scholarly journals Effects of Anthropogenic Activities and Eutrophication along River Chanchaga, Minna, Nigeria

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-64
Author(s):  
Wakili, B. Y ◽  
Nsofor G.N ◽  
Suleiman, Y. M ◽  
Mohammed. A. E
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Ecosystem ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Observation Methods ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
Continue Increase ◽  
Crop Types ◽  
Fire Wood

River Chanchaga is the major source of drinking water in Minna, Nigeria. This river has been a medium to an increasing pollution loads from contaminated runoff from different land uses degrading aquatic ecosystem and water quality in the river.This paper investigates the threat of anthropogenic influence on river environment and aquatic ecosystem distortion of River Chanchaga, Minna, Nigeria. Field work which include interview and observation methods were used to collect data on effect of anthropogenic and eutrophication along the study area. A total of Two Hundred and Fifty (250) people accounting for 0.5% of the total population were interviewed, making it eight per each community in thirty settlements along the study area. Physical observation of deforestation around sample sites spatially distributed along River Chanchaga depicted in Figure 2 was carried out to study mining activities, farming practice, crop types, and fallow duration to generate the mean and percentages of different anthropogenic activities along the study area. The findings revealed that deforestation is links to high demand for fire wood, lumbering, irrigation farming bank-side mining for sand and gold as depicted in Plat 1 and 2. Eutrophication at the upper course of river is links to high inflow of agricultural wastes and seasonal nature of the river from site A to C evident from Table 4 and constant flow from site C to K as a result of released water from Tagwai Dam that keeps (site C, the confluence of River Chanchaga and River Numui) middle and lower courses of River Chanchaga with sustainable moving water. The result further indicated that continue increase of pollution has a direct relationship to an increasing level of human activities like deforestation, mining activities and agricultural practices along the study area. The result also shows that there is decline in fallow duration as indicated in Table 1 and increase environmental related issues such as soil erosion, water floor (depth) reduction and distortion of river morphology of the study area. It is therefore recommended that the identified anthropogenic activities that lead to pollution and eutrophication such as river-side deforestation, irrigation farming, mining and other related environmental problems should be regulated and discourages to avoid further increase of pollution and distortion of river environment of the study area.

scholarly journals Geospatial technology perspectives for mining vis-a-vis sustainable forest ecosystems

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 219-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laxmi Goparaju ◽  
P. Rama Chandra Prasad ◽  
Firoz Ahmad
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Mining Activities ◽  
Forest Environment ◽  
Mining Operations ◽  
Geospatial Technology ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Forests, the backbone of biogeochemical cycles and life supporting systems, are under severe pressure due to varied anthropogenic activities. Mining activities are one among the major reasons for forest destruction questioning the survivability and sustainability of flora and fauna existing in that area. Thus, monitoring and managing the impact of mining activities on natural resources at regular intervals is necessary to check the status of their depleted conditions, and to take up restoration and conservative measurements. Geospatial technology provides means to identify the impact of different mining operations on forest ecosystems and helps in proposing initiatives for safeguarding the forest environment. In this context, the present study highlights the problems related to mining in forest ecosystems and elucidates how geospatial technology can be employed at various stages of mining activities to achieve a sustainable forest ecosystem. The study collates information from various sources and highlights the role of geospatial technology in mining industries and reclamation process.

scholarly journals Learning from ERP Implementation: A Case Study of Issues and Challenges in Technology Management

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norani Nordin ◽  
Ojeniyi Adegoke
Keyword(s):  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Erp Implementation ◽  
Observation Methods ◽  
Skilled Manpower ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Implementation Stages ◽  
Medium Enterprises

