• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.47-57
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• 2010

To understand day-to-day fluctuations in soil moisture content in Seoul, I simulated daily soil moisture content from 1908 to 2009 using long-term climatic precipitation and temperature data collected at the Surface Synoptic Meteorological Station in Seoul for the last 98 years with a hydrological simulation model, BROOK. The output data set from the BROOK model allowed me to examine day-to-day fluctuations and the severity and duration of droughts in the Seoul area. Although the soil moisture content is highly dependent on the occurrence of precipitation, the pattern of changes in daily soil moisture content was clearly quite different from that of precipitation. Generally, there were several phases in the dynamics of daily soil moisture content. The period from mid-May to late June can be categorized as the initial period of decreasing soil moisture content. With the initiation of the monsoon season in late June, soil moisture content sharply increases until mid-July. From the termination of the rainy season in mid-July, daily soil moisture content decreases again. Highly stochastic events of typhoons from late June to October bring large amount of rain to the Korean peninsula, culminating in late August, and increase the soil moisture content again from late August to early September. From early September until early October, another sharp decrease in soil moisture content was observed. The period from early October to mid-May of the next year can be categorized as a recharging period when soil moisture content shows an increasing trend. It is interesting to note that no statistically significant increase in mean annual soil moisture content in Seoul, Korea was observed over the last 98 years. By simulating daily soil moisture content, I was also able to reconstruct drought phenomena to understand the severity and duration of droughts in Seoul area. During the period from 1908 to 2009, droughts in the years 1913, 1979, 1939, and 2006 were categorized as 'severe' and those in 1988 and 1982 were categorized as 'extreme'. This information provides ecologists with further potential to interpret natural phenomenon, including tree growth and the decline of tree species in Korea.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.1-13
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• 2023

Background: The positive effects of Arctic plants on the soil environment and plant-species co-occurrence patterns are known to be particularly important in physically harsh environments. Although three dominant plants (Cassiope tetragona, Dryas octopetala, and Silene acaulis) are abundant in the Arctic ecosystem at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, few studies have examined their occurrence patterns with other species and their buffering effect on soil-temperature and soil-moisture fluctuation. To quantify the plant-species co-occurrence patterns and their positive effects on soil environments, I surveyed the vegetation cover, analyzed the soil-chemical properties (total carbon, total nitrogen, pH, and soil organic matter) from 101 open plots, and measured the daily soil-temperature and soil-moisture content under three dominant plant patches and bare soil. Results: The Cassiope tetragona and Dryas octopetala communities increased the soil-temperature stability; however, the three dominant plant communities did not significantly affect the soil-moisture stability. Non-metric multidimensional scaling separated the sampling sites into three groups based on the different vegetation compositions. The three dominant plants occurred randomly with other species; however, the vegetation composition of two positive co-occurring species pairs (Oxyria digyna-Cerastium acrticum and Luzula confusa-Salix polaris) was examined. The plant species richness did not significantly differ in the three plant communities. Conclusions: The three plant communities showed distinctive vegetation compositions; however, the three dominant plants were randomly and widely distributed throughout the study sites. Although the facilitative effects of the three Arctic plants on increases in the soil-moisture fluctuation and richness were not quantified, this research enables a deeper understanding of plant co-occurrence patterns in Arctic ecosystems and thereby contributes to predicting the shift in vegetation composition and coexistence in response to climate warming. This research highlights the need to better understand plant-plant interactions within tundra communities.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 1983

