• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.644-658
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• 2021

Understanding the functional traits of dominant species in urban ecosystems provides insight into species' trait adaptation and ecosystem function in response to fragmented and isolated urban vegetation and reduced biological interactions. This study compared means and variances of environmental factors (geographic, meteorological, and soil attributes) and 4 leaf traits (leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry mass content, and leaf shape index) and 7 reproductive traits (fruit width, fruit length, fruit shape, fruit dry weight, fruit dry matter content, seed weight, and seed ratio) measured of 40 Sorbus alnifolia individuals in four mountainous areas south of Seoul downtown, South Korea. We then performed the multivariate analysis of trait combinations. While the measured environmental factors indicated the individuality of the survey sites, the urban vegetation was drier and had a longer growth period. The leaves of S. alnifolia in the urban areas were smaller and heavier, and the fruits produced longer and lighter seeds, showing the traits affected by long urbanization. The study confirmed changes in the growth and reproduction mechanism of the S. alnifolia population under the urban environment, indicating reduced biological interaction due to vegetation fragmentation and isolation. This study provides limited but distinct ecological information about the function and persistence of key species in cities with a reduced scale of biological interactions and many negative environmental factors such as air pollution.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.407-418
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• 2023

This study conducted an analysis of terrain change indicators in major development projects in Korea, examining the correlation between terrain change indicators to derive foundational terrain change metrics based on different land use and slope types. The aim is to contribute to sustainable development by enhancing the efficiency of land utilization and landscaping, while minimizing environmental impacts in future development endeavors. Additionally, to apply the research findings in practical contexts, domestic regulations related to terrain were surveyed, and the compatibility and usability between these regulations and research analysis results were discussed. Based on this, the study seeks to explore strategies for more accurate and useful utilization of terrain change indicators in future research. As a result, in the tourism development, terrain changes predominantly occur in the order of flat land, hillly land, and mountain land, with the analysis indicating higher terrain changes in undulating hilly and mountainous lands compared to flat land. Furthermore, in industrial complex development, very steep (20°-30°) and extreme (30°-40°) slopes; in urban development projects, steep slope (15°-20°); in athletic service facility and tourist development, steep (15°-20°) and very steep (20°-30°) exhibit higher average terrain change indicators compared to other slope categories. The findings of our study can contribute to the formulation of strategies aimed at minimizing terrain disturbance in future domestic development projects and serve as foundational data for environmental impact assessments.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.24-38
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• 2019

Due to the dramatic spatial changes caused by industrialization, environmental problems such as air pollution and urban heat island phenomenon, etc. are occurring in cities. In this case, the wind corridor, which is a passage through which fresh and cool air generated in forests outside cities move to the downtown, can be used as a spatial planning method for improving urban environmental problems. Cold air is determined by the characteristics of the flow depending on the topography and land use of cities, and based on this, the medium- and long-term plan should be established. Therefore, this study analyzed the flow of cold air at night through the KLAM_21 model in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, to prepare the basic data required to apply the wind corridors. As a result, it turned out that cold air of Suwon-si was mainly generated from Gwanggyo Mountain that is a large mountain area in the north, and flowed into the urbanization promotion area, and about three hours after sunset, cold air flowed into the downtown. By district, the depth, wind speed, and direction of the cold air layer were formed differently according to the characteristics of the topography and land use. In the areas where large forests were adjacent, the flow of cold air was active. There are three main wind corridors where cold air flows to the downtown of Suwon-si, all of which are formed around rivers. Especially, if the connection between rivers and the surrounding green areas is high, the effect of wind corridors is found to be significant. In order to utilize the wind corridors of Suwon-si, based on the results of this study, it is necessary to make climate maps through actual survey and complex analysis of cold air flow and establish mid-to-long-term plans for the conservation and expansion of major wind corridors.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.33-40
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• 2013

