• Journal of architectural history
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.41-48
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• 2015

Quantitative analysis of termites damage is important in terms of conservation and maintenance of wooden cultural heritage buildings, because termites makes cavities and decreases the section area of wooden structural members. The purpose of this study is to forecast the range and spread of termites damage in the wooden structural members by using ultrasonic pulse velocity method. Ultrasonic pulse velocity has been used as one of non-destructive test to analysis the internal defect by using difference velocity between medium material and cavity. This method would be effective to analysis termites damages. From the result of the ultrasonic velocity test, the loss rate of area effected by termites damage had a strong correlation with ultrasonic velocity. And it is possible to predict the loss rate of area from by termites damage by using regression equation in the case of structural member of fine tree.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.31
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• pp.121-130
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• 2010

Wooden structures in Korea are usually damaged by some insects such as termites, wasps, cigarette beetles, powder-post beetles. Especially, the termites inhabiting in Korea are the subterranean termites, Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis Morimoto, that make colonies in underground, therefore it is difficult to predict and control substantial infestations in advance. Accordingly, to enable inspectors to locate the termite infestations before the extensive damage occurs, the pest management industry has begun using several elaborate tools and making the various effect to inspect areas hard to access through a visual inspection. Recently detector dogs were adopted as one of those tools. Detector dogs are useful for locating subterranean termites because they use their acute olfaction rather than vision. We also have used detector dogs to locate termites and investigated 270 buildings from 31 sites since 2007. According to the results, while 144 buildings (53.4%) were in good condition with no damage by termites, 80 buildings (29.6%) were found out to be damaged by termites through visual inspection and detector dog. So it is expected to control termites according to the conservation status if detector dogs are well trained to discriminate live termites from fecal pellets by termites.

• Journal of the Korea Society for Simulation
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2012

Subterranean termites forage by constructing tunnel networks in soil and encounter food resources during tunnel excavation. Some species of termites can travel up to 150 m underground. They often travel to the surface to find wood cellulose to feed their colony, which in turn causes extensive damage to wooden architecture, such as timber-frame houses. This type of damage has been constantly increasing along with global warming because higher temperatures provide an ecological niche for termites. The damage is closely related to termite territory size and distribution. Recently, as a way to research termite control, the necessity of a mathematical model to simulate termite territory formation in relation to damage has increased. So far, however, few studies have been conducted on the development of a model because it is difficult to quantify or characterize the relationship between territorial behavior and field conditions including complicated environmental factors. In the present study, we suggest a simulation model of the territoriality of the Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus (Shiraki), and Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar), based on empirical data. The model consists of 2 procedures. One describes tunnel network growth for each colony, and the other represents territoriality based on tunnel-tunnel interactions between different colonies. Using the model, we show changes in territorial competition according to the termination probability of tunnel growth.

• Journal of the Architectural Institute of Korea Planning & Design
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• v.34 no.8
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• pp.129-136
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• 2018

Termites are important sub-baits of natural ecosystems and are beneficial insects that are natural decomposer. However, the building materials used by human beings can not coexist with each other on timber which is a termite food. As of 2017, due to fertile forests, warming, and the spread of boilers, termite damage to timber construction is increasingly occurring day by day. Currently, Korea utilizes fumigation, Beit system, preserved wood, etc. of chemical products as termite control measures. But in the case of control measures, timber that has already been eaten by termites can not serve as a structural material and must be repaired. On the other hand, in the case of overseas, Scale of damage to termites the influence on the construction is also large, and a lot of research has been carried out on the prevention methods. In this thesis, investigate such foreign control measures, Would like to suggest a suitable method for Korea.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.188-197
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• 2020

Termites play an important role as decomposers of the forest ecosystem, while simultaneously causing enormous damage to wooden structures. Currently, two species of subterranean termites have been reported in Korea, and termite damage to historical wooden buildings is occurring nationwide due to climate change, forest fertility, and the locational characteristics of historical wooden buildings. Subterranean termites make their nests underground or inside timber. Termites move underground and access wooden structures through the lower parts of the buildings, adjacent to the ground. Once termites attack the wooden structures, it not only spoils the authenticity of cultural heritage structure, but also hampers structural stability due to the decrease in the strength of the material. Therefore, it is important to prevent termite damage before it occurs. Chemical treatments are mainly used in Korea to control and prevent the damage. In foreign countries, physical barriers are also used to prevent entry to wooden buildings, along with chemical treatments. Physical barriers involve installing nets or particles that termites cannot pass through in the lower part of the building, around the pipes, and between the edges of the building or exterior walls and interior materials. Advantages of a physical barrier are that it is an eco-friendly method, maintains long-term effect after installation, and does not require the use of chemical treatments. Prior to applying physical barriers, studies into the characteristics of termite species must be undertaken. In this study, we evaluated the minimum passage size that each caste of Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis can move through. We found that workers, soldiers, and secondary reproductive termites were able to pass through diameters of 0.7mm, 0.9mm, and 1.1mm respectively. Head height of termites was an important factor in determining the minimum passing size. Results from the current study will be used as a basis to design the mesh size for physical barriers to prevent damage by termites in historical wooden buildings in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Soil Zoology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 1997

