• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.465-474
• /
• 2016

Since Gyungan stream is included in the protected zone of the water supply source of the Metropolitan area in Korea, the water quality needs to be continuously managed. Therefore, a measure is required that can inhibit the flow of water pollutant into the water body and facilitate the ecological restoration of riparian vegetation. A field survey was conducted on the hydrological characteristics of the landscape elements established on the downstream catchment of the Gyungan stream, the result of which showed that the paddy field and urbanized area can be regarded as point pollution sources. The upland field can be regarded as a non-point pollution source. In order to improve the water quality in the Paldang lake, we first recommended creating a riparian vegetation belt. We also suggested introducing a treatment wetland and an artificial plant island to places in which the creation of a riparian vegetation belt is not ensured. We recommend creating a treatment wetland equipped with diverse functional groups. For creating the plant island, we recommend Zizania latifolia and Typha orientalis, which showed the highest productivity among aquatic plants. The former could be introduced around the outlet of a paddy field and the estuary of tributaries, while the latter could be introduced to a water body directly sourced from mountainous land.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.157-165
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between land use patterns of riparian zones and water quality in the Geumho River watershed. A GIS database included digital land use maps (1:25,000), stream network extracted from digital topographic maps (1:5,000) and riparian zones maps by multi-buffering method. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to explain the relationship between the environmental conditions of a 30 meter buffer strip on each side and water quality. According to the result of investigation of riparian-level land use patterns, sub-watersheds on the lower Geumho River including Daegu metropolitan city were mainly developed as urban area such as residential, commercial and industrial ones, while sub-watersheds on the middle Geumho River and the main course of Nakdong River, agricultural ones such as a paddy, a dry field and an orchard. Meanwhile, the area-rate of riparian forests which play an important role in filtering nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment was estimated below the average 16%. The proportion of urban area in a 30 meter riparian bufferstrip had a negative correlation with water quality in each sub-watershed. But the proportion of forest area had a positive correlation with water quality. Henceforth, it is necessary to establish landscape planning for preparing and restoring the riparian buffer zones, concerning land form, soil type, the present land use pattern and economic aspects.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
• /
• 2012.05a
• /
• pp.37-37
• /
• 2012

The study aims to evaluate the complexity of relationships between the riparian states - China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia - in the Mekong River Basin since the mid-1990s with special reference to the discourse on hydropower development. A special emphasis will be put on the influence of China on hydropower development. Although a variety of issues on the river basin have been discussed among the riparian states, none of them has been effectively implemented owing to the lack of China's commitment to the discussions for sustainable water management. Now, a new turning point is observed in the region with emergence of the issue on hydropower development, not only in the upper basin but also in the lower basin. The discourse on hydropower in Mekong has quickly drawn attention of the public, accelerated by the onset of construction of the Xayabury Dam in Laos since November 2010. The influence of China as the upstream country with its political, economic, and military power has increasingly grown in the region over the last few decades, and such trend recently intensifies together with an expansion of Chinese commercial interests in the region. Since the establishment of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in 1995, the four MRC members have striven to push forward a sustainable use of water resources in the basin. But the legitimacy of the MRC system has been eroded due to the lack of participation by Myanmar and China, and in particular, the Chinese absence has made the four riparian states blind about the change of water regime due to the Chinese dams upstream. Environmental damages due to hydropower development might be possible, including a drop of fish yields, crop production, and damages to the river's ecosystems. Vietnam and Cambodia have already expressed their concerns over the dam construction towards China as well as Laos by pointing out detrimental impacts of the dams to their economies. China's move to collaborate with the other riparian states since 2010 has given a positive signal in terms of sustainable water management in the river. However, this phenomenon never confirms China's proactive contribution to the cooperative activities within the framework of the MRC system. Laos' initiative to build a new dam in the lower basin alarms those who are opposed to dam construction in the fear of its far-reaching damages to the environment. The question goes back to the year-long debate on policy priorities given to economic growth or the environment. The riparian states require wisdom based on a consensus about sustainable water use rather than hydropower development based on individual growth dreams.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.135-141
• /
• 2016

