• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.195-206
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• 2022

Gaining an understanding of bird communities in different habitat types is essential for the conservation of ecologically important habitats. Wetlands possess different types of habitats and provide an important environment for wintering waterbird communities. This study compares avian communities in five different habitat types in the Moeyungyi Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary (MWWS), Myanmar. From December 2014 to the first week of February in 2015, bird and habitat data were collected from representative areas of five habitat types (i.e., short grassland, tall grassland, lotus fields, open water areas, and rice fields) at MWWS. We established nine sampling plots in each habitat type, and used the point quadrat method to survey habitats and the point count method to survey birds in the habitats. Simple one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc tests were used to determine differences between bird communities. We made 95 detections during 19 daily visits to each of the five habitat types. During the survey period, we recorded a total of 10,389 individuals belonging to 52 different bird species, based on 7-min observations at each of the 45 point count stations. Furthermore, we detected significant differences by habitat structure (i.e., vegetation coverage, height, and density; water depth; and plant species diversity) as well as bird communities (i.e., species richness, abundance, and diversity indices). In addition, the detailed analysis of 52 avian species revealed significant differences among 45 species with respect to the mean numbers of observed individuals in the survey habitats. The findings of this study revealed significant differences in the structure and composition of waterbird communities among the five assessed habitat types. Because natural marshes provide preferable habitats for a larger number and greater diversity of birds, relative to rice fields, natural marshes should be prioritized for conservation and restoration in Moeyungyi Wetland Wildlife Sanctuary.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2015

Beginning of the human ecology in 1920s, the efforts for applying the environmental values to a policy have been embodied by the enactments of international agreement and relevant laws. The government has been struggling to adopt the environmental values for the policy by enacting the relevant laws and establishing the environmental value evaluation information (environmental conservation value assessment map, eco-natural map, biotope map). In spite of the efforts to apply the environmental value assessment information for the habitat potential of wildlife, the application is being challenged by the discrepancy in methods and criteria. Thus this study intends to measure the potential of wildlife habitat and apply it to the spatial value classification for the application plan of wildlife habitat potential in policy. Maxent was used for the habitat potential and the land types were classified depending on the surface and land use pattern of cadastral map. As a result, the policy matrix including conservation strategy(CS), restoration strategy(RS), practical use strategy(PS) and development strategy(DS) has been deduced as CS $13.05km^2$(2.38%), RS $1.64km^2$(0.30%), PS $162.42km^2$(29.57%) and DS $8.56km^2$(1.56%). CS was emerged mostly on forest valleys and farmlands, and RS was appeared in the road area near the conservation strategy areas. Boryung downtown and Daecheon Beach were the center of DS, while the forest and farmlands were presented as PS. It is significant that this study suggest the new approaching method by comparing the wildlife habitat potential with the land type. Since this study evaluated the environmental value by one species of leopard cat (Prionailurusbengalensis) with Maxent model, it is necessary to apply the habitat potential measuring method for various target species as further research.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.293-307
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• 1998

This study has been divided into two parts, 1) literature review and 2) a case study. Based on literature review and case studies found in Korea and abroad, this study aimed at classifying wildlife passages and establishing their development procedures in order to establish a theoretical ground for the development of wildlife passage as a way to link habitats that have been fragmented by the construction of roads and other developments. The results of the literature review are as follows : 1) Impact of road construction on surrounding ecological environment is found in various aspects. Along with damage of habitats as direct impact, decrease of biodiversity and simplification of species due to limited breeding and movement are cited as possible indirect impact. 2) In order to lessen the impact generated from fragmented habitats, various types of wildlife passage are being developed in Europe and are showing positive results. 3) In Korea, interests on animal passages have been rising recently. The ministry of Environment and local authorities are establishing development plans for the passages. However, practical materials on the usefulness of adoped methods are not available.4) In order to create an effective wildlife passage, decisions have to be made first on basic factors of planning and designing such as ecosystem rehabilitation methods and surveys on wildlife movement routes and habitat environment. Based on this, in a planning and designing stage, the location and type of a passage, size and measures to attract animals and prevent a collision need to be finalized. This should be followed by a series of process of maintenance, management and monitoring after the development. Based on the results of a theoretical study to develop an wildlife passage, Part 2 of this study deals with the results of an experiment through a specific planning and design that includes a process of ecological surveys, site selection, type selection, ecosystem infrastructure, planting design and construction details on an actual study area and presents them as a model project.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.19-27
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• 2008

