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The west central Indian forest ecosystems strongly contribute to livelihood of local human communities as well as climate change mitigation. However, due to the lack of accurate biomass equations and predictive tools, the contribution of these forests towards carbon stock and sequestration remains poorly recognized. At present due to some developmental and mining activities these forests face huge anthropogenic pressure.Therefore, the objective of the present study was to estimate the biomass and carbon stock of forest tree species of west central India to provide baseline information. It will also be useful for measuring the changes after the intervention as well as for future management and conservation.The non-destructive allometric equation approach was adopted to estimate the biomass, carbon stock and carbon dioxide equivalent from total 28 plots of 0.1 ha at seven sites of dry deciduous forests of west central India. In the present study, the results of biomass and carbon stock were calculated by employing two different allometric models.The model with tree diameter and wood specific gravity gave higher estimations of total plant biomass (123.39 – 65.86 Mg ha−1) and carbon stock (58.61—31.28 Mg ha−1) as compared with model having only tree diameter (108.84 – 55.91 Mg ha−1) and (51.70 -26.55 Mg ha−1), respectively.We conclude that the allometric model with tree diameter and wood specific gravity was found best suited for these forests. The results also showed the positive relation between tree diversity, basal area and aboveground biomass and carbon stock.

As the demand of wireless communication increases exponentially, with the same ratio scarcity of spectrum also originates. To overcome this spectrum scarcity a novel approach, Cognitive Radio (CR) shows development of an opportunistic and promising technology. This paper explores implementation and analysis of the CR spectrum sensing techniques such as Matched filtering, Energy detection and Cyclostationary feature detection on MATLAB platform by simulation. We analyze performance of these techniques over, Nakagami-m fading channel with AWGN channel for both the BPSK and QPSK modulation.

Greening of communication systems leads to provide a solution for spectrum scarcity, high energy consumption, secure and fast transmission, and diversity for user access. OFDM with cognitive radio offer satisfactory solutions for all these heads. The cognitive radio system senses the surrounding environment possesses an electromagnetic spectrum. CR can adapt the radio parameter dynamically and autonomously. It improves the performance of the wireless communication system by endowing the opportunity to unlicensed secondary users temporarily. This arrangement maximizes network throughput with an interoperability facility. This paper presents a hardware implementation of a Green Cognitive Radio Communication (GCR) using an FPGA board. It defines the complete process of software and hardware implementation for the practical execution of this novel approach.

The current study analyzes the tree diversity and regeneration status of species between repeated forest fires and unburned areas of the tropical dry deciduous forest of Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR), ...

Variation in tree biomass and carbon (C) stocks in tropical dry forests is important at both regional and global scale to know their contribution in global C cycle. In Indian tropical forests, the ...

An accurate characterization of the seasonal and inter-annual variability of agricultural residue burning in tropics is needed to devise strategies to control or minimize substantial amounts of particulate matter and pollutants released to the atmosphere through the burning of agricultural residues. The present study quantifies the spatiotemporal changes in agricultural residue burning in Madhya Pradesh, India. In this study, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data on the occurrence of fire over a period of 15 years (2002–2016) was used to characterize the spatial and temporal patterns of agricultural residue burning in Central India. Overall, there was an increasing trend of fire occurrence, which increased from 1268 in 2002 to 7915 in 2016. Most of these fires were in croplands (48.1%) followed by deciduous broadleaf forests (36%). Cropland fires were increased almost 10-fold from 454 in 2002 to 4359 in 2016 at an average annual rate of 64%. The agricultural residue fires were high in Rabi harvesting period (March to May), as compared to that in Kharif harvesting period (October to December). The present study indicates an increased agricultural residue burning activity in the Madhya Pradesh and needs an immediate attention and develop sustainable alternative methods for crop residue management. The present study also suggests that Modis can be used for long-term assessment of small fires. We recommend ploughing of agricultural residues into the soil as a sustainable and eco-friendly alternative to the burning of crop residues.

