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Understanding the connections between human activities and the natural environment depends heavily on information about land use and land cover (LULC) in the form of accurate LULC maps. Environmental monitoring using deep learning (DL) is rapidly growing to preserve a sustainable environment in the long term. For establishing effective policies, regulations, and implementation, DL can be a valuable tool for assessing environmental conditions and natural resources that will positively impact the ecosystem. This paper presents the assessment of land use and land cover change detection (LULCCD) and prediction using DL techniques for the southwestern coastal region, Goa, also known as the tourist destination of India. It consists of three components: (i) change detection (CD), (ii) quantification of LULC changes, and (iii) prediction. A new CD assessment framework, Spatio-Temporal Encoder-Decoder Self Attention Network (STEDSAN), is proposed for the LULCCD process. A dual branch encoder-decoder network is constructed using strided convolution with downsampling for the encoder and transpose convolution with upsampling for the decoder to assess the bitemporal images spatially. The self-attention (SA) mechanism captures the complex global spatial-temporal (ST) interactions between individual pixels over space-time to produce more distinct features. Each branch accepts the LULC map of 2 years as one of its inputs to determine binary and multiclass changes among the bitemporal images. The STEDSAN model determines the patterns, trends, and conversion from one LULC type to another for the assessment period from 2005 to 2018. The binary change maps were also compared with the existing state of the art (SOTA) CD methods, with STEDSAN having an overall accuracy of 94.93%. The prediction was made using an recurrent neural network (RNN) known as long short term memory network (LSTM) for the year 2025. Experiments were conducted to determine area-wise changes in several LULC classes, such as built-up (BU), crops (kharif crop (KC), rabi crop (RC), zaid crop (ZC), double/triple (D/T C)), current fallow (CF), plantation (PL), forests (evergreen forest (EF), deciduous forest (DF), degraded/scurb forest (D/SF)), littoral swamp (LS), grassland (GL), wasteland (WL), waterbodies max (Wmx), and waterbodies min (Wmn). As per the analysis, over the period of 13 years, there has been a net increase in the amount of BU (1.25%), RC (1.17%), and D/TC(2.42%) and a net decrease in DF (3.29%) and WL(1.44%) being the most dominant classes being changed. These findings will offer a thorough description of identifying trends in coastal areas that may incorporate methodological hints for future studies. This study will also promote handling the spatial and temporal complexity of remotely sensed data employed in categorizing the coastal LULC of a heterogeneous landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters such as earthquakes endanger human lives and infrastructure, particularly in urban areas. With the advancements in science and technology in understanding natural hazards, recent studies have attempted to mitigate them by mapping the risks using geospatial technology. In this paper, we attempt to integrate the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) models, namely the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Criteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC), besides using the artificial neural network (ANN) to assess the seismic risk in the eastern coast of India. The AHP-CRITIC technique is used to evaluate the earthquake coping capacity and vulnerability and has been further used to generate a training base for earthquake probability mapping by ANN. The earthquake probability and spatial intensity information are used to develop the hazard map. Following that, integrating vulnerability, hazard and coping capacity spatial information assessed earthquake risk. Our results indicate that approximately 5% of the study area is at high risk, whilst more than 11% of the population is at high risk due to seismic induced hazards. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve is 0.85, which indicates reliable results. The results of this study may help various agencies involved in planning, development and disaster mitigation to develop seismic hazard mitigation methods by better understanding their impacts on the eastern coastal region of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kanyakumari coast is known to be a high background natural radiation area due to the placer deposits of heavy minerals such as ilmenite, monazite, and rutile. The Kanyakumari river sediments that could be the source of the elevated amounts of natural radionuclides in the coastal sands have been studied in this paper. The activity concentrations of primordial radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were determined using high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometry. The mean activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K were found to be 75 Bq kg−1, 565 Bq kg−1, and 360 Bq kg−1, respectively. The mean absorbed dose rate was 395 nGy h−1. Radiological hazard parameters were studied and compared with the world average values. The contribution of 232Th to the total dose rate was found to be higher than that of the two other radionuclides. The high mean ratio of 232Th/226Ra suggested an enrichment of 232Th and the occurrence of 226Ra leaching due to an oxidizing environment. Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out for the radionuclides in order to discriminate the source of the sediments. This study provides new insights into the distribution of natural radionuclides in sediments of rivers and streams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion caused by water refers to the removal of topsoil by rainfall and runoff. Proper selection of an assessment method is crucial for quantifying the spatial variance of soil erosion. The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and its revised version (RUSLE) are widely used for modelling soil erosion. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the USLE-based soil erosion modelling in different agroecological regions of India, identify potential issues, and provide suggestions for future applications. The review revealed that little attention has been given to estimate soil erosion in high-priority land degradation regions of India. Additionally, many studies failed to thoroughly verify the authenticity of stated soil loss rates in their research regions either by overestimating or underestimating at least one of the five soil loss parameters. Furthermore, flaws in the application of methods to calculate these parameters leading to erroneous values were identified and suggestions for improvement were made. The USLE-based soil erosion modelling is an effective tool for quantifying soil erosion risk, but researchers should put emphasis on thoroughly verifying the methodologies adopted, unit conversions, and data availability for the estimation of soil loss parameters to improve the accuracy of their final results. This paper provides valuable insights to assist researchers in implementing USLE-based erosion models in diverse agroecological regions in India and elsewhere. However, for effective soil conservation and sustainable agriculture, further research is necessary to develop efficient techniques for using USLE-based soil erosion modelling to achieve a comprehensive understanding of erosion risk across different agroecological regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India at present is one of the leading countries in antimicrobial drug production and use, leading to increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and public health problems. Attention has mainly been focused on the human and food animals' contribution to AMR neglecting the potential contribution of the perceptibly degraded aquatic environment in India. The paper reviews the available published literature in India on the prevalence of antimicrobial residues and their dissemination pathways in wastewater of pharmaceutical industries, sewage treatment plants, hospitals, riverine, community pond water, and groundwater. The prevalence of antimicrobial residue concentration, pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria antimicrobial resistant bacteria (ARB), their drug resistance levels, and their specific antimicrobial resistant genes (ARGs) occurring in various water matrices of India have been comprehensively depicted from existing literature. The concentration of some widely used antimicrobials recorded from the sewage treatment plants and hospital wastewater and rivers in India has been compared with other countries. The ecotoxicological risk posed by these antimicrobials in the various water matrices in India indicated high hazard quotient (HQ) values for pharmaceutical effluents, hospital effluents, and river water. The degraded aquatic environment exhibited the selection of a wide array of co-existent resistant genes for antibiotics and metals. The review revealed improper use of antibiotics and inadequate wastewater treatment as major drivers of AMR contaminating water bodies in India and suggestion for containing the challenges posed by AMR in India has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diwali has become an occasion of air and noise pollution, and the release of particulate matter and toxic gases has chronic and acute effects on people and their environment. Thus, an air quality assessment study was done by CSIR-CSMCRI covering the pre-to-post Diwali 2021 period (5 days) in the three locations (traffic, residential, and control) of Bhavnagar. The average 24-h concentration of PM10 (380 µg/m3), PM2.5 (182.2 µg/m3), and SPM (403 µg/m3) was significantly higher during Diwali, exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The concentrations of SO2 and NO2 were 121.8 µg/m3 and 102.1 µg/m3. Metals like Zn, Al, Pb, and Mn were found in higher concentrations during the study. The air quality index (AQI) was maximum on Diwali, resembling very poor air quality. More elements and oxides were detected in PM2.5 (S, Al, Mg, Ba, and Zn and their oxides) than in PM10 (Fe and S) through WDXRF. Water-soluble anions like SO42−, Cl−, and NO3− were observed during the study, with a higher SO42− (64%) on Diwali. The PM10 morphology and mapping of elements were done using SEM–EDX. Emerging contaminants, specifically phthalate groups, were detected through GCMS. The enrichment factor (EF) showed Zn and Pb originating from anthropogenic activities. The air quality data was validated using a variance test, least significance difference (LSD), correlation, and