Ecosystem fragmentation by human intervention breaks down the biosphere habitat. Wildlife corridors connect biosphere habitats to maintain ecosystem continuity and provide animals with connecting routes. In Korea, there are 17 existing wildlife corridors on highways (as of December, 2006. Korea Freeway Corporation). There are 24 highway routes, 2,923km of highway(as of December, 2004. Korea Freeway Corporation). However, wildlife corridors are not enough and roadkill increases every year, so we need to construct additional wildlife corridors on highways. This study proposes a new approach to the location of wildlife corridors on highways, using a comprehensive analysis method for main location elements, and applies it to a study area. First, it examines traditional approaches to location of wildlife corridors through literature review and field study to analyze the present conditions of existing wildlife corridors. Then, it developes a comprehensive analysis method for the location of wildlife corridors. (1) Field investigation : investigate planting, water bodies and so on. (2) Roadkill analysis : roadkill counts, locations, time, and so on. (3) Monitoring : animal traces were surveyed and sensor cameras were installed to determine target species. (4) Simulation for animal movement : most probable wildlife dispersal was simulated by a computer software. (5) A new comprehensive approach overlays all analysis on a map and determines the location of proposed new wildlife corridors. In conclusion, it proposes an over-bridge type wildlife corridor in Dalnaenae Hill (413-414km from Busan) and an underpass type near the entrance to Gwanhyun temple way (415-416km from Busan). This new approach based on roadkill data, computer simulation of wildlife dispersal, monitoring of animals, and site analysis, may contribute to better location of wildlife corridors on highways.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.393-403
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• 2014

The aim of this study was to use the information deduced from biotopemap in Boryeong, Chungnam province conducted in 2011 and to select the wildlife survey point. The information used for the study was deduced from the knowledge and experience of wildlife specialists and was realized by 6 environmental variables (Outside distance from food vegetation, Outside distance from farm land, Outside distance from forest, Human density, Outside distance from road, Outside distance from water). 6 environmental variables were modeled by map overlay method and the model could deduce the correlation of 94.72% as a result of comparing with occurrence information. The areas predicted to have many occurrences were rural landscapes, forests, and valleys, and they can be used to deduce the quality wildlife survey results in the limit of survey range (area, schedule, and budget). However, it had the limit points such as the inside of forests was excluded, all species did not prefer the same habitat. The following studies are needed for this part in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.221-234
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• 2023

This study was conducted to develop a habitat assessment system for the endangered wildlife II Kirengeshoma koreana Nakai through in-depth interviews with experts based on field surveys and environmental characteristics through spatial data analysis and literature research. Evaluation factors were selected based on the survey results of 31 variables for 23 K. koreana habitats. Afterwards, the importance and evaluation range for each assessment factor were selected. The selection of survey variables, assessment factors, importance of each factor and assessment range was conducted through in-depth interviews with experts at each stage. As a result, the assessment factors and importance were 16% for precipitation of the wettest month, 10% for vegetation zone, 12% for vegetation type, 10% for crown canopy vitality, 14% for tree layer coverage, 13% for drainage grade, 12% for soil depth, and 13% for distance to stream including dry stream. This study provides basic ecological information and a habitat assessment system for K. koreana habitats. Therefore, it can be used as primary data for preparing an endangered wildlife conservation policy, preparing a habitat improvement plan, and selecting an alternative habitat.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Environment and Ecology Conference
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.79-81
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• 2008

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.185-198
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• 2016

Korea has put in significant efforts to increase the number of wildlife crossings between fragmented habitats to prevent loss of biodiversity and to encourage the habitat connectivity in Korea. However, there is a lack of biological data on the effect of vegetation structure in these wildlife crossings and guidelines for design and management of wildlife crossing structures in Korea. Therefore, we selected ground beetle assemblages as model organisms to compare the effect of vegetation structure in wildlife crossings, i.e. bare ground- and shrub-type corridors, in agro-forested landscapes. For this study, 4,207 ground beetles belonging to 33 species were collected through pitfall trapping along the northern forest-corridor-southern forest transects from late April to early September in 2015. Dominant species, abundance, and species richness of ground beetles were significantly higher in the shrub-type corridors than the bare ground-type corridors. Also, the species composition of bare ground-type corridor was significantly different compared to the other habitats such as shrub-type corridor and forests. Similarly, environmental variables were also influenced by vegetation management regimes or trap locations. Collectively, our study clearly indicates that the movement of forest associated ground beetles between forest patches can increase as the vegetation in wildlife crossings becomes complex. Although further studies are needed to verify this, there are indications that the current wildlife crossings that comply with the guidelines may be unfriendly to the movement of ground dwelling arthropods as well as ground beetles. To enhance the ecological function of wildlife crossings, the guidelines need to be rectified as follows: 1) Shrubs or trees should be planted along the corridor verges to provide refuge or movement paths for small mammals and ground dwelling arthropods, and 2) Open spaces should be provided in the middle of the corridors to be used as a path for the movement of large mammals.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.282-289
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• 2023

