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Increasing land degradation by high level of metal wastes is of prime concern for the global research communities. In this respect, halophytes having specific features like salt glands, exclusion of excess ions, heavy metals (HMs) compartmentalization, large pool of antioxidants, and associations with metal-tolerant microbes are of great promise in the sustainable clean-up of contaminated sites. However, sustainable clean-up of HMs by a particular halophyte plant species is governed considerably by physico-chemical characteristics of soil and associated microbial communities. The present review has shed light on the superiority of halophytes over non-halophytes, mechanisms of metal-remediation, recent developments and future perspectives pertaining to the utilization of halophytes in management of HM-contaminated sites with the aid of bibliometric analysis. The results revealed that the research field is receiving considerable attention in the last 5-10 years by publishing ∼50-90% documents with an annual growth rate of 15.41% and citations per document of 29.72. Asian (viz., China, India and Pakistan) and European (viz., Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Argentina) countries have been emerged as the major regions conducting and publishing extensive research on this topic. The investigations conducted both under in vitro and field conditions have reflected the inherent potential of halophyte as sustainable research tool for successfully restoring the HM-contaminated sites. The findings revealed that the microbial association with halophytes under different challenging conditions is a win-win approach for metal remediation. Therefore, exploration of new halophyte species and associated microorganisms (endophytic and rhizospheric) from different geographical locations, and identification of genes conferring tolerance and phytoremediation of metal contaminants would further advance the intervention of halophytes for sustainable ecological restoration.

Besides contributing majorly in the growth of a country, agriculture is one of the severely affected sectors at present. Several modifications and adaptations are being made in agricultural practices to cope-up with the declining soil fertility and changing climate scenarios across the world. However, the development and adoption of a single agricultural practice may not help in the holistic mitigation of the impacts of climate change and may result in economic vulnerability to farmers. Therefore, it is high time to develop and recommend a group of agricultural practices i.e., package-based agriculture system having some compatibility for one another in the long term. In this article, a viewpoint has been given on some emergent agronomic practices adopted in the tropical agro-ecosystems which have potential to be developed as compatible agricultural package in combination. Moreover, we also emphasized on exploring some key indicators/environmental factors to assess the compatibility of different agronomic practices. For identifying the research transition from single to combined agricultural practices, a bibliometric analysis was performed by using conservation agriculture (CA), the system of rice intensification (SRI), organic agriculture and soil (biochar) amendment as the major agronomic practices being used for improving agro-ecological services such as improving nutrient cycling, soil fertility and crop productivity as well as climate change mitigation. The results revealed that scientific communities are now paying attention to exploring the role of combined agricultural practices for agro-ecological balance and climate change adaptation. Moreover, the limitations of the adoption of agronomic packages under different agro-climatic zones have also been highlighted. The recommendations of the study would further help the environmental decision-makers to develop potential measures for climate change mitigation without compromising the agro-ecological balance.

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Several alternative amendments like organic manure and biochar have been proposed for revitalizing the degrading soil viability and fertility for sustainable agriculture, globally. However, detailed field-scale studies focussing on the soil and agronomic parameters of crops under these amendments are limited in dry tropical ecosystems. Therefore, we studied the impact of various soil amendments viz., rice-husk ash (RHA) and farm-yard manure (FYM) along with mineral fertilizer on soil biophysical and agronomic parameters of wheat crop. We specifically explored the impact of the amendments on soil CO2 efflux (SCE, under different growth stages) and the harvest index of wheat crop, which are considered as the key indicators of soil viability and agronomic efficiency, respectively. SCE, soil moisture, soil temperature, soil N, microbial biomass and soil pH were found significantly varying under different treatments (P

Plants in their life cycle go through a series of life processes. These phenological changes are influenced by different climatic conditions. Abiotic factors like temperature, precipitation, and photoperiodism affect the onset and offset of particular phenophase in the plant periodic cycle. In this study, we tested the influence of precipitation on the forest phenology at two sites of Dudhwa National Park (DNP), Uttar Pradesh and Simlipal National Park (SNP), Odisha, India. DNP and SNP receive an annual average rainfall of 1093.5 mm and 1500 mm, respectively, of which most rainfall (~ 90%) occurs during June-September. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was measured for 2 years 2015 and 2018, with 2015 being a drought year and 2018 being a normal rainfall year. NDVI was analyzed at different temporal scales of months, season, and years using the t test (Welch's two-tailed) and General Linear Mixed Model (GLMM). Effect of drought (2015) and normal (2018) rainfall year was not significant at both the sites, whereas season, year*season interaction, season*rainfall interaction, and year*season*rainfall interaction were found significant at DNP (P 0.05, ICC = 0.68, marginal R

