• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.34-43
• /
• 2007

To investigate the restoration procedure on soil physical properties and vegetation at the surface of strip road affected by timber harvesting operation. This study was carried out at strip roads constructed between 1989 and 1994 in Mt. Baekun, Kwangyang, Chollanam-Do. Soil hardness of the surface layer was improved with change of time after strip road construction, but that of 7.6~15 cm depth from the surface was not improved. According to linear regression analysis, it was estimated 16.6 years in 0~7.5 cm and 16.9 years in 7.6~15 cm soil depth to be restored to natural forest lands. The amount of surface soil erosion was 0.045$m^3$/km/yr on strip roads constructed in 1989 and 1990, and road constructed in 1994 showed the highest value (4.5$m^3$/km/yr). Vegetation coverage rates of road surface were 96.7% in strip roads constructed in 1990. Those of cutslope and fillslope were highest in roads constructed in 1990. The results indicated that strip roads were restored with change of time after road construction.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.53 no.4
• /
• pp.441-477
• /
• 2020

There have been raised other environmental issues related to remediated soils piled up in numerous carry-out processing facilities because a considerable quantity of them have been produced every year, but most of them have not been relevantly reused or recycled. Thus, this article reports the trend of researches on the development of techniques to restore the quality of remediated soils to activate their reuse and recycling. Firstly, the tendency of change in soil properties through remediation processes was looked over, and then the degradation of soil quality was characterized according to the type of remediation processes. Besides, the direction of policy to promote the reuse and recycling of remediated soils was introduced, and finally, the future works needed were suggested. This article was prepared based on the results of the survey of domestic and foreign literature. A number of literature were reviewed to scrutinize the change of soil properties due to remediation processes and diverse techniques for the amendment and restoration of remediated soils. Furthermore, the policies related to the reuse and recycling of remediated soils were arranged with the reference of the first and second versions of the Soil Conservation Master Plan of Korea. The literature survey focused on three kinds of remediation technologies, such as land farming, soil washing, and thermal desorption, which were most frequently used so far in Korea. The results indicate that the tendency of change in soil properties was significantly different depending on the type of remediation processes applied, and the degradation characteristics of soil quality were also totally different between them. The soil amendment and restoration can be categorized as three techniques depending on the type of substances used, such as inorganic, organic, and biological ones. Diverse individual materials have been used, and the soil properties improved or enhanced were dependent on the type of specific materials utilized. However, few studies on the restoration of soil qualities degraded during the remediation processes have not been carried out so far. The second Soil Conservation Master Plan states the quality certification and target management system of remediated soils, and it is expected that their reuse and recycling will be facilitated hereafter. With the consideration of the type of remediation processes implemented and public utility, the restoration technologies of remediated soils should be developed for the vitalization of their reuse and recycling. Besides, practical and specific measures should be taken to support the policy specified in the second Soil Conservation Master Plan and to promote reuse/recycling of remediated soils.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.17-26
• /
• 2005

Soil water characteristic curve (SWCC) is a unique characteristic that should be considered In the analysis of unsaturated soil and prediction of unsaturated properties. However, the volume change of soil specimens that happens in the existing apparatus affects the SWCC, Therefore, In this study, we intended to obtain more appropriate SWCC by measuring the change In the volume of the specimen in the SWCC tests. The measured change of void ratio indicates that the saturation step prior to the test changes the original structure of the soil specimen. Thus we carried out the test far the same specimen omitting the saturation step prior to the test. The change of void ratio by this test procedure is relatively small.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.249-256
• /
• 2015

