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The study of changes in land use and land cover (LULC) is helpful in the understanding of change and management of environmental sustainability. As a result, the central Telangana districts are the focus of this study since they are under stress from both natural and human-caused problems. The examination of LULC variations and predictions for the region between 2007–2015 and 2021–2030 employed Landsat OLI datasets, TerrSet, and geographic information system (GIS) tools. The LULC image is produced using a Landsat dataset and classified using a support vector machine (SVM). Then, consecutively to project future LULC change, LULC maps were constructed using the CA Markov model. The four stages included were change analysis, transition possibility, change forecasting, and model validation. It is found that the vegetation and the arid landscape are stressed and accumulating. The total accuracy was above 87 percent, and the kappa statistic measurement was above 85 percent with a three-year target. The study has found using the Markov chain land change modeler that Medchal–Malkajgiri district urban settlements will grow by 46, 37, and 26% from 2021–2030, 2030–2050, and 2050–2100, respectively. On other hand, the Warangal (Hanamkonda) observed 39, 45, and 30% between 2021–2030, 2030–2050, and 2050–2100, respectively, and Rangareddy districts observed 60, 24, and 12% between 2021–2030, 2030–2050, and 2050–2100, respectively. Given that urban areas are especially susceptible to flash flooding, this research will offer policymakers advice and a framework on behalf of planning city growth and managing the available resources judiciously with utmost planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen, a form of energy that is both clean and renewable, is now being researched and developed as a potential source of alternative energy. There are many different kinds of microbial systems that have the potential to be utilised in the manufacturing of biohydrogen. Thermophiles are found as potential producers of hydrogen, at a high rate, in adverse operating conditions. Temperature, pH, and concentration of substrates play a crucial role in affecting the metabolism of these microorganisms. Sustainable production of hydrogen is feasible when organic waste is employed as a potential feedstock. The overall yield of hydrogen production procedures demands improvements, to turn them into commercial applications. The integration of two-stage processes may contribute to an overall increase in energy output. As examples of second-stage processes, biomethanation, microbial electrolysis cells, photo-fermentation, and microbial fuel cells have been the subject of extensive research. This article provides an overview of the photocatalytic method for producing biohydrogen, including its fundamentals and underlying mechanisms, as well as other biological methods of hydrogen production. This process exhibits reduced energy consumption and demonstrates environmental friendliness by potentially utilising waste material as a substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Melia is known for its secondary metabolites and recently, this genus is being explored for its timber. There are vast differences among its species. For instance, Melia azedarach is reported to be invasive and while another species, M. dubia, has diverse utility with complex germination and regeneration characteristics. Researchers globally have been working on various aspects of this genus; In this study, using topic modelling and science mapping approach, we attempted to understand research facets on this genus. The literature corpus of the Web of Science database was explored using a single keyword—"Melia" which yielded 1523 publications (1946–2022) and after scrutiny metadata of 1263 publications were used in the study. Although nine individual species were cited in the publications, only three species are accepted viz., M. dubia, M. azedarach, and M. volkensii. This implies taxonomic uncertainty, with potential confusion in assigning scientific findings to particular species. Thus, a taxonomic relook on this genus is warranted for a better assessment of the economic utility in many countries. More importantly, our results indicate that the research interests have recently shifted from the secondary metabolite constituents towards growth, biomass, wood properties, germination, plantation, and green synthesis. The shift in research focus toward wood properties of Melia sp. can impact the wood demand–supply at a global scale owing to its fast growth and the possibility of cultivation over a wider geographical range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an antimicrobial protein (AMP) from the epidermis of catfish (Clarias batrachus) was purified and characterized for its molecular and antimicrobial properties. The crude epidermal extract was subjected to precipitation of proteins using 70% ammonium sulphate saturation followed by dialysis and protein separation by reverse phase ultra fast liquid chromotography (UFLC) using the C18 column. The active peptides obtained from fractions 1, 2, and 3 were screened for antimicrobial activity against different bacterial pathogens with a minimum 5 mg/ml inhibitory concentration. An active fraction with a retention time (RT) of 27.069 from the UFLC chromatogram exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against broad-spectrum bacterial and fungal organisms, including