• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.177-188
• /
• 2008

Attempts to develope designation criteria for ecological protected areas were made for rational and scientific designation and management of 'ecosystem and landscape conservation areas', 'wetland protection areas', 'special islands protection areas', and 'wildlife protected areas' which have been designated and managed by the Ministry of Environment. Through analysis of the requisites and criteria of IUCN, UNESCO, Natura 2000, the Ramsar convention, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany as well as various academic researches, evaluation items of the protected areas were classified into naturalness, biodiversity, ecosystem, and scientific values. These classification titles are reflection of Korean laws concerning the 4 protected areas described above. Of these items 'naturalness' is composed of 3 factors of wilderness, geomorphology and landscape, and vegetation. 'Biodiversity' is composed of the 5 factors of species diversity, endangered species, rare species, indigenous biological resources, and habitat of wetland wild animals. 'Ecosystem' is composed of 5 factors of typicalness, diversity, rarity, restoration ability, and degree of interference. All factors are scored using a 3 point scale of high, middle, or low and are then transformed into the numerical index for designating and zoning purposes. Conclusively, it is expected that the developed methodology will be highly applicable with field verifications.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.81-86
• /
• 2007

Human activities have enhanced the influx of heavy metals to aquatic ecosystem and hanged the abiotic environment such as the sediments supporting benthic organisms. The levels of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the benthic gastropod Oxyloma hirasei and the sediments around their habitat were investigated to examine heavy metal levels and the potential of the gastropod as a bioindicator. We detected different levels of heavy metals in the sediments of two wetland areas, Upo and Mokpo, in the relatively well-conserved Upo wetland, Ramsar Convention Area. Oxyloma hirasei had higher concentrations of heavy metals except Cr and Ni in their soft tissues than in their shells (Cd: $2.10{\sim}3.16$, Cu: $19.73{\sim}28.66$, Pb: $0.67{\sim}1.17$, Zn: $216.1{\sim}285.7\;{\mu}g/g$ dry weight in the soft tissues; Cr: $1.19{\sim}2.58$, Ni: $0.47{\sim}1.16\;{\mu}g/g$ dry weight in the shells). Differences in the Cd, Cu, Ni and Pb concentrations in O. hirasei soft tissues reflected differences in heavy metal concentrations in the sediments at the sampling sites. The coefficients of variation for Cd, Cu and Pb were lower than those for other metals in the soft tissues. Levels of Cd in the tissues of O. hirasei were the highest among the metals examined in this study. Therefore, the soft tissue of O. hirasei appears to be a promising bioindicator particularly for Cd.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.197-205
• /
• 2010

Recent years have witnessed increasing interest in wetland constructions in Korea as a flood control measure during the flood season and for consideration of the ecology during the non-flood season. In this study, hydraulic and hydrologic analyses were performed on a wetland construction plan for use as an alternative sustainable flood defense during the flood season, as well as a wetland that can protect the ecosystem during the non-flood season. The study area was the basin of the Topyeong-cheon stream, which is a tributary of the Nakdong River, including the Upo wetland, which is registered in the Ramsar Convention and the largest inland wetland in Korea. Wetlands were to be constructed at upstream and downstream of the Upo wetland by considering and analyzing seven scenarios for their constructions to investigate the effect of flood control during the flood season; it was found the best scenario reduced the flood level by 0.56 m. To evaluate the usefulness of the constructed wetlands during the non flood season, the water balance in the wetlands was analyzed, with the best scenario found to maintain a minimum water level of 1.3 m throughout the year. Therefore, the constructed wetlands could provide an alternative measure for flood prevention as well as an ecosystem for biodiversity.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.15-27
• /
• 2009

