• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.112 no.1
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• pp.83-92
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• 2023

This study was established to investigate the site environment of mixed forests in Korea and to estimate the growth and yield of stands using national forest resources inventory data. The growth of mixed forests was derived by applying the Chapman-Richards model with diameter at breast height (DBH), height, and cross-sectional area at breast height (BA), and the yield of mixed forests was derived by applying stepwise regression analysis with factors such as cross-sectional area at breast height, site index (SI), age, and standing tree density per ha. Mixed forests were found to be growing in various locations. By climate zone, more than half of them were distributed in the temperate central region. By altitude, about 62% were distributed at 101-400 m. The fitness indexes (FI) for the growth model of mixed forests, which is the independent variable of stand age, were 0.32 for the DBH estimation, 0.22 for the height estimation, and 0.18 for the basal area at breast height estimation, which were somewhat low. However, considering the graph and residual between the estimated and measured values of the estimation equation, the use of this estimation model is not expected to cause any particular problems. The yield prediction model of mixed forests was derived as follows: Stand volume =-162.6859+6.3434 ∙ BA+9.9214 ∙ SI+0.7271 ∙ Age, which is a step- by-step input of basal area at breast height (BA), site index (SI), and age among several growth factors, and the determination coefficient (R²) of the equation was about 96%. Using our optimal growth and yield prediction model, a makeshift stand yield table was created. This table of mixed forests was also used to derive the rotation of the highest production in volume.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.17-28
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• 2022

We evaluated the effect of CO₂ offsetting by estimating changes in carbon uptake under various forest management scenarios and proposed forest management strategies to achieve carbon neutrality. Paju and Goseong, which have relatively large forest areas but different industrial characteristics, were selected for the study sites. The current state of forest distribution was analyzed using forest type maps and aerial photographs, and the amount of carbon uptake was calculated using the equation presented by the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and the national emission/absorption coefficients from the Korea National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report. As of 2015, the forest carbon absorption in Paju and Goseong was 49,931 t/yr and 94,225 t/yr, respectively, and the annual carbon absorption per unit area was 2.28 t/ha/yr and 2.16 t/ha/yr. Under the forest management scenarios, the annual maximum carbon absorption per unit area is estimated to increase to 5.68 t/ha/yr in Paju and 4.22 t/ha/yr in Goseong, and this absorption would increase further if urban forests were additionally created. Even if the current forests of Paju and Goseong are maintained as they are, emissions from electricity use can be sufficiently offset. However, by applying appropriate forest management strategies, emissions from sectors other than electricity use could be offset. This study can be applied to the establishment of carbon absorption strategies in the forest sector to achieve carbon neutrality.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.109 no.3
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• pp.291-299
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to propose the most cost-effective sampling method, by analyzing the cost of forest resource investigation per sampling method for the planned harvesting area of in Chunyang-myeon, Byeonghwa-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea. For this study, three sampling methods were selected: random sampling method, systematic sampling method, and line transect method. For each method, sample size, hourly wage, number of sample points, survey time, travel time, the sample error rate of the estimated average volume, and the desired sampling error rate were used to calculate the cost of forest resource inventories. Thus, 10 sampling points were extracted for each sampling method, and the factors required for cost analysis were calculated via a field survey. As a result, the field survey cost per ha using the random sampling method was found to be have the lowest cost, regardless of the desired sampling error rate, followed by the systematic sampling method, and the line transect method.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.111 no.4
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• pp.502-510
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• 2022

In the national greenhouse gas inventory, a settlements category has never been included owing to the lack of activity data. Therefore, this study was conducted to obtain basic data for estimating biomass carbon storage in settlements. Nondestructive stem analysis with a laser dendrometer was performed on four major street tree species (Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Prunus armeniaca, Ginkgo biloba, and Acer buergerianum) in Wonju city, South Korea. Allometric equations of the aboveground volume were developed using five models, and allometric equations of crown area were developed with diameter at breast height (DBH) as an independent variable. The best performing allometric equations were aD²+bD+c for M.glyptostroboides and G. biloba, aD+bD² for P. armeniaca, and a+bD² for A. buergerianum. Regarding the allometric equations of crown area with DBH as an independent variable, G. biloba and A. buergerianum exhibited low coefficients of determination (R²), i.e., < 0.364, whereas M. glyptostroboides and P. armeniaca exhibited satisfactory R² values, i.e., > 0.767, probably due to different street tree management practices. The allometricequations in this study will support the carbon inventory of settlements and urban tree monitoring in management practices.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.68-74
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• 2012

A total of 45 Pinus sylvestnis var. mongolica trees from 9 plots in northeast China were destructively sampled to develop aboveground prediction equations for inventory application. Sampling plots covered a range of stand ages (12-47-years-old) and densities (450-3,840/ha). The distribution of aboveground biomass of whole-trees and tree component (stems, branches and leaves) of individual trees were studied and 4 equations were developed as functions of diameter at breast height (DBH), total height (HT). All the equations have good estimation effect with high prediction precision over 90%. Forest biomass was estimated based on the individual biomass prediction equations. It was found forest biomass of all organs increased with the increasing of stand age and density. And the period of 45-50 years was the suitable harvest time for Pinus sylvesris plantation.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.127-137
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• 2014

