• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.43-53
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• 2023

This batch experiment evaluated the impacts of major plant nutrient releases by applying the modified Hyperbola model on the leachates and N₂O emissions from incorporated rice hull biochar with organic fertilizer materials. The treatments consisted of the control as incorporated with organic fertilizer materials, the incorporated rice hull biochar with organic fertilizer materials, and the incorporated plasma-activated rice hull biochar with organic fertilizer materials under redox conditions. The results indicated that the maximum release amount of NH₄-N was 3486.3 mg L^-1 in the control, and their reduction rates of NH₄-N, NO₃-N, PO₄-P, and K were 8.0%, 17.5% 44.3.0% and 8.7%, respectively, relative to the control. In the control, the highest soluble amount of PO₄-P was 681.0 mg L^-1. The estimations for accumulated NH₄-N, NO₃-N, PO₄-P, and K-releases in all the treatments were significantly (p<0.01) fitted with a modified Hyperbola model. For greenhouse gas emissions, the lowest cumulative N₂O was 340.4 mg kg^-1 in the soil incorporated with plasma-activated rice hull biochar, and the reduction rates were 27.8% and 86.4% in the rice hull biochar and plasma-activated rice hull biochar treatments, respectively, compared to the control. Therefore, it concluded that the incorporated rice hull biochar can be especially useful for controlling PO₄-P release and N₂O emissions for bio-fertilizer applications.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.302-313
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• 2008

The purposes of this study are to investigate the concentration levels of fine particles, so called PM$_{2.5}$, to identify the affecting sources, and to estimate quantitatively the source contributions of PM$_{2.5}$. Ambient air sampling was seasonally carried out at two sites in Pohang(a residential and an industrial area) during the period of March to December 2003. PM$_{2.5}$ samples were collected by high volume air samplers with a PM$_{10}$ Inlet and an impactor for particle size segregation, and then determined by gravimetric method. The chemical species associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometery(ICP) and ion chromatography(IC). The results showed that the most significant season for PM$_{2.5}$ mass concentrations appeared to be spring, followed by winter, fall, and summer. The annual mean concentrations of PM$_{2.5}$ were 36.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial and 30.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area, respectively. The major components associated with PM$_{2.5}$ were the secondary aerosols such as nitrates and sulfates, which were respectively 4.2 and 8.6 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the industrial area and 3.7 and 6.9 $\mu$g/m$^3$ in the residential area. The concentrations of chemical component in relation to natural emission sources such as Al, Ca, Mg, K were generally higher at both sampling sites than other sources. However, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cr in the industrial area were higher than those in the residential area. Based on the principal component analysis and stepwise multiple linear regression analysis for both areas, it was found that soil/road dust and secondary aerosols are the most significant factors affecting the variations of PM$_{2.5}$ in the ambient air of Pohang. The source apportionments of PM$_{2.5}$ were conducted by chemical mass balance(CMB) modeling. The contributions of PM$_{2.5}$ emission sources were estimated using the CMB8.0 receptor model, resulting that soil/road dust was the major contributor to PM$_{2.5}$, followed by secondary aerosols, vehicle emissions, marine aerosols, metallurgy industry. Finally, the application and its limitations of chemical mass balance modeling for PM$_{2.5}$ was discussed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.257-263
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• 2016

Objective of this study was to evaluate the carbon budget on 40 years old pear orchard at Naju. For carbon budget assessment, we measured the soil respiration, net ecosystem productivity of herbs, pear biomass and net ecosystem exchange. In 2015, pear orchard released about $25.6ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ by soil respiration. And $27.9ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ was sequestrated by biomass growth. Also about $12.6ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ was stored at pruning branches and about $5.2ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ for photosynthesis of herbs. As a result, 25.6 ton of $CO_2$ per ha is annually released to atmosphere. At the same time about 45.7 ton of $CO_2$ was sequestrated from atmosphere. When it sum up the amount of $CO_2$ release and sequestration, approximately $20.1ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}$ was sequestrated by pear orchard in 2015, and it showed no significant differences with net ecosystem exchanges ($17.8ton\;CO_2\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$) by eddy covariance method with the same period. Continuous research using various techniques will help the understanding of $CO_2$ dynamics in agroecosystem and it can be able to present a new methodology for assessment of carbon budget in woody crop field. Futhermore, it is expected that the this study can be used as the basic data to be recognized as a carbon sink.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.34 no.4 s.96
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• pp.261-266
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• 2001