This research was made over drought resistance and optimum soil moisture needed with Plantago asiatica L. as the material by means of making out the process of its growth under different soil moisture contents. The soil used for the experiment was a mixture of vermiculite and c-layer soil, and the process of growth was compared with each other controlling its soil mositure as: 7%, 15%, 30%, 45%, and 60%. In 7% range of soil moisture which was of low content, the increase of growth was neither significantly indicated nor any permanent seeding done. In view of this phenomenon, Plantago asiatica L. appeared to be highly drought-resistant. It was found rising at 30% range and reaching the optimum state at 45% range and falling down at 60% range range. In viw of this fluctuation indicated above, the optimum soil moisture content needed for the growth of Plantago asiatica L. is thought to be between 30% and 60%. It is thought the number of seed per capsule is not affected by the soil moisture content. It is expected an ecotypic variation by the soil moisture content will bring forth upon Plantago asiatica L.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.123-131
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• 1994

Experimental studies were conducted to make clear the soil moisture environment under the condition of paddy-upland rotational fields by investigating water-table depths and soil moisture contents during growing season of crops in two kinds of soil. The following results were obtained. 1.Although water-table depths fluctuated with the amount of rainfall in the experimental field, it seemed that the variation of vater4able depths in the paddy-upland rotational, field was strongly affected by the condition of locations on paddy fields. 2.It is recognized that the concept of sum of excess water depth(SEWxx) and sum of excess water day(SEDxx) can be used to represent the soil moisture stress index due to the fluctuation of water-table depths. 3.The results of this study clearly indicate that drainage in paddy-upland rotational field to maintain an optimum soil moisture content must be made by introducing the concept of block drainage which needs both subsurface drainage and intercept drainage around a field. 4.Soil moisture contents were affected by both the amount of rainfall and water-table depths, however, the moisture content for top soil showed higher correlation with the amount of rainfall while that for subsoil with water-table depths.

• Korean Journal of Hydrosciences
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• v.6
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• pp.39-49
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• 1995

The surface hydrology of large land areas is susceptible to several preferred stable states with transitions between stable states induced by stochastic fluctuation. This comes about due to the close couping of land surface and atmospheric interaction. An interesting and important issue is the duration of residence in each mode. Mean transition times between the stable modes are analyzed for different model parameters or climatic types. In an example situation of this differential equation exhibits a bimodal probability distribution of soil moisture states. Uncertainty analysis regarding the model parameters is performed using a Monte-Carlo simulation method. The method developed in this research may reveal some important characteristics of soil moisture or precipitation over a large area, in particular, those relating to abrupt change in soil moisture or preciptation having extremely variable duration.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.98 no.2
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• pp.183-188
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• 2009

It is necessary to determine the amount of carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) absorbed by plants and released from forest floor into atmosphere, to gain a better understanding how forests participate in the global carbon cycle. Soil $CO_2$ efflux, litter production, and decomposition were investigated in Q. variabilis and P. densiflora stands in the vicinity of Gwangju, Chonnam province. Soil $CO_2$ efflux was measured using Infrared Gas Analyzer (IRGA) at midday of the 10th day at every month over 12-month period, to quantify seasonal and annual budgets of soil $CO_2$ efflux. Soil temperature and soil moisture were measured at the same time. Seasonal soil $CO_2$ efflux in Q. variabilis and P. densiflora were the highest in summer season. In August, maximum soil $CO_2$ efflux in Q. variabilis and P. densiflora was 7.49, $4.61CO_2{\mu}mol{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}s^{-1}$, respectively. Annual $CO_2$ efflux in each stand was 1.77, $1.67CO_2kg{\cdot}m^{-2}$ respectively. Soil $CO_2$ efflux increased exponentially with soil temperature and related strongly in Q. variabilis ($r^2$=0.96), and in P. densiflora ($r^2$=0.91). Litter production continued throughout the year, but showed a peak on November and December. Annual litter production in the Q. variabilis and P. densiflora stands were $613.7gdw{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}yr^{-1}$ and $550.5gdw{\cdot}m^{-2}{\cdot}yr^{-1}$.$yr^{-1}$, respectively. After 1 year, % remaining mass of Q. variabilis and P. densiflora litter was 48.2, 57.1%, respectively. The soil $CO_2$ efflux rates in this study showed clear seasonal variations. In addition, the temporal variation in the $CO_2$ efflux rates was closely related to the soil temperature fluctuation rather than to variations in the soil moisture content. The range of fluctuation of soil $CO_2$ efflux and litter decomposition rate showed similar seasonal changes. The range of fluctuation of soil $CO_2$ efflux and litter decomposition rate was higher during summer and autumn than spring and winter.