Purpose: ERP implementation comes with huge business competitive advantages nevertheless it also has its difficulties and challenges. This paper presents the findings of field work and interview conducted on issues and challenges of ERP implementation on small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It proposes implementation strategies at each of the implementation stages for a successful ERP implementation within SMEs. Design/methodology/approach: The study employed both personal interview and observation methods. Findings: The findings revealed that reengineering (organization and infrastructures), top management commitment, funds, skilled manpower, implementation time and data fill-in were the critical issues and challenges faced by SMEs during ERP implementation. Hence, these factors were identifies as ERP implementation successful factors to be considered by SMEs. Also the study proposed three implementation strategies stages which will enhance successful ERP implementation in the SMEs. Originality/value: This study identified funds, skilled manpower and data fill-in as part of critical factors for successful ERP implementation in SMEs. Therefore, the study was used to generate successful implementation strategies for SMEs. 

scholarly journals Improved Crop Classification with Rotation Knowledge using Sentinel-1 and -2 Time Series

2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (7) ◽  
pp. 431-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Giordano ◽  
Simon Bailly ◽  
Loic Landrieu ◽  
Nesrine Chehata
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Conditional Random Field ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Linear Chain ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Annual Crops ◽  
Automatic Integration ◽  
Crop Type ◽  
Crop Types ◽  
Type Classification

Leveraging the recent availability of accurate, frequent, and multimodal (radar and optical) Sentinel-1 and -2 acquisitions, this paper investigates the automation of land parcel identi- fication system (LPIS ) crop type classification. Our approach allows for the automatic integration of temporal knowledge, i.e., crop rotations using existing parcel-based land cover databases and multi-modal Sentinel-1 and -2 time series. The temporal evolution of crop types was modeled with a linear- chain conditional random field, trained with time series of multi-modal (radar and optical) satellite acquisitions and associated LPIS. Our model was tested on two study areas in France (≥ 1250 km2) which show different crop types, various parcel sizes, and agricultural practices: . the Seine et Marne and the Alpes de Haute-Provence classified accordingly to a fine national 25-class nomenclature. We first trained a Random Forest classifier without temporal structure to achieve 89.0% overall accuracy in Seine et Marne (10 classes) and 73% in Alpes de Haute-Provence (14 classes). We then demonstrated experimentally that taking into account the temporal structure of crop rotation with our model resulted in an increase of 3% to +5% in accuracy. This increase was especially important (+12%) for classes which were poorly classified without using the temporal structure. A stark posi- tive impact was also demonstrated on permanent crops, while it was fairly limited or even detrimental for annual crops.

scholarly journals Utilization of Ostracods (Crustacea) as Bioindicator for Environmental Pollutants

2020 ◽  
pp. 73-93
Author(s):  
E. Parameswari ◽  
V. Davamani ◽  
R. Kalaiarasi ◽  
T. Ilakiya ◽  
S. Arulmani
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Development ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Environmental Pollutants ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Magnesium Calcite ◽  
Marine Areas

Ecosystem undergoes drastic changes due to the anthropogenic activities. As a consequence of industrial development, increasing population growth and modernized agricultural practices water resources like limnetic zone and marine areas have undergone eutrophication. This resulted in the decline in population of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Hence, it is an urgent need to monitor the quality of the environment. Several organisms are used as biomonitors. Among them, Ostracodes (Seed Shrimps) which belong to Crustacean group are very sensitive to those changes in the environment and useful in predicting the paleo environmental conditions. Ostracodes are bivalve arthropods which are enclosed in a carapace made of low magnesium calcite. These species are occurring for about 450 million years dates back to ordovician which are known for their easier fossilization. The development of Ostracodes is influenced by the physic - chemical properties of waters such as Salinity, temperature, pH, Dissolved oxygen, bottom grain sizes and sedimentation rates.  In addition to diversity and abundance of population, morphological and geochemical changes can also be detected in the Ostracod carapace (shell) which serves as a tracer of the water quality. These details are basis for utilizing Ostracods as paleoenvironmental (paleoclimatic, paleosalinity, paleooceanographic) reconstruction, ecotoxicity monitoring, biostratigraphic indicator. Moreover, these microcrustaceans showed similar or higher sensitivity to herbicides, pesticides, oil spills or heavy metals pollution other than traditional groups like copepods, protozoan, rotifers, cladocerans which are used to test the human impacts on ecosystem. These meiofaunas are highly adaptable to waters containing organic and inorganic contaminants generated by catastrophic activities by human beings in the surroundings.