Effects of elevated carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) on soil microbial processes were studied in a northern peatland. Intact peat cores with surface vegetation were collected from a northern Welsh fen, and incubated either under elevated carbon dioxide (700 ppm) or ambient carbon dioxide (350 ppm) conditions for 4 months. Higher algal biomass was found under the elevated $CO_2$ condition, suggesting $CO_2$ fertilization effect on primary production, At the end of the incubation, trace gas production and consumption were analyzed using chemical inhibitors. For methane ($CH_4$ ), methyl fluoride ($CH_3F$) was applied to determine methane oxidation rates, while acetylene ($C_2H_2$) blocking method were applied to determine nitrification and denitrification rates. First, we have adopted those methods to optimize the reaction conditions for the wetland samples. Secondly, the methods were applied to the samples incubated under two levels of $CO_2$. The results exhibited that elevated carbon dioxide increased both methane production (210 vs. $100\;ng\;CH_4 g^{-1}\;hr^{-1}$) and oxidation (128 vs. $15\;ng\;CH_4 g^{-1}\;hr^{-1}$), resulting in no net increase in methane flux. For nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) , elevated carbon dioxide enhanced nitrous oxide emission probably from activation of nitrification process rather than denitrification rates. All of these changes seemed to be substantially influenced by higher oxygen diffusion from enhanced algal productivity under elevated $CO_2$.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.235-242
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: About 81% of nitrous oxide ($N_2O$) emissions from agricultural land to the atmosphere is due to nitrogen (N) fertilizer application. Mitigation of $N_2O$ emissions can be more effective in controlling biochemical processes such as nitrification and denitrification in the soil rather than decreasing fertilizer application. The use of urease inhibitors is an effective way to improve N fertilizer efficiency and reduce $N_2O$ emissions. Several compounds act as urease inhibitors, but N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT) has been used worldwide. METHODS AND RESULTS: Hot pepper and chinese cabbage were cultivated in five treatments: standard fertilizer of nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium(N-P-K, $N-P_2O_5-K_2O$: 22.5-11.2-14.9 kg/ha for hot pepper and $N-P_2O_5-K_2O$: 32.0-7.8-19.8 kg/ha for chinese cabbage), no fertilizer, and NBPT-treated fertilizer of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 times of nitrogen basal application rate of the standard fertilizer, respectively in Gyeonggi-do Hwaseong-si for 2 years(2015-2016). According to application of NBPT-treated fertilizer in hot pepper and chinese cabbage, $N_2O$ emission decreased by 19-20% compared to that of the standard fertilizer plot. CONCLUSION: NBPT-treated fertilizer proved that $N_2O$ emissions decreased statistically significant in the same growth conditions as the standard fertilization in the hot pepper and chinese cabbage cultivated fields. It means that NBPT-treated fertilizer can be applied for N fertilizer efficiency and $N_2O$ emissions reduction.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.100-107
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• 2021

Along with an increase in the frequency of high-concentration fine particulate matter in Korea, interest and research on ammonia (NH₃) are actively increasing. It is obvious that agriculture has contributed significantly to NH₃ emissions. However, studies on the long-term effect of fertilizer use on the ambient NH₃ concentration of agricultural land are insufficient. Therefore, in this study, NH₃ concentration in the atmosphere of agricultural land was monitored for 11 months using a passive sampler. The average ambient NH₃ concentration during the total study period was 2.02 ㎍ m^-3 and it was found that the effect of fertilizer application on the ambient NH₃ concentration was greatest in the month immediately following fertilizer application (highest ambient NH₃ concentration as 11.36㎍ m^-3). After that, it was expected that the NH₃ volatilization was promoted by increases in summer temperature and the concentration in the atmosphere was expected to increase. However, high NH₃ concentrations in the atmosphere were not observed due to strong rainfall that lasted for a long period. After that, the ambient NH₃ concentration gradually decreased through autumn and winter. In summary, when studying the contribution of fertilizer to the rate of domestic NH₃ emissions, it is necessary to look intensively for at least one month immediately after fertilizer application, and weather information such as precipitation and no-rain days should be considered in the field study.