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The dispersed habitat and scattered settlements are the most significant element of the mountainous landscape. As the landscape and ecological factors in the mountainous areas, restrict the concentration of population, dispersed settlements are basic adaptations to the mountainous landscape. The purpose of this paper is to provide a geographical account of the dispersed mountain settlements. Employing a case study, it attempts to map the geography of these scattered settlements. The analysis shows different arrangements of these scattered settlements in the high mountain region of Har ki Dun. The evaluation of the spatial distribution of settlement of Har ki Dun is a means to analyse the adaptations of the mountain inhabitants to their environment. In mountainous areas, the dispersed settlements are the product of land and land use diversity. The areas of scattered settlements are an expansion of sedentary life and extension of agriculture and animal husbandry over the diverse mountainous landscape. The scattered location of settlements exist due to less favourable topography, less suitable climatic conditions and restricted availability of soil for agricultural production. It is also a product of the attempts to use every available arable land and grassland. The end product of this extensification is the diversity or the richness of the (agri)cultural landscape and diversity of settlements. This study also presents the spatial distribution of these scattered settlements.

Steganography using image interpolation has created a new research area in multimedia communication. A reversible data concealing in HSI and CMY color models using image interpolation is proposed in this paper. The HSI and CMY image models are interpolated using High Capacity Reversible Steganography (CRS) technique. The median plane of both HSI and CMY color models are selected for secret message bit concealing. The secret message bits are concealed in the cover plane by Exclusive OR (XOR) operation. Since the cover image is recovered after secret message bit retrieval, this finds application in military and medical imaging applications. The experimental results of proposed scheme showed very high embedding capacity of about 16 bits in each pixel location of calculated pixel value, good image quality with a surface similarity index measure (SSIM) value 1 and high PSNR. Also, high robustness is achieved on comparing with the existing works.

Nickel is an essential micronutrient for leguminous plants. It has a large range between limiting and toxic levels. A pot experiment was conducted on two dominant soil series of Jharkhand i.e., Upl...

Limited evidence is available on carbon sequestration potential of long-term integrated nutrient management (INM) versus mineral fertilization, when equivalent amounts of nutrients were added. Henc...

Fertilizer use in Indian agriculture is skewed towards nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and farmers generally neglect potassium (K) input ignoring K requirement of crops. We, therefore, studied the long-term effect of imbalanced fertilization (i.e. without K) on K supplying capacity of a kaolinitic red soil (Typic Haplustalf) after 42 years of intensive cultivation. Soil samples (0–15 and 15–30 cm) were collected after the completion of 42 cropping cycles from an on-going long-term fertilizer experiment located at Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi, India, from six treatments, viz. control (unfertilized), fertilizer N, NP, NPK, 150% NPK (1.5 times of NPK) and NPK + FYM (NPK + farmyard manure), along with adjacent uncultivated land. Soil K pools, clay minerals, quantity-intensity relationship and K release kinetics along with grain yield and K uptake of soybean and wheat were studied. Among the treatments, NP treated soils showed the lowest amounts of labile (KL) and non-exchangeable K (Knex). Equilibrium activity ratio (AReK) and non-specifically held K (−ΔK0) were also lowest under NP treatment. The gap between equilibrium exchangeable K (EK0) and minimum exchangeable K (EKmin) was minimum under NP. Cropping and fertilization-induced transformation in clay minerals was noticed wherein continuous neglect of K fertilizer led to a decrease in illite content with a concomitant increase in interstratified minerals. On the other hand, noticeably lower alteration in clay minerals and comparatively less depletion in overall K-supplying capacity of soil were recorded under K addition as compared to imbalanced fertilization (i.e. without K). Soybean showed a significant positive response to K application. The study thus underlined the necessity of adequate K input for the sustenance of soil health, inherent K-supplying capacity and crop productivity.

Green Revolution ushered the nation into a millennium of self-sufficiency, but we have again been presented with the threat of diminishing agricultural production due to deterioration in soil health and, ultimately, risking the sustenance of the human race. Indiscriminate and reckless use of chemicals has fuelled the concerns of environmental pollution, pesticide toxicity and soil health even further. Amidst this, organic agriculture has come out to be a holistic paradigm for sustaining life as we know it. Though diseases are not a threat in organically managed farms, still in order to prevent disease incidence from reaching economically damaging levels, organic agriculture uses the natural process and fundamental components of the ecosystem, such as nutrient cycling and microorganism population as soil management tools. Disease control through soil management can be accomplished either through modifying nutrient availability or by modifying its uptake. Organic agriculture follows composting, manuring, crop rotation and reduced tillage systems for suppression of pathogens and control of disease.

Abiotic stresses like drought, cold, salinity, heat, oxidative stress and the presence of excess levels of heavy metal in the agroecosystems lead to a decrease in the growth and productivity of major crops worldwide. The majority of stresses are connected with each other and results in elevated adverse impacts on the plants as well as other important components of the environment. The intensity of stresses and associated adverse impacts are increasing substantially in the era of climate change that again triggers to produce abnormalities in the crops. To overcome the effects of abiotic stresses, a number of strategies have been investigated, such as developing and cultivate stress-tolerant varieties, use of organic fertilizers, and the application of high yielding varieties. Application of biochar to mitigate the impacts of major abiotic stresses especially drought, salinity, and heavy metal has been found very effective. Amendment of biochar in stress affected agroecosystems improves the soil physicochemical and biological features and thereby enhances the productivity of crops. In this chapter, efforts have been made to discuss about three major stresses, i.e. drought, salinity, and heavy metals, their impacts on soil as well as plant productivity. Further, the efficiency and mechanism of biochar in reducing the impacts of stresses when using as a soil amendment have also been discussed thoroughly.

