• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.102-111
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• 2014

Ecological restoration is regarded as a major strategy for preventing biodiversity loss and thereby enhancing ecosystem service. This study was performed to evaluate ecosystem service value that the restored ecosystem provides. Ecosystem service was evaluated for provisioning and regulating services. The former service was evaluated by comparing similarities in a viewpoint of floristic composition to the reference site between the restored and the unrestored sites. Species composition of the restored site was found to be more similar to the reference site than that of the unrestored site and thereby restoration practice contributed for enhancing the provisioning service. Regulating service was evaluated based on microclimate control, soil amelioration, and improvement of water holding capacity. The value of ecosystem services in terms of microclimate control, soil amelioration, and improvement of water holding capacity was higher in the restored site than in the unrestored site. In consequence, ecological restoration of coal mine spoils contributed for enhancing the ecosystem service value of the corresponding site and thereby is rewarding the cost invested for restoration.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.148-148
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• 2019

The 2006 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) defines ecosystem services (ES) as "the benefits people obtain from ecosystems". Identifying where ES originates, whom it benefits and how it is changing over a period of time is critical in rapidly developing country like Nepal, where the risk of ES loss is high. In the context of various ecosystem services provided by watershed, this study, particularly deals with water yield, Soil loss and Carbon sequestration computation and evaluation in Bagmati Basin of Nepal. As Bagmati Basin incorporates capital city Kathmandu of nepal, land use change is significant over decades and mapping of ES is crucial for sustainable development of Basin in future. In this regard, the objectives of this study are 1) To compute the total and sub-watershed scale water yield of the basin, 2) Computation of soil loss and sediment retention in the basin, and 3) Computation of carbon sequestration in the basin. Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), a popular model for ecosystem service assessment based on Budyko hydrological method is used to compute Ecosystem services. The scenario of ES in two periods of time can be referenced for various approaches of prioritization and incorporation of their value into local and regional decision making for management of basin.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.1-15
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• 2016

The study of ecosystem service assessment has been actively researched and developed from Millennium Ecosystem Assessment(MA) and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity(TEEB). However, current assessments are limited to monetary assessments of ecosystem function and do not account for the effects of environmental factors and socioeconomic status. This study proposes methods to evaluate ecosystem service based on environmental and socioeconomic factors. The study assesses water yield function through the water yield model in InVEST Tool, and evaluates the overall ecosystem service of water yield as reflected by the amount of precipitation and population of the area. Results show that a difference exists between spatial distributions of the ecosystem function of water yield derived from natural conditions such as land cover and soil, and the spatial distribution of the ecosystem service that accounts for climate and socioeconomic factors. The value of ecosystem service increases for an area of higher population and lower precipitation with similar water yield. Thus, the ecosystem service of water yield should be evaluated not only by the water yield function, but also by climate and socioeconomic factors. The evaluation process described for this study should also be applicable to the evaluation of ecological services in other sectors.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.9-16
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• 2013

Coastal sand dune area is an important ecosystem as an ecotone which is located between coastal area and terrestrial area. In order to understand the sand dune ecosystem in terms of its habitat characteristics, micrometeorological analysis was carried out in a coastal sand dune in Hakampo, Taeanhaean National Park, Korea. Micrometeorological measurements were made to monitor air and soil temperatures, relative humidity, soil water content, rainfall, solar radiation, wind speed, and wind direction. In contrary to a forest ecosystem, the coastal sand dune grassland ecosystem was relatively hotter and very humid with heavy rainfalls concentrated between June and July. The seasonal change of daily mean soil temperature was greater than that of air temperature by $2{\sim}3^{\circ}C$. Daily mean soil water content was less than 10% throughout the year. Also, the maximum wind speed of 156.7 m $s^{-1}$ was recorded on 7 October 2011. The observed seasonal wind direction was different from those observed at Seosan by KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration). To better understand the habitat characteristics in a costal sand dune grassland ecosystem, long-term multi-year measurements are needed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.1-13
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• 2021