To reveal conservation value of Sowhangbyungsan-neup among wetlands in Mt. Odae designated as a Ramsar convention site in 2008, ecological characteristics were investigated. The maximum depth of sediment was 86cm and average at central part was 56cm. Average pH of water was 5.8 and this indicates that this wetland has the characteristics between bog and fen. Average electron conductivity was $11{\mu}S$/cm, which is the lowest among Korean wetlands. Nutrient status was oligotrophic based on contents of cation, nitrate, ammonia, soluble reactive phosphorus in water. Out-flow of water was related with the 3 day cumulative precipitation. Soil texture was loam and nutrient level was very low. Vascular plants of 45 family, 95 genus, 121 species, 2 subspecies, 16 variety, 4 forma, total 121 taxa were recorded. Main plant communities on Sphagnum base were Osmunda cinnamomea community, Carex dispalata community and Carex curta community. The results indicated that this wetland has very different ecological characteristics than others in Korea and deserves conservation value well. Also, this study revealed that there is no evident threatening factor and this wetland will have characteristics of fen continuously in near future.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.13-24
• /
• 2014

The pond wetlands in agricultural landscape are important natural resources that carry out the function of bio-diversity conservation. However, recently, those have been gradually embedded as their utility value were disappeared. And, the assessment methods used for pond wetlands are insufficient. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the conservation value of pond wetlands by using the modified RAM, and present the improvement of assesment methods. The study sites, a total of 32 pond of 4 types by land use, were selected on the basis of Ramsar Convention. Through the analysis of precedent studies, the weighted 8 functions were adjusted. According to the assessment results, pond wetlands made the largest contribution to Fishery and Herpetile Habitat function. In addition, it also made large contribution to Floral Diversity, Wildlife Habitat, and Water Quality Protection function. On the other hand, it made a small contribution to Aesthetics and Recreation, Runoff Attenuation, Shoreline /Stream Bank Protection, and Flood/Storm Water Storage function due to the characteristics of small-scale pond wetlands. In the assessment of 8 functions, house type showed the worst assessment result, and mountain type showed the best assessment result. It is thought that those are due to land use type in terms of vicinity. 10 items among 52 of the modified RAM showed the same assessment results in all land use types. Accordingly, it is required to be deleted and modified the assessment method. On the other hand, it is required to add age, interference, and water use to the assessment method. It is thought that these results can be utilized for the development and modification of assessment methods focused on pond wetlands in rural area.

• Mycobiology
• /
• v.47 no.2
• /
• pp.230-241
• /
• 2019

The Great Sebkha of Oran is a closed depression located in northwestern of Algeria. Despite the ranking of this sebkha among the wetlands of global importance by Ramsar Convention in 2002, no studies on the fungal community in this area have been carried out. In our study, samples were collected from two different regions. The first region is characterized by halophilic vegetation and cereal crops and the second by a total absence of vegetation. The isolated strains were identified morphologically then by molecular analysis. The biotechnological interest of the strains was evaluated by testing their ability to grow at different concentration of NaCl and to produce extracellular enzymes (i.e., lipase, amylase, protease, and cellulase) on solid medium. The results showed that the soil of sebkha is alkaline, with the exception of the soil of cereal crops that is neutral, and extremely saline. In this work, the species Gymnoascus halophilus, Trichoderma gamsii, the two phytopathogenic fungi, Fusarium brachygibbosum and Penicillium allii, and the teleomorphic form of P. longicatenatum observed for the first time in this species, were isolated for the first time in Algeria. The halotolerance test revealed that the majority of the isolated are halotolerant. Wallemia sp. and two strains of G. halophilus are the only obligate halophilic strains. All strains are capable to secrete at least one of the four tested enzymes. The most interesting species presenting the highest enzymatic index were Aspergillus sp. strain A4, Chaetomium sp. strain H1, P. vinaceum, G. halophilus, Wallemia sp. and Ustilago cynodontis.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.42-52
• /
• 2021