scholarly journals Glycine Betaine Accumulation, Significance and Interests for Heavy Metal Tolerance in Plants

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shafaqat Ali ◽  
Zohaib Abbas ◽  
Mahmoud F. Seleiman ◽  
Muhammad Rizwan ◽  
İlkay YAVAŞ ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Glycine Betaine ◽  
Metal Tolerance ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Heavy Metal Tolerance ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Sustainable Agricultural Practices

Unexpected biomagnifications and bioaccumulation of heavy metals (HMs) in the surrounding environment has become a predicament for all living organisms together with plants. Excessive release of HMs from industrial discharge and other anthropogenic activities has threatened sustainable agricultural practices and limited the overall profitable yield of different plants species. Heavy metals at toxic levels interact with cellular molecules, leading towards the unnecessary generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), restricting productivity and growth of the plants. The application of various osmoprotectants is a renowned approach to mitigate the harmful effects of HMs on plants. In this review, the effective role of glycine betaine (GB) in alleviation of HM stress is summarized. Glycine betaine is very important osmoregulator, and its level varies considerably among different plants. Application of GB on plants under HMs stress successfully improves growth, photosynthesis, antioxidant enzymes activities, nutrients uptake, and minimizes excessive heavy metal uptake and oxidative stress. Moreover, GB activates the adjustment of glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) contents in plants under HM stress. Excessive accumulation of GB through the utilization of a genetic engineering approach can successfully enhance tolerance against stress, which is considered an important feature that needs to be investigated in depth.

Aquatic pollution: effects on the health of fish and shellfish

Parasitology ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 106 (S1) ◽  
pp. S25-S37 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bucke
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Demersal Fish ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Inland Waters ◽  
Pollution Effects ◽  
Liver Tumours ◽  
The Past ◽  
Fish And Shellfish

SUMMARYAs there is little evidence of pollution affecting the health of fish and shellfish on a global scale, this paper attempts to put into perspective the pollution/fish disease relationship by reviewing examples of studies and reports in the historic and current literature. Although there is no dispute that pollution can affect the health of aquatic organisms under laboratory conditions and may be responsible for the decline of populations of such animals in some inland waters and some estuaries, most of the evidence for pollution causing or increasing disease in fish in open waters is circumstantial. Historical data proves that almost all fish and shellfish diseases known today have been described since the end of the last century. However, it is also known that water pollution, especially in inland waters, has for the past 400-500 years been the result of urbanization and industrialization. This has resulted in some major rivers becoming devoid of or deficient in fish stocks. The concern that pollution may influence the health status of fish and shellfish stocks has increased over the past 20 years. Initial attention was paid to epidermal diseases, including fin-rot in demersal fish, and protozoan diseases in molluscs in the heavily polluted bays and estuaries in North America. As the interest in this subject spread, it became political, and often controversial, especially amongst the North Sea countries. The disagreements have largely been settled amongst scientists because international bodies, such as the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES), established workshops to investigate sampling methods and disease-reporting techniques. Recommendations from those workshops have contributed to some form of standardization for field work and the subject, although largely subjective, has some objective approaches which are described. As there are variable, interacting biological and physical influences in the aquatic environment, it is difficult to establish the background prevalences of diseases in populations offish and shellfish. Examples of the influences of climatic changes are presented, and these show that short-term catastrophes can be directly related. However, a more long-term problem is water acidification resulting largely from anthropogenic activities. In parts of Scandinavia this has, and is, leading to decimation offish stocks in inland waters. In general, diseases in fish and shellfish are very localized, but there is concern amongst scientists that certain cancers, especially liver tumours, occurring in demersal fish inhabiting polluted estuarine and coastal waters, are related to the release of chemicals, e.g. hydrocarbons, pesticides and heavy metals. This subject is discussed in detail, with examples of the author's own studies in North Sea fish. It is concluded that cancers in fish are of extremely low prevalence, and only present in a very few species, and then only in the oldest animals. Though changes in disease pattern may well be an indication of adverse environmental effects, further research is necessary for conclusive evidence.

scholarly journals Can thiol compounds be used as biomarkers of aquatic ecosystem contamination by cadmium?

