• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.110 no.3
• /
• pp.355-368
• /
• 2021

This study aims to identify appropriate tree species and crops for agroforestry target sites in North Korea based on ecological geography and site properties. To this end, an ecological geographic map (13 regions and 4 zones) of North Korea was made using satellite images and North Korean academic journal articles. The target agroforestry sites were selected and mapped according to 18 site conditions depending on 3 site characteristics, and the sites were divided into short-term and long-term target sites depending on the agroforestry management period. Finally, optimal combinations of 30 tree species and 19 crops were selected by overlapping the ecological geographic map and agroforestry target site map. For regions within the same zone, tree species and crops were almost similar; however, compared to regions in other zones, they differed. This is likely because the geographical climatic characteristics reflected in the ecological geographic map vary greatly from zone to zone. These results will be used to propose a combination of suitable tree species and crops that takes into account both management purposes and management types for inter-Korean forest cooperation in the agroforestry sector.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.465-476
• /
• 1996

There are several environmental variables that may be influential to the spatial distribution of forest vegetation. To create a map of forest vegetation zone over southern part of Korean Peninsula, digital map layers were produced for each of environmental variables that include topography, geographic locations, and climate. In addition, an extensive set of field survey data was collected at relatively undisturbed forests and they were introduced into the GIS database with exact coordinates of survey sites. Preliminary statistical analysis on the survey data showed that the environmental variables were significantly different among the previously defined five forest vegetation zones. Classification of the six layers of digital map representing environmental variables was carried out by a supervised classifier using the training statistics from field survey data and by a clustering algorithm. Although the maps from two classifiers were somewhat different due to the classification procedure applied, they showed overall patterns of vertical and horizontal distribution of forest zones. considering the spatial contents of many ecological studies, GIS can be used as an important tool to manage and analyze spatial data. This study discusses more about the generation of digital map and the analysis procedure rather than the outcome map of forest vegetation zone.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
• /
• v.6 no.2
• /
• pp.97-122
• /
• 2007

In 2006, the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea, completed the construction on national environmental geographic informations including National Environmental Assessment Map, Ecological Map, Land Cover Map and so on. At this point of time, it is necessary to establish the advance strategy on national environmental geographic information, considering the complicated characteristics. Therefore, this study suggests the advance strategy on national environmental geographic information, reflecting results of analyzing the given condition and the trend of informatization. National environmental geographic information has spacial quality to be managed dispersedly in a department unit or an operations unit. According to this quality, requirements for users who need the policy based on national environmental geographic information and complex information are not satisfactory. And, the information system centering the process of administrative affairs should be converted to one putting decision supporting first in importance. Therefore, this study sets up "the realization of the sustainable land management system by advancing national environmental geographic information" as the vision of the advancing strategy. In order to accomplish the vision, this study established the purpose as follow; constructing strategic and geographic information based on knowledge, arranging the foundation to open information to the public transparently, building expanded and integrated national environmental geographic information, embodying the environmental administration based on national environmental geographic information, enhancing the efficiency of national environmental geographic information, and supporting efficiently the process of administrative affairs. And this study suggests executive plans to achieve the vision and the purpose as next; developing the quality control program to verify the information confidence, building the system to integrate and to provide environmental information, collecting information, readjusting laws and regimes in parts of the construction, the application and the management of the system, and operating the task process, human power, organization and information technology. This study puts the emphasis on providing the turning opportunity politically which is possible to make sure of the information confidence in quality, advancing from the expansion of one in quantity. However, this improvement strategy doesn't reflect all national environmental geographic information and current status of environmental administrations. Therefore, for applying the result of this study to the actual environmental administration, it is necessary to discuss regularly the systematic categorization of national environmental geographic information, to interview with the contracting parties and so on hereafter.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.7 no.3
• /
• pp.57-69
• /
• 2004

