• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.131-140
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• 2021

It is becoming more important to utilize reclaimed lands in South Korea, due to the increasing competition for its usage among different sectors. However, the high groundwater level and poor permeability are exposing them to deterioration by salinization. Salinization is difficult to predict because the pattern changes according to various characteristics of soil and groundwater. In this study, the capillary rising time was studied by the water content profile in the soil. The prediction equation of soil salinity was developed based on simulation result of the CHEMFLO model. to enable prediction considering various soil water content and groundwater level. The two terms constituting the equation showed the coefficients of determination of 0.9816 and 0.9824, respectively. Using the prediction equation of the study, the surface salinity can be easily predicted from the initial surface salinity and the salinity of the groundwater. In the future, more precise predictions will be possible with the results of studies on the hydraulic characteristics of various reclaimed soils, changes in water content profile by seasonal and climate events.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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• v.12 no.2 s.31
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• pp.49-56
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• 2006

The application of domestic wastewater on rice paddies results in the accumulation of sodium(Na$^+$) to the soil. Excessive concentration of sodium may cause the deterioration of the physical characteristics of the soil, change in the osmosis of the soil, destruction of soil aggregates as well as ion toxicity due to sodium accumulation. Using domestic wastewater as irrigation water should be preceded by measures to prevent or control the soil salinization caused by sodium. Agricultural reuse of domestic wastewater were found not to cause serious problems with food safety due to heavy metals. However, pre-treatment using ultraviolet or ozone is recommended to reduce the number of bacteria and gem and for public health reasons. Using domestic wastewater has shown that reducing the standard application of chemical fertilizers by as much as 50% reduced the harvesting index by only 10%. This study has shown that it is feasible to reuse domestic wastewater on rice paddies. In order to facilitate the application, it is deemed necessary to establish wastewater treatment technologies in the future, to review criteria for recycling domestic wastewater for agricultural purposes such as conditions of soil and cropping system and to resolve conflicts with farmers and public health issues.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.387-395
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• 2017

Sea level rise, accompanied by climate change, is expected to exacerbate seawater intrusion in the coastal groundwater system. As the salinity of saturated groundwater increases, salinity can increase even in the unsaturated soil above the groundwater surface, which may cause crop damage in the agricultural land. The other adverse impact of sea level rise is reduced unsaturated soil thicknesses. In this study, a composite model to assess impacts of sea level rise in coastal agricultural land is proposed. The composite model is based on the combined applications of a three dimensional model for simulating saltwater intrusion into the groundwater and a vertical one dimensional model for simulating unsaturated zone flow and transport. The water level and salinity distribution of groundwater are calculated using the three dimensional seawater intrusion model. At some uppermost nodes, where salinity are higher than the reference value, of the 3D mesh one dimensional unsaturated zone modeling is conducted along the soil layer between the ground water surface and the ground surface. A particular location is judged salinized when the concentration at the root-zone depth exceeds the tolerable salinity for ordinary crops. The developed model is applied to a hypothetical agricultural reclamation land. IPCC RCP 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios were used as sea level rise data. Results are presented for 2050 and 2100. As a result of the study, it is predicted that by 2100 in the climate change scenario RCP 8.5, there will be 7.8% increase in groundwater saltwater-intruded area, 6.0% increase of salinized soil area, and 1.6% in increase in water-logging area.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.63-77
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• 2002

