• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.41-57
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• 2021

This study evaluated the application of water quality management measures using the SWAT model and the effectiveness of the measures using the load duration curve targeting the Seohwacheon watershed located upstream of Daecheongho. As water quality management measures, artificial wetlands, reduction of neglected livestock, reduction of runoff from greenhouses, restoration of ecological rivers, application of LID technology, and management of point sources were applied. The applied technology evaluated the efficiency of water quality improvement measures by using the target water quality excess rate and the degree of load reduction for each sulfur through the load duration curve. The load duration curve was created by creating a long-term flow duration curve using SWAT and multiplying it by the target water quality. For the target water quality, the value corresponding to the 60th percentile was set as the target water quality using the 10-year data from the Okcheoncheon water quality observation point located in the downstream of Seohwacheon. Through this study, it was possible to confirm the applicability of various water quality measures through the SWAT model, and to examine the applicability of each period according to the sulfur through the load retention curve.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.878-886
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• 2018

This study quantified the sounds of riffles and pools in natural rivers and conducted a comparative analysis of the frequency and sound pressure per flow velocity. The surveyed area was Namdaecheon basin in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do and the sounds of a total of 23 sites were analyzed. A hydro microphone was used to measure the sound and analyze the data using an acoustic analysis program. The location was also selected at places with minimal ambient noise and the measurement points were the depth of riffles and pools. The results revealed an average difference of 0.515 m/s for flow velocity at 8 riffles and 15 pools. The difference in sound pressure occurred due to the flow velocity. In the case of sound pressure, it was measured at an average of 176.8 dB for riffles and 168.2 dB for pools, demonstrating a difference of approximately 8.6 dB. Furthermore, in the case of maximum sound pressure, riffles showed a constant range between 200 Hz and 250 Hz, while the pools exhibited maximum sound pressure at various frequencies from 200 Hz to 1,000 Hz. This revealed the ecological stream reproduction, development of preferred sound sources for aquatic life, and design of structures.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.33-41
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• 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyse the state of the energy industry and to determine the efficiency of its functioning on the basis of energy conservation principle and application of innovative technologies aimed at improving the ecological modernisation of agricultural sectors of Kazakhstan. The research methodology is based on an integrated approach of financial and economic evaluation of the effectiveness of the investment project, based on calculation of elasticity, total costs and profitability, as well as on comparative, graphical and system analysis. The current stage is characterised by widely spread restructuring processes of electric power industry in many countries through introduction of new technical installations of energy facilities and increased government regulation in order to enhance the competitive advantage of electricity market. Electric power industry features a considerable value of creating areas. For example, by providing scientific and technical progress, it crucially affects not only the development but also the territorial organisation of productive forces, first of all the industry. In modern life, more than 90% of electricity and heat is obtained by Kazakhstan's economy by consuming non-renewable energy resources: different types of coal, oil shale, oil, natural gas and peat. Therefore, it is significant to ensure energy security, as the country faces a rapid fall back to mono-gas structure of fuel and energy balance. However, energy resources in Kazakhstan are spread very unevenly. Its main supplies are concentrated in northern and central parts of the republic, and the majority of consumers of electrical power live in the southern and western areas of the country. However, energy plays an important role in the economy of industrial production and to a large extent determines the level of competitive advantage, which is a promising condition for implementation of energy-saving and environmentally friendly technologies. In these circumstances, issues of modernisation and reforms of this sector in Kazakhstan gain more and more importance, which can be seen in the example of economically sustainable solutions of a large local monopoly company, significant savings in capital investment and efficiency of implementation of an investment project. A major disadvantage of development of electricity distribution companies is the prevalence of very high moral and physical amortisation of equipment, reaching almost 70-80%, which significantly increases the operating costs. For example, while an investment of 12 billion tenge was planned in 2009 in this branch, in 2012 it is planned to invest more than 17 billion. Obviously, despite the absolute increase, the rate of investment is still quite low, as the total demand in this area is at least more than 250 billion tenge. In addition, industrial infrastructure, including the objects of Kazakhstan electric power industry, have a tangible adverse impact on the environment. Thus, since there is a large number of various power projects that are sources of electromagnetic radiation, the environment is deteriorated. Hence, there is a need to optimise the efficiency of the organisation and management of production activities of energy companies, to create and implement new technologies, to ensure safe production and provide solutions to various environmental aspects. These are key strategic factors to ensure success of the modern energy sector of Kazakhstan. The contribution of authors in developing the scope of this subject is explained by the fact that there was not enough research in the energy sector, especially in the view of ecological modernisation. This work differs from similar works in Kazakhstan in the way that the proposed method of investment project calculation takes into account the time factor, which compares the current and future value of profit from the implementation of innovative equipment that helps to bring it to actual practise. The feasibility of writing this article lies in the need of forming a public policy in the industrial sector, including optimising the structure of energy disbursing rate, which complies with the terms of future modernised development of the domestic energy sector.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.510-520
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• 2021

