• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.264-274
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• 2020

Background: Climate change has altered the various ecosystem processes including forest ecosystem in Himalayan region. Although the high mountain natural forests including treelines in the Himalayan region are mainly reported to be temperature sensitive, the temperature-related water stress in an important growth-limiting factor for middle elevation mountains. And there are very few evidences on growth performance of planted forest in changing climate in the Himalayan region. A dendrochronological study was carried out to verify and record the impact of warming temperature tree growth by using the tree cores of Pinus roxburghii from Batase village of Dhulikhel in Central Nepal with sub-tropical climatic zone. For this total, 29 tree cores from 25 trees of P. roxburghii were measured and analyzed. Result: A 44-year long tree ring width chronology was constructed from the cores. The result showed that the radial growth of P. roxburghii was positively correlated with pre-monsoon (April) rainfall, although the correlation was not significant and negatively correlated with summer rainfall. The strongest negative correlation was found between radial growth and rainfall of June followed by the rainfall of January. Also, the radial growth showed significant positive correlation with that previous year August mean temperature and maximum temperature, and significant negative correlation between radial growth and maximum temperature (Tmax) of May and of spring season (March-May), indicating moisture as the key factor for radial growth. Despite the overall positive trend in the basal area increment (BAI), we have found the abrupt decline between 1995 and 2005 AD. Conclusion: The results indicated that chir pine planted population was moisture sensitive, and the negative impact of higher temperature during early growth season (March-May) was clearly seen on the radial growth. We emphasize that the forest would experience further moisture stress if the trend of warming temperatures continues. The unusual decreasing BAI trend might be associated with forest management processes including resin collection and other disturbances. Our results showed that the planted pine forest stand is sub-healthy due to major human intervention at times. Further exploration of growth climate response from different climatic zones and management regimes is important to improve our understanding on the growth performance of mid-hill pine forests in Nepal.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Rural Architecture
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.27-36
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• 2022

Currently the population of rural areas in Korea continue to decline due to low birth rate, aging population, and migration. This phenomenon is accelerated over time. And as a result, there are some declining phenomenon in rural society. And it is same in the residential and basic living conditions of rural villages. The increase ratio of empty houses exacerbates the rural landscape, acts as a cause of crime and bring out various social and economic problems such as worsening settlement conditions and local slums. The study is carried out to prevent this phenomenon by investigating the architectural contents of empty houses in the village, surveyed residents and owners and finally analyzed and synthesized to make a plan to utilize empty houses in the village. This study was conducted from June to December 2021. The conclusions are followings: 1. The empty houses in Korea were 1,511 million in 2020, 8.2% of the total number of houses, whereas those in Jeollabuk-do were 95,412, 12.9% of those of houses, and those in Gimje-city, the subject of this study, were 5,944. It is up to 15.8%. In particular, empty houses in Hacheon village, the site of this study, accounted for the highest ratio, with 25% of the total number of houses. 2. To understand the utilization and improvement of empty houses, surveys and interviews were conducted to residents and owners of Hacheon village in Gimje, and most of the residents submit proposals that empty houses were not desirable in terms of village landscape and safety. The owners don't have intentions of selling or leasing them. They want to remodel them and rent for a specific period. 3. As the physical condition of the empty houses(9empty houses) 6 empty houses of them are good. 4 of them are in poor condition. 4. By synthesizing these contents, nine empty houses in Hacheon village will be remodeled as the space for those of rural start-up young people, smart farm area, community space and rental housings for rural returnees.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.25-38
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• 2022

