• Title/Summary/Keyword: natural ecosystems

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Changes and Prospects of Forests in Korea (우리나라 삼림의 변화와 전망)

  • Lee, Hyohyemi;Cho, Kang-Hyun;Kim, Joon-Ho
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.47 no.4
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    • pp.337-341
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    • 2014
  • The changes in the area and standing crop of forests and the understory vegetation structure of various plantations were investigated by literature survey to predict the changes in the structure of forest ecosystems of the Korean Peninsula in the future. The greater part of forest was severely destroyed in 1950's in the Korean Peninsula. The forest standing crop has been dramatically increasing since the nationwide plantation was actively performed in 1970's and 1980's in the Republic of Korea. The area of forest was incessantly decreased at the rate of $5,500ha\;yr^{-1}$. The results of regression analysis on the changes in forest standing crop of the Republic of Korea showed that the forest might approach to the maturity stage in around 2150. It was predicted that the potential natural vegetation of Quercus mongorica, Fraxinus rhynchophyllus, Prunus sargentii, etc. would establish in the plantations of Larix leptolepsis, Pinus koraiensis and Robinia pseudoacacia in the future.

Analytical Methodology of Stable Isotopes Ratios: Sample Pretreatment, Analysis and Application (안정동위원소비 분석 기법의 이해: 시료의 전처리, 분석 및 자료의 해석과 적용)

  • Kim, Min-Seob;Hwang, Jong-Yeon;Kwon, Oh-Sang;Lee, Won-Seok
    • Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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    • v.46 no.4
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    • pp.471-487
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    • 2013
  • This review paper was written to provide background information as well as future application for aquatic ecologists interested in using stable isotope. Stable isotope techniques has proved to be an extremely useful to elucidate a lot of environmental and ecological problems. Stable isotopes have been used as possible tracers to identify sources, to quantify relative inputs in a system. When utilized carefully, stable isotope tools provides apparent advantages for the scientists to find out the processes of material cycles in various environments and energy flows in natural ecosystems.

The Energy Flow and Mineral Cycles in a Zoysia japonica and a Miscanthus sinensis Ecosystem on Mt. Kwanak 7. The Cycles of Mn and Zn (관악산의 잔디와 억새 생태계에 있어서 에너지의 흐름과 무기물의 순환 7. Mn,Zn의 순환)

  • 강경미;김정석;장남기
    • Asian Journal of Turfgrass Science
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    • v.11 no.1
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    • pp.1-7
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    • 1997
  • This study was performed to find out the mineral cycles of manganese and zinc in dynamic grassland ecosystems in a steady state condition at the northwest side on Mt. Kwanak. The experimental results may be summarized on the communities of a Zoysia japonica and a Miscanthus sincnsis as follows. As compared with some properties of the surface soils among two semi-natural grasslands, manganese and zinc was greater quantity in a Miscanthus sincnsis than in a Zoysia japonica on Mt. Kwana For the case of steady procluction and release, the ratio of annual mineral production to the amount accumulated on the top of mineral soil in a steady state provides the estimates of release constant k. The release constants of Mn and Zn of the litter were 0.19 and 0. 14 in the Zoysia japon- ica grassland, and were 0.44 and 0.41 in a Miscanthus sincnsis grassland, respectively. The halftimes of Mn and Zn required for the release or accumulation of the litter on the grassland were 3. 65 and 4.95 years in the Zoysia japonica, and were 1.57 and 1.69 years in the Miscanthus sincnsis, respectively. The amounts of annual cycles for Mn and Zn in the grassland ecosystem under the steady-state conditions were 58.60 and 21.46 mg /$m^2$ in a Zoysia japonica, and were 372.12 and 321.49 ing /m$^2$ in a Miscanthus sincnsis grassland. Key words: Zoysia japonica. Miscanthus sincnsis, Mt. Kwanak, Manganese, Zinc, Mineral cycles.

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A Comparative Study on Protected Area Management in South Korea, Japan and China (한·일·중 3국의 보호지역 관리 비교연구)

  • Lee, Min-Ju;Lee, Gwan-Gyu;Sung, Hyun-Chan;Lee, Dong-Kun;Lee, Hyun-Woo;Kim, Joon-Soon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.71-82
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    • 2013
  • This study has been carried out with the purpose of coming up with suggestions for designation of domestic protection areas and improvement of their management through a comparative analysis of the systems of management of the protection areas in South Korea, Japan and China. Starting with the designation of natural reserves in 1962, South Korea has prepared legal systems for preserving ecosystems and biodiversity, while continuing to designate protected areas. As the state has so far monopolized the designation and management of all South Korean protection areas that take up 10.8% of its entire land area (as of Dec. 2011), with such persisting issues as multiple designations of one and the same area for protection, overlapping management authorities, and management of privately owned land in the protection areas. In Japan, which has protected area sizes and relevant legal systems similar to those in South Korea, the state provides the basic framework for management, while delegating most of the duties related to direct operation and management to specific municipalities. China, with an integrated administrative management of protected areas, has related government offices and municipalities responsible for the designation and management of individual protected areas. South Korea needs to provide a legally based support system that would further enhance the value of areal protection and contribute to the promotion of local economy and community.

