• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.4-29
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• 2011

Paleoenvironments of the shell deposit-bearing sequence in the Hasandong Formation at Daesong-ri area, Hadong-gun, Korea, are interpreted on the basis of sedimentary facies and taphonomy of the shell deposits, with a discussion of their stratigraphic implications. A shell deposit-bearing sequence without reddish beds is mostly grayish, and the bedding is laterally extensive. These deposits are interpreted to have been formed in sandflats, mudflats, and shallow lakes generated by flooding on an alluvial plain. The shell deposits are classified into three types according to the occurrence, and the concentration of a single species of Brotiopsis wakinoensis in the shell deposits is deemed to have been attributed to the exclusive inhabitation of the genus Brotiopsis. Type 1 and 2 shell deposits are interpreted to have been fossilized in sandflats and mudflats after death in their habitat of shallow lakes and subsequent transformation by sheetflooding and lake flooding. Type 3 shell deposits are interpreted to have been fossilized in their habitat of shallow lakes during a stabilized period of lake development. The development of the shell deposit-bearing lacustrine sequence in a few tens of meters in thickness in the Hasandong Formation of fluvial deposits is compared to the shift of depositional environments from the Hasandong Formation (fluvial deposits) through the Jinju Formation (lacustrine deposits) to the Chilgok Formation (alluvial plain deposits), which suggests that additional lithostratigraphic classification is needed in the Hasandong Formation. The shell deposits at the study area can provide valuable data to understanding the paleoenvironments during the Early Cretaceous Period of Korea, and should give basic data to evaluate the value of the Cretaceous mollusc deposits in Korea as a geological heritage.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.40-48
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• 2023

This study is part of a foundational research effort aimed at developing a suitability index for breeding grounds related to avian activities along the domestic South and West coasts, including islands. Focus Group Interviews (FGI) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) analyses were conducted. The results are as follows. First, as a result of determining the value of the suitability of coastal bird breeding sites, the 'Natural Value(0.763)' was higher than the 'Artificial Value(0.237)'. Other artificial values were identified as sub-ranked except for 'Protected Areas' to ensure continuous integrity of breeding spaces. Second, as a result of re-establishing the 25 evaluation items classified in the two-time FGI as higher concepts, nine natural values and five artificial values were finally selected as a total of 14. Third, the results of the mid-classification evaluation of the importance of the suitability of coastal bird breeding sites were identified in the order of 'Ecological Value(0.392)', 'Topographic Value(0.251)', 'Passive Interference(0.124)', 'Geological Value(0.120)', and 'Active Interference(0.113)'. Fourth, the results of the priority of evaluation items of coastal bird breeding sites were in the order of 'Vegetation Distribution (0.187)', 'Area of Mudflats(0.118)', 'Presence or Absence of Mudflats(0.092)', 'Appearance of Natural Enemies(0.087)', 'Protected Areas(0.08)', 'Island Area (0.069)', 'Over-Breeding devastation(0.064)', 'Soil Composition Ratio(0.056)', 'Distance from Land(0.054)', 'Ocean farm area (0.045)', 'Cultivated land area(0.041)', 'Cultivation behavior(0.038)', 'Angle of the Surface(0.036)', and 'Land Use(0.033)'. It is judged that the weighting result value of the evaluation items derived in this study can be used for priority evaluation focusing on the coastal bird breeding area space. However, it seems that the correlation with the unique habitat suitability of bird individuals needs to be supplemented, and spatial analysis research incorporating species-specific characteristics will be left as a future task.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2000

Vertical temperature distributions in muddy intertidal sediments near the Jebu Island on the west coast of Korea were obtained during the period of ebb tide which occurred in day time. The observations of mud temperature were made with thermistor embedded probe at 2cm interval for 18cm-layer of sediment for five different months of the year. Temporal changes in the vertical profile of the sediment temperature are strongly depend on the air temperature, the previous time of flood tide and the time of ebb tide. Heat exchanges in the surface layer (0-2 cm) in terms of magnitude and direction are greater than and opposite to those in the deeper sediment layer (8-12 cm), respectively and do not show any significant seasonal variations. In general, the surface layer gains heat while the deeper layer loses the heat. By using the 1-D diffusion equation temporal vertical profiles of the sediment temperature were obtained and were compared with the observed ones. The results show that in the sediment layer below 4 cm-depth the heat transport is predominantly by molecular diffusion. The average magnitude of heat flux into the sediment layer (0-18 cm) during the ebb tide when the mudflats were exposed in the middle of the day were between 4.1 and $28.9\;W/m^2$.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.111-125
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• 2016

