• Title/Summary/Keyword: natural ecosystems

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Characterization of Forest Fire Emissions and Their Possible Toxicological Impacts on Human Health

  • Kibet, Joshua;Bosire, Josephate;Kinyanjui, Thomas;Lang'at, Moses;Rono, Nicholas
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.33 no.2
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    • pp.113-121
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    • 2017
  • In flight particulate matter particularly emissions generated by incomplete combustion processes has become a subject of global concern due to the health problems and environmental impacts associated with them. This has compelled most countries to set standards for coarse and fine particles due to their conspicuous impacts on environment and public health. This contribution therefore explores forest fire emissions and how its particulates affects air quality, damage to vegetation, water bodies and biological functions as architects for lung diseases and other degenerative illnesses such as oxidative stress and aging. Soot was collected from simulated forest fire using a clean glass surface and carefully transferred into amber vials for analysis. Volatile components of soot were collected over 10 mL dichloromethane and analyzed using a QTOF Premier-Water Corp Liquid Chromatography hyphenated to a mass selective detector (MSD), and Gas Chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). To characterize the size and surface morphology of soot, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used. The characterization of molecular volatiles from simulated forest fire emissions revealed long chain compounds including octadec-9-enoic acid, octadec-6-enoic acid, cyclotetracosane, cyclotetradecane, and a few aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene and naphthalene). Special classes of organics (dibenzo-p-dioxin and 2H-benzopyran) were also detected as minor products. Dibenzo-p-dioxin for instance in chlorinated form is one of the deadliest environmental organic toxins. The average particulate size of emissions using SEM was found to be $11.51{\pm}4.91{\mu}m$. This study has shown that most of the emissions from simulated forest fire fall within $PM_{10}$ particulate size. The molecular by-products of forest fire and particulate emissions may be toxic to both human and natural ecosystems, and are possible precursors for various respiratory ailments and cancers. The burning of a forest by natural disasters or man-made fires results in the destruction of natural habitats and serious air pollution.

Diagnosis of Vegetation for the Ecological Rehabilitation of Streams - The Case of the Namhan River - (하천의 생태적 복원을 위한 식생학적 진단 - 남한강을 중심으로 -)

  • Myung, Hyun;Kwon, Sang-Zoon;Kim, Chang-Hwan
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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    • v.30 no.5
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    • pp.98-106
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    • 2002
  • This study was designed to present a river model with the aim of restoring the ecosystem and improving the landscape along the urban rivers on the basin of the Namhanl river, a core life channel for the National Capital regin. The revelation of botanical status, transition trend and correlation of plants might lead to providing the urban river restoration projects and ecological river formation projects with basic data for a model of ideal aquatic ecology and landscape. The outcomes of this study could be summed up as follows: 1. The plant communities of river flora found on the basin of the Namhan river could be categorized largely into 39 plant communities 2. Most diverse plants were distributed in the rivers lower reaches such as Unsim-ri where the protected zone of Paldang reservoir for city water borders the body of Jodae swamp where natural streams flow nearby. 3. One of the greatest threats to the biomass of the River Namhan is that the communities of such invasive alien plants as Panicum dichotomiflorum and Ambrosia artemisiifolia var. elatior dominate most parts of the area, a fact that has resulted in a reduced variety of plants and will, sooner or later, be likely to cause an ecological imbalance in the hitherto healthy Aquatic plant life. It is highly advisable to gradually diversify the species of trees and to return the plants bark to their original state since, besides the naturalized plants, plantations afforested with Erigeron canadensis and Erigeron annuus stocks in buckwheat field, Robinia Pseudo-accacia in riverside forest, Pinus rigida in terrestrial forest on the river basin and Larix leptolepis are anticipated to act as interceptors of normal migrations of the fluvial and terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, it seems also desirable to continue to explore the relationship between fluvial and terrestrial ecologies with the purpose of building up a model of natural streams in urban areas based on the surveyed factors for plant life, soil and landscape and, moreover, on the forecasting for overall influences derived from the rotation upon the ecosystem.