Continuous rise in application of pesticides in the agro-ecosystems in order to ensure food supply to the ever-growing population is of greater concern to the human health and the environment. Once entered into the agro-ecosystem, the fate and transport of pesticides is determined largely by the nature of pesticides and the soil attributes, in addition to the soil-inhabiting microbes, fauna, and flora. Changes in the soil microbiological actions, soil properties, and enzymatic activities resulting from pesticide applications are the important factors substantially affecting the soil productivity. Disturbances in the microbial community composition may lead to the considerable perturbations in cycling of major nutrients, metals, and subsequent uptake by plants. Indiscriminate applications are linked with the accumulation of pesticides in plant-based foods, feeds, and animal products. Furthermore, rapid increase in the application of pesticides having long half-life has also been reported to contaminate the nearby aquatic environments and accumulation in the plants, animals, and microbes surviving there. To circumvent the negative consequences of pesticide application, multitude of techniques falling in physical, chemical, and biological categories are presented by different investigators. In the present study, important findings pertaining to the pesticide contamination in cultivated agricultural soils; toxicity on soil microbes, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates; effects on soil characteristics; and alleviation of toxicity by bio-based management approaches have been thoroughly reviewed. With the help of bibliometric analysis, thematic evolution and research trends on the bioremediation of pesticides in the agro-ecosystems have also been highlighted.

Agriculture under changing climate scenario is facing major challenges of water scarcity and resource imbalances. Crop water productivity (WP) may act as an indicator of crop responses to water limitation. Organic amendments such as biochar and manure application to soil are suggested for improving soil quality and reducing water requirements from agricultural sector. However, studies exploring the impact of biochar as sole or in combination with organic and/or chemical fertilizers on WP in dry tropical agro-ecosystems are limited. In this study, we observed the effect of rice-husk ash (RHA, biochar) along with farm-yard manure (FYM) and chemical fertilizers (CF) under varying water conditions on soil hydro-physical properties, yield and WP of wheat crop. Water-filled pore space (WFPS), grain and straw yield, irrigation and total water productivity varied significantly (at P

Increasing population and related food demand always remain the most imperative challenges for the developing world. It could only be attained by an increased agricultural production based on external inputs like mineral fertilizers and pesticides during the twentieth century. The green revolution-based modern agricultural practices have resulted in the substantial increase in grain yield at the cost of natural resource degradation. The externalisation of agriculture led to a considerable decline in soil fertility and environmental resilience. It calls for a different approach which should educate the farmers to utilise their traditional knowledge to produce more grains using less external inputs. This approach is known as sustainable agriculture which is the need of the hour, at present. The sustainable agriculture practices are derived from the amalgamation of traditionally adapted healthy practices with a modern development of agricultural systems. Thus, sustainable agricultural practices are supposed to be resource-conservative and resilient to the present climate change scenario. Moreover, a higher proportion of traditional inputs either in the form of resources or the knowledge may encompass the socio-economic balance among different societies. In this review, a brief insight has been given on the concept of sustainable agriculture, its need in the present scenario and a critical assessment in terms of challenges and opportunities for overall sustainability in developing nations by considering India as a model country. How the integration of traditional knowledge and modern agriculture practices will improve the agricultural productivity, soil quality and health as well as socio-economic balance, has also been discussed in terms of research opportunities.

