• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.884-891
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• 2012

The characteristic of fish fauna and distribution by habitat type in the Yanghwa stream were investigated from August, 2008 to June, 2009. During the surveyed period, 30 species belonging 8 families were collected. And there were 10 Korea endemic species(33.3%), including Rhodeus uyekii et and so on. Dominant species was Rhodeus notatus, and subdominant species was Pseudorasbora parva. Dominant species according to habitat type was Pseudorasbora parva in Dam type pool and Channel conected pool, Pseudogobio esocinus(Run), Zacco platypus(Riffle), Rhodeus notatus(Side channel and Substrate type pool), Squalidus gracilis majimae(Meander type pool), and Carassius auratus(Channel unconnected pool), respectively. As a results of community analysis in the Yanghwa Stream, diversity, richness, and abundance indices showed relatively high values, indicating that studied stream have relatively stable community structure. Moreover, cluster and principal component analysis were divided by two groups(lotic and lentic habitats), suggest that species and individuals were different among habitat types.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.124-134
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• 2018

We analyzed research topics, temporal distribution of field sites, and researcher network of 1,508 limnology publications in the Korean Journal of Limnology (1968~2012) and the Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment (2013~2017). We found that water quality and sediment, phytoplankton, invertebrates, and fish were major subjects during the study periods. Survey of flora and fauna and physiological experiment of freshwater species were the largest subjects during 1970~80s, while other subjects including production, behavior, modeling, and ecological assessment have been rapidly increased since the 1990s. Most of the biological taxa equally studied lotic and lentic system, however, invertebrates and fish related studies more focused on the lotic system. Spatially, the field site of Korean limnology studies was found to be concentrated in main river channels runs through urban areas and artificial lakes than preserved natural areas. Freshwater system, located at the elevation range of 301~400 m (upstream of main channels), had the lowest number of field sites. Collaboration among researchers and different institution types have been steadily increased and expanded as the number of publications increased.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.409-422
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• 2022

Riverine wetlands are an important element of the river ecosystem and account for approximately 38% of the inland wetlands surveyed so far. The Shincheon Wetland located in Mangyeong River is also a channel wetland as the flow rate is slowed by the constructed weirs, leading to sediment accumulation. To identify the conservation value and ecological characteristics of Shincheon Wetland, its vegetation and plant diversity were identified using a phytosociological method, and a total of 45 vegetation-related datasets were collected. Overall, 24 plant communities, comprising a total of 153 taxa (49 families, 117 genera, 146 species, 2 subspecies, 5 varieties) were identified. The plant with the highest appearance rate in the communities was Humulus japonicus Siebold & Zucc. In addition, annual herb species, including Rumex crispus L., Bromusjaponicus Thunb., Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers., and Artemisia indica Willd. were frequently observed to be growing in the secondary grassland. Naturalized plants were surveyed in the 38 taxa; the urbanization index was 10.3% and the naturalized index was 24.8%. Plant communities were largely classified into submerged vegetation, floating and floating-leaved vegetation, annual and biennial vegetation, perennial herb vegetation, and woody vegetation. The distribution of plant communities reflecting various habitats, including the lentic and lotic zone maintaining a constant water depth, littoral zone experiencing intermittent water level fluctuations, and dry floodplain environment was also confirmed. Overall, plant community development plays an important role in the habitat for wild animals; therefore, it is expected to positively impact biodiversity enhancement.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.171-183
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• 2023

Estuarine wetlands, which form a distinctive brackish water zone, serve as important habitats for organisms that have adapted to and thrive in this environment. Nonetheless, excessive development and utilization result in artificial disruptions that alter the distinctive functions and attributes of estuarine wetlands. To collect the basic data for the conservation of estuarine wetlands with excellent ecosystems, we investigated the vegetation distribution characteristics and biota status of the Taehwagang River Estuarine Wetland. Data from vegetation surveys have shown that 25 plant communities of six physiognomic vegetation types, including willow vegetation, lotic and lentic herbaceous vegetation, floating/submerged vegetation. In the upper reaches, where topographical diversity was high, various types of wetland vegetation were distributed. In terms of biodiversity, a total of 696 species, including 7 endangered wildlife species, were identified. Due to good ecological connectivity, tidal rivers are formed, brackish water species including various functional groups are distributed around this section. The inhabitation of various water birds, such as diving and dabbler ducks, were confirmed according to the aquatic environment of each river section. The collection of ecological information of the Taehwagang River Estuarine Wetland can be used as a framework for establishing the basis for conservation and management of the estuarine ecosystem and support policy establishment.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.378-385
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• 2016

