• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.35 no.5
• /
• pp.548-557
• /
• 2021

Cypripedium japonicum Thunb. is an endemic plant in East Asia, distributed only in Korea, China, and Japan. At the global level, the IUCN Red List evaluates it as "Endangered Species (EN)," and at the national level in Korea, it is evaluated as "Critically Endangered Species (CR)." In this study, we investigated the characteristics of the age structure and the sustainability of the population based on the data obtained by demographic monitoring conducted for seven years in the natural habitat. C. japonicum habitats were observed in 7 regions of Korea (Pochoen, Gapyeong, Hwacheon, Chuncheon, Yeongdong, Muju, Gwangyang), and 4,356 individuals in 15 subpopulations were identified. The population size and structure differed from region to region, and artificial management had a very important effect on the size and structural change of the population. Population viability analysis (PVA) based on changes in the number of individuals of C. japonicum showed a very diverse tendency by region. And the probability of population extinction in the next 100 years was 0.00% for Pocheon, 10.90% for Gwangyang, 24.05% for Chuncheon, and 79.50% for Hwacheon. Since the above monitored study sites were located within the conservation shelters, which restricted access by humans, unauthorized collection of C. japonicum, the biggest threat to the species, was not reflected in the individual viability. So, the risk of extinction in Korea is expected to be significantly higher than that estimated in this study. Therefore, it is necessary to reflect population information in several regions that may represent various threats to determine the extinction risk of the C. japonicum population objectively. In the future, we should expand the demographic monitoring of the C. japonicum population known in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.35 no.2
• /
• pp.135-153
• /
• 2021

The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier with 248 kilometers in length and about 4 kilometers in width crossing east to west to divide the Korean Peninsula about in half. The boundary at 2 kilometers to the south is called the southern limit line. The DMZ has formed a unique ecosystem through a natural ecological succession after the Armistice Agreement and has high conservation value. However, the use of facilities for the military operation and the unchecked weeding often damage the areas in the vicinities of the southern limit line's iron-railing. This study aimed to prepare basic data for the restoration of damaged barren vegetation. As a result of classifying vegetation communities based on indicator species, 10 communities were identified as follows: Duchesnea indica Community, Hosta longipes Community, Sedum kamtschaticum-Sedum sarmentosum Community, Potentilla anemonefolia Community, Potentilla fragarioides var. major Community, Prunella vulgaris var. lilacina Community, Dendranthema zawadskii var. latilobum-Carex lanceolata Community, Dendranthema zawadskii Community, Plantago asiatica-Trifolium repens Community, and Ixeris stolonifera-Kummerowia striata Community. Highly adaptable species can characterize vegetation in barren areas to environment disturbances because artificial disturbances such as soil erosion, soil compaction, topography change, and forest fires caused by military activities frequently occur in the barren areas within the southern limit line. Most of the dominant species in the communities are composed of plants that are commonly found in the roads, roadsides, bare soil, damaged areas, and grasslands throughout South Korea. Currently, the vegetation in barren areas in the vicinities of the DMZ is in the early ecological succession form that develops from bare soil to herbaceous vegetation. Since dominant species distributed in barren land can grow naturally without special maintenance and management, the data can be useful for future restoration material development or species selection.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.303-317
• /
• 2022