principal component analysis (PCA). This paper is the first to highlight the air quality assessment during Diwali for a western coastal place in India. It is time to implement regulations on burning firecrackers for pollution reduction, aiming to achieve a sustainable atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil erosion is the inherent and destructive threat affecting agricultural production and livelihood of million mouths. The increased frequency of floods and land use/land cover changes has made Upper Jhelum Sub-catchment susceptible to soil erosion risk. Morphometric based watershed prioritization for soil erosion risk may help in sustainable management of natural resources. Thus, this paper endeavors to prioritize watersheds of Upper Jhelum Sub-catchment in India based on morphometric parameters for soil erosion risk using geospatial techniques. Weights to the morphometric parameters were assigned through a multi-criteria decision method. The watersheds in the Sub-catchment have been categorized into low, medium, high and very high priority classes based on prioritization ranks that were determined by computing the compound value for the soil erosion risk, based on prioritization ranks obtained through compound value for the soil erosion risk. The results revealed 1E1D3 and 1E1D8 watersheds accorded very high priority. The watersheds namely IE1D2 and IEID4 were found under high priority. Medium priority for soil erosion risk was determined in IEID5 and IED7 watersheds while 1E1D1 and IE1D6 watersheds were identified for low priority. The study calls for implementing soil conservation practices in the Sub-catchment. The Sub-catchment can be made less hazardous for the soil erosion risk by implementing contour farming, building check dams, terrace farming, afforestation and limiting large scale overgrazing. The findings of this study may offer valuable insights for stakeholders for conservation of soil resource. The approach utilized in the study may be linked with soil loss estimation for effective conservation of natural resources in further future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rainfall over the Indian region, governed majorly by the monsoonal flow, is a point of research in the perspective of climate change. In this paper, we compute the change points in the rainfall series at every grid of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) daily gridded rainfall data for a period of 120 years (1901 to 2020). The map shows clearly demarcated regions indicating different zones, where the rainfall statistics have altered at different periods. It is observed that in a major part of central India, the shift in rainfall intensity is mainly associated with the time frame 1955–1965; in the Indo-Gangetic plain, the changes are found to be more recent (1990), while the latest changes (post 2000) are observed particularly for North Eastern region and some parts along the East Indian coast. The changeover years are significant at a 95% confidence level for most part of the Indian landmass. The causes may be surmised due to moisture transport from the Arabian Sea (Central India), the presence of aerosol (Gangetic Plain), and the possible revival of monsoon due to land–ocean gradient (Eastern coast and North East India). This is the first-ever study which provides a comprehensive daily rainfall change point map over India using 120 years of gridded station data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ever-increasing use of pesticides in agricultural fields has led to a catastrophic decline in crop quality and, ultimately soil fertility. To control various pests, quinalphos is commonly used in India's tea plantations. This study aims to investigate the effects of the Quinalphos organophosphate insecticide on the non-target beneficial organism Eudrilus eugeniae earthworms and the biomarkers that respond to its effects. Earthworm species, especially E. eugeniae, remains as the most trustworthy and well-suited model organism for conducting a wide variety of environmental studies. The median lethal concentration (LC50) was identified as 3.561 µg cm−2 (contact filter paper) and 1.054 mg kg−2 (artificial soil toxicity). The 5% and 10% of LC50 value 3.561 µg cm−2 was exposed to earthworm to analyze the sublethal effects at pre-clitellum, clitellum, and post-clitellum segments. Specific enzymatic activities of neurotransmitter enzyme acetylcholinesterase; antioxidant enzymes such as lipid peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase; and detoxification enzymes including glutathione S transferase, reduced glutathione, carboxylesterase, and Cytochrome P450 were analyzed. Exposure of E. eugeniae earthworm to subacute exposures of pesticides caused significant alterations in these stress markers in a concentration-dependent manner. Morphological abnormalities like bulginess, coiling, and bleeding were observed after exposure of the insecticide treatments. Histological cellular disintegration, a reduced NRRT time, and an inhibited proteolytic zone were also identified in pesticide-exposed earthworms. Studies demonstrate that the organophosphate insecticide quinalphos causes acute toxicity in E. eugeniae; hence, it is suggested that non-target eco-friendly E. eugeniae earthworms may be at risk if exposed to the excessive concentrations of quinalphos organophosphate insecticide in soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation aims to assess the phytoremediation potential of six aquatic macrophytes, viz. Eichhornia crassipes, Hydrilla verticillata, Jussiaea repens, Lemna minor, Pistia stratiotes and Trapa natans grown in paper mill effluent of JK Paper mill of Rayagada, Orissa, for remediation of heavy metals. The experiment was designed in pot culture experiments. Assessment of physico-chemical parameters of paper mill effluent showed significant decrease in pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, chlorine, sulphur, biological and chemical oxygen demand after growth of macrophytes for 20 days. Phytoremediation ability of these aquatic macrophytic species for copper (Cu) and mercury (Hg) was indicated by assessing the decrease in the levels of heavy metals from effluent water. Maximum reduction (66.5 %) in Hg content of untreated paper mill effluent was observed using L. minor followed by T. natans (64.8 %). L. minor showed highest reduction (71.4 %) of Cu content from effluent water followed by E. crassipes (63.6 %). Phytoextraction potential of L. minor was remarkable for Hg and Cu, and bioaccumulation was evident from bioconcentration factor values, i.e. 0.59 and 0.70, respectively. The present phytoremediation approach was considered more effective than conventional chemical treatment method for removing toxic contaminants from paper mill effluent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper industries using different raw materials such as hard wood, bamboo, baggase, rice-straw and waste papers and bleaching chemicals like chlorine, hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, sulphite and oxygen were studied to estimate organic pollution load and Adsorbable Organic Halides (AOX) per ton of production. The hard wood based paper industries generate higher Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) loads (105–182 kg t−1) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) loads (32.0–72 kg t−1) compared to the agro and waste paper based industrial effluents. The bleaching sequences such as C–EP–H–H, C–E–H–H, C–E–Do–D1 and O–Do–EOP–D1 are adopted in the paper industries and the molecular elemental chlorine free bleaching sequence discharges low AOX in the effluent. The range of AOX concentration in the final effluent from the paper industries was 0.08–0.99 kg t−1 of production. Water consumption was in the range of 100–130 m3 t−1 of paper production for wood based industries and 30–50 m3 for the waste paper based industries. Paper machine effluents are partially recycled after treatment and pulp mill black liquor are subject to chemical recovery after evaporation to reduce the water consumption and the total pollution loads. Hypochlorite bleaching units of textile bleaching processes generate more AOX (17.2–18.3 mg l−1) and are consuming more water (45–80 l kg−1) whereas alkali peroxide bleaching hardly generates the AOX in the effluents and water consumption was also comparatively less (40 l kg−1 of yarn/cloth). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dense network of rain gauges and considerably large variability of the southwest monsoon precipitation across the country make India a suitable test-bed to evaluate any satellite-based precipitation product. In this paper, three real-time infrared-only precipitation products derived from the INSAT-3D satellite namely, INSAT Multispectral Rainfall (IMR), Corrected IMR (IMC) and Hydro-Estimator (HEM) and three rain gauge-adjusted Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)-based multi-satellite precipitation products namely, Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG), Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP) and an Indian merged satellite-gauge product (INMSG) have been evaluated over India at a daily timescale for the southwest monsoon seasons of 2020 and 2021. An evaluation against rain gauge-based gridded reference dataset shows noticeable reduction of bias in IMC product over IMR, primarily over the orographic regions. However, INSAT-3D infrared-only precipitation retrieval algorithms have limitations in shallow and convective precipitation estimation. Among rain gauge-adjusted multi-satellite products, INMSG is shown to be the best product in the monsoon precipitation estimation over India due to use of rather larger number of rain gauges than IMERG and GSMaP products. All satellite-derived precipitation products, i.e. infrared-only and gauge-adjusted multi-satellite products underestimate heavy monsoon precipitation by 50–70%. The bias decomposition analysis indicates that a simple statistical bias correction would considerably improve the performance of the INSAT-3D precipitation products over the central India, but the same might not work over the west coast due to rather larger contributions of both positive and negative hit bias components. Although rain gauge-adjusted multi-satellite precipitation products show very small or negligible total biases in the monsoon precipitation estimation, positive and negative hit bias components are considerable over the west coast and central India. Furthermore, rain gauge-adjusted multi-satellite precipitation products underestimate very heavy to extremely heavy precipitation with larger magnitudes than the INSAT-3D derived precipitation products over the central India. Among the rain gauge-adjusted