Development of Small HSSF Constructed Wetland for Urban Green space (도시내 녹지공간 조성을 위한 소규모 HSSF 인공습지 개발)

  • Lee, Jeong-Young;Kang, Chang-Guk;Gorme, Joan B.;Kim, Soon-Seok;Kim, Lee-Hyung
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.199-208
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    • 2011
  • Scarcity of water worldwide, increasing greenhouse gas emissions, increased energy consumption due to the Earth is threatened. Existing in the process of urban planning and development of forests, rivers and other natural ecosystems have been destroyed and that there was increased impervious pavement. Impervious pavement increase water circulation system to destroy the natural and urban water retention, infiltration and decreased evaporation. Nonpoint source pollution(NPS) occurs when rainfall impervious pavement and appeal directly to the river water inflow is adversely impacts of the situation. In this study, rainfall occurs impervious pavement NPS pollution reduction and temperature increase due to the increase in urban areas, and to solve heat island phenomenon is to develop small HSSF constructed wetland technology. The small HSSF constructed wetland sedimentation, filtration, adsorption, absorption by vegetation, including such mechanisms. Techniques for verification of the pilot-scale test was conducted. In the future domestic urban heat island phenomenon and restore the natural water cycle for the facilities will be used as a basis to develop.

Cesium removal in water using magnetic materials ; A review (자성체 물질을 이용한 수중의 세슘제거 동향)

  • Yeo, Wooseok;Cho, Byungrae;Kim, Jong Kyu
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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    • v.21 no.6
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    • pp.395-408
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    • 2018
  • Even after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, the rate of production of electric energy using nuclear energy is increasing, but there is a great danger such as the radioactive waste produced when using nuclear power, the catastrophic accident of nuclear power plant, and connection with nuclear weapons. In particular, Cs present in the ionic form of alkaline elements has a long half-life (30.17 years) because it is readily absorbed by the organism and emits intense gamma rays, thus presenting a serious radiation hazard. Therefore, it must be completely removed before it can be released into the natural ecosystem, because it can adversely affect not only humans but also natural ecosystems. Many adsorbents and ion exchangers which have high Cs removal efficiency have been used in recent years to completely separate and remove by self separation in water. Many adsorbents and ion exchangers which have high Cs removal efficiency have been used in recent years to completely separate and remove by self separation in water. In addition, researches have been doing to synthesize magnetic materials with adsorbents such as HCF and PB, and it shows a great effect in the removal rate of Cs present in wastewater or the maximum Cs adsorption amount. In particular, when a magnetic material was applied, excellent results were obtained in which only Cs was selectively removed from other cations. However, new problems such as applicability in the sea where Cs is directly released, applicability in various pH ranges, and failure to preserve the magnetizing force possessed by the magnetic body have been found. However, researches using ferromagnetic field with stronger magnetic properties than those of magnetic bodies is considered to be insufficient. Therefore, it is considered that if the researches combining the ferromagnetic field with the magnetization ability and functional adsorbents more actively, the radioactive material Cs which adversely affects the natural ecosystem can be effectively removed.

A Study on the Environmental Worldviews of Middle School Students (중학교 학생의 환경적 세계관 조사 연구)

  • Kew-Cheol Shim
    • Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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    • v.44 no.1
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    • pp.1-9
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    • 2024
  • The purpose of this study is to examine middle school students' environmental worldviews, focusing on the following: 'Technocentric (TC)', 'Ecocentric (EC)', and 'Sustainable Development (SD)' environmental worldviews. The instrument surveying the worldviews of middle school students comprised two components: 'natural environment' and 'human action & environment'. The 'natural environment' component consisted of four categories. These were the value of humans in nature, the value of natural environments, nature reigned by humans, and the equilibrium sustaining power of environmental ecosystems. The 'human action & environment' component also consisted of four categories. These were the depletion of energy & resources, technology development, economic growth, and the severity of environmental problems. The subjects were 376 middle school students (152 males and 224 females), who were selected from 10 middle schools, and they answered question items by themselves through an online survey system. They displayed more 'Sustainable Development environmental worldviews' and 'Ecocentric environmental worldviews' than 'Technocentric environmental worldviews'. Furthermore, the female students displayed more 'Sustainable Development environmental worldviews' than the males. Hence, it is necessary to implement educational approaches that address and relate to the sustainable development environmental worldviews of middle school students.

