No abstract

Forest fires and burn severity mosaics have profound impacts on the post-fire dynamics and complexity of forest ecosystems. Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between topographic variables and susceptible tree covers with regard to burn severity. However, these relationships have not been fully elucidated, because most studies have assumed linearity in these relationships. Therefore, we examined the linearity and the nonlinearity in the relationships between topographic variables and susceptible tree covers with burn severity by comparing linear and nonlinear models. The site of the Samcheok fire, the largest recorded forest fire in Korea, was used as the study area. We generated 802 grid cells with a 500-m resolution that encompassed the entire study area and collected a dataset that included the topographic variables and percentage of red pine trees, which are the most susceptible tree cover types in Korea. We used conventional linear models and generalized additive models to estimate the linear and the nonlinear models based on topographic variables and Japanese red pine trees. The results revealed that the percentage of red pine trees had linear effects on burn severity, reinforcing the importance of silviculture and forest management to lower burn severity. Meanwhile, the topographic variables had nonlinear effects on burn severity. Among the topographic variables, elevation had the strongest nonlinear effect on burn severity, possibly by overriding the effects of susceptible fuels over elevation effects or due to the nonlinear effects of topographic characteristics on pre-fire fuel conditions, including the spatial distribution and availability of susceptible tree cover. To validate and generalize the nonlinear effects of elevation and other topographic variables, additional research is required at different fire sites with different tree cover types in different geographic locations.

An ecotourism system that is based on wildlife habitats in ecological systems is considered a social-ecological system that has a feedback relationship with social systems. Increases in socioeconomic activities and tourism infrastructure construction are not conducive to the resilience of wildlife habitats, thereby stressing the ecological system and threatening sustainable ecotourism. Managing resilient wildlife habitats by developing transformation plans that can be used to construct new systems through self-organization and the absorption of stress is paramount to perpetuating sustainable ecotourism systems. This study aims to establish transformation plans to enhance the resilience of systems thinking regarding wildlife habitats. Such thinking involves the sequential application of dynamic thinking, causal thinking, closed-loop thinking, and the discovery of strategies. This study examines the case study of Eulsukdo Island in South Korea, and the following transformation plans are derived: (1) high-quality eco-education programs to help tourists become hard ecotourists; (2) subsidies for foraging area restoration; (3) ecosystem services of wildlife habitats; and (4) governance organization led by multiple actors. The results of this study can provide guidelines for the effective use of natural resources at ecotourism destinations and for the ecotourism development of damaged wildlife habitats.

Abstract:The purpose of this study is to introduce transformation plans that can stimulate responsible ecotourism by using systems thinking to solve ecotourism problems in Korea. Systems thinking is a research method used to understand the operating mechanisms of the variables that influence an entire system, in order to identify its problems. The four types of ecotourism systems are classified as follows: low-infrastructure and resident-initiated, high-infrastructure and resident-initiated, high-infrastructure and government-initiated and low-infrastructure and government-initiated. These systems vary based on the need for tourism facilities and the form of governance. Each type of system is analyzed using the systems thinking process (dynamic thinking, causal thinking, feedback thinking, strategic thinking) at representative ecotourism sites in Jeollanam-do and the following transformation plans are proposed to improve the responsibility at the tourism sites: First, local residents will develop a system to manage and operate ecotourism ventures and establish cooperative governance structures to strengthen the local capacity. Second, ecotourism operators will improve the quality of their educational and interpretative programs and tourist information platforms in order to raise awareness of the responsibilities of ecotourists. Third, ecotourism systems that are improved through ecotourists' and tour operators' heightened senses of responsibility can sustain ecotourism independently. These transformation plans can be applied to policy proposals for revitalizing ecotourism, to guidelines for improving community resilience and to biological habitat protection plans. This study is meaningful in that it discusses the role of stakeholders in ecotourism planning and promoting responsible tourism and their role in utilizing and conserving natural resources accordingly.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the EtOAc-soluble extract of Pueraria lobata based on the inhibition of Aβ-induced toxicity in PC12 cells resulted in the isolation of four known active compounds, genistein (8), biochanin A (9), sissotrin (10), and puerol B (11). Of these, genistein (8) and biochanin A (9) exhibited potent neuroprotective effects with ED(50) values of 33.7 and 27.8 μM, respectively. In addition, a new coumestan, 2-(α,α-dimethylallyl)coumestrol (1) was isolated and characterized, but proved to be inactive, as were additional seven known compounds. The structure of new compound 1 was determined using spectroscopic techniques.