• Title/Summary/Keyword: ecological impacts

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Do Physiognomically Designated Protected Areas Match Well with Ecological Data based upon Diversity Indices and Ordination? Implications for Urban Forest Conservation

  • Kee Dae Kim
    • Journal of Environmental Science International
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    • v.32 no.5
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    • pp.329-341
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    • 2023
  • We surveyed the vegetation of an ecological landscape preservation area (legally protected conservation areas or national parks) and the surrounding areas of Mt. Cheonggye, Republic of Korea, to explore the conservation implications for preservation areas and surrounding transition areas. We calculated diversity indices to identify the properties of the preservation and surrounding areas that are relevant to conservation efforts. We then compared the plant community composition between the areas using field and quadrat surveys in the preservation and surrounding areas. The cover of the dominant species in all tree and herb layers was markedly higher in the preservation area than in the peripheral zones. The species richness indices were significantly higher in the preservation area than in the peripheral zones. Ordination using detrended canonical correspondence analyses showed that the cover of the dominant tree species and rocks could explain the distribution of plant species in the Cartesian space of the ordination. Our results demonstrate that physiognomically designated protected areas match well with ecological data based on diversity indices and ordination analyses and that disturbances in the areas surrounding the ecological landscape of preservation areas can have considerable impacts on plant diversity indices. Hence, the preservation and management of surrounding areas are essential conservation elements for protecting the entire ecological landscape of preservation areas.

Synthesis of Pd/Cu-Fe polymetallic nanoparticles for in situ reductive degradation of p-nitrophenol

  • Wenbin, Zhang;Lanyu, Liu;Jin, Zhao;Fei, Gao;Jian, Wang;Liping, Fang
    • Membrane and Water Treatment
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.97-104
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    • 2022
  • With a small particle size, specific surface area and chemical nature, Pd/Cu-Fe nanocomposites can efficiently remove the organic compounds. In order to understand the applicability for in situ remediation of contaminated groundwater, the degradation of p-nitrophenol by Pd/Cu-Fe nanoparticles was investigated. The degradation results demonstrated that these nanoparticles could effectively degrade p-nitrophenol and near 90% of degradation efficiency was achieved by Pd/Cu-Fe nanocomposites for 120 min treatment. The efficiency of degradation increased significantly when the Pd content increased from 0.05 wt.% and 0.10 wt.% to 0.20 wt.%. Meanwhile, the removal percentage of p-nitrophenol increased from 75.4% and 81.7% to 89.2% within 120 min. Studies on the kinetics of p-nitrophenol that reacts with Pd/Cu-Fe nanocomposites implied that their behaviors followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics. Furthermore, the batch experiment data suggested that some factors, including Pd/Cu-Fe availability, temperature, pH, different ions (SO42-, PO43-, NO3-) and humic acid content in water, also have significant impacts on p-nitrophenol degradation efficiency. The recyclability of the material was evaluated. The results showed that the Pd/Cu-Fe nanoparticles have good recycle performance, and after three cycles, the removal rate of p-nitrophenol is still more than 83%.

Some Ecological and Physiological Features of the Antarctic Clam, Laternula elliptica (King and Broderip) in a Nearshore Habitat on King George Island

  • Ahn, In-Young;Chung, Ho-Sung;Choi, Kwang-Sik
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.419-424
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    • 2001
  • The Antarctic clam Laternula elliptica, is one of the most representative benthic invertebrates in the Antarctic nearshore waters. Endemic to the Antarctic, L. elliptica is widely distributed around the Antarctica occurring as dense patches in shallow sheltered areas and exhibits high biomass. Despite its apparent ecological importance, L. elliptica has rarely been studied until recently probably due to difficulties in sampling in the ice-impacted waters. Recent studies have revealed various aspects of its ecology and physiology. In this review, some physiological and ecological characteristics of this species are discussed in relation to some prevailing features of its habitat environment, in particular physical instability of habitat substrates and extreme seasonality of food availability.

