• Title/Summary/Keyword: Soil energy

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Review of Production, Husbandry and Sustainability of Free-range Pig Production Systems

  • Miao, Z.H.;Glatz, P.C.;Ru, Y.J.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.17 no.11
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    • pp.1615-1634
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    • 2004
  • A review was undertaken to obtain information on the sustainability of pig free-range production systems including the management, performance and health of pigs in the system. Modern outdoor rearing systems requires simple portable and flexible housing with low cost fencing. Local pig breeds and outdoor-adapted breeds for certain environment are generally more suitable for free-range systems. Free-range farms should be located in a low rainfall area and paddocks should be relatively flat, with light topsoil overlying free-draining subsoil with the absence of sharp stones that can cause foot damage. Huts or shelters are crucial for protecting pigs from direct sun burn and heat stress, especially when shade from trees and other facilities is not available. Pigs commonly graze on strip pastures and are rotated between paddocks. The zones of thermal comfort for the sow and piglet differ markedly; between 12-22$^{\circ}C$ for the sow and 30-37$^{\circ}C$ for piglets. Offering wallows for free-range pigs meets their behavioural requirements, and also overcomes the effects of high ambient temperatures on feed intake. Pigs can increase their evaporative heat loss via an increase in the proportion of wet skin by using a wallow, or through water drips and spray. Mud from wallows can also coat the skin of pigs, preventing sunburn. Under grazing conditions, it is difficult to control the fibre intake of pigs although a high energy, low fibre diet can be used. In some countries outdoor sows are fitted with nose rings to prevent them from uprooting the grass. This reduces nutrient leaching of the land due to less rooting. In general, free-range pigs have a higher mortality compared to intensively housed pigs. Many factors can contribute to the death of the piglet including crushing, disease, heat stress and poor nutrition. With successful management, free-range pigs can have similar production to door pigs, although the growth rate of the litters is affected by season. Piglets grow quicker indoors during the cold season compared to outdoor systems. Pigs reared outdoors show calmer behaviour. Aggressive interactions during feeding are lower compared to indoor pigs while outdoor sows are more active than indoor sows. Outdoor pigs have a higher parasite burden, which increases the nutrient requirement for maintenance and reduces their feed utilization efficiency. Parasite infections in free-range pigs also risks the image of free-range pork as a clean and safe product. Diseases can be controlled to a certain degree by grazing management. Frequent rotation is required although most farmers are keeping their pigs for a longer period before rotating. The concept of using pasture species to minimise nematode infections in grazing pigs looks promising. Plants that can be grown locally and used as part of the normal feeding regime are most likely to be acceptable to farmers, particularly organic farmers. However, one of the key concerns from the public for free-range pig production system is the impact on the environment. In the past, the pigs were held in the same paddock at a high stocking rate, which resulted in damage to the vegetation, nutrient loading in the soil, nitrate leaching and gas emission. To avoid this, outdoor pigs should be integrated in the cropping pasture system, the stock should be mobile and stocking rate related to the amount of feed given to the animals.

Analysis of the Effect of Heat Island on the Administrative District Unit in Seoul Using LANDSAT Image (LANDSAT영상을 이용한 서울시 행정구역 단위의 열섬효과 분석)

  • Lee, Kyung Il;Ryu, Jieun;Jeon, Seong Woo;Jung, Hui Cheul;Kang, Jin Young
    • Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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    • v.33 no.5_3
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    • pp.821-834
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    • 2017
  • The increase in the rate of industrialization due to urbanization has caused the Urban Heat Island phenomenon where the temperature of the city is higher than the surrounding area, and its intensity is increasing with climate change. Among the cities where heat island phenomenon occurs, Seoul city has different degree of urbanization, green area ratio, energy consumption, and population density in each administrative district, and as a result, the strength of heat island is also different. So It is necessary to analyze the difference of Urban Heat Island Intensity by administrative district and the cause. In this study, the UHI intensity of the administrative gu and the administrative dong were extracted from the Seoul metropolitan area and the differences among the administrative districts were examined. and linear regression analysis were conducted with The variables included in the three categories(weather condition, anthropogenic heat generation, and land use characteristics) to investigate the cause of the difference in heat UHI intensity in each administrative district. As a result of analysis, UHI Intensity was found to be different according to the characteristics of administrative gu, administrative dong, and surrounding environment. The difference in administrative dong was larger than gu unit, and the UHI Intensity of gu and the UHI Intensity distribution of dongs belonging to the gu were also different. Linear regression analysis showed that there was a difference in heat island development intensity according to the average wind speed, development degree, Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) value. Among them, the SAVI and NDBI showed a difference in value up to the dong unit and The creation of a wind route environment for the mitigation of the heat island phenomenon is necessary for the administrative dong unit level. Therefore, it is considered that projects for mitigating heat island phenomenon such as land cover improvement plan, wind route improvement plan, and green wall surface plan for development area need to consider administrative dongs belonging to the gu rather than just considering the difference of administrative gu units. The results of this study are expected to provide the directions for urban thermal environment design and policy development in the future by deriving the necessity of analysis unit and the factors to be considered for the administrative city unit to mitigate the urban heat island phenomenon.

