Although many people affected by COVID-19 suffer from some form of psychological distress, access to proper treatment or psychosocial interventions has been limited. This study aimed to examine the feasibility and preliminary effects of a therapeutic gardening program conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program consisted of 30 sessions and was conducted at 10 nationwide sites in Korea from June to November 2021. Mental health and well-being were assessed using the Mental Health Screening Tool for Depressive Disorders, Mental Health Screening Tool for Anxiety Disorders, Engagement in Daily Activity Scale, brief version of World Health Organization Quality of Life, and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Cohen’s d value was calculated for the effect size, and a multilevel analysis was used to determine the longitudinal effects of therapeutic gardening. The effect sizes for depression, anxiety, daily activities, quality of life, and mindfulness were 0.84, 0.72, 0.61, 0.64, and 0.40, respectively. Multilevel analyses showed that all five mental health variables improved significantly over time as the therapeutic gardening program progressed. Therapeutic gardening is promising and applicable as a nature-based intervention to improve the mental health of individuals experiencing psychological distress especially in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Total Nitrogen(T-N) and Total Phosphors(T-P) contents in the soils of three riparian forests with poplar trees were compared with the surrounding cultivated and uncultivated lands. Three key results were obtained by analyzing poplar tree volume and the T-N and T-P content in the plant body. First, in soil surveys covering 36 points, the T-N and T-P content in the riparian forests were 0.064% and 0.036%, respectively, whereas in non-riparian forests, they were 0.147% and 0.101%, respectively. The two areas had significantly different T-N and T-P values. Within the non-riparian-forest category, the T-N and T-P content in cultivated land was 0.174% and 0.103%, respectively, showing significant differences from riparian forest values. When comparing riparian forests and uncultivated land, the T-N contents were not significantly different (p > 0.113), but the T-P content of 0.095% showed a significant difference (p < 0.006). Second, the total poplar tree volumes of the riparian forest test sites 1, 2, and 3 were 466.46 m³, 171.34 m³, and 75.76 m^3, respectively. The T-N and T-P accumulation per unit area was the largest in site 1, at 497.75 kg/ha and 112.73 kg/ha, respectively. The larger the tree volume, the larger the T-N and T-P accumulation in the plant body, and the lower the T-N and T-P content in the soil. Third, analyzing the T-N and T-P removal rate in relation to the environmental conditions of the riparian forests showed that site 3 had the smallest total poplar tree content, and the T-N and T-P accumulation per unit area (ha) was also relatively low at just 56% and 68% of the average value. The main causes of this outcome are thought to be the differences in environmental conditions, such as the crop cultivated before poplar planting began and the terrain. The research results verify that riparian forests with poplar trees reduced T-N and T-P content in the soils. The growth of poplar is expected to increase the removal of T-N and T-P from the soil and contribute to the reduction of various nonpoint source pollution flows into rivers and lakes and to the purification of soil in flooded areas. Therefore, riparian forests can act as a form of green infrastructure and as a system to remove nonpoint source pollution in ecological watershed management.

Background and objective Mounting evidence suggests that nature-based recreation such as gardening can generate various mental and behavioral benefits. However, the benefits of gardening for older populations are largely unknown. This study aimed to assess how a seniors’ gardening program affects older people’s nature relatedness, psychological well-being, and intent to engage in pro-environmental behavior. Methods We designed a one-group pretest-posttest study. Twelve seniors in their 60s and 70s participated in a gardening program occurring in a university botanical garden for 5 months. We used a 5-point Likert scale to measure the participants’ nature relatedness, psychological well-being, and pro-environmental behavioral intentions at the beginning as well as the end of the program. We compared the pretest and posttest scores on each measure using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test for nature relatedness and paired t-tests for psychological well-being and behavioral intentions. Results Our results indicated statistically significant increases in all three outcome variables after participation in the gardening program. The median score for nature relatedness was 4.167 after program participation compared to 3.500 before participation (p < .05). Also, participants’ psychological well-being mean score increased from 3.505 to 4.009 (p < .01) while their intent to engage in pro-environmental behavior mean score increased from 4.115 to 4.427 (p < .05). Conclusion A seniors’ gardening program can be an effective way for older people to connect with nature and improve their mental health. Also, gardening can foster the capacity of the elderly to help reduce human impacts on the environment.