From March 2012 to January 2013, this study was conducted as a part of the project for making a precise electronic ecological zoning map of vegetation on a highly reduced scale of 1 to 5,000 with a view to improving management efficiency of national parks and enlarging the availability of the data produced from the basic research monitoring the resources of national parks. For the research accuracy and rapidity, a vegetation map was specially created for the on-the-site-vegetation research. To make the map more meticulous, we categorized the vegetation database into five groups: broadleaved forest, coniferous forest, mixed forest, rock vegetation and miscellaneous one. After comparing the results of the data built for the vegetation research and the actual research findings, it was made clear that vegetation of both categories was almost the same in case of broad-leaved forest with 72.20% and 78.45% respectively, and also equivalent in other groups like, for example, coniferous forest (16.70%, 13.41%), mixed forest (9.50%, 7.49%) and rock vegetation (0.60%, 0.15%). According to the precise vegetation map produced from the research, the deciduous broad-leaved forest was the most widely prevalent type in the correlated hierarchical classification of vegetation, occupying 65.78% of the overall vegetation. It was followed by mountain valley forest (15.17%), coniferous forest (10.90%), and plantation forest (7.00%) in order. It is particularly noteworthy that Mt. Deogyusan national park has retained a very stable and versatile forest vegetation in the outstanding state since approximately 20% of the mountain turns out to belong to the I grade vegetation conservation classification which contains climax forests, unique vegetation, subalpine vegetation, matured stands which are older than 50 years and etc.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.562-581
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• 2018

This study was designed to predict the changes in species richness of plants under the climate change in South Korea. The target species were selected based on the Plants Adaptable to Climate Change in the Korean Peninsula. Altogether, 89 species including 23 native plants, 30 northern plants, and 36 southern plants. We used the Species Distribution Model to predict the potential habitat of individual species under the climate change. We applied ten single-model algorithms and the pre-evaluation weighted ensemble method. And then, species richness was derived from the results of individual species. Two representative concentration pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) were used to simulate the species richness of plants in 2050 and 2070. The current species richness was predicted to be high in the national parks located in the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and islands of the South Sea. The future species richness was predicted to be lower in the national park and the Baekdudaegan mountain range in Gangwon Province and to be higher for southern coastal regions. The average value of the current species richness showed that the national park area was higher than the whole area of South Korea. However, predicted species richness were not the difference between the national park area and the whole area of South Korea. The difference between current and future species richness of plants could be the disappearance of a large number of native and northern plants from South Korea. The additional reason could be the expansion of potential habitat of southern plants under climate change. However, if species dispersal to a suitable habitat was not achieved, the species richness will be reduced drastically. The results were different depending on whether species were dispersed or not. This study will be useful for the conservation planning, establishment of the protected area, restoration of biological species and strategies for adaptation of climate change.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.235-250
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• 2023

This study was carried out to identify the vascular flora of Mt. Bonghwa in the Baekdudaegan Mountain range, located on the border between Namwon City and Jangsu Country in Jeollabuk Province and Hamyang Country in Gyeongsangnam Province and use them as basic data for the conservation of plant diversity and prevention of the spread of alien plants. Specimens deposited at the Herbarium of Korea National Arboretum (KH) were reexamined, and 15 field surveys were conducted from April 2020 to July 2023. The result revealed a total of 466 taxa, consisting of 97 families, 279 genera, 409 species, 16 subspecies, 32 varieties and 9 forms, Of which, eight taxa were endemic plants, and one taxon, Aconitum coreanum (H.Lév.), belonged to the vulnerable (VU) on the national red list species. Moreover, there were 57 floristic target species, including 1 taxon of grade V, 9 taxa of grade III, 14 taxa of grade II, and 33 taxa of grade I, whereas there were 24 taxa of alien plants and 1 taxon of ecosystem disturbance species. In the usefulness survey, 353 taxa were for food, 3 for textiles, 71 for medicinal use, 21 for ornamental use, 108 for pasture use, 2 for industrial use, 7 for miscellaneous use, and 11 for timber plants.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.396-418
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• 2018

This study was carried out to investigate the flora and the vegetation of Samusan mountain on Jecheon-si, located in the middle part of the Korean peninsula. The vascular plants which were collected in 9 times from June 2014 to October 2015 were identified as 502 taxa in total, including 102 families, 314 genera, 445 species, 6 subspecies, 49 varieties, 1 form and 1 hybrid. The largest families were as follows; Asteraceae (70 taxa), Poaceae (52 taxa), Rosaceae (30 taxa), Fabaceae (28 taxa), and Cyperaceae (20 taxa). Of them, Korean endemic plants numbered 10 taxa, and vascular plants listed in the red data according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) numbered 14 taxa. The floristic regional indicator plants found in this area were 61 taxa in total. Among them, 5 taxa revealed the floristic grade V, 11 for floristic grade IV, 14 for floristic grade III, 10 for floristic grade II, and 21 for floristic grade I. The alien plants were identified as 43 taxa and the percentage of naturalized index (NI) was 8.6%, and urbanization index (UI) was 13.4%, respectively. Samples of the forest vegetation on the Samusan Mt. were mainly classified as Pinus densiflora, Quercus variabilis, Q. acutissima, Q. mongolica, Zelkova serrata and Robinia pseudoacacia forest. The vertical structures of the forest were stable and the DBH-Class analyses showed that the dominant tree species would be maintained. In the surveyed areas, high plant diversity was shown, and a number of endemic, rare, calcicole plants and phytogeographically important plants were found. Nonetheless, numerous and diverse biological resources native have been consistently disturbed or damaged by human activities without some form of protection. Therefore, it is needed to set up strategies for conservation forest vegetation in this study area.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.152-171
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• 2019