This study aims to suggest the framework of functional assessment on lotic area based on HGM(Hydrogeomorphic) approach targeting Wetland Protected Areas which are in the type of river channel, and to set up the fundamental data as a reference wetland. A total of 10 factors in terms of hydrology, biogeochemistry, plant habitat and animal habitat was analyzed based on the original approach of HGM and each Functional Capacity Index(FCI) of those factors was calculated. As the result of the modified FCI analysis, Damyang riverine wetland which is with artificial river bank had high values in the variables of area ratio of actual vegetation in the foreland, the number of plant per area and the area ratio of Salix spp., and those values were highly reflected on the factors of Nutrient Cycling(947,668.00), Species Richness and Maintain Characteristic Plant Communites(6.39) and Maintain Spatial Structure of Habitat(11.00). The Hanbando wetland which is keeping the natural bank had higher values in the variables of structural scale and species diversity, and the those values were highly reflected on the factors of Energy Dissipation(17,805.16), Subsurface Storage of Water(0.54), Removal of Imported Elements and Compounds(103,052.73), Maintain Characteristic Detrital Biomass(2.31), Maintenance of Interspersion and Connectivity (6.50), Species Diversity of Benthic macro-invertebrates(1.60) and Species Diversity of Vertebrate & Species Number of Other Animals(2.52/ 151.50), compared to the Damyang Riverine Wetland.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.48-59
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• 2019

This study analyzed the water quality characteristics and developed empirical models prior to and after the construction of Baekje Weir, in the Geum River watershed between 2004-2017. The comparative evaluation of the surface water chemistry before and after the four major river projects on the weirs indicated that total phosphorus (TP), based on annual data, rapidly decrease after the construction of the weir while the total nitrogen(TN) decreased. Conversely, chlorophyll-a (CHL) concentration, which is a good indicator of primary productivity, increased after the construction of the weir together with an increase in specific conductivity. Simply put, the construction of the weir led to the decrease in concentrations of N and P due to the increased water residence time (WRT), whereas the CHL :TP ratio greatly increased in magnitude. The regression analysis of the empirical model indicated that CHL had no significant relation (r=0.068, p=0.6102, n=58) with TP before the weir construction, but had a relation with TP after the weir construction (r=0.286, p<0.05, n=56). Therefore, such conditions resulted in an increase in primary productivity on a given unit of phosphorus, resulting in frequent algal blooms. In contrast, seasonal suspended solids (SS) and TP increased during the monsoon period, compared to the pre-monsoon, thereby showing positive correlations (r>0.40, p<0.01, n=163) with precipitation. If the government consistently discharges water from the weir, the phosphorus concentration will be increased due to its reversion to a lotic waterbody from a lentic waterbody hereby reducing algal blooms in the future.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.71-80
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• 2016

The main goal of this study is to develop a multi-metric fishway assessment model (M_m-FA) and evaluate the efficiency of fishway. The M_m-FA model has three major fishway components with nine metrics: structural characteristics, hydraulic/hydrologic features, and biological attributes. The model was developed for diagnosing and assessing fishway efficiency and tested to Juksan Weir at the Yeongsan River Watershed. Structural characteristics of fishway included slope of the fishway (M₁), ratios of fishway width to stream width (M₂), and the proportion of orifice clogging and orifice size (M₃). Hydraulic/hydrologic characteristics included depth of fishway entrance head (M₄), depth of exit tail (M₅), and current velocity of inner fishway (M₆). Biological characteristics included fish species ratio of inner fishway to upper-lower weir (M₇), fish length distribution (M₈), and the proportion of migratory fish species to the total number of species (M₉). Overall, the assessment of fishway efficiency showed the total score of the M_m-FA model was 25 in the Juksan Weir, indicating "good condition" by the criteria of the five-level classification system. The M_m-FA model may be used as a key tool for the assessment of fishway efficiency, especially on the 16 weirs constructed for the "Four Rivers Restoration Project" after a partial calibration of M_m-FA model.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.378-391
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• 2012

