• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.318-326
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• 2022

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) recommends that 17% of the land be designated as a protected area to counter global environmental problems. Korea also realized a need to designate protected areas according to the international level and explain the significance of designating protected areas. Accordingly, studies on ecosystem services are required. In Korea, the protected areas are designated as national parks, provincial parks, and county parks by hierarchy under the Natural Parks Act. However, as priority was on political and administrative aspects, research on ecosystem service value evaluation and habitat management were concentrated in national parks, and provincial and county parks were relatively neglected. Therefore, more studies on provincial and county parks are necessary. In this study, habitat quality for Gajisan Provincial Park, where there were few studies on habitat management and ecosystem service valuation, was evaluated using the InVEST Habitat Quality model among the InVEST models. The analysis results were compared with 16 mountainous national parks. The results showed that the habitat quality value of Gajisan Provincial Park was 0.83, higher than that of the surrounding areas. The analysis of habitat quality in three districts showed 0,84 for the Tongdosa and Naewonsa districts and 0.83 for the Seoknamsa district. By use district, the nature conservation district, the natural environment district, the cultural heritage district, and the park village district had the highest habitat quality value in that order. Compared with the existing habitat quality analysis results of national parks, Gajisan Provincial Park showed naturalness at the level of Mudeungsan National Park. These results can be used as objective data for establishing policies and management plans to preserve biodiversity and promote ecosystem services in provincial parks.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.38 no.5_1
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• pp.609-625
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• 2022

Validation of satellite data products is critical for subsequent analysis that is based on the data. Particularly, performance of ocean color products in turbid and shallow near-land ocean areas has been questioned for long time for its difficulty that stems from the complex optical environment with varying distribution of water constituents. Furthermore, validation with ship-based or station-based measurements has also exhibited clear limitation in its spatial scale that is not compatible with that of satellite data. This study firstly performed validation of major GOCI-II products such as remote sensing reflectance, chlorophyll-a concentration, suspended particulate matter, and colored dissolved organic matter, using the in-situ measurements collected from ship-based field campaign. Secondly, this study also presents preliminary analysis on the use of drone images for product validation. Multispectral images were acquired from a MicaSense RedEdge camera onboard a UAV to compensate for the significant scale difference between the ship-based measurements and the satellite data. Variation of water radiance in terms of camera altitude was analyzed for future application of drone images for validation. Validation conducted with a limited number of samples showed that GOCI-II remote sensing reflectance at 555 nm is overestimated more than 30%, and chlorophyll-a and colored dissolved organic matter products exhibited little correlation with in-situ measurements. Suspended particulate matter showed moderate correlation with in-situ measurements (R²~0.6), with approximately 20% uncertainty.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.102-111
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• 2022

Among protected areas, National Parks are rich in biodiversity, and the benefits of ecosystem services provided to human are higher than the others. Ecosystem service evaluation is being used to manage the value of national parks based on objective and scientific data. Ecosystem services are classified into four services: supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural. The purpose of this study is to evaluate habitat quality among supporting services. Habitat Quality Model of InVEST was used to analyze. The coefficients of sensitivity and habitat initial value were reset by reflecting prior studies and the actual conditions of protected areas. Habitat quality of 21 national parks except Hallasan National Park was analyzed and mapped. The value of habitat quality was evaluated to be between 0 and 1, and the closer it is to 1, the more natural it is. As a result of habitat quality analysis, Seoraksan and Taebaeksan National Parks (0.90), Jirisan and Odaesan National Parks (0.89), and Sobaeksan National Park (0.88) were found to be the highest in the order. As a result of comparing the area and habitat quality of 18 national parks except for coastal-marine national parks, the larger the area, the higher the overall habitat quality. Comparing the value of habitat quality of each zone, the value of habitat quality was high in the order of the park nature preservation zone, the park nature environmental zone, the park cultural heritage zone, and the park village zone. Considering both the analysis of habitat quality and the legal regulations for each zone of use, it is judged that the more artificial acts are restricted, the higher the habitat quality. This study is meaningful in analyzing habitat quality of 21 National Parks by readjusting the parameters according to the situation of protected areas in Korea. It is expected to be easy to intuitively understand through accurate data and mapping, and will be useful in making policy decisions regarding the development and preservation of protected areas in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.433-441
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• 2022