This study investigated changes of hydrology, soil characteristics, riparian vegetation communities, and geomorphology in sandbars before and after sand-mining to determine the effect of sand-mining at upstream of Guemgang and Bochungcheon streams in Korea. Sand-mining events affected the mining area. They supplied organic matters and nutrients during flood. Sediment deposition caused soil texture change and expansion of vegetation area. However, riverbeds were stabilized after the disturbance. According to the analyses of aerial photographs, the vegetation area was significantly expanded in both dam-regulated streams and dam-unregulated streams after sand-mining. Willow shrubs advanced in disturbed area at an average of 10 years after sand-mining. It took willows trees 10.6 years to become dominant communities. Therefore, it took a total of 20.6 years for new riparian forest to form in sandbar after sand-mining. Our results confirmed that stream flow condition were dependent on vegetation recruitment in dam-regulated streams and dam-unregulated streams. For willow recruitment in unregulated streams, calculation of water level below dimensionless bed shear stress is important because low water level variation is a limiting factor of vegetation recruitment.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.67-78
• /
• 2024

The introduction of a significant amount of phosphorous into aquatic environments can lead to eutrophication, which can in turn result in algal blooms. For the effective management of watersheds and the prevention of water quality problems related to nonpoint organic matter (OM) sources, it is essential to pinpoint the predominant OM sources. Several potential OM sources were sampled from upper agricultural watersheds, such as fallen leaves, riparian reeds, riparian plants, paddy soil, field soil, riparian soil, cow manure, and swine manure. Stream samples were collected during two storm events, and the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and phosphorous (DOP) from these OM sources and stream samples were assessed. DOM indicators using fluorescence spectroscopy, including HIX, FI, BIX, and EEM-PARAFAC, were evaluated in terms of their relevance in discerning DOM sources during storm events. Representative DOM descriptors were chosen based on specific criteria, such as value ranges and pronounced differences between low and high-flow periods. Consequently, the spectral slope ratio (S_R) paired with fluorescence index (FI) using end-member mixing analysis (EMMA) proved to be suitable for estimating the contribution of organic carbon (OC). The contribution of each organic phosphorous (OP) in stream samples was determined using the phosphorous-to-carbon (P/C) ratio in conjunction with the OC contribution. Notably, OP derived from swine manure in stream samples was found to make the most dominant contribution, ranging from 61.3% to 94.2% (average 78.1% ± 12.7%). The results of this research offer valuable insights into the selection of suitable indicators to recognize various OM sources and highlight the main sources of OP in forested-agricultural watersheds.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2008

Non-point pollution is caused by many diffusive sources, unlike a point pollution derived from industrial wastewater treatment plants or sewage treatment plants. Runoff of non-point pollutants is originated from rainfall or thawing in short period of time moving over and through the a ground surface. They cause ill effect on the quality of neighboring aquatic environment. To prevent effectively the wash off from non-point pollutant, it should be immediately reduced at the source or be treated after gathering of runoff water. This study has been carried out for the best width of riparian buffer zone. So we implemented the experiment in terms of its depth, width and kind of vegetations and calculated the reduction of pollutants loading. The experimental zone encompasses the watershed of Namhan River (Kyunggido Yangpyunggun Byungsanri). The region was divided into 5 land cover sectors : grass, reed, pussy willow, mixed(grass+pussy willow) and natural zone to compare effectiveness of vegetation. Water samples from four points have been collected in different depths. And the pollutant removal efficiency by sectors with different plant species was yielded through influent with one of each sample. And we obtained the correlation between the width of riparian buffer zone and the removal efficiency of pollutants. Using correlation result, the width of riparian buffer zones which needs to improve the water quality of river could be derived.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.255-261
• /
• 2003

