Desalination with low energy consumption has been recognized as a crucial technology for meeting the growing freshwater needs of the UAE. In 2016, KAIA and the Masdar company in the UAE signed Joint Development Agreement to develop energy-efficient desalination technologies. The research aims to build a pilot plant desalination plant in UAE for demonstrating reduction of energy footprint. For this R&D project, Daewoo E&C designs and constructs a customized low energy seawater desalination facility with 1000~2000 m³/d by 2018. The goal of specific energy consumption is 3.3 kWh/m³, finally resulting in O&M cost reduction by more than 10%. The system will be configurated with energy saving RO membrane(LG chemistry), pretreatment for algae control using tube type bio filter(MTBF) and DAF, and ion exchange and capacitive deionization for replacement of 2nd RO. Optimizing this pilot plant by 2020 in the UAE is the next milestone in realizing the energy-efficient desalination technology to a viable product.

In order to provide fundamental information about the floristic composition of the area along with an assessment of the environmental impact, a floristic study of the vascular plants in the Tamjin River estuary in Gangjin-gun was conducted for a total of nine days, in the period from June 2014 to September 2014. We found that the vascular plants in this region comprised 424 taxa belong to 102 families, 281 genera, 390 species, 5 subspecies, 26 varieties, and 3 forma. Five taxa of Korean endemic plants including Weigela subsessilis (Nakai) L.H.Bailey, Lespedeza maximowiczii var. tricolor (Nakai) Nakai, and Clematis trichotoma Nakai were collected. Two least concern (LC) taxa of rare plants (as designated by the Korea Forest Service) were collected: Hydrocharis dubia (Blume) Backer and Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco. Ten the floristic regional indicator taxa from the third to the fifth grade were identified: two taxa belonged to grade IV, and eight taxa belonged to grade III. Twenty-four taxa of salt-tolerant plants, including Artemisia fukudo Makino, Carex rugulosa Kuk., and Suaeda glauca (Bunge) Bunge, as well as 44 taxa of aquatic plants, including Najas marina L., Nuphar oguraensis Miki, and Nymphoides indica (L.) Kuntze, were investigated in this region. Fifty-nine taxa of naturalized plants were recorded, among which the following six taxa were plants that caused ecosystem disturbance: Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., Humulus scandens (Lour.) Merr., Lactuca scariola L., Rumex acetosella L., Solidago altissima L., and Symphyotrichum pilosum (Willd.) G.L.Nesom.

주왕산국립공원의 관속식물상을 2017년도 3월부터 10월까지 총 13회에 걸쳐 조사하였다. 증거표본과 사진을 바탕으로 작성한 소산 관속식물은 112과 399속 672종 4아종 72변종 10품종의 총 758분류군으로 확인되었다. 이 중 기존의 조사에서는 발견되지 않았으나 본 조사에서 최초로 밝혀진 분류군은 221분류군이었다. 멸종위기야생식물은 가시오갈피, 큰바늘꽃 등 2분류군이 확인되었고, 희귀식물은 깽깽이풀, 백작약, 꼭지연잎꿩의다리 등 5분류군이 관찰되었다. 한반도 고유식물은 날개현호색, 노랑무늬붓꽃, 몽울토현삼 등 20분류군이 조사되었고, 식물구계학적 특정식물종은 Ⅲ~V등급에 해당하는 40분류군이 확인되었다. 귀화식물은 총 55분류군으로 조사되었고, 생태계교란종은 가시상추, 돼지풀, 미국쑥부쟁이 등 3분류군이 확인되었다. 기후변화 취약종은 총 36분류군이 분포하였고, 북방계 21분류군, 남방계 2분류군, 관심식물은 13분류군으로 확인되었다.

한국산 족도리풀속(Asarum L.) 7종의 44개 질적형질 및 28개 양적형질을 분류학적으로 재검토하였다. 질적형질 중, 27개 형질은 본 속의 모든 종에서 나타나는 공통형질이었으며, 28개 양적형질 중 단일형질은 인편엽의 수(2-4장), 잎의 수(2장), 악편의 수(3장), 수술의 수(12개) 및 암술의 수(6개) 등 5개였다. 잎 표면의 흰색 얼룩무늬는 개족도리풀과 무늬족도리풀을 다른 종들과 구분하는 유용한 형질이었으며, 금오족도리풀과 털족도리풀의 잎 이면에는 긴 연모가 다수 분포함으로써 짧은 털이 분포하는 다른 종들과 차별화되었다. 악통 내부 표면의 선모는 종에 따라 자루가 없는 선모(개족도리풀, 족도리풀, 자주족도리풀)와 자루가 있는 선모(금오족도리풀, 무늬족도리풀, 털족도리풀, 각시족도리풀)의 2가지 유형이 구분됨으로써 이들의 유연관계를 잘 반영해 주었다. 악편의 길이, 형태, 색 및 반곡 정도, 악통 입구(통인)의 직경 및 색 또한 유용한 분류형질로 확인 되었다. 악편 표면에 발달하는 선모의 밀도는 드물게 분포하는 금오족도리풀과 밀생하는 자주족도리풀을, 중간 정도의 밀도를 보이는 다른 종들과 뚜렷하게 구분시켜주었다. 한편, 금오족도리풀의 화주돌기 길이는 나머지 종들의 그것과 뚜렷하게 차이가 났다. 연변족도리풀과 녹연변족도리풀의 실체에 대해서는 재검토가 요구된다.

