• Journal of Korean Society for Geospatial Information Science
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.77-87
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• 2012

Discussion on North Korea as UN-REDD (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation in developing countries) project target continues with a view to preventing deforestation and to securing CER(certified emission reduction) for South Korea. However, due to North Korea's political shutdown, it is hard to acquire information required for the REDD project registration. This research intends to acquire objective data using satellite images in the Mt. Geumgang. More than 20% of entire forested area were disappeared during the past two decades mainly due to conversion into agricultural farming land. Further, it is expected that persistent deforestation will go on. The reduction potential of the carbon emission is estimated as approximately 617,000 tCO2/year~663.000 tCO2/year. Thus, Mt. Geumgang is considered as realistic REDD target, which is attractive to South Korea, given that the obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emission is likely to be imposed upon the country. Further, political and social benefits due to reduced military conflict make Mt. Geumgang as UN-REDD project target invaluable.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.73-83
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• 2015

The objective of this study is to establish implications for forest restoration planning in North Korea by analyzing spatio-temporal forest changes and detecting bio-physical factors driving forest degraded. We measured the relationship and spatial distribution between shifting cultivation and sparse forest. We also analyzed between degraded forest land and ecological variables by binary logistic regression to find biophysical drivers of forest degradation and deforestation in North Korea. Between the sparse forest and the shifting cultivation, a positive relationship is found (r=0.91) and scattered discontinuously throughout the country (Moran's I = -1, Z score = -13.46 (p=0.000)). The sparse forest showed a negative relationship with the warmest month(bio 9), the coldest month(bio10), and the minimum of soil water contents (swc_min), while the shifting cultivation had a negative relationship with the warmest month(bio 9) and the minimum of soil water contents(swc_min). However, the most critical drivers convert forests into sloping farmland were the three months rainfall in summer(bio8) and the yearly mean of soil water contents. Such results reflect the growth period of crops which overlaps with the rainy season in North Korea and the recent land reclamation of uplands where the soil water contents are maintained with a dense forest. When South Korea aids forest restoration projects in North Korea, in consideration of food shortage due to North Korea's cropland deficiency, terrace farmlands where soil water contents can be maintained should be excluded from the priority restoration area. In addition, an evaluation method for selecting a potential restoration area must be modified and applied based on multiple criteria including altitude and socio-economic factors in the respective regions.

• Spatial Information Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2014

UN-REDD (United Nations programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation in Developing Countries) and AR-CDM (Afforestation/Reforestation-Clean Development Mechanism) is currently being emerged as one of important mechanism to reduce carbon dioxide in relation to the deforestation. Discussion on North Korea as UN-REDD/AR-CDM project target continues with a view to preventing deforestation and to securing CER(certified emission reduction) for South Korea. The forests in Mt. Baekdu are degraded, deforestation is occurred, nevertheless, portion of forested area is still high, where both REDD and AR-CDM investment potential are quite high. Accordingly, this study is intended to explore a simultaneous registration potential to UNREDD/AR-CDM for Mt. Baekdu although separate registration to UN-REDD or AR-CDM has already gained worldwide recognition as a typical method in the process of GHG (Greenhouse Gas) reduction project. The results indicate that selecting UN-REDD or AR-CDM in accordance with sub-watershed forest condition could capture 53.2% more carbon dioxide than REDD alone and 21.9% more than AR-CDM alone. It is anticipated that this research output could be used as a realistic evidence to introduce carbon sequestering project in accordance with sub-watershed forest condition.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.55-67
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• 2016

This paper investigated policies that drive the sustainable management of Ivorian forest which disappear at an annual rate of 250000 hectares. Based on an inter-temporal model for optimum allocation of forest land to three competing uses, the article found that sustainability depends on the incentive structure, of which forest taxes and fees are a key, though obviously not the sole, component. The study proposed to increase the area fee level by accounting for environmental externalities generated by forest harvesters and farmers. The paper showed that the area fee is a decreasing function of the forest natural rate of regeneration and the reconversion rate of agricultural surfaces. Finally, at the given forest natural rate of regeneration and the reconversion rate of agricultural surfaces, the model argued that the area fee need to be progressive (arithmetic progression) in the context of ecological equilibrium break while it should remain constant in normal situation.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.569-576
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• 2009

