• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.305-320
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• 2005

Recently 64 species in Korea have been ranked as rare and endangered taxa by the Ministry of Environment using two categories, I and II. The original threat categories produced by the Ministry of Environment were developed to provide a standard for specifying animals and plants in danger of extinction and has been influential sources of information used in species conservation in Korea. However, the criteria by Ministry of Environment were applied to the whole taxa only by regional boundaries, especially in South Korea, rather than international context, and it also lacked an explicit framework that was necessary to ensure repeatability among taxa because of the absence of quantitative criteria to measure the likelihood of extinction. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has developed quantitative criteria for assessing the conservation status of species. The threatened species categories, the 2000 IUCN Red List, proposed by SSC (Species Survival Commission) of IUCN have become widely recognized internationally. Details of threatened Korean plants, identified by applying the IUCN threat categories and definitions, were listed and analyzed. The number of species identified as threatened was only 34 out of 64 taxa (48.4%), while the rest of taxa were rejected from the original lists. Many of the species (51.6%, 33 taxa) excluded from the original list proposed by Ministry of Environment do not qualify as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable because these taxa were widely distributed either in Japan or in China/far eastern Russia and there is no evidence of substantial decline in these countries. An evaluation of taxa in Korea has been carried out only based on subjective views and qualitative data, rather than quantitative scientific data, such as rates of decline, distribution range size, population size, and risk of extinction. Therefore, the national lists undermine the credibility of threatened species lists and invite misuse, which have been raised by other cases, qualitative estimate of risk, political influence, uneven taxonomic or geographical coverage. The increasing emphasis on international responsibilities means that global scale is becoming more significant. The current listings by Environment of Ministry of Korea should be challenged, and the government should seek to facilitate the resolution of disagreements. Especially the list should be flexible enough to handle uncertainty and also incorporates detailed, quantitative data. It is suggested that the highest priorities for the Red List should be given to endemic species in Korea first. After setting up the list of endemic species to Korea, quantitative data on population size and structure, distributional range, rated of decline, and habitat fragmentation should be collected as one of long term projects for the Red list categories. Transparency and accountability are the most important key factors. Also, species assessors are named and data sources referenced are required for the future objective evaluations on Korean plant taxa.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.37 no.9
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• pp.1154-1161
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to determine the possibility of using Sophorae fructus as natural health food source. To accomplish this purpose, the contents of general and antioxidative nutrients of Sophora fructus were measured. The contents of carbohydrate, crude protein, crude lipid and ash are 75.9%, 16.4%, 2.41%, and 5.2%, respectively, while the calories of Sophora fructus was 337.3 kcal. Total dietary fiber was 15.07% of total carbohydrates. The percentages of water soluble dietary fiber to insoluble dietary fiber were 1.09% and 10.36%, respectively. The protein was composed of a total of 18 different kinds of amino acids. The contents of essential and non-essential amino acids were 2,310.91 mg and 5,218.52 mg. The K was the largest mineral followed by Ca, P and Mg, which means Sophorae fructus is alkali material. The contents of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids were 24.94%, 32.40%, and 32.86%, respectively. Therefore, the amount of the total unsaturated fatty acid was higher than that of any other plant. The content of vitamin C in Sophorae fructus was higher than that of any other plant, which suggests that it could increase blood elasticity. The content of rutin, which is responsible for capillary vessel permeability, was 1.78%. The contents of water soluble antioxidative materials in 1 mL of water-extracted Sophorae fructus were $4.95\;{\mu}g$ which is comparable to 1,560.96 mmol of vitamin C in antioxidant effect. The general nutrients and other antioxidatant bioactive materials in Sophorae fructus were also potential materials for good health food. It is expected that a follow up study on Sophorae fructus through developing processed food and evaluation of their functional properties would provide useful information as a source of medicinal foods.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.339-346
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• 2014