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Kovářová ◽  
Zdeňka Svobodová
Keyword(s):  
Water Pollution ◽  
Heavy Metals ◽  
Molecular Mass ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystem ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Aquatic Animals ◽  
Thiol Compounds ◽  
Potential Use

Can thiol compounds be used as biomarkers of aquatic ecosystem contamination by cadmium?Due to anthropogenic activities, heavy metals still represent a threat for various trophic levels. If aquatic animals are exposed to heavy metals we can obviously observe considerable toxicity. It is well known that an organism affected by cadmium (Cd) synthesize low molecular mass thiol compounds rich in cysteine (Cys), such as metallothioneins (MT) and glutathione (GSH/GSSG). The aim of this study was to summarize the effect of Cd on level of thiol compounds in aquatic organisms, and evaluate that the concentrations of thiol compounds are effective indicators of Cd water pollution and explain their potential use in biomonitoring applications.

scholarly journals Penilaian mutu tanah secara cepat berdasarkan faktor penentu aktivitas biologinya Rapid assessment of soil quality as based on its biology activity determining factors

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Didiek Hadjar GOENADI
Keyword(s):  
Climatic Change ◽  
Biological Activities ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Infiltration Rate ◽  
Soil Characteristics ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Fertility Level ◽  
The Right

Abstract  Agricultural practices are still heavily dependent on the use those socalled marginally-suitable soils with low soil fertility level.  On the other hand, fertilization has been long known offering fertility solution, but it is indicative that its efficiency is low without soil amelioration.  The conditions have been intensified by climatic change phenomena particularly increased atmospheric CO2 concentration which widely affects the soilbiological activity and crop performance as well.  This review tries to discuss a thought to find the right method to assist management in determining the right solution for the problems encountered in the field based on soil and plant indicators.  The method should be simple, fast, and reliable to express close relationship between soil characteristics and plant performance.  The indicators should be those of very important soil characteristics determining soil biological activities as a measure for its fertility.  Moreover, the indicators used must have highly sensitive to climatic change, anthropogenic activities, and their impacts on soil biological activity are significant. Soil organic matter (chemistry), bulk density, soil texture, and infiltration rate(physics), and worm population and soil respiration (biology) are main characters related to whole soil pro-ductivity. In addition, chlorophyll content and root density are the most potentiallyrelated indicators to crop performanceAbstrakKegiatan pertanian masih banyak tergantung pada pe-manfaatan tanah-tanah sub-optimal yang memiliki hambatan berupa rendahnya kesuburan tanah.  Di sisi lain, pemupukan telah menawarkan solusi untuk mengatasinya, tetapi pada tanah-tanah seperti itu tidak akan banyak manfaatnya jika kemampuan tanah tidak diperbaiki. Kondisi ini diperparah dengan fenomena perubahan iklim, khususnya peningkatan kadar CO2 atmosfir yang berpengaruh luas terhadap aktivitas biologi tanah dan kinerja tanaman. Tulisan ini mengulas tentang perlunya perangkat pengambilan keputusan di lapangan untuk memilih solusi praktis yang tepat untuk me-nyelesaikan hambatan pertumbuhan dan/atau produksi tanaman  dengan   memanfaatkan  indikator   tanah     dan/atau tanaman secara tepat. Metode yang dikembangkan adalah berdasarkan teknik penetapan yang mudah, cepat, dan cukup akurat dalam menggambarkan hubungan antara indikator terpilih dan kinerja tanaman.  Indikator yang dimaksud adalah sifat tanah yang paling penting dalam menentukan aktivitas biologi di dalam tanah sebagai penanda dari kesuburan-nya.Selain itu, indikator yang digunakan harus cukup peka dalam menanggapi perubahan iklim dan perlakuan budidaya dan pengaruhnya nyata terhadap aktivitas biologi di dalam tanah.  Kadar bahan organik tanah (kimia), bobot isi, tekstur tanah, dan laju infiltrasi (fisik), dan populasi cacing dan respirasi tanah (biologi) merupakan faktor tanah yang secara praktis mewakili daya dukung tanah secara keseluruhan.  Di sisi lain, indikator tanaman yang diperkirakan memiliki hubungan erat dengan pertumbuhan dan produktivitas adalah kadar khlorofil daun dan kerapatan akar.