The main purpose of this study is to estimate tradial growth response and to predict the potential spatial distribution of major tree species(Pinus densiflora, Quercus mongolica, Quercus spp., Castanea crenata and Larix kaempferi) in South Korea, considering climate and topographic factors. To estimate radial growth response, $5^{th}$ National Forest Inventory data, Topographic Wetness Index (TWI) and climatic data such as temperature and precipitation were used. Also, to predict the potential spatial distribution of major tree species, RCP 8.5 Scenario was applied. By our analysis, it was found that the rising temperature would have negative impacts on radial growth of Pinus densiflora, Castanea crenata and Larix kaempferi, and positive impacts on that of Quercus mongolica, Quercus spp.. Incremental precipitation would have positive effects on radial growth of Pinus densiflora and Quercus mongolica. When radial growth response considered by RCP 8.5 scenario, it was found that the radial growth of Pinus densiflora, Castanea crenata and Larix kaempferi would be more vulnerable than that of Quercus mongolica and Quercus spp. to temperature. According to the climate change scenario, Quercus spp. including Quercus mongolica would be expected to have greater abundance than its present status in South Korea. The result of this study would be helpful for understanding the impact of climatic factors on tree growth and for predicting the distribution of major tree species by climate change in South Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.88 no.1
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• pp.63-72
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• 1999

In this study, a relational database program to manage the data involved in forest planning was developed in such a way to simulate the whole process of 'Younglim' planning in Korean National Forest System. Using the pull-down menu system of various functions required for developing 'Younglim' plan, the database program can handle the data of forest inventory, 10-year working plans, annual working plans and the history of forest operations automatically and simultaneously. The model was designed to run under the environment of Korean version of Windows 95. Visual Basic 5.0 was used as the basic tool for programming and Microsoft ACCESS as the basic engine of the database system. In this paper, the process of designing the structure of database program following the process of 'Younglim' plan and the structure of the model are discussed. In addition, the functions of menu system are presented using the screen-mode output windows of the model.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.9
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• pp.793-801
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• 2022

This study was carried out to provide basic data for logical forest management by developing a site index curve reflecting the current growth characteristics of Cryptomeria japonica stands in Korea. The height growth model was developed using the Chapman-Richards, Schumacher, Gompertz, and Weibull algebraic difference equations, which are widely used in growth estimation, for data collected from 119 plots through the 7th National Forest Inventory and stand survey. The Chapman-Richards equation, with the highest model fit, was selected as the best equation for the height growth model, and a site index curve was developed using the guide curve method. To compare the developed site index curve with that on the yield table, paired T-tests with a significance level of 5% were performed. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between the site index curve values at all ages, and the p-value was smaller after the reference age than before. Therefore, the site index curve developed through this study reflects the characteristics of the changing growth environment of C. japonica stands and can be used in accordance with the site index curve on the current yield table. Thus, this information can be considered valuable as basic data for reasonable forest management.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.101 no.3
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• pp.374-380
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• 2012

The k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) technique is popularly applied to assess forest resources at the county level and to provide its spatial information by combining large area forest inventory data and remote sensing data. In this study, two approaches such as distance-weighting and stratification of training dataset, were compared to improve kNN-based forest growing stock estimates. When compared with five distance weights (0 to 2 by 0.5), the accuracy of kNN-based estimates was very similar ranged ${\pm}0.6m^3/ha$ in mean deviation. The training dataset were stratified by horizontal reference area (HRA) and forest cover type, which were applied by separately and combined. Even though the accuracy of estimates by combining forest cover type and HRA- 100 km was slightly improved, that by forest cover type was more efficient with sufficient number of training data. The mean of forest growing stock based kNN with HRA-100 and stratification by forest cover type when k=7 were somewhat underestimated ($5m^3/ha$) compared to statistical yearbook of forestry at 2011.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.699-709
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• 2019

Various health and social issues related to the elderly are emerging in line with the rapid aging of the population. In particular, dementia currently has a prevalence of about 10 percent of the elderly population in South Korea, which increases financial and social burdens to not only individual patients but also their caring family. To assess the effects of participating in the forest therapy programs for dementia prevention, this study recruited participants aged 50 and above and tested their depression (Korean form of Geriatric Depression Scale; KGDS) and stress response (Modified form of Stress Response Inventory; SRI-MF), which are emotional aspects of dementia. As a result, KGDS showed a significant decrease of 3.2 points from 8.4 to 5.2 points, and SRI-MF showed a significant decrease of 7.2 points from 40 to 32.8 points, indicating a statistically significant improvement in both. In addition, participants with minor depression and high level of stress in the pretest showed statistically significant improvements in the SRI-MF for men, and the KGDS and SRI-MF for women. Furthermore, there were statistically significant improvements in KGDS for participants in their 60s and in SRI-MF for those in their 70s in terms of age, and in both KGDS and SRI-MF for participants with chronic diseases and in KGDS for participants without chronic diseases. This study confirmed the effects of forest therapy on the prevention of the emotional aspects of dementia and laid the groundwork for increasing the applicability of forest therapy by obtaining a place for dementia prevention as a field of forest therapy.