• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.255-263
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• 2021

Background: Ecosystem service mapping is an important tool for decision-making in landscape planning and natural resource management. Today, pollination service mapping is based on the Lonsdorf model (InVEST software) that determines the availability of nesting and floral resources for each land cover and estimates pollination according to the foraging range of the desired species. However, it is argued that the Lonsdorf model has significant limitations in estimating pollination in a landscape that can affect the results of this model. Results: This paper presents a free software, named PollMap, that does not have the limitations of the Lonsdorf model. PollMap estimates the pollination service according to a modified version of the Lonsdorf model and assumes that only cells within the flight range of bees are important in the pollination mapping. This software is produced for estimating and mapping crop pollination in agricultural landscapes. The main assumption of this software is that in the agricultural landscapes, which are dominated by forest and agriculture ecosystems, forest patches serve only as a nesting habitat for wild bees and the surrounding fields provide floral resources. Conclusion: The present study provided new software for mapping crop pollination in agricultural landscapes that does not have the limitations of the Lonsdorf model. We showed that the use of the Lonsdorf model for pollination mapping requires attention to the limitations of this model, and by removing these limitations, we will need new software to obtain a reliable mapping of pollination in agricultural landscapes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.29-41
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• 2020

Wild pollinators provide important pollination services for crops. However, their geographical ranges and impact on pollination services have not been fully explored within the scope of Korean agricultural land. This study aims to identify spatial supply-demand mismatches across orchard fields in the context of assessing pollination service risk. We first used National Ecosystem Survey data and a species distribution model (MaxEnt) to develop the geographic range of each of 32 wild pollinators belonging to three families (Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera). We then summed the modeled presence probability of each species to obtain a measure of spatially explicit pollinator richness. This modeled richness, defined as pollination supply, was compared with the summed area of orchard fields at the municipal boundary level to identify areas with supply-demand mismatches. The study found that Lepidoptera showed the highest species richness (8.3±1.5), followed by Hymenoptera (4.3±0.8) and Diptera (3.5±0.8) species. Median orchard area was 1.5 ㎢ (range of 0-176.7 ㎢) among 250 municipal regions in South Korea. The municipal regions were divided into three categories (tertiles) of low, middle, and high pollination supply and demand according to, respectivley, average polliator richness and orhard area. Finally, we found that 55 municipal regions (accounting for 49% of national orchard land) potentially faced high risk of pollination deficits, 81 regions (48% of national orchard land) faced intermediate risk, and 63 regions faced low risk (3% of national orchard land). In conclusion, this study revealed significant mismatch between pollination supply and demand and developed risk assessment map will guide our future efforts on pollinator habitat conservation and monitoring to conserve crop pollination services.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.25-36
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• 2021

The honey bee has a crucial ecological status for maintaining the natural ecology system. Pollination mediations by honey bees are recognized as an efficient way to enhance the quality of biological diversity and green areas in the nature and the urban ecological system. However, the population of bee around the world is decreasing and we do not know exactly how bees react to the physical environment in the urban area. This study is a basic research for the improvement of pollination services in the Korean urban ecological system. It aims to induce and review environmental variables which have high relations with the activities of pollination mediation insects in the urban area. The study established a Maxent model using five urban environmental variables that reflect the ecology of Bombus ignitus and the place information where Bombus ignitus appears in 18 spots of Seoul city, and compared with previous research results on Apis millifera. Bombus ignitus preferred places with more natural environments such as mountain forest areas and vicinities of streams. They preferred Stratified Tree Area the most among the vegetation types existing in the urban area. Comparing chicken models, both species saw their response value drop as the building coverage rose. In the case of Apis millifera and Bombus ignitus variables, the response value of both species was high in 10 out of 20 types. The result of this study is expected to provide basic information for improving the pollination services in the Korean urban area and to be utilized as the basic materials for the future urban planning.

• Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.207-213
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• 2022

An effective pollinator was investigated based on visiting insects to confirm the pollination mechanism of Impatiens furcillata Hemsl. (cheo-jin-mul-bong-seon), an annual herb that is also a species endemic to Korea that has hardly been studied in relation to pollination ecology. The insects that visited the group of I. furcillata studied here consisted of four orders, 11 families, and 16 species; Hymenoptera had seven species (43.8%), Lepidoptera had four (25.0%), Diptera four (25.0%), and Hemiptera one (6.2%). Visiting insects were divided into those that took only nectar, those that took nectar and pollen, and those that took neither. Insects that are effective for pollination are judged considering the length and body type of their mouth parts, and Amegilla florea Smith (huin-jul-beol) is judged to be the most effective pollinator in the survey area. As a result of observing pollination behavior, when visiting a flower, A. florea, which extended its glossa, approached the front, landed on a wing petal of I. furcillata, crawled into the flower tube, and then backed up and reversed its steps, with pollen adhered to its back. The findings here present basic information about species biology related to both I. furcillata and A. florea.

• Mycobiology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.249-257
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• 2021

Plants pollination are conducted through various pollinators such as wind, animals, and insects. Recently, the necessity for artificial pollination is drawing attention as the proportion of natural pollinators involved is decreasing over the years. Likewise, the trade in pollen for artificial pollination is also increasing worldwide. Through these imported pollens, many unknown microorganisms can flow from foreign countries. Among them, spores of various fungi present in the particles of pollen can be dispersed throughout the orchard. Therefore, in this study, the composition of fungal communities in imported pollen was revealed, and potential ecological characteristics of the fungi were investigated in four types of imported pollen. Top 10 operational taxonomic unit (OTU) of fungi were ranked among the following groups: Alternaria sp., Cladosporium sp., and Didymella glomerata which belong to many pathogenic species. Through FUNGuild analysis, the proportion of OTUs, which is assumed to be potentially plant pathogens, was higher than 50%, except for apple pollen in 2018. Based on this study of fungal structure, this information can suggest the direction of the pollen quarantine process and contribute to fungal biology in pollen

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.173-181
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• 2024

Background: Pollination is an ecosystem service of utmost importance for agriculture. In this context, the study aimed to evaluate the pollination service of naturally occurring bees and after densification with colonies of stingless bees (Nannotrigona testceicornis and Tetragonisca angustula) in commercial strawberry plantation. The study was carried out in the four seasons of the year and under two experimental conditions: natural pollination (NP) and pollination under bee densification. The supply of flowers and bee density were estimated. For bee densification, four boxes of colonies of Iraí bees and four of Jataí bees were placed near the strawberry plantation. Five treatments were established for each condition, considering NP and pollination with bee densification on different days from flower anthesis, ranging from the 1st to the 5th day. Fruits were harvested, quantified, and submitted to evaluations to determine biometry, degree of deformity, and percentage of fertilized achenes. Results: There was a higher density in summer compared to other seasons in both conditions evaluated. The weight was greater (20.19 g) when fruits were pollinated on the first day after floral anthesis under pollination conditions with bee densification. It was observed that free pollination provided fruits with greater a greater of deformation of flowers on the fourth and fifth day after anthesis. However, when bee density became higher, the greatest degree of deformity was observed only in fifth-day fruits. The densification with stingless bees provided a 50% increase in the number of bees present on strawberry plants in summer and also a 15% increase in fruit weight and the occurrence of a lower degree of fruit deformity. Conclusions: Density with stingless bees provided a 50% increase in the number of bees present on strawberry plant in the summer, with an improvement in fruit quality and aggregate commercial value, providing a 15% increase in fruit weight and a lower degree of deformity under the conditions of densification of Iraí (N. testceicornis) and Jataí (T. angustula) bees. Under the evaluated conditions, the introduction of stingless bee boxes in the summer is recommended.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.654-663
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• 2019

