• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.1
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• pp.337-343
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• 2021

In this work, self-absorption correction factor related to the variation of the composition and the density of soil samples were evaluated using the p-type HPGe detector. The validated MCNP5 simulation model of this detector was used to evaluate its Full Energy Peak Efficiency (FEPE) under the variation of the composition and the density of the analysed samples. The results indicates that FEPE calculation of low gamma ray is affected by the composition and the density of soil samples. The self-absorption correction factors for different gamma-ray energies which was fitted as a function of FEPEs via density and energy and fitting parameters as polynomial function for the logarithm neper of gamma ray energy help to calculate quickly the detection efficiency of detector. Factor Analysis for the influence of the element composition in analysed samples on the FEPE indicates the FEPE distribution changes from non-metal to metal groups when the gamma ray energy increases from 92 keV to 238 keV. At energies above 238 keV, the FEPE primarily depends only on the metal elements and is significantly affected by aluminium and silicon composition in soil samples.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.8-17
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• 2022

Background: Parthenium hysterophorus L. (Asteraceae; hereafter Parthenium) is an invasive alien species of global significance because of its' negative ecological and socioeconomic impacts. This species is spreading rapidly from lowland Tarai to Middle Mountain regions in Nepal. In the present study, we analyzed the impacts of Parthenium on plant community composition including their soil seedbank in subtropical grasslands located in central Nepal. Data was collected in a 10 m long transects passing through areas of high (> 90% cover), medium (40%-60%) and low (< 10%) levels of Parthenium cover using a plot of 1 m². Altogether, we sampled 90 plots in 30 transects. Seedling emergence method was used to estimate soil seedbank density in the soil samples (0-10 cm depth) collected from the plots with high Parthenium cover. Results: There was no significant difference in the plant species richness at different levels of Parthenium invasion whereas there was a significant change in the species composition of above ground flora due to Parthenium invasion. There was also a significant difference in species composition between soil seedbank and aboveground flora in the highly invaded plots. Parthenium was the most dominant in soil seedbank, contributing 65% to the total soil seedbank. Conclusions: Our study suggests that Parthenium has considerable negative impact on the native grassland flora, and the dominance of Parthenium in the soil seedbank means there is a challenge for its management. It also suggests the need of monitoring the soil seedbank dynamics while managing Parthenium weed.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.90-102
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• 2018

Background: We sought to understand the relationship between the seed bank and vegetation in abandoned rice paddies in South Korea, in order to guide management of these sites. We investigated the floristic composition and species richness of the soil seed bank and ground vegetation in former paddies along three seral gradients (wet meadow, young forest, and mature forest) in Gwangneung Forest Biosphere Reserve. Results: Seed bank samples contained 59 species, of which the dominant families were Cyperaceae, Gramineae, and Polygonaceae. Species richness and seedling density (59 taxa and 19,121 germinants from all samples) were high. Carex spp. (11, 921 germinants) were the dominant taxa. The species composition in the seed bank changed gradually as the land transitioned from wet meadow to mature forest. Sørensen's index of similarity between above- and below-ground vegetation was 29.3% for wet meadow, 10.8% for young forest, and 2.1% for mature forest. Germinant density also declined, with 10, 256 germinants for wet meadow, 6445 germinants for young forest, and 2420 germinants for mature forest. Conclusions: Changes in aboveground environment and life history traits such as amphicarpic plants, likely affect the composition of soil seed bank species. Abandoned paddy fields may be good sites for restoration of wetland forest and conservation of wetland habitat. Some intervention may be required to promote the recovery of a natural species assemblage.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.60-74
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• 1980

Soil-cement mixtures involve problems in it's durability in grain size distribution and mineral composition of the used soils as well as in cement content, compaction energy, molding water content, and curing. As an attempt to solve the problems associated with durability of weathered granite soil with cement treated was investigated by conducting tests such as unconfined compression test, it's moisture, immers, wet-dry and freeze-thaw curing, mesurement of loss of weight with wet-dry and freeze-thaw by KS F criteria and CBR test with moisture curing on the five soil samples different in weathering and mineral composition. The experimental results are summarized as follows; The unconfined compressive strength was higher in moisture curing rather than in the immers and wet-dry, while it was lowest in freeze-thaw. Decreasing ratio of unconfined compressive strength in soil-cement mixtures were lowest in optimum moisture content or in the dry side rather than optimum moisture content with freeze-thaw. The highly significant ceofficient was obtained between the cement content and loss of weight with freeze-thaw and wet-dry. It was possible to obtain the durability of soil-cement mixtures, as the materials of base for roads, containing above 4 % of cement content, above 3Okg/cm$_2$ of unconfined compressive trength with seven days moisture curing or 12 cycle of freeze-thaw after it, above 100% of relative unconfined compressive strength, 80% of index of resistance, below 14% of loss of weight with 12 cycle of wet-dry and above 1. 80g/cm$_2$ of dry density.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.21-37
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• 2022