multi-satellite precipitation products, INMSG has smaller bias and error than IMERG and GSMaP products for very heavy to extremely heavy monsoon precipitation over the west coast and central India. Preliminary results of this study would be useful for end users in choosing a better precipitation product for real-time and research applications as well as for algorithm developers in further improving these products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulp and paper mills generate varieties of pollutants depending upon type of the pulping process being used. This paper presents the characteristics of wastewater from South India Paper Mill, Karnataka, India which is using recycled waste paper as a raw material. The raw wastewater consists of 80-90 mg L suspended solid and 1,010-1,015 mg L dissolved solid. However, pH varied from 5.5-6.8. The biochemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand ranged from 200-210 and 1,120-1,160 mg L, respectively. Aerobic treatment of raw effluent attribute to significant reduction in suspended solid (range between 25 to 30 mg L) and total dissolved solid (range between 360 to 390 mg L). However, pH, temperature, and electrical conductivity were found superior after treatment. Copper, cadmium, iron, lead, nickel, and zinc were found in less quantity in raw effluent and were almost completely removed after treatment. The dendrogram of the effluent quality parameters clearly indicate that South India Paper Mill does not meet Minimal National Standard set by central Pollution Control Board to discharge in agricultural field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demarcated the most vulnerable regions within the Poiney sub-basin (Tamil Nadu state in India) with respect to the groundwater quality. An index-based vulnerability assessment was carried out by measuring the physico-chemical variables such as pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, magnesium, sodium, chloride, sulphate, bicarbonate and fluoride in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon samples. Water quality index varied across the sub-basin due to differences in the water quality induced by anthropogenic activities related to land use practices and presence of industries. The MT3D engine coupled with visual MODFLOW identified that sulphate released from tanneries and leather factories is the main effluent contaminating the groundwater. Model reveals that both the flow and contaminant transport is towards southeast with maximum and minimum calculated head of 201.82 mg/l and 265.92 mg/l and calculated sulphate concentration of 394.40 mg/l and 46.79 mg/l respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wetlands provide a great ecological service by accumulating and sequestering carbon in their soils and thus help in mitigating climate change caused due to global warming. However, the capacity and efficiency of different types of wetlands vary considerably depending upon the nature of the wetland, hydrology, biogeochemistry, climatic condition, and many other factors. In the present paper, we have studied the carbon accumulation and sequestration in three different wetlands, one sewage fed, and two floodplain oxbow lakes in the West Bengal state of India. The selected wetlands vary in terms of ecological regimes such as water volume, depth, link channel, agricultural runoffs, primary productivity, macrophyte coverage, and fishery. The carbon accumulation in the wetlands, which varied from 48.53 to 143.17 Mg/ha up to 30-cm depth of soil, was much higher than that in the corresponding upland sites. The difference was much higher in the floodplain wetlands. So the study revealed that wetlands are better carbon sinks than the corresponding reference sites and the carbon sequestration potential varies according to the type of wetlands. A positive correlation was also observed between macrophyte coverage and the amount of C stored in the wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal lakes and estuaries are considered economic drivers for coastal communities by delivering invaluable economic and ecosystem services. The coastal ecosystems are facing recurrent hypoxia events (dissolved oxygen; DO < 2.0 mg L−1) and are emerging as a major threat to ecosystem structure and functioning. The Ashtamudi Lake, (area = 56 km2), is one of the Ramsar sites in the State of Kerala and located on the SW coast of India. The waterways are extensively used for backwater tourism and for fishery activities. This paper discusses the spatio-temporal variation of water quality attributes with emphasis on hypoxia during non-monsoon and monsoon seasons. The extent of hypoxia on fishery diversity was discussed. The Southern Zone, adjacent to the urban area, shows the hypoxic condition with higher concentration of BOD, NO3-N, and NH4-N. The hypoxic condition is largely limited to the Southern Zone in both seasons. The occurrence of low DO in the lake is highly related to salinity and organic load in the lake system. The tracking of pollution sources in the lake system was also done through identification of pollution potential zones and found that catchments adjacent to Southern and Western Zones (urban regions) are the major source of pollution. The study suggests that hypoxia is chiefly attributed to anthropogenic interventions in the form of discharge of wastes into the lake causing overloading of nutrients and organic effluents, decrease in the freshwater supply, the absence of proper freshwater mixing or dilution, and effluent discharge from nearby urban centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses serious risks to Indian agriculture as half of the agricultural land of the country is rainfed. Climate change affects crop yield, soil processes, water availability, and pest dynamics. Several adaptation strategies such as heat- and water stress-tolerant crop varieties, stress-tolerant new crops, improved agronomic management practices, improved water use efficiency, conservation agriculture practices and improved pest management, improved weather forecasts, and other climate services are in place to minimize the climatic risks. The agriculture sector contributes 14% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) from the country. Mitigation of GHG emission from agriculture can be achieved by changing land-use management practices and enhancing input-use efficiency. Experiments in India showed that methane emission from lowland rice fields can be reduced by 40–50% with alternate wetting and drying (AWD), growing shorter duration varieties, and using neem-coated urea according to soil health card (SHC) and leaf color chart (LCC). Dry direct-seeding of rice, which does not require continuous soil submergence, can reduce methane emission by 70–75%. Sequestration of carbon (C) in agricultural soil can be promoted with the application of organic manure, crop residues, and balanced nutrients. India has taken several proactive steps for addressing the issues of climate change in agriculture. Recently, it has also committed for reducing GHG emission intensity by 45% by 2030 and achieving net zero emission by 2070. The paper discusses the major impacts of climate change, potential adaptation, and mitigation options and the initiatives of Govt. of India in making Indian agriculture climate-smart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, ecotourism has been identified as an adaptation strategy for mitigating climate change impacts, as it can optimize carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery, and livelihood benefits and generate new opportunities for the sustenance of the economy, environment, and society of the area endowed with natural resources and cultural values. With the growing responsibility at the global level, ecotourism resource management (ERM) becomes inevitable for its sustainable requirements. The integration of ecological and socio-economic factors is vital for ERM, as has been demonstrated by developing an Ecotourism Sustainability Maximization Model for an area under study, that is the Yuksam-Dzongri corridor (also known as Kangchendzonga Base Camp Trek), in the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (KBR), Sikkim, India. This model is based on the earlier developed ecotourism sustainability assessment (ESA) framework by the authors, which is based on the hierarchical relationship among ecotourism principles, criteria, indicators, and verifiers. Employing such relationships, this paper attempts to maximize ecotourism sustainability (ES) as a function of its sustainability principles, criteria, indicators, and verifiers, subject to the constraints identified through the safe minimum standard (SMS) approach by employing linear programming. Using 58 indicators as decision variables and 114 constraints, the model resulted in a maximum level of achievable ES with a score of 84.6%, allowing the resultant optimum values of the indicators to be maintained at the operational level. A central tenet of the model is the collective responsibility and adoption of a holistic approach involving the government, tourists, tourism enterprises, and local people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services (ES) are becoming a burgeoning topic presently playing a crucial role in sustaining human well-being, socioeconomic growth, and addressing environmental management and sustainability. The purpose of our review was to overview research trends of the forest ecosystem services (FES) in eastern India and the research methodologies adopted to evaluate them. To systematically study the FES literature, 127 articles pertaining to the term FES during the period 1991 to 2021 were reviewed through a quantitative analysis. The analytical outcome emphasized (1) the research aspects of FES and its types along with regional distribution, (2) the scenario of FES in eastern India with respect to other ES and India, (3) the quantitative trend of FES research over 30 years period, (4) the employed methodological approaches, and (5) the existing research gaps and prospects. Our findings suggest that the publication numbers are quite low in eastern India, as only 5 peer-reviewed articles were found on FES. The result also indicated that the majority of studies primarily focused on provisioning services (85.03%) and the survey/interview method gained more popularity as a primary data source. Most of the earlier studies employed basic assessments like product values or individual income. We also discussed the advantages as well as limitations of the employed methodologies. These findings further highlight the significance of valuing various FES collectively rather than individually and contribute to providing pertinent information for the FES literature