Background: As wildlife habitats are being destroyed and growth environments are changing, the survival of animals and plants is under threat. Epilobium hirsutum L., a species that inhabits wetlands, has held legally protected status since 2012. However, no specific measures are currently in place to protect its habitat, leading to a decline in remaining populations as a result of land use change and human activities. Results: The growth environment (including location, climate, land use, soil, and vegetation) of the five habitat sites (Samcheok, Taebaek1, Taebaek2, Cheongsong, Ulleung) of E. hirsutum L. was investigated and analyzed. These habitats were predominantly situated in flat areas with gentle south-facing slopes, at an average altitude of 452.7 m (8-726 m) above sea level in Gangwon-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do. The average annual temperature ranged 11.5℃ (9.2℃-12.9℃), whereas the average annual precipitation ranged 1,304.5 mm (1,062.7-1,590.7 mm). The surrounding land use status was mainly characterized by mountainous areas, and human interference, such as agricultural land and roads, was commonly found in proximity to these natural habitats. Soil physicochemical analysis revealed that the soil was predominantly sandy loam with a slightly high sand content. The average pH measured 7.64, indicating an alkaline environment, and electrical conductivity (EC) averaged 0.33 dS/m. Organic matter (OM) content averaged 66.44 g/kg, available phosphoric acid (P₂O₅) content averaged 115.73 mg/kg, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) averaged 23.43 cmolc/kg. The exchangeable cations ranged 0.09-0.43 cmol⁺/kg for potassium (K), 10.23-16.21 cmol⁺/kg for calcium (Ca), 0.67-4.94 cmol⁺/kg for magnesium (Mg), and 0.05-0.74 cmol⁺/kg for sodium (Na). The vegetation type was categorized as E. hirsutum community with high numbers of E. hirsutum L., Persicaria thunbergii (Siebold & Zucc.) H. Gross, Phragmites japonica Steud., Humulus japonicus (Siebold & Zucc.), and Bidens frondosa L.. An ecological flora analysis, including the proportion of lianas, naturalized plants, and annual herbaceous plants, revealed that the native habitat of E. hirsutum L. was ecologically unstable. Conclusions: Analysis of the habitat of E. hirsutum L., a class II endangered wildlife species, provided essential data for local conservation and restoration efforts.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.277-290
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• 2013

This study was carried out to propose the new procedure to apply Habitat Evaluation Procedure(HEP) of target species using delphi technique, which is suitable to develop endangered species with few researches and ecological knowledges. To identify habitat quality of specific species in development project site, we can develop habitat model and create habitat suitability maps. In this study, we select the Common Kestrel(Falco tinnunculus) as target species in four areas(Paju, Siheung, Ansan, Hwaseong) which is located near the Seoul metropolitan area. The Delphi technique was selected to get the reliable information on the species and habitats requirements. Through the delphi approach, seven habitat components were determined as suitable variables for the Common Kestrel: density($n/km^2$) of small mammals, area($km^2$) of bare-grounds, pasturelands and riparian, and open area(%), spatial distribution and area of croplands, landscape diversity, breeding sites(tall trees, cliffs, high-rise buildings), and the length of shelf. Habitat variables used in this model were classified into two categories: % of suitable land-cover type(open areas, croplands, pasturelands, wetlands, and baregrounds) and the quality of feeding sites(within 250m from edges of woodlands). Habitat quality of the Common Kestrel was assessed against occurred sites derived from the nationwide survey. Predicted habitat suitability map were closely related to the observed sites of the endangered avian species in the study areas. With the habitat suitability map of the Common Kestrel, we assess the environmental impacts with habitat loss after development project in environmental impact assessment.