• Title/Summary/Keyword: Riparian Environment

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An Integrated Watershed Environmental Assessment and Classification of the Mid-Nakdong River Region (낙동강 중류 지역의 통합적 유역환경평가 및 유형화)

  • Jung, Sung-Gwan;Park, Kyung-Hun
    • Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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    • v.13 no.3
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    • pp.137-151
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    • 2004
  • Many of today's environmental problems are regional in scope and their effects overlap and interact. The purpose of this paper is to developed a simple method for an integrated assessment of environmental conditions across the Mid-Nakdong River Region, by combining data on land use, impervious cover, roads, streams, riparian areas, forest patches, population, pollutant loadings, soil erosion and topography. A cluster analysis was used to identify groups of sub-watersheds with similar environmental characteristics. The mean value for each group was used to find watershed that may be more vulnerable to future environmental degradation. Watersheds in cluster I and II had high amount of forest, but the amount of riparian vegetation was low. Watersheds in cluster III, which located in the middle Geumho River and the main course of Nakdong River, had a greater proportion of their agriculture, a greater proportion of agriculture on steep slopes, and less forest adjacent to streams. Watersheds in cluster IV and V were in the most urbanized areas of the region. The principal adverse impacts for watersheds in this group were high scores for urban area, impervious cover, pollutant loadings, population density, forest fragmentation, and low amounts of forest and riparian forest cover. Notwithstanding the exploratory nature of cluster analysis, it appears to be a useful tool for grouping watersheds with similar environmental characteristics.

Application of Continuous Fiber Soil Reinforcement System in Riparian Slopes (연속섬유보강토공법의 하천구역 적용사례에 관한 연구)

  • Koh, Jeung-Hyun;Hur, Young-Jin;Choi, Jaeyong
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.14 no.3
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    • pp.169-176
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    • 2011
  • The purpose of this study is to examine the ecologically suitable restoration characteristics in riparian slopes constructed by continuous fiber soil reinforced system (Geofiber system) which does not contain the concrete materials. The findings are as follows : (1) as the tested soil was not washed away by rainfalls and floods, Geofiber could replace the concrete wall and gravity stone net bag technique from the civil engineering structural point of view; (2) after one year of the construction, it was monitored that land cover ratio was 80-90%, which indirectly shows that vegetation is safely maintained; and (3) at the same time, 5-8 flora species were found in each test grid and more importantly dominant species have been moved from alien species to native herbaceous plants. From the above findings, Geofiber system is recommendable to restore the riparian slopes in terms of stability and natural landscape points. However, a long term monitering is needed considering flora succession process in a given environment as well as suitability tests should be carried out through the comparative investigations in other environments.

A Structural Relationship of Topography, Developed Areas, and Riparian Vegetation on the Concentration of Total Nitrogen in Streams (지형, 개발지역, 수변림과 하천 내 총질소 농도와의 구조적 관계 분석)

  • Lee, Sang-Woo;Lee, Jong-Won;Park, Se-Rin
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.48 no.1
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    • pp.25-34
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    • 2020
  • Land use in watersheds has been shown to be a major driving factor in determining the status of the water quality of streams. In this light, scientists have been investigating the roles of riparian vegetation on the relationships between land use in watersheds and the associated stream water quality. Numerous studies reported that riparian vegetation could alleviate the adverse effects caused by land use in watersheds and on stream water quality through various hydrological, biochemical and ecological mechanisms. However, this concept has been criticized as the true effects of riparian vegetation must be assessed by comprehensive models that mimic real environmental settings. This study aimed to estimate a comprehensive structural equation model integrating topography, land use, and characteristics of riparian vegetation. We used water quality data from the Nakdong River system monitored under the National Aquatic Ecosystem Monitoring Program (NAEMP) of the Korean Ministry of Environment (MOE). Also, riparian vegetation data and land use data were extracted from the Land Use/Land Cover map (LULC) produced by the MOE. The number of structural equation models (SEMs) were estimated in Amos of IBM SPSS. Study results revealed that land use was determined by elevation, and developed areas within a watershed significantly increased the concentration of Total Nitrogen (TN) in streams and LDI in riparian vegetation. On the contrary, developed areas significantly reduced LPI and PLAND. At the same time, PLAND and LDI significantly reduced the concentration of TN in streams. Thus, it was clear that developed areas in watersheds had both a direct and an indirect impact on the concentration of TN in streams, and spatial pattern and the amount of vegetation of riparian vegetation could significantly alleviate the negative impacts of developed areas on TN concentration in streams. To enhance stream water quality, reducing developed areas in a watershed is critical for long-term watershed management plans, restoration patterns for riparian vegetation could be immediately implemented since riparian areas were less developed than most other watersheds.

Development of evaluation indicators for riparian restoration with biodiversity consideration (생물다양성 확보를 위한 하안 복원 평가지표 개발에 관한 연구)

  • Park, Eun-Young;Choi, Jae-Yong;Kim, Hyoun-Sook
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.325-330
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    • 2011
  • In order to revive the ecological function of degraded rivers, a total restoration plan for riverbeds and riparians needs to be developed. Previous evaluations for rivers were mainly focused on the river's physical structures. Therefore, this research has developed indicators to evaluate a riparian restoration considering biodiversity. Through literature and previous cases review, 4 fields and 13 indicators are selected for the evaluation. Four fields are biodiversity, habitat diversity, connectivity and habitat functionality. In the biodiversity field, 4 indicators of the exuberant extent of herbaceous vegetation and their diversity, the exuberant extent of shrub and woody plants and their diversity, the number of plant communities and naturalized plants are included. Habitat diversity are comprised of 4 indicators of the longitudinal continuity of vegetation, the mixture of plant communities, the extent of plant type color fruit abundance and the distribution of vegetation. Connectivity includes 3 indicators of target distribution, the shore slope of low water channels and the extent of artificial embankment materials. Habitat functionality has 2 indicators of the status of food supply plants and the habitat functionality. The value weighting for the fields and indicators has been calculated based on the AHP(Analytic Hierarchy Process) method. 50 experts were surveyed with quantifiable questionnaire, among them 43 experts have more than 10 yesrs experiences in the nature restoration field. The selected and weighted indicators have been tested to the 12 sections in Gap stream located in Daejeon. In conclusion, the indicators are feasible and the selected indicators could be used to establish the direction and objectives of riparian restoration.