To understand the status of organic matter and heavy metal pollution in surface sediment of a fish farming area, we have measured the concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in surface sediments of a fish farming area near Tongyoung-Geoje coast. The mean concentrations of TOC and TN were 22.7 mg/g and 3.4 mg/g, respectively, and were much higher than those in surface sediments of a semi-enclosed bay in the southern coast of Korea. The mean concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn were 10.5 mg/kg, 0.37 mg/kg, 82.9 mg/kg, 127 mg/kg, 4.19%, 0.041 mg/kg, 596 mg/kg, 39.5 mg/kg, and 175 mg/kg, respectively, and the mean concentrations of Cd and Cu were three times higher than those in surface sediments of shellfish farming area in the southeastern coast of Korea. In addition, the concentrations of TOC and corrected Cu exceeded the values of sediment quality guidelines applied in Korea, and pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk index (ERI) showed that the metal concentrations in the sediments of some fish farming area have a strongly negative ecological impact on benthic organisms, although most metal concentrations did not exceed the sediment quality guidelines. Based on overall assessment results, the surface sediments of fish farming areas in the study region are polluted with organic matter and some heavy metals. Thus, a comprehensive management plan is necessary to improve the sedimentary environments, identify primary contamination sources, and reduce the input of pollution load for organic matter and heavy metals in the sediments of fish farming areas.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2015

Fish fauna, difference of stable isotope ratio between freshwater and seawater, and trophic guilds of freshwater fishes were investigated in the lower Geum River. The study was conducted in 2011, and total study area was about 30 km of 20 km upstream and 10 km downstream from the Geum River estuary barrage. Only freshwater fishes were used for analyzing trophic guilds, and discriminant function analysis (DFA) was utilized to reclassify trophic guilds based on stable isotope ratio. Fish fauna in freshwater and seawater areas were entirely different each other, but small number of migratory species such as Coilia nasus and Chelon haematocheilus occurred both areas. Other species were not collected in the different areas because they did not have physiological ability to adapt different salinity concentrations. Stable isotope ration of two areas were different considerably due to food sources. Estuary and seawater fishes uptake food sources originated from marine, and freshwater fishes were from freshwater and terrestrial. Some migratory species showed reverse stable isotope ratio. Even though they collected in freshwater, they showed stable isotope ratio of seawater. This is because ecological characteristics of each species. Trophic guilds of freshwater fishes were reclassified by DFA, and showed slight difference with literatures. However, because this result is related with ontogenetic shift of species, more studies are needed to explain exact and correct trophic guilds. Stable isotope ratio can be changed among regions, seasons and ontogenetic stage, thus we always consider these aspects when analyzing results to get a right answer.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.305-320
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• 2005