The growing global need for latex is driving rubber plantation (RP) expansion since the last century, with >2 Mha of cultivation area being established in the last decade. Southeast Asia is the hotspot for rubber cultivation at other land-use costs. Although rubber cultivation has improved the economic status of farmers, it has altered the habitat's ecology and ecosystem functions (EF). However, studies on the impacts of RP on EF are limited, and a clear overview is not available. To bridge this gap, we conducted an inclusive review of the EF of RP, including soil carbon storage, aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB), litter production and decomposition, respiration, and biodiversity (plants, animals, soil fauna, and microbes). We compared the EF in RP (monoculture) with those in forests because the conversion of forests to RP is prevalent in the tropics and because most RP studies used forests as reference ecosystems. We found RP generally have lower EF than forests. The impacts of RP on some EF are more severe (e.g., AGB, BGB, and plant diversity), causing decreases of >55%, and the effects are consistently negative irrespective of plantation age. However, including agroforestry or polyculture, integrated pest management, cover cropping, mulching, and composting can improve the EF in RP to some extent. We highlighted research gaps, particularly substantial research gaps concerning the influence of plant diversity treatments (i.e., agroforestry) performed in RP on EF. Additionally, more empirical data on the significance of spatial and temporal levels are required, such as how the impact on EF could vary with climate and RP age, as we showed some examples where EF differs spatially and temporally. More importantly, further research on plantation management to offset EF losses is needed. Finally, we emphasized knowledge gaps and suggested future directions and policies for improving EF in RP.

The enormous release of untreated sewage wastewater (330 km3) and sludge containing contaminants like antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes, heavy metals, metalloids, personal care products, infectious microorganisms including coliforms and hormones into agroecosystem has been documented to pose severe risks to food chain and crop productivity. The sludge amount produced in European Union would rise to approximately 12 million tonnes by 2020. Surprisingly, nearly 30–60% of antibiotics get concentrated in treatment facilities, serving as source of environmental contaminants and 30–90% of antibiotics used in livestock may release in nature without any modification. The heavy metal content in sewage sludge with respect to dry weight may reach upto 0.5–2%. The recently rising interest of farmers in organic farming has accelerated the employment of sewage wastewater and sludge as an innovative source of irrigation water and fertilizers, respectively so as to augment crop production, minimize the agrochemical exploitation and overcome the associated threats to agricultural productivity. Although, multifaceted beneficial effects of sewage water and sludge deployment in agriculture are reported worldwide, the introduction of traditional as well as emerging contaminants like antibiotics, personal care products, and hormones in food chain via utilization of sewage wastewater and sludge cannot be denied. Therefore, the proper treatment is imperative to nullify the unforeseen consequences of sewage wastewater and sludge utilization in agroecosystem.

Different types of abiotic stresses are the major environmental factors limiting crop productivity considerably. Abiotic stresses like drought, salinity, heavy metals/metalloids contamination, and extreme temperature variations are well recognized to alter the physiological and biochemical processes of a number of economically important crops, retarding growth and development of the affected crops. The management of crop productivity losses rendered through negative influences of abiotic stressors is therefore necessary to fulfill the food demand of the continuously rising human population and to ensure sufficient food availability. To date, different approaches based on the introduction of synthetic chemicals in agroecosystem have been deployed to alleviate the negative consequences of abiotic stress factors. However, such chemical approaches are expensive, not environmentally friendly, and may induce toxicity to different environmental components including agroecosystems. The application of biological agents and products thereof, referred to as “biostimulants,” on the other hand possesses promising potential in minimizing the harmful impacts of abiotic stress factors employing different mechanisms like the production of siderophores, induced synthesis of phytohormones like indole-3-acetic acid, auxin, and gibberellin, changes in soil characteristics, nutrient solubilization, enhancement in host uptake of beneficial nutrients, and modulation in root architecture leading to enhancement in plant growth. The present chapter encompasses the effects of different abiotic stresses on crop productivity, mechanisms underlying changes in crop processes at physiological and biochemical level, and sustainable management of negative influences of abiotic stresses on agricultural crops based on exploitation of biostimulants.

Coal is one of the most commonly utilized fossil fuel for energy production across the globe leading to higher amount of emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the atmosphere. Combustion of coal containing higher contents of sulfur is a major factor responsible for acid rain and associated environmental degradation. The currently used physicochemical approaches for removal of sulfur from coal are expensive, toxic in nature, and inappropriate for different types of coal. The application of microbial resources for removal of sulfur from coal is an ecofriendly technique and could be successfully employed at industrial scale after laboratory scale process optimization. The process of sulfur removal by microbes is carried out by enzymes and is considerably influenced by different factors, including pH, temperature, nutrient composition, shaking or standing condition, coal types, and most importantly type of microorganisms used. Different bacteria and fungi isolated from coal contaminated site as well as noncontaminated site exhibiting sulfur removal potential can be used as next generation tool for the development of clean coal technology. Furthermore, through the application of modern genetic manipulation techniques, enhanced expression of genes responsible for desulfurization can be performed in order to accelerate the process of sulfur removal from coal. The present chapter is prepared with an aim to discuss the diverse microbial population participating in desulfurization, their efficiency, mechanism of sulfur elimination, role of important environmental factors along with possible applications, and challenges in industrial scale sulfur removal.

