The application of drip irrigation for the hydroponic cultivation of paprika (capsicum annum var. Grossum) at P4S Total Cantigi Farm

Paprika is a major horticultural commodity with high cultivating potentials, due to excess demand from both within and outside the country. Currently, farmers are unable to meet the existing market needs, because of limited planting and production. Therefore, extensive efforts are necessary to enhance the yield, including the use of hydroponic cultivation technique. The purpose of this study is to provide comprehensive information on the hydroponic cultivation of paprika, using a drip irrigation system. The information collection was carried out at the Agricultural and Rural Self-Help Training Center (P4S) of Total Cantigi Farm, Garut Regency, West Java, served as the research location. Meanwhile, data collection from interviews, mini-seminars, direct field observations, and literature studies was conducted between February 1st-28th, 2021 at the Agricultural and Rural Self-Help Training Center (P4S), situated in similar site. The results showed the processes of paprika cultivation, including seeding, planting, caring (watering, fertilization, embroidery, rope installation, twisting, wiping, branch selection, fruit collection, pesticide application and disease control), harvest, and post-harvest activities.

Regional Geologic Mapping of the Oxia Planum Landing Site for the Exomars Mission

<p>In 2023, the ExoMars mission will deploy a stationary surface platform and a rover in Oxia Planum (OP), a region at the transition between the heavily cratered highlands of Mars and the ancient and filled impact basin, Chryse Planitia. While the fundamental geologic characteristics of the area have been investigated during the landing site selection process, detailed geologic or morpho-stratigraphic mapping is still missing. To fill this knowledge gap, two complementary mapping approaches were initiated by the ExoMars RSOWG: (1) Local HiRISE-scale mapping of the landing ellipse(s) area (reported elsewhere: Sefton-Nash et al., <em>LPSC 2021</em>, #1947). (2) Regional mapping at ~CTX-scale [this study] will provide a synoptic view of the wider landing site within OP, enabling the contextualization of the units within the stratigraphy of western Arabia Terra and Chryse Planitia, and a comparison to other sites with similar key geologic and physiographic characteristics. It is also expected that this map will serve as a geologic reference throughout the mission and subsequent data analysis. The study area is located between 16.5°N and 19.5°N, and 334°E to 338°E. The data sets used for mapping include HRSC, THEMIS IR (day and night), CTX, and CaSSIS. Mapping scale in a GIS environment is 1:100,000, which will result in a final printable map at a scale of 1:1M.</p><p>Mapping started in mid-October 2019. Overall, the identified map units are very similar to those described by Quantin et al. (<em>Astrobiology</em>, vol. <strong>21</strong>, 2021): The spatially most widespread units are the phyllosilicate-bearing unit that is the prime ExoMars target (with distinctly enhanced THEMIS nighttime temperatures when compared to its surroundings), a dark resistant unit of possibly volcanic or sedimentary origin, and a mantling unit that was likely emplaced by eolian processes. Multiple channels of various morphology and degradation state as well as sedimentary fan-shaped deposits (with low nighttime temperatures) imply a diverse and possibly long-lived history of surface runoff, perhaps accompanied or replaced by groundwater processes such as sapping. Inverted landforms (channels, impact craters) are the result of intense erosion. Additional mapped features include tectonic structures such as wrinkle ridges and lobate scarps (delineating a basin-like depression in the central mapping area), remnant erosional buttes in the northwestern portion of the mapping area (i.e. towards Chryse Planitia), craters and their ejecta blankets, and fields of eolian bedforms and secondary craters.</p><p>At the time of writing, the mapping is in its final stage, but some contacts still need to be refined. Overall, the mapping confirms previous geologic analyses. However, some features (e.g., contractional structures, channels, possible sapping landforms) need further attention as the may provide important constraints on the tectonic and aqueous evolution of the ExoMars landing area. A comparison to a distant, but geologically very similar site in Xanthe Terra, southeast of the Hypanis fan-shaped deposits, may enable testing of hypotheses raised by the geologic mapping of OP (Früh et al., <em>LPSC 2021</em>, #1977).</p>

A Study of Regional Assertions in the Architecture of Delhi from the 1970s to the present

Critical regionalism is an architectural approach that seeks to correct sterile and abstract modernism by using contextual forces that focus on local needs and potential. As globalisation disrupts and displaces local building traditions in India’s metropolitan cities, critical regionalism offers resistance to the homogenising forces of global modernism. This paper analyses five key architectural works realised in Delhi in the past four decades that incorporate the ideas of critical regionalism in their designs. The different approaches adopted by regionalist architects in dealing with local climate, topography, materials and sociological complexes have been presented. By limiting itself to regionalist works in Delhi, the paper attempts to highlight that critical regionalism is not a set of aesthetic preferences but a philosophical framework capable of producing diverse forms of architecture despite analogous external influences arising from similar site conditions.

