• Title/Summary/Keyword: chemical ecology

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Ecological Comparisons of Stream Conditions Between the Unimpacted and Impacted Sites: Case Study

  • Lee, Jae-Hoon;Lee, Sang-Jae;An, Kwang-Guk
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.41 no.4
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    • pp.441-448
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    • 2008
  • The purpose of this study was to analyze chemical water quality, fish trophic guilds, tolerance indicators, and fish community conditions in the Gap Stream and to compare the stream conditions between the unimpacted site and impacted site. This study was conducted in the physically stable season (May 2008) to minimize physical impacts such as flow and hydrological disturbance, and applied the study in the Gap Stream with two sites of unimpacted upstream site (Unim-S), mainly surrounded by forested area and impacted site (Im-S), influenced by the wastewater disposal plants and industrial complex in the urban region. Chemical data analysis showed that the degree of organic matter pollution, based on BOD, and COD, was $2{\sim}3$ fold greater in the Im-S than the Unim-S, and that TP, as eutrophication indicators, was 4.7 fold greater in the Im-S. Also, $NH_3-N$ was in 8.2 fold greater in the Im-S ($6.25\;mg\;L^{-1}$) than the Unim-S ($0.76\;mg\;L^{-1}$), indicating a massive influence of wastewater from the disposal plant. Similar results were found in other chemical parameters. Thus, chemical impacts in the Im-S were evident, compared to the unimpacted site. Evaluations of tolerant indicator species indicated that sensitive species were dominant in the Unim-S (23.9%) and tolerant species were dominant (97.8%) in the Im-S. Condition factor (CF) was averaged 0.95 ($0.68{\sim}1.18$) in the Unim-S and 1.08 ($0.93{\sim}1.22$) in the Im-S. Fish community in the Unim-S and Im-S was categorized as Zacco-community and Hemibarbus-community, respectively, and the community diversity index (H') was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the Unim-S (0.810) than the Im-S (0.466). Overall, our results suggest that the comparison approach of various chemical and ecological indicators provide important information in identifying multiple stressors in the stream ecosystems.

Chemical and Biological Properties of Soils Converted from Paddies and Uplands to Organic Ginseng Farming System in Sangju Region

  • Lim, Jin-Soo;Park, Kee-Choon;Eo, Jinu
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.47 no.6
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    • pp.500-505
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    • 2014
  • In recent years, organic ginseng cultivation has increased because customers prefer organic ginseng products due to the morphological quality as well as the safety such as the residuals of chemically-synthesized pesticides. Therefore, some of paddy and upland fields were converted into organic ginseng fields. Soil chemical properties, soil microflora, and soil-inhabiting animals were investigated in paddy-converted and upland organic ginseng fields in Sangju city, Korea. There was few difference in the soil chemical properties, and the soil nutrient concentrations, such as nitrate-N, Av. $P_2O_5$ between the two field types, and exchangeable cations such as K and Ca were within the ranges which are recommended by the standard ginseng-farming manual. Changes in microflora were also assessed by analyzing phospholipid fatty acid composition. Overall, indicators of microbial groups were greater in the upland field than in the paddy-converted soil, but they were not significantly different. In addition, there was no significant change in the abundance of nematodes, collembolans, and mites between the two field types probably because of the high variation within the field types. In this study, it was suggested that soil chemical and biological properties for organic ginseng cultivation were greatly influenced by the variation of topography and soil management practices rather than field types. Further study may be needed to investigate the influence of these factors on soil chemical and biological properties in organic ginseng soils.