In order to secure basic data on biodiversity for wetland conservation and management used the data from Wetland Protected Area surveys conducted in South Korea (2015-2019) to analyze the distribution of fish from a total of 15 orders, 45 families, 134 species, and 12,972 individuals. The predominant species identified were Zacco platypus (Temminck and Schlegel) (19.47%) and Zacco koreanus (Kim, Oh and Hosoya) (8.16%). Of all emergent species, 52.9% (n=71 species) were freshwater species, 26.9% (n=36) were brackish species, 3.0% (n=4) were migratory species, 27% (n=36) were marine species, and 9.0% (n=12) were riffle benthic species. Overall, 5.2% (n=7 species) were endangered species, 3.0% (n=4) were exotic species, and 23.1% (n=31) were Korean endemic species. The eight identified Wetland Protected Areas (WPA) were classified based on their habitat characteristics and on the analysis of their emergent fish communities, as estuarine (n=2), coastal dune (n=1), marsh (n=2), stream (n=2), and stream-marsh (n=1) types. The environmental factors revealed to have the greatest influence on the species diversity of emergent fish were maintenance and repair, installation of reservoirs, and construction of artificial wetlands around them. The present study offers basic information on the diversity of fish species in different Wetland Protected Area types that can be used to inform conservation and management decisions for WPA.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.30 no.1B
• /
• pp.53-60
• /
• 2010

A wetland is an ecosystem which has high species diversity, rich nutritional substances and high productivity. In this study we used the HGM(Hydrogeomorphic) approach among various evaluation models for the assessment of the Hwapo riverine wetland function. HGM is a method which estimates the functional index of a study wetland by comparing it with a reference wetland. In this study the Woopo wetland which is registered in the Ramsar Convention was selected as a reference wetland to assess the functional index of the Hwapo wetland. As the results, we obtained the functional index values over 0.6 for most indices of the Hwapo riverine wetland. Therefore we found that the Hwapo riverine wetland shows relatively high functional index values comparing with the Woopo wetland and it has valuable hydrological, biochemical, plant habitat, and animal habitat functions.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.23 no.3
• /
• pp.224-233
• /
• 2021

This study analyzed global Knowledge Sharing Platforms and collected stakeholder's suggestions to develop the "Korea-ASEAN Wetland Knowledge Sharing Platform (KSP)." As a result of the analysis, ① financial support and ② knowledge outcomes are essential to maintain the KSP and conduct the platform sustainably. Stakeholder suggest three significant projects (① comparative analysis of the inventory of wetlands in the Korea-ASEAN region, ② knowledge gap analysis in wetland research trends, and ③ establishing a web infrastructure for wetlands information sharing). The "Korea-ASEAN Wetland KSP" defined to be consistent with the international conventions (e.g., Ramsar Convention, Convention on Biological Diversity) goals by comprehensively considering the literature analysis and stakeholder suggestions. Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) selected as the fundamental model of the KSP. As with IPBES, knowledge management and assessment, capacity building, policy support, communication and participation adopted as the platform's core objectives. The KSP will be able to share knowledge related to the same type of wetland ecosystem within the Korea-ASEAN region and provide necessary information for establishing science-based policies.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.526-539
• /
• 2011

The purpose of this study is to identify insects inhabiting Mulyeongari-Oreum wetland and to provide basic information for conservation of wetlands. As a result, a total 229 species, 73 families, 9 orders of insects were collected: 136 species, 39 families, 6 orders from Mulyeongari-Oreum Wetland and 121 species, 52 families, 9 orders from Mt. Sooryeong. Of the 229 species of insects investigated, Copris tripartitus Waterhouse, an endangered species of wildlife fauna in Korea, was found with many individuals. Also, Lychnuris rufa(Olivier), having a narrow habitat near unpolluted water and mountains, was also recorded with 3 individuals and then should be considered as a protected species in Wetlands. To identify the community structure of moth on Mulyeongari-Oreum wetland, a light trap was examined and a total 76 species of moths were collected. Total dominant species was Hydrillodes morosa(Butler) with index of 0.12 and the species diversity on the moth community from survey area was the highest in July with index of 3.42.