Yonsei University · Environmental Science
Professor Hojeong Kang's research lab specializes in soil biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology, focusing on the dynamics of soil organic matter, particularly phenolics and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), under environmental change. The lab investigates microbial processes, enzyme activities, and carbon cycling in diverse ecosystems such as forests, peatlands, and coastal areas, with an emphasis on how climate change, acidification, and land use affect carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions. Their work integrates field observations, experimental manipulations, and meta-analytical approaches to understand feedbacks between biotic and abiotic factors in terrestrial and coastal ecosystems. The lab also explores ecosystem service tradeoffs in coastal regions, linking ecological processes with conservation and policy planning.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Phenolics are the most abundant plant metabolites and are believed to decompose slowly in soils compared to other soil organic matter (SOM). Thus, they have often been considered as a slow carbon (C) pool in soil dynamics models. Here, however, we review changes in our concept about the turnover rate of phenolics and quantification of different types of phenolics in soils. Also, we synthesize current research on the degradation of phenolics and their regulatory effects on decomposition. Environm
Peatlands store 1/3 of global soil carbon, destabilisation of which contributes much to the recent increase in DOC (dissolved organic carbon) in freshwater ecosystems. One suggested mechanism for the enhanced decomposition of peat and the releases of DOC is recovery from acidification. However, no biological role in the process has yet been identified. Here we report extracellular enzyme activities and microbial composition in peatlands of Korea, the UK, Japan and Indonesia, and find higher pH t
Abstract Methane is one of the strongest of the greenhouse gases, being 30‐fold more radiatively active than carbon dioxide on a molar basis. In addition, its atmospheric concentrations have increased by 1% per year since the Industrial Revolution. As such, the dynamics of methane is of great importance for the prediction of global climatic changes caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. One of the most important biological sinks for methane is forest soils, wh
Abstract Soil enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, urease, phosphatase, and arylsulfatase) in a temperate forest soil were determined in relation to landscape position and seasons. Overstory of the area is dominated by Quercus mongolica , Kalopanax pictus , Carpicus cordata , and Acer pseudo‐sieboldianum . The activities were measured in three patches, namely a north‐facing backslope, a ridge, and a south‐facing backslope in autumn and spring over 2 years. In addition, spatially more detailed analy
Despite the fact that scientific and political consideration for ecosystem services has dramatically increased over the past decade, few studies have focused on marine and coastal ecosystem services for conservation strategies. We used an ecosystem services approach to assess spatial distributions of habitat risks and four ecosystem services (coastal protection, carbon storage, recreation, and aesthetic quality), and explored the tradeoffs among them in coastal areas of South Korea. Additionally
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