Light pollution is one of the factors that disturb coastal and island ecosystems. This study examined the factors causing light pollution in the islands in Daedohaehaesang National Park using nighttime satellite images. This study selected 101 islands with an area of 100,000 m² or more in Daedohaehaesang National Park, and measured the levels of light pollution of the selected islands by calculating mean nighttime radiance recorded in VIIRS DNB monthly images for January, April, August, and October 2019. Of seven districts of the park, The highest mean nighttime radiance was recorded in Geumodo district (17,666nW/m²/sr), followed by Geonumdo·Baekdo, Narodo, Soando·Cheongsando districts. By season, mean nighttime radiance in October was the highest at 9,509nW/m²/sr, followed by August, January, and April. Regression analyses show that the total floor area and the number of lighthouses in a 5 km buffer area had a statistically significant effect on mean nighttime radiance at all times, but those within the island did not, indicating that light pollution in islands in a national park where land development is strictly restricted is influenced by artificial lights in nearby areas. However, the total floor area of an island significantly affected mean nighttime radiance only in August, which appears to be attributed to the impact of intensive use of artificial light by visitors during summer vacation. The size of an island had a negative (-) effect on nighttime radiance. This negative effect suggests that light pollution is a type of ecological edge effect, i.e., the smaller island is more likely to have a relatively larger proportion of edge area that is affected by light emitted from the neighboring areas. The results of this study indicate that managing artificial lights in nearby areas is necessary to mitigate light pollution in islands in marine and coastal national parks.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.15-28
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• 2023

In the Republic of Korea, the target project scope of the small-scale EIA is stipulated as the plan area above around 5,000~60,000m² depending on a type of project and classification of land use. Whereas, the lower limit of the corresponding local government EIA project is generally located above the small-scale EIA's limits, and overlapping ranges exist. This situation has been enlarged since road construction and district unit planning were included as the target projects for small-scale EIA in the "Enforcement Decree of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act", which was partially revised in November 2016, and the current consultation system needed discussion in that small-scale EIA is allowed to be done without gathering review opinions at the local level. In fact, projects subjected to local government EIA but consulted as small-scale EIAs may seem insignificant because of a small number of total cases; however, it is worth paying attention to the fact that a local government may not add a target project due to the small-scale EIA. This study suggested the three policy measures for improving small-scale EIA to enhance the effectiveness of local government EIA: supplementing the institutional arrangements to incorporate the review opinion from the local region in small-scale EIA, giving priority to local EIA for conducing the projects in overlapping ranges with partial amendments on EIA law regarding exceptions to local government EIA, including small target projects (not to be small-scale EIA targets) to the ordinance that are deemed necessary to be conducted as local government EIA. Even though a positive function of small-scale EIA has been confirmed, efforts should be made to improve the situation in which many projects within local governments are consulted without review from the region.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.67 no.4
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• pp.199-210
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• 2022

This study aimed to develop a cropping system to use limited crop-land with optimum efficiency, while considering management from farmers. To establish the cropping system involving a two-year rotation of three crops, three types of cropping system were evaluated in Suwon (Seogcheon series) and Anseong (Geumcheon series) in the middle plain area using six crops from 2018 to 2019: maize-perilla-onion, potato-sesame-garlic, and maize-sesame-onion. The crop productivity and income of the cropping systems involving food-, oilseed-, and horticultural crops were analyzed, and the optimal cropping system was reviewed. The total yield of each crop was as follows: maize 1,281 kg, potato 4,837 kg, perilla 125 kg, sesame 120 kg, onion 6,503 kg, and garlic 1,027 kg per 10a. However, in terms of gross profit, the potato was more than 3.8 times more profitable than corn, sesame was 1.8 times more profitable than perilla, and garlic was more than 2.8 times more profitable than onions. As a result, in terms of net income, the potato-sesame-garlic cropping system produced the highest income per unit area. Sesame seedlings were planted after the potato harvest, thereby solving the problem of competition between the first and last crops. Overall, this study confirmed that the potato-sesame-garlic cropping system, a two-year rotation of three crops, contributed to the improvement of upland crop productivity and farmers' income and was an overall effective cropping system.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.45-56
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• 2023

In stream ecosystem assessment, RIVPACS, which makes a simple but clear evaluation based on macroinvertebrate community, is widely used. In this study, a preliminary study was conducted to develop a RIVPACS-type model suitable for Korean streams nationwide. Reference streams were classified into two types(upstream and downstream), and a prediction model for macroinvertebrates was developed based on each family. A model for upstream was divided into 7 (train): 3 (test), and that for downstream was made using a leave-one-out method. Variables for the models were selected by non-metric multidimensional scaling, and seven variables were chosen, including elevation, slope, annual average temperature, stream width, forest ratio in land use, riffle ratio in hydrological characteristics, and boulder ratio in substrate composition. Stream order classified 3,224 sites as upstream and downstream, and community compositions of sites were predicted. The prediction was conducted for 30 macroinvertebrate families. Expected (E) and observed fauna (O) were compared using an ASPT biotic index, which is computed by dividing the BMWPK score into the number of families in a community. EQR values (i.e. O/E) for ASPT were used to assess stream condition. Lastly, we compared EQR to BMI, an index that is commonly used in the assessment. In the results, the average observed ASPT was 4.82 (±2.04 SD) and the expected one was 6.30 (±0.79 SD), and the expected ASPT was higher than the observed one. In the comparison between EQR and BMI index, EQR generally showed a higher value than the BMI index.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.70-83
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• 2022