Climate change caused by increased greenhouse gas emissions can alter the natural ecosystem, including the pollination ecosystem and agricultural ecology, which are ecological interactions between potted insects and plants. Many studies have reported that populations of wild bees, including bees and wasps (BW), which are the key pollinators, have gradually declined due to climate change, leading to adverse impacts on overall biodiversity, ultimately with agribusinesses and the life cycle of flowering plants. Therefore, we could infer that the rising temperature in Korean Peninsula (South Korea) due to global warming has led to climate change and influenced the wild bee's ecosystem. In this study, we surveyed the distributional pattern of BW (Superfamily: Apoidea, Vespoidea, and Chrysidoidea) at 51 sites from 2017 (37 sites) to 2018 (14 sites) to examine the effects of climatic factors on the nationwide distribution of BW in South Korea. Previous literature has confirmed that their distribution according to forest climate zones is significantly correlated with mean and accumulative temperatures. Based on the result, we predicted the effects of future climate changes on the BW distribution that appeared throughout South Korea and the species that appeared in specific climate zones using Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). The distributions of wild BW predicted by the SSP scenarios 2-4.5 and 5-8.5 according to the BIOMOD species distribution model revealed that common and endemic species will shift northward from the current habitat distribution by 2050 and 2100, respectively. Our study implies that climate change and its detrimental effect on the ecosystem is ongoing as the BW distribution in South Korea can change, causing the change in the ecosystem in the Korean Peninsula. Therefore, immediate efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions are warranted. We hope the findings of this study can inspire further research on the effects of climate change on pollination services and serve as the reference for making agricultural policy and BW conservation strategy

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.21-40
• /
• 2023

This study analyzed the cold air characteristics of the Nakdong Jeongmaek, which is advantageous for the formation of cold air that can flow into the city, in order to suggest the wind ventilation corridor plans, which have recently been increasing interest as a way to improve the urban thermal environment. In addition, based on the watershed analysis, specific cold-air watershed areas were established and management plans were suggested to expand the cold air function of the Nakdong Jeongmaek. As a result of the analysis of cold air in the Nakdong Jeongaek, cold air was strongly generated in the northern forest of the Jeongamek, and flowed into nearby cities along the valley topography. On average, the speed of cold air was high in cities located to the east of the Jeongmaek, while the height of cold air layer was high in cities located to the west. By synthesizing these cold air characteristics and watershed analysis results, the cold-air watershed area was classified into 8 zones, And the plans were proposed to preserve and strengthen the temperature reduction of the Jeongmaek by designating the zones as 'Conservation area of Cold-air', 'Management area of Cold-air', and 'Intensive management area of Cold-air'. In addition, in order to verify the temperature reduction of cold air, the effect of night temperature reduction effect was compared with the cold air analysis using weather observation data. As a result, the temperature reduction of cold air was confirmed because the night temperature reduction was large at the observation station with strong cold air characteristics. This study is expected to be used as basic data in establishing a systematic preservation and management plan to expand the cold air function of the Nakdong Jeongmaek.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.182-191
• /
• 2023

This study was carried out to identify the distribution and growth characteristics and evaluate the conservation status of the Michelia compressa Maxim., a rare and endangered wild plant II, in the habitats in Korea. A total of 314 individuals were found in the natural habitats of Heuksan Island and Jeju Island and were divided into four populations. About 45.9% (144 individuals) were distributed in the range of 401m~500m above sea level. The average height of trees was 2.7(±4.8)m, the diameter at breast height was 12.6(±13.9)cm, and the number of branches was 1.0(±0.5) on average. 54.3% of the sapling individuals of M. compressa were distributed within a radius of 30 m from the mother tree, 25.8% were distributed between 31 m through 40 m, and most (90.1%) were distributed within a radius of 60 m. The fact that sapling individuals of M. compressa are not identified even around some mature individuals and appear only in extremely limited areas is estimated to be closely related to the growth conditions as well as the environment of the natural habitats. The dispersal of M. compressa is presumed to be related to the birds and natural seedlings because water puddles, a resting place for birds beyond the range of natural seedlings, characterize its habitats. The IUCN Red List evaluation criteria at the regional and national level of M. compressa corresponds to the Critically Endangered category, and the domestic population under the category of "CR B2ab(v); C2a(i); D."