Cordgrass (Spartina spp.) is recognized as a highly invasive plant in estuaries throughout the world because of remarkable versatility and resiliency, significant reproduction, strong adaptability, rapid spreading, and vigorous growth. In this review, therefore, to provide insights on the effective management practices, the previous research works were summarized and discussed. Spartina spp. is a perennial halophyte, warm-season (C4) grass that reproduces both sexually through seeds and asexually by rhizomes. Management strategies for cordgrass have included various physical, biological, and chemical controls. Herbicides are usually the most cost-effective means of control. Currently, glyphosate, imazapyr, fluazifop and haloxyfop have been practically used. To improve the control efficacy, a combination of two more than methods (example, mowing-spraying) is needed to be applied consistently every year for at least 3 to 4 years and to be sprayed with enough dry time (>4-6 hr) at an early growth stage (before flowering). Consistently repeated application of same herbicide have to be avoided to prevent an unexpected emergence of herbicide-resistant lines. On the other hand, Spartina spp. have many positive functions for agricultural and eco-engineering purposes. Thus, we have to give more intensive research for effectively managing advantages and disadvantages of Spartina plantations.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.37 no.5_1
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• pp.1111-1124
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• 2021

Mudflats are crucial for understanding the ecological structure and biological function of coastal ecosystem because of its high primary production by microalgae. There have been many studies on measuring primary productivity of tidal flats for the estimation of organic carbon abundance, but it is relatively recent that optical remote sensing technique, particularly hyperspectral sensing, was used for it. This study investigates hyperspectral sensing of chlorophyll concentration on a tidal flat surface, which is a key variable in deriving primary productivity. The study site is a mudflat in Geunso bay, South Korea and field campaigns were conducted at ebb tide in April and June 2021. Hyperspectral reflectance of the mudflat surfaces was measured with two types of hyperspectral sensors; TriOS RAMSES (directionalsensor) and the Specim-IQ (camera sensor), and Normal Differenced Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Contiuum Removal Depth (CRD) were used to estimate Chl-a from the optical measurements. The validation performed against independent field measurements of Chl-a showed that both CRD and NDVI can retrieve surface Chl-a with R² around 0.7 for the Chl-a range of 0~150 mg/m² tested in this study.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.84-94
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• 2019

The Seocheon and Yubu Island mudflats in Geum Estuary are important stopover sites for migratory birds as energy supplementation area in the East Asia-Australasian Flyway. Benthic invertebrates in the tidal flats are important food resources for the migratory birds. In other words, benthic invertebrates in the tidal flats play an important ecological role in energy flow. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between benthic invertebrate assemblages and environmental factors in Seocheon and Yubudo tidal flats in the Geum Estuary. As a result of the benthic invertebrate assemblage during the fall migration season, the total species number was 147, density and biomass were $1,772{\pm}1,342individuals/m^2$ and $445.1{\pm}807.6g/m^2$, respectively. Based on the appearance species and the density data, the result of analysis of mutual similarity among sampling sites was divided into two groups. Group A was the Macrophthalmus-Heteromastus community and Group B was the Spio-Urothoe-Mandibulophoxus community. Group B showed higher mean species number, density and biomass than Group A. The BIO-ENV analysis showed that the benthic invertebrate assemblages were most affected by the combination of sand content % and sediment sorting (${\rho}=0.500$). The variables of significant relationship with species number and biomass were sediment sorting (p=0.015) and the pore water DO(Dissolved Oxygen, p=0.003) in sediment, respectively.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.105-116
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• 2021

Background: The creation of the National Institute of Ecology began as a national alternative project to preserve mudflats instead of constructing the industrial complexes by reclamation, and achieve regional development. On the other hand, at the national level, the research institute for ecology was needed to cope with the worsening conditions for maintaining biodiversity due to accelerated climate change such as global warming and increased demand for development. In order to meet these needs, the National Institute of Ecology has the following objectives: (1) carries out studies for ecosystem change due to climate change and biodiversity conservation, (2) performs ecological education to the public through exhibition of various ecosystem models, and (3) promotes regional development through the ecological industry. Furthermore, to achieve these objectives, the National Institute of Ecology thoroughly followed the basic principles of ecology, especially restoration ecology, in the process of its construction. We introduce the principles and cases of ecological restoration applied in the process. Results: We minimized the impact on the ecosystem in order to harmonize with the surrounding environment in all the processes of construction. We pursued passive restoration following the principle of ecological restoration as a process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem degraded for all the space except in land where artificial facilities were introduced. Reference information was applied thoroughly in the process of active restoration to create biome around the world, Korean peninsula forests, and wetland ecosystems. In order to realize true restoration, we pursued the ecological restoration in a landscape level as the follows. We moved the local road 6 and high-voltage power lines to underground to ensure ecological connectivity within the National Institute of Ecology campus. To enhance ecological diversity, we introduced perch poles and islands as well as floating leaved, emerged, wetland, and riparian plants in wetlands and mantle communities around the forests of the Korean Peninsula in the terrestrial ecosystem. Furthermore, in order to make the public aware of the importance of the intact nature, the low-lying landscape elements, which have disappeared due to excessive land use in most areas of Korea, was created by imitating demilitarized zone (DMZ) landscape that has these landscape elements. Conclusions: The National Institute of Ecology was created in an eco-friendly way by thoroughly reflecting the principles of ecology to suit its status and thus the impact on the existing ecosystem was minimized. This concept was also designed to be reflected in the process of operation. The results have become real, and a result of analysis on carbon budget analysis is approaching the carbon neutrality.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.82-91
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• 2024

