Jeong-Gyu Kim

Effects of Soil Amendments on the Early Growth and Heavy Metal Accumulation of Brassica campestris ssp. Chinensis Jusl. in Heavy Metal-contaminated Soil

There have been many studies about efficiency of amendments for heavy metal stabilization through chemical assessment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of several soil amendments (lime, agric-lime, dolomite, steel slag, fly ash and acid mine drainage sludge) on heavy metals stabilization through not only chemical but also biological assessments (phytotoxicity test) in abandoned mining area soil. In order to achieve the goal, we conducted preliminary screening experiment targeting 12 types of crop plants such as radish, young radish, chinese cabbage, winter grown cabbage, cabbage, bok choy, chicory, crown daisy, carrot, chives, spinach, and spring onion. The results of inhibition rates of early plant growth in metal-contaminated soil against non-contaminated soil and the correlations between inhibitions items showed that the bok choy was appropriate specie with respect to confirm the effect of several amendments. Several amendment treatments on contaminated soil brought about the changes in the root and shoot elongation of bok choy after 1 week. Agric-lime, dolomite and steel slag treatments showed the great efficiency of reducing on mobility of heavy metals using chemical assessment. But in contrary, these treatments resulted in the reduction of root and shoot elongation and only AMD sludge increased that of elongation, significantly. When considering both chemical and biological assessments, AMD sludge could be recommended the compatible amendment for target contaminated soil. In conclusion, biological assessment was also important aspect of decision of successful soil remediation.

The Applicability of the Acid Mine Drainage Sludge in the Heavy Metal Stabilization in Soils

The Applicability of the Acid Mine Drainage Sludge in the Heavy Metal Stabilization in Soils Min-Suk Kim, Hyungi Min, Byeongjoo Lee, Sein Chang, Jeong-Gyu Kim, Namin Koo, Jeong-Sik Park and Gwan-In Bak (Division of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Korea, Division of Forest Soil & Water Conservation, Korea Forest Research Institute, Envrionmental Safety Team, Korea Testing & Research Institute, Technology Research Center, Mine Reclamation Corporation)

Effects of Various Amendments on Heavy Metal Stabilization in Acid and Alkali Soils

BACKGROUND: Recent studies using many amendments for heavy metal stabilization in soil were conducted in order to find out new materials. But, the studies accounting for the use of appropriate amendments considering soil pH remain incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of initial soil pH on the efficiency of various amendments. METHODS AND RESULTS: Acid soil and alkali soil contaminated with heavy metals were collected from the agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mine sites nearby. Three different types of amendments were selected with hypothesis being different in stabilization mechanisms; organic matter, lime stone and iron, and added with different combination. For determining the changes in the extractable heavy metals, water soluble, Mehlich-3, Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure, Simple Bioavailability Extraction Test method were applied as chemical assessments for metal stabilization. For biological assessments, soil respiration and root elongation of bok choy (Brassica campestris ssp. Chinensis Jusl.) were determined. CONCLUSION: It was revealed that lime stone reduced heavy metal mobility in acid soil by increasing soil pH and iron was good at stabilizing heavy metals by supplying adsorption sites in alkali soil. Organic matter was a good source in terms of supplying nutrients, but it was concerning when accounting for increasing metal availability.

The Effects of the Short-term Cultivation and Incorporation of Legume Green Manures on the Chemical Properties of Soil Contaminated with Heavy Metals

BACKGROUND: Recent studies for heavy metal stabilization in soil were mainly focused on finding out new materials and its efficiency. But, such a stabilization method can cause disturbance to soil, leading improper environment for agriculture. The object of this study was to demonstrate the effect of the incorporation of green manure crops on heavy metal-contaminated soil. METHODS AND RESULTS: Soil contaminated with heavy metals was collected from the agricultural soils affected by the abandoned mine. Lime stone was selected and treated to contaminated soil. Three kinds of legume green manure crops; Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), Red clover (Trifolium pratense) were subsequently cultivated in greenhouse condition. It was found that lime stone increased soil pH and decreased the amount of heavy metal absorption by green manure. The application of green manure residues on soil increased soil pH and inorganic nitrogen. CONCLUSION: The C/N ratio of three green manures was low, indicating fast decomposition rate, resulting in nitrogen supplement, consequently. Considering the point that the soil was used for agricultural purpose, it was recommended that hairy vetch and red clover were preferred. Nevertheless, the heavy metal availability was also increased. Thus, it seemed that further study was needed to confirm that how long maintain a phenomenon.

Emergy Analysis of Korean Agriculture

With the industrialization in Korea, the economy has invested more resources on industry and less on agricultural production. However, agriculture is still an important industry, since the whole nation depends on rice for their living. And the proportion of agricultural land is relatively large, which leads issuing environmental aspects of agriculture in this country. This study was conducted to evaluate the environmental and economical aspects of agriculture in Korea, using system ecological concept, Emergy. The total Emergy inflow of Korean agriculture was in 2003. Emergy yield ratio, the ratio of non-renewable and imported Energy use to renewable Emergy use, was 5.21, which shows the agriculture in Korea has such a value as that of the world oil resources in 1986. Also, total agricultural product was in 2003 and the Energy inflow was . From these data, solar transformity of Korean agriculture was estimated as .

The applicability of burcucumber ( Sicyos angulatus L.) as a substitute for nitrogen fertilizer

BACKGROUND: Burcucumber(Sicyos angulatus L.) is an invasive plant species and disturbs ecosystems in Korea. The main method for prevention of burcucumber is cutting or pulling out. However, the studies accounting for the use of the by-product of burcucumber after cutting remain incomplete. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the applicability of burcucumber as a substitute for nitrogen fertilizer.METHODS AND RESULTS: Burcucmber plants only including stem, leaves, and petiole were collected from the Sky Park in Seoul and divided in to three categories based on the length of stem of burcucumber; 10-30 cm, 30-100 cm, and 100-200 cm. And they were input into soil with 20 kg-N/10 a. After 4 weeks aging, chemical properties of treated soils and the productivity of lettuce(Lactuca sativa L.) were examined. Both the inorganic nitrogen contents in soils and the growth of lettuce were increased with the decreases in length of burcucumber standing for young plant. And the inorganic nitrogen content and the productivity of lettuce were positively correlated(r