• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.36-43
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• 2012

Various methods are used to remediate soil contaminated with heavy metals or petroleum. In recent years, harsh physical and chemical remediation methods are being used to increase remediation efficiency, however, such processes could affect soil properties and degrade the ecological functions of the soil. Effects of soil washing, thermal desorption, and land farming, which are the most frequently used remediation methods, on the physicochemical properties of remediated soil were investigated in this study. For soils smaller than 2 mm, the soil texture were changed from sandy clay loam to sandy loam because of the decrease in the clay content after soil washing, and from loamy sand to sandy loam because of the decrease in the sand content and increase in silt content during thermal desorption, however, the soil texture remained unchanged after land farming process. The water-holding capacity, organic matter content, and total nitrogen concentration of the tested soil decreased after soil washing. A change in soil color and an increase in the available phosphate concentration were observed after thermal desorption. Exchangeable cations, total nitrogen, and available phosphate concentration were found to decrease after land farming; these components were probably used by microorganisms during as well as after the land farming process because microbial processes remain active even after land farming. A study of these changes can provide information useful for the reuse of remediated soil. However, it is insufficient to assess only soil physicochemical properties from the viewpoint of the reuse of remediated soil. Potential risks and ecological functions of remediated soil should also be considered to realize sustainable soil use.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.277-285
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• 2014

The usage of efficient microorganism (EM) is increasing in concern for server purposes including odor removal during carcasses degradation. In this study, we have studied the type of soil and its effect on efficient microorganisms for the removal of odorous gases during buried carcasses degradation in lab-scale reactor. The carcasses are buried in the reactor with various soil types such as normal soil, 20% sandy and 20% clay soil with the efficient microorganism KEM. The efficient microorganisms KEM have the ability to stabilize the degradation of carcasses of the burial site. We have focused on the analysis of odorous gases such tri-methylamine (TMA), hydrogen sulfide ($H_2S$), methyl mercaptan (MM), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethyl disulfide (DMDS), carbon dioxide ($CO_2$), and methane ($CH_4$) along with the changes of microbial community changed during complete degradation of buried carcasses for a year. The results suggested that the 20% sandy soil contain lesser level of $H_2S$ and MM (0.09 and 0.35 mg) but 20% clay has higher nitrogen compound removing effect and leave only less amount of ammonia and TMA (0.31 and 2.06 mg). The 20% sandy soil also has the ability to breakdown the carcasses more quality compared with other types of soil. Based on the data obtained in this study suggesting that, the use of 20% sandy soil can effectively control sulfur compounds whereas 20% clay soil controls nitrogen compounds in the buried soil. Depending on the type of the soil, the dominant of microbial communities and the distribution was change.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.317-323
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• 2010

Nutrient availability is a critical component of agroecosystems, and is relevant to both above- and below- ground interactions. The principal objective of this study was to determine how the cessation of fertilization affects the communities of weeds and soil organisms in a corn/wheat field. Changes in dominant weed species, substrate-induced respiration, and the population density of nematodes and microarthropods were evaluated. Microbial substrate-induced respiration (SIR) and the population density of microarthropods decreased following the cessation of fertilization and were partly correlated with the aboveground weed biomass. The cessation of organic fertilizer application but continuing application of inorganic fertilizer reduced the population density of nematodes. In response to the cessation of fertilization, weed communities were dominated by species with little dependency on fertilization. Amaranthus retroflexus was identified as the most dominant species in the corn field; however, it was replaced by Digitaria ciliaris after the cessation of fertilization. In the wheat field, the cessation of fertilization led to a rapid reduction in the biomass of most weeds, except for Vicia angustifolia, supposedly as the result of symbiotic nitrogen fixation. Additionally, the fact that weed biomass was partially correlated with SIR or the population density of microarthropods may reflect a mutual feedback between soil organisms and weeds. The results indicate that the cessation of fertilization alters communities of weeds and soil organisms through changes in weed biomass and interactions with symbiotic microorganisms.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.357-361
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• 2021