scenario, which may help to strengthen forest management as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The land, oceans, and atmosphere are tightly linked and form the most dynamic component of the climate system. Studies on terrestrial and ocean science enhance the understanding on the impacts of climate change. Across India and the world over, human-driven land use and climate changes are altering the structure, function, and extent of natural terrestrial ecosystems and in turn regional biogeochemical feedbacks. In this special issue, we present 29 manuscripts; those discuss wide-ranging aspects of terrestrial and oceanic characterization and dynamics. These contributions are based on selected presentations made at the 2nd International Workshop on Biodiversity and Climate Change (BDCC-2018) held on 24–27 February 2018 at the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India. The manuscripts are arranged in five sections such as Ecological Assessment, Plant Invasion, Carbon Dynamics, Ecosystem Characterization, and Ocean Dynamics. We realized that the utility of satellite remote sensing data has been emerging as a dominant trend in environmental monitoring and assessment studies in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water bodies play a very important role in maintaining and restoring the ecological balance, but they are one of the most threatened habitats in the world. Anthropogenic intervention is changing the regimes of wetlands almost everywhere particularly in the developing countries. Gorakhpur District is dotted with many big and small flood plain–related water bodies like rivers, streams, tanks, dead arms, oxbow lakes, etc. Some of these water bodies are worst affected and are degraded by encroachment for agriculture and other economic and developmental activities. Channel migration, aggravated by human intervention, on alluvial plain is also very frequent, which has direct impact on the nature of water bodies and land use transformations of the region. In this paper, the authors have made an attempt to (a) bring current geographical and historical background of water bodies/wetlands for the district. It aims to assess long-term (1917–2018) and short-term (pre- and post-monsoon) changes in the water bodies of Gorakhpur District; (b) provide changes in the regime of water bodies/wetlands and their conversion to different types of land use/land cover classes due to human intervention and due to annual rainy season, which inundates a large extent of the area every year; (C) assess the channel characteristics and morphometric analysis of main rivers of the region during the last hundred years. Remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) have been used to prepare the inventory and to perform change detection, using land use/land cover maps. The floodplain areas of water bodies have almost changed their morphological characters due to encroachment by the nearby areas. Canals, drainage channels, and lakes are the most affected water bodies in the region, which have recorded − 65.38% and 43.37% loss in their area. Even permanent rivers have recorded a decrease of − 16.96% in the area. As per the seasonal change, agriculture land suffered the greatest conversion (18.33%) due to floodwater inundation. The study provides a platform to planners to chalk out their policies and also for monitoring the water bodies. Furthermore, analysis on channel migration will help predict the future course of the main rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise land use and land cover (LULC) change information of a land surface is significant for sustainable development programs as the earth's surface is undergoing rapid changes. Majuli Island is located in the upper reach of the Brahmaputra River in India. It is continuously changing its shape by the action of erosion of the Brahmaputra River, incurring both tangible and intangible losses. This study aims to find out the changes that occurred in the island by analyzing the land use/land cover along with channel migration in the Brahmaputra River that occurred in that area over the period 1973 to 2019. This paper assesses the changes and present status of Majuli River Island from 1973 to 2019 using Landsat MSS (1973), TM (1985, 1995), ETM + (2009), and OLI (2019) satellite imageries. Here, the maximum likelihood classification (MLC) technique for LULC analysis and their temporal changes and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) technique for the vegetation characteristics have been processed and analyzed with the help of the geospatial information system (GIS). From the results, it is found that area of vegetation has gradually decreased from 365.59 (26.85%) in 1973 to 262.79 km2 (19.29%) in 2019. In contrast, the barren land had increased from 4.82 (0.35%) in 1973 to 31.88 km2 (2.34%) in 2019. Other LULC categories like agricultural lands, built-up areas, water bodies, and sand deposition also have changed significantly. The NDVI values are also changed due to channel shifting, soil erosion, and deforestation. The accuracy assessment for the supervised classification of LULC classes for all years showed excellent results in all six classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper assesses the long-term combined effects of land use (LU) and climate change on river hydrology and water scarcity of two rivers of the Western Ghats of India. The historical LU changes were studied for four decades (1988–2016) using the maximum likelihood algorithm and the long-term LU (2016–2075) was estimated using the Dyna-CLUE prediction model. Five General Circulation Models (GCMs) were utilized to assess the effects of climate change (CC) and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used for hydrological modeling of the two river catchments. To characterize granular effects of LU and CC on regional hydrology, a scenario approach was adopted and three scenarios depicting near-future (2006–2040), mid-future (2041–2070), and far-future (2071–2100) based on climate were established. The present rate of LU change indicated a reduction in forest cover by 20% and an increase in urbanized areas by 9.5% between 1988 and 2016. It was estimated that forest cover in the catchments may be expected to halve compared to the present-day LU (55% in 2016 to 23% in 2075), along with large-scale conversion to agricultural lands (13.5% in 2016 to 49.5% in 2075). As a result of changes to LU and forecasted climate, it was found that rivers in the Western Ghats of India might face scarcity of fresh water in the next two decades until the year 2040. However, because of large-scale LU conversion toward the year 2050, streamflow in rivers might increase as high as 70.94% at certain times of the year. Although an increase in streamflow is perceived favorable, the streamflow changes during summer and winter may be expected to affect the cropping calendar and crop yield. The changes to streamflow were also linked to a 4.2% increase in ecologically sensitive wetlands of the Aghanashini river catchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chennai Port (13.099872° N, 80.297407° E), located along the southeast coast of India, has been a hub for maritime trade since the fifteenth century. An artificial harbour was initially constructed in 1881 which underwent numerous expansions in the following years. The breakwaters of the harbour intercepted the heavy sediment-laden littoral drift along the coast, resulting in the formation of the world's second-longest urban beach south of the port, i.e. on its up-drift side. Meanwhile, the coast north of the port, i.e. the down-drift side, experienced intense erosion due to a lack of sediment supply and forces induced on the coast due to waves and currents. The shoreline change study in this paper investigates a shoreline stretch of about 6 km (protected by transitional groynes), north of Chennai Port by dividing it into three segments. The rate of shoreline changes over a period of about 12 years across three different segments was assessed using statistical parameters by employing remote sensing techniques complemented with geographical information system (GIS) and digital shoreline analysis system (DSAS) tool. It is inferred that the coast has witnessed accretion and sizable growth in beach width has been observed post the construction of groyne field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seasonal and interannual variation in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in water [pCO2(water)] and air-water CO2 exchange in the Mahanadi estuary situated on the east coast of India was studied between March 2013 and March 2021. The principal aim of the study was to analyze the spatiotemporal variability and future trend of pCO2 and air-water CO2 fluxes along with the related carbonate chemistry parameters like water temperature, pH, salinity, nutrients, and total alkalinity, over 9 years. The seasonal CO2 flux over nine years was also calculated using five worldwide accepted equations. The seasonal map of pCO2(water) followed a general trend of being high in monsoon (2628 ± 3484 μatm) associated with high river inflow and low during pre-monsoon (445.6 ± 270.0 μatm). High pCO2 in water compared to the atmosphere (average 407.6–409.4 μatm) was observed in the estuary throughout the sampling period. The CO2 efflux computed using different gas transfer velocity formulas was also consistent with pCO2 water acquiring the peak during monsoon in the Mahanadi estuary (6033 ± 9478 μmol m−2 h−1) and trough during pre-monsoon (21.66± 187.2 μmol m−2 h−1). The estuary acted as a net source of CO2 throughout the study period, with significant seasonality in the flux magnitudes. However, CO2 sequestration via photosynthesis by phytoplankton resulted in lower emission rates toward the atmosphere in summer. This study uses the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model to forecast pCO2(water) for the future. Using measured and predicted values, our work demonstrated that pCO2(water) has an upward trend in the Mahanadi estuary. Our results demonstrate that long-term observations from estuaries should be prioritized to upscale the global carbon budget. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying groundwater contamination sources and supervising groundwater quality conditions are urgently needed to protect the groundwater resources of coastal areas like Contai of India, as communities here are heavily relying on groundwater which deteriorates progressively. So current research aims to address in detail about origins and influencing factors of groundwater contamination, status, and monitoring water quality by employing extremely useful leading technologies like principal component and factor analyses (PCA/FA), groundwater quality index (GWQI), and multiple linear regression (MLR) that helps to simplify complicated works instead of the conventional methods. Eight groundwater quality parameters were evaluated here, such as pH, TH (total hardness), Tur (turbidity), EC (electrical conductivity), TDS (total dissolved solids), Mn (manganese), Fe (iron), and Cl (chloride) for 38 sites. Three principal components with ~ 81% of the total variance were extracted from the PCA/FA analysis. The origin of maximum loadings of each factor is identified as a result of saline water, disintegration and leaching process, organic or else biogenic activities, and lithogenic or otherwise non-lithogenic links through percolating water. GWQI results show that ~ 87% of the samples fall into the good category and ~ 13% of the samples fall into the poor to very poor category. A model consisting of Tur, Fe, EC, Mn, TH, and Cl as independent parameters is more feasible and is proposed to predict GWQI obtained from MLR analysis. This MLR model also suggests that turbidity with the highest beta coefficient (0.820) is a key contributor relative to the entire groundwater class in this affected area. The findings relating to this research may support the designer and officials in monitoring and protecting coastal groundwater resources like selected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas are the cornerstone of biodiversity and serve as a haven for biodiversity conservation. However, due to immense anthropic pressures and ongoing changes in climate, the protected reserves are under immense threat. Human interference through land system changes is a major precusor of fragmentation of landscapes resulting in the decline of Himalayan biodiversity. In this context, this research assessed land use land cover changes (LULCCs) and fragmentation within and outside the Dachigam National Park (DNP) using remote sensing data, GIS-based models and ground truth over the past 55 years (1965–2020). Landscape Fragmentation Tool (LFT) helped to compute edge effect, patchiness, perforation and core areas. The Land Change Modeller (LCM) of IDRISI TerrSet was used for simulating the future LULC for the years 2030, 2050, 2700 and 2100. The analysis of LULCCs showed that built-up and aquatic vegetation expanded by 326% and 174%, respectively in the vicinity of the DNP. The area under agriculture, scrub and pasture decreased primarily due to intensified land use activities. Within the DNP, the area under forest cover declined by 7%. A substantial decrease was observed in the core zone both within (39%) and outside (30%) the DNP indicative of fragmentation of natural habitats. LCM analysis projected 10% increase in the built-up extents besides forests, shrublands and pastures. This knowledge generated in this study shall form an important baseline for understanding and characterising the human-wildlife relationship, initiating long-term ecological research (LTER) on naturally vegetated and aquatic ecosystems (primarily Dal Lake) of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, groundwater irrigation potential zones are identified by measuring an integrated irrigation water quality index using a GIS platform in the Vishwamitri River Basin (VRB) region, Gujarat, India. Classification of different irrigation potential zones is about the collective paraphernalia of thematic maps, namely, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), Na+, Cl−, and HCO3−, which principally regulate the groundwater quality for irrigation. The EC, SAR, and chloride values are > 3000 µS/cm, > 9 meq/L, and > 10 meq/L, respectively, indicating 98.78%, 41.78%, and 84.88% of the total area, respectively, belong to groundwater both hazardous and unsuitable for irrigation. Similarly, 39.55% of the total area is unsuitable for irrigation due to its high Na+ concentration. The permeability, porosity, and infiltration risk usually appear when excessive sodium ions reduce the rate of flow of irrigation water which moves in the lower soil zones. Similarly, high bicarbonate and chloride concentrations have been denoted to hamper the development of several crops causing symptoms analogous to lime-induced chlorosis due to toxic effects of the salt. The final irrigation potential map is marked by four levels, such as "most suitable," "moderately suitable," "moderately unsuitable," and "unsuitable for irrigation." Approximately, 56.69% of the total VRB region are covered with unsuitable for irrigation purposes. In such areas, irrigation must be avoided in usual conditions, and the halophytes, namely, Khati palak (Atriplex stocksii), Lamb's quarters (Chenopodium album), and Rudravanti (Cressa cretica) should be recommended with high soil permeability and proper drainage facilities. The soil must be highly permeable for groundwaters with high salinity and sodicity. Based on this study, policymakers and environmental managers can estimate the resource implications for drinking and irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of aquifer potential is essential, as the potable water demand has increased globally over the last few decades. The present study delineated different zones of groundwater potential and groundwater quality of the Kallada River basin (KRB) in southern India, using geo-environmental and hydrogeochemical parameters, respectively. Geo-environmental variables considered include relative relief, land use/land cover, drainage density, slope angle, geomorphology, and geology, while hydrogeochemical parameters include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), Cl−, Fe3+, and Al3+ concentrations. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used for categorizing groundwater potential and quality zones. Nearly 50% of KRB is categorized as very high and high groundwater potential zones, occupying the western and midland regions. The central and west-central parts of KRB are characterized by excellent groundwater quality zones, while the eastern and western parts are characterized by good and poor groundwater quality zones, respectively. By integrating the groundwater potential and groundwater quality, sustainable groundwater management is observed to be necessary at about 54% of the basin, where site-specific groundwater management structures such as percolation ponds, injection wells, and roof water harvesting have been proposed using a rule-based approach. This integrated groundwater potential-groundwater quality approach helps policymakers to implement the most suitable management strategies with maximum performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitigating the atmospheric greenhouse effect while enhancing the inherent soil quality and productive capacity is possible through soil carbon (C) sequestration, which has a significant potential to counteract the adverse effects of agroecosystem level C emission through natural and anthropogenic means. Although rice is the most important food in India, feeding more than 60% of the country's population, it is commonly blamed for significant methane (CH4) emissions that accelerate climate change. Higher initial soil organic matter concentrations would create more CH4 under the flooded soil conditions, as reducible soil C is a prerequisite for CH4 generation. In India, rice is generally cultivated in lowlands under continuous flooding. Less extensive organic matter breakdown in lowland rice agroecosystems often significantly impacts the dynamics of soil active and passive C pools. Change from conventional to conservation agriculture might trap a significant quantity of SOC. The study aims to investigate the potential of rice-based soils to sequester C and reduce the accelerated greenhouse effects through modified farming practices, such as crop residue retention, crop rotation, organic farming, varietal selection, conservation agriculture, integrated nutrient management, and water management. Overall, lowland rice agroecosystems can sequester significant amounts of SOC, but this potential must be balanced against the potential for CH4 emissions. Management practices that reduce CH4 emissions while increasing soil C sequestration should be promoted and adopted to maximize the sustainability of rice agroecosystems. This review is important for understanding the effectiveness of the balance between SOC sequestration and CH4 emissions in lowland rice agroecosystems for adopting sustainable agricultural practices in the context of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphine, as per several reports, is considered to be an ideal and effective alternative to methyl bromide (MB) fumigant, phased out globally honouring 'Montreal Protocol'. The food grains fumigated with phosphine are perceived to be residue-free; however, estimation of its residues is imperative. In the present study, the phosphine residues were estimated in grains of wheat, rice, green gram, chickpea and yellow pea fumigated with different formulations of phosphine under 7 and 10 days exposure periods at various locations in India. For efficacy studies, the conventional aluminium phosphide (AlP) tablet (56% @2 and 3 tablet/MT) and granular AlP (77.5% @1.0 and 1.5 g phosphine/m3) formulations were applied. Each treatment including untreated control was replicated thrice. The concentration was monitored every 24 h until the end of exposure periods. Food grain samples were drawn before and post fumigation following a certain waiting period for estimation of phosphine residues using gas chromatography equipped with FPD detector. Residues in fumigated food grains were observed in traces in all the experimental stacks, but below the MRL (0.1 ppm), fixed by Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). Phosphine can be considered safe for use as an alternate fumigant in quarantine and long-term storage of food grains leaving residues below MRL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing concerns surrounding water supply, driven by factors such as population growth and industrialization, have highlighted the need for accurate estimation of streamflow at the river basin level. To achieve this, rainfall-runoff models are widely employed as valuable tools in watershed management. For this specific study, two modelling approaches were employed: the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and a set of eight artificial intelligence (AI) models. The AI models consisted of seven data-driven approaches, namely k-nearest neighbour regression, support vector regression, linear regression, artificial neural networks, random forest regression, XGBoost, and Histogram-based Gradient Boost regression. Additionally, a deep learning model known as Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) was also utilized. The study