Topinambour (Helianthus tuberosus l.) – of multi-purpose culture and innovative value

In the article are resulted the necessary information on a role topinambour (earth pear - Helianthus tuberosus l.) in the future in energy and food security of Tajikistan. By authors are described and make important scientific and practical recommendations to farmers and fans about stories of occurrence of this plant, its morphological characteristics, development major factors for grooving of topinambour, requirement of this plant to mineral and organic fertilizers, and also ways of reception of a high yield of topinambour, processing and uses of production of topinambour, as an ecological pure resource for reception of energy, the foodstuffs, a forage for animals and for healthy of people.

Spatial change detections and inventory of wetlands in Yenagoa Urban Area: Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Yenegoa Town has in recent years witnessed rapid City growth and Urban development and much of these developments are unplanned and unregulated. This has seriously impacted on wetlands in several locations of the town as persistent Wetlands reclamations are being witnessed in study area. This prompted the need for the study which is aimed to map wetlands location in Yenagoa’s urban area using GIS and Remote Sensing approach. The study analyzes land use/land cover changes (LULC) using LANDSAT(5) TM, LANDSAT(5) ETM and LANDSAT(7) OLI satellite imageries of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 respectively. Through this study, the pattern of urban expansion for Thirty years were been studied. The satellite imageries covering the area were acquired and analyzed using ArcGIS 10.1 and ENVI 5.0 software. The supervised image classification method was adopted and the classification results were validated using the Kappa Index of Agreement (KIA) yielding an accuracy of 0.69m for year 1990, 0.62m for year 2000, 0.58m for year 2010 and 0.73m for 2020. A total area of 13,741.4 hectares was delineated in the study area which is identified as Yenagoa’s urban area. After processing the imageries, four land use/land cover (LULC) classes where considered, and the results shows that Built-up area continuously increased in land area from 1990 -2020 with total percentage change of 273.31% (4,178.7ha) and total annual rate of change of 25.33. Vegetation have total percentage change of 38.55% (974.34Ha) and total annual rate of change of 3.85, wetland cover loss with total percentage Change of 61.96% (-51,44.99ha) and total annual rate of change of -6.19ha, and the water body have loss of total percentage of -2.16% (-8.05Ha) and total annual rate of change of -0.22ha wetland at Yenegwe loss by Total %change of -29.918% ( -197.95ha), and wetland at Igbogene loss by total percentage change of -36.028% (-358.7ha). The research findings also revealed that the wetlands in Anyama, Swali, Kpansia and Opolo Towns were completely lost from the third Epoch of 2010, this may be as a result of persistence reclamation of wetland in this parts of the study area. The Markov Chain predicted model were utilized for predicting the likely changes in land use land cover for a period of thirty years. The predicted results also indicates that wetland size of 32.47,%, 30.68% and 28.99% may likely be lost by the year 2030, 2040 and 2050 respectively in study area if no action is taking by concerned authorities to forestall the factors responsible for the lost in wetland. The study justified the dynamics of remote sensing and GIS techniques in modeling wetlands changees over these periods, wise use of wetland resources and improvement of institutional arrangement were recommended so that wetland policies can be fully integrated into the planning process across all disciplines.

Investigating the effect of carbon dioxide on the acidity of the Ocean

There is a significant effect of carbon dioxide on the acidification of the ocean. This research focuses on the acidification of the ocean and its effect on the animal life in the ocean. Also, it focuses on the effect of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere on the ocean acidification. The data are collected from the research institutions and laboratories, such as National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Japan, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA, Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, and other sources of research about acidification of ocean. The results show that the acidity increases with increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This is because ocean absorbs nearly 50% of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Carbonate ions (CO32-) will be used in forming carbonic acid, which will increase the acidity of the water. Increasing the acidity of water will affect building of the animal Skeleton. It is recommended to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; therefore the acidity will be decreased in the ocean.