In order to determine the changes in microbial community due to termites, soil microorganisms surrounding the termites were investigated. First, bacterial communities from soil with termites collected at Seonamsa temple, Suncheon city, Korea were compared by next-generation sequencing (NGS, Illumina Miseq). The bacterial composition of soil from Daeungjeon without termites and the soil from Josadang, Palsangjeon, and Samjeon with termites were compared. Next, the bacterial composition of these soils was also compared with that of humus soil cultured with termites. A total high-quality sequences of 71,942 and 72,429 reads were identified in Seonamsa temple's soil and humus soil, respectively. The dominant phyla in the collected Seonamsa temple's soil were Proteobacteria (27%), Firmicutes (24%) and Actinobacteria (21%), whereas those in the humus soil were Bacteriodetes (56%) and Proteobacteria (37%). Using a two-dimensional plot to explain the principal coordinate analysis of operational taxonomic unit compositions of the soil samples, it was confirmed that the samples were divided into soil with and without termites, and it was especially confirmed that the Proteobacteria phylum was increased in humus soil with termites than in humus soil without termites.

• Journal of Korea Foresty Energy
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.49-56
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• 2003

As a part of agricultural utilization of charcoal and pyroligneous acid, the effect of wood carbonization products on the growth of red pepper and soil microorganisms was investigated. The treatment of charcoal and pyroligneous acid provided good growth conditions to microorganisms through neutralizing soil acidity and improving the physicochemical properties of soil. Therefore the density of useful microorganism in the soil has been increased. In the growth of red pepper, the length, diameter, and the fruit numbers of red pepper have been increased by treating with wood carbonization products. It was especially shown that yield has increased about 50% in the fruit number, by treating charcoal 1kg, 1000 time-diluted solution of pyroligneous acid and bacteria, compared with the control. It was estimated that increasing the length of seedling and the diameter of red pepper stem contributed to the resistance against the prerequisites of various environmental changes in open field. Therefore, the final yield would be increased. In the antagonism experiment of red pepper mold (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), the mold became extinct in the 2- and 10-time diluted solution of pyroligneous acid, compared with the control. On the other hand, their growth speed was delayed in the 100- and 1000 time-diluted solution.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.55-64
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• 2003

It was investigated the possibility to use charcoal powder as beneficial soil conditioner, which used frequently in environmentally friendly agricultural farming system. For this purpose, the effects of charcoal powder on the growth of red pepper and chemical and microbiological properties of soil were also determined. The application of charcoal powder resulted in no significant differences of pH and EC in the soil compared to those of control. However, small particle size of charcoal powder increased yield of red pepper while large charcoal powder resulted in decrease of root growth of red pepper. Furthermore, the application of charcoal powder resulted in changes of soil microflora relating to plant growth stage. The number of the nitrogen fixing bacteria and fungi increased at the early growth stage, while phosphate releasing fungi in the soil increased at the late stage of growth by charcoal powder application. These beneficial effect of charcoal powder on the soil microbial properties was larger by the use of smaller particle size of charcoal powder. Therefore, it indicated that the small size of charcoal powder might be more influential on the red pepper yield and soil microbial properties may be due to large capacity of nutrients uptake for the plant and microorganisms. Additionally the optimal application amount of charcoal powder for the red pepper could be suggested as much as 300kg 10a$^{-1}$ for the both purposes of improvement of crop yield and retardation of the nutrients accumulation by excess charcoal application.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.457-464
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• 1998

For investigating the effect of amount of applied fertilizer with pig and chicken manures in the field, the number of soil bacteria were counted on the full strength conventional nutrient broth (NB) medium and its 100-fold dilution (DNB) medium. From the control soil samples without organic amendments, the number of bacteria on DNB medium was 5 to 10 times higher than that on NB medium. However, population density on NB medium was higher than on DNB medium from the treated soil with 60 and 120 Mg/㏊ for 3 years. Most of isolates from DNB plates did not grow on the NB plates. There were only grown on the 100-fold dilution medium, so it was called as DNB organisms. The DNB organisms were occupied as dominant group over 60% fo isolates in control soil. However, their occupation rates were rapidly decreased in the treatment soil with pig and chicken manures above 60 and 120 Mg per ha. These DNB organisms (oligotrophs) were significantly low population desities in the treatment soil with organic materials.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.181-189
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• 1996