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of different levels and types of nitrogen fertilizer on seedlings and soil chemical properties in a semi-arid area, Mongolia. 2-year-old Populus sibirica and 4-year-old Ulmus pumila seedlings were planted in May 2014. Six treatments with three levels of nitrogen (low-level: urea $5g\;tree^{-1}$; medium-level: urea $15g\;tree^{-1}$, ammonium sulfate $33g\;tree^{-1}$, urea $15g\;tree^{-1}$ with potassium phosphate $10g\;tree^{-1}$; high-level: urea $30g\;tree^{-1}$) were applied and for the medium-level of nitrogen, different types of fertilizer were treated. Survival rate, root collar diameter (RCD) growth rate, leaf nitrogen concentration of seedlings, and soil chemical properties were determined in August 2014. The seedling survival rate of both species decreased as the level of nitrogen increased. This result can be explained by water stress caused by nitrogen fertilization in arid regions. The RCD growth rate of P. sibirica was significantly decreased by the treatment of high-level of nitrogen due to excessive nitrogen fertilization, and was increased by the treatment of ammonium sulfate due to sulfur which might promote nitrogen uptake. The leaf nitrogen concentration of P. sibirica did not change by the treatment of low-level of nitrogen, and was increased by the treatment of medium-level of nitrogen. There were no significant differences in the RCD growth rate and the leaf nitrogen concentration of U. pumila among the six treatments. None of soil chemical properties was affected by nitrogen fertilization. Overall, the low-level of nitrogen showed no effect on seedlings and soil chemical properties, except on survival rate of U. pumila and the high-level of nitrogen was considered excessive fertilization. Continuous monitoring of medium-level nitrogen fertilization including the ammonium sulfate, which increased early growth of seedlings, would be needed to elucidate the effect of fertilization on seedling growth and soil properties in a semi-arid region.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.43 no.5
• /
• pp.572-577
• /
• 2010

Field monitoring was performed to evaluate the soil chemical properties of 31 sweet persimmon orchard soil samples every two months from April to October in 2008 at Gyeongnam Province. Soil chemical properties such as pH, organic matter, available phosphate, exchangeable potassium, exchangeable calcium, exchangeable magnesium, exchangeable sodium, ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen were analyzed. The soil chemical properties of both top soil, and subsoil showed that soil pH was significantly increased whereas ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen were significantly decreased. The insufficient levels of nutrients in top soil, and subsoil were higher in 69.4%, and 84.7% for pH, 63.7%, and 84.7% for organic matter compared to optimum range. Meanwhile, the excessive levels of available phosphate showed 70.2% in top soil, and 46.8% in subsoil compared to optimum range. The experimental results showed that the optimum fertilization based on soil testing was the most important thing in soil nutrients management for sweet persimmon.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.73-81
• /
• 2013

Various remediation methods have been applied to clean soils contaminated with pollutants. They remove contaminants from the soils by utilizing physicochemical, biological, and thermal processes and can satisfy soil remediation standards within a limited time; however, they also have an effect on the biological functions of soils by changing soil properties. In this study, changes of the biological properties of soils before and after treatment with three frequently used remediation methods-soil washing, land farming, and thermal desorption-were monitored to investigate the effects of remediation methods on soil biological functions. Total microbial number and soil enzyme activities, germination rate and growth of Brassica juncea, biomass change of Eisenia andrei were examined the effects on soil microorganisms, plant, and soil organisms, respectively. After soil washing, the germination rate of Brassica juncea increased but the above-ground growth and total microbial number decreased. Dehydrogenase activity, germination rate and above-ground growth increased in both land farming and thermal desorption treated soil. Although the growth of Eisenia andrei in thermal desorption treated soil was higher than any other treatment, it was still lower than that in non-contaminated soil. These results show that the remediation processes used to clean contaminated soil also affect soil biological functions. To utilize the cleaned soil for healthy and more value-added purposes, soil improvement and process development are needed.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.32-38
• /
• 2016

BACKGROUND: Our study aims to investigate the impact of temperature on the abundance and structure of soil microbial community in a temperature gradient tunnel.METHODS AND RESULTS: To investigate the interaction between temperature and input of C and N, rice straw and urea were applied to the study plots, respectively. We also studied the impact of plants by comparing plots cultivated with rice and unplanted plots. Soil microbial response was measured using the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis. Soil chemical properties, including pH and ammonia and phosphate concentrations were influenced by warming and material addition. Microbial PLFA was partially influenced by material inputs, and actinomycetes PLFA was decreased by warming. In cultivated rice plots, an increase in the carbon to nitrogen ratio illustrated the effect of plant on microbiota caused by carbon addition through the root residues. Results from the principal component analysis of PLFA data showed that warmed and control plots applied with rice straw could be separated by principal component analysis.CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that plant influence both the microbial community structure and abundance, and temperature change has a minimal impact on soil microorganisms in flooded soil.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.21-28
• /
• 2019