Importance of Microtextural and Geochemical Characterizations of Soils on Landslide Sites (산사태지역 토층의 미세조직과 지화학적 특성의 중요성)

  • Kim Kyeong-Su;Choo Chang-Oh;Booh Seong-An;Jeong Gyo-Cheol
    • The Journal of Engineering Geology
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    • v.15 no.4 s.42
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    • pp.447-462
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    • 2005
  • The purposes of this study are to evaluate and discuss the importance of geochemical properties of soil materials that play an important role in the occurrence of the landslide, using analyses of microtexture, particle size distribution, XRC, and FE-SEM equipped with energy dispersive spectrum on soils collected from landslide slopes of gneiss, granite and sedimentary rock areas. Soils from gneiss and granite areas where landslides took place have much clay content relative to those from non landslide areas, particularly pronounced in the granite area. Therefore the clay content is considered a sensitive factor on landslide. Clay minerals contained in soils are illite, chlorite, kaolinite and montmorillonite. Especially the content of clay minerals in soils from the Tertiary sedimentary rocks is highest, with abundant montmorillonite as expandable species. It is believed that this area was much vulnerable to landslide comparable to other areas because of its high content of monoorillonite, even though there might be weak precipitation. Since no conspicuous differentiation in mineralogy between the landslide area and non landslide area can be made, the occurrence of landslide may be influenced not by mineralogy, but by local geography and mechanical properties of soils. Geochemical information on weathering properties, mineralogy, and microtexture of soils is helpful to better understand the causes and patterns of landslide, together with engineering geological analyses.

Rapid Detection of Radioactive Strontium in Water Samples Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) (Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS)를 이용한 방사성 스트론튬 오염물질에 대한 신속한 모니터링 기술)

  • Park, Jin-young;Kim, Hyun-a;Park, Kihong;Kim, Kyoung-woong
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.50 no.5
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    • pp.341-352
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    • 2017
  • Along with Cs-137 (half-life: 30.17 years), Sr-90 (half-life: 28.8 years) is one of the most important environmental monitoring radioactive elements. Rapid and easy monitoring method for Sr-90 using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has been studied. Strontium belongs to a bivalent alkaline earth metal such as calcium and has similar electron arrangement and size. Due to these similar chemical properties, it can easily enter into the human body through the food chain via water, soil, and crops when leaked into the environment. In addition, it is immersed into the bone at the case of human influx and causes the toxicity for a long time (biological half-life: about 50 years). It is a very reductive and related with the specific reaction that makes wet analysis difficult. In particular, radioactive strontium should be monitored by nuclear power plants but it is very difficult to be analysed from high-cost problems as well as low accuracy of analysis due to complicated analysis procedures, expensive analysis equipment, and a pretreatment process of using massive chemicals. Therefore, we introduce the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis method that analyzes the elements in the sample using the inherent spectrum by generating plasma on the sample using pulse energy, and it can be analyzed in a few seconds without preprocessing. A variety of analytical plates for samples were developed to improve the analytical sensitivity by optimizing the laser, wavelength, and time resolution. This can be effectively applied to real-time monitoring of radioactive wastewater discharged from a nuclear power plant, and furthermore, it can be applied as an emergency monitoring means such as possible future accidents at a nuclear power plants.