Physicochemical tolerance ranges and ecological characteristics in two different populations of Carassius auratus and Cyprinus carpio

  • Kang, Seung Gu;Choi, Ji-Woong;An, Kwang-Guk
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.38 no.2
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    • pp.195-211
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    • 2015
  • The objectives of this research were to determine mean and maximum tolerance ranges of Carassius auratus ($C_a$) and Cyprinus carpio ($C_c$) populations on various physico-chemical parameters and ecological indicator metrics. Little is known about chemical tolerance ranges of the two species, even though these species are widely distributed species in aquatic ecosystems. Maximum tolerance ranges of $C_a$-population to total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were $20.3mgL^{-1}$ and $2.0mgL^{-1}$, respectively. Optimal ranges of TN and TP in the $C_a$-population were $1.7-5.0mgL^{-1}$ and $0.06-0.30mgL^{-1}$, respectively. Such nutrient regimes of the $C_a$-population were evaluated as hypereutrophy, indicating high tolerance limits. The $C_c$-population had similar ecological characteristics to $C_a$-population, but the mean tolerance ranges of TN, TP, BOD, and COD were significantly (p < 0.05) greater than the $C_a$-population. Ecological patterns of trophic composition and tolerance guilds in the $C_a$-population were similar to those of the $C_c$-population. The model value of Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) of the habitat where C. auratus and C. carpio co-occurred averaged $15.0{\pm}4.3$ and $12.9{\pm}3.6$, respectively. Based on the modified criteria of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (Klemm et al. 1993), it indicated poor ecological health of both species. These results suggest that both species are highly tolerant to chemical and physical habitat conditions of waterbodies, and that the chemical tolerance range of $C_c$-population was higher than $C_a$-population.

Chemical Forms and Release Potential of Heavy Metals from the Lime Treated Sediments (석회 처리에 의한 오염 퇴적물 내 중금속의 형태 변화 및 용출 가능성)

  • Park, Gil-Ok;Jun, Sang-Ho
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.41 no.2
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    • pp.166-173
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    • 2008
  • Chemical forms and release potential of heavy metals were studied in the lime treated sediment of lake Chungcho. Chemical forms of heavy metals were analyzed using a sequential extraction method, and release potential of heavy metals was evaluated by the ratio of the content of labile forms to total metal one. Dominant form of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the untreated sediments was organic/sulfidic form that is stable in the reducing environment such as the bottom of Lake Chungcho. With liming of the sediment, the chemical forms of studied metals were greatly changed from organic/sulfidic form to adsorbed and reducible form, especially Cd and Cu to adsorbed and reducible form, but Pb and Zn to reducible form. It is believed that increase of unstable form of heavy metals in the sediments by liming was caused by the increase of pH of the pore water at the expense of organic/sulfidic form. Thus, we concluded that the liming approach currently used in the treatment of dredged sediments might cause the increase of labile form which is easily dissolved, and may increase the release of metals from the sediment into overlying water.

POLLUTION PREVENTION : ENGINEERING DESIGN AT MACRO-, MESO-, AND MICROSCALES

  • Allen, David T.
    • Clean Technology
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    • v.2 no.2
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    • pp.51-59
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    • 1996
  • Billions of tons of industrial waste are generated annually in industrialized countries. Managing and legally disposing of these wastes costs tens to hundreds of billions of dollars each year, and these costs have been increasing rapidly. The escalation is likely to continue as emission standards become even more stringent around the world. In the face of these rapidly rising costs and rapidly increasing performance standards, traditional end-of-pipe approaches to waste management have become less attractive. The most economical waste management alternatives in many cases have become recycling of the waste or the redesign of chemical processes and products so that wastes are prevented or put to productive use. These strategies of recycling or reducing waste at the source have collectively come to be known as pollution prevention. The engineering challenges associated with pollution prevention are substantial. This presentation will categorize the challenges in three levels. At the most macroscopic level, the flow of materials in our industrial economy, from natural resource extraction to consumer product disposal, can be redesigned. Currently, most of our raw materials are virgin natural resources that are used once, then discarded. Studies in what has come to be called industrial ecology examine the material efficiency of large-scale industrial systems and attempt to improve that efficiency. A second level of engineering challenges is found at the scale of individual industrial facilities, where chemical processes and products can be redesigned so that waste is reduced. Finally, on a molecular level, chemical synthesis pathways, combustion reaction pathways, and other material fabrication procedures can be redesigned to reduce emissions of pollution and unwanted by-products. All of these design activities, shown in Figure 1, have the potential to prevent pollution. All involve the tools of engineering, and in particular, chemical engineering.