The Analysis of Vegetation Characteristics According to Revetment Structure at Rural Small Streams (농촌지역 소하천의 제방형태에 따른 식생특성 분석연구)

  • Kim, Mi-Heui;Kang, Banghun;Kong, Min-Jae;Jeong, Myeong-Cheol;Son, Jin-Kwan
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.359-369
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    • 2015
  • Stream ecosystems are highly valued natural resources, however, stream environments are currently under threat in several respects. We evaluated vegetation and ecological characteristics according to different revetment types. The distribution of vegetation differed with revetment type, with a 42~45 taxa found in natural revetments, and 23~38 taxa in vertical revetments. Thus, natural revetments host more diverse vegetation than vertical revetments. We also found more plants belonging to the families Labiatae and Cyperaceae growing in natural revetments than in vertical revetments. We proposed that habitat space be apportioned to introduce annual plants as part of stream restoration projects. And, we identified 7 families and 18 taxa of naturalized plants, majority taxa were either biennial or perennial. Moreover, naturalized ratio was higher in vertical(14.3%) than natural(12.1%), we proposed a plan to promote and improve natural streams and revetments. Furthermore, we applied a waterfront evaluation method developed by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the USDA-NRCS, which confirmed that stream health can be improved in most regions by controlling naturalized plants and ensuring shrub and tree growth. We adopted a new method to remove naturalized plants and establish natural revetments to ensure shrub and tree growth to aid in small-stream restoration and improvement. In future studies, we hope to develop methods for small-stream restoration projects in rural areas.

Tree Growth and Ecosystem Conditions of Docheon Forest (Natural Monument No. 514) in Docheon-ri, Yeongdeok - Focusing on Plant Ecosystems - (천연기념물 제514호 영덕 도천리 도천숲의 생태계 현황 및 수목 생육 특성 - 식물생태계 현황을 중심으로 -)

  • Kim, Dong Wook;Hur, Bog Su;Lee, Seung Joo;Kim, Hyo Jeong
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.44 no.1
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    • pp.122-137
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    • 2011
  • The purpose of this study was to present the characteristics of tree growth and the status of the ecosystem in Yeongdeok Docheon-ri Docheon forest, which was designated as Natural Monument No. 514. Results showed that most of the soil properties were generally within desirable levels except for some properties. The forest was composed of 503 trees. Major trees included Zelkova serrata, Celtis sinensis, Cornus walteri, Diospyros lotus, Hemiptelea davidii, and Evodia daniellii. In particular, trees such as Zelkova serrata, Celtis sinensis, and Cornus walteri showed D.B.H ranging from 10cm to 70cm. These trees appeared to be major tree species since the beginning of Docheon forest's existence. The wild birds observed from the site were from 18 families, 20 species, and 95 individuals. Also were found 1 mammal species, 1 reptile species, and 1 amphibian species. A dead Aix galericulata (designated Natural Monument No. 327) was found in the forest. The annual tree diameter growth of the sample trees was 2.3mm per year on average. The average age of the overstory trees was approximately 101 years, and the oldest tree was estimated to be 300~400 years old.

A Mitochondiral Cytochrome Oxidase I gene based identification of Corbicula ssp. commercially available in South Korea (CO-I 유전자 기반 국내 유통 Corbicula 속 패류의 종 동정)

  • Park, So Young;Kang, Se Won;Hwang, Hee Ju;Chung, Jong Min;Song, Dae Kwon;Park, Hong Seog;Han, Yeon Soo;Lee, Jun-Sang;Kang, Jung-Ha;Lee, Yong Seok
    • The Korean Journal of Malacology
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    • v.32 no.2
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    • pp.127-131
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    • 2016
  • The natives of the genus Corbicula have shown worldwide dispersion in recent times, which has caused great ecological and economic impacts on the introduced ecosystems. The species reported from the genus have been consumed as food and explored for medicine with pharmacological activity. Consequently, the demand of Corbicula sp. in the South Korean domestic market has increased and so also it's associated import to the country. However, due to the absence of identification keys of imported Corbicula, the market is facing confronting situations. We hypothesized that the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I gene (CO-I) based molecular profiling could be a necessary technique for identification of Corbicula sp. in the South Korea domestic market. The genetic analysis identified both Corbicula japonica and Corbicula fluminea from the market foods. C. japonica and C. fluminea are inhabitants in Korea, but C. fluminea production has decreased in Seomjingang river basin. Therefore, C. fluminea identified from this study, is expected to be imported from China and would have a mixed sales in Seomjingang river side basin.