scholarly journals A low-cost method for monitoring snow characteristics at remote field sites

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Rosamond J. Tutton ◽  
Robert G. Way
Keyword(s):  
Snow Depth ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Observation Methods ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Cost Efficient

Abstract. The lack of spatially distributed snow depth measurements in natural environments is a challenge worldwide. These data gaps are of particular relevance in northern regions such as coastal Labrador where changes to snow conditions directly impact Indigenous livelihoods, local vegetation, permafrost distribution and wildlife habitat. This problem is exacerbated by the lack of cost-efficient and reliable snow observation methods available to researchers studying cryosphere–vegetation interactions in remote regions. We propose a new method termed snow characterization with light and temperature (SCLT) for estimating snow depth using vertically arranged multivariate (light and temperature) data loggers. To test this new approach, six snow stakes outfitted with SCLT loggers were installed in forested and tundra ecotypes in Arctic and subarctic Labrador. The results from 1 year of field measurement indicate that daily maximum light intensity (lux) at snow-covered sensors is diminished by more than an order of magnitude compared to uncovered sensors. This contrast enables differentiation between snow coverage at different sensor heights and allows for robust determination of daily snow heights throughout the year. Further validation of SCLT and the inclusion of temperature determinants is needed to resolve ambiguities with thresholds for snow detection and to elucidate the impacts of snow density on retrieved light and temperature profiles. However, the results presented in this study suggest that the proposed technique represents a significant improvement over prior methods for snow depth characterization at remote field sites in terms of practicality, simplicity and versatility.

scholarly journals Investigation of heavy metal levels of clams (Egeria radiata) sold in open markets in Port Harcourt and Yenagoa, Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-114
Author(s):  
Benjamin Uchechukwu Nti ◽  
Okechukwu Kenneth Wokeh ◽  
Chidinma Georginia Okey-Wokeh
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Metal ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystem ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
World Health ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Oil And Gas Exploration ◽  
Port Harcourt ◽  
Metal Levels ◽  
Open Markets

Due to rapid urbanization, increase in coastal population, oil and gas exploration and other array of anthropogenic activities within the Niger Delta region of which Rivers and Bayelsa states are prominent amongst others, the region has been faced with coastal water pollution. There is need therefore, to evaluate the intensity of environmental contamination of the aquatic ecosystem in this region, thus this study was conducted to investigate the heavy metal levels of Clams (Egeria radiata) sold in open markets in Port Harcourt (Rivers State) and Yenagoa (Bayelsa State). Samples were collected from three markets in Port Harcourt (Mile 1, Rumuokoro and Mile 3), and three markets as well in Yenagoa (Opolo, Swali and Tombia) respectively. The samples were collected bi-weekly for 3 months and transported to the laboratory for analysis of heavy metals (Cr, Cd and Pb) levels using standard scientific method of analysis. The analysis was done in triplicates for each sample and data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using excel spreadsheet and statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 21. The results revealed that samples collected from markets in Port Harcourt had higher concentrations of heavy metal than that of Yenagoa, though, the heavy metal levels were below World Health Organisation permissible limits, except for Cadmium (Cd) that ranged from 0.54±0.002 to 0.78±0.00 mg/kg in samples collected from Port Harcourt, against 0.5 mg/kg recommended by WHO. This could be attributed to oil and gas exploration, and discharges of industrial and domestic wastes bearing cadmium, and poses serious health risks. Therefore, routine monitoring and assessment of the aquatic ecosystem will be vital to forestall further contamination.

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