• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.244-250
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• 2020

Microplastic pollution in the marine ecosystem has been emerged as a global issue. In this study, we investigated the abundance of microplastics from clam Meretrix lusoria, blood arkshell Scapharca broughtonii, and warty sea squirt Styela clava obtained from a local market in Busan, Korea. The marine organisms were digested in 10% KOH, and were incubated at 40℃ and 150 rpm, for 7 days. The digest was filtered through standard sieve (5 mm, 1 mm, 300 ㎛, and 100 ㎛), and mciroplastics were identified using a light microscope and microFT-IR. The abundance of microplastics of clam, blood arkshell, warty sea squirt was 0.08 items/g, 0.05 items/g, and 0.12 items/g, respectively. The predominant microplastic size was in the range of 100-300 ㎛, occupying 48%, and the predominant type was fiber. The composition of microplastics was mostly rayon, semi-synthetic cellulosic material and polyester, which are main component of fabric and textile. We strongly believe that this preliminary work may provide useful information for the establishment of the standardized analysis method of microplastics ingested by marine organisms.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.72-79
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• 2010

In this study, the ionic composition of volcanogenically derived particles and their temporal and spatial distributions have been investigated to evaluate the impact of the volcanic eruption on the local ecosystem and residents. To this end, an intensive field study was conducted to measure the size-segregated particulate matters at the east part of Sakurajima in Japan. Fractionated sampling of particles into > $PM_{10}$, $PM_{10-2.5}$, and $PM_{2.5}$ was made by a multi nozzle cascade impactor (MCI). The concentration of various ions present in the size-resolved particles was determined by Ion chromatography. The time dependent 3-dimensional Volcanic Ash Forecast Transport And Dispersion (VAFTAD) model developed by the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) indicated that the sampling site of this work was affected by the volcanic aerosol particles plume. The temporal distributions of sulfate and $PM_{2.5}$ during the field campaign were significantly variable with important contributions to particle mass concentration. The chlorine loss, suspected to be caused by acidic components of volcanic gases, occurred predominantly in fine particles smaller than $10\;{\mu}m$.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.68-73
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• 2020

Korean fir (Abies koreana) is an evergreen coniferous tree species that is unique to South Korea. A. koreana is found in a limited sub-alpine habitat and is considered particularly vulnerable to climate change. Identification of populations vulnerable to climate change is an important component of conservation programs. In this study, a heat stress-induced transcriptome RNA-seq dataset was used to identify a subset of six genes for assessment as candidate marker genes for ecologically vulnerable populations. Samples of A. koreana were isolated from ecologically stable and vulnerable regions of the Halla and Jiri mountains, and the expression levels of the six candidate markers were assessed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. All six of the candidate genes exhibited higher expression levels in samples from vulnerable regions compared with stable regions. These results confirm that the six high temperature-induced genes can be used as diagnostic markers for the identification of populations of A. koreana that are experiencing stress due to the effects of climate change.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1994

The effects of fetilization on the structure and function of an early successional Miscanthus sinensis grassland were investigated in an old-field ecosystem at Honjo city, Saitama Prefecture, Japan from 1981 to 1982. Compared to control plot, life form composition of treatment plot was characterized by a decrease of phanerophytes and an increase of hemicryptophytes. Fertilization had a beneficial effect on the growth in aboveground phytomass of M. sinensis, the dominant species. However, it did not cause a change in the total number of stems of M. sinensis. Annual increment of patch diameter of M. sinensis was estimated to be 6-8 cm on an average and there was no significant differecne in the growth rate of patch size between fertilized and nonfertilized plots. To estimate the aboveground phytomass of M. sinensis, several non-destructive parameters were examined. As a result, the patch size showed a high correlation with aboveground phytomass. Thus the patch size was suggested to be most applicable to its estimation. Diversity indices based on phytomass data of component species were increased slightly by fertilizatin, because relative dominance of some other species, especially of Artemisia princeps increased, while that of M. sinensis decreased. Fertilizer application resulted in a decrease in the total number of species.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 2016

Forest clear-cutting operations influence biodiversity through habitat changes and food resource availability for inhabitant species. This study examined the effects of clear-cutting on forest arthropod communities. Arthropods were collected from two different forest treatment areas (clear-cut and control) in summer and autumn. In each treatment area, arthropods were sampled from both crown and ground surfaces using sweeping and pitfall trap methods, respectively. Then, the taxonomic order of the collected arthropod specimens was easily identified. Results indicate that arthropod abundance and number of taxa present were higher at ground surface than at crown levels in both clear-cut and control areas. At crown level, more homopteran species were present in clear-cut areas than in control areas in summer. At ground surface, populations of Isopoda and Opiliones were higher in control areas than in clear-cut areas, whereas numbers of Araneae, Orthoptera, and Hymenoptera were greater in clear-cut areas. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis showed distinct differences between clear-cut and control communities at crown level in summer and at ground surface in autumn. Thus, our results indicate that clear-cutting significantly influences arthropod communities, and higher taxa are valuable for conducting rapid biological assessments of ecosystem disturbances.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.592-610
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• 2020

In South Korea, the concept of water environment was expanded to include aquatic ecosystems with the Integrated Water Management implementation. Watershed-scale modeling is typically performed for hydrologic component analysis, however, there is a need to expand to include ecosystem variability such that the modeling corresponds to the social and political issues around the water environment. For this to be viable, the modeling must account for several distinct features in South Korean watersheds. The modeling must provide reasonable estimations for peak flow rate and apply to paddy areas as they represent 11% of land use area and greatly influence groundwater levels during irrigation. These facts indicate that the modeling time intervals should be sub-daily and the hydrologic model must have sufficient power to process surface flow, subsurface flow, and baseflow. Thus, the features required for watershed-scale modeling are suggested in this study by way of review of frequently used hydrologic models including: Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender(APEX), Catchment hydrologic cycle analysis tool(CAT), Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN(HSPF), Spatio-Temporal River-basin Ecohydrology Analysis Model(STREAM), and Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT).

