• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.536-541
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• 2021

Pantala flavescens is a dominant Odonata species in the rice fields in Korea. To determine the effects of different temperatures on its larval growth and emergence, field and laboratory experiments were conducted. Larval growth was also monitored in mono-cropping and double-cropping rice fields. The growth of larvae was monitored every week by measuring the head width. In the field experiment, no difference was found in larval growth and emergence between the control temperature and +1.9℃ of the control temperature. The larval growth was greater at 23℃ than at 20℃ laboratory temperatures, and no emergence was recorded at either temperature after eight weeks of monitoring. There was a quadratic relationship between larval growth and temperature in an incubator at five temperature regimes of 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35℃. Midseason water drainage caused the extinction of the existing individuals and newly hatched larvae dominated after re-watering in the rice fields. Larval size was greater in double-cropping fields than in mono-cropping fields in late July but the tendency was reversed in early August. The results of this study suggest that temperature warming will directly promote the larval growth of P. flavescens and indirectly influence seasonal growth via changes in water management in rice fields.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.294-303
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• 2013

BACKGROUND: It is well known that rice-fields can provide excellent foraging places for birds including seasonal migrants, wintering, and breeding and hence the high biodiversity of rice-fields may be expected. However, how environmental change including climate-changes on life-history and population dynamics in birds on rice-fields has not been fully understood. In order to investigate how climate-change affects population migratory patterns and migration timing, I modeled a population dynamics of birds in rice-fields over a whole year. METHODS AND RESULTS: I applied the Lotka-Volterra equation to model the population dynamics of birds that have been foraging/visiting rice-fields in Korea. The simple model involves the number of interspecific individuals and temperature, and the model parameters are periodic in time as the biological activities related to the migration, wintering and reproduction are seasonal. As results, firstly there was a positive relationship between the variation of seasonal population sizes and temperature change. Secondly, the reduced lengths of season were negatively related to the population size. Overall, the effects of the difference of lengths of season on seasonal population dynamics were higher than the effects of seasonal temperature change. CONCLUSION(S): Climate change can alter population dynamics of birds in rice-fields and hence the variation may affect the fitness, such as reproduction, survival and migration. The unstable balances of population dynamics in birds using paddy rice field as affected by climate change can reduce the population growth and species diversity in rice fields. The results suggest that the agricultural production is partly affected by the unstable balance of population in birds using rice-fields.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.375-384
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• 1997

The effects of three different irrigating water qualities(clean water, life sewage and animal sewage) on the pattern of arthropod communities in the rice fields were investigated at Banwol, Kyonggi-do, mid-western part of Korea from 1994 to 1996. The total density of arthropod was highest in the rice field which was irrigated with clean water(clean water field), and the arthropod community was mainly composed of aphids and collembolans. Each functional group was found in the order of 'pests>non-pests>natural enemies' in its density. The dominant taxa in the pest group were aphids, planthoppers(Delphacidae), leafhoppers(Cicadelidae) and rice water weevil(L. oryzophilus). In the non-pest group collembolans, non-biting midges and dipterans were main arthropods, and in the natural enemy group Araneae was the dominant taxon. In the early growth stage of rice plant the dominant functional group was pests, and in the mid growth stage both the pest and the natural enemy group became dominant. But in the late growth stage none of the functional group was dominant over the other functional groups. The densities of spiders were much more higher in the clean water field than in the other fields. And through all the growth stages of rice plants the density of spiders in clean water field kept increase in contrast to the others. The species composition of spiders in the life sewage field was similar to that in the animal sewage field, but in the clean water field it was different from the other two fields.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.213-223
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• 2008

The increasing area of abandoned rice fields could provide new opportunities for wetland restoration in Asia. However, it is unknown how quickly or completely abandoned rice fields will recover from agricultural disturbances. We assessed water quality and plant community succession in abandoned rice fields with different hydrology in a mountain valley to understand the effects of hydrological regime on recovery. Water level, soil redox potential, water quality, plant composition, and primary production were measured. The sites, coded as D6, N13, and N16, had been recovering for 6, 13, and 16 years by 2006. N13 and N16 have been recovering naturally whereas D6 has been drained with a nearby dike and was tilled in 2001. The typical hydroperiods of D6, N13, and N16 were no surface water, permanently flooded, and seasonally flooded, respectively. The major change in vegetation structure of both D6 and N13 was the replacement of herbaceous species by woody species. Drawdown accelerated this change because Salix koreensis grew better in damp conditions than in flooded conditions. Phragmites japonica reduced plot-level plant species richness. The removal efficiency of $NH_4-N$, $NO_3-N$, and $PO_4-P$ from water varied seasonally, ranging between -78.8 to 44.3%, 0 to 97.5%, and -26.0 to 44.4%, respectively. In summary, abandoned rice fields quickly became suitable habitat for native wetland plant species and improved regional water quality. Variation among our sites indicates that it is likely possible to manage abandoned rice fields, mostly through controlling hydrology, to achieve site-specific restoration goals.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.266-266
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• 2017

In recent years, adoption of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is spreading in most Asian countries, and more recently in Cambodia is one of the Asian countries with high adoptions of SRI. We conducted on-farm experiment to investigate the effects of SRI on rice growth and yield in the farmers' fields in rainfed region of southern Cambodia. The study was undertaken in rainfed lowland fields of Popel commune ($11^{\circ}$ 04' 67" N, $104^{\circ}$ 40' 79" E) of Tram Kak District in Takeo Province during the wet seasons in 2012, 2013, and 2015. A total of 32 on-farm experiments were conducted during the wet seasons for three years of 2012 (11 fields), 2013 (8 fields), and 2015 (13 fields). Across the three years of study, SRI produced significantly greater plant biomass and grain yield than Non-SRI. The yield increase was mostly ascribed for the increased number of grains per land area, which was due to the increased number of spikelets per panicle rather than the number of panicles per land area. With no significant difference between SRI and Non-SRI with respect to seedling age, the greater number of grains per panicle was accounted for by the reduced planting density and increased amount of manure application in SRI than Non-SRI fields. It was found that the greater manure application has increased soil nitrogen content in SRI and Non-SRI fields. While SRI did not increase the number of panicles per land area, it did increase the number of panicles per hill.

• Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.75-87
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to investigate the location characteristics of the rice paddy fields and to predict shrinking areas of them. The study area is in South Korea nationwide, and a 300×300m raster level is adopted as a spatial analysis unit. The binary logit model and spatial simulation model are employed for the analyses. As a result, population, industry, climate and nature, and accessibility play a significant role in determining rice paddy fields' locations. It is predicted that the shrinking rate will be high in Gangwon-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do, and Gyeongsangnam-do until 2027. The hot spots are intensively shaped in the inland of Gangwon-do, eastern parts of Gyeonggi-do, and the borders of Gyeongsangnam-do and Jeollabuk-do between Charyeong and Sobaek mountain ranges. Using Gimcheon-si as an example, the study suggests fundamental policy implications for taking advantage of the simulation results from the lens of local agriculture. Several policy measures are proposed for improving management strategies for the rice paddy fields in the long run.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.216-224
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• 2009

In Japan, since rice consumption has been decreasing with the westernization of Japanese eating habits, surplus paddy fields have been increasing. If these surplus paddy fields can be utilized for forage rice production as feed for animal production and excretions (feces and urine) from animal production can be applied to the paddy fields as manure, then the problems of surplus paddy fields and excretions from animal production may be solved, and the environment kept sustainable. The objectives of the present study were to apply a bio-economic model to dairy and forage rice integration systems in Japan and to examine the merit of introducing whole crop rice silage (WCRS), as well as economic and environmental effects of various economic and management options in the systems. Five simulations were conducted using this model. The use of WCRS as a home-grown feed increased environmental loads and decreased economic benefit because of the higher amount of purchased feed, when compared to the use of typical crops such as maize, alfalfa and timothy silage (simulation 1). Higher economic benefits from higher forage rice yields and higher milk production of a dairy cow were obtained (simulations 2, 3). There were no economic and environmental incentives for utilizing crude protein (CP) rich WCRS, because an increase in the CP content in WCRS led to the use of more chemical fertilizers, resulting in high production costs and nitrogen outputs (simulation 4). When evaluated under the situation of a fixed herd size, increasing forage rice yields decreased the total benefit of the production, in spite of the fact that the amount of subsidies per unit of land increased (simulation 5). It was indicated that excess subsidy support may not promote yield of forage rice. It was, however, observed in most cases that dairy and forage rice integration systems could not be economically established without subsidies.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.52-66
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• 2009

The increase of rice productivity, the decrease of rice demand, aging farmers, and the market-opening of rice along with the domestic and international conditions changes have been led to the increase of the abandoned rice paddy fields. Such abandoned rice paddy fields have been left in many areas and most of them have become wetlands. The purpose of this study is methodology of selection to the wetland for development in the abandoned rice paddy fields along with surroundings. The selection of habitat suitability index assessment study to conservation and restoration was done through hydrology, wild animals habitation, wetland vegetation, outside disturbance, and natural purification capacity assessment. In addition, the same method was applied to assessment items and standards for both the restoration site selection and the type of restoration. Both assessment items and standards were applied to the sites, drawn on the maps, and overlayer for the comprehensive map, and then the wetland suitability index was applied to the suitable site. The development technique was applied to 10 sites near the Banwol Stream watershed in Gunpo, Gyeonggi province. The selection of conservation, restoration, and the optimal sites can lead to not only the biodiveristy increase in agricultural or semi natural areas but also to the establishment of ecological networks in national level.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.293-303
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to measure the effects of droughts and public investments in irrigation facilities on rice production. We estimated the effects of droughts and the fraction of irrigated paddy fields with irrigation facilities on rice yields through a panel regression model. The results showed that the effect of drought on rice yield was negative but modest. Also, we found that increases in the ratio of irrigated paddy fields to total paddy fields by 1% enhance rice yields by 0.025-0.035%. However, the ratio of irrigated paddy fields to total paddy fields has insignificant effects on reducing harmful droughts effects regardless of the conditions of irrigated paddy fields.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.334-343
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• 2014

BACKGROUND: Shorebirds use a variety of wetlands as their stopover sites to replenish energy and nutrient reserves along the migration route. It is increasingly important to understand how birds use the remaining available habitats during migration period, because shorebird stopover sites are often altered and destroyed. Rice fields serve as a major inland stopover site for migrating shorebirds. However, the information on habitat use patterns of shorebirds in rice fields is very limited in Korea. Therefore, we studied the patterns of shorebird abundance and their habitat use in rice fields during spring migration period in western-central Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: Surveys were conducted at interval of 2-3 days during the spring migration period of 2014 at rice fields of mid-western Korea. We recorded the location of the observed birds on the rice field map according to the local habitat type. The habitat types were divided by physical structure and cultivation methods. Fifteen shorebird species and 7,852 individuals were recorded during the survey period. The number of shorebird species and their abundance began to increase from the beginning of flooding in late-April, and reached a maximum in early-May. After rice transplantation, the number of shorebird species and their abundance dramatically declined. Shorebirds selectively used paddy and levee rather than road and ditch and most species used shallow depth field type. Plowed field types were less attractive to most species. CONCLUSION: Flooding rice fields were functioned as stopover sites for a variety of shorebird species during spring migration period. Furthermore, these results provide that the appropriate agricultural practices can be improving the habitat quality for shorebirds.