focused on monthly streamflow modelling in the Murredu River basin, with a calibration period from 1999 to 2003 and a validation period from 2004 to 2005, spanning a total of 7 years from 1999 to 2005. The results indicated that all nine models were generally suitable for simulating the rainfall-runoff process, with the LSTM model demonstrating exceptional performance in both the calibration (R2 is 0.97 and NSE is 0.96) and validation (R2 is 0.97 and NSE is 0.92) periods. Its high coefficient of determination (R2) and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) values indicated its superior ability to accurately model the rainfall-runoff relationship. While the other models also produced satisfactory results, the findings suggest that selecting the most efficient model, such as the LSTM model, could significantly contribute to the effective management and planning of sustainable water resources in the Murredu watershed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatio-temporal hydrogeochemical assessments of groundwater resources were carried out for the valley region of Manipur in India to investigate its quality status and suitability criteria for irrigational and potable uses. The assessment was carried out for 140 spatially distributed groundwater samples collected during 2018–2021 for pre- and post-monsoon seasons. To assess and comprehend the hydrogeochemical behavior of underlying aquifers and controlling factors for groundwater quality in the region, groundwater quality indices and statistical tools were used. Assessment of in situ parameters such as pH, TDS, salinity, and EC under field conditions reveal that the values exceed concentration in many locations. Most of the samples fall in the category of hard to very hard water. Moreover, observation of both positive and negative oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) and low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in groundwater samples indicates aquifers are of recent unstable geologic formations. Similarly, elevated concentrations of F−, Cl−, HCO3−, and Fe3+ greater than the prescribed standards of the World Health Organization in many samples indicate the unsuitability of the groundwater sources for potable uses. The geochemical interactions were found to be dominated and controlled by the rock-weathering geochemical process that contributes to HCO3−-Ca2+-type water, followed by HCO3−-Na+, Cl−-Ca2+, and mixed-type water in both seasons. Spatio-temporal geospatial vulnerable groundwater zone mapping using interpolation techniques carried out in the ArcGIS platform identifies the aquifers based on the water quality and pollution indices. The study's significant findings can provide baseline information that can supplement the government's planning and management initiatives to deal with the current water security challenges in the region as groundwater uses are increasing due to various hydroclimatic phenomena in the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater is one of the important sources available for drinking, agricultural, domestic, and various other purposes in the study area. Study area is having agricultural importance and is famous for Basmati rice production in the world. In order to assess water suitability for irrigation and drinking purposes, 25 sampling sites were selected and water samples were collected from handpumps, borewells and motors from May 2022 to June 2022. Fifteen physico-chemical parameters and water quality index (WQI) was calculated to assess the drinking water suitability. The results obtained then compared with the BIS (2012) and WHO drinking water guidelines. For irrigation water suitability, irrigation water quality index (IWQI) and other indices were calculated. Heavy metal health risk assessment was also evaluated using target hazard quotient (THQ), carcinogenic risks (CR), non-carcinogenic risks, heavy metal pollution index (HPI), etc. Study found 60% of water samples under poor category of WQI. All water samples were found suitable for irrigation purposes according to different indices except for permeability index for which only 32% samples were found suitable. IWQI classifies 52%, 32%, and 12% of water samples under moderate, low, and no restriction category respectively. Groundwater of the study area found to be contaminated with copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), and chromium (Cr) while low contamination of zinc (Zn) and arsenic (As) was found according to heavy metal evaluation index (HEI). High contamination of chromium (HPI= 9740.8) and lead (HPI=188) was recorded as per HPI. HQ value for men, women, and children in case of zinc were found safe while HQ values for copper and lead in all population groups were found at risk. Overall, the study area was found highly contaminated with the lead, copper, and chromium concentrations. Thus, study recommends regular monitoring of the groundwater of study area as well as treatment before using this water for drinking purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of mid-2021, four hydroelectric dams are operational on the main channel of the Teesta River in the mountainous and tectonically active Sikkim-Darjeeling-Kalimpong region of India. Riparian ecological and fluvial morphological changes after damming have not been documented. This paper describes an early study of a section of the middle Teesta River, at two of the dam-created reservoirs, just before the river enters the plains. High-resolution, multi-beam, geo-located sonar was used to map the bathymetry of the reservoirs. This resulted in the creation of 30cm-resolution bathymetric maps of the two reservoirs showing valley bottom morphology within them. The bathymetric maps were compared with pre-dam digital elevation models of the valley to create topographic change-maps. The change-maps indicate significant differences in valley morphology due to erosion and deposition processes. Land cover changes due to inundation were quantified from analysis of satellite imagery time series data of the reservoir riparian zones. Land cover change analysis showed a loss of ~ 74,000 trees in ~ 225 ha of flooded riparian corridors due to long-term inundation. The study shows that the dams have caused 7.4% of the river length to become quasi-lentic, and drastically altered sediment dynamics and hydrologic flow. Sediment deposition calculations indicate the reservoirs losing almost three-quarters of their surface areas to sediment deposition features within 15 years. This study will serve as an important baseline for future studies, and influence design and policy regarding riparian and fluvial ecosystem management, monitoring, and evaluation in the Teesta and similar mountainous river basins in the Eastern Himalaya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has a large number of paper manufacturing units, with mills varying in size of operations and type of product, scattered all over the length and breadth of the country. Present study deals with the survey of four different pulp and paper mills (Mill A, Mill B, Mill C and Mill D) in India, differing in their scale of operation as well as raw material usage. Physico-chemical characterization of wastewaters produced by different processing units like digestor house liquors, bleaching section, paper machine backwaters, combined inlet to the ETP and outlet to ETP, for all the four mills, was conducted. Different parameters like pH, Color, COD, BOD, percent Na, SAR, TDS and Total hardness were analyzed and compared. Highly significant differences were thus found between all the processing units of all four mills with p values < 0.01. This evaluation showed that though these mills have effluent treatment facilities installed in their premises, improvements are still needed to increase their efficiencies for treating the discharged wastewaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The annual average increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is touching new heights every year. Global climate change and warming are twin outcomes of record-breaking CO2 levels. The trees outside forests (TOF) are the most promising and suitable components in the ecosystem for combating global warming via carbon (C) sequestration. Urban university campuses are the hotspot regions of TOF. We have attempted to quantify the C stock, C sequestration potential, and C credit value of dominant tree species at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak. Different volumetric and biomass equations were used for biomass computation. We assessed a total of 29,442 trees (top 10) for measuring phytosociological parameters like total tree count, age, height (H), and diameter at breast height (DBH) to quantify the amount of C stored. The total C stock, C sequestration rate, and monetary value were 78.67 (Mg C ha−1), 19.05 (Mg CO2 ha−1 year−1), and 23,101.59 $ year−1, respectively. Eucalyptus globulus is the most dominant tree species on the campus and topped almost all the quantitative characteristics like total tree count (~40 %), age (25 years), density (D) (55.35 trees ha−1), and total C stock (16.06 ± 9.90 Mg C ha−1). Tree basal area (BA), D, diversity, and H positively affected the total C stocks. When the C market becomes operational, these C credits can be traded while generating additional income for the university. The results from this study can also help calculate the total C footprint of the campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exposure of atmospheric dust particles on four common medicinal plants (Ocimum sanctum, Andrographis paniculata, Catharanthus roseous, and Kaempferia galanga, which are available in the study area and cultivated by the local people for medicinal purposes) affects their growth, levels of essential biochemical constituents and heavy metal concentration. The plant species were grown by pot cultivation in an industrial area with high levels of coal dust to assess the capacity of heavy metals accumulation in their leaves and changes in allometry and biochemical parameters. The results showed that annual average SPM and dustfall varied between 195.88 to 645.97 μg/m3 and 17.55 to 41.16 g/m2/month, respectively. Dustfall at different polluted sites was 2.4, 2.1, 1.5, 1.4, and 2.3 times higher than at the control site. The most prevalent heavy metal in atmospheric particulate matter was Zn, followed by Pb, Ni, Cu, Co, and Cd. Plant allometry measurements such as height, stem width, root length, petiole length, and leaf area are shown to have a strong and significant (p<0.05) negative correlation with dustfall and SPM. Total chlorophyll and RWC were inversely proportional to the dust load present in all the species. Except for Andrographis paniculata, chlorophyll