In this study, we analyzed the characteristics of the cold air generated in Hannamgeumbuk and Geumbuk-Jeongmaek and proposed their management strategies. We also suggested management strategies after analyzing detailed cold airflows for Cheongju located Hannamgeumbuk-Jeongmaek and we compared the degree of nighttime temperature reduction of the Jeongmaek by using data obtained from observatories located on Cheongju. We used KALM(Kaltluftabflussmodell), a cold air simulation model developed in Germanay and identified both cold airflows and altitude of cold air layers generated during 360minutes at night. As a result, the cold airflow generated in the Jeongmaek became strong and the cold air was appeared clearly in the western part of the Hannamgeumbuk-Jeongamek and in the northern part of the Geumbuk-Jeongmaek. The average velocity of cold airflow was recorded at 0.45m/s, and the maximum speed of cold airflow was recorded at 2.70m/s. The average height of the cold air layer was 104.27m/s and the maximum thickness was 255.0m. The average velocity of cold airflows in Cheongju was 0.51m/s and the average height of cold air layer was 48.87m high. The highest degree of nighttime temperature reduction appeared in the Cheongnamdae observatory($-3.8^{\circ}C$), where the altitude of the cold air layer is high. The results showed that cooling effect of Jeongmaek actually affected the temperature reduction during nighttime. Based on the results, we designated the main mountain area of the Jeongmaek with active cold air generation as "cold air conservation areas" and proposed the current forest and topography conservation. We also proposed to designate areas that facilitate the cold airflows as "cold air management areas" and to complement the function of Jeongmaek. This study could support the establishment of systematic management plans of the Jeongmaek. In addition, it is expected that the results can be applied as basic data for ventilation paths of Cheongju.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.1
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• pp.66-81
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• 2009

From a new perspective of "humans and the culture of forming and conserving the environment", the sustainable forest management can be reformulated under the concept of "cultural sustainability". Cultural sustainability is based on the emphasis of the high contribution to sustainability of the culture of forming and conserving the environment. This study extracts the implications to cultural sustainability for the modern world by investigating a historical case of the culturo-social pine forestry in the Joseon period of Korea. In the legendary and recorded acts by the first king Taejo, Seonggye Yi, Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) was the "Royal tree" of Joseon and also the "Sajik tree" related intimately with the Great Sajik Ritual valued as the top rank within the national ritual regime that sustained the Royal Virtue Politics in Confucian political ideology. Into the Neo-Confucian faith and royal rituals of Joseon, elements of geomancy (Feng shui), folk religion, and Buddhism had been amalgamated. The deities worshipped or revered at the Sajik shrine were Earth-god (Sa) and crop-god (Jik). And it is the Earth god and the concrete entity, Sajik tree, that contains the legacy of sylvan religion descended from the ancient times and had been incorporated into the Confucian faith and ritual regime. Korean red pine as the Royal-Sajik tree played a critical role of sustaining the religio-political justification for the rule of the Joseon's Royalty. The religio-political symbolism of Korean red pine was represented in diverse ways. The same pine was used as the timber material of shrine buildings established for the national rituals under Neo-Confucian faith by the royal court of Joseon kingdom before the modern Korea. The symbolic role of pine had also been expressed in the forms of royal tomb forests, the Imposition Forest (Bongsan) for royal coffin timber (Whangjangmok), and the creation, protection, conservation and bureaucratic management of the pine forests in the Inner-four and Outer-four mountains for the capital fortress at Seoul, where the king and his family inhabit. The religio-political management system of pine forests parallels well with the kingdom's economic forest management system, called "Pine Policy", with an array of pine cultivation forests and Prohibition Forests (Geumsan) in the earlier period, and that of Imposition Forests in the later period. The royal pine culture with the economic forest management system had influenced on the public consciousness and the common people seem to have coined Malrimgat, a pure Korean word that is interchangeable with the Chinesecharacter words of prohibition-cultivation land or forest (禁養地, 禁養林) practiced in the royal tomb forests, and Prohibition and Imposition Forests, which contained prohibition landmarks (Geumpyo) made of stone and rock on the boundaries. A culturo-social forestry, in which Sajik altar, royal tomb forests, Whangjang pine Prohibition and Imposition forests and the capital Inner-four and Outer-four mountain forests consist, was being put into practice in Joseon. In Joseon dynastry, the Neo-Confucian faith and royal rituals with geomancy, folk religion, and Buddhism incorporated has also played a critical humanistic role for the culturo-social pine forestry, the one higher in values than that of the economic pine forestry. The implications have been extracted from the historical case study on the Royal-Sajik tree and culturo-social forestry of Joseon : Cultural sustainability, in which the interaction between humans and environment maintains a long-term culturo-natural equilibrium or balance for many generations, emphasizes the importance that the modern humans who form and conserve environment need to rediscover and transform their culturo-natural legacy into conservation for many generations and produce knowledge of sustainability science, the transdisciplinary knowledge for the interaction between environment and humans, which fulfills the cultural, social and spiritual needs.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.25-34
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• 2020