Salinization is an important environmental problem encountered in coastal aquifers. In order to evaluate the salinization problem in the western coastal area of Korea, we have performed a regional hydrochemical study on shallow well groundwaters (N=229) collected within 10 km away from the coastline. The concentrations of analyzed solutes are very wide in range, suggesting that the hydrochemistry is controlled by several processes such as water-rock interaction, seawater mixing, and anthropogenic contamination. Based on the graphical interpretation of cumulative frequency curves for some hydrochemical parameters (esp., $Cl^{-}$ and ${NO_3}^-$), the collected water samples were grouped into two major populations (1) a background population whose chemistry is predominantly affected by water-rock interaction, and (2) an anomalous population which records the potential influences by either seawater mixing or anthropogenic pollution. The threshold values obtained are 34.7 mg/l for $Cl^{-}$ and 37.2 mg/l for ${NO_3}^-$, Using these two constituents, groundwaters were further grouped into four water types as follows (the numbers in parenthesis indicate the percentage of each type water) : (1) type 1 waters (38%) that are relatively poor in $Cl^{-}$ and ${NO_3}^-$, which may represent their relatively little contamination due to seawater mixing and anthropogenic pollution; (2) type 2 waters (21%) which are enriched in $Cl^{-}$, Indicating the considerable influence by seawater mixing; (3) ${NO_3}^-$-rich, type 3 waters (11%) which record significant anthropogenic pollution; and (4) type 4 waters (30%) enriched in both $Cl^{-}$ and ${NO_3}^-$, reflecting the effects of both seawater mixing and anthropogenic contamination. The results of the water type classification correspond well with the grouping on a Piper's diagram. On a Br x $10^4$versus Cl molar ratio diagram, most of type 2 waters are also plotted along or near the seawater mixing line. The discriminant analysis of hydrochemical data also shows that the classification of waters into four types are so realistic to adequately reflect the major process(es) proposed for the hydrochemical evolution of each water type. As a tool for evaluating the degree of seawater mixing, we propose a parameter called 'Seawater Mixing Index (S.M.I.)’ which is based on the concentrations of Na, Mg, Cl, and $SO_4$. All the type 1 and 3 waters have the S.M.I. values smaller than one, while type 2 and type 4 waters mostly have the values greater than 1. In the western coastal area of Korea, more than 21% of shallow groundwaters appear to be more or less affected by salinization process.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.349-355
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• 2008

The causes of salt accumulation in soils of plastic film houses nearby Sumjin river estuary in Mokdo-ri($127^{\circ}46'E\;35^{\circ}1'N$), Hadong, Gyeongnam, Korea were investigated in 2006. With chemical properties soils and water analyzed and fertilization status monitored, the study showed that mean salt concentration of soil was much higher at EC $4.3\;dS\;m^{-1}$ than the Korean average (EC $2.9\;dS\;m^{-1}$) in 2000s for plastic film house's soil with exchangeable Na $0.8\;cmol^+\;kg^{-1}$ and water-soluble Cl $232\;mg\;kg^{-1}$, and then might result to salt damage in sensitive crop plants. Salt concentration of ground water used as main irrigation water source contained very high EC with corresponding value of $2.6\;dS\;m^{-1}$. Particularly, increase of EC value was directly proportional with the increased pumping of ground water used as a water-covering system in order to protect the temperature inside plastic film houses from the early winter season. High Na and Cl portion of ions in water might had contributed to the specific ion damage in the crops. Secondly, heavy inputs of chemicals and composts significantly increased the accumulated salts in soil. Conclusively, salt accumulation might had been accelerated by use of salted-groundwater irrigation and heavy fertilization rate. To minimize this problem, ensuring good quality of irrigation water is essential as well as reducing fertilization level.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.41-50
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• 2016

Environmental impact assessment has been implemented for more than 30 years in Korea. During that period, various amendments were carried out about target plan and assessment factors. However, in current environmental impact assessment act, only a few factors has been considered for soil environment assessment. This study analyzes the national and foreign environmental impact assessment guidelines on soil related factors and figures out the problems and implications of Korean environmental impact assessment. In Korea, water quality, topography and geology, hydraulics and hydrology, and soil contamination were analyzed as a soil related factors. The main assessment targets were pollution related factors such as soil pollution levels, amount of rainfall runoff, and non-point sources. However, in the case of foreign guidelines, soil compaction, soil sealing, and soil salinization is being analyzed for evaluating function and quality of soil environment. The revision of soil-related factors are needed for sustainable development of Korea.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.1065-1072
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• 2012