Application of Google earth in carbon assessment and monitoring in agroforestry: a study from Ratanpur, Nepal

The carbon assessment and monitoring in small scale forests like agroforests are difficult tasks but it creates enormous opportunity as carbon credit. This study aims to assess carbon sequestration potential in agroforestry including soil carbon using google earth imageries. Agroforestry of Ratanpur village in Tanahun district Nepal was selected as the study site. Total agroforests of 19 farmers were selected as the experimental and no agroforests area of 4 farmers were selected as the control site. The high resolution imageries of 2020 and 2015 were acquired from Google earth pro. The digitization was done to classify the image into agriculture, agroforestry, natural trees, settlement areas and others. Total enumeration was done to measure the diameter and height of the plants (tree species) planted in the agro-forest. Moreover, total 69 soil samples were collected from 0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 cm depth. The biomass was calculated using Chave et al. equation while soil carbon was analyzed using Walkley Black method. The biomass was converted into carbon which was used to calculate mean annual carbon increment. The result showed the highest carbon stock was 17.6 kg/ stand of Paulownia tomentosa. Total carbon sequestration potential was 2057.689 kg and its monetary value was US$ 30.863. The mean soil carbon stock of agro-forest was higher 52.92 ton/ha than this of 50.3 ton/ha in agriculture site. The map showed it was 7.63 ha agroforest in map of 2020. The overall accuracy of map of 2015 was 90.91% with Kappa coefficient 0.86 but these values were 80.65% and 0.74 respectively of map of 2020. One-way ANOVA and Post hoc test showed that there was significant difference in species wise carbon stock per stand at 95% confidence level. The research will be useful to understand the carbon stock in agroforestry practices.

Valuing local bread wheat farmer’s varieties (Triticum aestivum L.) for conservation and sustainable utilization in goro and agarfa CSBs, bale zone OF Oromiya regional state

The perception of farmer’s verities, scientists and government officials regarding the conservation of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) farmer in Bale zone CSBs is examined during 2019. Agricultural development and the reasons why the Bale zone is marginal in terms of wheat production are discussed. The de facto conservation of the local wheat farmer’s varieties analyzed in light of stakeholders’ opinions on agro biodiversity bread wheat conservation within the two community seed banks of Goro and Agarfa. CSBs retain local wheat farmer’s varieties because of their own interpretations of the value of these varieties. While formal opportunities for supporting farmers’ perceptions of local diversity with effective policy initiatives are available, they will require ongoing support from both international and national organizations Therefore, the objectives of this were to estimate households’ willingness to pay (WTP) value for conservation bread wheat and analyze the determining factors that affects willingness of households to participate the conservation bread wheat in the study area. To attain the stated objective contingent valuation survey questionnaires were distributed to elicit farmers WTP for improved conservation bread wheat. A total of 160 households were randomly selected from two CSBs of two Woredas of the study Zone. The result indicated that 153 (92.29%) were willing to pay the given bid amount for bread wheat conservation. Logistic regression model result was shows that the statistically significant determinants of participation of WTP in bread wheat conservation were availability of labor for farm activities, distance from market, households’ livestock holding, initial bid1 offered and productivity of the land of at 5% significance level, and total farm agricultural income and perception about the importance of bread wheat conservation at 1% level. The mean willingness to pay for the sampled respondents was 9.23 ($9. 034.67) labour day per year. Hence, the aggregate economic value of bread wheat conservation 3,098,644.46 (12,394,577.84) person days per annum for five years. Therefore, policy should give emphases at levels for production, conservation and sustainable utilization of bread wheat, farmer’s verities hence, the communities shows willingness to pay for the bread wheat conservation works.

Temporal variation of wind speed and wind direction and interrelationship between air temperature and wind speed for different climatic seasons Northern State, Sudan

The research aims to study the temporal variability of wind speed and direction and their correlation with air temperature in different climatic seasons in Northern State, to produce broad data base on winds variability and interrelationship between air temperature and wind speed for different climatic seasons. Mean monthly and daily climatic data dating back to 2001(first season) and 2011(second season) were obtained from Karima meteorological station representing three different climatic seasons namely: April for summer, August for autumn and December for winter. Data were subjected to simple regression analysis, statistical analysis and computations were done by “Excel 2000”. The results showed that the wind speed varied widely during each month and day even within the same climatic season. In two seasons, the diurnal variation for different climatic seasons Apr., Aug. and Dec. was much lower than the monthly; due to the higher monthly variability of wind speed. The results also revealed that the prevailing direction of winds was generally northwards. The results of April in the first season are presented as an example; the mean daily wind speed (Va) ranged from 0.6 to 17m/s, with a mean of 7.2m/s, a STD of 4.3 and a CV of 60%. The daily mean data ranged from 5.4 (3hrs) to 8.2 (24hrs), with a mean of 7.2m/s, a STD of 1.1 and a CV of 15.3%.The prevailing wind direction decreases in the following order: N>NE=NNE>NNW. The monthly variability of the air temperature in the two seasons decreased in the following order: winter> summer> autumn. Significant, inversely proportional and cubic wind speed-temperature correlations in the two seasons for Aug. and Dec. were (P<0.05, r=0.362); (P<0.01, r= 0.488); (P<0.001, R=585) and (P<0.001, r= 0.679), respectively.

