Soil carbon sequestration in tropical agroforestry systems: a feasibility appraisal

Agroforestry is recognized as a strategy for soil carbon sequestration (SCS) under the afforestation/reforestation activities, but our understanding of soil carbon (C) dynamics under agroforestry systems (AFS) is not adequate. Although some SCS estimates are available, many of them lack scientific rigor. Several interrelated and site-specific factors ranging from agroecological conditions to system management practices influence the rate and extent of SCS under AFS, so that generalizations tend to become unrealistic. Furthermore, widely and easily adoptable methodologies are not available for estimating the SCS potential under different conditions. In spite of these, there is an increasing demand for developing “best-bet estimates” based on the current level of knowledge and experience. This document presents an attempt in that direction. The appraisal validates the conjecture that AFS can contribute to SCS, and presents indicative ranges of SCS under different AFS in the major agroecological regions of the tropics. The suggested values range from 5 to 10 kg C ha^?1 in about 25 years in extensive tree-intercropping systems of arid and semiarid lands to 100–250 kg C ha^?1 in about 10 years in species-intensive multistrata shaded perennial systems and homegardens of humid tropics.     

Assessment of coastal dune characteristics using georadar imaging and sedimentological analysis: Odisha and Visakhapatnam, India

The East coast of India is subject to continuous changes by high energy events. We sought to assess the depositional conditions along the coast from the geophysical and sedimentological character of the dune sands of the Gopalpur and Paradeep coast of Odisha, and the Sagarnagar coast of North Visakhapatnam. Quartz layers of the heavy mineral-rich zone collected at a depth of ~2 m from the landward foot of the dunes in the Visakhapatnam and Odisha coast, gave the OSL age estimates as 1,050?±?50 and 260?±?10 years respectively, revealing that the age of the dunes in Visakhapatnam are older than those on the Odisha coast. Episodic high energy events have affected the coast. Evidence from ground penetrating radar data consists of three stratigraphic units. The upper unit consists of vague reflections, parallel to the ground in continuous manner, most probably formed by wind action. On the other hand, the middle layer shows high amplitude reflections of heavy mineral-rich massive layers, possibly the result of tsunami activity. The lower massive layer parallel to the ground surface shows a low reflection pattern. The GPR studies showed that the thickness of the heavy mineral layers is greater on the landward foot of the dune as compared to that on the seaward side. According to the grain size analysis, the dune is composed of both wind generated and tsunamigenic sediments. The scanning electron microscope studies revealed that the heavy minerals present in the dunes are mainly sillimanite, ilmenite, garnet, pyroxene, rutile, sphene, biotite, hornblende, zircon, monazite and magnetite. The study demonstrates the origin of sand dunes in different ages along the East Coast of India by the effect of various natural phenomena.     

Distribution of organochlorine pesticides and heavy metal residues in fish and shellfish from Calicut region, Kerala, India

Fish collected from five different locations from the Calicut region, India were analysed for the levels of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and heavy metal (HM) residues in order to elucidate the status of these chemical contaminants in fish and shellfish meant for human consumption. The highest concentrations of OCPs detected in the edible portion of fish were 10.47, 70.57 and 28.35 ng g-1 wet weight, in marine, brackish water and freshwater, respectively. BHC and heptachlor epoxide formed the major share of OCPs in the marine fish while BHCs contributed to the major share in the freshwater and brackish water fish. The DDT (sum of DDT and its metabolites) ranged from 0.05 to 8 ng g-1 in the samples irrespective of the habitat. Among the HMs, Cu, Zn, Mn and Cr were present in the samples irrespective of the place of collection. About 22% of the samples from the freshwater area contained marginally higher lead content above the legal limit of 0.2-0.4 microg g-1. The Cr content ranged from 0.1 to 1.1 microg g-1 in the fish with marginally higher content in the fish from freshwater and marine regions (0.55-1.1 microg g-1). Mercury was detected in the samples (55%) from marine habitat only. The concentrations of OCPs and HMs in the samples, in general, were below the maximum residual level recommended by various organizations.     

From robustness to resilience: avoiding policy traps in the long term

The likelihood of being faced with trap-like situations is a worrisome aspect of long-term policy-making, such as for climate change adaptation. Even when a policy may be effective in the short-term, changes in problem or policy contexts may render it ineffective over time. The design of ‘robust’ policies, meaning those which are able to self-adjust to linear changes in their environment, can be contrasted with ‘resilient’ ones which are able to adjust not only to linear, but also non-linear shifts in their contexts. Building on Boonstra and de Boer (AMBIO 43:260–274, 2014)’s argument that traps should not be considered as a static phenomenon; rather their emergence and development is often directly influenced by history and path-dependency, this paper elaborates how trap-like situations can emerge with increase in climate uncertainty over time. Three strategies to address policy traps due to climate change form subjects of inquiry in this paper: avoiding traps in the first place, designing against traps, and overcoming traps once in them. Each requires a specific type of design thinking and practice.     

Glutathione antioxidant status of frozen meat samples

Lipid oxidation is a process, which results in rancidity and deterioration of fats posing a major problem in food industry. Antioxidants are of interest, which presumably protects food from oxidative deterioration during storage. The glutathione antioxidant system of different meat samples were noticed for six months under refrigerated storage. Activity of glutathione reductase (GR) and level of glutathione (GSH) decreased during six months storage in all the four meat samples. The glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity increased gradually during storage. It seems possible that glutathione antioxidant system protected the meat samples against quality loss during its storage.     