Crop productivity decreases globally as a result of salinization. However, salinity impact on greenhouse-grown crops is much higher than on field-grown crops due to the overall concentrations of nutrients in greenhouse soils. Therefore, this study was performed to determine the short-term changes in growth, photosynthesis, and metabolites of tomato plants grown in greenhouse under heavily input of fertilizers evaluated by microbial activity and chemical properties of soils. The soils (< 3, 3.01~6, 6.01~10 and > 10.01 dS $m^{-1}$) from farmer's greenhouse fields having different fertilization practices were used. Results showed that the salt-accumulated soil affected adversely the growth of tomato plants. Tomato plants were seldom to complete their growth against > 10.0 dS $m^{-1}$ level of EC. The assimilation rate of $CO_2$ from the upper fully expanded leaves of tomato plants is reduced under increasing soil EC levels at 14 days, however; it was the highest in moderate or high EC-subjected (3.0 ~ 10.0 dS $m^{-1}$) at 28 days. In our experiment, soluble sugars and starch were sensitive markers for salt stress and thus might assume the status of crops against various salt conditions. Taken together, tomato plants found to have tolerance against moderate soil EC stress. Various EC levels (< 3.0 ~ 10.0 dS $m^{-1}$) led to a slight decrease in organic matter (OM) contents in soils at 28 days. Salinity stress led to higher microbial activity in soils, followed by a decomposition of OM in soils as indicated by the changes in soil chemical properties.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.8-21
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• 2008

A series of three-dimensional numerical simulations using a hydrodynamic dispersion numerical model is performed to analyze quantitatively impacts of layered heterogeneity of geologic media and groundwater pumping schemes on groundwater flow and salt transport in coastal aquifer systems. A two-layer heterogeneous coastal aquifer system composed of a lower sand layer (aquifer) and an upper clay layer (aquitard) and a corresponding single-layer homogeneous coastal aquifer system composed of an equivalent lumped material are simulated to evaluate impacts of layered heterogeneity on seawater intrusion. In addition, a continuous groundwater pumping scheme and two different periodical groundwater pumping schemes, which withdraw the same amount of groundwater during the total simulation time, are applied to the above two coastal aquifer systems to evaluate impacts of groundwater pumping schemes on seawater intrusion. The results of the numerical simulations show that the periodical groundwater pumping schemes have more significant adverse influences on groundwater flow and salt transport not only in the lower sand layer but also in the upper clay layer, and groundwater salinization becomes more intensified spatially and temporally as the pumping intensity is higher under the periodical groundwater pumping schemes. These imply that the continuous groundwater pumping scheme may be more suitable to minimize groundwater salinization due to seawater intrusion. The results of the numerical simulations also show that groundwater salinization in the upper clay layer occurs significantly different from that in the lower sand layer under the periodical groundwater pumping schemes. Such differences in groundwater salinization between the two adjacent layers may result from layered heterogeneity of the layered coastal aquifer system.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.173-186
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• 2015

In Bangladesh, increases in the tropospheric ozone ($O_3$) concentration and in soil salinization may lead to crop damage. To clarify the effects of $O_3$ and/or soil salinity on Bangladeshi wheat cultivars, BAW1059 (salt-tolerant) and Shatabdi (salt-sensitive) were exposed to 70-day treatments with $O_3$ (charcoal-filtered air (CF), $1.0{\times}O_3$, and $1.5{\times}O_3$) and different levels of soil salinity (0, 4, and $8dS\;m^{-1}$). In both cultivars, the whole-plant dry mass and grain yield were significantly reduced by exposure to $O_3$. Increased soil salinity caused significant reductions in whole-plant growth and yield in Shatabdi, but the reductions were negligible in BAW1059. No significant interactions between $O_3$ and salinity were detected for growth, yield, and leaf gas exchange parameters in both cultivars. We concluded that the effects of $O_3$ are not ameliorated by soil salinity in two Bangladeshi wheat cultivars, regardless of their salinity tolerance.

• BMB Reports
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• v.46 no.9
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• pp.439-447
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• 2013

Rice is a monocot gramineous crop, and one of the most important staple foods. Rice is considered a model species for most gramineous crops. Extensive research on rice has provided critical guidance for other crops, such as maize and wheat. In recent years, climate change and exacerbated soil degradation have resulted in a variety of abiotic stresses, such as greenhouse effects, lower temperatures, drought, floods, soil salinization and heavy metal pollution. As such, there is an extremely high demand for additional research, in order to address these negative factors. Studies have shown that the alternative splicing of many genes in rice is affected by stress conditions, suggesting that manipulation of the alternative splicing of specific genes may be an effective approach for rice to adapt to abiotic stress. With the advancement of microarrays, and more recently, next generation sequencing technology, several studies have shown that more than half of the genes in the rice genome undergo alternative splicing. This mini-review summarizes the latest progress in the research of splicing and alternative splicing in rice, compared to splicing in humans. Furthermore, we discuss how additional studies may change the landscape of investigation of rice functional genomics and genetically improved rice.