36 no.1
• /
• pp.25-36
• /
• 2020

Area exclosure is a widely practiced intervention of restoring degraded lands though its impact in sequestering terrestrial and soil carbon is scanty. The study was initiated to investigate the effect of exclosure of different ages on carbon sequestration potential of restoring degraded dryland ecosystems in eastern Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Twelve plots each divided into three layers were randomly selected from 5, 10 and 15 years old exclosures and paired adjacent open grazing land. Tree and shrub biomasses were determined using destructive sampling while herb layer biomass was determined using total harvest. The average total biomass obtained were 13.6, 24.8, 27.1, and 55.5 Mg ha^-1 for open grazing, 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years exclosures respectively. The carbon content of plant species ranged between 48 to 53 percent of a dry biomass. The total carbon stored in the 5 years, 10 years and 15 years age exclosures were 39 Mg C ha^-1, 46.3 Mg C ha^-1, and 64.6 Mg C ha^-1 respectively while in the open grazing land the value was 24.7 Mg C ha^-1. Carbon stock is age dependent and increases with age. The difference in total carbon content between exclosures and open grazing land varied between 14.3-40 Mg C ha^-1. Although it is difficult to extrapolate this result for a longer future, the average annual carbon being sequestered in the oldest exclosure was about 2.7 Mg C ha^-1 yr^-1. In view of improving degraded area and sequestering carbon, area exclosures are promising options.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.293-303
• /
• 2018

Sumber Jaya (54,194 hectares) is a district in West Lampung, Indonesia, located at the upper part of Tulang Bawang watershed. This watershed is one major water resource for Lampung Province, but has become a focal point of discussion because of the widespread conversion of forestland to coffee plantations and human settlements which lead to environmental and hydrological problems. This research aimed to evaluate Sumber Jaya watershed affecting by rapid land use change using hydrological methods as a base for watershed management. Nested catchment structure consisted of eight sub-catchments was employed in this research to assess scaling issues of land use change impacts on rainfall-runoff connections. Six tipping bucket rain gages were installed on the hill slopes of each sub-catchment and Parshall flumes were installed at the outlets of each sub-catchment to monitor stream flow. First, unit hydrograph that expressed the relationship of rainfall and runoff was computed using IHACRES model. Second, unit hydrograph was also constructed from observations of input and response during several significant storms with approximately equal duration. The result showed that most of the storm flow from these catchments consisted of slow flow. A maximum of about 50% of the effective rainfall became quick flow, and only less than 10% of remaining effective rainfall which was routed as slow flow contributed to hydrograph peaks; the rest was stored. Also, comparing peak responses and recession rates on the hydrograph, storm flow discharge was generally increased slowly on the rising limb and decreased rapidly on the falling limb. These responses indicated the soils in these catchments were still able to hold and store rain water.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.81-94
• /
• 2005

This study is aimed at giving the basic information for individual farm households to make decisions for optimizing their farm sizes and for the government to implement farm size optimization policies through the identification of combinations among rice production factors in plain areas like Cheolwon district and the suggestion of the optimal farm sizes of individual farmers based on the scale of economy calculated. The data of agricultural production costs of 50 rice farmers in the plain area which is located in Dongsong-eup Cholwon district, Kangwon province were used in the analysis. The 'translog' cost function among various methods which is a flexible function type was adopted to calculate the scale of economy in rice production. Seemingly unrelated regression(SUR) method was used in forecasting functions and processing other statistics by SHAZAM which is one of the computer aid program for quantitative econometric analysis. In conclusion, the long-run average cost(LAC) curve showed 'U-shape' which was different from 'L-type' one which was shown in the previous studies by others. The lowest point of the LAC was 9.764ha and the concerned production cost amounted to 633 Won/kg. Based on these results, it have to be suggested that around 10 ha of paddy is the target size for policy assistances to save costs under the present level of farming practices and technology. The above results show that the rice production costs could be saved up to 10ha in Cheolwon plain area which is a typical paddy field. However, land use, land condition, land ownership and manager's ability which may affect scale of economy should be considered. Furthermore, reasonable management will have to be realized by means of labor saving technology and cost saving management skill like enlargement of farm size of rice.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.145-162
• /
• 2005