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.204-216
• /
• 2024

Understanding the trade-off effect in ecosystem services and measuring the interrelationships between services are crucial for managing limited environmental resources. Accordingly, in this study, we identified the dominant trends and increases and decreases in ecosystem services derived from changes in land cover over about 30 years and tracked changes in the relationships between ecosystem services that occurred over time. Through it, we determined the relationship between land cover changes and ecosystem service changes, as well as the distinct characteristics of service changes in different areas. The research primarily utilized the InVEST model, an ecosystem service assessment model. After standardizing the evaluation results between 0 and 1, it went through principal component analysis, a dimensionality reduction technique, to observe the time-series changes and understand the relationships between the services. According to the research results, the area of urbanized regions dramatically increased between 1989 and 2019, while forests showed a significant increase between 2009 and 2019. Between 1989 and 2019, the national ecosystem service supply witnessed a 13.9% decrease in water supply, a 10.5% decrease in nitrogen retention, a 2.6% increase in phosphorus retention, a 0.9% decrease in carbon storage, a 1.2% increase in air purification, and a 3.4% decrease in habitat quality. Over the past 30 years, South Korea experienced an increase in urbanized areas, a decrease in agricultural land, and an increase in forests, resulting in a trade-off effect between phosphorus retention and habitat quality. This study concluded that South Korea's environment management policies contribute to improving ecosystem quality, which has declined due to urbanization, and maximizing ecosystem services. These findings can help policymakers establish and implement forestry policies focusing on sustainable environmental conservation and ecosystem service provision.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Geographic Information Studies
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.65-77
• /
• 2012

This study examined changes in land cover for the past 25 years in Busan and subsequently evaluated heat island potential by using land surface temperature and observation temperature data. The results were as below. The urban area of Busan increased by more than 2.5 times for the past 25 years from 1975 to 2000. It was believed that an increase in the pavement area of city within such a short period of time was an unprecedented phenomenon unique to our country. It could be assumed that urban heat island would be worsened through this process. After analyzing the land temperature according to the land cover, it was shown that there were noticeable changes in the temperature of urban & built-up and mountain & forest areas. In particular, the temperature rose to $36{\sim}39^{\circ}C$ in industrial areas during the summer, whereas it went down to $22{\sim}24^{\circ}C$ in the urban areas at whose center there were mountains. It was found that heat island potential according to the level of land cover had various values depending on the conditions of land cover. Among the areas of urbanization, the industrial area's heat island potential is 6 to $8^{\circ}C$, and the residential and commercial area's is $0{\sim}5^{\circ}C$, so it has been found that there is high possibility to induce urban heat islands. Meanwhile, in the forest or agricultural area or the waterside, the heat island potential is $-6{\sim}-3^{\circ}C$. With this study result, it is possible to evaluate the effects of temperature increase according to the urban land use, and it can be used as foundational data to improve urban thermal environment and plan eco-friendly urban development.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.306-316
• /
• 2015

An experiment in a controlled environment was conducted to evaluate the genotypic differences of grain yield and yield-related elements of rice under elevated air temperature. Eight rice genotypes included in three maturing group (early, medium, and medium-late maturing group) were grown with 1/5,000 a Wagner pots at four plastic houses that were controlled to the temperature regimes of ambient temperature (AT), $AT+1.5^{\circ}C$, $AT+3.0^{\circ}C$, and $AT+5.0^{\circ}C$ throughout the rice growing season in 2011. Ripened grain ratio and 1000 grain weight showed the most susceptible and tolerant responses to elevated air temperature, respectively. The grain yield reduction was attributable to the sharp decrease of ripened grain ratio. Grain yield was significantly decreased above the treatment of $AT+1.5^{\circ}C$ and $AT+3.0^{\circ}C$ in early maturing group and the others, respectively. Highly correlation to average temperature from heading to 20 days was revealed in yield (r = -0.69), ripened grain ratio (r = -82), fully-filled grain (r = -70), and 1000 grain weight (r = -0.31). The responses of yield and yield-related elements except number of spikelets and panicle to elevated air temperature were fitted to a logistic function. The parameters of logistic function for each elements except grain yield could not be applied to the other varieties. In conclusion, yield and yield-related elements responded differentially to elevated air temperature according to maturity groups and rice varieties. Ongoing global warming is expected to decrease the grain yield not only by decreasing the grain weight but also decreasing the ripened grain ratio in the future. However, the yield reduction would be mitigated by adopting and/or breeding the less sensitive varieties to high temperature.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.156-164
• /
• 2015

