• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.636-644
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to investigate the callings of nocturnal birds using bioacoustic recording technology to identify species and to analyze the ecological characteristics of each species. Three sites - Seoraksan National Park, National Institute of Ecology, and Mudeungsan National Park - were investigated. The investigation period was from the middle of April 2018 to early March 2019 for Seoraksan national park, from late February of 2018 to the middle of February 2019 for the National Institute of Ecology, and from the middle of February 2018 to the end of August 2018 for Mudeungsan National Park. The main research results are as follows. Firstly, nocturnal bird species identified by the survey included Caprimulgus indicus, Otus sunia, Zoothera aurea, Bubo bubo, and Strix uralensis, 5 species in total. Secondly, the breeding call period of each species was from early May to early August for C. indicus, from early April to the end of September for O. sunia, from early March to early October for Z. aurea, from late September to early February for B. bubo, and from mid-January to early March for S. uralensis. Thirdly, the mating call rhythm was between 16:00 and 10:00 on the following day for all the observed species in the three regions, and the peak time zone was from 20:00 to 06:00 on the following day. Fourthly, there was no correlation between the cumulative call frequency and the precipitation for each species. Fifthly, the mean temperature during the period when the specific calls of nocturnal birds were detected was -4.00 ℃ for S. uralensis, 2.58 ℃ for B. bubo, 13.66 ℃ for Z. aurea, 19.50 ℃ for O. sunia, and 20.77 ℃ for C. indicus. The ANOVA results showed that there was a significant difference in mean temperature for the calling by species and that the mean temperature was S. uralensis, B. bubo, Z. aurea, and O. sunia-C. indicus, in the ascending order, for 4 groups in total. The period of the specific mating calls confirmed by the study is a period in which the frequency of calls was the highest among the periods when the specific calls were detected. Since it is associated with the known mating period of each species, the period of the high frequency of calls confirmed by the bioacoustic monitoring can be regarded as the mating season. This study is meaningful in that it is the early research that has used the bioacoustic recording technology to identify species and ecological characteristics of species of nocturnal birds in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.390-401
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• 2022

This study investigated the characteristics of fish communities and inhabiting status of endangered species in the Bukcheon (Stream) of Seoraksan National Park, Korea from April to September 2020. A total of 4,356 fish of 7 families and 22 species were collected from 17 survey stations during the survey period. The dominant species was Zacco koreanus (relative abundance, 41.8%), and subdominant species was Rhynchocypris kumgangensis (relative abundance, 15.1%), followed by Pungtungia herzi (10.1%), Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa (5.0%), Coreoleuciscus splendidus (4.1%), Zacco platypus (3.8%), Microphysogobio longidorsalis (3.5%), and Hemibarbus mylodon (2.2%). Among the fish species collected, 14 species (63.6%) were identified as Korean endemic species. There was one natural monument species (Hemibarbus mylodon), and four species of class II endangered wildlife that were designated by the Ministry of Environment (Acheilognathus signifer, Pseudopungtungi tenuicorpa, Gobiobotia brevibarba, and Brachymystax lenok tsinlingensis). Among the four species of class II endangered wildlife, B. lenok tsinlingensis inhabited in the upper stream, and A. signifer, P. tenuicorpa and G. brevibarba inhabited mainly in the middle-lower stream. Also, P. tenuicorpa, H. mylodon, and B. lenok tsinlingensis were inhabited in large numbers. Additionally, two cold-water fish species (R. kumgangensis and B. lenok tsinlingensis) and one landlocked species (B. lenok tsinlingensis) were collected. According to the results of cluster analysis, the dominance index decreased from upstream to downstream, but the diversity, evenness, and richness index increased; the cluster structure was divided into the uppermost, upstream, midstream, and downstream. The water quality of Bukcheon was evaluated as good overall since the river health (index of biological integrity) evaluated using fish was evaluated as very good (11 stations), good (2 stations), and normal (4 stations). However, river repair work was being carried out in some areas and some wastewater was flowing in from the midstream, therefore, supplementary measures to preserve fish habitats are required.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.200-208
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• 2013