Antioxidant Effect of Tropical Seaweed Pylaiella littoralis Extracts Collected from Chuuk Lagoon in Federated States of Micronesia (마이크로네시아에 서식하는 해조류 Pylaiella littoralis 추출물의 항산화 효과)

  • Ye, Bo-Ram;Jang, Ji-Yi;Kwon, Young-Kyung;Jeon, Seon-Mi;Jeong, Joo-Yeong;Kang, Do-Hyung;Oh, Chul-Hong;Kim, Ji-Hyung;Affan, Abu;Hyun, Jung-Ho;Heo, Soo-Jin
    • Ocean and Polar Research
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    • v.34 no.3
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    • pp.297-304
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    • 2012
  • Pylaiella littoralis was collected in the Chuuk lagoon of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The FSM has a variety of coral reef ecosystems, which provide essential materials, such as minerals, vitamins, essential amino acids, for marine organisms. In this study, the antioxidant activities of ethanol and enzymatic extracts of P. littoralis were evaluated by measuring their scavenging activities on DPPH free radical, Alkyl radical, hydroxyl radical and cell viability. The enzymatic extracts were hydrolyzed to prepare water soluble extracts by using five carbohydrate degrading enzymes (AMG, Celluclast, Termamyl, Ultraflo, and Viscozyme) and five proteases (Alcalase, Flavourzyme, Kojizyme, Neutrase, and Protamex). As a result, the enzymatic extracts prepared by Flavourzyme, Ultraflo, and Kojizyme exhibited the greatest effects in DPPH free radical, alkyl radical scavenging activity and cell viability. Also, these enzymatic extracts had a higher antioxidant effect then commercial antioxidants in DPPH free radical and Alkyl radical scavenging activity. This study suggests that P. littoralis might be a useful source of natural antioxidants for the development of dietary supplements.

Spatial and Temporal Aspects of Phytoplankton Blooms in Complex Ecosystems Off the Korean Coast from Satellite Ocean Color Observations

  • Ahn, Yu-Hwan;Shanmugam, Palanisamy;Chang, Kyung-Il;Moon, Jeong-Eon;Ryu, Joo-Hyung
    • Ocean Science Journal
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    • v.40 no.2
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    • pp.67-78
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    • 2005
  • Complex physical, chemical and biological interactions off the Korean coast created several striking patterns in the phytoplankton blooms, which became conspicuous during the measurements of ocean color from space. This study concentrated on analyzing the spatial and temporal aspects of phytoplankton chlorophyll variability in these areas using an integrated dataset from a Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), Advanced Very High Resolution (AVHRR) sensor, and Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) sensor. The results showed that chlorophyll concentrations were elevated in coastal and open ocean regions, with strong summer and fall blooms, which appeared to spread out in most of the enclosed bays and neighboring waters due to certain oceanographic processes. The chlorophyll concentration was observed to range between 3 and $54\;mg\;m^{-3}$ inside Jin-hae Bay and adjacent coastal bays and 0.5 and $8\;mg\;m^{-3}$ in the southeast sea offshore waters, this gradual decrease towards oceanic waters suggested physical transports of phytoplankton blooms from the shallow shelves to slope waters through the influence of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) along the Tsushima Strait. Horizontal distribution of potential temperature $(\theta)$ and salinity (S) of water off the southeastern coast exhibited cold and low saline surface water $(\theta and warm and high saline subsurface water $({\theta}>12^{\circ}C; S>34.4)$ at 75dBar, corroborating TWC intrusion along the Tsushima Strait. An eastward branch of this current was called the East Korean Warm Current (EKWC), tracked with the help of CTD data and satellite-derived sea surface temperature, which often influenced the dynamics of mesoscale anticyclonic eddy fields off the Korean east coast during the summer season. The process of such mesoscale anticyclonic eddy features might have produced interior upwelling that could have shoaled and steepened the nutricline, enhancing phytoplankton population by advection or diffusion of nutrients in the vicinity of Ulleungdo in the East Sea.

Take-all of Wheat and Natural Disease Suppression: A Review

  • Kwak, Youn-Sig;Weller, David M.
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
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    • v.29 no.2
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    • pp.125-135
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    • 2013
  • In agro-ecosystems worldwide, some of the most important and devastating diseases are caused by soil-borne necrotrophic fungal pathogens, against which crop plants generally lack genetic resistance. However, plants have evolved approaches to protect themselves against pathogens by stimulating and supporting specific groups of beneficial microorganisms that have the ability to protect either by direct inhibition of the pathogen or by inducing resistance mechanisms in the plant. One of the best examples of protection of plant roots by antagonistic microbes occurs in soils that are suppressive to take-all disease of wheat. Take-all, caused by Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, is the most economically important root disease of wheat worldwide. Take-all decline (TAD) is the spontaneous decline in incidence and severity of disease after a severe outbreak of take-all during continuous wheat or barley monoculture. TAD occurs worldwide, and in the United States and The Netherlands it results from a build-up of populations of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (2,4-DAPG)-producing fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. during wheat monoculture. The antibiotic 2,4-DAPG has a broad spectrum of activity and is especially active against the take-all pathogen. Based on genotype analysis by repetitive sequence-based-PCR analysis and restriction fragment length polymorphism of phlD, a key 2,4-DAPG biosynthesis gene, at least 22 genotypes of 2,4-DAPG producing fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. have been described worldwide. In this review, we provide an overview of G. graminis var. tritici, the take-all disease, Pseudomonas biocontrol agents, and mechanism of disease suppression.

