Development of methane emission factors for Indian paddy fields and estimation of national methane budget

A state-wise assessment of methane (CH(4)) budget for Indian paddies, based on a decadal measurement data across India is presented for the calendar year (CY) 1994, the base year for India's Initial National Communication (NATCOM) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), along with national trend from CY 1979 to 2006. The NATCOM CH(4) emission factors (EFs) for Indian paddy cultivation areas, generally having less than 0.7% of soil organic carbon (SOC), have been estimated as 17.48+/-4 g m(-2) for irrigated continuously flooded (IR-CF), 6.95+/-1.86 g m(-2) for rain-fed drought prone (RF-DP), 19+/-6 g m(-2) for rain-fed flood prone (RF-FP) and deep-water (DW), 6.62+/-1.89 g m(-2) for irrigated intermittently flooded single aeration (IR-IF-SA) and 2.01+/-1.49 g m(-2) for IR-IF multiple aeration (MA) paddy water regimes. The state-wise study for 1994 has indicated national CH(4) budget estimate of 4.09+/-1.19 Tg y(-1) and the trend from 1979 to 2006 was in the range of 3.62+/-1 to 4.09+/-1.19 Tg y(-1). Four higher emitting or "hot spot" states (West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) have accounted for 53.9% of total CH(4) emission with RF-FP paddy water regime as the major contributor. CH(4) emissions were enhanced by factors such as SOC ( approximately 1.5 times due to increase in SOC by approximately 1.8 times), paddy cultivars (approximately 1.5 times), age of seedlings (approximately 1.4 times), and seasons (approximately 1.8 times in Kharif or monsoon than in Rabi or winter season).     

Megacities and Large Urban Agglomerations in the Coastal Zone: Interactions Between Atmosphere, Land, and Marine Ecosystems

Megacities are not only important drivers for socio-economic development but also sources of environmental challenges. Many megacities and large urban agglomerations are located in the coastal zone where land, atmosphere, and ocean meet, posing multiple environmental challenges which we consider here. The atmospheric flow around megacities is complicated by urban heat island effects and topographic flows and sea breezes and influences air pollution and human health. The outflow of polluted air over the ocean perturbs biogeochemical processes. Contaminant inputs can damage downstream coastal zone ecosystem function and resources including fisheries, induce harmful algal blooms and feedback to the atmosphere via marine emissions. The scale of influence of megacities in the coastal zone is hundreds to thousands of kilometers in the atmosphere and tens to hundreds of kilometers in the ocean. We list research needs to further our understanding of coastal megacities with the ultimate aim to improve their environmental management.     

Short and long-term effects of clofibric acid and diclofenac on certain biochemical and ionoregulatory responses in an Indian major carp, Cirrhinus mrigala

Extensive use of pharmaceuticals in human and veterinary medicine and aquaculture practices pose a serious threat to aquatic organisms. In the present investigation, Cirrhinus mrigala an Indian major carp was exposed to different concentrations of clofibric acid (CA) and diclofenac (DCF) and certain biochemical and ionoregulatory responses were assessed under short and long term exposures. During short-term (96 h) exposure period, plasma glucose and sodium (Na⁺) levels were increased at all concentrations (1, 10 and 100 μg L⁻¹) of CA and DCF treated fish. Plasma protein and chloride (Cl⁻) levels were found to be decreased at all concentrations of CA and DCF exposed fish comparatively to control groups. Meanwhile an increase in plasma potassium (K⁺) level was noted in fish exposed to CA treatments alone and in DCF treatments it was decreased. In long-term exposure (35 d), plasma Na⁺ and Cl⁻ levels were found to be significantly increased at all concentration of CA and DCF. However, a biphasic trend was observed in plasma glucose, protein and K⁺ levels. In both the treatments, a significant (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05) changes were observed in all parameters measured in fish exposed to different concentrations of CA and DCF. The results of the present investigation indicate that both the drugs caused significant changes in biochemical and ionoregulatory responses of fish at all concentrations. The alterations of these parameters can be useful in monitoring of pharmaceutical residues present in aquatic environment.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from municipal solid waste management in Indian mega-cities: a case study of Chennai landfill sites

Municipal solid waste generation rate is over-riding the population growth rate in all mega-cities in India. Greenhouse gas emission inventory from landfills of Chennai has been generated by measuring the site specific emission factors in conjunction with relevant activity data as well as using the IPCC methodologies for CH4 inventory preparation. In Chennai, emission flux ranged from 1.0 to 23.5mg CH4m(-2)h(-1), 6 to 460microg N2Om(-2)h(-1) and 39 to 906mg CO2m(2)h(-1) at Kodungaiyur and 0.9 to 433mg CH4m(-2)h(-1), 2.7 to 1200microg N2Om(-2)h(-1) and 12.3 to 964.4mg CO2m(-2)h(-1) at Perungudi. CH4 emission estimates were found to be about 0.12Gg in Chennai from municipal solid waste management for the year 2000 which is lower than the value computed using IPCC, 1996 [IPCC, 1996. Report of the 12th session of the intergovernmental panel of climate change, Mexico City, 1996] methodologies.     

