Identifying high-yield low-emission pathways for the cereal production in South Asia

Increasing agricultural production to meet the growing demand for food whilst reducing agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the major challenge under the changing climate. To develop long-term policies that address these challenges, strategies are needed to identify high-yield low-emission pathways for particular agricultural production systems. In this paper, we used bio-physical and socio-economic models to analyze the impact of different management practices on crop yield and emissions in two contrasting agricultural production systems of the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of India. The result revealed the importance of considering both management and socio-economic factors in the development of high-yield low-emission pathways for cereal production systems. Nitrogen use rate and frequency of application, tillage and residue management and manure application significantly affected GHG emissions from the cereal systems. In addition, various socio-economic factors such as gender, level of education, training on climate change adaptation and mitigation and access to information significantly influenced the adoption of technologies contributing to high-yield low-emission pathways. We discussed the policy implications of these findings in the context of food security and climate change.     

Beyond the “General Public”: Implications of Audience Characteristics for Promoting Species Conservation in the Western Ghats Hotspot,India

Understanding how different audience groups perceive wildlife is crucial for the promotion of biodiversity conservation, especially given the key role of flagship species in conservation campaigns. Although the heterogeneity in preferences reinforces the need for campaigns tailored to specific target audiences, many conservation education and awareness campaigns still claim to target the “general public”. Audiences can be segmented according to social, economic, and cultural criteria across which species perceptions are known to vary. Different studies have investigated the preferences of different groups towards certain wildlife species, but these are largely confined to a single conservation stakeholder group, such as tourists, local communities, or potential donors in western countries. In this study, we seek to determine from a multi-stakeholder perspective, audience characteristics that influence perceptions towards wildlife at Valparai, a fragmented plateau in the Western Ghats region of the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka Hotspot. We found that stakeholder group membership was the most important characteristic followed by gender. While some characteristics had a wide-scale effect others were restricted to a few species. Our results emphasize the need to design conservation campaigns with specific audiences in mind, instead of the very often referred to “general public”.     

Study on removal of silver and polyethylene terephthalate from exposed radiography films using enzyme protease

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - In the proposed method, crude enzymes extracted from waste dry leaves of 15 different plants showing protease activity were used for removal of...     

Solid waste management in Indian Himalayan tourists' treks: a case study in and around the Valley of Flowers and Hemkund Sahib

Solid waste generation in sensitive tourist areas of the Indian Himalayan region is approaching that of some metro cities of the country. The present study showed approximately 288 g waste generation visitor(-1) day(-1) compared with the nation-wide average of 350 g capita(-1) day(-1). About 29 metric tonnes (MT) solid waste is generated along a distance of about 19-km trek (a stretch of land or distance between two or more places covered by a walk) during a 4-month tourist season every year. Treks and trek stalls are the two major places where the visitors generate solid waste. Waste estimated from stalls accounted for about 51% by weight of the total waste generation in the trekking region. The native villagers generally construct stalls every year to meet the requirement of visitors going to Valley of Flowers (VOF) and Hemkund Sahib. The average annual results of 2 years (or equivalent to the average of one, 4-month tourist season for the region) showed non-biodegradable waste (NBW) to be 96.3% by weight whereas biodegradable waste (BW) amounted to merely 3.7%. From management point of view of the government, 96% NBW could easily be reused and recycled. Nevertheless, the need is to manage this waste by bringing it from the trekking areas to the road head (Govind Ghat) first and then to transport it to adjacent recycling centers. Cold drink glass bottles (68%), plastic (26%) and metal (2%) were the major items contributing to non-biodegradable waste. The remaining organic waste could be used as feedstock for composting. A well coordinated effort of public participation is necessary at all the levels for managing waste. There is a need to educate the visitors to instill in them the habit of considering discarded waste as potentially valuable and manageable.     

Amelioration of Indian urban air pollution phytotoxicity in Beta vulgaris L. by modifying NPK nutrients

Air pollution levels are increasing at an alarming rate in many developing countries, including India and causing a potential threat to crop production. Field experiments were conducted to examine the impact of urban air pollutants on biomass (yield) and some physiological and biochemical parameters of palak (Beta vulgaris L. var. All Green) that grew from germination to maturity at seven periurban sites of Allahabad city having different concentrations of air pollutants under different levels of nutrients. The 6h daily mean NO2, SO2 and O3 concentrations varied from 2.5 to 42.5, 10.6 to 65 and 3.5 to 30.8 microg m(-3), respectively at different locations. Levels of air pollution showed significant negative correlations with photosynthetic pigments, protein, ascorbic acid and starch contents and catalase activity of palak leaves. A significant negative correlation was found for total biomass with SO2 (r=-0.92), NO2 (r=-0.85) and O3 (r=-0.91) concentrations. The increased fertilizer application (N, P and K) over the recommended dose resulted in a positive response by reducing losses in photosynthetic pigments and total biomass. This study proved that ambient air pollution of Allahabad city is influencing negatively to the growth and yield of palak plants.     