Projected Spatial-Temporal changes in carbon reductions of Soil and Vegetation in South Korea under Climate Change, 2000-2100 (기후변화에 따른 식생과 토양에 의한 탄소변화량 공간적 분석)

  • Lee, Dong-Kun;Park, Chan;Oh, Young-Chool
    • Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
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    • v.16 no.4
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    • pp.109-116
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    • 2010
  • Climate change is known to affect both natural and managed ecosystems, and will likely impact on the terrestrail carbon balance. This paper reports the effects of climate change on spatial-temporal changes in carbon reductions in South Korea's during 2000-2100. Future carbon (C) stock distributions are simulated for the same period using various spatial data sets including land cover, net primary production(NPP) and leaf area index (LAI) obtained from MODIS(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), and climate data from Data Assimilation Office(DAO) and Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA). This study attempts to predict future NPP using multiple linear regression and to model dependence of soil respiration on soil temperature. Plants store large amounts of carbon during the growing periods. During 2030-2100, Carbon accumulation in vegetation was increased to $566{\sim}610gC/m^2$/year owing to climate change. On the other hand, soil respiration is a key ecosystem process that releases carbon from the soil in the form of carbon dioxide. The estimated soil respiration spatially ranged from $49gC/m^2$/year to $231gC/m^2$/year in the year of 2010, and correlating well with the reference value. This results include Spatial-Temporal C reduction variation caused by climate change. Therefore this results is more comprehensive than previous results. The uncertainty in this study is still large, but it can be reduced if a detailed map becomes available.

Biodiversity of Epigeic Spider Community in Pear Orchards Managed using Different Farming Methods (배 과원의 재배형태별 토양성 거미군집의 생물다양성)

  • Song, Jang-Hoon;Seo, Ho-Jin;Im, Jae-Seong;Choi, Eu-Ddum;Kim, Seung-Tae
    • Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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    • v.27 no.4
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    • pp.463-477
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    • 2019
  • This study was conducted to compare the community structure and biodiversity of epigeic spiders between pear fields cultivated by integrated pest management (IPM) and organic methods. This is the first study of this kind to be conducted in Korea. Eighty-four spider species from 22 families were identified among the collected 2,489 arthropods, with 754 individuals being sampled from IPM fields and 1,735 individuals from organic fields. Generally, Theridiidae, Linyphiidae, Lycosidae, Agelenidae, Gnaphosidae, and Salticidae were the dominant spider families in the pear orchard regardless of the farming methods, and species richness and abundance were higher in organic fields than in IPM fields. The dominant species were the wolf spiders (Lycosidae) and stone spiders (Gnaphosidae), and their cumulative abundance was 70.7% in IPM fields and 72.7% in organic fields. The community structure between organic and IPM fields was heterogeneous, with a 45% similarity level. Biodiversity, species richness, abundance, and species diversity index were higher in organic fields than in IPM fields, and significantly different between the farming methods. Seasonal fluctuations in biodiversity were similar in both IPM and organic fields. The species richness and species diversity index increased and the abundance decreased in the second half of the cultivation period. This study on the community structure and biodiversity of epigeic spiders, which form one of the most important predator groups, will provide principal ecological and faunistic information required to maintain the biodiversity of useful arthropods in agricultural ecosystems and help implement sustainable agriculture based on the active use of natural enemies.

Analysis of water purification in the FWS wetland for Agreculture Area (농업지역 내 FWS 인공습지의 수질정화효율 분석)

  • Kang, Chang-Guk;Maniquiz, Marla C.;Son, Young-Gyu;Kim, Lee-Hyung
    • Journal of Wetlands Research
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.39-47
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    • 2010
  • Annually, the scale of agricultural areas in Korea were being reduced as the lands were converted to other land uses. While the rate of productivity were either being maintained or increased, the pollution load from these areas were still greater in magnitude. Although the levels of pollutant concentration released in the agricultural watersheds were minimal, the combined quantities mostly from diffuse sources were high. As a consequence, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in Korea adopted the use of free water surface (FWS) flow constructed wetlands to reduce the pollutant loadings emitted from agricultural watersheds for the improvement of water quality and protection of aquatic ecosystems. In this study, a constructed wetland treating stream water in an agricultural watershed was monitored since April 2009 subsequent to its completion in December 2008. Satisfactory performance was achieved for TSS, BOD and TP with 26%, 28% and 39% pollutant removal rates, respectively. In addition, the effluent water quality was improved and achieved compliance the national water quality criteria. Results of this study can be useful to establish design parameters and employ proper removal techniques of similar natural treatment systems for future implementation in the country.