Developing nation’s soil microbial community shifts and diversity loss: leading towards major ecological threat

Nature does not discriminate and has no boundaries; however only developing nations faces huge food security issues and in such circumstances much of importance has been emphasised on food production technologies but studies and research on concealed factor behind food production i.e biogeochemical drivers were largely overlooked. Injudicious agricultural practices; for instance profound use of agrochemicals in continuous and unmonitored way may had already situate many soil microbial species in verge of extinction consequently creating ecological imbalance. With huge land pressure for crop production and lack of upto date technologies of preciseness, most of the developing nation which includes the whole of Africa, almost all Asian countries and numerous other island states faces the agricultural land degradation issues; one of the major reason for such degradation is missing out of ecological drivers i.e soil microbial diversity. Anthropogenic activities application of fertilisers, land use changes (LUC), land intensification, crop diversification, irrigation management etc accelerates the soil microbial community shifts and microbial diversity loss predominately in developing nations. In this short communication, we address the concerns faced by the developing nations to prevent the soil microbial community shift and diversity loss. Also we propose the each exported commodity may have specific tax included which may be utilised by soil scientist from developing nations for studying the current soil microbial shifts and diversity loss due to agriculture management practices more efficiently.

Strategies of Preserving Genetic Diversity While Maximizing Genetic Response From Implementing Genomic Selection in Pulse Breeding Programs

Using a stochastic computer simulation, we investigated the benefit of optimization strategies in the context of genomic selection (GS) for pulse breeding programs. We simulated GS for moderately complex to highly complex traits such as disease resistance, grain weight and grain yield in multiple environments with a high level of genotype-by-environment interaction for grain yield. GS led to higher genetic gain per unit of time and higher genetic diversity loss than phenotypic selection by shortening the breeding cycle time. The genetic gain obtained from selecting the segregating parents early in the breeding cycle (at F1 or F2 stages) was substantially higher than selecting at later stages even though prediction accuracy was moderate. Increasing the number of F1 intercross (F1i) families and keeping the total number of progeny of F1i families constant, we observed a decrease in genetic gain and increase in genetic diversity. Whereas increasing the number of progeny per F1i family while keeping a constant number of F1i families increased rate of genetic gain and had higher genetic diversity loss per unit of time. Adding 50 F2 family phenotypes to the training population increased the accuracy of GEBVs and genetic gain per year and decreased the rate of genetic diversity loss. Genetic diversity could be preserved by applying a strategy that restricted both the percentage of alleles fixed and the average relationship of the group of selected parents to preserve long-term genetic improvement in the pulse breeding program.

Retrieving Intangibility to Avert Human-Driven Bio-Diversity Loss: The Case of Thathe Sacred Forest, Phiphidi Waterfalls and Lake Fundudzi, Northern South Africa

Human-driven biodiversity destruction are responsible for significant and sustained heritage losses in Africa. In Venda, northern South Africa, biodiversity losses are eroding the existence of sacred places. Such places define the essence of indigenous people’s identity and well-being. We highlight how developments in Venda such as mining and agricultural expansion since apartheid times have destroyed biodiversity in the broader landscape, undermining efforts to reduce hunger and poverty. Thathe forest, Lake Fundudzi and Phiphidi waterfalls are central to Venda mythology and legends, origins and identity and are key towards conserving current biodiversity and heritage losses.

SLAM of Mobile Robot for Wireless Communication Based on Improved Particle Filter

The mobile robot is moved by receiving instructions through wireless communication, and the particle filter is used to simultaneous localization and mapping. Aiming at the problem of the degradation of particle filter weights and loss of particle diversity, which leads to the decrease of filter accuracy, this paper uses the plant cell swarm algorithm to optimize the particle filter. First of all, combining the characteristics of plant cells that affect the growth rate of cells when the auxin content changes due to light stimulation realizes the optimization of the particles after importance sampling, so that they are concentrated in the high-likelihood area, and the problem of particle weight degradation is solved. Secondly, in the process of optimizing particle distribution, the auxin content of each particle is different, which makes the optimization effect on each particle different, so it effectively solves the problem of particle diversity loss. Finally, a simulation experiment is carried out. During the experiment, the robot moves by receiving control commands through wireless communication. The experimental results show that the algorithm effectively solves the problem of particle weight degradation and particle diversity loss and improves the filtering accuracy. The improved algorithm is verified in the simultaneous localization and mapping of the robot, which effectively improves the robot’s performance at the same time positioning accuracy. Compared with the classic algorithm, the robot positioning accuracy is increased by 49.2%. Moreover, the operational stability of the algorithm has also been improved after the improvement.