Soil quality degradation is one of the major outcomes of environmental pollution that can be characterized by deficient nutrients and concurrent presence of toxic substances in the agroecosystems. To enhance crop productivity, farmers use uncontrolled synthetic fertilizers that further deteriorate the soil health. Several organic components have been developed to reduce the overload of chemical fertilizers. Application of biochar to the soil is one of the potential methods that not only enhance the crop productivity but at the same time improve soil quality parameters. The application of biochar has also been proved to reduce the greenhouse gaseous emission from the agroecosystems. In this chapter, the efforts have been made to explore the production, features, mode of application, and effects of biochar on crop productivity and soil health. Further, the impact of biochar in the mitigation of abiotic stresses has also been discussed.

The aim of this study was to understand impacts of long-term (43 years) fertilization on soil aggregation, N accumulation rates and δ15N in surface and deep layers in an Alfisol. Soil samples from ...

Understanding temperature sensitivity of soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition from bulk soils and aggregates of long-term fertilized plots is imperative to forecast soil C dynamics. We evaluated the impacts of 43 years of fertilization under a soybean ( Glycine max ) based cropping system on temperature sensitivity of SOC decomposition (Q 10 ) in an Alfisol. Treatments were: no mineral fertilizer or manure (control), 100% recommended dose of nitrogen (N), N and phosphorus (NP), N, P and potassium (NPK), NPK + lime at 0.4 Mg ha −1 (NPK + L), 150% recommended NPK (150% NPK), and NPK + farmyard manure (FYM) at 10 Mg ha −1 (NPK + FYM). Bulk soils as well as macro- and micro-aggregates were incubated for 24 days at 25 °C and 35 °C. Cumulative SOC mineralization (C t ) in the 0–15 cm soil layer of bulk soils with NPK + FYM and NPK treated plots were similar but significantly higher than unfertilized control plots. However, both C t and Q 10 values in the NPK + FYM plots were higher than NPK in the 15–30 cm soil layer. In the 0–15 cm soil layer, NPK + FYM plots had ∼10 and 26% greater Q 10 values of macro- and microaggregates than NPK. Activation energies required for bulk soils C mineralization was ∼2 and 3 times higher in NPK + FYM and NPK + L plots, respectively, compared with unfertilized control plots in that layer. Lime along with NPK application increased the activation energy of SOC decomposition. Thus, long-term NPK + FYM and NPK + L applications have great potential for less proportional SOC decomposition than NPK or unfertilized control plots under a temperature rise in these acid soils. However, NPK + FYM management practice is recommended as it has highest SOC accumulation and can have less SOC losses under a temperature rise.

Summary A registered product biozyme is extracted from a Norwegian Sea weed known as Ascophyllum nodosum. It is biodegradable and non-toxic for the plant and soil health as claimed by Biostadt company. Beside biozyme, several other zymes are also available in the market with some prefixes in the name. They claim, the zyme is toxin free, eco-friendly, bio degradable product containing growth hormones, elements, minerals and vitamins. Highly compatible with fertilizers and pesticides, it also increases the resistance of plants against various pests, diseases and climatic stress. These zymes are available in solid and liquid form and are being used as either top dressing or spraying on the crop canopy at important crop growth stages. As per some earlier studies, biozyme have claimed to have beneficial in crop growth both in vegetative part as well as in grain production. Keeping in view of its importance a field trial was formulated and being conducted in research farm of Bihar Agricultural University Bhagalpur (Bihar) to see the impact of Biozyme on the yield and soil microbes.

Buddhism is a religion without borders. It transcended many geographies and many communities. In the initial diffusion the merchants and monks travelling through the silk route, spread this religion in the oasis cities along the silk route. Along the trade routes the religious tradition entered into Central Asia and China and further in the rest of the east Asia. Thus, the religious tradition of Buddhism has crossed many boundaries; geographical, sociocultural and political. In this research paper an attempt has been made to investigate the traces of Buddhism in the western most limits of the Central Asia. It is the land of ancient Margiana; where three great cultures met and influenced each other. Despite its location on the periphery of the ancient empires, the Merv oasis had nowhere a peripheral existence, as far as its religious landscape is concerned. The cities of the Merv oasis have exerted considerable influence over the cultures of Central Asia and Iran. It greatly influenced the cultural and religious life of the oasis cities and left deep impact on the society.

Thirty nine market samples of seasonal vegetables, namely cauliflower (14), brinjal (12) and okra (13), were monitored for residues of endosulfan applied during their growth period from four different locations (Kanke, Gandhi Nagar, Doranda and Ratu road) near by Ranchi. Out of thirty nine samples, 10 each from Kanke, Gandhi Nagar, Doranda and 9 from Ratu road, all samples were found to be contaminated with endosulfan (0.002-2.47 ppm). Among these three samples from Kanke and one each from Gandhi Nagar, Doranda and Ratu road showed endosulfan residues above the MRL values (2.0 ppm).