Development of Habitat-riparian Quality Indexing System as a Tool of Stream Health Assessment: Case Study in the Nakdong River Basin

  • Jeong, Kwang-Seuk;Joo, Gea-Jae;Kim, Dong-Kyun;Lineman, Maurice;Kim, Sang-Hyeon;Jang, Il;Hwang, Soon-Jin;Kim, Jin-Hong;Lee, Jae-Kwan;Byeon, Myeong-Seop
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.499-511
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    • 2008
  • The major focus of this study is to evaluate a newly developed stream naturalness index system 'Habitat-riparian Indexing System (HIS).' There have been many studies that have assessed stream naturalness in order to provide information required for restoration. The results of these studies were enough for the purpose of the studies; however, the methodologies were limited especially with respect to rapid measurement and the representation of ecological habitats. Therefore, we derived crucial variables from a popularly utilized method and merged them with other criteria obtained from overseas approaches, resulting in the development of the HIS method. The stability of HIS was evaluated by comparing the results with the Stream Naturalness Index (SNI) of Cho (1997). We monitored 100 stream sites in the Nakdong River system using the two different methods for two sampling periods (spring and autumn), and the results were compared using statistical analyses. The determination coefficients between the index values from two methods were c.a. 0.6 for both seasons, and statistics revealed that HIS had a relatively higher stability, providing index values for stream environments. The results of this work suggest a possibility of the utility of HIS for other stream habitats.

Spatial Distribution of Benthic Macroinvertebrates at Three River Weirs in The Namhan River (남한강 본류 3개 보의 저서성 대형무척추동물의 공간적 분포)

  • Kown, Yongju;Kim, Jin-Young;Kim, Piljae;Kim, Jungwoo;Kim, Jeong-KI;Kong, Dongsoo
    • Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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    • v.36 no.1
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    • pp.36-47
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    • 2020
  • Three large scale weirs were constructed 2010 - 2011 in the Namhan river, Korea. The purpose of this study was to investigate the spatial distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates and the influence of environmental factors at the weirs 2014 - 2015. The number of species was higher in the riparian zone than in the transition or the limnetic zone. This seems to be because of the diversification of microhabitats and food sources according to the development of littoral zones. From the riparian zone to the limnetic zone, the individual abundance proportion of gathering collectors among functional feeding groups decreased, and that of filtering collectors increased. In the limnetic zone, sprawlers and climbers among habitat orientation groups decreased, and burrowers increased. This means that coarse particulate organic matter originated from land or riparian zone was transformed to fine particulate organic matter in the limnetic zone. Asian clam (Corbicula fluminea) and chironomids were dominant species based on individual abundance. Asian clam, a major taxon considering biomass, was abundant toward the limnetic zone. This is becasue of the shallow depth, suitable water current, slightly coarse substrate, and good water quality. There was no significant relationship between the water quality and the characteristics of the benthic macroinvertebrate community because the water quality was spatially not heterogenous. The more influential factors for benthic community were physical factors, especially water depth. Water depth showed a markedly significant correlation with Shannon-Weaver's species diversity (r=-0.90), Margalef's species richness (r=-0.82), and McNaughton's dominance (r=0.86). Water depth showed a positive correlation (r=0.68) with the Kong and Kim BMSI (Bentic Macroinverebrates Streambed Index), and this may be related to the coarse substrate of the limnetic zone.

Diagnostic Evaluation on the Riparian Vegetation in the Changwon and Nam Streams for Preparing a Restoration Plan (창원천과 남천의 생태적 복원을 위한 식생 측면의 진단평가)

  • An, Ji Hong;Lim, Chi Hong;Jung, Song Hie;Kim, A Reum;Woo, Dong Min;Lee, Chang Seok
    • Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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    • v.32 no.5
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    • pp.475-491
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    • 2016
  • The Changwon and Nam streams that run through the Changwon city were evaluated based on longitudinal and horizontal configurations and vegetation state in order to prepare a restoration plan. Riparian vegetation of the Changwon and Nam streams are normally dominated by herbaceous plants. However, the woody plants, Salix pseudolasiogyne, Rubus parvifolius, Salix koreensis, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Amorpha fruticosa have appeared. Planting to introduce various types of plants for landscape architecture has also been observed. Evaluation of naturalness based on the vegetation state of both Changwon and Nam streams showed very low naturalness of degree 1 or 2, with the exception of a few reaches of the upstream sector. In these few reaches of the upstream sector, Salix koreensis and Salix chaenomeloides showed heights at the subtree level, however, they were located at the position of shrubland close to the waterway. These reaches were, therefore, evaluated as degree 3 rather than degree 4 in naturalness. The result of diagnostic evaluation classified by reach indicated the requirement for active restoration, such as transformation of the channelized stream into a meandering one and a step-type cross section into a pool-type one, introduction of vegetation suitable to the region and site, and creation of an ecological network between the stream and the surrounding terrestrial ecosystems.