• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.103 no.1
• /
• pp.30-36
• /
• 2014

This study examined the change in carbon (C) storage of soil, forest floor and coarse woody debris (CWD) for different thinning intensities in Pinus densiflora stands 4 years after the treatment. Two study stands were located in Jeongseon (Stand 1) and Gwangneung Experiment Forest (Stand 2). Three plots for different thinning intensities based on stand density were established at each stand in 2008; control plot (0%), T20 plot (20%) and T30 plot (30%) in Stand 1 and control plot (0%), T39 plot (39%) and T74 plot (74%) in Stand 2, respectively. The C storage of soil (0-50 cm), forest floor and CWD was measured in 2012. Total C storage of T30 plot ($109.80t{\cdot}C{\cdot}ha^{-1}$) was significantly higher than that of control plot ($86.69t{\cdot}C{\cdot}ha^{-1}$) in Stand 1. In stand 2, total C storage of T74 plot ($97.02t{\cdot}C{\cdot}ha^{-1}$) was significantly higher than that of control plot ($72.04t{\cdot}C{\cdot}ha^{-1}$) and T39 plot ($63.25t{\cdot}C{\cdot}ha^{-1}$). Total C storage of the heaviest thinned plot was the highest in each study stand. Since this study examined initial effects of thinning on C storage of soil, forest floor and CWD, further studies would be necessary to evaluate the long-term effects.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.198-221
• /
• 2021

After large-scale reforestation in the 1960s and 1970s, forests in Korea have gradually been aging. Net ecosystem CO₂ exchange of old-growth forests is theoretically near zero; however, it can be a CO₂ sink or source depending on the intervention of disturbance or management. In this study, we report the CO₂ budget dynamics of the Gwangneung deciduous old-growth forest (GDK) in Korea and examined the following two questions: (1) is the preserved GDK indeed CO₂ neutral as theoretically known? and (2) can we explain the dynamics of CO₂ budget by the common mechanisms reported in the literature? To answer, we analyzed the 15-year long CO₂ flux data measured by eddy covariance technique along with other biometeorological data at the KoFlux GDK site from 2006 to 2020. The results showed that (1) GDK switched back-and-forth between sink and source of CO₂ but averaged to be a week CO₂ source (and turning to a moderate CO₂ source for the recent five years) and (2) the interannual variability of solar radiation, growing season length, and leaf area index showed a positive correlation with that of gross primary production (GPP) (R²=0.32~0.45); whereas the interannual variability of both air and surface temperature was not significantly correlated with that of ecosystem respiration (RE). Furthermore, the machine learning-based model trained using the dataset of early monitoring period (first 10 years) failed to reproduce the observed interannual variations of GPP and RE for the recent five years. Biomass data analysis suggests that carbon emissions from coarse woody debris may have contributed partly to the conversion to a moderate CO₂ source. To properly understand and interpret the long-term CO₂ budget dynamics of GDK, new framework of analysis and modeling based on complex systems science is needed. Also, it is important to maintain the flux monitoring and data quality along with the monitoring of coarse woody debris and disturbances.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.104 no.4
• /
• pp.527-535
• /
• 2015

With results from previous Korean studies on forest thinning, we conducted a meta-analysis on the effect of thinning on diameter at breast height (DBH) growth and carbon (C) stocks (tree, litter layer, coarse woody debris (CWD), and soils) in Korean forests. Thinning increased the DBH growth and the C stocks in soils by 39.2% and 12.8%, respectively, while it decreased the C stocks in tree by 30.9%. In contrast, thinning had no significant effect on the C stocks in litter layer and CWD. The DBH growth and the C stocks in tree showed significant correlations with thinning intensity and recovery time. The C stocks in litter layer correlated with recovery time while those in CWD and soils did not show significant correlation neither with thinning intensity nor with recovery time. Regression models of the DBH growth and the C stocks in tree were developed to quantify the effect of thinning intensity and recovery time. An integration of the regression model of the tree C stock into forest carbon models is expected to be essential to quantify the effect of thinning on the C stocks in litter layer, CWD, and soils. We also suggested expansion of study species, long-term and frequent monitoring, and investigation on understory vegetation in order to elucidate changes in Korean forests following thinning practices.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
• /
• v.56 no.12
• /
• pp.837-844
• /
• 2023

Small and medium-sized mountain rivers that flow through steep, confined valleys carry large amounts of coarse-grained sediment and woody debris during floods. It causes an increase in flood water level by aggrading the riverbed and the cross-section blockage due to driftwood accumulation during flooding. However, the existing flood level calculation in the river basic plan does not consider these changes. In this study, using the Typhoon Hinnamnor flood in September 2022 as an example, we performed numerical simulations using the HEC-RAS model, taking into account the blockage of a cross-section at the bridge and changes in riverbed elevation that occurred during floods, and analyzed the flood level to predict flood risk. This study's results show that flooding occurs if more than 30% of the cross-section is blocked. The rise of flood water levels corresponds to that of the riverbed due to sediment deposition. These results can be used as basic data to prevent and effectively manage flood damage and contribute to establishing flood defense measures that consider actual phenomena.