Cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon population is widely distributed in the world, and well known as harmful algae by producing toxins and off-flavor materials, thus belonging to one of the taxa that became more interested in the field of limnoecology. In this study, the frequency, intensity, and duration of Aphanizomenon occurrence were increased with the abnormal drawdown of water level in the winter in Boryeong Reservoir, and the spatial and temporal characteristics of them are compared with each other in the perspective of hydrometeorology (1998 to 2017) and limnology (2010 to 2017). In Korea, Aphanizomenon flourished mainly in high temperature, and the appearance in the low temperature was rare in total five times. The harmful cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon was observed in the low temperature (December to February) in Boryeong Reservoir from 2014, and then reached a maximum value of 2,160 cells mL-1 in January 2017. In addition, the period exceeding 1,000 cells mL-1 at this time was more than 3 months. This was simultaneously associated with abnormal water level fluctuation in the low temperature (<10℃). The large drawdown of water level in the winter season has the potential to promote or amplify the germination and development of harmful algae. Also, subsequent water quality and ecological impacts (e.g., algal toxins and off-flavor substances) need to be considered carefully.

The sewage and wastewater (SAW) are a well-known major source of eutrophication and greentide in freshwaters and also a potential source of thermal pollution; however, there were few approaches to thermal effluent of SAW in Korea. This study was performed to understand the behavioral dynamics of the thermal effluents and their effects on the water quality of the connected streams during winter season, considering domestic sewage, industrial wastewater and hot spring wastewater from December 2015 to February 2016. Sampling stations were selected the upstream, the outlet of SAW, and the downstream in each connected stream, and the water temperature change was monitored toward the downstream from the discharging point of SAW. The temperature effect and its range of SAW on the stream were dependent not only on the effluent temperature and quantity but also on the local air temperature, water temperature and stream discharge. The SAW effects on the stream water temperature were observed with temperature increase by 2.1~5.8℃ in the range of 1.0 to 5.5 km downstream. Temperature effect was the greatest in the hot spring wastewater despite of small amount of effluent. The SAW was not only related to temperature but also to the increase of organic matter and nutrients in the connected stream. The industrial wastewater effluent was discharged with high concentration of nitrogen, while the hot spring wastewater was high in both phosphorus and nitrogen. The difference between these cases was due to with and without chemical T-P treatment in the industrial and the hot spring wastewater, respectively. The chlorophyll-a content of the attached algae was high at the outlet of SAW and the downstream reach, mostly in eutrophic level. These ecological results were presumably due to the high water temperature and phosphorus concentration in the stream brought by the thermal effluents of SAW. These results suggest that high temperature of the SAW needs to be emphasized when evaluating its effects on the stream water quality (water temperature, fertility) through a systematized spatial and temporal investigation.

Thermal effluent of the hot spring has long been a field of interest in the relationship between temperature gradient and freshwater algae in geology, limnology and aquatic ecology throughout the world. On the other hand, many artificial hot springs have been developed in Korea, but the research on them has not been still active. This study was performed every month from December 2015 to September 2016, to elucidate the spatiotemporal effects of thermal wastewater effluent (TWE) on the ecosystem of benthic algal assemblage in four stations (BSU (upstream), HSW (hot spring wastewater outlet), BSD1~2 (downstream)) of the upstream reach of the Buso Stream, a tributary located in the Hantan River basin. During the survey, the influencing distance of temperature on TWE was <1.0 km, and it was the main source of N·P nutrients at the same time. The effects of TWE were dominant at low temperature and dry season (December~March), but it was weak at high temperature and wet season (July~September), reflecting some seasonal characteristics. Under these circumstances, the attached algal communities were identified to 59 genera and 143 species. Of these, the major phylum included 21 genera 83 species of diatoms (58.0%), 9 genera 21 species of blue-green algae (14.7%) and 25 genera 32 species of green algae (22.4%), respectively. The spatiotemporal distribution of them was closely related to water temperature (5℃ and 15℃) and current (0.2 m s-1 and 0.8 m s-1). In the basic environment maintaining a high water temperature throughout the year round, the flora favoring high affinity to PO4 in the water body or preferring stream habitat of abundant NO3-PO4 was dominant. As a result, when compared with the outcomes of previous algal ecology studies conducted in Korea, the Buso Stream was evaluated as a serious polluted state due to persistent excess nutrient supply and high thermal pollution throughout the year round by TWE. It can be regarded as a dynamic ecosystem in which homogeneity (Summer~Autumn) and heterogeneity (Winter~Spring) are repeated between upstream and downstream.

Understanding effects of thermal pollution and acidification has long been a concern of aquatic ecologists, but it remains largely unknown in Korea. This study was performed to elucidate the effects of thermal wastewater effluent (TWE) and acid rain on water quality and attached algae in a small mountain stream, the Buso Stream, a tributary located in the Hantan River basin. A total of five study sites were selected in the upstream area including the inflowing point of hot-spring wastewater (HSW), one upstream site (BSU), and three sites below thermal effluent merged into the stream (1 m, 10 m and 300 m for BSD1, BSD2, and BSD3, respectively). Field surveys and laboratory analyses were carried out every month from December 2015 to September 2016. Water temperature ranged 1.7~28.8°C with a mean of 15.0°C among all sites. Due to the effect of thermal effluent, water temperature at HSW site was sustained at high level during the study period from 17.5°C (January) to 28.8°C (September) with a mean of 24.2±3.7°C, which was significantly higher than other sites. Thermal wastewater effluent also brought in high concentration of nutrients (N, P). The effect of TWE was particularly apparent during dry season and low temperature period (December~March). Temperature effect of TWE did not last toward downstream, while nutrient effect seemed to maintain in longer distance. pH ranged 5.1~8.4 with a mean of 6.9 among all sites during the study period. The pH decrease was attributed to seasonal acid rain and snow fall, and their effects was identified by acidophilic diatoms dominated mainly by Eunotia pectinalis and Tabellaria flocculosa during March and August. These findings indicated that water quality and periphyton assemblages in the upstream region of Buso Stream were affected by thermal pollution, eutrophication, and acidification, and their confounding effects were seasonally variable.