Carbon Budget in Campus of the National Institute of Ecology (국립생태원 캠퍼스 내 주요 식생의 탄소수지)

  • Kim, Gyung Soon;Lim, Yun Kyung;An, Ji Hong;Lee, Jae Seok;Lee, Chang Seok
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.167-175
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    • 2014
  • This study was conducted to quantify a carbon budget of major vegetation types established in the campus of the National Institute of Ecology (NIE). Carbon budget was measured for Pinus thunbergii and Castanea crenata stands as the existing vegetation. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) was determined by applying allometric method and soil respiration was measured by EGM-4. Heterotrophic respiration was calculated as 55% of total respiration based on the existing results. Net Ecosystem Production (NEP) was determined by the difference between NPP and heterotrophic respiration (HR). NPPs of P. thunbergii and C. crenata stands were shown in $4.9ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and $5.3ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$, respectively. Heterotrophic respirations of P. thunbergii and C. crenata stands were shown in $2.4ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and $3.5ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$, respectively. NEPs of P. thunbergii and C. crenata stands were shown in $2.5ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and $1.8ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$, respectively. Carbon absorption capacity for the whole set of vegetation types established in the NIE was estimated by applying NEP indices obtained from current study and extrapolating NEP indices from existing studies. The value was shown in $147.6ton\;C\;ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ and it was calculated as $541.2ton\;CO_2ha^{-1}yr^{-1}$ converted into $CO_2$. This function corresponds to 62% of carbon emission from energy that NIE uses for operation of various facilities including the glass domes known in Ecorium. This carbon offset capacity corresponds to about five times of them of the whole national territory of Korea and the representative rural area, Seocheongun. Considered the fact that ongoing climate change was originated from imbalance of carbon budget at the global level, it is expected that evaluation on carbon budget in the spatial dimension reflected land use pattern could provide us baseline information being required to solve fundamentally climate change problem.

Lessons from Cross-Scale Studies of Water and Carbon Cycles in the Gwangneung Forest Catchment in a Complex Landscape of Monsoon Korea (몬순기후와 복잡지형의 특성을 갖는 광릉 산림유역의 물과 탄소순환에 대한 교차규모 연구로부터의 교훈)

  • Lee, Dong-Ho;Kim, Joon;Kim, Su-Jin;Moon, Sang-Ki;Lee, Jae-Seok;Lim, Jong-Hwan;Son, Yow-Han;Kang, Sin-Kyu;Kim, Sang-Hyun;Kim, Kyong-Ha;Woo, Nam-Chil;Lee, Bu-Yong;Kim, Sung
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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    • v.9 no.2
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    • pp.149-160
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    • 2007
  • KoFlux Gwangneung Supersite comprises complex topography and diverse vegetation types (and structures), which necessitate complementary multi-disciplinary measurements to understand energy and matter exchange. Here, we report the results of this ongoing research with special focuses on carbon/water budgets in Gwangneung forest, implications of inter-dependency between water and carbon cycles, and the importance of hydrology in carbon cycling under monsoon climate. Comprehensive biometric and chamber measurements indicated the mean annual net ecosystem productivity (NEP) of this forest to be ${\sim}2.6\;t\;C\;ha^{-1}y^{-1}$. In conjunction with the tower flux measurement, the preliminary carbon budget suggests the Gwangneung forest to be an important sink for atmospheric $CO_2$. The catchment scale water budget indicated that $30\sim40%$ of annual precipitation was apportioned to evapotranspiration (ET). The growing season average of the water use efficiency (WUE), determined from leaf carbon isotope ratios of representative tree species, was about $12{\mu}mol\;CO_2/mmol\;H_2O$ with noticeable seasonal variations. Such information on ET and WUE can be used to constrain the catchment scale carbon uptake. Inter-annual variations in tree ring growth and soil respiration rates correlated with the magnitude and the pattern of precipitation during the growing season, which requires further investigation of the effect of a monsoon climate on the catchment carbon cycle. Additionally, we examine whether structural and functional units exist in this catchment by characterizing the spatial heterogeneity of the study site, which will provide the linkage between different spatial and temporal scale measurements.