To improve the accuracy of land-cover discrimination in SAB data classification, this paper presents a methodology that includes feature extraction and fusion steps with multi-temporal SAR data. Three features including average backscattering coefficient, temporal variability and coherence are extracted from multi-temporal SAR data by considering the temporal behaviors of backscattering characteristics of SAR sensors. Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence(D-S theory) and fuzzy logic are applied to effectively integrate those features. Especially, a feature-driven heuristic approach to mass function assignment in D-S theory is applied and various fuzzy combination operators are tested in fuzzy logic fusion. As experimental results on a multi-temporal Radarsat-1 data set, the features considered in this paper could provide complementary information and thus effectively discriminated water, paddy and urban areas. However, it was difficult to discriminate forest and dry fields. From an information fusion methodological point of view, the D-S theory and fuzzy combination operators except the fuzzy Max and Algebraic Sum operators showed similar land-cover accuracy statistics.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.90-101
• /
• 2022

The study aims to assess composition, diversity and population indices of natural regeneration of woody species in Jebel El Gerrie forest reserve, Blue Nile State, Sudan. We conducted field work between December 2018 and January 2019. We used random sampling to collect vegetation data in the forest where we made a total of 90 circular sample plots (radius 17.84 m) and distributed them proportionally to the area of each of the four density-based vegetation classes of the forest i.e. high density (C1), medium density (C2), low density (C3) and crop land (C4). In each sample plot we identified all regenerating tree species and counted their regeneration frequencies. We calculated ecological metrics of regeneration frequency, density, abundance, richness, evenness, diversity and importance value index (IVI) and drew abundance rank curve. Results revealed that out of fifteen mature tree species present, natural regeneration of 8 species, which belong to 6 families, was observed. The relatively most frequently naturally regenerating and abundant species were Anogeissus leiocarpa and Combretum hartmannianum. Richness, evenness and diversity of regenerating species were 1.33, 0.82 and 1.7, respectively. One-way ANOVA (α=0.05) of mean regeneration densities disclosed that there were significant differences (F_3,86=16.77, p=0.000) between C2 & C3 (p=0.000) and C2 & C4 (p=0.000). While regeneration of seven tree species were absent, two, two and four species were of good, poor and fair regeneration status, respectively. A comparison of mean density of natural regeneration with that of parent trees reflects a poor regeneration status of the forest. The study provides empirical results on the regeneration status of species and signifies the need for management interventions for species conservation and restoration, maintenance of biodiversity and sustainable production.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.75-89
• /
• 2022

The negative impact of monoculture rubber plantations on biodiversity and associated ecological processes/ecosystem services has led to suggestions on the use of integrated land use systems for rubber cultivation and production in order to ensure environmental sustainability. However, there is paucity of information on the effect of such integrated land use systems on the diversity and abundance of the rubber plantation undergrowth. We evaluated and compared undergrowth plant species composition, richness, abundance, diversity and interaction, in three integrated systems (Rubber-Strelitzia reginae Integrated System - RSrIS, Rubber-Podocarpus nagi Integrated System - RPnIS & Naturally Managed Rubber Plantation - NMRP) with three Rubber Monoculture Plantations (RMP₁, RMP₂ & RMP₃) adjacent to the integrated systems, respectively, at the Investigation and Experiment Station of Tropical Crops, Danzhou, Hainan, China. Undergrowth species density was higher in the rubber monocultures than in the integrated systems except in RSrIS. Species richness and diversity were also higher in the monocultures except in NMRP. Species similarity/interaction between the monocultures and the integrated systems was highest between RMP₃ and NMRP. The NRMP proved to be the best model of natural rubber integrated system for the conservation of undergrowth species richness, diversity and interspecific interaction. However, the conservation of undergrowth species in other forms of integrated natural systems can be enhanced by considering the ecology of species to be integrated in terms of their growth characteristics, competitive nature, and ability to grow in association with other species.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.122-127
• /
• 2022

