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 …
Few studies exist that document how high-elevation Andean ecosystems recover naturally after the cessation of human activities and this can limit the implementation of cost-effective restoration actions. We assessed Andean forest (Polylepis stands) and páramo grassland recovery along an elevation gradient (3,600–4,350 m.a.s.l.) in the Yanacocha Reserve (Ecuador) where natural …
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Dinesh Chahal & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 06/02/2020 regarding validity of the order issued by the Director, Food, Civil supplies and Consumers Affairs, Government of Haryana, Chandigarh extending time limit for adoption of zig-zag Technology for …
The Soil Health Card scheme launched by the Modi Government during the financial year 2014-15 with a view to address the decline of soil nutrients, has started reaping fruit. In the second phase of the scheme 11.69 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers in the last two …
A new combined drought indicator (CDI) is proposed that integrates rainfall, soil moisture and vegetation dynamics. The performance of this indicator was evaluated against crop damage data from agricultural insurance schemes in five different areas in SW Spain. Results show that this indicator was able to predict important droughts in …
The use of Cesium-137 (137Cs) as a potential environmental marker was examined for estimating soil erosion induced carbon losses on slopping agricultural land. Depth-wise incremental soil samples were taken from uneroded reference sites and four levels of cultivated slopping lands representing different erosion phase in Doon valley region of India. …
BENGALURU: Come September, bikers will ride a route tracing the flow of the Cauvery from Talacauvery in the state to Thiruvarur in Tamil Nadu, creating awareness about a sustainable solution to prevent it from drying up. Twenty-five bikers will be part of the ‘Cauvery Calling’ campaign which was launched by …
Forest Survey of India (FSI) Director General, Dr Subash Ashutosh today said that Jammu & Kashmir State has shown an increasing trend of forest carbon in last 10 years. He was addressing officers of J&K; Forest Department here at one day workshop on E-Greenwatch portal for digital monitoring of plantation …
Polythene is the most widely used plastic around the globe. Among the total plastic waste generated, polythene contributes the maximum share (64%). Various strategies/methods are being utilized to deal with the increasing rate of plastic waste, but among all the methods, bioremediation is regarded as the ecofriendly and widely accepted …
China's prestigious Tsinghua University is seeking to collaborate with Africa research institutes in order to improve soil fertility in the continent. Hou Deyi, associate professor at Tsinghua University told Xinhua in Nairobi that his institution has developed green and sustainable technologies to improve soil health. "We are seeking to partner …
Soils in tropical and temperate locations are known to be a sink for the genetic potential of anthropogenic-driven acquired antibiotic resistance (AR). In contrast, accumulation of acquired AR is less probable in most Polar soils, providing a platform for characterizing background resistance and establishing a benchmark for assessing AR spread. …
The conversion of monoculture rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantations into rubber-based agroforestry systems has become a common trend in forestry management in the past few decades. Rubber–Flemingia macrophylla (a leguminous shrub) systems are popular in southwestern China’s Xishuangbanna region. The biogeochemical cycles of soil carbon and nitrogen in forests are mainly …
India, the world's largest groundwater user, withdraws about 230 billion m3 groundwater annually for irrigation. Excessive groundwater pumping in India leads to rapid groundwater depletion and CO2emissions. Here, using multiple data sources (observation wells and GRACE) to estimate groundwater depletion in India, as well as the associated chemistry and the …
The 2015/2016 El Niño event caused severe changes in precipitation across the tropics. This impacted surface hydrology, such as river run-off and soil moisture availability, thereby triggering reductions in gross primary production (GPP). Many biosphere models lack the detailed hydrological component required to accurately quantify anomalies in surface hydrology and …
Bulambuli — A study carried out by soil scientists from the Zonal Agriculture Research Development Institute (Zardi) at Buginyanya Centre in Bulambuli District, has revealed that soils in the eastern region have lost fertility due to over cultivation. The study was conducted in the districts of Mt Elgon, Bukedi and …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