Maintenance of soil health is central to agricultural sustainability and a key factor that reflects the productivity of agro ecosystems. However, at present the soil resources are under severe threats from various anthropogenic activities including climate change. Climate changes add more uncertainties and complexities to agriculture, ecosystem and intimidate their sustainability. Plant-associated microbial communities stimulate the plant growth and increase their resistance to various abiotic and biotic stresses. Linking the distribution of microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning is essential to understand ecosystem responses to changing environment. Soil microbial taxa are imperative in relation to global climate changes as they play important and undisputable roles in biogeochemical cycling, plant growth and carbon sequestration. Modern genomic approaches show tremendous potential for identification of uncultivated diversity and finding shifts in the bacterial community associated with sensitive and disease tolerant plants, and understanding how microbes are affected by climate change. In this review, we discussed how the climate change influences soil microbial communities and plant–microbe interactions. Further, in this review the we have highlighted the role of metagenomics for unlocking the soil microbial black box.

The rapid alteration in the global climate due to anthropogenic activities has profound eco-biological impacts, which invariably affect the ability of natural communities to effectively perform ecosystem services. The eco-biological impacts could be viewed across various dimensions including loss of biodiversity as well as ecosystem goods and services, changes in phenology, prevalence of droughts and forest fires, disease outbreaks, reduced crop yields and increase in intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. Although, the natural ecosystems are innately endowed with the ability to maintain homeostasis by means of resistance and resilience, this ability to cope up is severely impacted by various other factors like deforestation, habitat fragmentation, land-use change and biological invasion, which exacerbate the effects of climate change. The eco-biological impacts of climate change are tied with socio-economic aspects by means of market values of the produce, poverty, undernourishment, livelihood security, etc. At this crucial juncture, forest biomes offer an immense ecosystem service towards climate change mitigation through carbon sequestration. Nevertheless, the three major forest biomes, viz. tropical, temperate and boreal, with their unique characteristics, vary in their response to climate change as well as mitigation potential and response. This review chapter aims to understand the varied climate change impacts and the crucial roles of major forest biomes in climate change mitigation and their various ecological services to formulate better forest management strategies.

In the present study the IDS (Incubation-Drying- Separation) technique was tested on a seed lot of Anogeissus latifolia. Data envisaged that above criteria based on the extent of temperature and drying as found in nature is suitable and provide accurate result for separating viable and dead seed fractions. All drying treatments gave 73.25 to 100% germination in sunken fraction compared to 12.50% for untreated seeds. The aim of this study was to improve seed lots quality by remaining non viable seeds using above technique which is desirable to produce uniform and vigorous seedlings in the nursery. The seed vitality of floated or sink was also determined by 2, 3, 5 triphenyl terazolium chloride test.

Sacred groves are small or large patches of forest and are rich in biodiversity, store carbon (C) in biomass and soil, besides providing important ecosystem services. However, the information on tree species diversity, biomass, and C storage in sacred groves of Central India, Madhya Pradesh is elusive and fragmented. In the present study, 41 sacred groves were inventoried for tree species diversity, biomass, and C storage in vegetation and soil. A total of 103 tree species from 81 genera belonging to 37 families were recorded. Shannon’s diversity, Dominance, Fisher’s alpha, and species evenness indices for trees varied: 0.77–2.53, 0.07–0.64, 1.58–20.37, and 0.28–0.90 respectively. Tree density ranged 75–675 no. of stems ha−1 with a mean of 271 no. of stems ha−1, while basal area ranged 6.8–47 m2 ha−1 with a mean value of 27 m2 ha−1. Tree biomass ranged 34.9–409.8 Mg ha−1 with a mean value of 194.01 Mg ha−1, while, tree C ranged between 17.5 and 204.9 Mg C ha−1 with a mean value of 97.0 Mg C ha−1. The total soil organic carbon stock (0–30 cm) ranged from 22.4 to 112.5 Mg C ha−1 with the mean value of 62 Mg C ha−1. Biomass C and SOC contributed 61% and 39% of the total C stocks, respectively. Tree C stock showed a significant positive relationship with tree basal area (R2 = 0.968). A total of five tree species belonging to four families were found to be vulnerable in Central India. The present study reveals that the sacred groves of Central India are species rich, have higher C stocks and sequestration potential in both vegetation and soil, and calls for an immediate attention for conservation and planning for long-term C sequestration.

