• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.235-245
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• 1979

The land utilization of Korea composed about 22.7% of arable land, 66.9% of forest land and 10.4% for the rest like a house site, road, and lake etc. The ratio of arable land is too small as compared with forest land which is occuping two-thirds of Korea. The expansion of arable land by the reclamation will solve the food problems for increasing populations. First, we have to know the exact extents and distribution of reclaimable land but the reported total extent of reclaimable land in Korea is variable according to the authority which carried out the soil survey. The different reported data of reclaimable land is owing to the method and criteria of soil survey. 840,522ha in Land Capability Survey of the Farm Land Improvement Association and 321,203ha in the Forest Land Survey by the Office of Forest was reported but the Office of Rural Development said that total reclaimable land was 1,400,540ha including grazing and fruit land. To assume the extent of reclaimable land, the soil survey method and criteria of soil survey should be considered. It can be considered that the main reasons of less in extent of reclaimable land in the other authorities than the Office of Rural Development is due to the following. The grazing land and the fruits land are not included by the Farm Land Improvement Association and only relative forest is considered by the Office of Forest. The main purpose of soil survey carried out by the Office of Rural Development is to utilize land of Korea at most. The soil characteristics and potential productivity are considered in soil survey and the reported data was based on reconnaissance soil survey. The more accurate data will be find out by the end of 1979 when the detailed soil survey will be done. In selection of cropping system and management, the soil condition should be considered, because the soil characteristics of reslaimed land is less fertile than the arable lands.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.327-333
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• 2020

BACKGROUND: Through Saemangeum development project, 283 ㎢ of new land is planned to be created and the reclaimed land of 89.7 ㎢ will be used as agricultural land. Therefore, monitoring of soil salinity is required to evaluate the suitability of the land for agricultural purposes. METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated changes of soil physico-chemical properties, including electric conductivity (EC), of the Saemangeum reclaimed tidal land (1,195 ha) from 2008 to 2017 to obtain basic data for suitable soil management of the Saemangeum reclaimed tidal land. Soil samples were collected from the sites spaced 200 meters apart from each other. Soil analysis results showed that average soil EC was 14.5 dS m-1 in 2008, and decreased to 6.5 dS m-1 in 2014 and to 0.9 dS m-1 in 2017. Accordingly, the soil area below soil EC 4.7 dS m-1 (accepted as farmable soil salinity) increased; 25.0% in 2008, 54.3% in 2014, and 96.9% in 2017. The annual decrease in soil EC was described as y = -1.5756x + 14.6 (R2= 0.96), where y = soil EC and x = elapsed years since 2008. CONCLUSION: The soil salinity have decreased to a level for cultivation of most edible crops. However, since the soil chemical properties, such as soil organic matter were inadequate for the cultivation of crops, it was suggested that management of soil fertility would be important for efficient agricultural use of Saemangeum reclaimed land.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.14-23
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• 2015

In this study, we investigated the effects of three land uses on soil properties in two soil layers; surface soil (0~15 cm) and subsoil (15~30 cm). Soil samples were collected from planted forest, barren lands and cultivated lands from different areas in Chittagong Cox's Bazar and analyzed for some physical and chemical properties. Results showed that soil textural class varied from sandy clay loam in planted forest and barren land site to sandy loam in cultivated soils. Maximum water holding capacity was higher in forest followed by barren land and the lowest in cultivated lands. At both soil depths, soils of cultivated land showed the highest values of bulk density (1.42 to $1.50g\;cm^{-3}$), followed by barren lands (1.37 to $1.46g\;cm^{-3}$) and the least (1.32 to $1.45g\;cm^{-3}$) in forest soils. Total porosity decreased with depth ranging from 40.24% to 41.53% in subsoils and from 42.04 to 43.23% in surface soil of cultivated and of planted forest sites respectively. The result further revealed that organic carbon (OC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents were higher in the planted forest soil than in other two land uses. The soils of all land uses under study are acidic in nature and the lowest pH was found in both surface and subsoils of barren land. Cultivated soil contained the highest amount of available P, Ca, Mg and K in both surface soil and subsoils. In contrast, barren site had the lowest contents of available P, Ca, Mg and K in both layers. The soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N storage were higher in planted forest than in barren and cultivated land uses.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.18-23
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• 2010