• Water for future
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.129-137
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• 1994

The surface hydrology of large land areas is susceptible to several preferred stable states with transitions between stable states induced y stochastic fluctuation. This comes about due to the close coupling of land surface and atmospheric interaction. An interesting and important issue is the duration of residence in each mode. Mean transtion times between the stable modes are analyzed for different model parameters or climatic types. In an example situation of this differential equation exhibits a bimodal probability distribution of soil moisture states. Uncertainty analysis regarding the model parameters is performed using a Monte-Carlo simulation method. The method developed in this research may reveal some important characteristics of soil moisture or precipitation over a large area, in particular, those relating to abrupt changes in soil moisture or precipitation having extremely variable duration.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.67-76
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• 2008

In this study, a combined model of a water-table fluctuation and a soil moisture content model is proposed for the estimation of groundwater recharge rate at a given location. To evaluate the model, groundwater level data from 4 monitoring wells (Pohang Yeonil, Pohang Kibuk, Suncheon Oeseo, Hongcheon Hongcheon) of National Groundwater Monitoring Network from 1996 to 2005 and precipitation data of corresponding years are used. From the proposed methodology, the groundwater recharge rates are estimated to be from 0.5 to 61.4% for Hongcheon Hongcheon, from 1.1 to 27.4% for Pohang Yeonil, from 5.1 to 41.4% for Pohang Kibuk, and from 1.1 to 8.3% for Suncheon Oeseo. The magnitude of variation of the estimated recharge rate depends on the soil type observed near the stations. The groundwater fluctuation model used in this study includes precipitation as a unique source of water-table perturbation and there may exist corollary limitations. To improve the applicability of the proposed method, a capillary-water content constitutive model for unsaturated fractured rock media may be considered. The proposed recharge rate delineation method is physically based and uses minimum numbers of assumptions. The method may be used as a better substitute for the previous tools for delineating recharge rate of a location using water-table fluctuation method and contribute to national groundwater management plan. Further research on the spatial interpolation of the method is under progress.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.175-196
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• 2002

The increase of meteorological uncertainty and unstable fluctuation of its behavior due to the global warming affect the temporal variation and spatial distribution of water resources and water use patterns in agriculture. There have been steady efforts to understand hydrological components and deal with such water related problems. This paper reviews firstly, the future effect of water resources due to climate changes, secondly, recent progress for precipitation, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and thirdly, GIS/RS based integrated information systems conducted by both researchers and government ministries. There should be continuous studies and investments to cope with climate changes, and to accomplish sustainable development with the help of agricultural water resources. Some research topics were suggested to attempt with substantial contents considering our present capability and situation.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.34-38
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• 2003

An analysis of tree ring series of a lace-bark pine (Pinus bungeana Zuccarini) was carried out to find out the exact age of the tree, to describe life history of the tree affected by the change of past environmental factors, and to explain the relationships between the growth fluctuation of the tree and the change of environmental factors of the past. This study explicitly showed that the tree was about 300 years old in 1992 and that the previous estimate of the age to be about 630 years old has no ground to be justified. This was also ascertained by the close correspondence of the tree growth fluctuation to the fluctuation of soil moisture related environmental factors for the last 80 years in Seoul. Although it is clear that the tree suffered from slow growth for about 30 years initiating from the 1910s, it is not sure whether the soil moisture deficits or droughts during the years of 1910-1913 played a major role in causing the decline of the trees afterwards. Discussion was further extended for defining active roles for the Cultural Properties Administration of Korea in management and research to effectively protect the Old and Big Trees under the category of Natural Monument of Korea.