Making biodiversity work for coffee production. A case study of Gayo Arabica coffee in Indonesia

Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life encompassing the ‘existing’ variations at all level, starting from the tiny genes within a species up to a broader sense consisted of habitats within ecosystem. It is urgently needed as long as human is still exist on this earth. Therefore, its proper utilization and correct application of biodiversity bring great advantage in tangible and non-tangible benefits. Indonesia is known as the third largest biodiversity hotspots; both its flora and fauna. It has also tremendous diverse ecosystems extended from west to east; with amplitude of variation ranging from humid tropical rain forests until a very dry savannah type at the eastern part of Nusa Tenggara. Furthermore, Indonesia is also known as the fourth world highest producer of coffee; with a total production 11,49 million kg in 2016-2017. The Gayo highlands on the northern tip of Sumatra are known as the major production of arabica coffee. There, up to ten varieties of commercial arabica coffee are planted on the highlands. The origin of coffee is in Ethiopia, which is believed as the center of the commercial coffee species in this world: C. arabica and C. canephora. The objective of this paper is to review the status of coffee, esp. the arabica one from various perspectives, ranging from the biology, history of coffee, the processing of coffee (wet vs. dry methods), and how the component of natural biodiversity can be applied in order to enhance the coffee production, particularly on the Gayo highlands.

Taxonomic and nitrogen-cycling microbial community functional profiles of sugarcane and adjacent forest soils in Southeast Brazil

Nowadays, due to the expansion of agricultural borders, it is highly desirable to increase the sustained productivity of sugarcane cultivars using the knowledge of soil microbial communities. In this study, twelve shotgun metagenomic datasets based on genomic DNA from soil were analyzed using the Metagenomics Rapid Annotation using Subsystem Technology (MG-RAST) and Statistical Analysis of Metagenomic Profiles (STAMP) to assess differential responses for the total soil bacterial community composition and nitrogen-cycling microbial community functional potential in soils from sugarcane field with pre-harvest burning and adjacent forest in dry and wet seasons in Southeast Brazil. The soil bacterial community revealed higher abundance for Actinobacteria in forest soil than sugarcane soil in dry and wet seasons, and an opposite pattern for Proteobacteria and Planctomycetes in these soils in both seasons. The results obtained in this study based on the KEEG map suggest that the forest soil has a higher nitrogen-cycling microbial community functional potential compared to the sugarcane soil, independently of the season. The gene sequences associated with carbohydrate metabolism were the most frequent in all soil metagenomes. Taken together, the results confirm previous findings regarding the effects of forest conversion to sugarcane production area, providing new insights regarding to this conversion through the prism of the seasonality and pre-harvesting method on microbially mediated nitrogen cycle in sugarcane production fields.

Changes in the concentration of chloride ions in the Volga water (section of the Zhigulevsky hydroelectric complex)

For a quantitative assessment of changes in the concentration of chlorides, an analysis of the data of hydrological and hydrochemical observations obtained on the Volga River in the alignment of the Zhigulevsky hydroelectric complex was carried out. For the period 2001-2018 the average annual concentration of chlorides was 27mg/dm3, the highest –31mg/dm3, and the lowest - 24mg/dm3. The chloride content was characterized by seasonal variability. During the winter season, the concentration of chlorides increased. The maximum was observed in April, before the beginning of the spring flood. During the spring flood, the chloride concentration decreased, reaching the lowest values ​​in May at the peak of the spring flood. In the summer, the concentration of chlorides gradually increased, and in the autumn, it decreased. The intra-annual amplitude of the average monthly concentrations of chlorides was 14-42mg/dm3. Such significant intra-annual changes in chlorides in the outlet section of the Kuibyshev reservoir are due to the interaction of the surface and underground components of the water flow of the Cheboksary and Nizhnekamsk reservoirs. In low-water years, the concentration of chlorides increased, and in high-water years, it decreased.