This study aims to select evaluation items that can be used in planning park creation to evaluate the proposal to solve the environmental and social problems in promoting private-initiated park development projects. To this end, evaluation items that can consider various aspects of the development project were selected, and the indicators' validity and appropriateness were carried out through an expert Focus Group Interview (FGI). Firstly, an expert FGI was performed for six major categories and 50 evaluation items derived from literature reviews and brainstorming. As a result, five major and 27 middle category items were selected. Based on the derived major and middle classification items, 95 detailed items were selected. Secondly, 55 sub-items were derived through a suitability questionnaire. As a result of the suitability survey, the average scores of the subcategories for the major categories of natural environment, function of parks, and use of land were relatively high. The average scores for environmental index items such as ecology/vegetation, topography and slope, landscape, park service, wildlife, wide-area ecosystem, and park items were high in the middle classification. The average score of indicators in the natural environment was relatively high, and the average score in the function of parks also soared. In the environmental impact assessment, the occurrence of plan change issues, including the reappraisal of the location, led to unclear detailed evaluation factors for the faithfulness of the plan and the appropriateness of the plan direction. This study is significant in that it is a study on the selection of evaluation items that can minimize the problem of plan alteration and achieve objective evaluation when promoting development projects. This study could be used to forward development projects in the future and evaluate long-term unexecuted urban parks.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.68 no.2
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• pp.81-89
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• 2023

Lime-treated fertilizer (LTF) is manufactured using the lime stabilization method with food waste. LTF is effective in neutralizing acidic soil, improving nutrient and organic matter content in soil, and increasing crop productivity. However, excessive use of LTF in agricultural land can have undesirable effects, such as reduced crop growth and nutrient accumulation in soil. This study was evaluated the effect of different application ratios of LTF on the crop yield index (%), nutrient (N, P₂O₅, K₂O) uptake index (%), and soil chemical properties. The following treatments were applied: untreated (UT), NPK (NPK), NPK+calcium hydroxide (CH), and NPK+1-, 2-, 4-, and 8-times of LTF (LTF1, 2, 4, and 8). The yield index for LTF1 was the highest among different LTF treatments. Moreover the yield index for spring and winter cabbage in LTF1 treatment was 10% and 21% higher, respectively, than that in NPK treatment. The yield and nutrient indices were decreased with the increase in LTF application ratio. The soil pH and EC tended to increase with the increase in LTF ratio, and were the highest at 8.2 and 2.1, respectively, after cultivation for LTF8 (P<0.05). With the increase in soil pH, the soil inorganic nitrogen (NH₄-N, NH₃-N) and available phosphate (Av. P₂O₅) levels were decreased (P<0.05). Our results suggest that LTF1 (643 kg 10a^-1) is an appropriate ratio for improving soil chemical properties and increasing crop yield.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.281-302
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• 2023

Carbon is not only an essential element for life but also a key player in climate change. The radiocarbon (¹⁴C) analysis using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a powerful tool not only to understand the carbon cycle but also to track pollutants derived from fossil carbon, which have a distinct radiocarbon isotope ratio (Δ¹⁴C). Many studies have reported Δ¹⁴C of carbon compounds in streams, rivers, rain, snow, throughfall, fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), and wastewater treatment plant effluents in South Korea, which are reviewed in this manuscript. In summary, (1) stream and river carbon in South Korea are largely derived from the chemical weathering of soils and rocks, and organic compounds in plants and soils, strongly influenced by precipitation, wastewater treatment effluents, agricultural land use, soil water, and groundwater. (2) Unprecedentedly high Δ¹⁴C of precipitation during winter has been reported, which can directly and indirectly influence stream and river carbon. Although we cannot exclude the possibility of local contamination sources of high Δ¹⁴C, the results suggest that stream dissolved organic carbon could be older than previously thought, warranting future studies. (3) The ¹⁴C analysis has also been applied to quantify the sources of forest throughfall and PM_2.5, providing new insights. The ¹⁴C data on a variety of ecosystems will be valuable not only to track the pollutants derived from fossil carbon but also to improve our understanding of climate change and provide solutions.