To control populations of the chestnut weevil, Curculio sikkimensis Heller, the effects of various immersion temperatures and times on the chestnut weevil were tested. The effects of immersion treatments on chestnut fruits were also analyzed. The mortality levels of C. sikkimensis larvae were evaluated at various temperatures ($30^{\circ}C$, $35^{\circ}C$, $40^{\circ}C$, $45^{\circ}C$, and $50^{\circ}C$) and time intervals (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 22, and 24 h). Changes in the chestnut fruit due to the immersion treatment were measured in terms of color (lightness, redness, and yellowness), physiological effects (germination rate and decay rate), hardness, and change in constituent properties (moisture content, free sugar content, and tannin content). Mortality levels of C. sikkimensis larvae after immersion treatment at $30^{\circ}C$ were over 70% and 100% after 2 h and 7 h, respectively. Color (lightness, redness, and yellowness) of the chestnut fruits was not significantly different at $30^{\circ}C$ and $35^{\circ}C;$ however, the color was affected at temperatures over $40^{\circ}C$. The germination rate of the fruit was not affected by the immersion treatments, but the decay rate at $40^{\circ}C$ increased with an increase in immersion time. The hardness of the fruits decreased with an increase in immersion times and temperatures. These results can be used in the future for developing methods for the control of chestnut weevil populations.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.50-56
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• 2011

This study was designed to investigate variation of pinitol content in different parts of seventeen legume species including silk tree (Albizia julibrissin). D-pinitol has been demonstrated to exert insulin-like and anti-inflammatory effects. These legumes were collected from Gyeongsangbuk-Do in Korea. Significant difference in pinitol content was observed among 17 different legume species. However, it was the highest in sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata). The highest pinitol content was observed in leaf followed by stem, pod shell, seed and root among plant parts. Legume plants which had higher pinitol content in leaves were chinese pea shrub, bastard indigo, wild cowpea and sericea lespedeza, having 59.9 mg/g, 62.2 mg/g, 69.6 mg/g and 65.4 mg/g, respectively. Stem of astragali radix showed the highest pinitol content among all leagumes, which was 34.0 mg/g. In case of root, kudzuvine showed the highest pinitol content followed by licorice and chinese pea shrub, which were 24.6 mg/g, 16.9 mg/g, and 16.5 mg/g, respectively. However, in the case of pod shell and seed, only lablab purpureus and sericea lespedeza showed the highest pinitol content 52.5 mg/g (for pod shell) and 24.9 mg/g (for seed), respectively. Concluding, the sericea lespedeza showed the highest total pinitol content of whole plant followed by chinese redbud, chinese pea shrub, bastard indigo and silk tree. Considering the pinitol content and harvesting yield, sericea lespedeza can be used as a practical medicinal herb.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.60-67
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• 2012

BACKGROUND: Anthracnose disease caused by Collectotrichum spp. is one of the most important worldwide devastating diseases in red pepper plants. Fungicides using plant extracts have several advantages, compared to synthetic chemical fungicides, because they are naturally occurring compounds, are usually safe for agricultural environment and are used for producing highly valuable agricultural products. Efforts for seeking an anti-fungal activities using naturally occurring compounds were mostly conducted from medicinal plant extracts. Sap of Rhus verniciflus was known to have healing effects on several human diseases. Recently, the extracts of Rhus verniciflus were actively tested for anti-cancer, anti-oxidative, and anti-fungal effects. In this study, the extract of Rhus verniciflus was tested for anti-fungal activity against Colletotrichum spp., which cause anthracnose in red-pepper. METHODS AND RESULTS: After neutralizing extracts of Rhus verniciflus (urushiol contents 70%) with autoclave, the crude extracts were used to investigate inhibitory effects for mycelial growth and spore germination of Colletotrichum spp. on PDA media. The mycelial growth and spore germination of Colletotrichum spp. were inhibited 18-39% and over 50% in response to crude extract of R. verniciflus (1.0 mg/mL). After spraying the extracts at the same concentrations above and then artificially inoculating Colletotrichum spp. on blue and red-pepper fruits, in vitro inhibition effects were examined. At 1.0 mg/mL, the crude extract of R. verniciflus showed inhibition activity in anthracnose incidence on blue- and red-pepper as 68.1-75.0%, through a artificial inoculation of Colletotrichum spp. in a laboratory. For in vivo inhibitory effects, the extracts (1.0, 0.1, and 0.01 mg/mL) were treated on red-pepper plants grown in green house 3 times at the interval of 1 week. Then inhibitory effects were determined by counting diseased fruits at 1 week after final treatment. The incidence of anthracnose was inhibited over 60% in the greenhouse by treatment of crude extract of R. verniciflus (1.0 mg/mL). CONCLUSION(s): Extracts of Rhus verniciflus were shown to have inhibitory effects on mycelial growth, spore germination of Colletotrichum spp. in vitro and on occurrence of anthracnose on pepper fruit in green house.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.102 no.1
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• pp.38-58
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• 2013