Rapid rise in pharmaceutical industries during past decades in order to cure challenging human diseases has released considerable amounts of antibiotics in natural ecosystem including soil and aquatic ecosystem. The presence of antibiotics beyond the acceptable limits in agro-ecosystems entering through different sources like wastewater irrigation and manure application has witnessed multiple negative consequences on environmental homoeostasis. Moreover, the injudicious application of antibiotics for treatment of human diseases, improvement in crop yield and enhancement in productivity of livestock based meat production have triggered the resistance development in exposed microorganisms dwelling in agricultural soils, putting severe environmental threat to humans and other components of the food chain. The resistance to exposed antibiotics conferred through antibiotic resistance genes is well documented and agro-ecosystem contamination with antibiotic resistance genes as a rising risk is registered globally. So far, numbers of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes have been identified as emerging contaminants in soil ecosystem, suggesting the deployment of suitable strategies falling in the categories of physical, chemical and biological strategies to decontaminate the agricultural soils affected with antibiotics and associated resistance genes.

Rapid development of different metal-based industries and mining activities producing huge amount of metal-laden wastes has considerably deteriorated the quality of water and soil around the globe. The application of metal-based fertilizers has further aggravated the environmental contamination multifolds. Most of the metals released into water and soil ultimately find their ways into different plants and animals causing hazardous effects. The variety of microbes dwelling in metal-contaminated water and soil has evolved different oxidative mechanisms to escape the toxicity of metals. Some of the metal-oxidizing microbes derive energy during oxidation and produce metal oxides possessing the characteristic potential to adsorb toxic metal ions. The microbes can oxidize different metals such as iron, manganese, arsenic, and antimony present in their vicinity by cellular biochemical processes and thus offer an environment-friendly option for bioremediation of metal-contaminated water and soil. Very often, the oxidized forms of metals produced by microorganisms are more efficient adsorbent as compared to chemically synthesized metal oxides. Such metal-oxidizing microorganisms developed on filter could be employed for treatment of variety of metal-laden water and wastewater. The present chapter has tried to deal with different metal-oxidizing microbes and their possibility in bioremediation.

The improvement in cultivated ecosystems for enhancement in agricultural productivity is an essential step to support the rapidly rising human population. Pest infestation and changes in climatic conditions with possible negative consequences have further fueled the orientation of agricultural practices toward maximum crop productivity in a sustainable manner at the cost of available natural resources. The crop yield can be increased by enhancing the growth of crop plants and minimizing the losses caused by devastating plant diseases. The conventional practices of employing synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for improving crop yields pose great risks to environmental integrity and human health. In contrast, the deployment of growth stimulating organisms such as plant growth–promoting rhizobacteria and their products together with the living organisms and derived metabolic products such as microbial volatiles suppressing the growth of plant pathogens have promising potential in crop protection, thereby yield enhancement of cultivated ecosystem. Currently, the potential of numbers of bacteria, fungi, cyanobacteria, and mycorrhiza has been harnessed in agroecological management. However, the application under natural environmental conditions has certain challenges and requires extensive field investigation. Moreover, the application of living organisms and their products-based strategies for application in agroecosystem needs approval from regulatory bodies, restricting easy acceptance among farmers. This chapter deals with different biostimulants and biocontrol agents, mechanism of action, application in sustainable management of cultivated ecosystem, and challenges associated with exploitation under natural field condition.