Evaluation of carbon flux in vegetative bay based on ecosystem production and CO2 exchange driven by coastal autotrophs

  • Kim, Ju-Hyoung;Kang, Eun Ju;Kim, Keunyong;Jeong, Hae Jin;Lee, Kitack;Edwards, Matthew S.;Park, Myung Gil;Lee, Byeong-Gweon;Kim, Kwang Young
    • ALGAE
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    • v.30 no.2
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    • pp.121-137
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    • 2015
  • Studies on carbon flux in the oceans have been highlighted in recent years due to increasing awareness about climate change, but the coastal ecosystem remains one of the unexplored fields in this regard. In this study, the dynamics of carbon flux in a vegetative coastal ecosystem were examined by an evaluation of net and gross ecosystem production (NEP and GEP) and $CO_2$ exchange rates (net ecosystem exchange, NEE). To estimate NEP and GEP, community production and respiration were measured along different habitat types (eelgrass and macroalgal beds, shallow and deep sedimentary, and deep rocky shore) at Gwangyang Bay, Korea from 20 June to 20 July 2007. Vegetative areas showed significantly higher ecosystem production than the other habitat types. Specifically, eelgrass beds had the highest daily GEP ($6.97{\pm}0.02g\;C\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$), with a large amount of biomass and high productivity of eelgrass, whereas the outer macroalgal vegetation had the lowest GEP ($0.97{\pm}0.04g\;C\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$). In addition, macroalgal vegetation showed the highest daily NEP ($3.31{\pm}0.45g\;C\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$) due to its highest P : R ratio (2.33). Furthermore, the eelgrass beds acted as a $CO_2$ sink through the air-seawater interface according to NEE data, with a carbon sink rate of $0.63mg\;C\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$. Overall, ecosystem production was found to be extremely high in the vegetated systems (eelgrass and macroalgal beds), which occupy a relatively small area compared to the unvegetated systems according to our conceptual diagram of a carbon-flux box model. These results indicate that the vegetative ecosystems showed significantly high capturing efficiency of inorganic carbon through coastal primary production.

Analysis on Dynamics of Korea Startup Ecosystems Based on Topic Modeling (토픽 모델링을 활용한 한국의 창업생태계 트렌드 변화 분석)

  • Heeyoung Son;Myungjong Lee;Youngjo Byun
    • Knowledge Management Research
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    • v.23 no.4
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    • pp.315-338
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    • 2022
  • In 1986, Korea established legal systems to support small and medium-sized start-ups, which becomes the main pillars of national development. The legal systems have stimulated start-up ecosystems to have more than 1 million new start-up companies founded every year during the past 30 years. To analyze the trend of Korea's start-up ecosystem, in this study, we collected 1.18 million news articles from 1991 to 2020. Then, we extracted news articles that have the keywords "start-up", "venture", and "start-up". We employed network analysis and topic modeling to analyze collected news articles. Our analysis can contribute to analyzing the government policy direction shown in the history of start-up support policy. Specifically, our analysis identifies the dynamic characteristics of government influenced by external environmental factors (e.g., society, economy, and culture). The results of our analysis suggest that the start-up ecosystems in Korea have changed and developed mainly by the government policies for corporation governance, industrial development planning, deregulation, and economic prosperity plan. Our frequency keyword analysis contributes to understanding entrepreneurial productivity attributed to activities among the networked components in industrial ecosystems. Our analyses and results provide practitioners and researchers with practical and academic implications that can help to establish dedicated support policies through forecast tasks of the economic environment surrounding the start-ups. Korean entrepreneurial productivity has been empowered by growing numbers of large companies in the mobile phone industry. The spectrum of large companies incorporates content startups, platform providers, online shopping malls, and youth-oriented start-ups. In addition, economic situational factors contribute to the growth of Korean entrepreneurial productivity the economic, which are related to the global expansions of the mobile industry, and government efforts to foster start-ups. Our research is methodologically implicative. We employ natural language processes for 30 years of media articles, which enables more rigorous analysis compared to the existing studies which only observe changes in government and policy based on a qualitative manner.