• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.751-761
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• 2014

This study was carried out to analyze the vegetation properties, soil characteristics and ordination of Rhododendron brachycarpum population in South Korea. Rhododendron brachycarpum were mainly distributed along the Ulleungdo and Baekdudaegan of the Korean penninsula and it's population was located at an elevation of 872m to 1466m. The Rhododendron brachycarpum population was classified into Taxus cuspidata var. latifolia dominant population, Magnolia sieboldii dominant population, Thuja koraiensis dominant population and Rhododendron brachycarpum typical population. The composition of soil properties in the same areas are as follows: organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorous, exchangeable $K^+$, exchangeable $Ca^{2+}$, exchangeable $Mg^{2+}$ contained, and soil pH. The capacities of these chemical properties of the soil ranged from 10.45~15.28%, 0.37~0.61%, $0.21{\sim}0.35cmol^+/kg$, $0.39{\sim}2.54cmol^+/kg$, $0.17{\sim}0.50cmol^+/kg$, $18.28{\sim}22.81cmol^+/kg$ and 4.66~5.23 respectively. The results of the correlation between communities and soil conditions of vegetation of Rhododendron brachycarpum by DCCA ordination method are as follows: Taxus cuspidata var. latifolia dominant population was found in the very steep sloped area that has low percentage of total organic matter and nitrogen than other populations. Magnolia sieboldii dominant population and Thuja koraiensis dominant population was found in the steep sloped area that has high percentage of total organic matter and nitrogen than other populations. Thuja koraiensis dominant population was found in the gentle sloped area that has high percentage of altitudinal and rock exposure. Current status of Rhododendron brachycarpum is very vulnerable with a collection of herbs constantly threatening the species' survival. Thus, concrete conservation plans to protect natural habitats should be set up as soon as possible.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.208-219
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• 2009

This study is to establish a management method for conservation through comparison and analysis on vegetation structures of Pinus densiflora forest around Beopjusa area for past 17-year. The spatial range of the study was $3.6km^2$ from maintenance office to Beopjusa area. The analysis results of the actual vegetation showed that the ratio of vegetation were composed of 64.7% of Pinus densiflora forest, 3.2% of mixed forest of P. densiflora and deciduous broadleaf trees and 5.9% of deciduous broadleaf tree community out of overall area, 360ha. The type of P. densiflora forest were categorized into four communities; community having high potential of succession, community having low potential of it, the community being in the process of succession and community being in the process of natural selection. The succession tendency was in order of the community having low potential of succession(P. densiflora forest), having high potential of it(P. densiflora forest which is deciduous broadleaf trees are dominating in sub-canopy layer), being in the process of succession(P. densiflora-Prunus sargentii and P. densiflora-Quercus serrata community) and being in the process of natural selection(Q. serrata-P. densiflora and Q. aliena-P. densiflora community). In terms of vegetation management, P. densiflora forest having high potential of succession was needed to remove deciduous broadleaf trees in the sub-canopy layer and the community being in the process of succession was required to be pruning the branch in the canopy layer. Lastly, the community being in the process of natural selection was suggested to let it be in succession, since it is hard to be in the status of P. densiflora Forest.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.182-191
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• 2023

This study was carried out to identify the distribution and growth characteristics and evaluate the conservation status of the Michelia compressa Maxim., a rare and endangered wild plant II, in the habitats in Korea. A total of 314 individuals were found in the natural habitats of Heuksan Island and Jeju Island and were divided into four populations. About 45.9% (144 individuals) were distributed in the range of 401m~500m above sea level. The average height of trees was 2.7(±4.8)m, the diameter at breast height was 12.6(±13.9)cm, and the number of branches was 1.0(±0.5) on average. 54.3% of the sapling individuals of M. compressa were distributed within a radius of 30 m from the mother tree, 25.8% were distributed between 31 m through 40 m, and most (90.1%) were distributed within a radius of 60 m. The fact that sapling individuals of M. compressa are not identified even around some mature individuals and appear only in extremely limited areas is estimated to be closely related to the growth conditions as well as the environment of the natural habitats. The dispersal of M. compressa is presumed to be related to the birds and natural seedlings because water puddles, a resting place for birds beyond the range of natural seedlings, characterize its habitats. The IUCN Red List evaluation criteria at the regional and national level of M. compressa corresponds to the Critically Endangered category, and the domestic population under the category of "CR B2ab(v); C2a(i); D."