A study was carried out to investigate the distribution of termites at the southern part of Korea between 1995 and 1996. During the survey, termite samples were collected from the randomly selected areas. Most of thern were collected from the decayed woods in dead trees (usually in pine trees), but some were also collected from woodern walls, floors in houses, or in matured bed logs at the mushroom cultivating areas. Damage by this termite species were also observed by Kim and Hwang (1996) who investigated the insect pests of mushroom in the southern part of Korea. To control the termites, it is urgent to identify them and to conduct ecological study of termites. Thus, we firstly identified termites which were collected from the sampling areas including houses and mushrooms cultivating fields. All termite samples were identified as Reticulitermes speratus. However, there were several morphological differences among them according to the collected areas, and the samples were reexamined, identified and divided into subspecies as R. speratus kyushuensis.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.24-35
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• 2020

This study aims to identify the relationship between termite-damaged cultural heritage sites and the 'Forest Tending Project' based on a comprehensive survey of the status of damage caused by termites and of the Forest Tending Project. It was observed that the Forest Tending Project started in 2004 as a five-year policy project covering over 59% of the nation's forests, which showed the maximum value in 2009 and then gradually decreased. Since then, increased damage to national cultural heritage sites by termites has been confirmed and counter measures have been expanded since 2012. Also, as a result of the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage surveying the status of termite damage in national cultural heritage sites over these six years, it was identified that about 98% of investigated cultural heritage sites were damaged by termites, about 78% of them were adjacent to forests, and that all 46 national cultural heritage sites which had been included in the 2008 Forest Fire Prevention Cultural Heritage Afforestation Project were damaged by termites. Therefore, it is claimed that the number of termite-damaged cultural heritage sites has increased after an extensive Forest Tending Project was applied on a national scale, and it seems that all cultural heritage areas close to forests are particularly subject to termite-damage due to the number of tree stumps and lumber byproducts which can serve as habitats for the pests.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.371-380
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• 2019

Termites are pests that cause serious economic and cultural damage by digesting wood cellulose. Termites are arthropods and have an epidermis surrounded by a chitin layer. To maintain a healthy epidermis, termites have chitinase (${\beta}$-1,4-poly-N-acetyl glucosamidinase, EC 3.2.1.14), an enzyme that hydrolyzes the ${\beta}$-1,4 bond of chitin. In this study, the amino acid sequence of the gene, which is presumed to be termite chitinolytic enzyme (NCBI accession no. KC477099), was obtained from a transcriptomic analysis of Reticulitermes speratus KMT001 in Bukhan Mountain, Korea. An NCBI protein BLAST search confirmed that the protein is a glycoside hydrolase family 18 (GH18). The highest homology value found was 47%, with a chitinase from Araneus ventricosus. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the KC477099 protein has the same origins as those of arthropods but has a very low similarity with other arthropod chitinases, resulting in separation at an early stage of evolution. The KC477099 protein contains two conserved motifs, which encode the general enzymatic characteristics of the GH18 group. The amino acid sequences $Asp^{156}-Trp^{157}-Glu^{158}$, which play an important role in the enzymatic activity of the GH18 group, were also present. This study suggests that the termite KC477099 protein is a new type of chitinase, which is evolutionarily distant from other insect chitinases.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.33
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• pp.99-108
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• 2012

The white-rot fungus (Trametes versicolor) and brown-rot fungus (Tyromyces palustris), which cause damage to a variety of wooden cultural properties and buildings, such as drying of the wood tissue, decay and cracks, sponge, and discoloration, give rise to serious structural and aesthetic problems. Moreover, pest termites (Reticulitermes speratus kyushuensis Morimoto) can cause damages like hollowing the outdoor beams or pillars of wooden buildings and finally causing such buildings to collapse due to the termites' destruction of the inside of the beams or pillars, leaving only a thin layer on their surfaces. This study was conducted to determine the impact of the wood-decay fungus, a representative damage-causing microorganism, and of insects and termites on the termite ecology. The damage ratio was calculated as the weight of the timber, and the overall total mass was reduced from two kinds of rot fungi. The white-rot fungi reduced the total wood mass, but the brown-rot fungi were observed to have had an increasing tendency to do so. The wood mass was measured after drying to determine the destruction capacity of termites. As a result, the wood mass consumed by the brown-rot fungi was shown to be greater.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.191-208
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• 2021

In this study, the status of damage by subterranean termites and their management according to the region and type of domestic wooden cultural properties were identified. This was based on the survey reports of agencies conducting regular nationwide and regional monitoring of subterranean termites. In addition, using geographical information system (GIS) based on the survey contents, a map was constructed of termite infestation and its progress on 2,805 wooden cultural properties that were surveyed nationwide. Based on the map produced, a total of 486 cases of termite infestation were confirmed in wooden cultural properties during 2018-2019, of which 143 cases (approximately 29.4%) were confirmed to be owing to the invasion of termites in the ground and infestation of wood materials. A web platform and an application using a mapping application program interface were created to increase accessibility to the investigated damage status data. The methods employed by each institution for investigating and monitoring the invasion of termites in the ground included the use of detection dogs, visual observation, installation of wood specimens made of pine, and microwave equipment. However, it was confirmed that monitoring and survey methods were not applied to determine the territorial range of the subterranean termite colonies. Accordingly, the use of dyeing and mark-release-recapture methods were deemed necessary to understand the current status, such as calculating the scope of the target wooden cultural property, when monitoring subterranean termite colonies.