multidrug-resistant clinical isolates. The RT 27.069, identified as cationic AMP of fraction-3, has a molecular weight of 25 kDa as determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Further studies by Mascot search and BLAST analysis using the partial sequence of AMP showed that the protein has high homologs to pleurocidin-like peptide (Plp) from a fish Pleuronectus americanus. Moreover, the identified AMP is a cationic peptide with a good stability index, having a score of 31.50 predicted by the ProtParam. Therefore, the identified antimicrobial peptide (Plp) indicates that this cost-effective natural substance obtained from fish could potentially be used as a treatment for several bacterial and fungal infections in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic wastes in recent years have become a menace owing to population pressure and high demand of various plastic products in daily use. A study was conducted in Aizawl city of northeast India for a period of 3 years to quantify various types of plastic wastes. Our study found that a present plastic consumption of 13.06 g/capita/day although low when compared to developed countries continues; the generation will be doubled after a decade as the population is projected to double specially due to migration from rural areas. The plastic waste was contributed more by the high-income group of the population with a correlation factor of r = 0.97. Among the total plastic waste, packaging plastics contributed maximum with an average of 52.56% and carry bags among the packaging contribute maximum with 32.55% in the three sectors, namely, residential, commercial, and dumping sites. The result leads to a maximum contribution by the LDPE polymer with 27.46% among seven categories of polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional agroforestry systems, one of the time tested and dominant land use from tropical to sub-tropical regions, were recognized for their contributions to food production, biodiversity conservation, and atmospheric carbon sequestration. Their management often varies from region to region. However, these systems frequently mimic economically managed land uses due to increased pressure on the monetary requirement of their managers. The present study aims to evaluate (i) tree density, (ii) tree diversity indices, and (iii) identify the biomass carbon important tree species managed by different communities of the Indian Eastern Himalayan region. We found that the Mizo community harbored the highest number of tree species (35) in the traditional agroforestry system with the highest tree diversity index (3.47). Total biomass carbon of tropical agroforestry systems managed by different communities ranged between 4.72 Mg ha−1 (Meitei) and 29.26 Mg ha−1 (Bengali). Similarly, in the sub-tropical traditional agroforestry system, the highest and the lowest biomass carbon was observed in Mizo- (10.93 Mg ha−1) and Angami- (6.05 Mg ha−1) managed systems. Of the 31 biomass carbon, important species found across the traditional agroforestry systems, Artocarpus heterophyllus, had the highest occurrence (50%), followed by Parkia timoriana (37.5) and Amoora rohituka, Delonix regia, Mangifera indica, and Toona ciliata (25% for each species). Farmers' preference to cash return of a species, trees density, and basal area were the determinant factors in the carbon stock potential of these systems. The present study suggests that the farmers' preferred and dominant species in their agroecosystems have a limited scope of enhanced biomass carbon storage. Therefore, improvement of traditional agroforestry systems through selective incorporation of biomass carbon important tree species is recommended to enhance the carbon sink capacity of these systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic homestead forests or the traditional agroforestry systems (TAFS) can achieve sustainable production, in-situ biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation while maintaining cultural values. The presence of trees under the TAFS increases the ecological and aesthetic value of the landscape and possesses important economic value for the farmer. This study aimed to determine the contribution of ethnic homestead forests to tree biodiversity, biomass storage and evaluated farmers' use criteria under the piper and pineapple systems of Assam and home gardens of Mizoram, North-East India. The results showed that tree species richness, basal area, and diversity were highest in the home gardens followed by piper and pineapple-based systems. On the other hand, stand density under these systems followed a reverse order. Altogether, 112, 91, and 15 tree species were documented from home gardens, piper, and pineapple-based systems with stand density of 399, 990, and 1225 (stems ha−1) under the same systems respectively. Two economically viable tree species, i.e. Aquilaria malaccensis and Parkia timoriana that are no longer found in wild are widely domesticated in the pineapple-based system. In Assam, the biomass storage in piper-based systems (129.39 Mg ha−1) was 19 % more than the nearby native forest (NF). In contrast, the biomass storage in the home gardens of Mizoram (117.32 Mg ha−1) was 57 % lower than the NF. The farmer's use classes revealed that greater numbers of tree species under these TAFS provided fuelwood, timber, and economic needs. According to the farmer's report, the environmental services provisioned by most tree species include - shade