Observations on the biochemical changes in gonads and other organs of Uca annulipes,Portunus pelagicus and Metapenaeus affinis (Decapoda: Crustacea) during the reproductive cycle

The fluctuations in biochemical constituents such as water, nitrogen, non-protein nitrogen, protein, lipid and glycogen in gonad, muscle and hepatopancreas have been followed in 3 decapod crustaceans, Uca annulipes (Latreille), Portunus pelagicus (Linnaeus) and Metapenaeus affinis (Milne-Edwards). The water and ash content of the entire body show no systematic fluctuation in relation to the annual reproductive cycle. The water content of the ovary diminishes as it matures. In the ovary of these crustaceans, the lipid fluctuated greatly in relation to the reproductive cycle. The maturing ovary contains more lipid than an immature or spent ovary per unit tissue weight. The changes in the biochemical constituents in the testis are not so pronounced as in the ovary, since the testicular cycle is often drawn-out and almost continuous in these crustaceans. There is an inverse relationship between water content and lipid content of the hepatopancreas; the greater the fat content, the lesser the water content. The hepatopancreas in these crustaceans is apparently a storage organ and contains much lipid and glycogen. At the height of the breeding season, when gonad production is intense, there is an indication of the mobilisation of at least a part of the lipid from hepatopancreas to gonad.Dissertation for the award of a Doctorate Degree of the Kerala University.Formerly the Marine Biological Laboratory.     

An improved product-process for cleaner chrome tanning in leather processing

Severe restrictions imposed by the pollution control authorities on the disposal of chromium, total dissolved solids and chlorides in tannery effluents have forced the tanners to look for low-waste, high exhaust chrome tanning salts. An improved chrome syntan with more than 90% uptake of chrome has been developed. The new product serves both as tanning and retanning agent and can be applied directly to delimed pelts thus eliminating the conventional pickling stage in the leather processing. This modified process helps to reduce the chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS) and chlorides in the spent tan liquor by 51, 81 and 99%, respectively. The product offers full, soft leathers having shrinkage temperature comparable to conventional chrome tanned skins. Since the developed product is highly reactive, it saves time and reduces the water requirement when compared to the conventional chrome tanning method. Thus the novel product/process developed not only has advantages in reducing pollution loads but also seems to be techno-economically viable.     

Continuous Safety Sampling Methodology

This research introduces a proactive methodology for accident prevention, called Continuous Safety Sampling Methodology, by utilizing the principles of work sampling and control charting. Sampling is performed to observe the occurrence of conditions that may become hazardous in a given system. These conditions, known as dendritics, may become hazards and could result in an accident or occupational disease. Continuous Safety Sampling Methodology performs a random sampling for the occurrence of these dendritics. The collected data are then used to generate a control chart. Based on the pattern of the control chart, a system “under control” is not disturbed whereas a system “out of control” is investigated for potential conditions becoming hazardous. Appropriate steps are then taken to eliminate or control these conditions to maintain a desired safe system.     

Controlled application rate of water treatment residual for agronomic and environmental benefits

Water treatment residuals (WTR) are useful soil amendments to control excessive soluble phosphorus (P) in soils, but indiscriminate additions can result in inadequate control or excessive immobilization of soluble P, leading to crop deficiencies. We evaluated the influence of application rates of an Al-WTR and various P-sources on plant yields, tissue P concentrations, and P uptake and attempted to identify a basis for determining WTR application rates. Bahiagrass (paspalum notatum Fluggae) was grown in a P-deficient soil amended with four P-sources at two application levels (N- and P-based rates) and three WTR rates (0, 10, and 25 g kg(-1) oven dry basis) in a glasshouse pot experiment. The glasshouse results were compared with data from a 2-yr field experiment with similar treatments that were surface applied to an established bahiagrass. Soil P storage capacity (SPSC) values increased with application rate of WTR, and the increase varied with sources of P applied. Soil soluble P concentrations increased as SPSC was reduced, and a change point was identified at 0 mg kg(-1) SPSC in the glasshouse and the field studies. A change point was identified in the bahiagrass yields at a tissue P concentration of 2.0 g kg(-1), corresponding to zero SPSC. Zero SPSC was shown to be an agronomic threshold above which yields and P concentrations of plants declined and below which there is little or no yield response to increased plant P concentrations. Applying P-sources at N-based rates, along with WTR sufficient to give SPSC value of 0 mg kg(-1) SPSC, enhanced the environmental benefits (reduced P loss potential) without negative agronomic impacts.     

Importance of Crop Yield in Calibrating Watershed Water Quality Simulation Tools1

Surendran Nair, Sujithkumar, Kevin W. King, Jonathan D. Witter, Brent L. Sohngen, and Norman R. Fausey, 2011. Importance of Crop Yield in Calibrating Watershed Water Quality Simulation Tools. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(6):1285–1297. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00570.x Abstract: Watershed‐scale water‐quality simulation tools provide a convenient and economical means to evaluate the environmental impacts of conservation practices. However, confidence in the simulation tool’s ability to accurately represent and capture the inherent variability of a watershed is dependent upon high quality input data and subsequent calibration. A four‐stage iterative and rigorous calibration procedure is outlined and demonstrated for Soil Water Analysis Tool (SWAT) using data from Upper Big Walnut Creek (UBWC) watershed in central Ohio, USA. The four stages and the sequence of their application were: (1) parameter selection, (2) hydrology calibration, (3) crop yield calibration, and (4) nutrient loading calibration. Following the calibration, validation was completed on a 10 year period. Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiencies for streamflow over the validation period were 0.5 for daily, 0.86 for monthly, and 0.87 for annual. Prediction efficiencies for crop yields during the validation period were 0.69 for corn, 0.54 for soybeans, and 0.61 for wheat. Nitrogen loading prediction efficiency was 0.66. Compared to traditional calibration approaches (no crop yield calibration), the four‐stage approach (with crop yield calibration) produced improved prediction efficiencies, especially for nutrient balances.