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A Study on Decreasing Metals from Hanwoo Slurry with Chemical Additives (한우액상분뇨로부터 중금속 저감을 위한 화학제재의 이용에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Chang-Mann;Choi, Jung-Hoon;Ko, Soo-Hyun;Choi, In-Hag
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.19 no.11
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    • pp.1385-1390
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    • 2010
  • Repeated additions of untreated slurry to soil affected ecology and caused high levels of heavy metal in soil and ground water. The objective of this study was to evaluate heavy metal from hanwoo slurry with ferrous sulfate ($FeSO_4{\cdot}7H_2O$), aluminum sulfate [$Al_2(SO_4)_3{\cdot}14H_2O$, alum] and aluminum chloride ($AlCl_3{\cdot}6H_2O$) as a way to improve environmental management in hanwoo industry. The treatment rates, which were incorporated totally within the hanwoo slurry, were 1.0 g and 1.5 g of ferrous sulfate, alum and aluminum chloride/25 g of hanwoo slurry. The various rates of chemical additives significantly increased dry matter (9.98~13.94%) and decreased pH (3.48~6.52) compared with the controls. The use of chemical additives decreased Fe (11~29%), Al (7~12%), Zn (13~36%), and Cu (4~32%) contents, except for Fe in hanwoo slurry with ferrous sulfate and Al in hanwoo slurry with alum and aluminum chloride. In addition, the reduction in heavy metal should be associated with reduction in pH. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that alum and aluminum chloride additives at rate of 1.5 g were cost-effective management practice that significantly reduces heavy metal from hanwoo slurry, while it may be improved environmental management.

Effects of Drying and Heating on the Chemical Species of Heavy Metals in Lake Chungcho Sediments (건조 ${\cdot}$ 가열처리가 청초호 퇴적물 중 중금속의 화학적 존재형태에 미치는 영향)

  • Park, Gil-Ok;Kim, Hee-Joung;An, Hae-Jung;Kim, Shin-Hee;Jun, Sang-Ho
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.38 no.3 s.113
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    • pp.334-340
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    • 2005
  • The chemical forms of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn were analysed by sequential extraction technique to evaluate the effects of drying and heating of dredged sediments from Lake Chungcho. The most abundant fraction of Cd, Cu, and Zn in the wet and untreated sediment was organic/sulfidic fraction that is state in reducing environment such as the bottom condition of Lake Chungcho, while Pb dominated in residual fraction. This means that the source of Cd, Cu, and Zn in the Chungcho lake sediment is related to the organic degradation and Pb to the erosion from surrounding rocks. With drying and oxidation by dredging, heating treatment, and disposal of the lake sediment, the chemical forms of studied metals changed greatly from organic/sulfidic fraction to adsorbed and reducible fractions which are more labile in oxygenated environment. Organic/sulfidic fraction of Cd, Cu and Pb in the wet sediment was transformed with drying and heating treatments to the labile ones like adsorbed and reducible fraction, but Zn to carbonate and reducible fraction. Heating of the sediment at $320^{\circ}C$ greatly increased the labile fraction of Cd and Cu, while that at $105^{\circ}C$ for Pb and Zn. It is believed that the increase in labile forms of heavy metals in the sediments by drying and heating is caused by the contact with oxygen during drying and heating and by the increase of pH of the pore water at the expense of organic/sulfidic fraction. It is concluded that the drying and oxidation currently used in the treatment of dredged sediment can increase labile forms of heavy metals in the sediment, and the potential of the metal availability from the sediment.

