• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.605-619
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• 2019

The objective of this study was to analyze eutrophication characteristics, empirical model analysis, and variation of water quality according to monsoon intensity in Hapcheon Reservoir for 16 years from 2002 to 2017. Long-term annual water quality analysis showed that Hapcheon Reservoir was in a meso-nutrition to eutrophic condition, and the eutrophic state intensified after the summer monsoon. Annual rainfall volume (high vs. low rainfall) and the seasonal intensity in each year were the key factors that regulate the long-term water quality variation provided that there is no significant change of the point- and non-point source in the watershed. Dry years and wet years showed significant differences in the concentrations of TP, TN, BOD, and conductivity, indicating that precipitation had the most direct influence on nutrients and organic matter dynamics. Nutrient indicators (TP, TN), organic pollution indicators (BOD, COD), total suspended solids, and chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), which was an estimator of primary productivity, had significant positive relations (p<0.05) with precipitation. The Chl-a concentration, which is an indicator of green algae, was highly correlated with TP, TN, and BOD, which differed from other lakes that showed the lower Chl-a concentration when nutrients increased excessively. Empirical model analysis of log-transformed TN, TP, and Chl-a indicated that the Chl-a concentration was linearly regulated by phosphorus concentration, but not by nitrogen concentration. Spatial regression analysis of the riverine, transition, and lacustrine zones of $log_{10}TN$, $log_{10}TP$, and $log_{10}CHL$ showed that TN and Chl-a had significant relations (p<0.005) while TN and Chl-a had p > 0.05, indicating that phosphorus had a key role in the algal growth. Moreover, the higher correlation of both $log_{10}TP$ and $log_{10}TN$ to $log_{10}CHL$ in the riverine zone than the lacustrine zone indicated that there was little impact of inorganic suspended solids on the light limitation in the riverine zone.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.201-220
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• 2021

The objective of this study is to increase awareness and interest regarding polar science and thereby aid in establishing the concept and future direction of polar literacy. To analyze the current status, textbooks based on the common school curriculum pertaining to polar topics were reviewed. Six countries that actively conduct polar science, namely Korea, France, Japan, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, were chosen. Subsequently, 402 cases in 110 science and social studies (geography) textbooks of these countries were analyzed through both quantitative and qualitative methods. Based on the obtained results, the importance of polar research in geoscience education and the need for spreading awareness regarding polar research as an indicator of global environmental changes were examined. It was found that the primary polar topics described in the textbooks are polar glaciers, polar volcanism, solid geophysics, polar infrastructure, and preservation of geological resources and heritage. This demonstrates that the polar region is a field of research with important clues to Earth's past, present, and future environments and is also a good teaching subject for geological education. However, an educational approach is needed for systematically laying emphasis on polar research. The implications of this study are manifold, such as the establishment of a cooperative system between polar scientists and educators, extraction of core concepts for polar literacy and content reconstruction, discovery of new polar topics associated with the curriculum, diversification of forms of presentation in textbooks, and development of an affective image that is based on correct cognitive understanding. Furthermore, through the continuance of polar topics in textbooks, students can improve their awareness regarding polar literacy and polar science culture, which in turn will serve as the driving force for sustainable polar research in the future.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.28 no.11
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• pp.1339-1346
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• 2018