Usability of soil quality monitoring network for ascertaining soil quality changes was evaluated by analysing soil quality monitoring results. Tolerance limits of soil quality monitoring results from 1997 to 2007 were calculated and compared with Korean soil quality standards. This study determined that soil quality was changed if the upper 95% tolerance limit value was greater than the soil quality standard. Fluoride most frequently exceeded the soil quality standard and nickel, zinc, arsenic, copper, lead and cadmium were followed. Analysis on land use showed that tolerance limits of industrial land use most frequently exceeded the soil quality standards and residential, road and various land uses then frequently exceeded. Tolerance limits of land uses expecting high contaminant loads frequently exceeded the soil quality standards. This fact imply that the soil quality monitoring network generates reasonable data to represent change in Korean soil quality. This study also suggested that representative sampling from well identified points should be done to improve data reliability and accurately ascertain soil quality changes.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.128-138
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• 2018

Background: This study investigated the variation of soil organic carbon in four land cover types: natural and mixed forest, cultivated land, Eucalyptus plantation and open bush land. The study was conducted in the Birr watershed of the upper Blue Nile ('Abbay') river basin. Methods: The data was subjected to a two-way of ANOVA analysis using the general linear model (GLM) procedures of SAS. Pairwise comparison method was also used to assess the mean difference of the land uses and depth levels depending on soil properties. Total of 148 soil samples were collected from two depth layers: 0-10 and 10-20 cm. Results: The results showed that overall mean soil organic carbon stock was higher under natural and mixed forest land use compared with other land use types and at all depths ($29.62{\pm}1.95Mg\;C\;ha^{-1}$), which was 36.14, 28.36, and 27.63% more than in cultivated land, open bush land, and Eucalyptus plantation, respectively. This could be due to greater inputs of vegetation and reduced decomposition of organic matter. On the other hand, the lowest soil organic carbon stock under cultivated land could be due to reduced inputs of organic matter and frequent tillage which encouraged oxidation of organic matter. Conclusions: Hence, carbon concentrations and stocks under natural and mixed forest and Eucalyptus plantation were higher than other land use types suggesting that two management strategies for improving soil conditions in the watershed: to maintain and preserve the forest in order to maintain carbon storage in the future and to recover abandoned crop land and degraded lands by establishing tree plantations to avoid overharvesting in natural forests.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1314-1319
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• 2011

This study was carried out to investigate the surface soil organic carbon fractions affecting by different land use types, including needle-leaf forest (FN), broad-leaf forest (FB), pasture, annual upland cropping land (upland), and paddy rice land (paddy). We chose seven regions across Korean inland, considering sea level altitude, and measured soil organic carbon content and physico-chemical properties such as bulk density at a depth of 0~15 cm using core samples in April for the each land use type. In addition, labile organic carbon fractions in soil including light fraction and hot water extractable carbon were investigated. From this study, organic carbon storage (Mg C per ha) in the upper 15-cm soils was highest in FB (37.8), and decreased in the order of pasture (29.1), FN (28.8), paddy (21.9), and upland crop (19.9). In forest, more than 20% of soil organic carbon existed as light fraction, the free organic matter. Hot-water extractable carbon contents of soils in five land use types were lower than 7% of their soil organic carbon content.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.412-417
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• 2014