This study developed an ecological mapping technique with GIS database using the analyses of existing ecological survey reports and the change detection on the Nakdong river estuary. The data which are used to establish GIS DB include 2 Landsat TM images on Nov. 31, 1984 and May 17, 1997, 1:25,000 topographical maps established by National Geography Institution and various ecological survey reports published by Busan metropolitan city government. The details for producing ecological map are as follows. At first, the current methods of ecomapping efforts and previous ecological surveys of Nakdong river estuary were carefully examined. Secondly, the land cover maps were created from the classified Landsat images of 1984 and 1997 for the spatiotemporal ecosystem analysis. Thirdly, the ecosystem was evaluated by using GIS ecological database based on the criteria of botany, zoology and water quality etc. Each criteria was reclassified into 3 stages which describe the overall quality of ecological condition. At last, the comprehensive ecological map was suggested as a prototype of ecosystem assesment and management tool with the discussion of further study. The findings of this study would be a milestone for preserving and managing the ecosystem.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.31-46
• /
• 2021

In South Korea, there is a growing domestic need for a biotope map which contains ecological and environmental geographic information of a city. After the production of a Urban Ecological Maps(biotope map) by the Seoul metropolitan government in 2000, Natural Environment Conservation Act was revised in 2017 to make it mandatory for a local government to draw up its own urban ecological map. The aim of the present study was to find out ways to utilize an urban ecological map as a mean of communication between natural environment planning and urban planning sectors in a preliminary stage before introducing a big framework of 'environmental and ecological planning.' The northern area of Incheon metropolitan city was selected as the target area for this study. The major research content includes a comparative analysis of special-purpose zones, urban planning zones, restricted development zones, and conservation forests with focus on biotope types and Grades 1 of 'Biotope Type Assessment.' Farmland biotopes and forest biotopes within an area designated as an urban zone (residential, commercial and industrial zones) need to be redesignated as a zone which can conserve them. Especially considering a high possibility of damage to a large scale of natural green areas, these areas need to be readjusted immediately. If the entire area designated as an urban planning zone is to be developed, it is likely to cause serious damage to natural biotopes in the area (56.2%), including farmland biotope (30.4%), forest biotope (15.0%) and grassland biotope (10.8%), and thus, readjustment is needed. In case of a conservation forest, as it can possibly be damaged by the designation of special-purpose zones, it is necessary to match the designation of conservation forests or a special-purpose zones with their biotope types. In conclusion, we present a variety of thematic maps for utilization of an urban ecological map and propose a phase-specific environmental and ecological plan. Phase 1 is the establishment of a urban plan in consideration of ecological status; Phase 2 is the independent establishment of an environmental and ecological plan by an environment department; Phase 3 is an integrated management of ecological planning system and urban planning system.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.22-31
• /
• 2009

In this study a landscape evaluation was carried out for the submission of a natural landscape conservation plan with the intention to prevent damage to natural landscapes through incautious exploitation. In the case of Korean landscape evaluation, in fact, only the aesthetic value of the landscape is evaluated as related to development projects but the ecological relevance of the landscape cannot be estimated by evaluating only the aesthetic. For that reason, this study performed a landscape evaluation, including the sensitivity limit of visible scenery and the diversity of ecological scenery. For the intention of landscape evaluation in the designation of an essential conservation area and for devising a plan related to this area, a GIS applied to Ian McHarg's map overlay method was used and both the ecological landscape diversity and the aesthetic value of the landscape was surveyed using this map overlay method. A region can be analyzed in relation to the needs for concentration of management in influence analysis of landscape effect elements.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.44-55
• /
• 2018