In Korea, edible mushrooms are produced largely on commercial artificial media, so the annual production of spent mushroom substrate (SMS), as a by-product of the mushroom industry, is estimated at over 200 million tons. This SMS is assumed to contain abundant fungal mycelia and pre-fruiting bodies, as well as various nutritive and bioactive compounds that are presently discarded. This study examined the physico-chemical, nutritional, and enzymatic characteristics of uninoculated sterilized medium (USM) and SMS of shiitake mushrooms with the aim of developing a high-value added product from SMS. The contents of crude protein, crude lipid, and ash were higher after the third SMS harvest ($SMS-A-3^{rd}$) than in USM or $SMS-A-1^{st}$. The contents of Ca, Mg, and P in $SMS-A-3^{rd}$ were 2.95, 2.35, and 2.1-fold higher compared than in USM. No As or Cd was detected in USM or SMS. The pH, Brix, and acidity were 4.6, 20.0, and 1.4, respectively in $SMS-A-3^{rd}$, but 5.6, 6.0, and 0.0, respectively, in USM. These results suggest a highly active production of soluble components and organic acids in $SMS-A-3^{rd}$. The distinct color differences noted for USM, $SMS-A-1^{st}$, and $SMS-A-3^{rd}$ could be used as a mycelial growth indicator. Enzyme activity assays using the APIZYM system showed that SMS is a potent source of hydrolysis-related enzymes, especially esterase (C4) and ${\beta}$-glucuronidase. Our results suggested that the SMS of shiitake has a high potential for use in environmental, agricultural, and stock-breeding industries, for example, as active ingredients for sewage treatment, waste-polymer degradation, and feed additives.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.89-100
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• 2021

This study evaluated the degree of interaction between the people and the environment using perceived naturalness measure. The seventh-grade index of Hemeroby was divided into subclasses of land cover according to degrees of human influence. The grade was standardized for each indicator to evaluate the current state of urban parks in Seoul by applying probability density function and weight. User evaluation was conducted on six distinctive parks selected. In the results, three implications were found between spatial evaluation according to the perceived naturalness. First, park users evaluated highly for the spaces such as broad-leaved forest, coniferous forest and mixed forest evaluated highly in the Hemeroby grade index. Park users generally recognized that various types of trees in the area had high naturalness. The density of trees is one of the factors in perceived naturalness. Second, water spaces were highly evaluated for naturalness in the Hemeroby grade index. However, the perceived naturalness of water spaces such as inland wetlands, pond and reservoir evaluated in various ways depending on environmental conditions around the park. Third, perceived naturalness is easily evaluated through vertical landscape elements such as trees rather than horizontal landscapes such as grassland. The perceived naturalness is similar to the naturalness evaluation using land cover. However the study found the perceived naturalness for a specific space was different from the Hemeroby index. Perceived naturalness by the user includes the content that the individual sees, hears, and experiences. Park users are usually structuring naturalness through evaluating the value of urban green spaces based on personal perception. Therefore there is no absolute standard criterion for evaluating the naturalness of urban green spaces. A deeper study is needed that considers user bundles or user groups with conflicting interests on the perceived naturalness in urban parks. These studies will be essential data on the direction of naturalness urban park service should provide.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.327-337
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• 2022

Ecological restoration is considered a good means to prevent biodiversity loss in terms of the ecosystem's health and sustainability. However, there are difficulties in putting it into practice as there is no comprehensive and objective standard for the selection of plant species, such as environmental, ecological factors, and restoration goal setting. Therefore, this study developed an evaluation index necessary for selecting plant species for restoration using the Delphi method that synthesizes the opinions of the expert group. A survey with 38 questionnaires was conducted twice for experts in ecological restoration, etc., and the importance and priority of evaluation indicators were analyzed by dividing the restoration targets into inland and island regions. The result of the importance analysis showed that "native plants" had the highest average of 4.9 among the evaluation indices in both inland and island regions, followed by "seed security", "propagation", and "root growth rate". In the inland region, the index priority was analyzed in the order of "native plants", "appearance frequency", "root growth rate", "distribution range", and "seed security" in the island region, it was analyzed in the order of "native plants", "root growth rate", "appearance frequency", "distribution range", and "tolerance", showing slight differences between the two indicators. As a result of the importance and priority indicator analysis, we set the mean importance and priority of 4.1 and 2.9, respectively, in the inland region and 4.2 and 2.9, respectively, in the island region. As for the criteria of selecting plant species for ecological restoration, the "native plants" had the highest importance and priority. "Seed securing", 'viability", "topography", "proliferation", "tolerance", "soil conditions", "growth characteristics", "early succession", "distribution range", "appearance frequency", and "germination rate" were classified into subgroups of low importance and priority. The lowest indicators were "final stage of succession", "transition period", 'transition stage", "root", "reproduction", "soil", "appearance", "technology", "landscape", "climate", and "germination rate". We expected that the findings through objective verification in this study would be used as evaluation indicators for selecting native plant species for ecological restoration.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.320-329
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• 2023