Sediment and nutrient loading caused by the removal of forest cover and alteration of agricultural lands in catchments have led to the deterioration in Lake Shirarutoro. To examine the effects of deforestation and agricultural activities on water quality, I examined changes in total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) of lake water induced by land use change, and compared them with the various research data produced over the years. Our investigation showed that the level of TN and TP in the lake water decreased when forest cover increased but increased when farmland area increased. The concentration of TN and TP was high in Lake Shirarutoro despite that its catchment was surrounded by large forests and small farmlands. This result indicates that land uses near Lake Shirarutoro have affected the quality of the lake water. I have examined the changes of sediment yield in the lake's catchment over the last approximately 300 years. Eleven core samples were obtained from the lake sediment and analyzed to establish a chronology after using two tephra layers (Ko-c2 in 1694 and Ta-a in 1739) and a $^{137}Cs$ peak (in 1963). The average sediment yield under the natural condition during the first two periods was 8.4 tons/$km^2$/year in 1694~1739 and 8.9 tons/$km^2$/year in 1739~1963 respectively. The conversion of the Shirarutoro catchment into agricultural lands and deforestation intensified, leading to an increased sediment yield of 21.1 tons/$km^2$/year during 1963~2007.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.130-135
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• 2017

In temperate monsoon regions, extensive shallow landslides triggered by heavy rainfall are recurrent phenomena in mountainous areas. 1,357 landslides over Jinbu area, Korea that totaled 127 km2 were identified from aerial photographs and field survey. We examined characteristics of rainfall-induced shallow landslides and casual factors affecting landslide distribution with respect to topographic and forest settings, and land use. Most landslides occurred in the study area were the results of a complex combination of precondition, preparatory factors and triggering factors. Cumulative rainfall and high intensity rainfall during short period of time made the study area very sensitive to landslides and played as catalysts to enable other factors including topographic and forest settings, and land use to act more effectively. In addition, some landslides at lower elevation involved channel incision or bank erosion influenced by land use changes such as deforestation and intensification of agriculture surrounding riparian forests or hillslopes. The results suggest that most of landslide were triggered by heavy rainstorms while topographic, forest settings, and land use affected landslide distribution occurred in the study area.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 1998.09a
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• pp.192-197
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• 1998

This paper demonstrates that it is feasible to evaluate forest degradation and to detect deforestation in the 8156$km^2$ study area affected by expand farming using vegetation indices derived from Landsat TM data. The NDVI-growing stock relation was applied on th Landsat TM data and a 3 second grid DEM, whose coverages could improve the assessment of forest degradation and also estimate the rate of change of forest cover area depending on elevation intervals. The strength of the relationship between the ratio of the greenness and brightness indices and forest degradation conditions would have been more interesting in the deforested areas which were converted to crop farming land.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.21-29
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• 1968

It may be fully known that Korea is the main producing country of pine tree form the pan-Asian viewpoint of the geographical distribution of the pine tree. Through the study on the reason why the pine tree became a tree of the maximum cover degree in Korea and the observation of natural preservation status of all sorts of trees in the DMZ area for nearly 20 years after the Korean Armistice, it has come to know that almost all of the pine tree were banished. This phenomenon has been resulted by the ecological characteristics of the pine tree itself which has no sprouting power at all, war disasters, deforestation and incendiary fire that have been steadily occurred until now since the time of Armistice.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.35 no.5_1
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• pp.649-663
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• 2019

The 2018 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report announced that deforestation in North Korea is the most extreme situation and in terms of climate change, this deforestation is a global scale issue. To respond deforestation, various study and projects are conducted based on remote sensing, but access to public data in North Korea is limited, and objectivity is difficult to be guaranteed. In this study, the forest detection based on density estimation in statistic using Landsat imagery was conducted in Gangwon province which is the only administrative district divided into South and North. The forest spatial data of South Korea was used as data for the labeling of forest and Non-forest in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and a threshold (0.6658) for forest detection was set by Gaussian Probability Density Function (PDF) estimation by category. The results show that the forest area decreased until the 2000s in both Korea, but the area increased in 2010s. It is also confirmed that the reduction of forest area on the local scale is the same as the policy direction of urbanization and industrialization at that time. The Kappa value for validation was strong agreement (0.8) and moderate agreement (0.6), respectively. The detection based on the Gaussian PDF estimation is considered a method for complementing the statistical limitations of the existing detection method using satellite imagery. This study can be used as basic data for deforestation in North Korea and Based on the detection results, it is necessary to protect and restore forest resources.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.29-44
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• 2006

The flora of vascular plants in Geojedo revealed to be 550 taxa based on only the voucher specimens to be collected. It comprise 108 families, 341 genera, 478 species, 69 varieties and 3 forms respectively. Among them, 13 taxa of Korean endemics and 8 taxa of rare and endangered plants were investigated in addition to 75 taxa of specially designated plants announced by the Ministry of Environment. Furthermore, 36 taxa of induced and naturalized plants were also observed in this area. One of the characteristics of forest vegetation is the broadly occupation of Pinus thunbergii on whole area of Geojedo. Although it's well condition and conservation status, the destruction area of vegetation was rapidly increasing by the industrial development, the deforestation and the tramp as well as by the basic disturbances of human beings. Therefore, more active and positive conservation strategy such as expansion of conservation area should be prepared rapidly by the results of long-term monitoring studies.