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Effective Smoking Prevention and Cessation Programs for Adolescent Girls: A Proposed Human Ecological Framework for International Program Design

  • Meszaros, Peggy S.;Matheson, Jennifer
    • International Journal of Human Ecology
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    • v.7 no.1
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    • pp.97-110
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    • 2006
  • This paper focuses on the current internationally published literature on adolescent girls smoking prevention and cessation programs. Published literature on prevention and cessation programs that have been developed for and used with girls, especially those with published effectiveness data are reviewed separately. Using relevant literature and the results of a recent Delphi Study identifying program components experts cited as most effective for female smoking prevention, a human ecological framework for designing programs for female adolescents will be proposed. Areas for further research will also be identified.

System Thinking in the Resilience of the Ecosystem and Ecotourism of Mt. Gariwang Based on the Controversy around the Venue Construction for PyeongChang 2018 Olympic (가리왕산 스키장 건설을 둘러싼 논쟁과 생태관광의 회복력(resilience)에 대한 시스템 사고)

  • Jeon, Dae Uk;Chon, Jinhyung
    • Korean System Dynamics Review
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    • v.15 no.3
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    • pp.61-79
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    • 2014
  • This paper deals with system thinking in the resilience of the SES (Social-Ecological Systems) around Mt. Gariwang, located in Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, in particular with the disturbance that a new ski slope is planned to be built for the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic. It first performs a literature survey and newspaper article search to summarize the controversy with regards to credible environmental and socio-economical impacts of the plan, and then elaborates a series of CLDs (Causal Loop Diagrams) to infer the dynamics of the impacts. The results imply that the natural restoration seems to be hard because the development activities can cause a great deal of damage to the ecosystem mainly due to soil degradation and the mitigation of icy valley effects with water exploitation for making artificial snow and so on. Moreover most of the households near the planned site seem to leave with land compensation, thus more policy efforts are needed to enhance the resilience of the ecosystem and the nearby society based on ecotourism.

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Resiliency Assessment of Sarasota Bay Watershed, Florida

  • Lee, Hye-Kyung
    • Journal of KIBIM
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.32-41
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    • 2019
  • As population in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Florida in the United States is projected to increase, land use changes from land development happen continuously. The more land development means the more impervious surfaces and stormwater runoff to Sarasota Bay, which causes critical impact on the resiliency of the ecosystem. In order to decrease its impact on water quality and the ecosystem function of Sarasota Bay, it is important to assess the resilient status of communities that create negative impacts on the ecosystem. Three types of guiding principles of resiliency for Sarasota Bay watershed are suggested. To assess resiliency status, three indexes - vulnerability index, socio-economic index, and ecological index are developed and analyzed by using geographic information system for each census tract in the two counties. Since each indicator for vulnerability index, socio-economic index, and ecological index is measured with different metrics, statistical standardizing method - distance from the best and worst performers is used for this study to directly compare and combine them all to show total resilience score for each census tract. Also, the ten most and the ten least scores for the total resilience index scores are spatially distributed for better understanding which census tracts are most or least resilient. As Sarasota Watershed boundary is also overlaid, it is easy to understand how each census tract attains its resilience and how each census tract impacts to Sarasota Bay ecosystem. Based on results of the resiliency assessment several recommendations, guidelines, or policies for attaining or enhancing resiliency are suggested.

A Study on the Guidelines for Creating Alternative Habitats through Environmental Impact Assessment (환경영향평가 협의 시 대체서식지 조성을 위한 가이드라인 마련)

  • Shim, Yun-Jin;Park, Yong-Su
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.22 no.5
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    • pp.69-79
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    • 2019
  • The purpose of this study is to suggest a guideline that can be used as a standard for consultation and review by environmental impact assessment consultation and review practitioner to enhance the practical effectiveness of creating alternative habitats. The consultation stage of environmental impact assessment was significantly divided into 1) preparation of draft environmental impact assessment reports and gathering of consensus thereon, 2) preparation of environmental impact assessment reports and consultation thereon, 3) follow-up survey of environmental impacts(under construction) and 4) follow-up survey of environmental impacts(in operation). And it was suggested that the procedures of creating alternative habitat by each consultation stage were linked in order of 1) planning, 2) designing, 3) construction, and 4) post-monitoring and maintenance. The basic principles were also proposed for each stage of consultation on environmental impact assessment and procedure for the creation of alternate habitats. Then, issues and methods to be reviewed by the consulting agency and review agency of environmental impact assessment were presented in detail. The guideline of this study provides important information not only to environmental impact assessment consultation and review practitioner, but also to developers and environmental impact assessment agents who plan, construct, and manage alternative habitats.