Urban problems are constantly occurring around the world due to rapid industrialization and population decline. In particular, as the number of vacant houses is gradually increasing as the population decreases, it is necessary to prepare countermeasures. A plan to utilize vacant houses has emerged to restore the natural environment of the urban ecosystem where forest destruction, damage to habitats of wild animals and plants, and disconnection have occurred due to large-scale development. Through connectivity analysis, it is possible to understand the overall ecosystem flow based on the movement of species and predict the effect when vacant houses are converted into green spaces. Therefore, this study analyzed the green area network to confirm the possibility of greening of vacant houses neglected in Jeonju based on circuit theory. Using Circuitscape and Least-cost path, we tried to identify the connectivity of green areas and propose an ecological axis based on the analysis. In order to apply the resistance values required for analysis based on previous studies, the 2020 subdivision land cover data were integrated into the major classification evaluation items. When the eight forests in the target site were analyzed as the standard, the overall connectivity and connectivity between forests in the area were high, so it is judged that the existing green areas can perform various functions, such as species movement and provision of habitats. Based on the results of the connectivity analysis, the importance of vacant houses was calculated and the top 20 vacant houses were identified, and it was confirmed that the higher the ranking, the more positive the degree of landscape connectivity was when converted to green areas. In addition, it was confirmed that the results of analyzing the least-cost path based on the resistance values such as connectivity analysis and the existing conceptual map showed some differences when comparing the ecological axes in the form. As a result of checking the vacant houses corresponding to the relevant axis based on the width standards of the main and sub-green areas, a total of 30 vacant houses were included in the 200m width and 6 vacant houses in the 80m width. It is judged that the conversion of vacant houses to green space can contribute to biodiversity conservation as well as connectivity between habitats of species as it is coupled with improved green space connectivity. In addition, it is expected to help solve the problem of vacant houses in the future by showing the possibility of using vacant houses.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.375-383
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• 2023

To determine the cause of the population decline in Gobiobotia naktongensis, substrate preference and burying behaviour were investigated in this study. In general, the species was shown to prefer a substrate size of 1 mm or less, depending on the flow. In addition, the burying depth varied according to the size of the fish and increased with a decrease in water temperature. Our findings showed that the main cause of the population reduction was the physical changes in the substrate structure due to the dams or barrages construction. Notably, the accumulation of silt and mud in the substrate upon the formation of an upstream lentic water region for structural construction and bed armouring caused by scouring and reduced downstream inflow of fine sediment were deterministic in the fish habitat changes, causing problems in burying. As sand substrate structure is critical for the survival and inhabitation of psammophilous species, efficient strategies should be developed with proper habitat management to reduce the anthropogenic damage

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.14-29
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• 2024

As a part of domestic and international 'Time-Urban Planning,' the concept of 'n-minute city' is being discussed. However, relevant research in this area remains insufficient. Particularly in South Korea, studies focusing on n-minute cities based on accessibility are notably lacking. Therefore, this study aims to investigate Changwon City, dividing it into urban and non-urban areas. For each of the eight different aspects of 'Living SOC', we analyze accessibility and propose fundamental directions for creating n-minute cities in Changwon. The data are collected at a 100×100m cell level, including population and the location of SOC facilities. The road network data are also constructed, and the network analysis method of QGIS employed to measure accessibility to each facility. The results indicate that in urban areas, the average travel time to Living SOC is approximately 12 minutes. However, even within urban areas, locations on the outskirts take around 16 minutes, showing some variation compared to the city center. Non-urban areas have an average travel time of about 18 minutes, indicating poor accessibility. Additionally, there is significant variability in travel time to facilities depending on the specific cell in non-urban areas, necessitating targeted solutions. Considering the ongoing population decline in South Korea, achieving n-minute cities requires not only reconsidering customized facility supply and placement based on regional characteristics but also fundamentally restructuring urban spaces through strategies such as compact cities to optimize land use.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.120-132
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• 2022