This study examined the definition and major values, the designated procedures and types, and the designation trend in Korean scenic sites and national parks in the United States. Based on this, the analysis of the characteristics of the designation of the two natural heritages. The results are as follows; First, Scenic Sites has characteristics of complex heritage that includes academic, historical, and humanities values on the basis of landscape. As a natural heritage based on public nature, the U.S. National Park aims to contribute to the people's natural heritage and satisfy both ecological and historical values through the protection of the landscape. Second, the designation of a scenic sites are decided through deliberation by the Cultural Heritage Committee after the request of the owner, manager, or local government or by the authority of the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration. The designated survey is divided into basic resource surveys and resource surveys by type. Since the initial designation of the Sogeumgang Mountain in Cheonghakdong, Myeongju in 1970, the number of designated scenic sites was low until the 2000s, but the number of designated scenic sites has increased rapidly since 2006 due to the policy to promote the scenic site, and the proportion of natural and historical and cultural scenic sites has been balanced. The designation of the U.S. national park is decided by the Congress or the president, and the National Park Service makes a series of decisions on whether to conduct a special resource study of provisional resources through a preliminary inspection survey, whether to satisfy the criteria for designation of national parks based on the results of special resource research, and to prioritize them. The U.S. National Parks have been expanded not only by Congress but also by the president's empowerment to designate them as national monuments. With the integrated operation of the National Park Service, the number of designated cases increased as the national park included the heritage sites under the control of various ministries. In addition, a number of historical areas were designated by the enactment of the Historical Site Act, and recreational areas were designated to provide leisure space and classified and managed in a total of 18 units. Third, the comparison of the designation characteristics of the two heritage properties confirmed that the designation of natural heritage with complex value, the classification of types according to complementary designation system and resource characteristics, the establishment of the competent ministry and the balancing of the heritage according to the designation policy. The two heritages had the characteristics of complex natural heritages that met ecological, historical and academic values at the same time based on landscape and public nature. In addition, both countries have identified a system for deliberating the designation of heritage through a basic resource survey and an in-depth designation survey, and classified each type according to the characteristics of the resource. In addition, the policies for promoting scenic sites in Korea and the integrated operation of the National Park Service in the U.S. influenced the designated aspects of the two heritage sites, balancing natural heritage with historical and cultural heritage. Fourth, the resource types and conservation management methods of Scenic site and National Park were largely related. The natural areas of the U.S. National Park include types of natural monuments in Korea as major resources, and have characteristics similar to natural scenic sites. In addition, historical resources were similar to the criteria for designation of historical and cultural scenic sites in terms of landscape, and the aspects of war and celebrity-related relics were related to the types of historic sites. In terms of conservation management, the natural area of the U.S. national park has a way of keeping the original ecosystem intact, but the Korean natural heritage protection system is likely to be useful for focusing on the resource of viscosity. Meanwhile, historical resources include historical sites and historical and cultural scenic sites in the traditional era, but historical relics in the U.S. National Parks have set a time limit to modern times for war history and celebrity-related relics, and the active provision of entertainment programs based on existing resources was derived as a difference.