The purposes of this study are developing a stress index for each individual major trail in the national parks and contribute to establishing a park management policy based on scientific analyses using the index. We collected data from 144 sections of trails in national parks, conducted the Delphi survey and factor analysis, and generated the stress index by standardizing scores of factors contributing to the stress for each trail. As aresult, total eight factors contributing to the stress were considered and four of them, i.e. the amount of visits, the effect of visits, the degree of trail destruction, and species diversity, were selected to generate the stress index. How to weigh factors was determined by their importance obtained in the second Delphi survey and the average from a 5 point Likert scale. Then, the cumulative probabilities from the standardized scores were graded into five groups. In conclusion, there were twenty trails from the six national parks including Jirisan, Bukhansan, Deogyusan, Naejangsan, Seoraksan in the first grade which gained over 80 as the stress index.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.25-35
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• 2008

Typhoon Ewiniar and Bilis followed by heavy rainfall in July 2006 triggered massive slope failures and debris flows along the Osaek valley within Seoraksan National Park. Since national road 44 is constructed along the fault-line, the susceptibility of hazard in the area is very high. Debris flows in Osaekcheon are mobilized from landslides near the ridgelines and peaks when heavy rainfall elevates pore pressure and adds weight to the hillslopes, causing failure. Stream flows falling onto the existing colluvium or channel-margin deposits also trigger debris flows. Steep slopes constructed along the road and thin regolith in the slope is the main reason for the landslide in the upper stream. In middle reaches of stream, under-fit drainage utilities and narrow bridges cause the overflow, this then triggers debris flow. Overflowing and erosion in the channel margin deposits is main reasons for the debris flow. The intensities and frequencies of heavy rainfall are certain to increase, so early warning and management system for the landslide-related hazard is urgently needed.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.779-788
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• 2014

This study, as a case where the environmental conflict and dispute arose between the use and the conservation as in the other protected areas in Korea, took the first step to build ecological citizenship to solve various and complicated issues in a fundamental level by providing a basic information on differentiated environmental perceptions of the locality and the visitors of Seoraksan National Park. The questionnaire survey was employed on September 6th and 7th with 150 residents of the park area and 200 visitors of Osaek-Daechungbong trail. Total number of 13 survey questions was introduced using Dunlap and Liere's NEP index. The result shows that the perception of 'balance of nature' was more dominant to the perception of 'humans over nature' and the perception to the 'limits to growth' was also somewhat positive in both groups. The differences in environmental perceptions between the groups exist; the visitor group tended to have more positive level of acceptance of NEP views. Such differences in perceptions suggest that a different normative approach should be taken to the residents of the national park with less pro-environment in their perceptions when policy making. It thus seemed possible that ecological citizenship could be realized since the younger and the higher education level are, the more pro-environment. The findings of the research may cause some concerns however, because the study has been confined as a case study with basic understanding of environmental perceptions and its differences between the interest groups. More extensive research is required to confirm if this is generalized.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.565-577
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to understand the factors influencing the decline and the patterns of changes in Abies nephrolepis populations on Mt. Seorak. We installed permanent quadrats in the areas of the Gwittagicheongbong (peak), Gwanmoneungseon (ridge), and the Seorak Falls and have monitored the community structure, population dynamics, radial growth, and vitality in the quadrats since 2009. Excluding the Seorak Falls, the three research sites showed a three-layer structure in which the low-tree layer forms the canopy. Major tree species were Khingan fir, Korean arborvitae, Mongolian oak, Erman's birch, and Korean maple. The significance of Khingan fir in Seorak Falls decreased from 45.3% in 2009 to 36.8% in 2018. The number of shoots ($DBH{\geq}5cm$) was highest at 1,800 individuals/ha and 1,700 individuals/ha at the Gwittagicheongbong 2 and the Gwanmoneungseon, respectively. The mortality rates over the past 10 years were very high, at 38.3% and 35.3%, respectively, in the Gwittagicheongbong 1 and Seorak Falls. The most stable inverse J-shaped distribution in the Gwittagicheongbong 1 area was shown in the size-frequency distribution of the Khingan fir populations. The average annual ring growth of the Khingan fir was 0.96 ~ 1.73 mm/year, and the ring growth tended to decrease in the areas of Gwittagicheongbong 1, Gwanmoneungseon, and Seorak Falls, where the vitality was low. If the monitoring process continues, it will be possible to obtain basic data for the conservation and management of subalpine vegetation.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.156-185
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• 2012