Recently 64 species in Korea have been ranked as rare and endangered taxa by the Ministry of Environment using two categories, I and II. The original threat categories produced by the Ministry of Environment were developed to provide a standard for specifying animals and plants in danger of extinction and has been influential sources of information used in species conservation in Korea. However, the criteria by Ministry of Environment were applied to the whole taxa only by regional boundaries, especially in South Korea, rather than international context, and it also lacked an explicit framework that was necessary to ensure repeatability among taxa because of the absence of quantitative criteria to measure the likelihood of extinction. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) has developed quantitative criteria for assessing the conservation status of species. The threatened species categories, the 2000 IUCN Red List, proposed by SSC (Species Survival Commission) of IUCN have become widely recognized internationally. Details of threatened Korean plants, identified by applying the IUCN threat categories and definitions, were listed and analyzed. The number of species identified as threatened was only 34 out of 64 taxa (48.4%), while the rest of taxa were rejected from the original lists. Many of the species (51.6%, 33 taxa) excluded from the original list proposed by Ministry of Environment do not qualify as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable because these taxa were widely distributed either in Japan or in China/far eastern Russia and there is no evidence of substantial decline in these countries. An evaluation of taxa in Korea has been carried out only based on subjective views and qualitative data, rather than quantitative scientific data, such as rates of decline, distribution range size, population size, and risk of extinction. Therefore, the national lists undermine the credibility of threatened species lists and invite misuse, which have been raised by other cases, qualitative estimate of risk, political influence, uneven taxonomic or geographical coverage. The increasing emphasis on international responsibilities means that global scale is becoming more significant. The current listings by Environment of Ministry of Korea should be challenged, and the government should seek to facilitate the resolution of disagreements. Especially the list should be flexible enough to handle uncertainty and also incorporates detailed, quantitative data. It is suggested that the highest priorities for the Red List should be given to endemic species in Korea first. After setting up the list of endemic species to Korea, quantitative data on population size and structure, distributional range, rated of decline, and habitat fragmentation should be collected as one of long term projects for the Red list categories. Transparency and accountability are the most important key factors. Also, species assessors are named and data sources referenced are required for the future objective evaluations on Korean plant taxa.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.78-91
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• 2018

In order to understand the distributions of organic matter and heavy metal concentrations in the surface sediment of Jaran Bay, we measured the grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), and heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, and Zn) in surface sediments collected at 15 stations in this bay in November 2014. The sediment consisted of finer sediment such as mud and clay, with 8.6-9.8Ø($9.3{\pm}0.3$Ø) of mean grain size. The concentrations of TOC and TN in the sediment ranged from 1.51-2.39 % ($1.74{\pm}0.22%$) and 0.20-0.33 % ($0.23{\pm}0.03%$), respectively, and did not show spatial difference. The carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N ratio) ranged from 5-10, indicating that organic matter in the sediment originated from oceanic sources such as animal by-products from fish and shellfish farms. The concentrations of Cr, Fe, and Mn were much higher in the mouth of the bay than in the inner bay, and the concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn showed an opposite distribution pattern. Based on the results of the sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), enrichment factor (EF), geoaccumulation index ($I_{geo}$), pollutant load index (PLI), and ecological risk index (ERI), the surface sediment in Jaran Bay is not polluted or only slightly polluted with Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn, whereas it is moderately to strongly polluted with As. In particular, some regions in the bay were identified as having a considerable risk status, indicating that metal concentration in the sediment could impact benthic organisms. Thus, the systematic management for marine and land sources of organic matter and heavy metals around Jaran Bay is necessary in order to ensure seafood safety and maintain sustainable production on shellfish farms.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.335-345
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• 2005

A study on changes on the distribution of vascular hydrophytes and the growth pattern of Schenoplectus triqueter (Scirpus triqueter) was undertaken at the Nakdong River estuary from 2002 to 2004. The change was due to physical alteration of the estuary for the past 25 years. These plant species are the major food sources for winter waterfowl. A total of 32 species of vascular hydrophytes from 17 families were found in the West Nakdong River (freshwater), the main channel of Nakdong River (freshwater) and the Nakdong River Estuary (brackish water). After the construction of the barrage on the estuary in 1987, the number of hydrophytes has remarkably increased to 17 species (5 species in 1985) in the main channel of the River. In particular, a community of Eurale ferox was found at the backwater wetland of the Daejeo side of the main channel. The introduced species of Eichhornia crassipes and Pistia stratiotes that were epidemic in 2001 at West Nakdong River was not found any more. The other species such as Nymphoides indica, Myriophyllum spicatum, Ruppia spp. were rediscovered. The large area (about 1,300ha) of Zostera spp. was the main sources of food for swans, but disappeared because of direct and indirect impacts of reclamation in the River estuary. Currently, there remains a small patch of Zostera spp. and about 250ha of S. triqueter. Schenoplectus triqueter grew mostly between April-September and tuber formed, between September-October. The growth of S. triqueter up to $60\sim80cm$ in length was observed in 5 sites out of the 7 sites in brackish area. Tubers of S. triqueter were eaten by waterfowls such as swans as winter food. In five sites, tubers took $44\sim57%$ of total biomass in October. Tubers were found in deep layers; $5\sim15cm$ (9%), $15\sim25cm$ (28%), $25\sim40cm$ (55%), below 40cm $(6\sim7%)$. The distribution of vascular hydrophytes has remarkably changed in the Nakdong River Estuary due to the reclamation of the area. In order to determine the extent of changes of the distribution of these plants and the carrying capacity of the area for waterfowl, an intensive research is urgently needed.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.63-71
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• 2020