Plant diseases have been recognized as one of the major challenges to food security worldwide. Every year, very large amounts of food produce are lost qualitatively and quantitatively due to plant diseases mainly caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes, and parasitic plants, calling for the development of suitable control measures. The in-depth information on plant pathogen interaction and disease progression is one of the primary criterion for management. The early detection of plant diseases, in this regard is considered as one of the important strategy for effective minimization of plant diseases in order to enhance food security. The occurrence and spread of most of the plant disease are influenced greatly by different environmental factors like temperature, moisture content, soil characteristics, pathogen virulence, inoculum density, and host. Postharvest disease management by physical methods has not been proved successful under storage condition. The employment of chemical approaches is much expensive, not ecologically sound, induces resistance in plant pathogens, generates environmental hazards, and most strikingly results into accumulation of applied chemicals in crop produce. The practices of different biological methods including biocontrol methods, plant breeding, and genome editing for plant disease control, hence improved productivity, are environment friendly, economical, attractive, and bears possibility with application under field condition. However, the changing climatic conditions are thwarting the goals of food availability, thus posing severe threat to global food security. The present chapter is an effort to provide information relevant to plant diseases caused by different pathogens, impact on crop productivity, factors influencing the pathogen’s growth and disease development, and finally application of currently available chemical and biological approaches against the plant disease in order to achieve the goal of food security.

Nanotechnology may potentially benefit our agro-ecosystems in multiple ways, primarily via reduction in agricultural inputs without yield penalty and enhanced absorption of nutrients by the plants. In this regard, nano-fertilizers (such as engineered metal oxide or carbon-based nano-materials, nano-coated fertilizers, and nano-sized nutrients), and nano-pesticides (inorganic nano-materials or nano-formulations of active ingredients), might bring targeted as well as controlled release of agrochemicals in order to tap the fullest biological efficacy in already stressed agro-ecosystems, without over-dosages and leach-outs. Therefore, such nano-tools may multiply the agricultural yield, providing protection against various pests and diseases, without polluting our soil and water ecosystems at the same time. Though nanotechnology may provide potential solutions on such critical and persistent issues in agricultural management and activities; however, new environmental and human health hazards from their applications itself may pose unforeseen challenges to the humankind. For example, the biosafety, adversity, unknown fate, and acquired biological reactivity/toxicity of these nano-materials once dispersed in environment after application are still an unknown and threatening area, which needs to be investigated carefully and scientifically, before its open field use in our agro-ecosystems. Among other potential benefits, nano-tools may also be utilized for the rapid disease diagnostic in field crops and monitoring of the packaged food quality and contaminations. Similarly, the quality and health of soils and plants can be regularly monitored in real-time manner with the help of sensors based on highly sensitive nano-materials. However, a responsible regulatory consensus on nanotechnology application in agriculture needs to be developed, based upon profound scientific foundations. This chapter explores the area of nanotechnology in revolutionizing agriculture in a smart way via its known interactions with plants and soil microorganisms so far in the literature.

Soil respiration is considered as one of the most sensitive parameters regulated by the interplay of different soil biophysical parameters, ground cover and climatic conditions. As per the global predictions, monsoon variability in South Asian countries can affect various soil processes. However, studies exploring the interactive role of vegetation and precipitation conditions on soil respiration and its components (viz., auto- and heterotrophic) are lacking. A mini-trenching method was performed to explore the alterations in auto- and heterotrophic components of soil respiration as well as their regulatory variables in grassland vegetation under different summer monsoonal phases. Three vegetation densities (viz. low, medium and high) based on herbaceous cover, and three monsoon phases (viz. onset, active and end) of the tropical summer monsoon were considered. The findings revealed that heterotrophic respiration was the major contributor to the total soil respiration under medium- and high-density vegetation with percent contribution of 62–80% and 53–88% respectively. Contrastingly, autotrophic respiration was the major contributor (54–56%) to soil respiration in low-density vegetation during active- and monsoon-end phases. Amongst the three monsoon phases, variation in soil respiration components was most pronounced during the active-monsoon phase. Structural Equation Modelling results revealed microbial biomass and root biomass as key regulators of auto- and heterotrophic respiration. Remarkably, a partitioning of root biomass parallel to the soil respiration was observed during monsoon-end phase where coarse root biomass and fine root biomass emerged as regulators of auto- and heterotrophic respiration, respectively. Moreover, for monsoon-onset and -end phases, a completely different set of variables involved in regulation of soil respiration components were identified. Our results revealed that the monsoon-phase mediates the root and nutrient dynamics which led to the differential decoupling of the components of soil respiration. Thus, inclusion of (below)-ground cover and monsoon-phase wise variation in soil biophysical parameters in the global biogeochemical models would be more helpful for better prediction of carbon balance in different ecosystems.