The present study was carried out to evaluate the chemical properties of soil in relation to forest structure and composition at different altitudes (900-2,600 m asl) in a part of Western Himalaya. The composite soil samples were taken from three (viz. upper, middle and lower) depths. The soils of the whole study area were acidic in nature (pH=4.90-5.51). Contents of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Carbon (C) and soil organic matter (SOM) showed much fluctuation during different seasons of year. Nitrogen content showed significant positive correlations with altitude (r=0.924, p<0.05) and different community parameters like species diversity (r=0.892, p<0.01) and species richness (r=0.941, p<0.05). Phosphorus exhibited direct correlations with carbon (r=0.637) while weak negative correlations with different community parameters like species richness & diversity, total basal cover (TBC), density and canopy cover. Carbon content and hence SOM showed direct correlations with Nitrogen (r=0.821, p<0.01); Phosphorus (r=0.637, ns) and Potassium (r=0.540, ns). But no significant relationship was observed between K content and species richness (p=0.30, r=-0.504); between K content and species diversity (p=0.14, r=-0.672); between P content and species diversity (p=0.29, r=-0.513) and species richness (p=0.23, r=-0.575). Among the different soil nutrients, only N showed a significant positive correlation with altitude while all others exhibited negative (but non-significant) correlation with it. The study revealed that the chemical properties affect and are reciprocally affected by forest structure and composition and that N rich soils of higher altitudes are best for the growth and development of forests.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.531-539
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• 2023

Self-absorption is the most important factor affecting the accuracy of gamma spectroscopy measurements in environmental samples. In particular, it is affected by other factors such as the chemical composition of the sample, geometric shape, thickness, density, atomic number, distance between the sample and detector, energy of the emitted gamma photon, and humidity coefficient or percentage in the sample. To test the calibration method, a 450 ml CRM standard source (9 nuclide) Marinelli beaker was used. Five soil samples among environmental samples were measured by density by applying the corrected values. Therefore, it can be seen that the self-absorption value is more effective for somewhat large and low photon energy. In the case of environmental samples, it was confirmed that the overall energy peak efficiency through self-absorption of the source greatly depends on the density of the sample.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.93-97
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• 2012

This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of various inorganic and organic materials to improve physical properties of soil. Saline sodic soil (saturation percentage = 40.36%, $EC_e=5.15dS\;m^{-1}$, $pH_s=8.70$, $SAR=18.84(m\;mol\;L^{-1})^{1/2}$, bulk density =$1.49Mg\;m^{-3}$) was collected, brought to wire house and filled in pots after laboratory analysis for various parameters. Different sources of organic nutrients like farm manure (FM), press mud, compost, poultry manure and sesbania green manure were analyzed for their chemical composition. The experiment comprised of 12 treatments replicated thrice; $T_1$: control (recommended NPK), $T_2:{\frac{1}{2}}$ recommended NPK, $T_3$: FM at 1.5% by soil weight, $T_4$: pressmud at 1.5% by soil weight, $T_5$: compost at 1.5% by soil weight, $T_6$: poultry manure at 1.5% by soil weight, $T_7$: sesbania green manure at 1.5% by soil weight, $T_8:T_2$ + FM at 0.75% by soil weight, $T_9:T_2$ + pressmud at 0.75% by soil weight, $T_{10}:T_2$ + compost at 0.75% by soil weight, $T_{11}:T_2$ + poultry manure at 0.75% by soil weight, $T_{12}:T_2$ + sesbania green manure at 0.75% by soil weight. These treatments were applied using completely randomized (CR) design and appropriate time was given to decompose these organic nutritional sources. Seeds of wheat cultivar Sahar-2006 were sown. After harvesting the wheat, soil samples were collected from each pot and analyzed for various physical properties like bulk density, porosity and saturation percentage. An improvement in physical properties (bulk density, porosity and saturation percentage) of soil was noticed with the application of various organic nutritional sources but role of compost alone ($T_5$) remained prominent.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.69-76
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• 2016