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.305-314
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• 2008

As forest land takes up 65% of the Korean peninsula, there have been continuing conflicts between the development and conservation of forest land. As the income level has changed over time, the usage of forest land in society has changed. There has been increasing demands for forest land for urban development and recreational use. On the other hand, a large proportion of the land is required to be preserved for the forest and the natural ecosystem in it. The existing management system for the forest land has been designed focusing on the management of the trees on the land, and not the land itself. Due to this limitation, the current management system of forest land has failed to protect the forest land from being developed indiscreetly, making it difficult to conserve and develop the forest land in an efficient way. A major question in forest land management is how to integrate economic use activities with the supporting ecosystems to maximize performance of the ecological-economic system. In order to promote sustainable use of forest resources, and to achieve efficient forest land management, it is prerequisite to evaluation on forest resources of natural ecosystems. Quantitative measures are needed that signify how necessary the services and products of forested ecosystems are to human endeavors. In this study, the natural wealth provided by forest land was quantified based on emergy synthesis. Emergy is a universal measure of real wealth of the work of nature and society made on a common basis. Thus, Calculations of emergy provide a basis for making choices about environment and economy following the general public policy to maximize real wealth. The goals of forest land management to achieve balance between the ecology and economy of its integrated system and to foster equity among the diverse outcomes of the forest land were assessed with emergy. Emergy was demonstrated to holistically integrated and quantify the interconnections of a coupled nature-human system allowing the goals of ecological balance and outcome equity to be measured quantitatively. Doing so will provide a better understanding of the basis of forest land wealth and the consequences of management decisions.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.72-83
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• 2015

A plant diversity, which consists of indigenous plant community with Orientla thuja community (Natural monument no. 1) in Dodong, Daegu, is identified and analyzed as ecological characteristic to consider worth plants and vegetation resource of the region. The vascular plants of Thuja orientalis community were listed as 219 taxa (3.7% of all 4,881 taxa of Korean vascular plants); 67 families, 147 genera, 199 species, 16 varieties, and 4 forms. Vulnerable species (VU) and least concerned species (LC) were recorded based on IUCN standard; Koelretueria paniculata (VU), Thuja orientalis (LC), and Exochorda serratifolia (LC). Although the study site is a non-limestone area, a total of 15 taxa of calciphilous plants were identified; Cheilanthes argentea, Hypodematium glandulosopilosum, Asplenium retamuraria, Thuja orientalis, Spiraea blumei, Smilax sieboldii, etc. A total of 4 taxa endemic plants were identified; Prunus mandshurica for. barbinervis, Lespedeza maximowiczii var. tomentella, Forythia koreana (artificial origin), and Veronica pyrethrina. Among the list, 8 taxa of naturalized plants were identified; Fallopia dentatoalalta, Rumex crispus, Nasturtium officinale, Bidens frondosa, Erigeron annuus etc. Naturalization rate (NR) was 3.6%, of all 219 taxa of vascular plants and urbanization index (UI) was 2.2% of all 321 taxa of naturalized plants. Thuja orientalis occupies a lot of indigenous landscape in this study area which is the southern-limited part of a natural distribution where it can survive. The T. orientalis community, where indigenous plants have formed a characterful species composition based on habitat, has been confirmed as a worth national vegetation resource in an indigeous flora. It has been considered of plans for persistent conservation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.75-86
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• 2004