Direct and interactive effects of enemies and mutualists on plant performance: a meta-analysis

Plants engage in multiple, simultaneous interactions with other species; some (enemies) reduce and others (mutualists) enhance plant performance. Moreover, effects of different species may not be independent of one another; for example, enemies may compete, reducing their negative impact on a plant. The magnitudes of positive and negative effects, as well as the frequency of interactive effects and whether they tend to enhance or depress plant performance, have never been comprehensively assessed across the many published studies on plant-enemy and plant-mutualist interactions. We performed a meta-analysis of experiments in which two enemies, two mutualists, or an enemy and a mutualist were manipulated factorially. Specifically, we performed a factorial meta-analysis using the log response ratio. We found that the magnitude of (negative) enemy effects was greater than that of (positive) mutualist effects in isolation, but in the presence of other species, the two effects were of comparable magnitude. Hence studies evaluating single-species effects of mutualists may underestimate the true effects found in natural settings, where multiple interactions are the norm and indirect effects are possible. Enemies did not on average influence the effects on plant performance of other enemies, nor did mutualists influence the effects of mutualists. However, these averages mask significant and large, but positive or negative, interactions in individual studies. In contrast, mutualists ameliorated the negative effects of enemies in a manner that benefited plants; this overall effect was driven by interactions between pathogens and belowground mutualists (bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi). The high frequency of significant interactive effects suggests a widespread potential for diffuse rather than pairwise coevolutionary interactions between plants and their enemies and mutualists. Pollinators and mycorrhizal fungi enhanced plant performance more than did bacterial mutualists. In the greenhouse (but not the field), pathogens reduced plant performance more than did herbivores, pathogens were more damaging to herbaceous than to woody plants, and herbivores were more damaging to crop than to non-crop plants (suggesting evolutionary change in plants or herbivores following crop domestication). We discuss how observed differences in effect size might be confounded with methodological differences among studies.     

Screening of hepatoprotective effect of a herbal mixture against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity in Swiss albino mice

The hepatoprotective potential of a herbal mixture was evaluated against CCl4 induced liver injury in Swiss albino mice. Liv 52, a commercially available polyherbal hepatoprotective drug was evaluated for comparison. The potential toxicity of the above herbal hepatoprotective agents was also compared. It was observed that there was a reduction in the enzyme biomarkers (Aspartate and Alanine Transaminase) of liver injury in the herbal mixture treated groups, which was similar to the reduction initiated by Liv 52. An increase in glutathione was observed in the herbal mixture treated groups and it was assumed that the herbal mixture protects the liver by virtue of its antioxidant nature along with high regeneration initiation potential. From the study it is also concluded that the herbal mixture is safer than Liv 52.     

Assessment of regional climatic changes in the Eastern Himalayan region: a study using multi-satellite remote sensing data sets

In this study, an attempt has been made to capture the sensitivity of a mountainous region to elevation-dependent warming and the response of a glacier-laden surface to increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosol concentration. Some of the changes Sikkim has undergone due to urban sprawl are as follows: an increase of ~0.7?±?0.46 °C temperature in the past 40 years at an altitude of 5.5 km; a 2.21 km²/year rate of loss of glacierised area in the past 33 years; an increase in absorbed longwave radiation (6?±?2.41 W/m²); an increase in heat fluxes (2?±?0.97 W/m²); a decrease in albedo during the last 30 years; an increase in the concentrations of carbon dioxide (4.42 %), methane (0.61 %), ozone (0.67 %) and black carbon column optical depth (7.19 %); a decrease in carbon monoxide (2.61 %) and an increase in aerosol optical depth (19.16 %) during the last decade; a decrease in precipitation, water yield, discharge and groundwater; and an increase in evapotranspiration during 1971–2005. Detection of three climate signals (1976, 1997 and 2005) in the entire analysis is the quantification of the fact that the climate of Sikkim is moving away from its inter-annual variability. An increase in temperature (0.23 °C/decade) at higher altitude (~5.5 km), suppression of precipitation, decreasing water availability and rapid loss of glacierised area are the evidences of the fact that air pollution is playing a significant role in bringing about regional climatic changes in Sikkim. In this study, change detection method has been used for the first time for the estimation of change in a glacierised area of the region.     

Synthesis, characterization and application of Lagerstroemia speciosa embedded magnetic nanoparticle for Cr(VI) adsorption from aqueous solution

Lagerstroemia speciosa bark (LB) embedded magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by co-precipitation of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ salt solution with ammonia and LB for Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution. The native LB, magnetic nanoparticle (MNP), L. speciosa embedded magnetic nanoparticle (MNPLB) and Cr(VI) adsorbed MNPLB particles were characterized by SEM–EDX, TEM, BET-surface area, FT-IR, XRD and TGA methods. TEM analysis confirmed nearly spherical shape of MNP with an average diameter of 8.76 nm and the surface modification did not result in the phase change of MNP as established by XRD analysis, while led to the formation of secondary particles of MNPLB with diameter of 18.54 nm. Characterization results revealed covalent binding between the hydroxyl group of MNP and carboxyl group of LB particles and further confirmed its physico-chemical nature favorable for Cr(VI) adsorption. The Cr(VI) adsorption on to MNPLB particle as an adsorbent was tested under different contact time, initial Cr(VI) concentration, adsorbent dose, initial pH, temperature and agitation speed. The results of the equilibrium and kinetics of adsorption were well described by Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order model, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters suggest spontaneous and endothermic nature of Cr(VI) adsorption onto MNPLB. The maximum adsorption capacity for MNPLB was calculated to be 434.78 mg/g and these particles even after Cr(VI) adsorption were collected effortlessly from the aqueous solution by a magnet. The desorption of Cr(VI)-adsorbed MNPLB was found to be more than 93.72% with spent MNPLB depicting eleven successive adsorption–desorption cycles.