• Title/Summary/Keyword: Vegetation degradation

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Ecological Indicators of Forest Degradation after Forest Fire and Clear-cutting in the Siberian Larch (Larix sibirica) Stand of Mongolia

  • Park, Yeong Dae;Lee, Don Koo;Stanturf, John A.;Woo, Su Young;Zoyo, Damdinjav
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.98 no.5
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    • pp.609-617
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    • 2009
  • This study was conducted to investigate ecological indicators of forest degradation after forest fire and clear-cutting in the Siberian larch (Larix sibirica Ledeb.) stand of Mongolia. The species abundance and biodiversity indices were higher in burned and clear-cut stands than those of reference stand, but boreal understory species, such as Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Pyrola incarnata, Linnea borealis and Maianthemum bifolium, completely disappeared and was replaced by sedge species, such as Carex duriuscula, C. lanceolata, C. pediformis, Poa attenuata and P. pratensis. During the research period, temperature increased by an average of $1.6^{\circ}C$ in burned stand and $1.7^{\circ}C$ in clear-cut stand compared to reference stand, but RH sharply decreased up to 15.7% in clear-cut stand. This result indicates that Larix sibirica stand became warmer and drier after forest fire and clear-cutting, and contributed to the abundance of sedge and grass species in the understory. Moreover, intense occupation of tall sedge grass after forest fire and clear-cutting had a vital role as obstacle on natural regeneration of Larix sibirica. The similarity of species composition between reference and burned stands was higher (73.6%) than between reference and clear-cut stands (63.8%). Soil moisture significantly decreased after forest fire and clear-cutting, and the extent of decrease was more severe in the clear-cut stand. The chemical properties at soil organic layer were significantly affected by forest fire and clear-cutting but not the mineral horizons. Inorganic nitrogen of the forest floor significantly decreased in the clear-cut stand ($1.1{\pm}0.4mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) than that of the burned ($4.5{\pm}2.3mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) and reference stands ($5.0{\pm}2.3mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$). Available P of the forest floor significantly increased after fire, whereas it decreased after clear-cutting. These results indicate that existence of boreal understory vegetation, and changes in soil moisture and available P are distinct attributes applicable as ecological indicators for identifying forest degradation in Mongolia.

Forest Environment Degradation and Rehabilitation of Copper Mine Area in Ashio, Japan (일본 아시오(足尾) 銅鑛山地域의 삼림황폐와 삼림환경 복구사업에 관한 분석)

    • Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.276-285
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    • 2001
  • This report surveyed degradation of forest environment and rehabilitation in Ashio of Japan. Since 1880, a large scale forestry in this area has been destroyed by sooty smoke, and the local government invested heavily to rehabilitate the damaged forestry and denuded mountains. These degradations are due to complex operations, such as sulfurous acid gas from copper refinery, forest fires, steep slope and disadvantageous climate. The rehabilitation works on degraded forestry(2,399ha) were undertaken by tree planting fur three years from 1897. However, forest degradation and disasters were continued, and the total damaged areas were about 2,400~3,000ha in 1956. A Manual labor method, a Helicopter method and also Combination of manual labor and helicopter method had been adopted to rehabilitation works from 1945 to 1996, while 828.19ha of the degraded mountains was rehabilitated. Total investment for those projects was 80 billion yen. A debris control dam, a soil arresting structure, a vegetation-block, a vegetation sack measures and tree planting have implemented significantly fur the method of rehabilitation. An objective of manual labor works is a complete rehabilitation on each place through 3 stage working. The revived green areas accounted fur 49% of the total, and the entire afforest areas are less than 10%. In coming 25 years, an amount of 21.3 billion yen will be invested to rehabilitate 564ha of degraded mountain lands. However, it is impossible to estimate that how long it will take until the whole degraded mountain lands are completely rehabilitated. Rehabilitation works in Ashio may be applicable to environmental restoration and revegetation in the abandoned coal-mine lands of Korea.

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Follow-up Monitoring & Adaptive Management after Ecological Restoration for the Stream - Focused the Hakui Stream in Anyang City - (생태하천 복원 후 모니터링과 적응관리 - 안양시 학의천을 중심으로 -)

  • Choi, jungkwon;Choi, mikyoung;Choi, cheolbin
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.18 no.6
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    • pp.85-95
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    • 2015
  • Recent years, nationwide projects for ecological restoration are implemented with emerging issues on the stream ecosystem. In order to enhance effectiveness of the ecosystem restoration and reduce negative impact, the appraisal of effectiveness through the follow-up monitoring and the adaptive management process are executed in consecutive phase. In this study, planning phase, monitoring and adaptive management in Hakui stream which is part of An Yang stream restoration project is introduced as representative ongoing case of effective adaptive management. The aim of this study is to verify the adaptive management process and suggest direction of effective restoration. Restoration project of Hakui stream resulted in increasing number and diversity of species (vegetation, fish, bird, invertbrates, amphibian and reptilia) according to monitoring from 2004 to 2013, and enhancing natural river landscape by evaluation of river naturalness among 2001(before restoration), 2007 (after), 2015 (recent). However, excessive vegetation expansion or sediment deposition on channel over time caused unexpected results such as terrestrialization or degradation of habitats. Adaptive management action such as removing disturbance species (Humulus japonicus)(2007), coppicing willow (2007), release of march snail (2007), creation of wetland (2014) were implemented based on monitoring results. And then appraisal of management action was discussed.