This study aims to figure out ecological characteristic of natural forests focusing on vegetation as a way of ecological renovation for the restoration of naturalness for golf courses that were constructed in the Country and to present vegetation models and appropriate tree species for the purpose. The study site is P golf club, which is located in Gapyong-gun, Kyeonggi Province. The site is within a forest where the grade from the natural ecology map is the first one and the level from the green index accounts for the eight, thus showing a typical environment for a golf course in terms of location. The location of the site explains a reason for restoration. The major substance of the study is to conduct ecological evaluation of vegetation structures around and inside the golf course and to present a vegetation model. In order to evaluate the ecological characteristics of the vegetation structures, the analysis of the study covered succession stages, multi-layer vegetation structures and species diversity. Plant communities that have high species diversity were selected for the vegetation model and proper density and species were proposed considering the number of species and individuals and distances between trees. The vegetation restoration model targets succession into an oak forest. Within a unit of 100 $m^2$, the recommended model include a tall-tree layer with 11 trees such as Quercus serrata and Quercus mongolica, a sub-tall-tree layer with 12 trees including Quercus mongolica, Quercus serrata, Prunus sargentii, Fraxinus rhynchophylla and Acer pseudo sieboldianum, a shrub layer with 32 trees from 16 species, and a grass layer with a cover rate of 45 %. The proposed vegetation restoration model needs to apply to : 1) damaged natural forests by the construction of golf courses; 2) boundaries between golf courses and surrounding forests; 3) buffer zones; 4) open spaces in between courses; and 5) areas between greens and tees where open spaces are available in a mass. In conclusion, one of the most important factors in presenting a vegetation model for the restoration of naturalness in the golf course and other damaged forests is to provide multi-layer vegetation structures that are composed of native species. As for the specific application for the site, it is recommended to manage the vegetation in such a way that the environment of the site can have a similar environment to the surrounding forest which is expected to succeed into an oaks-dominant one.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.528-534
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• 2009

Styan's Grasshopper Warblers (Locustella pleskei) are vulnerable species distributed in East-Asia only. Its known breeding sites in Korea are remote islets including Hongdo Islet, Chilbal Islet, Mara Islet, and Chuja Islets, and, therefore, the breeding biology of this species is still poorly known. This study was conducted on Mara Islet (N $33^{\circ}$ 06', E $126^{\circ}$ 16') from May to September 2008 to investigate the breeding status and breeding site characteristics of the grasshopper warblers. A total of 11 breeding pairs and their nests were found on trees and shrubs at artificially planted forests and hedges of Pinus thunbergii. The grasshopper warblers preferentially utilized the shrub trees for nesting places, and major nesting trees were Camellia japonica, Pittosporum tobira and Pinus thunbergii as nesting trees. Average heights of nesting trees and nests were $2.77{\pm}1.10m$ and $1.75{\pm}0.56m$, respectively. The grasshopper warblers selected lower shrubs and trees for nesting than randomly selected ones around them, probably to avoid strong and prevailed winds in flat and un vegetated environments on Mara Islet. The shape of nests was a round bowl-type, and measurements of nests were $11.9{\pm}0.5cm$ in exterior nest diameter, $11.1{\pm}1.1cm$ in height of exterior nest, $5.8{\pm}0.4cm$ in interior nest depth, and 6.0cm in interior nest diameter. It incubated eggs until the early August on Mara islet, and incubation periods of Mara Islet was possibly later than that of other areas. Furthermore, the clutch size in the study area was three, and they laid smaller number of eggs than normal clutch size (4~5 eggs) reported in other areas. Although we could not observe any nest predator on this species in the study area, selective cutting and pruning of trees will diminish dense shrub layer of forests. Therefore, it may affect the breeding of this threatened species which prefers dense shrubs of artificially planted forest of Pinus thunbergii. This study suggests that detailed and consistent further research on breeding biology and habitats of the grasshopper warblers are needed to conserve and manage of Pinus thunbergii forests on Mara Islet as an important breeding site of Styan's Grasshopper Warblers.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.937-944
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• 2017