Soil properties and yields of red been were investigated to establish soil suitability of Korean adzuki bean at 166 farms in Korea. The soil morphological and physical properties were investigated by 1:5,000 scale average yield of 2~3 years. The impact factors to the adzuki bean yields and soil properties were selected based on standard error of each factor. The yields of adzuki bean showed the greatest values when the morphology was alluvial plains, the drainage was well or moderately well, the slope was 2~7%, the texture was fine loamy, the gravel content was less than 15% and the available soil depth was more than 100 cm. Contribution factors of soil properties to the yields were 0.18 of morphology, 0.18 of drainage level, 0.23 of slope, 0.20 of texture, 0.11 of gravel content and 0.10 of available soil depth, respectively. Soil suitability levels were set as the best suitable land if score was greater than 90, suitable land if score ranged from 89 to 85, the possible land if the score ranged from 79 to 84 and low productive land if score was less than 78. According to the criteria 37.5% of the production area was the best suitable land, 29.4% was suitable land, 22.3% was possible land and 10.8% was low productive land. The best and suitable lands were total of 66.9% in Gyeongju, Gyeosangbuk-do.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.106-115
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• 2009

Knowledge about how to stabilize soil structure is essential to conserve soil systems and maintain various biogeochemical processes through soil. In urban area, soil structural systems are degraded with inappropriate management and land use and become vulnerable to erosion. We analyzed the structural changes of surface soils with different land uses, i.e., forests, parks, roadside green area, riparian area, and farmlands (soybean fields), in the Anyang Stream Watershed in order to find the factors influencing the stability of soil structure and the implication for better management of surface soil. Soil organic matter contents of other land use soils were only 18~52% of that in forest soils. Soil organic matter increased the stability of soil aggregates in the order of soybean fields < roadsides < riparian < parks < forests and also reduced soil bulk density (increased porosity). The lowest stability of soybean field soils was attributed to the often disturbance like tillage and it was considered that higher stability of park soils comparing to other land use soils except forests was owing to the covering of soil surface with grass. These results suggest that supply of soil organic matter and protection of soil surface with covering materials are very important to increase porosity and stability of soil structure.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 2021

This study was conducted at Sitakunda coastal afforestation range, comprised of four beats- Bansbaria, Bakkhali, Baterkhil and Bogachattar, in Chittagong. Afforestation effects on soil physicochemical properties in comparison to adjacent barren land were analysed. In the study area, an area of 3277.33 ha was planted with Sonneratia apetala, Avecinnia officinalis, Excoecaria agallocha, Bruguiera sexangula, Ceriops decandra from 1968 to 2011. We found positive soil physicochemical changes in plantations in comparison to adjacent barren land. Soil bulk density of plantation was lower than the adjacent barren land. Soil pH and soil salinity were significantly higher in barren land whereas soil organic matter, organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium of plantations were higher in afforested land. Soil texture ranged from clay loam to sandy loam in different depth of these two types of land. However, this study concludes that there is clear evidence that afforestation has positive impacts on all soil properties in different location and soil depths in the study area.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.46 no.6
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• pp.542-548
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• 2013

Soil properties and yields of liriopis platyphylla were investigated to establish soil suitability of Korean liriopis platyphylla at 116 farms in Korea. Morphological and physical properties of the soils were investigated along with the average yield of 2~3 years. The impact factors of soil properties to the yield of liriopis platyphylla were selected based on standard error of each factor. The yields of liriopis platyphylla showed the greatest values when the morphology was alluvial plains, when the drainage was well or moderately well, when the slope was 0-2%, the texture was coarse loamy, when the gravel content was less than 15% and when the available soil depth was more than 100 cm. Contribution factors of soil properties to the yields were 0.15 by morphology, 0.15 by drainage level, 0.13 by slope, 0.18 by texture, 0.16 by gravel content and 0.23 by available soil depth, respectively. Soil suitability classes were set as follows; the best suitable land if score was greater than 92, suitable land if score ranged from 91 to 86, the possible land if the score ranged from 85 to 83, and low productive land if score was less than 82. According to the criteria, 17.8% of the production area was the best suitable land, 43.1% was suitable land, 17.3% was possible land, and 21.8% was low productive land. The sum of both the best and suitable lands were 60.9% of the farm area of Miryang in Gyeongsangnam-do.