In this study, research cases related to blue carbon storage were collected and analyzed, and various definitions of blue carbon were considered in terms of spatiotemporal scope and scientific aspect. 444 papers were selected as research cases related to blue carbon storage, and analysis of the number of papers published by year/country and keywords was performed. Publication of papers related to blue carbon storage has continued to increase since 2011, and more than 50 papers have been published annually since 2018. The most publications by country were in Australia with more than 100 papers, and the United States and China also published more than 60 papers. Key terms related to "natural environment" and "storage characteristics" were analyzed in the sentences defined in the 23 papers that presented the definition of blue carbon. The natural environments where blue carbon was stored were mostly mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass beds, and blue carbon repository included sediments and even plants themselves. The existing definition of blue carbon focused on the vegetation environment as the storage environment for blue carbon. However, since blue carbon is stored in the sediments of coastal wetlands, it would be appropriate to define the coastal ecosystem, including non-vegetated mudflats, as the storage environment for blue carbon.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.66-72
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• 2024

Background: Vibrio vulnificus is a serious opportunistic human pathogen that has a worldwide distribution in a variety of marine and estuarine environments. Objectives: For this reason, we investigated the distribution of Vibrio vulnificus in coastal areas of Gyeonggido Province from 2018 to 2022. Also, we analyzed the correlation between V. vulnificus leading to infection and two marine environmental factors (water temperature and salinity). Methods: We collected a total of 266 samples from six coastal area points (i.e., seawater, mudflats). Specimens were isolated using selective plating media and isolated strains were identified by a VITEK 2 system. To find the relevance of the isolation rates of V. vulnificus and number of cases of V. vulnificus infection, we summarized the data on 48 cases of V. vulnificus infection from the open data of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Results: Among the 266 samples taken during the investigation period, 47 strains were isolated, and the separation rates of V. vulnificus were 17.7%. The monthly isolation rates of V. vulnificus were ranked in the order of August (53.8%), September (33.3%), June (28.6%), and July (21.1%). There was a positive correlation with the temperature of seawater, but salinity was not significant. The number of cases of V. vulnificus infection reported in Gyeonggi-do Province were 18 (37.5%) in September, 14 (29.2%) in August, and eight (16.7%) in October. The proportion was 83.3%. It was relevant to the isolation rates of V. vulnificus in the marine environmental sources. Conclusions: Our data showed that the number of V. vulnificus infection cases could be affected by changes in the distribution of V. vulnificus due to rise the temperature of seawater in the marine environment.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2020

Migratory birds use a variety of breeding and wintering sites, and it is particularly important to understand more information on breeding and feeding sites for the conservation and management of endangered species. Black-faced spoonbills (Platalea minor) are an international endangered species distributed in East Asia. The majority of black-faced spoonbills breed on uninhabited islets off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula during the breeding season, and they are distributed in East Asia such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, southern China, Japan, and Jeju island during the winter season. In this study, we used a wild animal location tracking system to analyze and compare home ranges of three black-faced spoonbills spending the post-fledging stage in Gujido islet in Incheon and Chilsando islet in Yeonggwang each in 2015. The tree black-faced spoonbills in Guji islet showed a home range in coastal areas in Hwanghaenam-do and Gangneung-gun. The home range size (mean±SD) was estimated to be 425.49±116.95 ㎢ using 100% MCP, 43.61±18.51 ㎢ using KDE 95%, and 7.46±3.68 ㎢using KDE 50%. The tree black-faced spoonbills in Chilsando islet showed a home range in the Baeksu tidal flat and the Buan Saemangeum area with a size of 99.38±55.29 ㎢ using 100% MCP, 19.87±6.05 ㎢ using KDE 95%, and 1.16±0.53 ㎢ using KDE 50%. The figured indicated that the tree black-faced spoonbills breeding in Gujido islet had a wider home range than those breeding in Chilsando islet. During the post-fledging stage, the home ranges of black-faced spoonbills were mostly breeding in mudflats. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize human intervention, such as the construction of roads and structures and the human access, to protect the habitats during the period.