Recently, the rapid increase in vacant houses in urban areas has caused various problems such as worsening urban landscape, causing safety accidents, crime accidents, and hygiene problems. According to the Statistics Korea Future Population Estimation results, the growth rate of Korean population and households is expected to continue to decrease, which is likely to lead to an increase in the occurrence of vacant houses. If the problem caused by the occurrence of vacant houses is neglected, it causes not only a physical decline such as a deterioration of the residential environment but also a social and economic decline. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to grasp the spatial distribution characteristics of vacant houses at the local level considering the existence of regional characteristics and spatial influence. Therefore, in this study, in order to measure global spatial autocorrelation, the analysis was conducted centering on the old downtown area of Busan, where there are many vacant houses through Moran's I and Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR). In addition, the distribution of vacant houses in different spatial units in Eup_Myeon_Dong and Census was analyzed to evaluate the possibility of Modifiable Areal Unit Problem(MAUP), which differ in the results of spatial analysis as the spatial analysis units change. As a result of the analysis, the occurrence of vacant houses by Eup_Myeon_Dong in the old downtown area of Busan had spatial heterogeneity, and the spatial analysis results of vacant houses were different as the spatial analysis units were different. Accordingly, in order to understand the exact distribution characteristics of vacant house occurrence, spatial dimensions using the GWR model should be considered, and it is suggested that consideration of the MAUP is necessary.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.358-367
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• 1983

Antibiotic-resistant strains of Salmonella typhimurium and Klebsiella pneumoniae died readily after their addition to raw sewage, but they grew in sterilized sewage. The decline was not a result of antibiotic stresses, and because the bacteria were able to survive in large numbers for at least 15 days in solutions containing no organic nutrients, it was not a result of competition. Toxin production, bacteriophages, and Bdellovibrio did not cause the disappearance of the two bacterial species. A decline was also evident if the sewage was first passed through a $3-{\mu}m$ filter or treated with cycloheximide or cycloheximide plus nystatin, but protozoa developed under these conditions. Little or no decline occurred if the sewage was filtered and treated with the eucaryotic inhibitors before adding S. typhimurium or K. pneumoniae, and protozoa were not detected. S. typhimurium increased in abundance if cycloheximide, streptomycin, and erythromycin or large amounts of glucose were added to sewage. Tetrahymena thermophilus did not significantly reduce the population of S. typhimurium in buffer when the density of the bacterium was about $10^4/ml$. However, when more than $10^8$ Enterobacter agglomerans cells per ml were added to the buffer, T. thermophilus reduced the abundance of E. agglomerans and S. typhimurium to $10^6$ and 10/ml, respectively. The density of S. typhimurium was further decreased by a second increment of E. agglomerans cells. The disappearance of S. typhimurium and K. pneumoniae from sewage thus is the result of predation by protozoa. It is proposed that predators will eliminate a prey species from a natural environment when an alternate prey is present at concentrations above the threshold number for active feeing by the predator and when the rate of growth of the prey is less than the rate of predation.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.101-130
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• 2012

This study examines mortality change in North Korea and its association with state production and welfare systems. Two main subjects are analyzed. The first theme is to examine the reliability of mortality related data released by North Korea government authorities. Examining inner consistencies among mortality related statistics and comparing with mortality trends in other socialist societies, the study finds that mortality rate was under estimated. Under-estimation of mortality by North Korean authorities is regarded to result not only from political purpose which aims to propagate the regime's superiority but also from enumeration errors of vital statistics based on the residence registration. The second theme is to estimate the change in mortality of North Korean people since the establishment of DPRK, correcting errors of mortality data. Mortality of North Korean people is estimated to have improved largely by the early 1970s, to have been sluggish hereafter, and finally to have increased during the economic hardship period between 1993 and 2008. While large people died during the food crisis in the late 1990s, however the population loss caused by mortality increase was not so great as the proposition of the huge starvation was expected. It is partly because population turbulence occurred not just by mortality increase, rather it has progressed in the joint effects of fertility decline and exodus of North Korean people for food. It is also due to North Korean people's voluntary activities of informal economy. It is also worth noting the high mortality rate of North Korean men. The high mortality of North Korean men is likely due to men's mobilization for long time in army and labor with high risk of accident and their life styles.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.59 no.3
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• pp.369-374
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• 2014