This study was performed to investigate the ecosystem service patterns in relation to climate change acceleration utilizing big data analysis. This study aimed to use big data analysis as one of the network of views to identify convergent thinking in two fields: climate change and ecosystem service. The keywords were analysed to ascertain if there were any differences in the perceiving problems, policy direction, climate change implications, and regional differences. In addition, we examined the research keywords of each continent, the centre of ecosystem service research, and the topics to be referred to in domestic research. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, the keyword centrality of climate change is similar to the detailed indicators of The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) regulations, content, and non-material ecosystem services. Second, the cross-analysis of terms in two journals showed a difference in value-oriented point; the Ecosystem Service Journal identified green infrastructure as having economic value, whereas the Climate Change Journal perceives water, forest, carbon, and biodiversity as management topics. The Climate Change Journal, but not the former, focuses on future predictions. Third, the analysis of the research topics according to continents showed that water and soil are closely related to the economy, and thus, play an important role in policy formulation. This disparity is due to differences in each continent's environmental characteristics, as well as economic and policy issues. This fact can be used to refer to the direction of research on ecosystem services in Korea. Consistent with the recent trend of expanding research regarding the impacts of climate change, it is necessary to study strategies to scientifically predict and respond to the negative effects of climate change.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.20-29
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• 2018

Background: For various reasons such as agricultural and economical purposes, land-use changes are rapidly increasing not only in Korea but also in the world, leading to shifts in the characteristics of local carbon cycle. Therefore, in order to understand the large-scale ecosystem carbon cycle, it is necessary first to understand vegetation on this local scale. As a result, it is essential to comprehend change of the carbon balance attributed by the land-use changes. In this study, we attempt to understand accumulated soil carbon (ASC) and soil respiration (Rs) related to carbon cycle in two ecosystems, artificially turned forest into pastureland from forest and a native deciduous temperate forest, resulted from different land-use in the same area. Results: Rs were shown typical seasonal changes in the alpine pastureland (AP) and temperate deciduous forest (TDF). The annual average Rs was $160.5mg\;CO_2\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$ in the AP, but it was $405.1mg\;CO_2\;m^{-2}h^{-1}$ in the TDF, indicating that the Rs in the AP was lower about 54% than that in the TDF. Also, ASC in the AP was $124.49Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$ from litter layer to 30-cm soil depth. The ASC was about $88.9Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$, and it was 71.5% of that of the AP. The temperature factors in the AP was high about $4^{\circ}C$ on average compared to the TDF. In AP, it was observed high amount of sunlight entering near the soil surface which is related to high soil temperature is due to low canopy structure. This tendency is due to the smaller emission of organic carbon that is accumulated in the soil, which means a higher ASC in the AP compared to the TDF. Conclusions: The artificial transformation of natural ecosystems into different ecosystems is proceeding widely in the world as well as Korea. The change in land-use type is caused to make the different characteristics of carbon cycle and storage in same region. For evaluating and predicting the carbon cycle in the vegetation modified by the human activity, it is necessary to understand the carbon cycle and storage characteristics of natural ecosystems and converted ecosystems. In this study, we studied the characteristics of ecosystem carbon cycle using different forms in the same region. The land-use changes from a TDF to AP leads to changes in dominant vegetation. Removal of canopy increased light and temperature conditions and slightly decreased SMC during the growing season. Also, land-use change led to an increase of ASC and decrease of Rs in AP. In terms of ecosystem carbon sequestration, AP showed a greater amount of carbon stored in the soil due to sustained supply of above-ground liters and lower degradation rate (soil respiration) than TDF in the high mountains. This shows that TDF and AP do not have much difference in terms of storage and circulation of carbon because the amount of carbon in the forest biomass is stored in the soil in the AP.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.341-351
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• 2019