Dataset of Long-term Monitoring on the Change in Hydrology, Channel Morphology, Landscape and Vegetation Along the Naeseong Stream (I) (내성천의 수문, 하도 형태, 경관 및 식생 특성에 관한 장기모니터링 자료 (I))

  • Lee, Chanjoo;Kim, Dong Gu;Ji, Un;Kim, Jisung
    • Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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    • v.6 no.1
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    • pp.23-33
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    • 2019
  • Naeseong Stream is a sand-bed river that flows through the northern area of Gyeongbuk province. It is characterized by dynamic sandy bedforms developed in response to the seasonal hydrological fluctuation and by its unique riverine landscape called "white river." However, changes including construction of Yeongju Dam from 2010 and the extensive vegetation establishment around 2015 occurred along the Naeseong Stream. This paper aims to analyze climate, hydrology, and water quality as factors and to examine the possibility of channel changes accordingly. The second least precipitation during the last 60 years happened in 2015, which led to the lowest peak discharge in 50 years. The sediment characteristics of Naeseong Stream were not significantly different along the upstream and downstream reaches, but it was confirmed that annual minimum water level of the stream decreased continuously regardless of the dam construction. This suggests that intermittent drought and change in water quality are likely to provide favorable conditions for riparian vegetation establishment and the resulting physical changes have affected riverbed degradation. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct diversified monitoring in connection with river vegetation change in order to analyze the causes of river changes.

Core Habitat Zonation for Selected Endangered Species using Remote Sensing and GIS

  • Khant, Aung Pyeh;Tripathi, Nitin K.
    • Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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    • 2003.11a
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    • pp.15-17
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    • 2003
  • One of the most serious problems that the world is facing is the loss of biodiversity and habitats as a result of environmental degradation. There are several strategies to protect the habitats and biodiversity within a certain region such as establishing protected areas; monitoring the remaining forests and managing the landscape within limits have been employed. In this study, Predicted Habitat Distribution Model (simple spatial modeling) was developed using vegetation types, land use and land cover, DEM, slope, drainage, roads, human settlement areas and minimum habitat requirements of each species. Then, based on the checklist of presence and absence of each species, the final habitat maps for selected endangered species are generated. Integration of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) has proven a very effective tool to generate wildlife habitat maps at various levels. An effecting mapping could be performed based on satellite remote sensing and modeling biodiversity indicators in GIS.

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Indigenous Knowledge on the Utilization of Medicinal Plant Diversity in the Siwalik Region of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand

  • Gaur, R.D.;Sharma, Jyotsana
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.27 no.1
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    • pp.23-31
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    • 2011
  • Ever since the dawn of civilization, the ambient vegetation and the resources constituted major source of human existence for various substantial requirements. Our present knowledge on plant resources emerged from the traditional heritable knowledge descended from generation to generation. However, traditional knowledge pertaining to several aspects remained untapped from various remote localities or populations. Furthermore, with the present trends of excessive exploitation of natural resources and degradation of habitats, conservation and ecological management require coherence of traditional skills and modern approaches. Therefore, the present study is to record traditional plant based knowledge among the inhabitants of Siwalik region of Uttarakhand Himalaya. Extensive field survey was made for the collection of data on the medicinal aspects of plant species in the study area covering the parts of districts Pauri, Dehradun and Haridwar. During the course of study 130 plant species belonging to 65 families are reported, used as traditional medicine by the local inhabitants of this region.

Classification of Degraded Peat Swamp Forest for Restoration Planning at Landscape Level Using Remote Sensing Technique

  • Hamzah, Khali Aziz;Idris, Azahan Shah;Parlan, Ismail
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.29 no.1
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    • pp.49-57
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    • 2013
  • Malaysia possesses about 1.56 million ha of Peat Swamp Forest (PSF). The PSF safeguard enormous biological diversity, while providing crucial benefits for the sustainable development of human communities. Numbers of threatened plant species are associated with the PSF, including the commercially important Gonystylus bancanus timber. To prevent significant losses of biodiversity, it is important to manage the PSF for both biological conservation and sustainable use. Equally important is to restore all degraded PSF in an attempt to ensure the PSF ecosystem is suitable for the vegetation to grow and rehabilitate back to the normal condition. Prior to plan any forest restoration program, there is a need to properly map the degraded PSF in order to estimate the forest conditions and determine the vegetations status. Most of the time this need to be done at a landscape level and requires a technology that can provide accurate, timely and reliable information for the planner to make decision. This paper describes a study using geospatial technology in combination with ground survey to classify the degraded PSF in South East Pahang Peat Swamp Forest (SEPPSF), Malaysia, into different degree of vegetation classes. With map accuracy of about 83%, the technique proved to be useful in delineating the different degree of PSF degradation from which the information can be used to properly plan forest restoration program in the area. The final output which is in the form of map can be used in developing a Restoration Master Plan for the degraded PSF areas.

