Impact of roof rain water harvesting of runoff capture and household consumption

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In recent years, the occurrence of floods is one of the most important challenges facing in Hamadan city. In the absence/inefficiency of urban...     

Benthic polychaetes in the Ratnagiri bay, India: influence of anthropogenic factors

Study of changes in macrobenthic community structure is an intrinsic part of many environmental monitoring programmes. Hence, it is pivotal to distinguish the effects of natural and anthropogenic factors on these sensitive organisms for accurate assessment and management of coastal environment. Polychaete species diversity of five stations in the Ratnagiri bay was investigated during premonsoon and postmonsoon months in 2007. Though no spatial trends in polychaete diversity vis-à-vis the pollution was visible, the polychaete univariate indices were uniformily better in premonsoon indicating clear seasonal trends. Shannon diversity values ranged from 1.4-2.4 during premonsoon and 0.6-1.6 during postmonsoon. Station 5, which was most impacted by anthropogenic wastes as demonstrated by the anoxic conditions coupled with higher nutrient load, had comparatively higher H' values (1.9 and 1.6) and better evenness values (0.9 and 0.7) during both seasons indicating that the polychaetes were not influenced by anthropogenic contamination. The study indicates that the polychaete distribution and diversity in the bay were governed primarily by variations in sediment texture rather than the anthropogenic disturbances.     

Adsorption-desorption, persistence and leaching behavior of thifluzamide in alluvial soil

Investigations were undertaken to study the adsorption-desorption, persistence and leaching of thifluzamide (2',6'-dibromo-2-methyl-4'-trifluoromethoxy-4-trifluoro methyl-1,3-thiazole-5-carboxanilide) in an alluvial soil under laboratory conditions. The adsorption-desorption studies were carried out using batch equilibration technique. The results revealed high but weak adsorption of thifluzamide in alluvial soil with K(F) value of 9.62 and 'n' value of 0.63. About 47-62% of the adsorbed amount got desorbed in four desorption cycles, which further substantiate the hypothesis of weak binding. The hysteresis coefficient varied from 0.19 to 0.40. Persistence studies carried out at three concentration levels (0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 microgg(-1)) and under three moisture conditions (air-dry, field capacity moisture and submerged) revealed that thifluzamide is a persistent chemical and only 19.5-54.0% dissipation was recorded on 90th day. However, it appears that aerobic microbes are more efficient in degrading thifluzamide than anaerobic microbes. The preliminary leaching studies carried out in the laboratory revealed that thifluzamide was moderately mobile in alluvial soil. Only small amounts (<1%) were recovered from leachate fractions whereas major portion remained in 0-15 cm soil depth.