Pollinators, which are important organisms in pollination ecology, have been highly valued for their economic contributions to crop production in the agricultural and biotechnology industries. As the production of over 70% of farm products, such as fruits, are mediated by pollinators, bees are important and useful insects to humans. However, pollinators are now seriously threatened with their numbers decreasing annually and their biodiversity being negatively affected by ongoing climate change, misuse of land, change of geographical features, and use of pesticides to increase agricultural production. Thus, surveys and analyses of the emergence and distribution of wild bees are important for conservation and management practices designed to help them continue to play their ecological and agricultural roles despite negative pressures, such as climate and topography changes. We surveyed pollinators, especially wild bees, at 51 research sites in South Korea every two to four weeks for two years from 2017 to 2018 using ez-Malaise traps and analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution of wild bees. The bees showed a normal temporal distribution that peaked between July and August. The bees' working period lasted until November. The spatial distribution of wild bees showed a significant correlation with latitude, and different bees were identified depending on the local habitat. No significant correlation was found for longitudinal distribution with regression analysis (p > 0.05), but this study identified locally specific wild bees. Although we could not predict significant distribution according to longitude, Further studies should be able to analyze the difference in the distribution of wild bees according to the climate, topography, and land-use patterns by humans. The results of this study provide basic information on pollinator distribution, which can be useful in agriculture and for the conservation and management of biodiversity in South Korean pollination ecology.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.85-96
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• 2020

The honeybee serves for most entomophilous flowers. They are a core species for maintaining the ecological system. Though the urban ecological system needs bees' mediation of pollination as well, we have little understanding on how the honeybee reacts to the physical environments of an urban city. This study is a basic research to enhance the potential environment for pollination in an urban area and aims to review the urban environmental variables which are highly linked to the pollination mediations by the honeybee. The study composed a Maxent model by adopting nine urban environmental variables and the locations of the Apis mellifera's appearances around 52 spots in Seoul. The variables reflect the ecology of the Apis mellifera. Of the urban environmental variables used for the model composition, six variables were found as not having meaningful correlations with the Apis mellifera's appearances and finally, building coverage, actual vegetation and land cover were selected as the appearance variables of the Apis mellifera. The AUC, the reliability indicator of the final model was 0.791 (sd=0.077). And the importance data of the variables used for the model were 55.6%, 27.9%, and 16.5% for building coverage, actual vegetation and land cover, respectively. The result of the study showed that the building coverage has the highest correlation with the appearance of the honeybee. And, as per the actual vegetation, the artificially tree planted area as well as the cultivated field and meadow in an urban area were functioning as the most important environmental conditions for the honeybee to be inhabitable. The study is expected to be utilized as the base material for the urban planning and park green area planning to enhance the potential environment for pollination in an urban area.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.408-421
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• 2019

This study estimated and analyzed the incremental profits to compare the imported buff-tailed bumblebees, Bombus terrestris, and their pollination alternatives. A result of the analysis showed that the incremental profit, which is defined as the sales revenue minus the common production cost, was higher when using pollinator insects than when using the artificial pollination and that the incremental costs were lower when using domestic bumblebees or artificial pollination than when using imported bumblebees or honeybees. The incremental profits of each alternative were 46,801 million won for imported bumblebees, 47,170 million won for domestic bumblebees, 46,975 million won for honeybees, and 29,839 million won for artificial pollination. The incremental profit means the accounting profit that can be realized from each alternative. However, not all of the accounting profits can be attributed to pollen-mediated alternatives since they include potential costs such as imputed rent or normal profits. Considering the opportunity costs, which are the potential costs, it appears that the alternative of using imported bumblebees can lead to an economic loss. It means that fruit and vegetable farmers can expect additional economic profits if they choose other alternatives instead of using imported bumblebees.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.381-384
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• 1998

Intersectional differences in anthocyanin composition were observed in a survey of floral anthocyanins of 27 species in genus Hibiscus (Malvaceae). The most common suits of floral anthocyanins were 3-xylosylglucosides and 3-glucosides of delphinidin and cyanidin in species of section Trichospermum, Fucaria, Trionum, Abelmoschus, and Ketmia. Cyanidin 3-sophoroside was the predominant anthocyanin in species of section Lilibiscus. Six common anthocyanidin 3-glucosides and corresponding malonates were detected only in the species of section Bombycella. These intersectional variation coincided generally with proposed sectional boundaries based on morphological characteristics. Anthocyanin composition was more complicated in self-incompatible species than in self-compatible species. The systematic significance of diverse anthocyanin profile was discussed in the aspect of pollination ecology.