The objective of this study was to determine temporal patterns and longitudinal gradients of water chemistry at eight artificial reservoirs and ten streams within the Han-River watershed along the main axis of the headwaters to the downstreams during 2009~2010. Also, we evaluated chemical relations and their variations among major trophic variables such as total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and chlorophyll-a (CHL-a) and determined intense summer monsoon and annual precipitation effects on algal growth using empirical regression model. Stream water quality of TN, TP, and other parameters degradated toward the downstreams, and especially was largely impacted by point-sources of wastewater disposal plants near Jungrang Stream. In contrast, summer river runoff and rainwater improved the stream water quality of TP, TN, and ionic contents, measured as conductivity (EC) in the downstream reach. Empirical linear regression models of log-transformed CHL-a against log-transformed TN, TP, and TN : TP mass ratios in five reservoirs indicated that the variation of TP accounted 33.8% ($R^2$=0.338, p<0.001, slope=0.710) in the variation of CHL and the variation of TN accounted only 21.4% ($R^2$=0.214, p<0.001) in the CHL-a. Overall, our study suggests that, primary productions, estimated as CHL-a, were more determined by ambient phosphorus loading rather than nitrogen in the lentic systems of artificial reservoirs, and the stream water quality as lotic ecosystems were more influenced by a point-source locations of tributary streams and intense seasonal rainfall rather than a presence of artificial dam reservoirs along the main axis of the watershed.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.194-205
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• 2022

Sandbars formed by sediment transportation and sedimentation are some of the most important habitats for specific wildlife and they provide an aesthetic landscape in streams. The purpose of this study was to understand the successional process of the colonization and development of early vegetation over time on sandbars exposed by the opening of a gate at a downstream weir. We selected the following four study sites in the Geumgang River, South Korea: three weir-upstream sites with different gate-opening times and a control site that was not affected by weir operation. Changes in the structural characteristics and spatial distribution of the riparian vegetation on the sandbars exposed after opening the gate at the weir were surveyed according to the different exposure periods of the sandbars at the study sites. The newly formed sandbars accounted for more than 33% of the area of the existing floodplain in the three weir-upstream sites of the Geumgang River after opening the gate at the weir. Nine main plant communities were distributed on the exposed sandbars. These communities were classified as annual mesophytic, perennial hydrophytic, perennial hygrophytic, subtree, and tree vegetation based on their species traits. As the duration of exposure of the sandbar increased, the area of the bare sandbar and the annual herbaceous and perennial hydrophytic communities decreased, and the areas occupied by perennial hygrophytic, subtree, and tree communities increased. Changes in vegetation on the sandbar were classified into three types of succession according to the condition of the aquatic habitat before the gate-opening and the degree of physical disturbance caused by the water flow after the gate-opening. The types of succession were: 1) succession starting from hydrophytes in the lentic aquatic zone, 2) succession starting from annual herbaceous hygrophytes in the lotic aquatic zone, and 3) willow-dominated succession in the disturbed channel side. Our results suggested that the dynamics of successional changes in vegetation should be considered during weir operation to ecologically manage the habitats and landscape of the fluvial landforms, including sandbars in streams.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.196-206
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• 2023

Benthic attached diatoms (BADs), a major primary producer in lotic stream and river ecosystems are micro-sized organisms and require a highly magnified microscopic technique in the observation work. Thus, it is often not easy to ensure accuracy and precision in both qualitative and quantitative analyses. This study proposed a new technique applicable to improve quality control of aquatic ecosystem monitoring and assessment using BADs. In order to meet the purpose of quality control, we developed a permanent mounting slide technique which can be used for both qualitative and quantitative analyses simultaneously. We designed specimens with the combination of grid on both cover and slide glasses and compared their efficiency. As a result of observation and counting of BADs, the slide glass designed with the color-lined grid showed the highest efficiency compared to other test conditions. We expect that the method developed in this study could be effectively used to analyze BADs and contributed to improve the quality control in aquatic ecosystem health monitoring and assessment.