for other crop species and in soil erosion control. This study demonstrates the potentiality of TAFS in the conservation of biodiversity, and biomass storage while additionally ensuring livelihood resilience and a wide array of environmental services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home gardens (HGs) in North-East India are the oldest form of land use practice next to shifting cultivation. Every garden is a unique entity in terms of component arrangement, organization and management, and it reflects the personal preferences of the owner, keeping in mind the suitability and site quality of the area. This study was initiated to determine the species diversity of home gardens in North-East India and also to assess the association of tree species with different site quality parameters (elevation, slope, aspect, rainfall, temperature, home garden type and age). A total of 300 home gardens were selected randomly from 11 districts of North-East India. Hill numbers were used to analyse sample completeness, size-based diversity and coverage-based diversity. Canonical correspondence analysis, Pearson's correlation, stepwise multiple linear regression, Poisson log-linear model and linear mixed effect model were performed to study the interactions between species diversity and site quality. In total, 137 species belonging to 102 genera and 46 families were recorded from the 300 home gardens. Fabaceae was the dominant family, and Parkia timoriana (DC.) Merr. (IVI = 20.12) was the dominant species. Abundance of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. and Mangifera indica L had no bearing with the environmental variables and therefore are considered potential species for restoration of degraded HGs. Number of species in the HGs was best reflected by the interaction of HG type and temperature, while the model best fitted for stem density and basal area was with HG type and HG age, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent decades, regeneration patterns of forest species have played an important role in mitigating future climate impacts. This study analysed impact of disturbances due to grazing on the regeneration status of temperate reserve forest species in Churdhar Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh, located in Western Himalaya of India spanning a wide range of altitudes. For analysis of vegetation, quadrat method was used to assess regeneration status and level of disturbance (grazing intensity). We found that seedling and sapling density and species richness decreased with increasing altitude. Overall, a fairly good regeneration potential was observed for tree species, and few of them reported poor regeneration exclusively due to grazing disturbances at higher altitudes. The forest growing at lower altitudes showed better regeneration than the forests growing at higher altitudes. Majority of dominant and co-dominant tree species showed a reverse j-shaped curve, but Quercus semecarpifolia and Rhododendron arboreum showed an inverse j-shaped curve. The study concluded that poor regeneration of species at higher altitude could be attributed to grazing and harsh environmental factors and, therefore, recommends adoption of suitable management measures at different phases of forest reproduction for successful forest establishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based forest management provides an opportunity to build a sustainable link with ecology for meeting future needs. A study was carried out to understand the effect of management strategies on the biodiversity, soil nutrient, and carbon stock of two community forests practiced by Jamatia (JCF) and Halam (HCF) tribes of Tripura, northeast India. The forest managed by Jamatia is community conserved, whereas the Joint Forest Management (JFM) regulation issued by the Government of India was implemented in Halam community-based forest. JCF showed higher tree diversity (2.741) than HCF (2.176), while there was no significant variation in the total number of species in these forests. Anogeissus acuminata, Schima wallichii, and Terminalia bellirica were the most dominant species in JCF and HCF. A relatively higher amount of organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus content was found in JCF soils. JCF showed higher carbon stock (342.9 Mg C ha–1) than HCF (158.7 Mg C ha–1). A positive and significant correlation of SOC concentration was observed with soil moisture, SOM, and soil nutrient content. The results show that both stands were at developmental stages; however, regular extraction of biomass from HCF was attributable to lower carbon stock. We found that the Jamatia communities are proactively involved in the conservation of forests and sustainable management of biodiversity under their control. The results reveal that the agent of management can play a vital role in enhancing tree diversity, soil properties, and carbon stock in community forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Shifting cultivation (locally known as "jhum") is a major driver of deforestation and loss of ecosystem services in rainforests. For developing any effective conservation of biodiversity and carbon service program, an in-depth understanding to the recovery of vegetation and carbon after abandonment of jhum is essential. We estimated species richness, abundance and composition of trees, shrubs and herbs, carbon distribution in aboveground and belowground components along a chronosequence of jhum fallow in