Cadmium (Cd), a heavy metal found in the aquatic environment, accumulates in organisms through the food chain. In the study, we investigated the survival rates, measurement of body Cd levels, and expression analysis of the stress response genes (Heat shock protein 70: HSP70 and Heat shock protein 60: HSP60) and antioxidant enzyme Glutathione S-Transferases (GST) on benthic oligochaete worm Tubifex tubifex exposed three concentrations of Cd, to analyze the bioaccumulation and changes of stress gene expressions to exposure toxicity of the Cd-spiked sediment. Survival rates of T. tubifex exposed to the Cdspiked sediment were 93% at 0.4 mg kg^-1 Cd, 96% at 1.87 mg kg^-1 Cd, and 93% at 6.09 mg kg^-1 Cd for 10 days. Cd concentration in the body of T. tubifex was higher than that in the sediment. After Cd exposures for 10 days, the body Cd levels were 18.4 mg kg^-1, 13.06 mg kg^-1, and 79.11 mg kg^-1 at exposed three concentrations of Cd, respectively. Upregulation of HSP70 gene expression was observed at all concentrations of exposed Cd as a time-dependent manner, whereas transcriptional expression of the HSP60 gene increased as a timedependent manner in T. tubifex exposed to the relative high concentration (6.09 mg kg^-1) of Cd. However, GST gene expression increased on day 1 at all concentrations after Cd exposures, and then downregulated until 10 days. These results indicate to ecotoxicological and molecular effects in benthic oligochaete worm T. tubifex to Cd-spiked sediment and provide the basic information for the utilization of environmental toxicity assessment using the T. tubifex as a aquatic pollution indicator species.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.28-41
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• 2024

The carbon balance serves as a valuable indicator of a plant's physiological status under diverse environmental conditions. We investigated the photosynthetic and respiratory responses of the Asian surfgrass Phyllospadix iwatensis along the northeast coast of the Korean peninsula in response to changing water temperature (ranging from 5℃ to 30℃) to estimate the seasonal whole-plant carbon balance through a series of incubation experiments. The maximum gross photosynthetic rate (P_max) showed a significant difference among the temperature treatments, while there was no significant difference in photosynthetic efficiency (α). The maximum gross photosynthetic rate of P. iwatensis reached its peaks at 20℃ treatment (101.65 μmol O₂ g^-1 DW h^-1) but decreased rapidly at 30℃. The saturation irradiance (I_k), compensation irradiance (I_c), and respiration rate (R) of P. iwatensis exhibited significant differences among the temperature treatments. The saturation irradiance increased up to 20-25℃ (121.59-124.50 μmol photons m^-2 s^-1) and sharply decreased at 30℃. The compensation irradiance and respiration rate increased steadily with rising water temperature. The ratio of P_max to R (P_max:R ratio) was the highest at 5℃ but dramatically decreased at 30℃. The whole-plant carbon balance, calculated based on photosynthetic parameters, respiration rates, and biomass, exhibited distinct seasonal variation, increasing during winter and spring and decreasing during summer and fall, which is consistent with the highest in situ growth in spring and severely limited growth at the highest water temperature conditions. Phyllospadix iwatensis displayed a negative carbon balance during late summer, fall, and winter, but demonstrated a positive carbon balance during spring and early summer. Our findings suggest that the rising seawater temperatures associated with climate change may lead to significant alterations in the seagrass ecosystem functioning along the rocky shores of the Korean east coast.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.119-135
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• 2021