Tropical forests are the richest biodiversity hotspots and are under immense natural and anthropogenic pressures that lead to biodiversity loss. One such cause is alien plant invasion that alters the native forest stand structure and composition and disrupts the vital ecosystem functions. Central India, which mainly spans across the three states, viz. Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and some parts of Maharashtra, is well-known for its sprawling tropical deciduous forests, which are also no less immune to the present-day pressures, including the plant invasion. Alien invasive plants arrive via several pathways and possess unique traits that help them to surpass the barriers in the new habitats, where many influential factors might operate upon them. Once established, they may profoundly impact the invaded ecosystem. Most of the studies from Central India have been focused on floristics, forest structure, impact of disturbances, etc., and relatively few studies have addressed plant invasion. Overall, there are 179 invasive taxa in Central India, mostly from the Asteraceae (17.3%) and Fabaceae (14.5%) families. Majority of them are from Tropical America (52%), and most are herbs (69%). An outline of the most common top ten Central Indian invaders has been presented. Climate change might influence invasive plants, and constant monitoring and modelling is required to understand invasive species dynamics for effective management. Invasive alien species are to be tended with extreme caution and smart and novel approaches of putting them to use might help in better management for controlling them. This review will also provide a conceptual basis for improving our general understanding on invasive species and their impact on tropical forest ecosystems.

The sample of pure and malachite green doped Polysulfone in the form of foil was prepared by solution cast technique. For the preparation of pure sample 3 gm of Polysulfone was dissolved in 50 ml of Dimethyl farmamide (DMF) solvent, while for the preparation of doped sample 3 mg, 5 mg and 7 mg Malachite Green was mixed with 3 gm of Polysulfone respectively. For the study of structural characterization of these pure and doped sample, Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy (UV) technique was used. PSF and MG used for the present study were supplied by Glexo Leb. Bombay. The absorption spectra were record by UV-VIS spectrophotometer 2540 in the wavelength range from 200 to 800 nm.The sample of pure and malachite green doped Polysulfone in the form of foil was prepared by solution cast technique. For the preparation of pure sample 3 gm of Polysulfone was dissolved in 50 ml of Dimethyl farmamide (DMF) solvent, while for the preparation of doped sample 3 mg, 5 mg and 7 mg Malachite Green was mixed with 3 gm of Polysulfone respectively. For the study of structural characterization of these pure and doped sample, Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy (UV) technique was used. PSF and MG used for the present study were supplied by Glexo Leb. Bombay. The absorption spectra were record by UV-VIS spectrophotometer 2540 in the wavelength range from 200 to 800 nm.

