• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.453-461
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• 2019

This study was conducted to monitor the soil characteristics and growth of Pinus densiflora and to determine the effect of soil characteristics on growth rate five years after an ecological restoration project in Baekdudaegan ridge including Ihwaryeong, Yuksimnyeong, and Beoljae sites. The ecological restoration project was executed with the forest of P. densiflora in 2012-2013. In April 2018, we collected soil samples from each site and measured the height and the diameter at breach height (DBH) of P. densiflora. Although there was no significant change of soil pH compared to the early stage of restoration (one year after the project), it was high in Ihwaryeong, and Beoljae with values of 7.7 and 6.4, respectively. Also, the organic matter decreased by 70-80%, and the available phosphorus (P) was unchanged in three restoration sites. The decreased organic matter can be attributed to restriction of inflow and thus decomposition of litter in the early stage after the restoration. The tree height growth rate ($m\;yr^{-1}$) of P. densiflora in Yuksimnyeong was the highest at 1.02, followed by Beolja at 0.75 and Ihwaryeong at 0.17. The height growth rate showed negative relationships with soil pH and cations, including Na and Ca concentrations and a positive relationship with available phosphate. The low growth rate in the Ihwaryeong site, in particular, might result from the poor nutrient availability due to high soil pH and the decrease in water absorption into the root due to high Na and Ca concentrations. The substantial reduction of organic matter after five years indicates that the need for soil improvement using chemical fertilizer and biochar.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.103-134
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• 1977

The physiological and biochemical role of potassium for upland crops according to recent research reports and the nutritional status of potassium in Korea were reviewed. Since physical and chemical characteristics of potassium ion are different from those of sodium, potassium can not completely be replaced by sodium and replacement must be limited to minimum possible functional area. Specific roles of potassium seem to keep fine structure of biological membranes such as thylacoid membrane of chloroplast in the most efficient form and to be allosteric effector and conformation controller of various enzymes principally in carbohydrate and protein metabolism. Potassium is essential to improve the efficiency of phoro- and oxidative- phosphorylation and involve deeply in all energy required metabolisms especially synthesis of organic matter and their translocation. Potassium has many important, physiological functions such as maintenance of osmotic pressure and optimum hydration of cell colloids, consequently uptake and translocation of water resulting in higher water use efficiency and of better subcellular environment for various physiological and biochemical activities. Potassium affects uptake and translocation of mineral nutrients and quality of products. potassium itself in products may become a quality criteria due to potassium essentiality for human beings. Potassium uptake is greatly decreased by low temperature and controlled by unknown feed back mechanism of potassium in plants. Thus the luxury absorption should be reconsidered. Total potassium content of upland soil in Korea is about 3% but the exchangeable one is about 0.3 me/100g soil. All upland crops require much potassium probably due to freezing and cold weather and also due to wet damage and drought caused by uneven rainfall pattern. In barley, potassium should be high at just before freezing and just after thawing and move into grain from heading for higher yield. Use efficiency of potassium was 27% for barley and 58% in old uplands, 46% in newly opened hilly lands for soybean. Soybean plant showed potassium deficiency symptom in various fields especially in newly opened hilly lands. Potassium criteria for normal growth appear 2% $K_2O$ and 1.0 K/(Ca+Mg) (content ratio) at flower bud initiation stage for soybean. Potassium requirement in plant was high in carrot, egg plant, chinese cabbage, red pepper, raddish and tomato. Potassium content in leaves was significantly correlated with yield in chinese cabbage. Sweet potato. greatly absorbed potassium subsequently affected potassium nutrition of the following crop. In the case of potassium deficiency, root showed the greatest difference in potassium content from that of normal indicating that deficiency damages root first. Potatoes and corn showed much higher potassium content in comparison with calcium and magnesium. Forage crops from ranges showed relatively high potassium content which was significantly and positively correlated with nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium content. Percentage of orchards (apple, pear, peach, grape, and orange) insufficient in potassium ranged from 16 to 25. The leaves and soils from the good apple and pear orchards showed higher potassium content than those from the poor ones. Critical ratio of $K_2O/(CaO+MgO)$ in mulberry leaves to escape from winter death of branch tip was 0.95. In the multiple croping system, exchangeable potassium in soils after one crop was affected by the previous crops and potassium uptake seemed to be related with soil organic matter providing soil moisture and aeration. Thus, the long term and quantitative investigation of various forms of potassium including total one are needed in relation to soil, weather and croping system. Potassium uptake and efficiency may be increased by topdressing, deep placement, slow-releasing or granular fertilizer application with the consideration of rainfall pattern. In all researches for nutritional explanation including potassium of crop yield reasonable and practicable nutritional indices will most easily be obtained through multifactor analysis.