• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
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• 2019.08a
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• pp.236-237
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• 2019

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.2
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• pp.178-182
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• 2009

A new mixed-effects model was developed that predicts individual-tree total height for Pinus densiflora trees in Gangwon province as a function of individual-tree diameter (cm). The mixed-effects model contains two random-effects parameters. Maximum likelihood estimation was used to fit the model to 560 height-diameter observations of individual trees measured throughout Gwangwon province in 2007 as part of the National Forest Inventory Program in Korea. The new model is an improvement over fixed-effects models because it can be calibrated to a local area, such as an inventory plot or individual stand. The new model also appears to be an improvement over the Forest Resources Evaluation and Prediction Program for the ten calibration trees used in this study. An example is provided that describes how to estimate the random-effects parameters using ten calibration trees.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.245-254
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• 2020

Patients diagnosed with cancer face mental problems such as alienation, isolation, anxiety about death and fear, recovering from psychological difficulties. In this study, a forest healing program was provided for cancer patients to recover from psychological stress, depression, social isolation and self-esteem caused by cancer and changes in salivary cortisol through psychological and emotional recovery were measured. From September 19 to November 28, 2017, a forest healing program composed of a total of 10 sessions, two hours per session was provided for 12 cancer patients in the Forest of Taegyo located in Yongin. Psychological tests were performed with Social Adaptation Self-evaluation Scale (SASS), Korean-version Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the collected data were analyzed with the SPSS 18.0. The salivary cortisol level was measured along with the psychological tests and were analyzed by a specialized testing agency. The results of the analysis showed that the pre- and post-assessment score of SASS was 29.17 and 25.92, respectively, and that the pre- and post-assessment score of PSS was 30.50 and 23.92, respectively. The pre- and post-assessment score of BDI was 41.00 and 34.83, respectively, which showed significant differences. In addition, the pre- and post-assessment level of saliva cortisol was 3.13 and 1.68, respectively, showing a significant decrease. In short, the forest healing program was found to be effective in reducing physiological changes caused by social isolation and stress due to the emotional and psychological difficulties that the subjects who were diagnosed with cancer and were recovering from it have. In the future, it will be necessary to develop and implement a forest healing program by conducting a forest healing requirement survey on cancer patients.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.85 no.4
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• pp.586-595
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of participation in a forest program on the level of depression changes in the participants. Total of 501 university students residing in the middle province of Korea were administered Beck Depression Inventory(BDI). Among them, 32 students were selected as participants of the program based on the scores of the BDI. A 5-day forest program included climbing, sharing experience with others and so on. Pre and post tests control group research design was employed for this study, with BDI measures taken from each of 32 participants on three time frames : 2 weeks before the program, immediately before participation, and immediately after participation. BDI scores were expected to decrease as a result of forest program participation. The study results supported this hypothesis.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.227-234
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• 2022

Purpose: Smoking is a way of coping with anxiety and stress. This study aimed to identify the effects of forest-thermal combined therapy on anxiety and depression in smokers who desire to quit smoking. Methods: Thirty participants were included in the study, 15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. Those in the experimental group participated in a three-day forest-thermal combined therapy program. The program includes forest walks, meditation and thermal therapy in the charcoal kiln. Results: Before and after the program, physiological indicators such as cortisol, heart rate variability, and serotonin anxiety level using the state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), and stress level using the psychosocial well-being index (PWI) were measured in both groups. The differences in STAI (p=.012) and PWI (p=.006) scores between the experimental and control groups were statistically significant. However, cortisol, heart rate variability, and serotonin were not significantly different between the two groups after the program. Conclusion: These results show that forest-thermal combination therapy effectively reduces anxiety and stress in smokers. It suggests that forest-thermal therapy can potentially increase smoking cessation rates.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.100 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2011