This study characterized the spatial and seasonal patterns of light pollution in the Deogyusan National Park and examined the potential effects of light pollution on ecosystems in the park using light intensities derived from VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) DNB (Day and Night Band) nightlight images collected in January and August 2018. Results showed that the Muju Deogyusan resort had the greatest light intensity than other sources of light pollution in the park, and light intensity of the resort was much higher in January than in August, suggesting that artificial lights in ski slopes and facilities were the major source of light pollution in the park. An analysis of an urban-natural light pollution gradient along a neighboring urban area through the inside of the park indicated that light radiated from a light pollution source permeated for up to 1km into the adjacent area and contaminated the edge area of the park. Of the legally protected species whose distributions were reported in literature, four mammals (Martes flavigula, Mustela nivalis, Prionailurus bengalensis, Pteromys volans aluco), two birds (Falco subbuteo, Falco tinnunculus), and nine amphibians and reptiles (Onychodactylus koreanus, Hynobius leechii, Karsenia koreana, Rana dybowskii, Rana huanrenensis, Elaphe dione, Rhabdophis tigrinus, Gloydius ussuriensis, Gloydius saxatilis) inhabited light-polluted areas. Of those species inhabiting light-polluted areas, nocturnal species, such as Prionailurus bengalensis and Pteromys volans aluco, in particular, were vulnerable to light pollution. These results implied that protecting ecosystems from light pollution in national parks requires managing nighttime light in the parks and surrounding areas and making a plan to manage nighttime light pollution by taking into account ecological characteristics of wild animals in the parks.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.163-172
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• 2007

In this study, fish fauna and stream characteristics were surveyed during October-November 2003 in 31 small streams, which are small sub-tributaries of Geum River. The small streams were classified into 4 types of steep mountainous (SM), mountainous-flatland (MF), flat land (FL), and agricultural watercourse (AW) streams, and their types were categorized by features of stream width, water depth, bottom substrate, riparian vegetation, and landuse patterns. The fishes collected during this survey were identified 4 families and 8 species. Dominant family was Cyprinidae, and the most dominant species was Rhynchocypris oxycephalus with 73% (419 individuals) of the total. Only one species of R. oxycephalus was observed in the all five steep mountainous streams, which was surrounded by 100% forest area and had no point-and non-point pollution sources. The observed frequency of R. oxycephalus (as a relative proportion of species) showed a significant positive correlation (r=0.754, p<0.001, n=31) with the substrate composition of bedrock and boulder, indicating that the species prefer the bedrock and boulder rather than the sand or small pebble. Evidently, all five steep mountainous streams were judged as excellent condition (1st rank) according to the criteria of biological water quality, the Ministry of Environment, Korea. This result was accord with a general tendency of the species in most upper stream of the Koreas streams. One family and one species were found at the steep mountainous types and 4 families 6 species were at the mountainous-flatland. Four families 8 species were found at the flat land, which showed most diverse habitat, and 2 families 2 species were collected agricultural watercourse. These study results of 1st-order streams suggest that R. oxycephalus was considered as one of 1st rank ecological indicator species, and that the dominant area should be protected from various pollutions and disturbances.