• Proceedings of the Korea Institute of Fire Science and Engineering Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.321-324
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• 2008

Forest fire danger rate of thinning area was lower than that of non thinning area, because height rate of leewardside in burned stem of tree, damage rate of crown and mortality of tree in thinning area were 30.8%, 37% and 48.4% lower than that in non-thinning area, respectively. Intensity of forest fire varied depending upon topographical condition up slope, down slope, aspect, location as well as species, breast height diameter and forest tree density. Especially, a mountaintop area was burned down when forest fire was spread to up slope ridge of mountain.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.108 no.3
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• pp.349-356
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• 2019

This study examines the effect of thinning in terms of changes in the growth characteristics of Chamaecyparis obtusa stands after they were thinned with varying intensity in Gochang, North Jeolla Province, Korea. Thinning was carried out in 2000 on Chamaecyparis obtusa stands (22 years old), and the stands were categorized in terms of the thinning intensity in the experiment: very heavy, heavy, medium, light, and control. The results of monitoring up to 2018 revealed that the diameter at breast height and the growth rate of individual trees after thinning had a positive correlation with the thinning intensity, whereas the stand volume showed a negative correlation. The height to diameter (H/D) ratio decreased by up to 70-80 due to the increased diameter at breast height after thinning and thereby resulted in better quality. The relative yield index right after the first thinning was between 0.75 and 0.95, which suggests the best timing for the first thinning had been missed. This study's findings are expected to serve as a basic reference in establishing the thinning system for Chamaecyparis obtusa forests.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.48-54
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• 2022

This study was conducted to examine litter inputs and litter decomposition rates following thinning, which is among the most important forest management activities that enhance the beneficial functions in Korean forests. Litter inputs and litter decomposition rates following a 2-year elapse from thinning in Pinus densiflora and following a 7-year elapse from thinning in Quercus variabilis stands were measured for 2 years from 16 sites in three regions (Sancheong-gun, Uiryeong-gun, and Jinju-si) in Gyeongsangnam-do, Korea. Annual needle litter inputs in P. densiflora stands were significantly decreased following thinning, whereas annual broadleaved leaf litter inputs in Q. variabilis stands were not significantly different between thinned and unthinned treatments. The annual mean total litter inputs in both tree species were significantly lower in the thinned (P. densiflora: 3,653 kg ha^-1 year^-1; Q. variabilis: 4,963 kg ha^-1 year^-1) compared to the unthinned stands (P. densiflora: 5,138 kg ha^-1 year^-1; Q. variabilis: 5,997 kg ha^-1 year^-1) during the study period. The mass loss rates from decomposing needle litter in P. densiflora stands were significantly lower (p<0.05) in the thinned stands than in the unthinned stands for two sampling dates of the eight included in the study, whereas the decomposition rates from decomposing leaf litter in Q. variabilis stands were not affected by thinning. The results indicate that thinning effects on total litter inputs remained clear following a 2-year elapse from thinning in P. densiflora stands and following a 7-year elapse from thinning in Q. variabilis stands.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.52-58
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• 2007

The effect of stand-growing-stock characteristics of thinning area and non-thinning area on forest fire was studied in this work. 14 spots were selected from 3 counties such as Yangyang, Injae, and Gapyeong and on-the-spot investigations were performed to evaluate the effect of forest fire. The stand-growing-stock characteristics on the spots were analyzed through the height of tree, breast height diameter, clear length, mortality of branch, forest tree standing crop density, degree of closure, and shrub and grass cover degree. The relation between forest fire and the risk of spread of forest fire were analyzed from the analysis of the stand-growing-stock characteristics. It is considered from this work that the possibility of forest fire is decreased on the thinning area compared to the non-thinning area because of higher clearlength, lower number of tree, lower mortality of branch and higher shrub and grass cover degree.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.385-392
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of plantation thinning on physical and mechanical properties of Larix kaempferi. Tree samples were obtained from unthinned, moderately, heavily thinned plantations where located in Kwangryung forest research stand. The effects of different thinning methods on the bending and parallel to grain compressive strengths of Larix kaempferi were explored. Average latewood ratio with various thinning treatments revealed the trend of unthinning < moderate thinning < heavy thinning treatment. Average annual ring width with various thinning treatments showed the trend of unthinning < moderate thinning or heavy thinning treatment. Average bending and parallel to grain compressive strengths with various thinning treatments revealed the trend of unthinning > moderate thinning > heavy thinning treatment. This indicates that thinning treatment reduces average bending and parallel to grain compressive strength properties.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.3
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• pp.303-321
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• 2023

