• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.197-206
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• 2009

Benthic macroinvertebrate communities were collected from six different sites in the Dobong Stream in Seoul, Korea to investigate spatial and temporal changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities in response to natural disturbances such as floods and droughts. We collected samples monthly or semimonthly with a Surber net ($30cm{\times}30cm$), and measured environmental factors, including stream temperature, discharge, width, conductivity, dissolved oxygen and pH at each sampling site. Benthic macro invertebrates were strongly affected by floods as well as droughts. In addition, benthic macroinvertebrate communities displayed different responses to the onset of the rainy season in summer 2006 and 2007, apparently due to differences in the intensity and amount of precipitation. Chironomids were particularly sensitive to heavy rain. Floods and droughts also affected the proportions of functional feeding groups during the survey period: the proportion of scrapers was high right after heavy rains, while the proportion of predators tended to increase in intermittent-type streams as the riffle zone decreased. Finally, although species richness and abundance were strongly influenced by heavy rain, they recovered to background levels for within one month, and varied consistently among stream types, indicating habitat stability.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.329-335
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• 1992

Bionomics of diplopodes was studid near chongyongchi in the chiri mountains from sept. 1990 to dec. 1991 by surveying 10 sample sites at 12 occasions. During this period 13 species of diplopodes from 11 genera, 8 families, and 6 orders were collected. Species were more diversed under quercus mongolica followed by quercus serrata and pinus densiflora sp. epenerchodus koreanus bifidus, and e. k. koreanus were found in all sample sites and these 6 species have been reported to be distributed throughout south korea. yamasinaium sp., riukiaria semicirculalis, parafontaria koreanus, and sicotanus eurygaster were found only under quercus mongolica community and postulated to be related to diet meanwhile other enviromental factors such as temperature, soil ph, and altitude should be taken into consideration. Species diversity index was higher at altitude 700m followed by at 900m, 1, 000m, 800m, 600m, 500m, 1, 100m, 400m, 300m, and 1, 200m in discending order likely due to the enviromental factors such as climatic and edaphic affects, disturbance by human, and degree of floral diversity. Species similarity index was highest 0.78 between altitude 500m and 600m sample sites could be grouped into 3, namely first 300m, 400m, second 500m, 600m, 700m, 1, 000m, 800m, 900m, and third 1, 100m, 1, 200m.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.11-16
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• 2016

Declines in amphibian populations are occurring worldwide, and have been attributed to many factors, including anthropogenic environmental changes. One of the ramifications of such declines is abnormalities in many amphibian species. A strong association has been detected between human activities and abnormalities in amphibian populations, but studies on this association are largely focused on lentic species. In this study, it was analyzed whether the degree of local human activity was associated with the rate of abnormalities in Bombina orientalis which inhabited lotic environments. We found that the proportions of abnormalities in wild populations of B. orientalis increased, when i) the closest human land use was located within 100 m from the frogs' habitat, and ii) the proportion of human land use within a 300-m radius was high. Our findings suggest that human activity has a negative impact on the fitness of nearby amphibian populations, and that wild populations very close to human-induced disturbance are affected.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2009

A habitat model was developed to delineate potential habitat of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) in a mountainous region of Kangwon Province, Korea. Between 1997 and 2005, 224 leopard cat presence sites were recorded in the province in the Nationwide Survey on Natural Environments. Fifty percent of the sites were used to develop a habitat model, and the remaining sites were used to test the model. Fourteen environmental variables related to topographic features, water resources, vegetation and human disturbance were quantified for 112 of the leopard cat presence sites and an equal number of randomly selected sites. Statistical analyses (e.g., t-tests, and Pearson correlation analysis) showed that elevation, ridges, plains, % water cover, distance to water source, vegetated area, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, and distance to paved road differed significantly (P < 0.01) between presence and random sites. Stepwise logistic regression was used to develop a habitat model. Landform type (e.g., ridges vs. plains) is the major topographic factor affecting leopard cat presence. The species also appears to prefer deciduous forests and areas far from paved roads. The habitat map derived from the model correctly classified 93.75% of data from an independent sample of leopard cat presence sites, and the map at a regional scale showed that the cat's habitats are highly fragmented. Protection and restoration of connectivity of critical habitats should be implemented to preserve the leopard cat in mountainous regions of Korea.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.79-89
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• 2012

This study was conducted with the intention of clarifying the effects of land-use types on a species of ground beetle's richness, abundance, and composition; the study focused on urban landscapes. We also selected the potential bioindicators classifying land-use types; eleven sites were selected from an urban landscape in Korea. Overall, land-use types in urban landscapes did not appear to cause significant decrease in species richness or the abundance of total ground beetle assemblage. According to habitat preferences, several land-use types and distances from the forest significantly affected the species richness and abundance, while the open-habitat species were not affected by these variables. Land-use types were classified into two major groups, forest and non-forest areas, based on ground beetle assemblage; several indicators, such as $Dolichus$ $halensis$ $halensis$ and subfamily Carabinae species, were of particular consideration. In conclusion, environmental change by anthropogenic disturbance can cause different effects on ground beetle assemblages, and forest specialists can be negatively affected.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.19-25
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• 2009