The existence of endemism in many parts of the world is an important factor for conservationists. Conservation can only be carried out under national legislation, and national endemics, which have very limited ranges, fully depend on the effort and success of conservation. A total of 523 vascular plant taxa were listed in the latest national checklist by Ministry of Environment in 2005, while the 'Creation and Furtherance of Arboretums Act' including a national endemic list (appendix 4-1) was established by Korea Forest Service and was legislated as a law in late 2011. This legislation by Korea Forest Service on endemism of Korean vascular plants have required much attention because of discrepancies of nomenclature, taxonomic bias and inflation. Examining data for both lists proposed by Ministry of Environment and Korea Forest Service, of the total of 360 legislated taxa, around 286 taxa are shared with the list of Ministry of Environment, of which about 80% have been found as common taxa. Around 67(18.7%) are typographic errors, and 14 taxa (3.9%) are recorded as illegitimate and invalidly published names. Through this analysis 12 taxa (3.4%) were found in China as well as in Korea and these are thought to be non Korean endemic taxa. Taken together, the legislated list displayed 1/4 (24.9%) errors out of the total list. Only 59 taxa (16.5%) are identified as national endemic species. The remainder are either unresolved candidates (73 taxa, 20.4%) or synonyms (196 taxa, 54.7%) status. It must be noted, that the concept of endemism very much depends on the knowledge of the species concept, taxonomic bias and geographical range of a species. Also, the most major nomenclatural problem tend to be more stable if the information on database about Korea Plant Name, which is managed by Korea National Arboretum are well updated year to year. These exaggerated numbers underscore the urgency for regional conservation planning and implementing effective strategies to preserve these real endemic taxa into the future.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.365-380
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• 2009

Flora of vascular plants in mountains located at Wonju-si and Hoengseong-gun areas such as Chiak-san(1,288m), Taegi-san(1,261.4m), Obong-san(1,126.2m), Eungbong-san(1,094.9m), Eodab-san(789.4m), Deokgo-san(521.2m), Deokga-san(700.5m) and Seongji-bong(791m) was investigated from April, 2008 to May, 2009, and results from the previous researches in which voucher specimens had been presented from Balgyo-san(998.4m), Oeum-san(930.4m), Baekun-san(1,037.1m) and Chiak-san(1,288m) were included in the list of vascular plants from these areas. This investigations resulted in 804 taxa consisted of 680 species, 1 subspecies, 111 varieties, and 12 forms of 383 genera under 97 families, and totally in 973 taxa (21.14% of all vascular plants in Korea) of 818 species, 1 subspecies, 138 varieties and 16 forms of 418 genera under 105 families on addition of voucher specimens in the previous researches. Forests of the investigated areas were generally mixed of Pinus densiflora and deciduous trees. The areas with comparatively excellent vegetation were valley from Guryong-sa (temple) to Biro-bong (summit) via Seryeom-pokpo (fall) in Mt. Chiak-san, and Keunseong-gol (valley) and eastern slope from Taegibungyo-teo to Naksu-dae (fall) in Mt. Taegi-san. 10 families with abundantly collected species were Compositae, Graminae, Rosaceae, Ranunculaceae, Leguminosae, Cyperaceae, Liliaceae, Saxifragaceae, Umbelliferae and Labiatae in order, and they occuied 49.12% of all collected taxa. Endemic plants found in these areas were 38 taxa including Hanabusaya asiatica, Megaleranthis saniculifolia, and Pyrus ussuriensis var. diamantica, and rare and endangered ones were 24 taxa including Hanabusaya asiatica, Viola websteri, Viola diamantica, and Patrina saniculaefolia. Specially designated plants by the Ministry of Environment were 88 taxa including 12 taxa of 5th degree such as Woodsia intermedia, Hanabusaya asiatica, Equisetum pratense, Iris koreana, Lilium cernum, Trillium tschonoskii, Magnolia kobus(cultivated), Gastrodia elata, Polypodium virginianum, Cimicifuga heracleifolia, Megaleranthis saniculifolia and Viola websteri. 47 taxa of alien plants were found. As to 609 taxa (13.23% of all vascular plants in Korea) of useful plants, 334 taxa for the edible, 269 taxa for the medicinal, 127 taxa for the ornamental, 332 taxa for the forage, 3 taxa for the industrial raw material, 31 taxa for the timber and 13 taxa for the fiber were classified, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.49-70
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• 2009