To investigate the beneficial effects of fiber derived from agar on the lipid and glucose metabolism of obese model mice, changes in the fat accumulation, lipid content, and insulin concentration were measured in C57BL/6N mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) and treated with a beverage containing agar (BCA) for 9 weeks. The feed efficiency ratio was significantly decreased in the HFD+BCA treatment group, although the body weight and food intake were maintained a constant level. Also, the fat accumulation in the fatty tissue and liver were lower in the HFD+BCA treatment group than in the HFD+Vehicle treatment group. Furthermore, a significant decrease was detected in the levels of total cholesterol (TC) and LDL after the BCA treatment, while a constant HDL level was maintained in the same group. Moreover, the serum insulin concentration was significantly decreased in the HFD+BCALo (Low concentration) and HFD+BCAMi (Middle concentration) groups compared to the HFD+Vehicle group. Therefore, the results suggest that the long-term administration of dietary fiber from agar can improve fat accumulation in the fatty tissue and liver, the serum lipid profile, and the insulin concentration in the blood. Also, the results provide evidence that the inclusion of agar fiber in beverages results in significant hypolipidemic and hypoinsulinemic effects.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.27 no.9
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• pp.975-985
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• 2017

To investigate the beneficial effects of an agar gel mask (AGM) on UV-induced photoaging, SKH-1 hairless mice were treated with a topical application of AGM and an AGM dipped in essence (AGMdE). The mice were divided into an no radiation group, UV + AGM, UV + AGMdE, and UV + vehicle (PBS) treatment groups. Alterations in skin wrinkles, skin phenotype, histological structures, oxidative status, and toxicity were then evaluated during 4 weeks of exposure. The topical application of AGM and AGMdE inhibited wrinkle formation, suppressed the erythema index, prevented transepidermal water loss, and enhanced skin hydration. In addition, epidermal thickness recovered to a similar level as that in the no irradiation group in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups compared with the UV + vehicle (distilled water) group. Furthermore, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and tyrosinase were reduced in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups, although the highest level varied. Moreover, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was significantly lower in the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups as compared with the UV + vehicle group. No significant alterations induced by most toxic compounds were measured in serum biochemical markers and liver and kidney histological features of the UV + AGM and UV + AGMdE treatment groups. These results suggest that AGM may protect against skin aging by regulating skin morphology, histopathological structures, and oxidative conditions.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.338-349
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• 2022

This study aims to investigate whether modular community planting, which entailed planting a variety of species of seedlings at high density, was more effective in restoring natural forests than the existing mature tree planting. We also investigated whether the planting density of the modular community planting facilitates growth or improves the tree layer coverage. We conducted outdoor experiments in which the samples were divided into a mature tree planting plot (control plot), where mature trees were planted at wide intervals, and a modular community planting (MCP) plot (treatment plot), where multiple seedlings were planted in high density. The MCP plot was further divided into the plot in which 3 seedlings were planted per m² and the plot of 1 seedling per m². We measured the specimens' survival rate, growth rate (tree height, crown width, and root collar diameter), and cover rate for 26 months from May 2019 and the predicted future tree height growth using the measured tree height. The survival rate and relative growth rate of the MCP were higher than those of the mature tree planting plot. The vertical coverage rate of the tree crown in the MCP exhibited complete coverage of the ground before 23 months, while the coverage rate of the mature tree planting decreased due to transplantation stress. The seedlings in the MCP, which were planted at high density, grew well and were predicted to grow higher than the mature trees in the large tree planting plot within 5 to 6.5 years after planting. It was due to multiple species, seedlings, high-density planting, and planting foundation improvements, such as soil enhancement and mulching. In other words, the seedlings planted in the MCP had a higher survival rate as their environmental adaptation after planting was better, and their early growth was also larger than the trees in the mature planting plot. The high-density mixed planting of various native species not only mitigated the inter-complementary environmental pressures but also facilitated growth by inducing competition between species. Moreover, the planting foundation improvement effectively increased the seedlings' viability and growth rate. A reduction in follow-up management costs is expected as the tree layer coverage sharply increases due to the higher planting density. In the MCP (3 seedlings per m² and 1 seedling per m²), the tree height growth was promoted with the higher planting density, and the crown width and root collar diameter tended to be larger with the lower planting density, but these differences were not statistically significant.