An assessment of carbon stock for various land use system in Aravally mountains, Western India

Reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries is of the central importance in efforts to combat climate change. A study was conducted to measure carbon stocks in various land-use systems including forms and reliably estimates the impact of land use on carbon (C) stocks in the forest of Rajasthan, western India (23°3′–30°12′N longitude and 69°30′–78°17′E). 22.8% of India is forested and 0.04% is the deforestation rate of India. In Indian forest sector of western India of Aravally mountain range covered large area of deciduous forest and it’s very helpful in carbon sequestration at global level. The carbon stocks of forest, plantation (reforestation) and agricultural land in aboveground, soil organic and fine root within forest were estimated through field data collection. Results revealed that the amount of total carbon stock of forests (533.64?±?37.54 Mg·ha^?1, simplified expression of Mg (carbon) ·ha^?1) was significantly greater (P?<?0.05) than the plantation (324.37?±?15.0 Mg·ha^?1) and the agricultural land (120.50?±?2.17 Mg·ha^?1). Soil organic carbon in the forests (172.84?±?3.78 Mg·ha^?1) was also significantly greater (P?<?0.05) than the plantation (153.20?±?7.48 Mg·ha^?1) and the agricultural land (108.71?±?1.68 Mg·ha^?1). The differences in carbon stocks across land-use types are the primary consequence of variations in the vegetation biomass and the soil organic matter. Fine root carbon was a small fraction of carbon stocks in all land-use types. Most of the soil organic carbon and fine root carbon content was found in the upper 30-cm layer and decreased with soil depth. The aboveground carbon (ABGC): soil organic carbon (SOC): fine root carbon ratios (FRC), was 8:4:1, 4:5:1, and 3:37:1 for the forest, plantation and agricultural land, respectively. These results indicate that a relatively large proportion of the C loss is due to forest conversion to agricultural land.     

Seasonal variation in heavy metal contamination in water and sediments of river Sabarmati and Kharicut canal at Ahmedabad, Gujarat

The objective of the study is to reveal the seasonal variations in the river water and sediment quality with respect to heavy metal contamination. To get the extent of trace metals contamination, water and sediment samples were collected from five different sites along the course of Sabarmati River and its tributary Kharicut canal in pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The concentration of trace metals such as chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc was determined using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy. The concentrations of heavy metals were found to be higher in the pre-monsoon season than in the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in water samples. The pollution load index, contamination factor and degree of contamination (C _d) in sediments were calculated to know the extent of anthropogenic pressures. The values of C _d clearly indicated very high degree of contamination at Kharicut canal (S-4: 32.25 and S-5: 54.52) and considerable degree of contamination at three sites of Sabarmati river viz; S-1, S-2 and S-3 with values 14.30, 14.42 and 17.21, respectively. Lead and nickel could not be traced in any of the river water samples.     

Assessing the efficacy of dissolved air and flash-pressurized flotations using low energy for the removal of organic precursors and disinfection byproducts: a pilot-scale study

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Dissolved air flotation (DAF) is a widely used treatment process in drinking water and wastewater treatment plants despite high energy cost associated...     

Hepatotoxicity of graphene oxide in Wistar rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Graphene oxide (GO) has a multitude of applications in areas of nanomedicine, electronics, textile, water purification, and catalysis among others. GO...     

Rice straw for energy and value-added products in China: a review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - The rise of global waste and the decline of fossil fuels are calling for recycling waste into energy and materials. For example, rice straw, a by-product of rice...     

Do frogs really eat cardamom? Understanding the myth of crop damage by amphibians in the Western Ghats,India

In the Western Ghats of India, amphibians are culled at cardamom plantations since they are perceived to consume cardamom. To better understand the relationship between amphibians and cardamom, a study was undertaken at these plantations, which harbor numerous threatened and range-restricted amphibians. We undertook questionnaire surveys with 298 respondents at 148 plantations across southern India. Time-activity budget and diet analysis surveys were undertaken to determine whether amphibians really consumed cardamom. The conception that amphibians eat cardamom was found to be widespread especially among small-sized plantations, leading to negative perceptions and a lack of interest in amphibian conservation. The plantation community perceives a substantial economic loss due to amphibians, even though this is non-existent as revealed by our field surveys. These perceptions would lead to a continued intolerance of amphibian presence in plantations. A suitable outreach initiative re-affirming facts and spreading awareness on the positive role of amphibians would need to be conducted to negate this age-old myth.     

Evidences showing 2,4-D ethyl ester and pencycuron-induced DNA damage in cyanobacteria and detection by PCR

The impact of 2,4-D ethyl ester and pencycuron in inducing DNA damage in three species of cyanobacteria-Anabaena fertilissima, Aulosira fertilissima, and Westiellopsis prolifica as evidenced by PCR-based assays: RAPD and 16S rRNA amplification was examined. Exposure of genomic DNA (in vitro) to pencycuron for 4 days did not produce severe damage in DNA fragments of all three cyanobacterial species whereas exposure to 2,4-D ethyl ester markedly inhibited the template activity of genomic DNA compared to untreated cultures of A. fertilissima. In A. fertilissima a single band of approximately 1000?bp was observed even after 16 days of exposure to 60?ppm pencycuron which suggests that certain segments of DNA are resistant to pencycuron DNA damaging effects. However, a significant effect was observed in the case of W. prolifica for 2,4-D ethyl ester and pencycuron where complete disappearance of fragments was not recorded even after 16 days of incubation and interestingly some new DNA bands were induced. Similar to the effects with RAPD profile, amplification of rRNA was significantly inhibited following exposure of genomic DNA to 2,4-D ethyl ester and pencycuron. Our findings clearly demonstrate that pesticide concentrations affected cyanobacterial DNA and lethality of these microbes might be due to irreversible DNA damage. Thus, it is postulated that PCR assays may be conveniently used for screening DNA damage produced by 2,4-D ethyl ester and pencycuron in all three cyanobacteria examined in this study.