Floral study on the vegetation of 8 mountains including Taehwa-san, Mugab-san, Haehyeob-san, Guksa-bong, Gwanggyo-san, Samseong-san, Suri-san, and 200m peak neighboring to Mulwang lake was carried out from April to October, 2007. They belong to the middle part of Gyeonggi Province, and located between Lat. $37^{\circ}$13' 31.19" ${\sim}37^{\circ}$33' 3.48", Long. $26^{\circ}$43' 04.1" ${\sim}127^{\circ}$26' 28.38". Vascular plants collected in these areas were total 447 taxa composed of 386 species, 5 subspecies, 46 varieties and 10 forms of 262 genera under 92 families. The area from which the most plentiful plants were found was Mt. Gwanggyo-san. The areas with comparatively excellent vegetation are easy slopes nearby valleys in Mt. Gwanggyo-san, Mt. Suri-san and Mt. Haehyeob-san. Forests of the examined areas are generally mixed of Pinus densiflora and Quercus plants, but herbaceous plants covering soil are becoming nearly extinct by air and soil pollutions except some sites. Families with abundant species are Compositae, Rosaceae, Liliaceae and Graminae, etc. Endemic plants found in these areas are 8 taxa of Clematis brachyura, Euonymus trapococcus, Viola seoulensis, Ajuga spectabilis, Scutellaria insignis, Weigela subsessilis, Aster koraiensis, Aconitum chiisanense and rare and endangered plants are 7 taxa of Arisaema heterophyllum, Iris odaesanensis, Eranthis stellata., Aconitum chiisanense, Prunus yedoensis (cultivar), Viola albida, and Syringa wolfi. As to useful plants, 192 taxa for the edible, 132 taxa for the medicinal, 130 taxa for the ornamental and 11 taxa for the staining were classified respectively. Among 17 taxa of specially designated plants, 5th degree plants are 2 taxa of Iris odaesanensis and Prunus yedoensis (cultivar), 4th degree plants are 2 taxa of Symplocarpus renifolius and Syringa wolfi, 3rd degree plants are 13 taxa of Dryopteris gymnophylla, Juniperus chinensis, Betula chinensis, Betula davurica, Diarrhena fauriei, Aconitum longecassidatum, Eranthis stellata, Spiraea salicifolia, Acer palmatum, Vaccinium koreanum, Scutellaria insignis, Weigela florida and Adoxa moschatellina.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.247-272
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• 2005