The rice stem borer (Chilo suppressalis Walker) was one of the most destructive pest of rice for the 1960s and 1970s in Korea. Recently, it is newly recognized as a potential risk factor to the biomass yield of bioenergy crops. The current research was firstly conducted to investigate overwintering larvae population density and pattern of rice stem borer attacking Miscanthus sacchariflorus cv. Geodae 1 which is referred to as an ideal lignocellulosic bioenergy crop in Korea. Population density of larvae per $1m^2$ in stems and rhizomes at the Miscanthus experimental plots and rates of damage (wormhole, abscission) of M. sacchariflorus cv. Goedae 1 were investigated from October 2012 to March 2013. The population of larvae per $1m^2$ in stems of Miscanthus were 23, 4, 1, and 1 in October, November, December 2012, and January 2013, respectively. Over the same period, the population of larvae in basal stem rots and rhizomes were increased, whereas decreased in stems. Interestingly, the positions of larvae for overwintering in Miscanthus were confirmed to 5~10 cm below the soil surface such as basal stem rot and rhizome, whereas the most common overwintering position known in rice is a part of stem on the ground such as rice straw and rice stubble. It would suggest that the larvae gradually moved to bottom of stems and rhizomes in soil in line with decline in temperature. Moreover, the damage rates of stems per $1m^2$ were up to more than 50% in some places. In conclusion, this might be the first report that rice stem borer could affect the productivity of biomass of Miscanthus in case of mass cultivation. Moreover, it should be necessary to make a decision in insect control management for this bioenergy feedstock and other related crops.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.1-18
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• 1996

This study examines the spatial characteristics of postal office patronage in rural areas. in the light of future possible relocation and closures of the postal facilities. Most of private services have flown out small rural central places due to the decrease of supporting population, and there consequently remain only a few public services including government-run post offices at the Myon seats, the lowest level among rural central places in Korea. The small local population and its further decline undermine the rationale for maintaining such public services in depleted rural areas. For the worse of it, the government recently plans to transform the postal system to a quasi-private, corporational structure. One can fear that the profit-seeking nature of the new postal corporation will inevitably force to close many of such small rural facilities. The study first analysed nation-wide censuses of postal offices for the years of 1986 and 1992. The postal services examined are per capita number of postal stamps and revenue stamps sold, and letters, parcels, telegrams and monetary transactions handled at the post offices. It is found that, while the usage of postal services has increased substantially throughout the nation during the period of 1986-1992, the increment has largely been occurred by urban post offices rather than by those in Gun seats (i.e., rural counties); and that the gap of the service levels between urban and rural post offices is ever widening. The study further examined the service differentials among the post offices within rural counties to find that those post offices adjacent to the county (Gun) seats and larger urban centers rendered less amount of services than remote rural post offices, indicating that rural residents tend to partonize larger centers more and more than local Myon seats. At the second stage of the study, questionnaire surveys were conducted in Muju, Kimpo, and Hongsung-Gun's. These three counties are meant to represent respectively the remote, suburban, and intermediary counties in Korea. The analyses of survey data reveal that the postal hinterlands of the county seats extend to much of nearby Myons, the subdivisions of a Gun. It is also found that the extent of postal hinterlands of the three counties and the magnitude of patronage and quite different from each other depending upon the topography, population density, and the propinquity of the counties to metropolitan centers. The findings suggest to reappraise the current flat allocation scheme of public facilites to each of rural subdivisions throughout the nation. A detailed analysis on the travel behavior of the survey respondents yields that age is the most salient variable to distinguish activity spaces of rural residents. The activity spaces of older respondents tend to be more limited within their Myon, whereas those of younger respondents extend across the Myon boundary, toward the central towns and even distant larger cities. The very existence of several activity spaces in rural areas calls for an attention in the future locational decisions of public facilities. The locational criteria, employed by the Ministry of Communication of Korean government to establish a post office, are the size of hinterland population and the distance from adjacent postal facilities. The present study findings suggest two additional criteria: the order in rural central place hierarchy and the propinquity to the upper-level centers of the central hierarchy. These old and new criteria are complementary each other in that the former criteria are employed to determine new office locations, whereas the latter are appropriate to determine facility relocation and closures.