High temperature stress would affect rice production in the future as heat wave is expected to occur frequently under climate change conditions. The objective of this study was to obtain rudimentary information to assess the impact of heat stress on rice yield and its yield component in Korea. Two rice cultivars "Hwaseongbyeo" (Japonica) and "Dasanbyeo" (Tongil-type) were grown at different nitrogen fertilization levels in two seasons. These cultivars were grown in 1/5000a Wagner pot placed within four plastic houses where temperature was controlled at ambient, ambient$+1.5^{\circ}C$, ambient$+3^{\circ}C$ and ambient$+5^{\circ}C$ throughout the rice growing season in Suwon ($37^{\circ}16^{\prime}N$, $128^{\circ}59^{\prime}E$), Korea. The degree of temperature change affected grain yield whereas the level of nitrogen had little impact on grain yield. The number of panicle per pot and spikelet per panicle were not significantly different among temperature treatments in both cultivars tested. In contrast, 1000-grain weight and ripened grain ratio were decreased significantly under the treatments raising the air temperature to the level of $5.0^{\circ}C$ and $1.5^{\circ}C$ above the ambient air temperature in Dasanbyeo and Hwaseongbyeo, respectively. Reduction of 1000-grain weight and ripened grain ratio under the temperature treatments of $3.0^{\circ}C$ and $5.0^{\circ}C$ above the ambient air temperature resulted in significantly less grain yield for Dasanbyeo and Hwaseongbyeo, respectively. The greater sensitivity of grain yield to temperature increase in Dasanbyeo was attributable to the sharp decrease of 1000-grain weight and ripened grain ratio with the temperature rise above $23^{\circ}C$ during ripening period. On the other hand, Hwaseongbyeo had little variation of them in the temperature range of $23-27^{\circ}C$. These results suggested that grain yield would decrease under future climate conditions due to grain weight decreased by shorter grain filling period as well as the ripened grain ratio reduced by spikelet sterility and early abortion of rice kernel development. Thus, it would be essential to use cultivars tolerant to heat stress for climate change adaptation, which merits further studies for developing varieties that have traits to avoid spikelet sterility and early abortion of rice kernel, e.g., early morning flowering, under heat wave.

• Journal of Life Science
• /
• v.19 no.9
• /
• pp.1190-1199
• /
• 2009

The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of exercise training and oak tree wood vinegar ingestion on the blood lipids and antioxidant activities of rats. The subjects were 28 Sprague Dawley male rats, and they were assigned into four groups (n=7, respectively): the control group (CON), the exercise group (EXE), the vinegar ingestion group (VIN), and the vinegar ingestion and exercise training group (VINEXE). The diet was based on high fat and oral administration of oak tree wood vinegar. The rats that were not given oak tree wood vinegar were given the same amount of distilled water orally in order to maintain the same level of stress. They were exercise trained on motor-driven treadmills during a four-week session. Weight changes in the VINEXE were significantly inhibited in the later period of exercise, when compared to the CON (p<0.05). Fat increase was significantly suppressed in VIN and EXE (p<0.05), and a synergistic effect was discovered in the VINEXE (p<0.05). Glucose and ammonia levels were significantly reduced in the EXE, VIN, and VINEXE compared to the CON (p<0.05). In blood lipids, TC and LDL-C were significantly enhanced in the EXE, VIN, and VINEXE compared to the CON (p<0.05), while HDL-C was significantly improved in the EXE and VINEXE (p<0.05). Liver MDA contents showed significant changes in each group (p<0.05), and SOD activities were significantly enhanced in the VIN and the VINEXE when compared to other groups (p<0.05). Therefore, oak tree wood vinegar ingestion with exercise training for four weeks may result in inhibition of weight gain, improvement of blood lipids, and inhibition of lipid peroxidation, contributing to health promotion.