To analyze ecological characteristics of the Ulmus pumila community, an on-the-spot survey was conducted in August, 1998 in the Dong River, Gangwon-do, South Korea. The Ulmus pumila community is partially distributed in Dong River's midstream and upper stream. Topographical characteristics of this community are significant in the point bar or sandbank of the river. The community is classified into two types, disturbed and non-disturbed types, by the effect of flooding. The Ulmus pumila community (bush forests of Siberian elms) is a representative community which forms riparian forests, but its distribution is rare in South Korea. Only in Dong River is the Ulmus pumila distributed enough to form a community, and none is known that is lager than this community in South Korea. The non-disturbance type progresses more homogeneously than the disturbance type because it is formed on riverside banks where it is affected less by flooding. We concluded that the Ulmus pumila community in this study area has characteristics of riparian forests. In South Korea, Ulmus pumila community can be regarded as important element of vegetation landscape constituting riparian forests. Specifically, these riparian forests are evaluated as high in conservation value due to their being formed spontaneously. Moreover, Dong River is regarded as the southern limit of Ulmus pumila, which has a northern origin. The species or community needs continuous interests and conservation countermeasures because there are limitations in its spread of distribution by natural or artificial efforts.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.52 no.spc2
• /
• pp.875-885
• /
• 2019

The expansion of riparian vegetation in middle size rivers in Korea had been analyzed in this study. Seom River with dam, Cheongmi River without dam, and Naesung River with no operating dam in the upstream was investigated for the 1 km to identify the expansion of riparian vegetation through the aerial photograph analysis. As a results, we found that the rate of vegetation area is 54.7% in Seom River, 77.5% in Cheongmi River, and 49.7% in Naesung River. The vegetation area had been increased in 3 rivers, and the expansion rate since 2010 is very high nearly up to 2 times (17 times in Naesung River). Sandbar and open-water area, however, have been decreased in the same rate with the riparian vegetation expansion. It could be concluded that vegetation increase trend is clear in rivers regardless of location and dam existence. Further researches are necessary to find out the causes to establish the countermeasures because the increase of vegetation will change the physical system as well as biological system of river.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.126-144
• /
• 2000

The river environment of many streams in Korea has been deteriorated through the rapid industrialization and urbanization since the early 1960s. Deterioration includes single-purpose channel works for flood control and dense riparian land uses such even as the covering of the channel, as well as water pollution. As a result, many streams have lost their precious river environment such as ecological habitat, river friendliness and riparian scenery. In the early 1990s, however, the necessity of restoring those channelized streams was felt among the river engineers as well as environmentalists in Korea. This article describes a summary of the literature review of the stream restoration guidelines and relevant publication including those published in Japan, Europe and USA. A special focus is on the Stream Corridor Restoration, which was recently in the USA in 1998. First, the meaning and background of stream restoration is reviewed. Last, a draft of the contents of the stream restoration guideline, which is being developed by the authors and their colleagues, is briefly introduced.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.15 no.2
• /
• pp.193-200
• /
• 2001

본 연구는 하반식생이 일정 지역에 정착할 때 밀접하게 관여하는 토양환경에 주목하였으며, 특히 하반 미지형 이라는 특수 지역에서 생각할수 있는 미지형 형성의 토양구조와 하반미지형이 식물에 미치는 토양수분, 그리고 식생과의 관계에 대하여 검토하였다. 그결과 각 미지형마다 그 퇴적상태가 다르며 이에따라 하반식생도 달리 나타났다. 또한 모두 조사구에 서 모래층 밑에는 반드시 자갈층의 단계를 반복하고 있는데 이는 반복된 과거의 홍수에 의한 것으로 판단된다. 따라서 미지형을 고려한 식생을 도입하여야 하며, 토양수분과 지라수위와 식생과의 관계는 하천마다 다르므로 현지 지형에 맞는 식생 도입이 요구된다. 앞으로 보다 지속적, 장기적 현장조사와 하천 수문, 수리학적 data의 축정에 따른 하반식생과 입지환경요인과의 관련성에 관한 연구의 축적이 필요하며, 이에 기초한 식생호안공법의 개발이 향후과제라 할 수 있다.