Rotation/Succession Systems Affects Springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola) Abundance in Cash Crops Under No Tillage Cultivation

Acknowledging the bio indicator importance of springtails (Hexapoda: Collembola) for soil quality, this study aimed to determine the abundance of these arthropods in different systems of rotation/succession with commercial and cover crops, while also verifying the agricultural factor associated to these arthropods’ population. In the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná (IAPAR-EMATER), during six years, areas with differing crops in rotation/succession adopting the no-tillage system were studied. For each system, chemical analyses of the soil were conducted and the number of captured springtails in pitfall traps was counted. The phytosanitary products applied during the evaluations and the quantity of vegetal cover remaining after harvest were considered as well. No difference was found between the rotation/succession systems in relation to chemical soil attributes, however the largest number of springtails was found in crop covers from corn, Brachiaria sp., and canola. These crop covers, including wheat, resulted in the highest straw dry mass. When removing the system in which the predecessor crop had the highest quantities of fungicide application, a positive correlation (r = 0.63; p < 0.01) was found, between springtail abundance and highest amount of straw after the harvest. If no fungicide applications occur, the crops with the largest amount of vegetal cover favor springtail populations.

Remote Sensing of City Extension and Vegetal Cover Changes along Lagos-Ibadan Access Strip in Nigeria

The paper employed Remote sensing data in a multi-decadal assessment of vegetal to urban land cover transition along Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The forty-year assessment commenced in 1980 and ended in 2020. Landsat imageries acquired for the respective periods were subjected to supervised classification. Results reveal massive conversion of vegetated areas into built-up areas. The transition became pronounced from the second decade with 30,226 and cumulative of 48,455 Hectares of vegetation transforming into built-up area. During the third decade (2000 to 2010), additional 44,780 and cumulative of 93,235 Hectares of green area was converted into built-up areas. The largest transition was recorded in the last decade (2010 to 2020) during which vegetated area covering 50,827 Hectares was converted to living or industrial areas giving a cumulative transition of 141,065. In year 2020 Pearson moment correlation showed a high negative correlation with a coefficient value of -0.86. Hectares of vegetal areas into built-up or bare surfaces.

Remote Sensing of City Extension and Vegetal Cover Changes along Lagos-Ibadan Access Strip in Nigeria

The paper employed Remote sensing data in a multi-decadal assessment of vegetal to urban land cover transition along Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The forty-year assessment commenced in 1980 and ended in 2020. Landsat imageries acquired for the respective periods were subjected to supervised classification. Results reveal massive conversion of vegetated areas into built-up areas. The transition became pronounced from the second decade with 30,226 and cumulative of 48,455 Hectares of vegetation transforming into built-up area. During the third decade (2000 to 2010), additional 44,780 and cumulative of 93,235 Hectares of green area was converted into built-up areas. The largest transition was recorded in the last decade (2010 to 2020) during which vegetated area covering 50,827 Hectares was converted to living or industrial areas giving a cumulative transition of 141,065 in year 2020 Pearson moment correlation showed a high negative correlation with a coefficient value of -0.86. Hectares of vegetal areas into built-up or bare surfaces.

Assessment of the impact of ungoverned spaces on insurgency in Borno State, Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between ungoverned spaces and insurgency in the Borno State, Nigeria. The aim is to understand the influence of geographical variables on the activities of insurgence. The study used satellite data, population data and data on insurgency attack in the study area. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, percentage rise in slope analysis and reclassification were used for the satellite data processing. Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models was employed for data analysis. The findings revealed that LGAs in the central and the southern parts of the state recorded the highest number of insurgency attacks. The central and far northern part of the state has more vegetal cover, which has influenced the high incidence of insurgency attack observed. In addition, the very high incidence of insurgency attack (145) observed in Gwoza LGA, is largely attributed to the presence of the Gwoza Mountain, which is one of the main strong holds of the insurgents in Borno State. The GWR analysis reveals that the performance of the model with the population density was much better than the other variables with a corrected Akaike Information Criterion (AICc) value of 273.15, R-Squared values of 0.0323, 0.0224, 0.0203 and 0.8901 for the undulating terrain, vegetation, combination of vegetation and undulating terrain, and population density respectively. Thus, the study concludes that vegetal cover and population density have more influence on insurgency attack in the study area. Hence, the need for policy makers and security establishments to properly monitor the forested areas.

Impact of Weed Control by Hand Tools on Soil Erosion under a No-Tillage System Cultivation

In conservation agriculture, the no-tillage cultivation system and the retention of permanent vegetal cover are crucial to the control of soil erosion by water. This paper analyses the cultivation of maize under no-tillage, with particular reference to the effect produced on soil erosion when weed control is performed by a hand tool (machete), which disturbs the surface of the soil, and to the behavior of the soil cover in these circumstances. The study area is located in the humid tropical mountains of northern Nicaragua (Peñas Blancas Massif Nature Reserve). The results obtained show that 59.2% of the soil surface was affected by appreciable levels of sheet and splash erosion, although the vegetal cover of the soil was relatively high (with average weed and litter cover of 33.9% and 33.8%, respectively). The use of machetes for weed control provoked considerable soil disturbance, which explained the high rates of erosion observed. Moreover, this form of soil management disturbs the litter layer, making it less effective in preventing erosion. The litter remains loose on the soil surface, and so an increase in soil cover does not achieve a proportionate reduction in the area affected by erosion; thus, even with 80–100% weed and litter cover, 42% of the cultivated area continued to present soil erosion.