To produce the primary data for best management of soil nutrient in organically practiced soils, 75 leading organic farms whose paddy fields were certified as organic were selected. Soil samples were collected from the paddy fields before plowing, and then analyzed for the determination of physico-chemical properties. Soil pH, organic matter and available phosphate were analyzed and averaged 6.2, $25.6mg\;kg^{-1}$ and $88.4mg\;kg^{-1}$, respectively. Contrary to the national-scale-surveyed paddy soils including organic and conventional farming, pH was higher, available phosphate was lower in the organically practiced soils, but organic matter was similar. With the increasing cultivation period in organic, soil pH and porosity were also increased, EC, available phosphate, bulk density and soil hardness were lower than those from the national survey. Organic matter, however, was not significantly changed. The bulk density was negatively correlated with the organic matter content for both surface topsoil ($R^2=-0.5424$) and subsoil ($R^2=-0.6429$) (p<0.05). Soil quality is improved in most of soil chemical and physical composition factors excluding organic matter and available phosphate. However, it is necessary to establish the counter measure plan for organic matter management and to develop phosphate-containing materials which can be used as organic agricultural material in the future.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2004.04a
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• pp.472-472
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• 2004

Numerous studies on urban groundwater have been carried out in many other countries. Urban groundwater shows a unique hydrologic system because of complex urban characteristics such as road pavement, sewers and public water supply systems. These urban facilities may change the characteristics of groundwater recharge but contaminate its quality as well. There have been several researches on urban groundwater in Seoul. Seoul has been industrialized very rapidly so that the city has large population. The recent population in Seoul amounts to more than ten millions, corresponding to a very high density of about 17, 000 people/km$^2$. Therefore, many factors affect the groundwater quality and quantity in Seoul. Nowadays, groundwater in Seoul is being extracted for construction, industrial use, and drinking and so on. There are 15, 714 wells in Seoul and its annual usage is 41, 425, 977m$^3$(in 2001). Therefore, systematic studies are needed to properly manage and use the groundwater in Seoul. The purposes of this study in progress are to identify geochemical characteristics of groundwater in Seoul and to determine the extent of groundwater contamination and its relationship with urban characteristics. For this study, groundwater was sampled from more than 400 preexisting wells that were randomly selected throughout the Seoul area. For all samples, major cations together with Si, Al, Fe, Pb, Hg For 200 samples among them, TCE, PCE, BTEX were also analyzed by GC. Our study shows that groundwater types of Seoul are distributed broadly from Ca-HCO$_3$ type to Ca-Cl＋NO$_3$ type. The latter type indicates anthropogenic contamination. Among cations, Ca is generally high in most samples. In some samples, Na and K are dominant. The dominant anions change widely from HCO$_3$ to Cl＋NO$_3$. The anion composition is considered to effectively indicate the contribution of distinct anthropogenic sources. In addition, major ions are positively proportional to total dissolved solid (TDS) except K and NO$_3$. Thus, we consider that TDS may be used as an effective indicator of the extent of pollution. However, the increase of TDS may result from increased water-rock interaction. To determine the extent of groundwater contamination, it is needed to figure out the baseline water quality in Seoul. Furthermore, detailed geochemical studies are required to find out pollution sources and their corresponding hydrochemical parameters.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.122-147
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• 2017

The Jungsandong sites are distributed across quartz and mica schist formations in Precambrian, and weathering layers include large amounts of non-plastic minerals such as mica, quartz, felspar, amphibole, chlorite and so on, which form the ground of the site. Neolithic pottery from Jungsandong exhibits various brown colors, and black core is developed along the inner part for some samples, and sharp comb-pattern and hand pressure marks can be observed. Their non-plastic particles have various composition, size distribution, sorting and roundness, so they are classified into four types by their characteristic mineral compositions. I-type (feldspar pottery) is including feldspar as the pain component or mica and quartz. II-type (mica pottery) is the combination of chloritized mica, talc, tremolite and diopside. III-type (talc pottery) is with a very small amount of quartz and mica. IV-type (asbestos pottery) is containing tremolite and a very small amount of talc. The inner and outer colors of Jungsandong pottery are somewhat heterogeneous. I-type pottery group shows differences in red and yellow degree, depending on the content of feldspar, and is similar to III-type pottery. II-type is similar to IV-type, because its red degree is somewhat high. The soil of the site is higher in red and yellow degree than pottery from it. The magnetic susceptibility has very wide range of 0.088 to 7.360(${\times}10^{-3}$ SI unit), but is differentiated according to minerals, main components in each type. The ranges of bulk density and absorption ratio of pottery seem to be 1.6 to 1.7 and 13.1 to 26.0%, respectively. Each type of pottery shows distinct section difference, as porosity and absorption ratio increase in the order as follows: I-type (organic matter fixed sample) < III-type and IV-type < I-type < II-type (including IV-type of IJP-15). The reason is that differences in physical property occur according to kind and size of non-plastic particles. Although Jungsandong pottery consists of mixtures of various materials, the site pottery has a geological condition on which all mineral composition of Jungsandong pottery can be provided. There, it is thought that raw materials can be supplied from weathered zone of quartz and mica schist, around the site. However, different constituent minerals, size and rock fragments are shown, suggesting the possibility that there can be more raw material pits. Thus, it is estimated that there may be difference in clay and weathering degree.