Hunting or habitat? Drivers of waterbird abundance and community structure in agricultural wetlands of southern India

The relative impacts of hunting and habitat on waterbird community were studied in agricultural wetlands of southern India. We surveyed wetlands to document waterbird community, and interviewed hunters to document hunting intensity, targeted species, and the motivations for hunting. Our results show that hunting leads to drastic declines in waterbird diversity and numbers, and skew the community towards smaller species. Hunting intensity, water spread, and vegetation cover were the three most important determinants of waterbird abundance and community structure. Species richness, density of piscivorous species, and medium-sized species (31–65 cm) were most affected by hunting. Out of 53 species recorded, 47 were hunted, with a preference for larger birds. Although illegal, hunting has increased in recent years and is driven by market demand. This challenges the widely held belief that waterbird hunting in India is a low intensity, subsistence activity, and undermines the importance of agricultural wetlands in waterbird conservation.     

Chitosan composites reinforced with nanostructured waste fly ash

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - This paper outlines the preparation and characterization of chitosan (CS) composites reinforced with mechano-chemically activated fly ash (MCA-FA)....     

Heavy metal assessment using geochemical and statistical tools in the surface sediments of Vembanad Lake, Southwest Coast of India

The geochemical distribution and enrichment of ten heavy metals in the surface sediments of Vembanad Lake, southwest coast of India was evaluated. Sediment samples from 47 stations in the Lake were collected during dry and wet seasons in 2008 and examined for heavy metal content (Al, Fe, Mn, Cr, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cu, Co, Cd), organic carbon, and sediment texture. Statistically significant spatial variation was observed among all sediment variables, but negligible significant seasonal variation was observed. Correlation analysis showed that the metal content of sediments was mainly regulated by organic carbon, Fe oxy-hydroxides, and grain size. Principal component analysis was used to reduce the 14 sediment variables into three factors that reveal distinct origins or accumulation mechanisms controlling the chemical composition in the study area. Pollution intensity of the Vembanad Lake was measured using the enrichment factor and the pollution load index. Severe and moderately severe enrichment of Cd and Zn in the north estuary with minor enrichment of Pb and Cr were observed, which reflects the intensity of the anthropogenic inputs related to industrial discharge into this system. The results of pollution load index reveal that the sediment was heavily polluted in northern arm and moderately polluted in the extreme end and port region of the southern arm of the lake. A comparison with sediment quality guideline quotient was also made, indicating that there may be some ecotoxicological risk to benthic organisms in these sediments.     

Chromium speciation in groundwater of a tannery polluted area of Chennai City, India

Chromium speciation in groundwater of a tannery polluted area was investigated for the distribution of chromium species and the influence of redox couples such as Fe(III)/Fe(II) and Mn(IV)/Mn(II). Speciation analysis was carried out by ammonium pyrolidinedithiocarbamate (APDC)–methylisobutylketone (MIBK) procedure. The groundwater samples were analyzed for Cr(III), Cr(VI), and Cr(III)-organic complexes. The APDC could not extract the Cr(III)-organic complexes, but HNO₃ digestion of the groundwater samples released the Cr(III)-organic complexes. The groundwater of the area is relatively oxidizing with redox potential (E _h) and dissolved oxygen (DO) ranged between 65 and 299 mV and 0.25 and 4.65 mg L^???1, respectively. The Fe(II) reduction of Cr(VI) was observed in some wells, but several wells that had Fe(II)/Cr(VI) concentrations more than the stoichiometric ratio (3:1) of the reduction reaction also had appreciable concentration of Cr(VI). This could partly be due to the oxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III) by DO. It appears that the occurrence of Mn more than the Fe(II) concentration was also responsible for the presence of Cr(VI). Other reasons could be the Fe(II) complexation by organic ligands and the loss of reducing capacity of Fe(II) due to aquifer materials, but could not be established in this study.     

Chromium speciation in a contaminated groundwater: redox processes and temporal variability

Chromium species (Cr(III), Cr(VI), and Cr(III)-organic) in groundwater of a tannery contaminated area were monitored during pre- and post-monsoon seasons for a period of 3 years (May 2004 to January 2007). The objectives of the study were (1) to investigate the temporal variation of chromium species and other matrix constituents and (2) to study the redox processes associated with the temporal variation of chromium species. Samples were collected from 15 dug wells and analyzed for chromium species and other constituents. The results showed that the groundwater was relatively more oxidizing during post-monsoon periods than the pre-monsoon periods. Except one sample, the concentration of chromium species were found in the order of Cr(VI)>Cr(III)>Cr(III)-organic complexes during all the pre- and post-monsoon periods. In most of the wells, the concentrations of Cr(III), Cr(VI), and Cr(III)-organic decreased during post-monsoon periods compared to their pre-monsoon concentrations. However, the Cr(VI)/Cr_Total ratio still increased and the Cr(III)/Cr_Total ratio decreased during post-monsoon periods in most of the samples. The possible mechanisms for the temporal variation of chromium species were (1) Fe(II) reduction of Cr(VI) vs oxidation of Fe(II) by dissolved oxygen and (2) oxidation of Cr(III) by Mn(IV).