Evaluation of Catch Efficiency Transfer Functions for Unshielded and Single-Alter-Shielded Solid Precipitation Measurements

Solid precipitation undercatch can reach 20%–70% depending on meteorological conditions, the precipitation gauge, and the wind shield used. Five catch efficiency transfer functions were selected from the literature to adjust undercatch from unshielded and single-Alter-shielded precipitation gauges for different accumulation periods. The parameters from these equations were calibrated using data from 11 sites with a WMO-approved reference measurement. This paper presents an evaluation of these transfer functions using data from the Neige site, which is located in the eastern Canadian boreal climate zone and was not used to derive any of the transfer functions available for evaluation. Solid precipitation measured at the Neige site was underestimated by 34% and 21% when compared with a manual reference precipitation measurement for unshielded and single-Alter-shielded gauges, respectively. Catch efficiency transfer functions were used to adjust these solid precipitation measurements, but all equations overestimated amounts of solid precipitation by 2%–26%. Five different statistics evaluated the accuracy of the adjustments and the variance of the results. Regardless of the adjustment applied, the catch efficiency for the unshielded gauge increased after the adjustment. However, this was not the case for the single-Alter-shielded gauges, for which the improvement of the results after applying the adjustments was not seen in all of the statistics tests. The results also showed that using calibrated parameters on datasets with similar site-specific characteristics, such as the mean wind speed during precipitation and the regional climate, could guide the choice of adjustment methods. These results highlight the complexity of solid precipitation adjustments.

Impacts of Restoration Projects on a Sahelian Woody Vegetation after 21 Years: The Simiri Plateaus (Niger) Case Study

To face the soil and vegetation degradation in Niger, anti-erosion structures, such as scarification of the surface of the ground, half-moons, benches, trenches, stony cordons, were built in 1989 on three Simiri plateaus. Native and introduced woody species were planted and grasses were sown within the structures. This study aims at evaluating what has become the restoration of the woody vegetation cover compared to an un-restored woody cover located on a nearby similar site. Dendrometric parameters and alpha and beta diversities of the four woody stands in 36 sampled plots were analyzed and compared. The following dendrometric values were found significantly lower in the control than in the restored stands: 3.9% against 12.4-16.8% for the recovery rate, 4.3 against 6.3-10.2 cm for the largest stem diameter, 0.2 against 0.8-1.2 m²/ha for the basal area, and 1.6 against 2.0-2.5 m for the tree height. However, the number of stems per trees was found significantly greater in the un-restored stand (6.6) than in the restored ones (1.8-2.7). The values of dendrometric parameters remained low, as well as the alpha and beta diversities whatever the stand. Nevertheless, population perceptions on the restoration impacts that were collected through focus groups indicated positive impacts on downstream crop yields.

Struggling for Good Green Jobs in Toronto’s Deindustrializing Suburbs

This chapter explores the difficulties of attempting to bring the different moments of the production process together in a deindustrialized low-income neighborhood in Toronto's inner suburbs. Here, a resident organization backed by the Communication, Energy, and Paperworkers Union (now UNIFOR), the Steelworkers, and the local labor council sought revitalization through green manufacturing, rather than a future of gentrification and big-box retail employment envisioned by developers and the city. The chapter then traces the evolution of the campaign from a focus on industrial heritage preservation to green jobs, and ultimately a broader antipoverty campaign that incorporated gender, race, and ecology. Although the campaign failed to attract a private-sector firm to invest in the site, the coalition managed to overcome some of the dilemmas that labor has faced in similar site fights in the city.

Species Diversity and Botanical Composition of Permanent Grassland as a Response to Different Grazing Management Practices

The effects of different levels of grazing utilization (two, three and four grazing cycles per year) and mineral fertilization (nil-fertilization; N100P30K60) on the botanical composition of permanent grasslands were studied in the locality of Rapotín (Czech Republic, 332 m a.s.l.) from 2003–2010. The vegetation of the experimental pasture was classified as Cynosurion. It was found that moderate treatment (three grazing cycles per year) without mineral fertilization showed the highest value of diversity index (DI = 6.08), and maximum dominance of legumes (Dmax = 9.1%), particularly Trifolium repens. The highest dominance of grasses (Dmax = 77.7%), mainly Dactylis glomerata and Elytrigia repens, was achieved with the fertilized treatment utilized in two grazing cycles per year. Based on RDA results, tested management treatments explained 26% of species composition variability, where effect of number of grazing cycles per year was five-times higher than effect of fertilization. We recommend grassland utilization in three grazing cycles per year as the most suitable way from the objective of both species diversity and botanical composition of pastures in similar site conditions. Pasture fertilization should be more controlled by careful consideration of individual pasture goals, actual nutrient status of the soil and possible environmental risks.