Interactions between Particulate Matter and Plants: Focusing on Current Research Status and Ecological Impacts (미세먼지와 식물의 상호작용: 국내외 연구동향 및 생태적 영향 고찰)

  • Son, Min-Jeong;Nam, Ki-Jung
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.53 no.4
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    • pp.436-444
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    • 2020
  • Airborne particulate matter (APM) is increasingly recognized that it has adverse impacts on environment and human public health. As plants can have a potential to reduce APM significantly by its deposition on leaves, considerable efforts has been made to use them as a biofilter. However, APM accumulation on plants can induce physiological and morphological alterations in plants. The present review aimed to synthesize the methods and results of the recent relevant research on interactions between plants and APM, especially from an ecological perspective, and briefly took into account the current status in Korea on this actively increasing research area.

Impact of parthenium weed invasion on plants and their soil seedbank in a subtropical grassland, central Nepal

  • Khatri-Chettri, Jyoti;Rokaya, Maan Bahadur;Shrestha, Bharat Babu
    • Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.46 no.1
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    • pp.8-17
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    • 2022
  • Background: Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae; hereafter Parthenium) is an invasive alien species of global significance because of its' negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts. This species is spreading rapidly from lowland Tarai to Middle Mountain regions in Nepal. In the present study, we analyzed the impacts of Parthenium on plant community composition including their soil seedbank in subtropical grasslands located in central Nepal. Data was collected in a 10 m long transects passing through areas of high (> 90% cover), medium (40%-60%) and low (< 10%) levels of Parthenium cover using a plot of 1 m2. Altogether, we sampled 90 plots in 30 transects. Seedling emergence method was used to estimate soil seedbank density in the soil samples (0-10 cm depth) collected from the plots with high Parthenium cover. Results: There was no significant difference in the plant species richness at different levels of Parthenium invasion whereas there was a significant change in the species composition of above ground flora due to Parthenium invasion. There was also a significant difference in species composition between soil seedbank and aboveground flora in the highly invaded plots. Parthenium was the most dominant in soil seedbank, contributing 65% to the total soil seedbank. Conclusions: Our study suggests that Parthenium has considerable negative impact on the native grassland flora, and the dominance of Parthenium in the soil seedbank means there is a challenge for its management. It also suggests the need of monitoring the soil seedbank dynamics while managing Parthenium weed.

Present Status and Future Vision of EIA for Railroad Construction Projects (철도건설사업 환경영향평가의 현황과 과제)

  • Lee Hyun-Woo;Lee Young-Joon;Park Young Min;Yoon Mikyung
    • Proceedings of the KSR Conference
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    • 2004.06a
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    • pp.296-302
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    • 2004
  • After the Rio declaration on environment and development in 1992, developed countries are undertaking 'environmentally sustainable transportation (EST)' projects. To meet the needs for EST, current transportation policies in Korea are rapidly reforming and one of its concerns is modernizing and upgrading railway freight system. Planning new railroad construction projects is increasing and subsequent environmental impact assessment (EIA) demands improvements, especially in both the EIA and decision making systems. In this paper, we discuss the present status of EIA for railroad construction projects, especially, by analyzing the EIA documents accumulated for last six years. The EIA for railroad construction projects .accounts for only $4.9\%$ of total project EIAs during 1998-2003. However, the portion is gradually increasing. Major environmental concerns for EIA in railroad construction projects were geomorphological and ecological changes, protection of rare organisms, air pollution, water quality, wast management, noise, etc. We also compared the characteristics of environmental impacts of railroad construction with those of vehicle road construction. The result shows that railroad construction usually requires 3${\~}$4 times longer tunnels and bridges for a given length than vehicle road construction. In addition, the amounts of geomorphological and ecological changes (road-cutting, embankment, devegetation, etc.) in railroad construction were generally less than $40\%$ of those in vehicle road construction. In order to develop environmentally friendly railway systems, monitoring studies for environmental impacts of railroads such as habitat fragmentation and road kills, dispersal of alien plants, tunnelling effects on groundwater and vegetation, and noise impacts are highly required.

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