Polymers are regarded as good dielectrics which are capable of storing the charge in them permanently, when subjected to a field – temperature treatment. The electret state and carrier mobility of polymers can be greatly affected by impregnating the polymer with suitable dopants. The process of doping of organic compound of low molecular weight improves the electrical conductivity of polymer due to formation of charge transfer interaction between acceptor and donor molecule. Spectroscopic techniques are used to illustrate the structural modification in pure polymer with increasing ratio of impurity. In the present investigation, Polysulfone is used as host polymer and malachite Green is used as dopant. The sample of pure and malachite green doped Polysulfone in the form of foil were prepared by isothermal immersion technique. For the preparation of pure sample 4 gm of Polysulfone was dissolved in 50 ml of Dimethyl farmamide (DMF) solvent, while for the preparation of doped sample 10,25, 50 and 100 mg Malachite Green was mixed with 4 gm of Polysulfone respectively. For the study of structural and optical characterization of these pure and doped samples, X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD) and UV-Visible spectroscopy techniques were used. The XRD diffractograms of pure and doped polysulfone shows both sharp as well as diffused peaks respectively correspond to the crystalline regions and amorphous regions of polymer. While considering the variation of intensity with two theta angle, it is observed that for pure sample maximum intensity is observed at 18.280, whereas for doped samples maximum intensity is observed at 18.510, 18.860, 20.360, 20.810 respectively due to the increase in doping ratio. This observation confirms the enhancement in amorphous nature of polysulfone. The UV-Visible spectroscopic study shows that the transmittance decreases as the ratio of doping is increased in pure polysulfone. The reduction in intensity of transmittance of pure sample is clearly apparent in the present case and some new peaks are also observed. This action indicates the development of Charge Transfer Complexes (CTC) between the donor and acceptor molecule, and hence signifies the improvement in electrical properties of Polysulfone polymer.

Predicting the distribution of future climatically suitable habitat areas is crucial for the long-term success of species conservation and management plans. However, generating accurate predictions may be difficult as the assumptions and variables used in the construction of different climate scenarios may result in divergent trajectories of change. Nevertheless, generating species distribution models under multiple scenarios is helpful in selecting an optimal solution for practical applications. In this study, we compare the current distribution of climatically suitable areas of a threatened medicinally important tree, Boswellia serrata Roxb. in India with its distribution in the year 2050 modeled using two climate change scenarios - IPSL-CM5A-LR and NIMR-HADGEM2-AO - each represented by four representative concentration pathways (RCPs). Maximum entropy modeling with 19 bioclimatic variables was used to construct the climatic niche of B. serrata for predictions of present and future climatically suitable areas within India. The study revealed that annual mean temperature, mean temperature of wettest quarter and driest quarter, precipitation seasonality, and precipitation of wettest quarter potentially influence the distribution of the species. After thresholding, the model showed that ∼21.95% of the geographical area in India is presently climatically suitable for the species. The IPSL-CM5A-LR and NIMR-HADGEM2-AO climate models revealed contrasting distribution scenarios of climatically suitable areas in India. However, irrespective of these climate models, the four RCPs predict a consistent decrease in suitable area with increases in climatic harshness. Substantial area in peninsular India is expected to lose climatic suitability in 2050, though new areas are also predicted to become climatically suitable. We suggest long-term conservation strategies for B. serrata be prioritized within future areas that are projected to retain climatic suitability.

Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) is a new-generation 3D image modality which is highly used in dentistry. As CBCT is a low-radiation imaging technique, reconstruction of image is prone to artefacts. Artefacts are the discrepancies between the original physical image and the mathematical modelling image process. In dental treatment, mostly metallic filling is done which produces metal artefact in imaging, in which it produces the reflection effect on imaging that misleads the diagnosis of treatment. In this paper, the proposed method reduces the reflection effect of metal artefacts and enhances the contrast of CBCT image. Here the proposed technique used morphological approach for reflection reduction, and fuzzy enhancement is used for contrast improvement. The output image has been analysed and evaluated using structure of similarity index matrix (SSIM) and peak value ratio in terms of signal versus noise (PSNR). Visual perception also shows the performance of the proposed work.

Ponds are an important fresh water critical ecosystem for plants and animals providing goods and services including food, fodder, fish, irrigation, hydrological cycle, shelter, medicine, culture, aesthetic and recreation. Ponds cover less than 2 percent of worlds land surface. Ponds are important source of fresh water for human use. These are threatened by urbanization, industrialization, over exploitation, fragmentation, habitat destruction, pollution, illegal capturing of land and climate changes. These above factors have been destroying ponds very rapidly putting them in danger of extinction of a great number of local biodiversity. It is necessary to formulate a correct conservation strategy for pond restoration in order to meet the growing needs of fresh water by increasing the human population. Some measures have been compiled and proposed in the present review.