Land reclamation and the impact on the vegetal cover of Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The study examined the impact of land Reclamation activities on vegetal cover in Bayelsa State. Land Reclamation is the procedure involved in the acquirement of land from the sea or coastal wetland or the re-establishment of vulnerable lands to a better state. For the purpose of this study, both quantitative and qualitative research method were adopted. Field observations, questionnaire survey and landsat imagery of land cover changes of the year 1986 and 2018 were generated from the study area. The time series study design and the supervised classification in image analysis was adopted to determine the impact of land reclamation activities of the environment. The research revealed the extent of reclaimed land in the study area and its impact on vegetal cover. It was therefore recommended that recovery of land will make strategic urban planning initiatives sustainable in overcrowded areas and institutions should also put in place laws and strategies to regulate reclamation activities across the region and also geo-spatial skills should be put in place to help quantify the dynamics, trends and rate of reclamation induced land cover change in the environment. Educational institute should inculcate environmental knowledge in the local environment.

Noise Attenuation Using Vegetal Supported Barriers and Buffers Zones in Obio/Akpor, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Noise pollution is an unwanted sound which degrades the quality of our environment therefore, making the environment we live and work unpleasant for living. This situation is not different in Port Harcourt metropolis in the wake of increased human activities, which has resulted to and accelerates noise level. This situation has led to the adoption of possible measures to check noise levels using vegetal cover supported barriers. Hence, the need to examine environmental noise exposure attenuation using vegetal cover and its supported barriers. Environmental research design was employed and a total of twelve samples were collected for each barrier types with the aid of the digital noise meter (EXTECH instrument digital sound meter with RS232) to measure noise level in decibels (dBA). Findings revealed that areas with bare surfaces across its property corridor witnessed did not decrease noise levels at destination while surface with vegetation such as lawns within its property boundary corridor witnessed reduced noise levels of destination. It is therefore, recommended that vegetal surfaces walls should be encouraged to support erected noise barrier walls across the urban space in the bid of attenuating urban noise and make urban regions/areas more habitable.

Environmental diagnosis of the lower course of the Gigante river basin (Amazonas – Brazil)

The watershed is a complex system that goes beyond the drainage network, involving all the ecosystem aspects within its limits. Despite the set of ecohydrological functions that its components play in the protection of water resources, especially the vegetal cover, hydrological systems are the ecosystems that suffer the most changes due to anthropic activities, notably when inserted in the urban environment. Thus, this work aimed to perform the environmental diagnosis of the lower course of the Gigante river basin, in Manaus-AM. We carried field visits, collecting and registering information about the study area, applying check-list, interaction network and interaction matrix methods. Through the environmental diagnosis, we evaluated that the low course of the Gigante River presents areas where native vegetation has been suppressed, including permanent preservation areas, triggering several impacts of other orders, such as exposure and waterproofing of the soil, silting, introduction of exotic species, excess aquatic vegetation, effluent and solid waste. The proposed mitigation measures were to eliminate the emission of effluents and deposition of solid wastes, to remove the invasive species and to lead the natural regeneration and/or the enrichment of the area.

First endemic arachnid from Isla Sala y Gómez (Motu Motiro Hiva), Chile: a new species of tube-dwelling spider (Araneae: Segestriidae)

The Isla Sala y Gómez or Motu Motiro Hiva is located 415 km northeast of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and 3420 km from the coast of northern Chile. It is a small oceanic island (2.5 km2) dominated by volcanic rock with very little vegetal cover. Here, we describe the first endemic arachnid for the island, Ariadna motumotirohiva sp. nov. Females are similar to those of Ariadna perkinsi Simon, 1900 from Hawaiʻi and Ariadna lebronneci Berland, 1933 from the Marquesas in the dorsal dark abdominal pattern, but they differentiate from the latter in the anterior receptaculum, promarginal cheliceral teeth and leg IV macrosetae. A recent survey of the arachnid fauna of Rapa Nui, which included Motu Nui and the rocky shores, did not record the presence of the family Segestriidae, neither has it been found during previous surveys. However, it is not possible to discard the possibility of a local extinction on Rapa Nui and survival on Sala y Gómez. This study suggests other endemic terrestrial arthropods could be present on this very small and remote island.

Illegal Oil Bunkering Hotspots, Its Implication on Vegetal Depletion in Delta State, Nigeria

The study assessed facilities-based activities of illegal oil bunkering and its spatial trend, hotspots across Delta state. Secondary data was obtained from Landsat imageries of 2013 and 2018, National Oil Spill Monitor and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA). The images were classified using supervised classification method, and the coordinates of illegal bunkering sites were overlaid and analyzed using the Differentiate Weighing Technique to express the magnitude of illegal bunkering activities that occurred across space while the coordinate were imported and overlaid on the administrative map of the study area to enable the appreciation and understanding of the trend in facilities-based activities of illegal bunkers across space. Findings revealed that between the years of 2013 through 2018, 162 oil spills was recorded and were spills recorded as a result of illegal bunkering in Delta state. Oil pipeline accounted for over 50 percent of targeted facilities by the operation of the illegal bunkering. Also, there is a noticeable decrease in the area covered by mangrove and fresh water forest in the tune of 68 and 60 percent respectively. This decrease can be attributed to the impact of spill oil on vegetal cover and health. Thus, the study recommends that communities sensitization programs should be encourage educating the host communities on the extent of self-inflicted impacts on the environment by the activities of locals.