The importance of establishing a greenhouse gas inventory is emerging for policymaking and its implementation to cope with climate change. Thus, it is needed to establish Approach 3 level Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) matrix that is spatially explicit regarding land use classifications and changes. In this study, four types of spatial information suitable for establishing the LULUCF matrix were analyzed - Cadastral Map, Land Cover Map, Forest Map, and Biotope Map. This research analyzed the classification properties of each type of spatial information and compared the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the maps in Boryeong city. Drawn from the conclusions of the quantitative comparison, the forest area showed the maximum difference of 50.42% ($303.79km^2$) in the forest map and 46.09%($276.65km^2$) in the cadastral map. The qualitative comparison drew five qualitative characteristics: data construction scope difference, data construction purpose difference, classification standard difference, and classification item difference. As a result of the study, it was evident that the biotope map was the most appropriate spatial information for the establishment of the LULUCF matrix. In addition, if the LULUCF matrix is made by integrating the biotope, the forest map, and the land cover map, the limitations of each spatial information would be improved. The accuracy of the LULUCF matrix is expected to be improved when the map of the level-3 land cover map and the biotope map of 1:5,000 covering the whole country are completed.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.1-14
• /
• 2017

A land cover map provides basic information to help understand the current state of a region, but its utilization in the ecological research field has deteriorated due to limited temporal and spatial resolutions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of using a land cover map with data based on high resolution images acquired by UAV. Using the UAV, 10.5 cm orthoimages were obtained from the $2.5km^2$ study area, and land cover maps were obtained from object-based and pixel-based classification for comparison and analysis. From accuracy verification, classification accuracy was shown to be high, with a Kappa of 0.77 for the pixel-based classification and a Kappa of 0.82 for the object-based classification. The overall area ratios were similar, and good classification results were found in grasslands and wetlands. The optimal image segmentation weights for object-based classification were Scale=150, Shape=0.5, Compactness=0.5, and Color=1. Scale was the most influential factor in the weight selection process. Compared with the pixel-based classification, the object-based classification provides results that are easy to read because there is a clear boundary between objects. Compared with the land cover map from the Ministry of Environment (subdivision), it was effective for natural areas (forests, grasslands, wetlands, etc.) but not developed areas (roads, buildings, etc.). The application of an object-based classification method for land cover using UAV images can contribute to the field of ecological research with its advantages of rapidly updated data, good accuracy, and economical efficiency.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.54 no.5
• /
• pp.352-359
• /
• 2021

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the geographic distribution of diabetes mortality in Japan and identify socioeconomic factors affecting differences in municipality-specific diabetes mortality. Methods: Diabetes mortality data by year and municipality from 2013 to 2017 were extracted from Japanese Vital Statistics, and the socioeconomic characteristics of municipalities were obtained from government statistics. We calculated the standardized mortality ratio (SMR) of diabetes for each municipality using the empirical Bayes method and represented geographic differences in SMRs in a map of Japan. Multiple linear regression was conducted to identify the socioeconomic factors affecting differences in SMR. Statistically significant socioeconomic factors were further assessed by calculating the relative risk of mortality of quintiles of municipalities classified according to the degree of each socioeconomic factor using Poisson regression analysis. Results: The geographic distribution of diabetes mortality differed by gender. Of the municipality-specific socioeconomic factors, high rates of single-person households and unemployment and a high number of hospital beds were associated with a high SMR for men. High rates of fatherless households and blue-collar workers were associated with a high SMR for women, while high taxable income per-capita income and total population were associated with low SMR for women. Quintile analysis revealed a complex relationship between taxable income and mortality for women. The mortality risk of quintiles with the highest and lowest taxable per-capita income was significantly lower than that of the middle-income quintile. Conclusions: Socioeconomic factors of municipalities in Japan were found to affect geographic differences in diabetes mortality.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.1 no.1
• /
• pp.51-59
• /
• 1999

As important ecological systems, wetlands contribute a wide array of biological, social. and economic benefits. However, wetlands are lost until the present, primarily due to human induced land-use conversions. Society is placing demands for the efficient preservation and management on Woopo wetland as the first largest wetland in Korea. GIS(Geographic Information System) is a rapidly developing technology for handling, analyzing, and modeling ecological information on wetlands. In the paper, Woopo Wetland Management System has been developed by using Desktop GIS and Internet GIS technology to embrace major functions: information query and browsing, spatial searching on map, and rule-based analysis. As a menu-driven system, these functions are designed to be implemented through customized menus. The developed system is expected to be used for the effective publicity service as well as the professional management of Woopo.