Application of remote sensing techniques toward the role of traditional water bodies with respect to vegetation conditions

Sri Lanka being an agrarian country, the role of water is important for agricultural production. In Sri Lanka, various tank cascade systems, earthen dams and distribution canals have been accepted as few of the most complex ancient traditional water systems of the world. Rainfall, surface water, groundwater and runoff are linked with each other, they have close interactions to land cover classes such as forests and agriculture. The monitoring of vegetation conditions can show subsurface manifestations of groundwater. In this study, an effort to understand the role of traditional water reservoirs and groundwater recharge was made using remote sensing techniques. We have analyzed various vegetation indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI-2), Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI), tasselled cap transformation analysis (TCA brightness, greenness and wetness) and their relations with the existence of soil, vegetation and water. Result shows that EVI, SAVI, and TCA-based Greenness Index indicates good relationship with the vegetation conditions as compared to other indices. Therefore, these indices could play a crucial role in depicting the interaction between soil, vegetation, and water. However, multi-temporal observations can provide significant results about these interactions more accurately.     

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).     

Cost Effective Production of Poly-β-Hydroxybutyrate by Bacillus subtilis NG05 Using Sugar Industry Waste Water

The present study describes the treatment of sugar industry waste water and its use as a potential low cost substrate for production of bioplastic by Bacillus subtilis NG05. The B. subtilis NG05 grow at the rate of 0.14 g h^?1 L^?1 of production media used and accumulate the 50.1 % of poly β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). The phase contrast microscopy revealed the presence of PHB granules in B. subtilis NG05 which was further confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance. The polymer was further analysed by differential scanning calorimetry. PHB production yield was achieved up to 4.991 g L^?1 with Sugar industry waste water as sole nutrient source. Thus the process provided dual benefits of conversion of a waste material into value added product, PHB and waste management.     

Occupational health hazards and wide spectrum of genetic damage by the organic solvent fumes at the workplace: A critical appraisal

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Long-term exposure to organic solvents is known to affect human health posing serious occupational hazards. Organic solvents are genotoxic, and they...