To develop the Forest Work Load Index (FWLI) for estimating the work intensity of forest workers, a study focused on forest tending was conducted. To estimate the FWLI, we used the Ovako Working Posture Analysis System (OWAS) and the Work Load Index (WLI). The OWAS is a prominent method used for analyzing musculoskeletal load in work tasks, and WLI is a prominent method used for analyzing the work intensity of workers. The PRI values analyzed for each forest tending project were 185.3 (Thinning), 150.6 (Pruning), 181.1 (Thinning for Forest Fire Prevention), and 197.0 (Thinning for Young Trees). The WLI values, calculated on the basis of the measured heart rates, were 59.5% (Thinning), 53.5% (Pruning), 56.2% (Thinning for Forest Fire Prevention), and 62.3% (Thinning for Young Trees). The FWLI was calculated using the analyzed PRI and WLI values. The FWLI values for the forest tending project were 110.2 (Thinning), 80.7 (Pruning), 102.1 (Thinning for Forest Fire Prevention), and 123.0 (Thinning for Young Trees). The FWLI developed in this study can be used to quantitatively compare the workloads of forest workers. In the future, the analyzed FWLI can be used as a basis for improving forest workers' postures and comparing workloads across different forest projects.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.95 no.6
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• pp.657-662
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• 2006

This study was carried out to investigate the changes in soil chemical properties after thinning for a Quercus acuta stand in Wan-do Arboretum, Jeollanam-do. The stem density after thinning was determined referring to that of Quercus acutissima with 10 cm diameter at breast height and soil samples were collected 7 years after thinning. There was no considerable difference in soil pH values after thinning. However, the concentrations of soil organic matter, total nitrogen and available phosphorus significantly increased after thinning. In addition, thinning significantly increased cation exchange capacity (C.E.C) and the concentrations of exchangeable cations ($K^+$, $Na^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, and $Mg^{2+}$). From this study, it was revealed that the nutrient concentrations of this study site were generally lower than those of other forest soils. Therefore, it is need to improve the warm temperate forests through thinning and to develop forest treatment for regeneration.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.5-11
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• 2016

Background: As the decomposition of lignocellulosic compounds is a rate-limiting stage in the nutrient mineralization from organic matters, elucidation of the changes in soil enzyme activity can provide insight into the nutrient dynamics and ecosystem functioning. The current study aimed to assess the effect of thinning intensities on soil conditions. Un-thinned control, 20 % thinning, and 30 % thinning treatments were applied to a Larix kaempferi forest, and total carbon and nitrogen, total carbon to total nitrogen ratio, extractable nutrients (inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium), and enzyme activities (acid phosphatase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, ${\beta}$-xylosidase, ${\beta}$-glucosaminidase) were investigated. Results: Total carbon and nitrogen concentrations were significantly increased in the 30 % thinning treatment, whereas both the 20 and 30 % thinning treatments did not change total carbon to total nitrogen ratio. Inorganic nitrogen and extractable calcium and magnesium concentrations were significantly increased in the 20 % thinning treatment; however, no significant changes were found for extractable phosphorus and potassium concentrations either in the 20 or the 30 % thinning treatment. However, the applied thinning intensities had no significant influences on acid phosphatase, ${\beta}$-glucosidase, ${\beta}$-xylosidase, and ${\beta}$-glucosaminidase activities. Conclusions: These results indicated that thinning can elevate soil organic matter quantity and nutrient availability, and different thinning intensities may affect extractable soil nutrients inconsistently. The results also demonstrated that such inconsistent patterns in extractable nutrient concentrations after thinning might not be fully explained by the shifts in the enzyme-mediated nutrient mineralization.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.15-24
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• 2009

This paper estimates the nation wide amount of forest biomass arising from management operation for domestic forest based on the simulations that are composed of five scenarios for selecting the target area of thinning. In 2009, the forest biomass arising from thinning is estimated to be 6,642,174 $m^3$. The estimates of forest biomass in 2015 and 2018 are 5,935,140 $m^3$ and 5,682,538 $m^3$, respectively. Since the target forest for thinning policy is estimated to be decreasing, the biomass generated by thinning will decline too. The estimates of forest biomass can be used to induce more effective application of woody biomass rather than one-sided use such as raw materials for solid fuels including pellets and charcoals.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.187-198
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• 2010

Thinning treatment has a huge effect on understory and litter structures in forest ecosystem, and the resulting changes may impact some arthropod groups such as plant-feeders and detritivores. This study was carried out to find a change in arthropod abundance and their structures in relation to the thinning activity in a Pinus koraiensis plantation in Chuncheon, Korea, where thinning was conducted twice: in 1998-2000 (old-thinning) and 2007 (new-thinning). Arthropods were collected using pitfall traps in 2006 and 2008. Effects of old-thinning on change of abundance and community structure of arthropod were significant, but the effects of new-thinning were not significant. The most significant thinning effect was found in detritivores, followed by plant feeders, but the effect was hardly significant in predators. Among detritivores the changes in abundance was diverse. The abundance of orthopteran plant-feeder increased, but Curculionidae declined after thinning. There was not different in abundance of total arthropods between thinned and unthinned areas because the difference may have cancelled each other out by increased or decreased abundance of taxa. Community structures of arthropods were most greatly affected by years, followed by the old-thinning, but the new-thinning did not affect community structures.