The Philadelphus schrenkii complex including P. schrenkii var. schrenkii, P. schrenkii var. jackii, P. schrenkii var. mandshuricus, P. tenuifolius, P. pekinensis, P. seoulensis, P. lasiogynus, and P. scaber, is distributed in China, Korea, japan, and far eastern Russia. Their taxonomic delimitations are obscure because quantitative characters, such as presence/absence and density of hair on leaf, petiole, style, disc, calyx-tube, and pedicel, are highly variable with no apparent characteristics that consistently distinguish from each other within the group. Thus, these morphological characters are reexamined using univariate analyses. P. pekinenesis is distinct from other taxa in having glabrous disk, calyx, pedicel, and leaf blade. In addition, the number of flowers in an inflorescence [(5)7-9(11) vs 5-7 in other taxa], smaller calyx tube [2.5-3 mm vs. (2.5)3-4(5.9) in other taxa], and slightly divided styles help distinguish P. pekinenesis from other related taxa in Korea. However, P. schrenkii var. schrenkii, P. schrenkii var. jackii, P. schrenkii var. mandshuricus, and P. lasiogynus show continuous variation in the pubescence of disk, calyx, pedicel, and leaf blade, and this may reflect a lack of divergence among them. Particular emphases are placed on P. tenuifolius and P. seoulensis, because of the high degree of morphological intergradation with respect to the degree of pubescence in disk, calyx, pedicel, and leaf blade and their inconsistent circumscription across various systematic treatments. P. scaber, distributed in the southern Korea, has often been treated as an independent species having exfoliated branchlets, distinct serrated leaf margin, and recurved styles. However, this current study suggests that P. scaber should be recognized as a form of P. tenuifolius because these distinguishing characters are continuous between P. tenuifolius and P. scaber. In geographical distribution, P. pekinensis is mainly distributed in the southern part of Korea, while P. tenuifoilus and P. schrenkii are commonly found all over the country.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.240-252
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• 1999

Floristic composition and phytosociological studies of Mt. Chongok and Mt. Tuta were investigated, and that was compared with the previously published report in 1993. Vascular plants were composed of 100 families, 358 genera, 573 species, 95 varieties, and 18 formae, totaling 686 taxa. The vegetation was relatively well conserved based on Pteridophyta calculation (Pte-Q), 1.13. Compared with the vascular plants of the southern and northern slope area, the vascular plants of the southern slope area were composed of 87 families, 287 genera, 419 species, 73 varieties, and 11 formae, totaling 503 taxa, and those of the northern slope area consisted of 94 families, 293 genera, 427 species, 73 varieties, and 12 formae, totaling 512 taxa, respectively. Also, compared with the taxa in each side, both sides were composed of 332 species in common, southern sides, 172 species and northern sides, 182 species, respectively. The number of species of 11 families belonged to the higher level among total families taxa was composed of 328 species(47.8%). Among them, Compositae and Rosaceae were included much more species than remnant families. Korean endemic species were composed 16 families, 24 genera, 20 species, 8 varieties and 2 formae, totaling 30 species(4.4%). Compared with the Korean endemic taxa in each side, both sides were composed of 14 species in common, southern sides, 11 species and northern sides, 5 species, respectively. A naturalized plants were 20 species, correspond to 9.2% of totaling 218 species appeared in South Korea. Among them,12 species were appeared commonly in both sides, southern sides, 16 species and northern sides, 16 species, respectively. Life form spectra was H-D1-R5-e type and, useful resources plants are as follows; edible source(42.4%), medicinal source(31.5%), ornamental source(15.6%) and pasture source (13.3%) in the total region. The forest vegetation of the southern slope was classified into 1 order, 1 alliances and 5 communities; Rhododendro-Quercetalia mongolicae, Lindero-Quercion mongolicae, Quercus mongolica Typical community, Populus davidiana-Quercus mongolica community, Pinus koraiensis-Taxus cuspidata community, Pinus densiflora-Carex humilis var. nana community, Betula costata-Betula ermanii community. It is considered that the slight difference of the flora and vegetation in the northern and southern slope is mostly due to the topographical and climatic difference. Even closer investigation is required for the more accurate comparison in this area.