Six commonly used non-linear growth functions were fitted to individual tree height-dbh data of eight major tree species measured by the $5^{th}$ National Forest Inventory in Chungcheong province. A total of 2,681 trees were collected from permanent sample plots across Chungcheong province. The available data for each species were randomly splitted into two sets: the majority (90%) was used to estimate model parameters and the remaining data (10%) were reserved to validate the models. The performance of the models was compared and evaluated by $R^2$, RMSE, mean difference (MD), absolute mean difference (AMD) and mean difference(MD) for diameter classes. The combined data (100%) were used for final model fitting. The results showed that these six sigmoidal models were able to capture the height-diameter relationships and fit the data equally well, but produced different asymptote estimates. Sigmoidal growth models such as Chapman-Richards, Weibull functions provided the most satisfactory height predictions. The effect of model performance on stem volume estimation was also investigated. Tree volumes of different species were computed by the Forest Resources Evaluation and Prediction Program using observed range of diameter and the predicted tree total height from the six models. For trees with diameter less than 30 cm, the six height-dbh models produced very similar results for all species, while more differentiation among the models was observed for large-sized trees.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.88 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 1999

In this study, a relational database program to manage the data involved in forest planning was developed in such a way to simulate the whole process of 'Younglim' planning in Korean National Forest System. Using the pull-down menu system of various functions required for developing 'Younglim' plan, the database program can handle the data of forest inventory, 10-year working plans, annual working plans and the history of forest operations automatically and simultaneously. The model was designed to run under the environment of Korean version of Windows 95. Visual Basic 5.0 was used as the basic tool for programming and Microsoft ACCESS as the basic engine of the database system. In this paper, the process of designing the structure of database program following the process of 'Younglim' plan and the structure of the model are discussed. In addition, the functions of menu system are presented using the screen-mode output windows of the model.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.107-115
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of forest healing programs with walking, sightseeing, and forest scent among six healing forest treatments using forest environment on the cognitive function, depression, and quality of life of elderly living alone. The subjects of the study were 17 senior citizens living in Samcheok and complaining of severe depression and forgetfulness. They were divided into two groups, and each group participated in the six sessions of the weekly forest healing program. All of them were surveyed of a Korean version of the MMSE-K, BDI (Beck Depression Inventory Korean Version), and SF-36 (Short Form 36 health survey questionnaire) with the questionnaire designed for the one-group pre-post test to examine changes in cognitive function, depression, and quality of life. The results showed that the mental status, depression level, and quality of life of respondents were significantly higher after healing programs. These results suggest that participation in healing program activities using forest environment can improve cognitive function, relieve depression and improve quality of life for senior citizens living alone. Therefore, inducing older adults who live alone and avoid outside activities to participate in the regular forest healing program will contribute to the prevention of dementia due to age and environment.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.7-14
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• 2009

Some results of the 5th Korean National Forest Inventory Program measured in 2007 were used to analyze annual diameter growth characteristics for major tree species distributed in Chungnam province. A total of 717 sample trees from 49 plots distributed in Chungnam province were measured and analyzed for annual diameter growth characteristics. As stand age and stand density increased, annual diameter growth rates for major species tended to decrease. The species of Prunus sargentii(2.14mm/yr) showed the best annual diameter growth rates and the others are Quercus serrata(2.10mm/yr), Pinus thunbergii(2.03mm/yr), Pinus densiflora(1.91mm/yr), and Castanea crenata(1.90mm/yr) in order. This information could be very useful to understand annual diameter growth characteristics for major species distributed in Chungnam province.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.699-709
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• 2019

Various health and social issues related to the elderly are emerging in line with the rapid aging of the population. In particular, dementia currently has a prevalence of about 10 percent of the elderly population in South Korea, which increases financial and social burdens to not only individual patients but also their caring family. To assess the effects of participating in the forest therapy programs for dementia prevention, this study recruited participants aged 50 and above and tested their depression (Korean form of Geriatric Depression Scale; KGDS) and stress response (Modified form of Stress Response Inventory; SRI-MF), which are emotional aspects of dementia. As a result, KGDS showed a significant decrease of 3.2 points from 8.4 to 5.2 points, and SRI-MF showed a significant decrease of 7.2 points from 40 to 32.8 points, indicating a statistically significant improvement in both. In addition, participants with minor depression and high level of stress in the pretest showed statistically significant improvements in the SRI-MF for men, and the KGDS and SRI-MF for women. Furthermore, there were statistically significant improvements in KGDS for participants in their 60s and in SRI-MF for those in their 70s in terms of age, and in both KGDS and SRI-MF for participants with chronic diseases and in KGDS for participants without chronic diseases. This study confirmed the effects of forest therapy on the prevention of the emotional aspects of dementia and laid the groundwork for increasing the applicability of forest therapy by obtaining a place for dementia prevention as a field of forest therapy.