and leaf-extracted pH of plant species were moderately correlated with APTI, whereas no correlation was noticed for ascorbic acid. A positive correlation between SPM and heavy metals in leaves was observed. The results implied that the cultivation and collection of medicinal plants from the study area could be potentially toxic to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A seasonal study was undertaken to understand the influence of wastewater on phytoplankton distribution in a water body of East Kolkata Wetland (EKW), a designated Ramsar site in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. A total of 19 different genera of phytoplankton belonging to 5 phyla were recorded. Among all the groups, Chlorophyceae was found to be dominated by 8 genera followed by Bacillariophycaeae (4 genera), Cyanophyceae (4 genera), Euglenophyceae (2 genera), and Zygnematophyceae (1 genus). Seasonal variability showed maximum dominance of phytoplankton during post-monsoon and least during pre-monsoon months. Shannon–Wiener diversity (H′) indices indicated Bacillariophyceae to be most species rich (1.059) while the most dominant group (D) was observed to be Chlorophyceae (0.507). Assessment of Palmer algal pollution index (PI) revealed the water body is impacted by high organic pollution during monsoon (22) compared to the pre-monsoon (19) and post-monsoon seasons (15). The results of canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated water temperature, alkalinity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and electrical conductivity as the major influencing parameters for growth and distribution of the phytoplankton in the water body. Therefore, it can be stated that hydrological alteration of a water body fed with wastewater plays a significant role in regulating the plankton density, richness, and diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of groundwater quality is vital to assess the risk to human health. The present study assesses groundwater quality for drinking purposes and human health risks due to ingestion of fluoride and nitrate through drinking water in Chhotanagpur Plateau, India, using geoinformation techniques. For drinking water quality assessment, analyzed parameters were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) standards, and water quality index (WQI) was used. Results reveal that most of the samples come within the desired limit suggested by WHO. In a few samples, conductivity, hardness, chloride, sulfate, and calcium are higher than the desirable limit, whereas fluoride and nitrate are beyond the permissible limit in 70% and 27% of the samples, respectively. WQI highlights that poor to very poor water is present in 25% of the samples. Anthropogenic activities have played a critical role in deteriorating groundwater quality, resulting in harmful impacts on human health. To assess non-carcinogenic health risks, the hazard quotient (HQ) and total hazard index (THI) were computed. THI ranges from 0.01 to 7.46, 0.01 to 7.05, and 0.01 to 9.05 for males, females, and children, respectively. THI is greater than the allowable limit in 84%, 78%, and 89% of the samples for males, females, and children, respectively, indicating high risk to human health, particularly children. The study advocates proper water management strategies. Knowledge of spatial variation and anomalous concentration is vital for groundwater management as well as health risk assessment. The findings of this study will be helpful to government officials, policy planners, and local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planorbellatrivolvis (ramshorn snail) is one of India's most extensively sold exotic aquarium pet snails. The unintentional or deliberate release of P. trivolvis may result in the colonisation and establishment as an invasive snail in freshwater ecosystems. However, the successful invasion of P. trivolvis will depend on several abiotic and biotic factors of the concerned freshwater ecosystem. We have assessed the possibility of overcoming the opposing factors in P. trivolvis invasion through laboratory-based experiments and examined the effects of household-derived pollutants on egg hatchability, adult survivability and fecundity, and temperature (15 to 35 °C) on growth, sexual maturity, and reproduction. Additionally, we have evaluated the potential of native predators as biotic resistance to invasion by prey-choice experiment. The results indicated that egg hatchability, adult survivability, and fecundity were reduced with increasing pollutant concentration. However, the same traits did not differ from a native freshwater snail, Indoplanorbis exustus. The fecundity of P. trivolvis increased with increasing body size, but no considerable differences at different temperature levels suggest a wide range of adaptation to temperature. Faster growth and the requirement of comparatively few days to attain sexual maturity were observed in the higher temperatures. The native predators, Glossiphonia weberi and Diplonychus rusticus, avoided P. trivolvis as prey over the alternative prey snails in most instances, suggesting the masking of biotic resistance against the colonisation. Our observations indicate that the chance dispersal of P. trivolvis from household or commercial aquaria may lead to a possible invasion of freshwater ecosystems under suitable conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water contamination with faecal matter is usually the main cause of microbial waterborne diseases. Such diseases are an alarming situation for small cities in developing countries like India. In this research, to check the microbiological status of drinking water in Solan, Himachal Pradesh (India), water samples were collected from baories/stepwells (n = 14), handpumps (n = 9), and the municipal water distribution system (MWDS) (n = 2) in alternative months of the year (covering three main seasons). In 6 months, 150 samples were collected, and they were all examined for the presence of total coliforms and other bacterial pathogens. The associations between the isolates' ecological and seasonal prevalence were also examined. The coliforms were detected by the Most Probable Number (MPN) method, whose range was noticed from the 2–540/100-ml MPN index. The colony forming unit (CFU) count for different samples at the base log 10 value ranged from 3.03 to 6.19. Different genera isolated and identified were Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteric subsp. enterica, Pseudomonas spp., Klebsiella spp., and Staphylococcus aureus. Overall, 74% of the isolates identified in water samples were from the Enterobacteriaceae family. E. coli was about 42.67% (n = 102), followed by Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica 20.92% (n = 50), Staphylococcus aureus 13.38% (n = 32), Pseudomonas spp. 12.55% (n = 30), and Klebsiella spp. 10.46% (n = 25) amongst the total of 239 isolates. The seasonal impact and the dependency of the occurrence of bacteria on one another were determined to be insignificant in the Spearman correlation test. These results showed that external factors (anthropogenic activities) are mainly responsible for the presence of these bacteria in water resources. The occurrence of bacterial isolates has been noticed in all water samples, irrespective of collecting site or season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural springs are the main source of water supply for domestic and agricultural use for humans living in the mountainous regions of Asia. Increasing anthropogenic activities with associated waste load, coupled with inadequate sanitation, and contamination of natural water resources and the environment are emerging as important public health issues. We performed a prospective microbiological and physicochemical investigation of water samples from seven distinct natural springs situated at an altitude of 1615 m in the Bhaderwah region of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Bacterial groups belonging to opportunistic pathogens such as members of Moraxellaceae (Acinetobacter), Arcobacteraceae (Pseudoarcobacter), Pseudomonadaceae (Pseudomonas), Oxalobacteraceae (Massilia), and Flavobacteriaceae (Flavobacterium) were observed. The total coliform test indicated an intermediate level of risk of fecal contamination of the springs, except for one site. Through a questionnaire-based survey of the local population, we discovered that around 40% of participants had suffered from waterborne diseases including typhoid (~14%) and diarrhea (~11%). Our data suggests that increased surveillance of fecal contamination and heterotrophic opportunistic pathogens is needed to enhance water quality and reduce health risks for people living in mountainous regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ideal locations for bank filtration wells were identified by assessing the efficiency of river bank filtration around a check dam in a non-perennial river located in southern India. The methodology of this study includes water sampling and water level measurements from existing wells, analysis of geochemical and biological parameters, pumping tests and borehole drilling. The conservative chloride and water level measurements indicate that production wells can be positioned up to 300 m from the check dam along the groundwater flow direction. It is recommended that if wells are not receiving 50% surface water contribution, then the production wells must be chosen within 110 m. In addition, the effectiveness of a river bank in improving water quality is evaluated by examining its hydraulic conductivity of 20 to 50 m/day (estimated using borehole data and pumping tests) and travel time and analysed water quality parameters. A significant reduction in microbiological load from surface water is evident even with a short travel time of 46 days. Substantial reduction in turbidity and improved geochemical characteristics were observed in wells located within the production zones which are supported by the Schoeller plot. The above results reveal that for the non-perennial river, in order to achieve maximum benefit through bank filtration, the same well cannot be used as a production well. Based on the water level in the check dam, the direction of groundwater flow and the percentage contribution of the river, it is necessary to shift the production well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potentially toxic metals (PTMs) contamination in the soil poses a serious danger to people's health by direct or indirect exposure, and generally it occurs by consuming food grown in these soils. The present study assessed the pollution levels and risk to human health upon sustained exposure to PTM concentrations in the area's centuries-old glass industry clusters of the city of Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. Soil sampling (0–15 cm) was done in farmers' fields within a 1 km radius of six industrial clusters. Various environmental (geo-accumulation index, contamination factor, pollution load index, enrichment factor, and ecological risk index) and health risk indices (hazard quotient, carcinogenic risk) were computed to assess the extent of damage caused to the environment and the threat to human health. Results show that the mean concentrations of Cu (33 mg kg−1), Zn (82.5 mg kg−1), and Cr (15.3 mg kg−1) were at safe levels, whereas the levels of Pb, Ni, and Cd exceeded their respective threshold limits. A majority of samples (88%) showed considerable ecological risk due to the co-contamination of these six PTMs. Health risk assessment indicated tolerable cancer and non-cancer risk in both adults and children for all PTMs, except Ni, where adults were exposed to potential threat of cancer. Pearson's correlation study revealed a significant positive correlation between all six metal pairs and conducting principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed the common source of metal pollution. The PC score ranked different sites from highest to lowest according to PTM loads that help to establish the location of the source. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped different sites into the same cluster based on similarity in PTMs load, i.e., low, medium, and high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater is a crucial natural resource for providing reliable and long-lasting water supplies across the globe. The integrated approach used in the current study involved the use of multiple techniques to assess groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) and identify suitable areas for artificial recharge sites. The methods used in the study were a combination of geographic information system (GIS), analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (Fuzzy-AHP) to accomplish this goal. The study considered multiple thematic maps, such as drainage density, elevation, geomorphology, slope, curvature, topographic wetness index (TWI), geology, distance from the river, land use and land cover (LULC), and rainfall, to determine the GWPZs. AHP and Fuzzy-AHP were used to weight thematic maps based on their relative importance in controlling groundwater availability and recharge, and then a weighted overly analysis in a GIS environment was utilized to derive the final GWPZs map. After completing the weighting of thematic maps, both AHP and Fuzzy-AHP models categorized GWPZs into low, moderate, and high categories in the study area. In this study area, GWPZs were classified as poor, moderate, and high using both the AHP and Fuzzy-AHP models. According to the AHP model, 5.41% of the area's GWPZs were categorized as poor, 70.68% as moderate, and 23.91% as high. The Fuzzy-AHP model, on the other hand, categorized 4.92% as poor, 69.75% as moderate, and 25.33% as high. To validate these results, the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) were used to explore the prediction accuracy, resulting in an accuracy rate of 70.1% for AHP and 71% for Fuzzy-AHP. These findings suggest that the Fuzzy-AHP model is effective in accurately identifying GWPZs in this area. Additionally, using remote sensing (RS) and GIS, the current study created a map by overlaying the lineament and drainage maps to determine suitable locations for artificial recharge. One-hundred-forty suitable locations for artificial recharge sites were identified based on Fuzzy-AHP. The study's reliable findings assist decision-makers and water users in the research area to use groundwater resources sustainably. This information aids in sustainable planning and management of groundwater resources, ensuring their availability and sustainability for future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective micro-level air quality management plan requires high-resolution monitoring of pollutants. India has already developed a vast network of air quality monitoring stations, both manual and real time, located primarily in urban areas, including megacities. The air quality monitoring network consists of conventional manual stations and real time Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) which comprise state-of-the-art analysers and instruments. India is currently in the early stages of developing and adopting economical portable sensor (EPS) in air quality monitoring systems. Protocols need to be established for field calibration and testing. The present research work is an attempt to develop a performance-based assessment framework for the selection of EPS for air quality monitoring. The two-stage selection protocol includes a review of the factory calibration data and a comparison of EPS data with a reference monitor, i.e. a portable calibrated monitor and a CAAQMS. Methods deployed include calculation of central tendency, dispersion around a central value, calculation of statistical parameters for data comparison, and plotting pollution rose and diurnal profile (peak and non-peak pollution measurement). Four commercially available EPS were tested blind, out of which, data from EPS 2 (S2) and EPS 3 (S3) were closer to reference stations at both locations. The selection was made by evaluating monitoring results, physical features, measurement range, and frequency along with examining capital cost. This proposed approach can be used to increase the usability of EPS in the development of micro-level air quality management strategies, other than regulatory compliance. For regulatory compliance, additional research is needed, including field calibration and evaluating EPS performance through additional variables. This proposed framework may be used as starting point, for such experiments, in order to develop confidence in the use of EPS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the abundance of microplastics (MPs) in the Uppanar and Gadilam estuaries in Cuddalore, on the southeast coast of India, is reported. In the estuarine sediments, MP abundance ranged from 36.3 ± 3.39 to 51.6 ± 2.05 particles/Kg dw. Different types of MP shapes, such as fibers (41.7–47.9%), films (21.2–27.2%), and fragments (18.3–25.5%) were observed in the size range of 100–1000 µm. Diverse colours of MPs were observed, among which red (30.1–34.5%) was predominantly noticed in the estuarine sediments. Six polymers were identified by µ-FTIR, among which LDPE (39%) and PP (35%) were dominant. MPs pollution in these estuaries is composed of domestic, industrial, and fishing wastes. Risk assessments show that the area falls under hazard categories I to III, indicating low to high risk. This study improves knowledge on MPs contamination in Uppanar and Gadilam estuaries and provides impetus for further research to identify the actual sources and impacts of MPs on aquatic systems along the east coast of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vembanad Lake and its associated low-lying areas and network of canals (hereafter VBL) form the major part of India's second-largest Ramsar wetland (1512 km2) located in Kerala State along India's southwest coast. The extensive VBL has a large fishery, inland waterways, and popular tourist attractions that support the livelihoods of thousands of people. Over the last several decades, the proliferation of water weeds in the VBL has alarmingly increased, causing many adverse ecological and socioeconomic effects. This study based on a review and synthesis of long-term data introduced the environmental and human dimensions of water weed proliferation in the VBL. Eichhornia (= Pontederia) crassipes, Monochoria vaginalis, Salvinia molesta, Limnocharis flava, Pistia stratiotes, and Hydrilla verticillata are the most troublesome water weeds in the VBL, with the first three being the most widespread. They were mostly imported to India long ago before becoming a part of the VBL. These weeds harmed water quality, waterways, agriculture, fisheries, disease vector management, as well as the vertical and horizontal shrinkage of the VBL through increased siltation and faster ecological succession. The inherently fragile VBL was harmed by extensive and long-term reclamation, the construction of saltwater barrages, and many landfill roads that crisscross water bodies serving as coastal dams, creating water stagnation by blocking natural flushing/ventilation by periodic tides from the adjacent southeastern Arabian Sea. These ecological imbalances were exacerbated by excessive fertiliser use in agricultural areas, as well as the addition of nutrient-rich domestic and municipal sewage, which provided an adequate supply of nutrients and a favourable habitat for the expansion of water weeds. Furthermore, because of recurrent floods and a changing ecology in the VBL, the water weed proliferation has become a more significant problem, with the potential to disrupt their current distribution pattern and spread in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature and intensity of water pollution determine the effects on aquatic biota and aquatic ecosystem health. The present study aimed at assessing the impact of the degraded physicochemical regime of river Saraswati, a polluted river having a historical legacy, on the parasitic infection and the role of fish parasite as a bioindicator of water quality. Two Water Quality Indices (WQIs) were adopted as useful tools for assessing the overall water quality status of polluted river based on 10 physicochemical parameters. Total 394 fish (Channa punctata) were examined. Ectoparasite Trichodina sp., Gyrodactylus sp., and endoparasites Eustrongylides sp. were collected from the host fish. Prevalence, mean intensity and abundance for each sampling period were calculated for the determination of parasitic load. The parasitic load of Trichodina sp. and Gyrodactylus sp. was significantly (p < 0.001) higher in winter, whereas the parasitic load of Eustrongylides sp. showed no significant (p > 0.05) seasonal fluctuation. The parasitic load of ectoparasites was negatively correlated with temperature, free carbon dioxide, biochemical oxygen demand, and WAWQI but positively correlated with electrical conductivity and CCMEWQI. Fish health was found to be adversely affected by degrading water qualities and parasitic infection. A 'vicious cycle' develops as a result of the interplay among deteriorating water quality, withering fish immunological defence, and amplifying parasitic infection. Since parasitic load was strongly conditioned by the combined influence of a suite of water quality parameters the fish parasites can be used as a powerful indicator of deteriorating water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]