Volume and Aboveground Biomass Models for Dry Miombo Woodland in Tanzania

Tools to accurately estimate tree volume and biomass are scarce for most forest types in East Africa, including Tanzania. Based on a sample of 142 trees and 57 shrubs from a 6,065 ha area of dry miombo woodland in Iringa rural district in Tanzania, regression models were developed for volume and biomass of three important species,Brachystegia spiciformisBenth. (n = 40),Combretum molleG. Don (n = 41), andDalbergia arbutifoliaBaker (n = 37) separately, and for broader samples of trees (28 species,n = 72), shrubs (16 species,n = 32), and trees and shrubs combined (44 species,n = 104). Applied independent variables were log-transformed diameter, height, and wood basic density, and in each case a range of different models were tested. The general tendency among the final models is that the fit improved when height and wood basic density were included. Also the precision and accuracy of the predictions tended to increase from general to species-specific models. Except for a few volume and biomass models developed for shrubs, all models hadR2values of 96–99%. Thus, the models appear robust and should be applicable to forests with similar site conditions, species, and diameter ranges.

Bacteriostatic Antimicrobial Combination: Antagonistic Interaction between Epsilon-Viniferin and Vancomycin against Methicillin-ResistantStaphylococcus aureus

Stilbenoids have been considered as an alternative phytotherapeutic treatment against methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus(MRSA) infection. The combined effect ofε-viniferin and johorenol A with the standard antibiotics, vancomycin and linezolid, was assessed against MRSA ATCC 33591 and HUKM clinical isolate. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of the individual tested compounds and the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) value of the combined agents were, respectively, determined using microbroth dilution test and microdilution checkerboard (MDC) method. Only synergistic outcome from checkerboard test will be substantiated for its rate of bacterial killing using time-kill assay. The MIC value ofε-viniferin against ATCC 33591 and johorenol A against both strains was 0.05 mg/mL whereas HUKM strain was susceptible to 0.1 mg/mL ofε-viniferin. MDC study showed that only combination betweenε-viniferin and vancomycin was synergistic against ATCC 33591 (FICI 0.25) and HUKM (FICI 0.19). All the other combinations (ε-viniferin-linezolid, johorenol A-vancomycin, and johorenol A-linezolid) were either indifferent or additive against both strains. However, despite the FICI value showing synergistic effect forε-viniferin-vancomycin, TKA analysis displayed antagonistic interaction with bacteriostatic action against both strains. As conclusion,ε-viniferin can be considered as a bacteriostatic stilbenoid as it antagonized the bactericidal activity of vancomycin. These findings therefore disputed previous report thatε-viniferin acted in synergism with vancomycin but revealed that it targets similar site in close proximity to vancomycin’s action, possibly at the bacterial membrane protein. Hence, this combination has a huge potential to be further studied and developed as an alternative treatment in combating MRSA in future.

Duff mound consumption and cambium injury for centuries-old western larch from prescribed burning in western Montana

Western larch is one of the most fire-adapted conifers in western North America. Its historical perpetuation depended upon regular fire disturbances, which creates open stand conditions and mineral seedbeds. A stand of 200- to 500-year-old larch in western Montana with deep duff mounds resulting from an unusually long 150-year fire-free period was mechanically thinned and prescribed burned to reduce the probability of high intensity wildfire near a community and increase opportunities for larch regeneration. Little documentation is available regarding basal damage to larch from lengthy duff mound burning; therefore this study was established to assess: duff consumption from prescribed burning and resulting cambial damage and tree vitality. Ninety trees averaging 91-cm diameter at breast height were selected, half with duff mounds measured and burned in autumn and half with mounds removed. Duff depths nearest the bole averaged 20 cm and mound consumption approached 100% including large amounts of the basal bark with smouldering combustion lasting 18–24 h. Cambial mortality ranged from 0 to 36% of the basal circumference but no trees had died after 7 years. The cambium mortality was likely due to the spatially infrequent coincident of deep duff and thinner bark. Under similar site and environmental conditions removal of the potential duff consumption injury hazard appears unwarranted.