Agroforestry in terms of intercropping cow pea as summer forage with Grewia tenax was undertaken under sub -irrigation system in two consecutive seasons of 2017 and 2018 in saline soil of Khartoum State of Sudan. The aims were to find out suitable agro forestry system for saline soils as well as to investigate effect of tree spacing on field summer forage crop under semi -irrigation system. Therefore G. tenax trees that spaced at 4×4 m were used as main factor versus cow pea crop that incorporated at 25×50 cm intervals by using completely randomized block design with 3 replications. Trees and crop parameters were determined in terms of plant growth and yield. In addition to land equivalent ratio and soil chemical and physical properties at different layers were determined. The results revealed that, soil parameters in terms of CaCo₃, SAR, ESP, pH paste and EC ds/m were increased with increasing soil depths. Meanwhile tree growth did not show any significant differences in the first season in 2017. Whereas in the second season in 2018 tree growth namely; tree height, tree collar and canopy diameters were higher under intercropping than in sole trees. Cow pea plant height recorded significant differences under sole crop in the first season in 2017. Unlike the forage fresh yield that was significant under the inter cropped plots. Tree fruit yield was higher under sole trees and land equivalent ratio was more advantageous under GS2 (1.5 m) which amounted to 4. Therefore it is possible to introduce this agroforestry system under saline soils to provide summer forage of highly nutritive value to feed animals and to increase farmers' income as far as to halt desertification and to sequester carbon.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.99-110
• /
• 2024

According to the REDD+ program, it is necessary to monitor, quantify, and report forest conditions in protected land areas. The objectives of this work were to quantify the average monthly aerial net primary productivity (ANPP_MONTH) of semi-arid Chaco Forest at Copo National Park (CNP), Santiago del Estero, Argentina, during the period 2000-2023, as well as its spatial distribution and relationship, and its use efficiency (RUE) of average monthly rainfall (AMR). The ANPP_MONTH model accounted for 90% of the seasonal variability from October to May, the average seasonal ANPP_MONTH was 145 tons of dry matter per hectare (t dm/ha), being the maximum in January with 192 t dm/ha and the minimum in May with 91 t dm/ha. The surface area covered by ANPP_MONTH exhibited a consistent positive trend from October to May (t test=15.65, p<0.01). Strong and significant direct relationships were found between ANPP_MONTH and AMRs, linear models explaining 90% and 96% of the variability, respectively. The results obtained become reference values for assessing the capacity of the forest systems to stock carbon for global warming mitigation and for monitoring and controlling their response to extreme climatic adversities. The average ANPP_MONTH reduces uncertainty when defining the thresholds to monitor and quantify ANPP and forest area, thus facilitating the detection of negative changes in land use in CNP. Such results evidence the National Parks Administration's high effectiveness for the maintenance of protected area and for the high ANPP of the FCHS of CNP in the period 2000-2023.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.27 no.3
• /
• pp.293-304
• /
• 2017

This study was performed in order to hydrogeological analysis of aquifer, which is a necessary part for evaluating the efficiency of the combined well and open-closed loops geothermal (CWG) systems. CWG systems have been proposed for the effective utilization of geothermal energy by combining open loop geothermal systems and closed loop geothermal systems. Small aperture CWG systems and large aperture CWG systems were installed at a green house land with water curtain facilities in Chungju City. Aquifer tests include pumping tests and step-drawdown tests were conducted to analyse hydrogeological characteristics of aquifer in the study area. The transmissivity was estimated in the range of $13.49{\sim}58.99cm^2/sec$, and the storativity was estimated in the range of $1.13{\times}10^{-5}{\sim}5.20{\times}10^{-3}$. The geochemical analysis showed $Ca^{2+}$ ion and ${HCO_3}^-$ ion were dominant in groundwater. The Langelier Saturation Index and the Ryznar Stability Index showed low scaling potential of groundwater. In the analysis of vertical water temperature change, the geothermal gradient was estimated as $2.1^{\circ}C/100m$, which indicated the aquifer was enough for geothermal systems. In conclusion, groundwater is rich, can stably use geothermal heat, and it is less likely to cause deterioration of thermal energy efficiency by precipitation of carbonate minerals in study area. Therefore, the study area is suitable for installation of the combined geothermal system.