Lignin signatures of vegetation and soils in tropical environments

  • Belanger, E.;Lucotte, M.;Gregoire, B.;Moingt, M.;Paquet, S.;Davidson, R.;Mertens, F.;Passos, C.J.S.;Romana, C.
    • Advances in environmental research
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    • v.4 no.4
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    • pp.247-262
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    • 2015
  • The few lignin biomarker studies conducted in tropical environments are hampered by having to use references signatures established for plants and soils characteristic of the temperate zone. This study presents a lignin biomarker analysis (vanillyls (V), p-hydroxyls (P), syringyls (S), cinnamyls (C)) of the dominant plant species and soil horizons as well as an analysis of the interrelated terrigenous organic matter (TOM) dynamics between vegetation and soil of the $Tapaj{\acute{o}}s$ river region, an active colonization front in the Brazilian Amazon. We collected and analyzed samples from 17 fresh dominant plant species and 48 soil cores at three depths (0-5 cm, 20-25 cm, 50-55 cm) from primary rainforest, fallow forest, subsistence agriculture fields and pastures. Lignin signatures in tropical plants clearly distinguish from temperate ones with high ratios of Acid/aldehyde of vanillyls ((Ad/Al)v) and P/V+S. Contrary to temperate environments, similarly high ratios in tropical soils are not related to TOM degradation along with pedogenesis but to direct influence of plants growing on them. Lignin signatures of both plants and soils of primary rainforest and fallow forest clearly distinguish from those of non-forested areas, i.e., agriculture fields and pastures. Attalea speciosa Palm trees, an invasive species in all perturbed landscapes of the Amazon, exhibit lignin signatures clearly distinct from other dominant plant species. The study of lignin signatures in tropical areas thus represents a powerful tool to evaluate the impact of primary rainforest clearing on TOM dynamics in tropical areas.

Changes of Landscape Structure for the Recent 20 Years in the Wangsuk Stream Basin of the Central Korea

  • Lee, Chang-Seok;Cho, Yong-Chan;Shin, Hyun-Chul;Lee, Seon-Mi
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.405-410
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    • 2006
  • Landscape changes for 20 years between 1981 and 2001 in the Wangsuk stream basin located on the central Korea were investigated on the basis of physiognomic vegetation map made from the aerial photograph interpretation and field check. Changes of landscape structure were noticeable in agricultural field and forest landscape elements. Changes in the agricultural fields due to transformation of agricultural pattern into the institutional agriculture dominated landscape change, although urbanization also contributed to such change. The former change due to change of food production structure originated from socio-economic development during this period and the latter to the overpopulation of Seoul. As energy sources for heating and cooking, fertilizer, and fodder for livestock transform from plant materials to fossil fuel, manufactured one, and grain, succession of forest escaped from direct human disturbance dominated change of landscape structure in forested land. Differently from the positive landscape change in the upper area, change in the lower area deteriorated landscape quality by increasing artificial land. It was estimated that such landscape deterioration in the Wangsuk stream basin would influence water quality of the stream. In order to realize sustainable land-use against such environmental degradation, systematic environmental management based on landscape ecological perspective such as "an eco-plan for creating riparian vegetation belt," which is under preparation by Ministry of Environment, was recommended.

Behaviour of the soil residues of the herbicide quinclorac in the micro-ecosystem (pot) (Micro-ecosystem(pot)중 제초제 quinclorac 토양잔류물의 행적)

  • Ahn, Ki-Chang;Kyung, Kee-Sung;Lee, Jae-Koo
    • The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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    • v.2 no.3
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    • pp.96-106
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    • 1998
  • Rice plants were grown for 42 days in the specially made micro-ecosystem(pot) containing two different soils treated with fresh and 60-day-aged residues of [$^{14}C$]quinclorac, respectively, to elucidate the behaviour of the herbicide quinclorac residues in the soils. Amounts of $^{14}CO_{2}$ evolved from two soils treated with different residues with and without vegetation were all less than 2.2% of the total $^{14}C$, indicating that there was little microbial degradation of quinclorac in soil. $^{14}C$-Radioactivity absorbed and translocated into rice plants from soil A and B containing fresh quinclorac residues was 8.4 and 24.2%, respectively, of the originally applied $^{14}C$, while 5.5 and 17.7%, in aged residue soils. These results indicate that larger amounts of $^{14}C$ were absorbed by rice plants from soil B with less organic matter and clay than soil A, and the uptake of [$^{14}C$]quinclorac and its degradation products decreased with aging in soil. After 42 days of rice growing, 84.5 and 61.8% of the $^{14}C$ applied freshly to soil A and B, respectively, remained in soil, whereas, in the case of aged soils, 86.3 and 67.7% of the $^{14}C$ applied did. Meanwhile, without vegetation, more than 98.3% of the $^{14}C$ applied, in both fresh and aged residues, remained in soil, suggesting that quinclorac was relatively persistent chemically and microbiologically. Most of the non-extractable soil-bound residues of [$^{14}C$]quinclorac were incorporated into the organic matter and largely distributed in the fulvic acid portion.

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