The Antifungal Activity of Chemical Substances from Artemisia annua (개똥쑥의 천연화학물질에 의한 항균효과와 성분확인)

  • Kim, Hyeon-Cheol;Gil, Bong-Seop
    • The Korean Journal of Ecology
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    • v.24 no.3
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    • pp.137-140
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    • 2001
  • The antifungal activity of chemical substances from Artemisia annua were examined. Antifungal activity of aqueous extracts from A. annua was higher than that of essential oils in Fusarium oxysporum, whereas that of essential oil was higher than that of aqueous extracts in Aspergillus nidulans. The GC/MS methods were employed for the analysis and identification of phytotoxic substances from A. annua. Essential oil of some components were identified including thujone, terpineol, β-pinene, cienole, 2,4-hexndienal, camphor, citronellal, (-)-menthone, (1R)-(-)myrtenol, (S)-(-)-perilla aldehyde, perilla alcohol, 4-tert-buthylaniline, eugenol, isosafrole, isoeugenol and α-humulene. These results suggest that the chemical substances from A. annua such as terphenoids seem to be responsible for the allelopathic effect.

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Life History and Morphological Responses of Daphnia similis against Chemical Compounds Exuded by Various Cohabiting Animals and Triops longicaudatus in the Rice Paddy Ecosystem (논 생태계에 서식하는 생물과 긴꼬리투구새우가 분비한 화학물질이 물벼룩의 생활사와 형태에 미치는 영향)

  • La, Geung-Hwan;Han, Eun-Jin;Won, Doo Hee;Kim, Jeong-Hui;Jeong, Jyoo-Ri;Kim, Hyun-Woo
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.48 no.4
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    • pp.272-279
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    • 2015
  • The aim of this study was to assess the interaction between Daphnia similis and various organisms related to the rice paddy ecosystem. We selected several organisms that are likely to prey on D. similis and evaluate predation rate as well as responses of D. similis to the chemical compounds exuded by these organisms. As a result of predation experiment, larval dragonfly (Anax parthenope) and Triops longicaudatus were clearly shown decreasing abundances of D. similis. Especially, Triops longicaudatus was observed higher feeding rates on D. similis than larval dragonfly. Chemical compounds from the vertebrates such as fish (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Pseudorasbora parva, Micropterus salmoides) and tadpole of frog (Rana nigromaculata) did not affect the life history of Daphnia. However, a potential predatory fish P. parva induced significantly longer tail spine in Daphnia. In addition, among the invertebrates (T. longicaudatus, A. Parthenope, Micronecta spp., Palaemon paucidens), chemical compounds exuded by T. longicaudatus induced shorter body and significantly longer tail spine in D. similis.

Relation between Chemical Properties and Microbial Activities in Soils from Reclaimed Tidal Lands at South-western Coast Area in Korea

  • Park, Mi-Na;Go, Gang-Seuk;Kim, Chang-Hwan;Bae, Hui-Su;Sa, Tongmin;Choi, Joon-Ho
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.48 no.4
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    • pp.262-270
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    • 2015
  • The scientific information between microbial community and chemical properties of reclaimed tidal soil is not enough to understand the land reclamation process. This study was conducted to investigate the relation between chemical properties and microbial activities of soils from reclaimed tidal lands located at south-western coastal area (42 samples from Goheuong, Samsan, Bojun, Kunnae, Hwaong and Yeongsangang sites). Most of the reclaimed soils showed chemical characteristics as salinity soil based on EC. Only $Na^+$ in exchangeable cation was dependent on EC of reclaimed soil, whereas other cations such as $K^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$ were independent on EC. The mesophilic bacteria decreased with an increase in EC of soil. Microbial population increased with soil organic content in the range of $0{\sim}10g\;kg^{-1}$ and dehydrogenase activity less than $100{\mu}g-TPF\;g^{-1}h^{-1}$. Microbial population of soils from reclaimed tidal lands was closely related to the microbial community containing hydrolytic enzyme activities of cellulase, amylase, protease, and lipase.