northeast India, and elucidated the factors affecting the recovery processes of jhum fallows. Methods: Species composition and other plant community attributes, carbon storage in different pools were studied in 5 jhum fallows (< 5, 5–10, 11–15, 16–20, 21–25 years old) and an old-growth forest. The data were subjected to linear mixed effect modeling using R-package "nlme" for identifying the important factors contributing to the recovery of vegetation and carbon. Results: Species composition varied significantly (P < 0.05) between jhum fallows and old-growth forest. Tree density varied from 28 stems ha−1 in 5 years old jhum fallow to 163 stems ha−1 in old-growth forest. Both biomass carbon in all components and soil organic carbon were significantly (P = 0.01) lower in jhum fallows than in the old-growth forest except living non-woody biomass component. The recovery of aboveground biomass carbon was faster during early successive years than the mid-successive jhum fallows. Total ecosystem carbon and soil organic carbon stock in the oldest jhum fallow was 33% and 62% of those in the old-growth forest, respectively. The fallow age was found to be the most important explanatory factor in the recovery process of vegetation and carbon stock in re-growing fallows. Conclusion: The shifting cultivation fallows gradually recovered both vegetation and carbon and are potential repository sites for biodiversity conservation, which may take much longer time to reach up to old-growth forest in northeast India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impact of anthropogenic disturbance on species diversity and vegetation structure of a lowland tropical rainforest was studied in the foothills of Eastern Himalaya, India. Tree species richness, density, basal area and the diversity indices were found significantly (P<0.05) decreased with the increasing level of disturbances whereas, shrub density, basal area and herb density significantly increased with increasing disturbance level. In case of shrubs, Simpson’s dominance index significantly (P<0.007) increased along the disturbance gradient, whereas Pielou’s evenness index significantly (P<0.005) decreased with an increasing level of disturbance. Shannon-Weiner diversity index for herbs significantly (P<0.016) increased with increasing disturbance whereas, Simpson’s dominance index was significantly (P<0.013) declined along the disturbance gradient. Results revealed that 10-50 cm dbh classes constituted the highest stem density, and highest basal area was recorded in the >100 cm dbh class in all three sites. Density of the matured trees decreased with increasing DBH whereas, tree basal area tended to increase with increasing DBH in all three sites. Tree species richness was highest in the lower DBH classes. 62.07% of the total tree species regenerated in the largely undisturbed site followed by 50% in the mildly disturbed and 26.32% in the highly disturbed site. The overall regeneration condition was found to be good in the largely undisturbed site. Mildly disturbed site exhibited fair regeneration and so was in the highly disturbed site. Discernable variations in species composition, diversity, regeneration and tree population structure revealed the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on rainforest vegetation dynamics. Higher degree of disturbance was furtherly found not only affecting species diversity but also promoting the growth of invasive weed species. Dominance of Hydnocarpus kurzii and Crypteronia paniculata in the highly disturbed site also indicated that these less-valued timber species may benefit from the vegetation mosaic produced by the disturbance; so differences in abundance of these species may be useful for bio-indication. Furthermore, present study suggests the need of adequate biodiversity conservation measures and adaptation of sustainable forest management approaches in disturbed areas of lowland tropical rainforest in the foothills of eastern Himalaya, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of crop-fallow rotation cycles of shifting cultivation has been poorly understood in northeastern part of the country although it is one of the major land use systems in the hilly states of this region. The present study was conducted to understand the dynamics of shifting cultivation through the use of Landsat time-series data from 1999 to 2016 in Champhai district of Mizoram. We mapped the current jhum fields and abandoned areas of each imagery of the study period and performed a post classification comparison to assess the crop-fallow rotation cycle/jhum cycle. The chrono-sequential change of slash and burn area over the past 17 years showed a decreasing trend with the greater part of the shifting cultivation area being occupied by 2nd year crop fields, covering 48.81% of total jhum land. On average, 114.46 km2 area were annually slashed for current jhum, out of which 33.41% continued with current jhum 2nd year cropping and only 3.27% of jhumias continued with 3rd year cropping. The shifting cultivation patches were mostly confined to moderately steep slopes (15°-30°). East facing aspect was mostly preferred and North facing aspect was least preferred. During the study period, 10 years jhum cycle covered the maximum area followed by 9 years and 11 years jhum cycle. The end result of this study proved that the prevalent jhum cycle in Champhai district is 8-11 years with a fallow period of 6-9 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]