Background: Standing biomass, litter production, rate of litter decomposition, amount of litter on forest floor, and amount of soil organic carbon distribution were investigated from March 2016 to November 2018 in order to evaluate the ecosystem value through organic carbon distribution in the Pinus densiflora forest at Namsan, Seoul Metropolitan City. Results: The amount of organic carbon in the Pinus densiflora forest was 261.09 ton C ha^-1 during the research period, and fixed organic carbon in plant through net photosynthesis was 3.2 ton C ha^-1 year^-1. The organic carbon in plant was 62.77 ton C ha^-1 (24.04%), in litter on the forest floor was 3.65 ton C ha^-1 (1.40%), and in soil was 194.67 ton C ha^-1 (74.56%). The value of plant, litter on forest floor, and soil organic carbon distribution were each 6,277,000 won ha^-1, 365, 000 won ha^-1, and 19,467,000 won ha^-1. The value per ton of fixed organic carbon in plant through net photosynthesis was 320,000 won ha^-1 year^-1 and the value of ecosystem services stored in carbon in the Namsan forest ecosystem was about 26.1 million won ha^-1 for 3 years. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the pine forests of Namsan rapidly decompose leaves due to the high atmospheric temperature and accumulate a large amount of organic carbon in the soil to provide climate control regulatory service function.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.33 no.6_3
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• pp.1187-1196
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• 2017

Despite the continuing effort to estimate the value of function and services of ecosystem, most of the researches has used low and medium resolution satellite imagery such as MODIS or Landsat. It means that the researches to measure the ecosystem service value using VHR (Very High Resolution) satellite imagery have not been performed much, while the source of available VHR imagery is increasing. Thus, the aim of this study is to estimate and compare the result of ecosystem service value over Sejong city, S. Korea, which is one of the rapidly changed city, through the pixel-based and object-based classification analysis using VHR KOMPSAT-3 images, for more specific and precise information. In the result of the classification, forest and grassland were underestimated while agriculture and urban were overestimated in the pixel-based result compared to the object-based result. Furthermore, bare soil area was presented contrasting result that was increased in the pixel-based result, however, decreased in the object-based result. Using those results, ecosystem service values were estimated. The annual ecosystem service values in 2014 were $8.18 million USD(pixel-based) and $8.63 million USD(object-based), however, decreased to $7.80 million USD(pixel-based) and $8.62 million USD(object-based) in 2016. It is expected to use those results as a preliminary data when to make sustainable development plan and policy to improve the quality of life in the local level.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.78-90
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• 2015

Short rotation woody crops belonging to the genera Populus L., Salix L., Pinus L., and Eucalyptus L'Her. have provided broad economic and ecological benefits throughout the world, including afforestation and reforestation along urban to rural gradients. Within the genus Populus, cottonwoods, poplars, aspens, and their hybrids (hereafter referred to as poplars) have been shown to exhibit favorable genotype ${\times}$ environment interactions, especially in the face of changing climates. Similar growth responses have been reported for Pinus, especially with white pine (Pinus strobus L.) in the North Central United States. This has led to current research priorities focused on ecosystem services for both genera. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) defines cultural, supporting, provisioning, and regulating ecosystem services. The overarching objective of this paper was to synthesize information about the potential of poplars to provide multiple ecosystem services when grown at sites with varying soil and climate conditions across landscape gradients from urban to rural areas. Specific objectives included: 1) providing background of the United States Forest Service and its Research and Development branch, 2) integrating knowledge of current poplar breeding and development with biomass provisioning and carbon regulating ecosystem services as they relate to changing climates in the North Central United States, and 3) providing a case study illustrating this integration through comparisons of poplar with white pine. Our results were evaluated in the context of climate change mitigation, with specific focus on selection of favorable genotypes for sequestering atmospheric carbon and reducing fossil fuel carbon emissions.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.112-122
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• 2023

To restore the ecological function of contaminated soil and maximize the ecological services provided by the soil, besides the toxicity orrisk caused by pollutants, the functional aspects of the soil ecosystem should be considered. In this study, a method for evaluating the health of cleaned soil was presented, and the applicability of the proposed evaluation method was examined by applying it to soil treated with washing and landfarming. Productivity, habitat, water retention capacity, nutrient cycling, carbon retention capacity, and buffering capacity were used as soil health evaluation indicators. The results showed that the soil health was not completely recovered after remediation, and even in the case of the washed soil, the health was lower than before remediation. On the other hand, there was no significant change in soil quality due to oil pollution, but soil health deteriorated. Unlike the slightly improved soil quality after landfarming treatment, soil health was not completely restored. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that it is desirable to consider both soil quality and health when evaluating the remediation effect. The soil health evaluation method proposed in this study can be usefully utilized for the sustainable use of cleaned soil and to promote ecosystem services.