Urban plans for pedestrian-friendly environments by reducing exposure to air pollutants and enhancing movement are crucial for public health and accessibility of social infrastructure. Here, we develop a novel network analysis-based approach, which identifies pivotal local walkways that lower exposure risk to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) while improving the urban landscape connectivity. We employ an exponential distance-decay model and partial correlation analysis to estimate traffic-induced PM_2.5 and to test the relationship between the proxies and actual PM_2.5 concentrations, respectively. We use a proxy for pedestrians’ PM_2.5 exposure as a movement cost when conducting network analyses to compute pedestrian network centrality, reflecting both low PM_2.5 exposure risk and landscape connectivity. As a result, we found a significant contribution of traffic to the estimated PM_2.5 exposure and PM_2.5 concentrations. We also found that walkways make a large contribution to regional connectivity regardless of the estimated PM_2.5 exposure risk owing to the composition and configuration of urban landscape elements. Regarding the spatial features and planning context, this study suggests four types of pedestrian networks to provide urban authorities with useful practical information in city-wide urban plans for enhancing walkability: PM_2.5 reduction required; PM_2.5 reduction recommended; optimal areas; and alternatives of optimal areas.

Snakebites can pose a significant threat to human health as the destruction of natural habitats and increased human intrusion into ecosystems result in more frequent encounters with snakes. Mitigation measures for snakebites are particularly crucial for hiking trails where transportation of snakebite victims to medical facilities is challenging due to limited emergency resources and difficult access. This study employed a random forest-based species distribution model approach to investigate the potential habitats of Gloydius spp., specifically Gloydius saxatilis, Gloydius brevicaudus, and Gloydius ussuriensis, in South Korea and to assess the snakebite risk in national parks. Potential habitats of Gloydius spp. were identified and visualized by overlaying binary maps derived from species distribution models (SDMs) of each Gloydius spp. that corresponded to high-risk snakebite areas. In addition, hiking trails with high snakebite risk in the national parks were identified after demonstrating the statistical correlation between the potential habitat distribution of Gloydius spp. and the actual snakebite incidents in major regions of South Korea. The primary environmental variables determining Gloydius spp. habitat were the topographic position index, slope, and the annual average of the maximum and minimum temperatures. The potential habitat of G. saxatilis generally appeared in high-altitude mountainous areas, mostly in the eastern part of the study area. Favorable habitats for G. brevicaudus and G. ussuriensis were predominantly located in mountainous areas throughout the study area, with the exception of some high-altitude mountainous terrain in the east. The number of snakebite incidents per 10,000 people was significantly correlated with the area ratio of Gloydius spp. potential habitat (Spearman’s rho = 0.638, p < 0.01). The proportion of snakebite risk areas among national parks in South Korea ranged from 18% to 57%. This study can support practical solutions to prevent injuries and fatalities among hikers due to snakebites by identifying areas with a high risk of snakebite accidents at the hiking-trail level.

생태계가 지닌 다양한 프로세스를 반영하는 지형에 대한 공간정보는 국토의 지속가능한 이용과 환경생태 연구에 있어 매우 중요하다. 따라서 지형공간정보의 고도화를 위한 고해상도의 연속수치표고모델 제작을 위해 많은 노력이 기울여지고 있다. 그러나 지형공간정보 구축은 주로 육상생태계 지상부를 중심으로 수행되고 있으며, 수중 지형정보는 상대적으로 부족한 실정이다. 본 연구는 담수지역 생태계인 경기도 안산시 갈대습지공원을 대상으로 지상과 수중을 연계한 수치표고모델 구축을 목표로 하였다. 이를 위해 수심측정이 가능한 음파탐지기를 활용하여 9,850개의 수심 위치정보를 획득하였고, 기존의 5m DEM과 연계하여 지상과 수중의 연속적인 고도정보를 구축하였다. 수심 위치정보와 지상 고도정보의 연계를 위해 역거리가중법(Inverse Distance Weighted, IDW)과 함께 4개의 크리깅 기반 공간보간법(Empirical Bayesian Kriging, EBK; Simple Kriging, SK; Ordinary Kriging, OK; Universal Kriging, UK)이 적용되었다. 연구대상지 내 지상 고도정보와 수심 위치 점자료 70%를 활용하여 각 보간 모델을 생성하였고, 나머지 30%를 활용하여 보간 모델들의 선형 적합성을 평가하였다. 또한, 대응비교 t-검정을 통해 수심 측정값과 공간보간 모델별 예측값 간 유의미한 차이가 있는지 확인하였다. 연구결과, 유의수준 0.05에서 통계적으로 유의하고 적합성이 가장 높은 보간 모델은 EBK (????²=0.55)였으며, 다음으로 OK (????²=0.54), IDW (????²=0.53), UK (????²=0.41), SK (????²=0.37) 순이었다. 대응비교 t-검정 결과로 수심 측정값과 가장 유사하게 예측한 모델은 EBK (????=0.85)였으며, 그 다음으로 IDW (????=0.18), OK (????=0.10), UK (????=0.06), SK (????<0.001) 순이었다. 종합하면, 수중과 지상의 연속수치표고모델 구축에 있어 EBK가 다른 보간 모델들에 비해 가장 우수한 모델이었다. 이러한 결과들은 수중과 지상을 연계한 고해상도 공간정보 구축을 위한 기초자료로 활용될 수 있을 것이다.