In order to investigate vertical plant distribution on Osaek valley of Mt. Seorak by temperature change, vascular plants of fourteen areas with 100-meter-high difference were surveyed from the Osaekgyo(345m alt.) to the Daecheongbong(1708m alt.). A total of 449 taxa belonging to 94 families, 279 genera, 397 species, 5 subspecies, 45 varieties, and 2 forma were vegetated on survey areas. Around 500 m high did species diversity of vascular plants decrease rapidly. The Detrended correspondence analysis(DCA) divided distribution of vascular plants into five groups; areas below 500m alt., 500~900m alt., 900~1400m alt., 1,400~1,600m alt., and areas above 1,600m alt.. These results showed that vegetation of vascular plants on investigated areas has high correlation with climate elements of temperature. Vascular plants should be crowded within their own optimal ranges of vegetation. Climate change would result in shift of these distribution ranges, and thus vegetation shift will be happened accordingly.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.251-264
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• 2019

The displacement monitoring of unstable block at the rock slope located in the Cheonbuldong valley of Seoraksan National Park was carried out using Terrestrial LiDAR. The rock slopes around Guimyeonam and Oryeon waterfall where rockfall has occurred or is expected to occur are selected as the monitoring section. The displacement monitoring of unstable block at the rock slope in the selected area was performed 5 times for about 7 months using Terrestrial LiDAR. As a result of analyzing the displacement based on the Terrestrial LiDAR scanning, the error of displacement was highly influenced by the interpolation of the obstruction section and the difference of plants growth. To minimize the external influences causing the error, the displacement of unstable block should be detected at the real scanning point. As the result of analyzing the displacement of unstable rock at the rock slope using the Terrestrial LiDAR data, the amount of displacement was very small. Because the amount of displacement was less than the range of error, it was difficult to judge the actual displacement occurred. Meanwhile, it is important to select a section without vegetation to monitor the precise displacement of unstable rock at the rock slope using Terrestrial LiDAR. Also, the PointCloud removal and the mesh model analysis in a vegetation section were the most important work to secure reliability of data.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.102-111
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• 2022

Among protected areas, National Parks are rich in biodiversity, and the benefits of ecosystem services provided to human are higher than the others. Ecosystem service evaluation is being used to manage the value of national parks based on objective and scientific data. Ecosystem services are classified into four services: supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural. The purpose of this study is to evaluate habitat quality among supporting services. Habitat Quality Model of InVEST was used to analyze. The coefficients of sensitivity and habitat initial value were reset by reflecting prior studies and the actual conditions of protected areas. Habitat quality of 21 national parks except Hallasan National Park was analyzed and mapped. The value of habitat quality was evaluated to be between 0 and 1, and the closer it is to 1, the more natural it is. As a result of habitat quality analysis, Seoraksan and Taebaeksan National Parks (0.90), Jirisan and Odaesan National Parks (0.89), and Sobaeksan National Park (0.88) were found to be the highest in the order. As a result of comparing the area and habitat quality of 18 national parks except for coastal-marine national parks, the larger the area, the higher the overall habitat quality. Comparing the value of habitat quality of each zone, the value of habitat quality was high in the order of the park nature preservation zone, the park nature environmental zone, the park cultural heritage zone, and the park village zone. Considering both the analysis of habitat quality and the legal regulations for each zone of use, it is judged that the more artificial acts are restricted, the higher the habitat quality. This study is meaningful in analyzing habitat quality of 21 National Parks by readjusting the parameters according to the situation of protected areas in Korea. It is expected to be easy to intuitively understand through accurate data and mapping, and will be useful in making policy decisions regarding the development and preservation of protected areas in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.194-201
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• 2010

This study was carried out to analyze vegetation and soil characteristic, and ordination of subalpine forest vegetation of Daecheongbong area, Mt. Seorak. Communities by characteristic in species composition of subalpine forest were classified into Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum - Betula ermani community group, Pinus pumila, Abies nephrolepis, Thuja koraiensis, and Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum - Betula ermanii typical community. The results of the correlation between forest communitie sand soil conditions of Daecheongbong area by DCCA ordination method are as follows: The Pinus pumila community and Thuja koraiensis community were mainly found in the high percentage area of total nitrogen, available phosphorous, organic matter in comparison with Abies nephrolepis community and Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum - Betula ermanii typical community. The Abies nephrolepis community and Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum - Betula ermanii typical community were mainly found in the high elevation area in comparison with Pinus pumila community and Thuja koraiensis community. The Pinus pumila community and Thuja koraiensis community were mainly found in the northern and northwestern direction, but Abies nephrolepis community and Rhododendron mucronulatum var. ciliatum - Betula ermanii typical community were mainly found in the southwestern direction.