A Study on the Behaviour of Prebored and Precast Steel Pipe Piles from Full-Scale Field Tests and Class-A and C1 Type Numerical Analyses (현장시험과 Class-A 및 C1 type 수치해석을 통한 강관매입말뚝의 거동에 대한 연구)

  • Kim, Sung-Hee;Jung, Gyoung-Ja;Jeong, Sang-Seom;Jeon, Young-Jin;Kim, Jeong-Sub;Lee, Cheol-Ju
    • Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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    • v.18 no.7
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    • pp.37-47
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    • 2017
  • In this study, a series of full-scale field tests on prebored and precast steel pipe piles and the corresponding numerical analysis have been conducted in order to study the characteristics of pile load-settlement relations and shear stress transfer at the pile-soil interface. Dynamic pile load tests (EOID and restrike) have been performed on the piles and the estimated design pile loads from EOID and restrike tests were analysed. Class-A type numerical analyses conducted prior to the pile loading tests were 56~105%, 65~121% and 38~142% respectively of those obtained from static load tests. In addition, design loads estimated from the restrike tests indicate increases of 12~60% compared to those estimated in the EOID tests. The EOID tests show large end bearing capacity while the restrike tests demonstrate increased skin friction. When impact energy is insufficient during the restrike tests, the end bearing capacity may be underestimated. It has been found that total pile capacity would be reasonably estimated if skin friction from the restrike tests and end bearing capacity from the EOID are combined. The load-settlement relation measured from the static pile load tests and estimated from the numerical modelling is in general agreement until yielding occurs, after which results from the numerical analyses substantially deviated away from those obtained from the static load tests. The measured pile behaviour from the static load tests shows somewhat similar behaviour of perfectly-elastic plastic materials after yielding with a small increase in the pile load, while the numerical analyses demonstrates a gradual increase in the pile load associated with strain hardening approaching ultimate pile load. It has been discussed that the load-settlement relation mainly depends upon the stiffness of the ground, whilst the shear transfer mechanism depends on shear strength parameters.

A Study on Ecological Characteristics and Changes of Vegetation in Hamyangsangrim (함양상림 식생의 생태적 특성 변화 연구)

  • Kim, Dong-Wook;Lee, Seung-Joo;Lee, Soo-Dong;Kim, Ji-Seok;Han, Bong-Ho
    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.26 no.4
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    • pp.537-549
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    • 2012
  • The purpose of this study was to provide data for the basic research to found the effective conservation and management plan for the Hamyangsangrim designated as Natural Monument No. 154 and surround areas by analyzing the ecological characteristics such as landuse and actual vegetation, plant community structure, soil chemical property and also to identify the tendency of the ecosystem changes through comparison with past studies. According to analysis the results, the landuse and actual vegetation of survey site was classified as 8 types which were forest, artificial greenspace, plaza and open-space, bare ground and the pavement, water bodies, facilities, agricultural land and etc.. It was also categorized as 38 types according to detailed characteristic. 15 kinds of forest vegetation community types comprising silva were classified among them. The changes of actual vegetation showed little variation that the Quercus serrata-Carpinus tschonoskii forest was the most widely distributed in 2003(forest area ratio is 48.3%) and 2010(forest area ratio is 48.1%), whereas, the Quercus serrata forest declined a more dramatic from 11.6% to 23.2%. The Quercus serrata-Carpinus tschonoskii forest increased sharply(11.6% ${\rightarrow}$ 23.2%) and also the Quercus serrata-Zelkova serrata forest increased steadily(2.2% ${\rightarrow}$ 7.9%). The agricultural land around forest was transformed into artificial green zone. Moreover, water bodies, bare ground and the pavement of areas have increased. In addition, the urbanized area has decreased because the damaged areas inside forest have been restored to the woodlands. According to the result of typical 6 types vegetation communities change, the middle layer trees grew up to the canopy layer trees and was formed the canopy layer structure. The middle layer trees expanded their forces widely. Also new species appeared. And the shrub individuals also more dramatically increased due to the growth of shrubs. The force of Quercus serrata declined as well. However the force of Carpinus tschonoskii and Zelkova serrata expanded and increased in the forest. It must be the result of the ecological vegetation succession and environmentally soundly health recovery by influence of the projects of forest surrounding environment improvement and limitation of access to forest have managed and maintained since 2003. Those sorts of changes seems to be going to develop continuously. In the future Carpinus tschonoskii and Zelkova serrata will not be only codominant in the canopy layer but also Carpinus Tschonoskii, Zelkova serrata, Meliosma myriantha, Sapium japonicum. Styrax obassia and Acer pseudo-sieboldianum will be codominant in the middle layer. As a result, the forest's codominance species are going to be changed such like that.