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 …
In this article we review how different management technologies like integrated nutrient management, tillage practices, mulching, addition of clay, surface compaction, conservation tillage, use of polymers, etc. can favourably modify the soil physical properties like bulk density, porosity, aeration, soil moisture, soil aggregation, water retention and transmission properties, and soil …
The CERES (Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis)-rice model incorporated in DSSAT version 4.5 was calibrated for genetic coefficients of rice cultivars by conducting field experiments during the kharif season at Jorhat, Kalyani, Ranchi and Bhagalpur, the results of which were used to estimate the gap in rice yield. …
Setting an example for housing societies in Mumbai and its satellite suburbs, Eden Woods, one of the leafiest housing colonies in Thane’s Vasant Vihar, has initiated a green audit which will include a census of its flora and fauna and geo-tagging of trees to map, preserve, and enhance its rich …
From late colonial rent reliefs and agricultural researches to the recent land acquisition bill and the "second green revolution," Indian agriculture has seen several transitions. This paper tracks detailed quantitative and qualitative evidence on long-term shifts in agricultural practices, yields and land relations in Dhantala, a village in western Uttar …
Recolonisation of soil by macrofauna (especially ants, termites and earthworms) in rehabilitated open-cut mine sites is inevitable and, in terms of habitat restoration and function, typically of great value. In these highly disturbed landscapes, soil invertebrates play a major role in soil development (macropore configuration, nutrient cycling, bioturbation, etc.) and …
Biochar, a carbon-rich, porous pyrolysis product of organic residues may positively affect plant yield and can, owing to its inherent stability, promote soil carbon sequestration when amended to agricultural soils. Another possible effect of biochar is the reduction in emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O). A number of laboratory incubations have …
Cooperative giant IFFCO has initiated a soil health card scheme while celebrating the “soil health fortnight” in the Abohar area. A mobile van has been provided by Chandigarh-based zone office to facilitate on-the-spot soil testing. At a gathering in Waryamkhera village near here, 50 cards were issued. Experts exhorted farmers …
Farmers in the border town of Poonch have been provided with “soil health cards” for cultivating crops on the scientific pattern. The nationwide campaign for checking the nutrient value of the soil has received a positive response from farmers in the border district, which shares the volatile Line of Control …
Distribution of soil health cards, exhibition on soil health for healthy life and different varieties of soils marked the World Soil Day brought up the State Agriculture Department and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Sandhiyur, on Saturday. N. Elango, Joint Director of Agriculture and C. Krishnan, MLA, gave away the soil …
The Department of Agriculture has planned to collect about 37,568 soil samples from across the district under a GPS-based soil sample collection programme and farmers would be informed of the status of the soil health of their fields free of cost. Disclosing this at a function to mark the World …
Soil erosion by water is one of the major threats to soils in the European Union, with a negative impact on ecosystem services, crop production, drinking water and carbon stocks. The European Commission's Soil Thematic Strategy has identified soil erosion as a relevant issue for the European Union, and has …
Old soil carbon (C) respired to the atmosphere as a result of permafrost thaw has the potential to become a large positive feedback to climate change. As permafrost thaws, quantifying old soil contributions to ecosystem respiration (Reco) and understanding how these contributions change with warming is necessary to estimate the …
North East India (NEI) has 17.2 M ha under forest cover, which is ~25% of India’s total forest area. Of the total forest cover, 1.5 M ha is currently managed by shifting cultivation in NEI. Shifting cultivation, an integral part of culture and tradition of tribes of NEI, is presently …
Anthropogenic nutrient flows exceed the planetary boundaries. The boundaries and the current excesses vary spatially. Such variations have both an ecological and a social facet. We explored the spatial variation using a bottom-up approach. The local critical boundaries were determined through the current or accumulated flow of the preceding five …
Land use change can have negative or positive effects on soil quality. Our objective was to assess the effects of land uses changes on the dynamics of selected soil physical and chemical properties. Soil samples were collected from three adjacent land uses, namely forestland, grazing land and cultivated land at …
Groundwater in the carbonate aquifers of the southern Andhra Pradesh, India has approached to stress level as water table has declined due to increasing groundwater draft, low to moderate rainfall, less availability or absence of surface water sources and semi-arid climate. In Kallugotla watershed of Kurnool district, groundwater is overexploited …
Soil fungi have pivotal ecological roles as decomposers, pathogens and symbionts. Alterations to their diversity arising from climate change could have substantial effects on ecosystems, particularly those undergoing rapid warming that contain few species. Here, we report a study using pyrosequencing to assess fungal diversity in 29 soils sampled from …
Zinc (Zn) deficiency is the most widespread micronutrient deficiency in crop plants and humans. Low intake of Zn through diet appears to be the major reason for the widespread prevalence of Zn deficiencies in human populations. Application of Zn fertilizer in soil having low Zn increased the grain yield in …
Stoichiometric approaches have been applied to understand the relationship between soil organic matter dynamics and biological nutrient transformations. However, very few studies explicitly considered the effects of agricultural management practices on soil C : N : P ratio. The aim of this study was to assess how different input types …
Low nitrogen availability in the high Arctic represents a major constraint for plant growth, which limits the tundra capacity for carbon retention and determines tundra vegetation types. The limited terrestrial nitrogen (N) pool in the tundra is augmented significantly by nesting seabirds, such as the planktivorous Little Auk (Alle alle). …