An arthropod community in a rice ecosystem was surveyed to determine the impact of two insecticides frequently used in Korean rice ecosystems: carbofuran 3GR, which targets the rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in the early season and fenobucarb EC, which targets the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens ($St{\aa}l$) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) in the mid- and late seasons, respectively. Overall, the application of the insecticides reduced density of total arthropods by 48.4% compared to the untreated field, but their impact on each functional group were different. Carbofuran GR treatment on 1 June reduced the L. oryzophilus population significantly until mid-season. The population of filterfeeding chironomids was also reduced by 50%, whereas the spider population was less disturbed. Fenobucarb EC treatment on 16 August significantly reduced N. lugens and detrivorous entomobryid populations until the late season. Both web-building and wandering spiders were also significantly disturbed by fenobucarb EC although the impact differed according to their behavioral differences. While the population of web-building spiders significantly decreased over time, that of wandering spiders recovered from the disturbance a few weeks later.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2015

Whilst it is clear that increasing temperatures from global environmental change will impact the positions of alpine treelines, it is likely that a range of regional and local scaled factors will mediate the overall impact of global scale climate drivers. We summarized 12 categories of abiotic and biotic factors as 4 groups determining treeline positions. First, there are global factors related to climate-induced growth limitation and carbon limitation. Second, there are seven regional and local factors related to treeline dynamics including frost stress, topography, water stress, snow, wind, fire and non-fire disturbance. Third, species-specific factors can control treeline dynamics through their influence on reproduction and life history traits. Fourth, there are positive feedbacks in structuring the dynamics of treelines. Globally, the commonly accepted growth limitation hypothesis is that growth at a treeline is limited by temperature. Meanwhile, positive feedbacks between canopy cover and tree establishment are likely to control the spatial pattern and temporal dynamics of many treelines. The presence of non-linear dynamics at treelines has implications for the use of treelines as barometers of climate change because the lagged responses and abrupt shifts inherent in non-equilibrium systems may combine to mask the overall climate trend.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.67-73
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• 2003

Natural stream work has been implemented recently to improve the urban stream environment in Korean cities. Many plants planted in the early work have not survived because they were not suited to the site and therefore failed to adapt to the riparian environment. The objective of this study is to investigate the floral change at the riparian environment after completion of the natural stream work by comparing the differences between planted species during the work and the current species at the study site. The study site was the stream area between Yeongdohng 2 bridge and Yeongdohng 3 bridge at Yangjae-cheon Stream, Gangnam-ku, Seoul, which was the prototype site of G-7 project of the Ministry of Environment in Korea. The following conclusions were derived after doing this study: Among the 50 species planted during the work, 23 species survived in the stream zone, while 27 species did not. The species that did not survive were ornamental plants that were not appropriate for the riparian environment. Among the 144 species which appeared naturally, 77 species(53.5%) were annuals and perennials, which means the study site is still in ecological disturbance and does not have a stable status ecologically. Thus, it is necessary to select the plant species that can survive in the disturbed riparian environment.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.83-98
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• 2018

This study was conducted on rare plants distributed in Chungnam area from April, 2012 to November, 2017. The rare plant populations that are emerging are: Utricularia pilosa, Jeffersonia dubia, Iris ruthenica, Tipularia japonica, Calanthe discolor, Parasenecio pseudotaimingasa, Ranunculus kazusensis, Berchemia racemosa, Pogonia minor and Glehnia littoralis. According to the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), plant resources in the rare species category were one important type (CR), three hazardous species (EN) and six vulnerable species (VU). As a result of analyzing characteristics of ecological environment and threats, five types of habitat types, two aquatic areas, two types of flatland and coastal sand dune distribution types were analyzed. The decreasing tendency of the rare plant populations in the surveyed area is judged to be artificial disturbance and habitat destruction rather than climate or environmental change. Considering the characteristics of habitat, conservation measures should be prepared for each population.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.325-336
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• 2017

The ecosystem in the Gwangju Stream has taken a wide range of disturbance such as the discharging water of sewage treatment plant, the lake water and the river water from different water system over the past decade. This study was figured out some significant influence factors by analyzing the relationship between biotic and abiotic factors in the urban stream. Abiotic components included 15 water quality variables which were measured in five sampling sites along the stream from October 2014 to July 2015, whereas the benthic macroinvertebrates found in those sites were used to estimate various biotic indices representing the ecological status of the community. The results of correlation analyses indicated that abiotic factors by human activities affected on the inhabitation of benthic macroinvertebrates more than biotic factors. The results of cluster analyses and ANOVA tests also showed that biotic and abiotic characteristics were clearly different in season. The main influence factors of cluster analysis by sites were $NH_3-N$, EPT(I) and DO. It was considered that more various statistical analyses would be necessary to find some different relationships and influence factors between biotic and abiotic variables in the urban stream.