New generation image modality which is low radiation dose is highly used in dentistry. In that category, Cone Beam Computed Tomography CBCT are in demand in dental medical application. Due to low radiation dose imaging technique, image reconstruction is prone to artifacts. Artifacts are the discrepancies between the original physical image to the mathematical modelling image process. In dental treatment, mostly metallic filling is done which produces metal artifact in imaging. Which metallic felling produces the reflection effect on imaging that mislead the diagnosis of treatment. Proposed research algorithm which is morphology based reduces the reflection effect of metal artifacts. Metal artifact also effect the visual contrast of CBCT image so that contrast enhancement method is compared which are histogram and fuzzy based method. The output image has been analysed and evaluated using structure of similarity index matrix (SSIM) and peak value ratio in term of Signal versus Noise (PSNR). Visual perception also shows the performance of the proposed work.

Interactions between biodiversity loss and climate change pose significant challenges for scientific research, policy-making, and the management of ecosystem processes. Greenhouse gases released from vegetation fires have been identified as a key environmental issue within the context of global warming and climate change due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Occurring mostly during the dry season in India, the burning of vegetation causes a variety of negative environmental impacts on air and soil quality. The present study estimates greenhouse gas emissions caused by vegetation fires in Central India through the use of MODISbased burnt area maps, Land sat-based land cover maps, biometric models, and pre-existing datasets. Greenhouse gas emissions were calculated as the product of area burnt, biomass loading per unit area, combustion factor, and emission factor. The results indicate that the number of fires and burnt areas increased significantly between 2002 and 2016, MODIS fire counts increased from 720 to 3165 between 2002 and 2016. A strong correlation between area burnt and greenhouse gas emissions allowed for accurate emissions estimates once area burnt was quantified. These variations in vegetation fire cycles have an important influence on forest composition and structure at the landscape and regional levels, and maintenance of this natural variability should be targeted by forest managers concerned with biodiversity conservation. These results indicate that continued vegetation fires will produce a greater impact on global carbon emissions and reduce forest biodiversity. Fire emissions have been increasing over the past decades and are likely to remain high due to forecasted changes in fire caused by climate change.

Electrical conductivity of pure PVC, PMMA and their polyblends samples has been studied in detail as a function of polarizing fields at constant temperatures. Different plots were drawn to investigate the nature of mechanism responsible for conduction. The nature of all the thermograms is nonlinear but similar for all temperatures. The plots have two slopes, i.e., ohmic conduction with slope of curve ≈1 at lower voltage region and a non-ohmic conduction with slope ≈1.9 at higher voltage region are observed. The increase in the conductivity and decrease in the activation energy, suggest that plasticization effect is taking place between the polymers when they are blended. Fowler–Nordheim plots are not consistent and showing negative and positive slopes simultaneously for lower as well as higher values of applied voltage. Theoretical and experimental values of βSR and βPF were calculated and the βexp of pure and polyblend samples is in agreement with theoretically βPF. The βexp value lies close to βPF, this shows that Poole–Frenkel mechanism is also effective. The calculated metal electrode potential barrier at a constant voltage suggests that the dominant charge carrier mechanism is Schottky–Richardson type. Hence in the present case both SR and PF mechanisms are seem to be operative.

Thermally stimulated discharge current (TSDC) studies were carried out on pure poly(methyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl chloride) and polyblends (of various weight ratios, 100:0, 90:10, 80:20 and 70:30) as a function of polarizing fields at constant temperature, to study the polarization and relaxation phenomena in them. For PVC and different blends a peak around 140–180 °C and for PMMA two peaks at around 95 and 165 °C were observed. No regular variation in peak position for PMMA and blends was observed. The various TSDC parameters i.e. activation energy, charge released and relaxation times were calculated. In the blend samples it is suggested that the chains are so entangled that in the total polarization the dipolar contribution is less and the observed polarization seems to be mainly due to the formation of induced dipoles and an increase in free volume and mobility of charge carriers due to a plasticization effect.