This study investigated eco-tour ships at Nakdong estuary, Suncheon wetland, and Goesan and Sanmagi-yetgil, 3 of the 26 ecotourism sites in Korea, by analyzing the characteristics and level of ecotourist satisfaction. The field investigation focused on eco-tour ship image, facilities, landscape observed from eco-tour ship, course, and operations. The results of the satisfaction analysis can be summarized as follows. First, there was no significant difference in satisfaction of eco-tour ship image between Nakdong estuary and Sanmagi-yetgil (p > 0.01), while Suncheon wetland showed a significant difference (p < 0.01). It is assumed that the fact that the ship was built using timber which better suits the natural environment and coastal ecosystem had a positive impact on the visual image. No significant difference in satisfaction with facilities on eco-tour ships was found between Nakdong estuary and Suncheon wetland, while Sanmagi-yetgil showed a significant difference. Second, satisfaction of the landscape observed from the eco-tour ships showed significant differences in the mean scores of landscape evaluation the three target sites: Sanmagi-yetgil (8.40), Suncheon wetland (7.20), and Nakdong estuary (4.67). These values are based on the qualitative evaluation of the landscape as seen from the eco-tour ship. It is presumed to have been influenced by the diversity of the landscape and the width of the river. The eco-tour ship course satisfaction also showed significant differences in the mean scores: Sanmagi-yetgil (7.37), Suncheon wetland (6.57), and Nakdong estuary (5.00). The landscape and tour course evaluations of the respondents seem to be correlated. In particular, the variety of courses available to visitors in Sanmagi-yetgil was relatively high compared to Nakdong estuary and Suncheon wetland. Third, satisfaction analysis for eco-tour ship operations found that Suncheon wetland and Sanmagi-yetgil did not differ significantly in terms of satisfaction (p = 0.634), but Nakdong estuary showed a significant difference. The relatively low satisfaction with the eco-tour ship operation at Nakdong estuary is due to the low scores for eco-tour ship commentary, reservation system, and with the facilities, while it is shown that the operation time as well as the landscape observed from the eco-tour ship and the tour course had a combined influence on satisfaction. In the comparative analysis of the impact of eco-tour ships on ecotourism, Nakdong estuary showed a significant difference. This finding indicates a greater influence of eco-tour ships on ecotourism in Suncheon wetland, Sanmagi-yetgil, and Nakdong estuary. Enhanced ecotourism satisfaction improves the probability of return visits. Thus, there is a need to incorporate the characteristics of ecological resources with well thought out operation and increased functional suitability of eco-tour ships to improve ecotourism satisfaction. The eco-ships in the three places in this paper have elements promoting and enhancing their potential. Our findings showed the satisfaction level of the users with the theme of ecotourism.

Maintaining and improving the ecological soundness and value of Korea’s traditional villages can contribute to their role as tourism resources. This study examined water treatment measures intended to improve the ecological value of one of South Korea’s traditional villages by analyzing the efficiency of water treatment in a pond at the village’s entrance and changes in flora around the village pond. The results demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of non-point pollutant sources flowing from the pond into surrounding farmland. Treatment efficiencies of Total Nitrogen, Dissolved Oxygen, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, and Chemical Oxygen Demand and Total Phosphorus were 75.33, 30.02, 65.52, 59.12 and 78.85 percent respectively. Moreover, changes to the flora around the village pond were analyzed. Prior to the village pond being dug, the flora consisted of a single-species gramineous plant; however, after the village pond was constructed, nine types of aquatic plants were identified, including lotus plants. The flora diversity was increased, with the aquatic plants showing strong growth. This pond function influences the reduction of pollution load for streams outside the village, and distributes the treatment effects of pollution sources that occur inside the village.

Aquatic vegetation plays an important role in maintaining the health of river ecosystems. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of vegetation decomposition on water quality in rivers. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the effect of aquatic vegetation decomposition on nutrient conditions in the Jeonjucheon River in South Korea. To this end, we determined the distribution and biomass of four dominant species: Phragmites japonica Steud., Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud., Miscanthus sinensis Andersson, and Rumex crispus L. Additionally, we conducted a nutrient leaching experiment to determine the contributions of different species to the nutrient status of the river. We found that the decomposition concentrations of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) were the highest for P. japonica (7.74 mg/L) and R. crispus (1.59 mg/L). The annual load of TN from decomposition was 536,171.6 kg/yr and that of TP was 57,547.1 kg/yr. The total pollution load for the Jeonjucheon River was 2,903,885.3 kg/yr for TN and 17,602.1 kg/yr for TP. However, the TN and TP contribution from vegetation decomposition was negligible compared to that from other sources. This study serves as a valuable reference for sustainable management of river vegetation and water pollution.