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.57-65
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• 2016

Maeul-soop(Village forest) is a key element of Korean traditional village landscape historically and culturally. However, a number of Maeul-soops have been lost or declined due to various influences since the modern age. For this Maeul-soop that has a variety of conservation values including historical, cultural and ecological ones, attention and efforts for a systematic conservation and restoration of Maeul-soop are needed. The purpose of the present study is to provide information on ecological restoration and sustainable use and management of Maeul-soops based on component plant species, habitat and location characteristics of 499 Maeul-soops spread throughout Korea. Major six categories of threat factors to Maeul-soop ecosystem were identified and the influence of each factor was evaluated. For the evaluation of weight by threat factors for the influence on the vulnerability of Maeul-soop ecosystem, more three-dimensional analysis was conducted using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analysis method. In the results of evaluation using AHP analysis method, reduction of area, among six categories, was spotted as the biggest threat to existence of Maeul-soops. Next, changes in topography and soil environment were considered as a threat factor of qualitative changes in Maeul-soop ecosystem. Influence of vegetation structure and its qualitative changes on the loss or decline of Masul-soop was evaluated to be lower than that of changes in habitat. Based on weight of each factor, the figures were converted with 100 points being the highest score and the evaluation of vulnerability of Maeul-soop was conducted with the converted figures. In the result of evaluation of vulnerability of Maeul-soops, grade III showed the highest frequency and a normal distribution was formed from low grade to high grade. 38 Maeul-soops were evaluated as grade I which showed high naturality and 10 Maeul-soops were evaluated as grade V as their maintenance was threatened. Also in the results of evaluation of vulnerability of each Maeul-soop, restoration of Maeul-soop's own area was found as top priority to guarantee the sustainability of Maeul-soops. It was confirmed that there was a need to prepare a national level ecological response strategy for each vulnerability factor of Maeul-soop, which was important national ecological resources.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.507-518
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• 1982

Biogeochemistry of a 34-year-old red pine plantation on a Typic Udipsamment was investigated in the central sand plains of Wisconsin Biomass and net primary production were $106Mg\;ha^{-1}$ and $11.0Mg\;ha^{-1}y^{-1}$ respectively. Concentrations of elements in the vegetation were greatest in the 2- to 3-year-old needles, followed by current needles, current twigs, bole bark, live branches, dead branches, bolewood production, and bolewood. For a given tree component (excluding the current twigs), elemental concentrations were greatest in the upper one- third and least in the lower one- third of the tree. Total elements in the vegetation are ranked: N($222kg\;ha^{-1}$), Ca(217), K (85), Mg(38), S(31), and p. The soil contained from 60 to 89% of the readily available P, K, Ca, Mg, and S in the ecosystem. Whereas precipitation was the major source of N and S, weathering supplied the bulk of the Ca, Mg, P, and K. Output of a given element by leaching was less than $7kg\;ha^{-1}y^{-1}$ except for S which was $12kg\;ha^{-1}y^{-1}$ Whereas throughfall returned the greatest amounts of N, K, and S to the forest floor, litterfall accounted for the greatest returns of Ca, Mg, and P. Because of foliar leaching, net loading of all elements studied in the throughfall exceeded that of the precipitation. Ammonium in net precipitation was reduced by a factor of three within the upper 7.5cm due to uptake by fine roots.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.81-88
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• 2019

In order to understand the effects of the main components of antifoaming agents on the marine benthic ecosystem when silicone-based antifoaming agents are discharged into marine environments, eco-toxicity testing was performed on silicone and alcohol-based antifoaming agent by using benthic amphipod (Monocorophium acherusicum) and luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri). The toxic effects of Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as a main component of silicone-based antifoaming agents on aquatic organisms were also researched. In the results of the eco-toxicity test, luminescent bacteria showed a maximum of 9 times more toxic effects than benthic amphipod for alcohol-based antifoaming agents, and silicone-based antifoaming agents showed a maximum of 400 times more toxic effects than alcohol-based. The $LC_{50}$ and $EC_{50}$ values of PDMS ranged from 10 to $44,500{\mu}g/L$ in phytoplankton, invertebrate, and fish. In the results of applying PBT (P: persistency, B: bioaccumulation, T: toxicity) characteristics as an index showing the qualitative characteristics of PDMS, persistency (P) and bioaccumulation (B) were confirmed. Thus, when PDMS is discharged to marine environments, it could accumulate in the upper trophic level through bioaccumulation and the food chain, which could have negative effects on benthic organisms. The results of this study may be used for objective and scientific risk assessment, considering the major components of antifoaming agents when investigating the effects of various discharged antifoaming agents in marine ecosystem.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-18
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• 2017

This study constructed a high-resolution bioclimatic classification map of South Korea which classifies land into homogeneous zones by similar environment properties using advanced statistical techniques compared to existing ecological area classification studies. The climate data provided by WorldClim(1960-1990) were used to generate 27 bioclimatic variables affecting biological habitats, and key environmental variables were derived from Correlation Analysis and Principal Component Analysis. Clustering Analysis was performed using the ISODATA method to construct a 30'(~1km) resolution bioclimatic classification map. South Korea was divided into 21 regions and the results of classification were verified by correlation analysis with the Gross Primary Production(GPP), Actual Vegetation map made by the Ministry of Environment. Each zones' were described and named by its environmental characteristics and major vegetation distribution. This study could provide useful spatial frameworks to support ecosystem research, monitoring and policy decisions.