A floristic study on the vascular plants from Mt. Seounsan region, which ranges from Seoun-myeon, Anseong-si, Gyeonggi-do to Baekgok-myeon, Jincheon-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, was conducted 9 times in total, from April 2014 to October 2015. Based on the voucher specimens, it was revealed that the vascular plants in this region comprised 501 taxa: 97 families, 306 genera, 439 species, 5 subspecies, 51 varieties, and 6 forma. Among these plants, 185 taxa were recorded for the first time from this region. 8 Korean endemic species including Asarum patens (K.Yamaki) B.U.Oh, Scutellaria insignis Nakai, and Weigela subsessilis (Nakai) L.H.Bailey were found in this region. 5 taxa of rare plants designated by the Korea Forest Service, including Iris ruthenica KerGawl., Leontopodium leontopodioides (Willd.) Beauverd, and Tricyrtis macropoda Miq., were also found. 11 taxa of floristic regional indicator plants in the 3rd to the 5th degrees were identified. In addition, 46 taxa of naturalized plants were recorded, and 2 taxa of ecosystem disturbance plants, which were Ambrosia trifida L. and Aster pilosus Willd., also found.

We conducted a total of 28 surveys from March to October 2016 in Gayasan National Park, to identify threatened plants for climate change, as well as for the effective management of biological organisms and resources against climate changes in Korea. Regarding threatened plants for climate change, we identified a total of 39 taxa, with 11 northern, 2 southern, and 26 taxa of concern. Among these taxa, 33 were identified as wild species. The species threatened by climate change located in the subalpine regions of Gayasan National Park were Abies holophylla Maxim., Abies koreana Wilson, Pinus koraiensis Siebold & Zucc., Betula ermanii Cham., Berberis amurensis Rupr., Rhododendron tschonoskii Maxim., Vaccinium hirtum var. koreanum (Nakai) Kitam., Primula modesta var. hannasanensis T.Yamaz., Trientalis europaea var. arctica (Fisch.) Ledeb., Thymus quinquecostatus Celak., Parasenecio firmus (Kom.) Y.L.Chen, and Lilium cernuum Kom. These species are expected to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming, since they were confirmed to have a very narrow vertical distribution range. Moreover, although the following species are not included in the list of plants threatened by climate change, it is assumed that the endemic species that grow at the summit, and Grade V floristics special plants, such as Pedicularis hallaisanensis Hurus., Allium thunbergii var. deltoides (S.O.Yu, S.Lee & W.Lee) H.J.Choi & B.U.Oh, Heloniopsis tubiflora Fuse, N.S.Lee & M.N. Tamura, Aletris glabra Bureau & Franch, and Gymnadenia cucullata (L.) Rich., will also be extremely vulnerable to climate change. Therefore, we believe that measures for the conservation of these species are urgently needed, and also that the definition of species threatened by climate change should be broadened to include more objective and valid taxa through the long-term monitoring of species distributed around the summit area.

A floristic study was conducted 23 times from March 2010 to May 2016 on Mt. Yongbongsan and Mt. Suamsan region of Chungcheongnam-do which lies across Sapgyo-eup, Deoksan-myeon Yesan-gun, and Hongbuk-myeon Hongseong-gun. Based on voucher speciemens, list of vascular plants found in this area were contained 532 taxa in total including 105 families, 312 genera, 468 species, 4 subspecies, 47 varieties, and 13 forma. The 8 taxa were Korean endemic plants such as Populus tomentiglandulosa T.B.Lee, Clematis brachyura Maxim, C. trichotoma Nakai, Indigofera koreana Ohwi, Forsythia koreana (Rehder) Nakai, Paulownia coreana Uyeki, Weigela subsessilis (Nakai) L.H.Bailey, Aster koraiensis Nakai. 4 taxa of rare plants designated by the Korea Forest Service such as Taxus cuspidata Siebold & Zucc., Lithospermum arvense L., Allium senescens L., and Iris ensata var. spontanea (Makino) Nakai. Endangered plants designated by the Ministry of Environment was not found in this study. The 11 taxa of floristic regional indicator plants in 3 rd to 5 th degree were found. 68 taxa naturalized plants were found and the naturalized ratio was 12.8% while 21.2% of urbanized ratio which is regarded quite high.