Dead River to Eco-Friendly River - The revival of Taehwa River, Ulsan Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea
Description
Location
Sketch
Information about lithology/geochemistry:
Taehwa River flows through the heart of Ulsan and flows into Ulsan Bay, which is connected to the East Sea. Taehwa River drains an area of nearly 644 km² and most of the watershed lies within Ulsan Metropolitan City, and part of the basin lies in the neighboring city, Gyeongju. The entire length of the river is 46 km. [Lithology] Ulsan has a variety of geologic resources, such as granite, enclaves, Daewang-am featured by erosion features, and Bangudae petroglyphs. In particular, granite and enclaves show well the volcanic activity that took place in the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula about 60 to 70 million years ago. Therefore, they are regarded as a heritage with outstanding academic value.
Main Description
- The type of this demonstration site is ‘Basin’, encompassing 57 inflows into the river and the river itself, covering an area of approximately 644 km2. The Taehwa River traverses Ulsan Metropolitan City horizontally, with some portions extending into Gyeongju City. Ulsan Metropolitan City has a total population of 1.1 million people (as of January 2023).
Enhance ecohydrological processes in novel ecosystem
NO
Apply complementary Ecohydrological processes in high impacted system
NO
This table presents the different categories of ecosystem services that ecosystem can provide, divided in:
Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
EH Principles
Quantification of the hydrological processes at catchment scale and mapping the impacts
Ecological engineering (integration, dual regulation and biotechnologies in catchment scale for enhancement of ecological potential)
ECOHYDROLOGY ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS
The Korea National Fishway Information System website provides comprehensive data on weir characteristics, location, and conditions in the Taehwa River. The mainstream and tributaries of the Taehwa River have 12 flow measuring points, 20 water quality measuring points, and 36 biological measuring points, and more than 30+ parameters such as BOD, TP, TN, and Chlorophy of water quality monitoring data were collected last 20 years.
Ecohydrological Infrastructure
Ulsan City is actively working to protect the native plants of the Taehwa River by eradicating harmful foreign plants and creating habitats for silver grass that naturally grows around the sewage treatment plant. This not only promotes the preservation of local flora but also provides a sanctuary for citizens to enjoy the beauty of nature.
Phytotechnology
The Taehwa River is home to over 700 species of flora and fauna, including 127 bird species and 64 fish species. Every year, salmon and other fish species return to the river, and fishways have been established to aid their migration. The Ulsan city government also monitors migratory bird movements and endeavors to secure habitats for them, utilizing wetlands and bamboo forests in the basin. It is also registered as East Asian-Australasian Flyway Network Site and Ulsan City is managing the site.
Faunatechnology
Major Issues
Expected Outcomes
Latest Results
Contacts
Dongah Nikki Ko, Eunjin Yu
- secretariat@ihpkorea.or.kr
- UNESCO IHP National Committee of the Republic of Korea
Social ecohydrological system
EH Objectives
EH Methodology
Catchment Ecohydrological sub-system
Objectives
Stakeholders
Catchment Sociological sub-system
Activities