Several phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms were isolated in order to enhance the availability of insoluble phosphates accumulated in soils. Among the microorganisms, Aspergillus niger was selected and identified for this study. The phosphate-solubilizing activity. the phosphorus uptake by plants and the changes in soil microbial biomass by inoculation of Aspergillus niger were investigated. The uptake amounts of phosphorus by lettuce and pimiento were increased by inoculation of Aspergillus niger in all experimental treatments. There was negative correlation between the soil microbial biomass P and the soil phosphorus content. However the soil available phosphorus ($Y=-0.0007X^2+0.7126X^2-29.46$, $R=0.8283^{**}$) and the phosphorus absorption of plants ($Y=0.0049X^2-2.2352X+326.34$, $R=0.6350^*$) were significantly correlated to soil microbial biomass C on the positive section of quadric curve.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.146-159
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• 2011

The continuous increase in the production of metals and their subsequent release into the environment has lead to increased concentration of these elements in agricultural soils. Because microbes are involved in almost every chemical transformations taking place in the soil, considerable attention has been given to assessing their responses to metal contaminants. Short-term and long-term exposures to toxic metals have been shown to reduce microbial diversity, biomass and activities in the soil. Several studies show that microbial parameters like basal respiration, metabolic quotient, and enzymatic activities, including those of oxidoreductases and those involved in the cycle of C, N, P and other elements, exhibit sensitivity to soil metal concentrations. These have been therefore, regarded as good indices for assessing the impact of metal contaminants to the soil. Metal contamination has also been extensively shown to decrease species diversity and cause shifts in microbial community structure. Biochemical and molecular techniques that are currently being employed to detect these changes are continuously challenged by several limiting factors, although showing some degree of sensitivity and efficiency. Variations and inconsistencies in the responses of bioindicators to metal stress in the soil can also be explained by differences in bioavailability of the metal to the microorganisms. This, in turn, is influenced by soil characteristics such as CEC, pH, soil particles and other factors. Therefore, aside from selecting the appropriate techniques to better understand microbial responses to metals, it is also important to understand the prevalent environmental conditions that interplay to bring about observed changes in any given soil parameter.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.253-260
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• 2018

Beneficial microorganisms are widely used in the forestry, livestock, and, in particular, agricultural sectors to control soilborne diseases and promote plant growth. However, the industrial utilization of these microorganisms is very limited, mainly due to uncertainty concerning their ability to colonize and persist in soil. In this study, the survival of beneficial microorganisms in field soil microcosms was investigated for 13 days using quantitative PCR with B. subtilis group-specific primers. Bacterial community dynamics of the treated soils were analyzed using 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicon sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. The average 16S rRNA gene copy number per g dry soil of Bacillus spp. was $4.37{\times}10^6$ after treatment, which was 1,000 times higher than that of the control. The gene copy number was generally maintained for a week and was reduced thereafter, but remained 100 times higher than that of the control. Bacterial community analysis indicated that Acidobacteria ($26.3{\pm}0.9%$), Proteobacteria ($24.2{\pm}0.5%$), Chloroflexi ($11.1{\pm}0.4%$), and Actinobacteria ($9.7{\pm}2.5%$) were abundant phyla in both treated and non-treated soils. In the treated soils, the relative abundance of Actinobacteria was lower, whereas those of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes were higher compared to the control. Differences in total relative abundances of operational taxonomic units belonging to several genera were observed between the treated and non-treated soils, suggesting that inoculation of soil with the Bacillus strains influenced the relative abundances of certain groups of bacteria and, therefore, the dynamics of resident bacterial communities. These changes in resident soil bacterial communities in response to inoculation of soil with beneficial Bacillus spp. provide important information for the use of beneficial microorganisms in soil for sustainable agriculture.