Korea has stepped up efforts to investigate and catalog its flora and fauna to conserve the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula and secure biological resources since the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) in 2010. Thus, after its establishment in 2007, the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) of the Ministry of Environment of Korea initiated a project called the Korean Indigenous Species Investigation Project to investigate indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula. For 15 years since its beginning in 2006, this project has been carried out in five phases, Phase 1 from 2006-2008, Phase 2 from 2009-2011, Phase 3 from 2012-2014, Phase 4 from 2015-2017, and Phase 5 from 2018-2020. Before this project, in 2006, the number of indigenous species surveyed was 29,916. The figure was cumulatively aggregated at the end of each phase as 33,253 species for Phase 1 (2008), 38,011 species for Phase 2 (2011), 42,756 species for Phase 3 (2014), 49,027 species for Phase 4 (2017), and 54,428 species for Phase 5(2020). The number of indigenous species surveyed grew rapidly, showing an approximately 1.8-fold increase as the project progressed. These statistics showed an annual average of 2,320 newly recorded species during the project period. Among the recorded species, a total of 5,242 new species were reported in scientific publications, a great scientific achievement. During this project period, newly recorded species on the Korean Peninsula were identified using the recent taxonomic classifications as follows: 4,440 insect species (including 988 new species), 4,333 invertebrate species except for insects (including 1,492 new species), 98 vertebrate species (fish) (including nine new species), 309 plant species (including 176 vascular plant species, 133 bryophyte species, and 39 new species), 1,916 algae species (including 178 new species), 1,716 fungi and lichen species(including 309 new species), and 4,812 prokaryotic species (including 2,226 new species). The number of collected biological specimens in each phase was aggregated as follows: 247,226 for Phase 1 (2008), 207,827 for Phase 2 (2011), 287,133 for Phase 3 (2014), 244,920 for Phase 4(2017), and 144,333 for Phase 5(2020). A total of 1,131,439 specimens were obtained with an annual average of 75,429. More specifically, 281,054 insect specimens, 194,667 invertebrate specimens (except for insects), 40,100 fish specimens, 378,251 plant specimens, 140,490 algae specimens, 61,695 fungi specimens, and 35,182 prokaryotic specimens were collected. The cumulative number of researchers, which were nearly all professional taxonomists and graduate students majoring in taxonomy across the country, involved in this project was around 5,000, with an annual average of 395. The number of researchers/assistant researchers or mainly graduate students participating in Phase 1 was 597/268; 522/191 in Phase 2; 939/292 in Phase 3; 575/852 in Phase 4; and 601/1,097 in Phase 5. During this project period, 3,488 papers were published in major scientific journals. Of these, 2,320 papers were published in domestic journals and 1,168 papers were published in Science Citation Index(SCI) journals. During the project period, a total of 83.3 billion won (annual average of 5.5 billion won) or approximately US $75 million (annual average of US $5 million) was invested in investigating indigenous species and collecting specimens. This project was a large-scale research study led by the Korean government. It is considered to be a successful example of Korea's compressed development as it attracted almost all of the taxonomists in Korea and made remarkable achievements with a massive budget in a short time. The results from this project led to the National List of Species of Korea, where all species were organized by taxonomic classification. Information regarding the National List of Species of Korea is available to experts, students, and the general public (https://species.nibr.go.kr/index.do). The information, including descriptions, DNA sequences, habitats, distributions, ecological aspects, images, and multimedia, has been digitized, making contributions to scientific advancement in research fields such as phylogenetics and evolution. The species information also serves as a basis for projects aimed at species distribution and biological monitoring such as climate-sensitive biological indicator species. Moreover, the species information helps bio-industries search for useful biological resources. The most meaningful achievement of this project can be in providing support for nurturing young taxonomists like graduate students. This project has continued for the past 15 years and is still ongoing. Efforts to address issues, including species misidentification and invalid synonyms, still have to be made to enhance taxonomic research. Research needs to be conducted to investigate another 50,000 species out of the estimated 100,000 indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.1-11
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• 2011

