Reply by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in compliance to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order dated January 21, 2024 in the matter of ‘News item titled “Feeling anxious? Toxic air could be to blame” appearing in Times of India dated 10.10.2023’. NGT had directed CPCB to file a …
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are predicted to be sensitive to the increased temperature and altered precipitation associated with climate change. We assessed the effects of these factors on soil carbon dioxide (CO2) balance in biocrusted soils using a sequence of manipulations over a 9-year period. We warmed biocrusted soils by …
The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its Global Soil Partnership launched today a new programme to boost soil productivity and reduce soil degradation for greater food and nutrition security in Africa. The Afrisoils programme aims to increase soil productivity in 47 African countries by 30 percent, and …
Numerous reports have emphasized the need for major changes in the global food system: agriculture must meet the twin challenge of feeding a growing population, with rising demand for meat and high-calorie diets, while simultaneously minimizing its global environmental impacts. Organic farming—a system aimed at producing food with minimal harm …
The projected demand of maize production in India in 2050 is 4–5 times of current production. With the scope for area expansion being limited, there is need for enhancement of yield. This calls for identifying areas where huge unrealized yield potential exists. With a view to address the issue, the …
Bringing pending clearance issue of the genetically modified (GM) mustard back on its table, the central biotech regulator - Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) - has asked the developer of this variety to undertake “field demonstration” to generate additional data to check whether the transgenic oilseed affects honey bees and …
Soil N is an essential element for plant growth, but its mineral forms are subject to loss to the environment by leaching and gaseous emissions. Despite its importance for the soil-plant system, factors controlling soil mineral N concentrations over large spatial scales are not well understood. We used NH4+ and …
Phthalate esters (PAEs) are commonly detected in agricultural soils of China, which can post potential threats to human health. Understanding their sorption to soils is important in assessing their transport and bioavailability in environment. Limited research focuses on the influence of soil organic carbon (SOC) on PAEs adsorption to soils …
Phosphate (P) is an essential macronutrient for plant growth. Roots employ adaptive mechanisms to forage for P in soil. Root hair elongation is particularly important since P is immobile. Here we report that auxin plays a critical role promoting root hair growth in Arabidopsis in response to low external P. …
The sub-humid Chaco region of Argentina, originally covered by dry sclerophyll forest, has been subjected to clearing since the end of the '70 and replacement of the forest by no till farming. Land use changes produced a decrease in aboveground carbon stored in forests, but little is known about the …
Continuously flooded rice systems are a major contributor to global rice production and food security. Allowing the soil to dry periodically during the growing season (such as with alternate wetting and drying irrigation - AWD) has been shown to decrease methane emissions, water usage, and heavy metal accumulation in rice …
Glyphosate is a herbicide that is liable to be used in the extensive cultivation of glyphosate-tolerant cultivars. The potential accumulation of the relative effect of glyphosate on the rhizobacterial communities of glyphosate-tolerant maize has been monitored over a period of three years. Original Source
Efforts have been made in recent years to improve knowledge about soil greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes from subSaharan Africa. However, data on soil GHG emissions from smallholder coffee-dairy systems have not hitherto been measured experimentally. This study aimed to quantify soil GHG emissions at different spatial and temporal scales in …
Peat fires in boreal and tundra regions can potentially cause a high CO2 release, because of their large soil carbon stocks. Under current and future climate warming the frequency and intensity of droughts are increasing and will cause the plant community and organic soil to become more susceptible to fire. …
Soil fertility has direct implications on the agricultural production scenarios of a region. Surface soil samples at 1 km grid were collected to assess the fertility status of Lakhimpur district (Assam) in North East India. Fertility parameters like soil organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc and copper …
The UK has an estimated 100 harvest left before soils become too degraded to grow crops, one study shows. Photograph: Tim Gainey/Alamy A new bill will be brought before parliament this year mandating, for the first time, measures and targets to preserve and improve the health of the UK’s soils, …
Domesticated species are impacted in unintended ways during domestication and breeding. Changes in the nature and intensity of selection impart genetic drift, reduce diversity, and increase the frequency of deleterious alleles. Such outcomes constrain our ability to expand the cultivation of crops into environments that differ from those under which …
Inorganic phosphorus (P)-solubilizing bacteria (IPSB) and organic P-mineralizing bacteria (OPMB) were isolated from bacteria that were first extracted from the rhizosphere soil of a natural wetland and then grown on either tricalcium phosphate or lecithin medium. The solubilizing of inorganic P was the major contribution to P availability, since the …
Pyrogenic carbon emission rates were estimated in the soils of three natural zones in Russia: forest-tundra, south-taiga, and forest-steppe. Postfire soils were found to be characterized by essential losses of soil C due to the combustion fire effect. Soils lost 3 or 5 parts of initial carbon content and showed …
Moisture response functions for soil microbial carbon (C) mineralization remain a critical uncertainty for predicting ecosystem-climate feedbacks. Theory and models posit that C mineralization declines under elevated moisture and associated anaerobic conditions, leading to soil C accumulation. Yet, iron (Fe) reduction potentially releases protected C, providing an under-appreciated mechanism for …
The present work is mainly focused on the Geotechnical properties of the areas in Gandhinagar district. The recent growth which is associated with urbanization in Gandhinagar -Ahmedabad Township calls for appropriate geotechnical investigations of soils of the area. Representative soil samples were collected from the Sabarmati River bed near Gandhinagar …