Use of cement in stabilizing the sulfate-bearing clay soils forms ettringite/ thaumasite in the presence of moisture leads to excessive swelling and causes damages to structures built on them. The development and use of non-traditional stabilisers such as alkali activated ground granulated blast-furnace slag (AGGBS) and enzyme for soil stabilisation is recommended because of its lower cost and the non detrimental effects on the environment. The objective of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of AGGBS and enzyme on improving the volume change properties of sulfate bearing soil as compared to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The soil for present study has been collected from Tilda, Chhattisgarh, India and 5000 ppm of sodium sulfate has been added. Various dosages of the selected stabilizers have been used and the effect on plasticity index, differential swell index and swelling pressure has been evaluated. XRD, SEM and EDX were also done on the untreated and treated soil for identifying the mineralogical and microstructural changes. The tests results show that the AGGBS and enzyme treated soil reduces swelling and plasticity characteristics whereas OPC treated soil shows an increase in swelling behaviour. It is observed that the swell pressure of the OPC-treated sulfate bearing soil became 1.5 times higher than that of the OPC treated non-sulfate soil.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.193-205
• /
• 2021

The importance of forests and trees in climate change mitigation and soil nutrient cycling cannot be overemphasized. This study assessed the above-ground carbon stock of two exotic and two indigenous tree species - Gmelina arborea, Tectona grandis, Khaya grandifoliola and Nauclea diderrichii and their litter impact on soil nutrient content of an arboretum within the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Data were collected from equal sample plots from the four species' compartments. Tree growth variables including total height, diameter at breast height, crown height, crown diameter and merchantable height were measured for the estimation of above-ground carbon stock. Soil samples were collected from a depth of 0-30 cm from each compartment and analyzed for particle size distribution, organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, exchangeable bases, exchangeable acidity, cation exchange capacity, base saturation, pH, Manganese, Iron, Copper and Zinc. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test for significant difference (p<0.05) in the carbon contents of the four species and the soil nutrient contents of the different species' compartments. Pearson correlation was used to assess the relationships between the carbon contents, growth parameters and soil parameters. The highest and lowest carbon stock per hectare was observed for G. arborea (151.52 t.ha^-1) and K. grandifoliola (45.45 t.ha^-1) respectively. Cation exchange capacity and base saturation were highest and lowest for soil under G. arborea and K. grandifoliola respectively. The pH was highest and lowest for soil under G. arborea and T. grandis respectively. Carbon stock correlated positively with dbh, crown diameter, merchantable height and Zn and negatively with base saturation. The study revealed that G. arborea and N. diderrichii can effectively be used for reforestation and afforestation programmes aimed at climate change mitigation across Nigeria. Therefore, policies to encourage and enhance their planting should be encouraged.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.22 no.6
• /
• pp.681-687
• /
• 2008

It is well known that the water infiltration rate depends on soil properties such as soil water content, water head, capillary suction, density, hydraulic conductivity, and porosity. However, most of proposed infiltration models assume that the air phase is continuous and in equilibrium with the atmosphere or air compression and air entrapment on infiltration was not considered. This study presents experimental results on unsaturated water infiltration to relate air entrapment and hydraulic conductivity function based on soil air properties. The objectives of this study were to measure change of soil air pressure ahead of wetting front under air drain and air confined condition to find the confined air effect on infiltration rate, to reduce the entrapped air volume related with soil air pressure to increase the soil permeability, and to make a basis of infiltration process model for the purpose of improvement of infiltration rate in the homogeneous soil column. The results of the work show that soil air pressure increases according to increasement of the saturated soil depth rather than the wetting front depth during infiltration process.