Dental, oral and maxillofacial region are very sensitive so low radiation imaging technique like Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) is useful for investigation of diseases. But due to low radiation, quality of images is not fine they have noise and low contrast in visual impression. So for dentistry diagnostic purpose it is important to pre-process the CBCT image. This paper focuses on improvement of contrast, brightness and noise reduction of dental CBCT images by using Bi Histogram Equalization technique with bent activation function and adaptive median filter for noise reduction. The output image has been analyzed and evaluated using peak value ratio in term of Signal versus Noise (PSNR) and matrix of Structure in term of Similarity Index (SSIM). From the experimental results, it has been found that the adaptive median and Bi histogram with bent activation function has a better noise and enhancement capability as compare to convectional histogram method.

This paper presents a frequency responsive design of an optimum distributed high pass filter having a cutoff frequency fc = 2.4 GHz and a 0.1 dB ripple passband up to 10.4 GHz with Z0 = 50 ohm. This presents a novel design of Chebyshev HPF prototype with substrate thickness 1.6 mm, strip thickness 0.035 mm, FR4 substrate relative permittivity is 4.4 and dielectric loss tangent 0.02. The simulated results for the filter are in good concurrence. The analysis of the High pass planar filter is performed using the Ansoft’s HFSS simulator. Snapshots of the simulation and the graphical results obtained are shown in the paper.

Dielectric properties of polymer blend of polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) and polysulfone (PSF) of different wt. % have been studied to understand the molecular motion and their relaxation behavior in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 10 kHz at different temperatures between 30 and 190 °C. The dielectric constant of the blend decreased with frequency and increased with the increasing temperature and PSF content in the blend. The magnitude of dielectric loss also increased with increase in temperature and PSF content. The observed characteristic has been consistently explained in terms of dipolar motions and the plasticization effect brought about by blending of PSF with PVDF. At constant frequency and temperature, the blend follows a linear relationship between logarithm of their dielectric constant and different ratios of blend. The appearance of a peak for each concentration in dielectric loss suggests the presence of relaxing dipoles in the blend. In addition of PSF with PVDF, the peak shifts toward higher frequency side suggesting the speed up the relaxation process. AC dielectric data is also combined with thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) data which is generally studied for low-frequency dielectric properties of polymers blends so as to produce the results in a wide frequency range. The glass transition temperature ( T g ) of the blend was studied by differential scanning calorimetric technique (DSC), the T g was compared and correlated with TSDC peak. The blend samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to study the formation of blend and micro structural properties of the materials. The shifting of peak toward lower diffraction angle side confirms the reduction in particle size with increasing amorphous content in the blend.

The TSDC and transient currents measurement have been carried out on pure poly(vinyl chloride), poly(methyl methacrylate) and polyblends of various weight ratios as a function of electric fields at constant poling temperature. For PVC and different blend samples single peak in the temperature range 100–170 °C has been observed in TSDC thermograms, however, for PMMA samples two peaks were observed at around 90 and 165 °C. The various TSDC parameters i.e. activation energy, charge released and relaxation times have been calculated. Results suggest that dipolar and space charge mechanism are dominant for observed current.

Thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) have been undertaken on solution grown foil samples of polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF)-polysulfone (PSF) blends as a function of the polarizing temperature, applied field, and polysulfone weight percentage in the blend. The TSDC thermograms of pure PVDF and PSF shows two peaks whereas the blend composition of the two polymers shows a single peak at around 170–190°C. The magnitude of the TSDC peak current increases and the peak current position shifted toward the lower temperature side as the polysulfone weight percentage in the blends was increased. The peak temperature of blend samples is higher than the dipolar peak (β peak) of PVDF samples and does not vary with change in polarizing field. This indicates that this peak may be due to dipoles. At the same time, the peak shifts towards higher temperatures with increase in polarizing temperature, which shows the behavior of space charge peak. This contradiction may be explained on the basis of induced dipole...