The research was aimed to verify the feasibility of the model of Park-Based Mixed-Use Districts(PBMUD) around urban large park to secure private-based urban parks through the revision of the urban zoning system. The PBMUD is a type of urban zoning district in which park-oriented land use is mixed with the urban land uses of residents, advertising, business, culture, education and research. The PBMUD, delineated from and based on a new paradigm of landscape urbanism, is a new urban strategy to secure urban parks and to cultivate urban regeneration around parks and green spaces to enhance the quality of the urban landscape and to ameliorate urban environmental disasters like climate change. This study performed a questionnaire survey and analysis after a review of literature related to PBMUD. The study looked for specialists in the fields of urban planning and landscape architecture such as officials, researchers and engineers to respond to the questionnaire, which asked about degree of preference. The conclusions of this study were as follows. Firstly, specialists prefer the PBMUD at 79.3% for to 20.7% against ratio, indicating the feasibility of the model of PBMUD. The second, the most preferable reasons for the model, were the possibility of securing park space around urban parks and green spaces that assures access to park and communication with each area. The third, the main reason for non-preference for the model, was a lack of understanding of PBMUD added to the problems of unprofitable laws and regulations related to urban planning and development. These proposed a revision of the related laws and regulations such as the laws for planning and use of national land, laws for architecture etc. The fourth, the most preferred type of PBMUD, was cultural use mixed with park use in every kind of mix of land use. The degree of preference was lower in the order of use of commercial, residential, business, and education(research) when mixed with park use. The number of mixed-use amenities with in the park was found to be an indicator determining preference. The greater the number, the lower was preference frequencies, especially when related to research and business use. The fifth, the preference frequencies of the more than 70% among the respondents to the mixed-use ratio between park use and the others, was in a ratio of 60% park use and 40% other urban use. These research results will help to launch new future research subjects on the revision of zoning regulations in the laws for the planning and uses of national land and architectural law as well as criteria and indicators of subdivision planning as related to a PBMUD model.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.8-15
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• 1995

The reliable measurement of metal in biological media in human body is one of critical indicators for the proper evaluation of its toxic effect on human health. Recently in Korea the necessity of quality assurance of measurement in occupational health and occupational hygiene fields brought out regulatory quality control program. Lead is often used as a standard metal for the program in both fields of occupational health and hygiene. During last 20 years lead poisoning was prevalent in Korea and still is one of main heavy metal poisoning and the capability of the measurement of blood lead is one of prerequisites for institute of specialized occupational health in Korea. Furthermore blood lead is most important indicator to evaluate lead burden of human exposure to lead and the reliable and accurate analysis is most needed whenever possible. To evaluate the extent of the interlaboratory differences of blood lead measurement in several well-known institute specialized in occupational health in Korea, authors prepared 68 blood samples from two storage battery industries and all samples were divided into samples with 2 ml. One set of 68 samples were analyzed by authors's laboratory(Soonchunhyang University Institute of Industrial Medicine: SIIM) and 40 samples of other set were analyzed by C University Institute of Industrial Medicine(CIIM) and the rest 28 samples of other set were analyzed by Japanese institute(K Occupational Health Center:KOHC). Authors also prepared test bovine samples which were obtained from Japanese Federation of Occupational Health Organization (JFOHO) for quality control. Authors selected 2 other well-known occupational health laboratories and one laboratory specialized for instrumental analysis. A total of 6 laboratories joined the interlaboratory comparison of blood lead measurement and the results obtained were as follows: 1. There was no significant difference in average blood lead between SIIM and CIIM in different group of blood lead concentration, and the relative standard deviation of two laboratories was less than 3.0%. On the other hand, there was also no significant difference of average blood lead between SIIM and KOHC with relative standard deviation of 6.84% as maximum. 2. Taking less than 15% difference of mean or less than 6 ug/dl difference in below 40 ug/dl in whole blood as a criteria of agreement of measurement between two laboratories, agreement rates were 87.5%(35/40) and 78.6%(22/28) between SIIM and CIIM, SIIM and KOHC respectively. 3. The correlation of blood lead between SIIM and CIIM was 0.975 (p=0.0001) and the regression equation was SIIM = 2.19 + 0.9243 ClIM, whereas the correlation between SUM and KOHC was O.965(p=0.0001) with the equation of SIIM = 1.91 + 0.9794 KOHC. 4. Taking the reference value as a dependent variable and each of 6 laboratories's measurement value as a independent variable, the determination coefficient($R^2$) of simple regression equations of blood lead measurement for bovine test samples were very high($R^2>0.99$), and the regression coefficient(${\beta}$) was between 0.972 and 1.15 which indicated fairly good agreement of measurement results.