ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF SHRIMP FARMING IN CHAKARIA UPAZILA OF COX’S BAZAR IN BANGLADESH

Aquaculture has become one of the fastest-growing economic sub-sectors of the Bangladesh economy, providing protein-rich food, the source of employment and foreign currency earnings. Therefore, shrimp farming is very much common in the brackish water which affects the coastal natural ecosystem and livelihood of the coastal communities, prticularly in Chakaria Upazila of Cox’s Bazar district. Due to rapid and unplanned growth of this farming, socio-ecological systesms has been changing. This study aims to assess shrimp farming’s environmental, social, and economic impacts in Chakaria upazila in Bangladesh. Soil sample was collected to determine the environmental impacts of shrimp farming. Besides, we selected the shrimp farmers, rice producers, and alternative shrimp-rice producers through simple random sampling. Purposive sampling was conducted to choose the other stakeholders. A semi-structured questionnaire was developed for interviewing different stakeholders. We found that, because of the high economic benefit, high production rate in short time, and availability of brackish water, the people in this Upazila are attracted to continue the shrimp farming. As a result, mangrove forest and agricultural land converted into shrimp farming. Our soil analysis showed that organic matter content in was low (0.25-3.56%). In addition to this, most people suffer from water-borne diseases during the flooding period. We also found clear evidene of shortage of safe drinking water due to salinity intrusion in grounwater. The tendency of raring livestock such as cow, goat, and buffalo decreased due to insufficient grazing land. The study also revealed that some internal conflicts exist between different stakeholders in Chakararia Upazila. Most local shrimp fry collectors collect fry from the tidal river and use an unscientific traditional method which was harmful for the other aquatic fish population. Poor quality of larvae supply from hatchery caused various diseases in cultivated ghers and ponds. The findings from this study provide useful information for sustainable coastal zone management in Bangladesh to build a more resilient coastal communities.

EVALUATION OF THE PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF AN EXPOSED SOIL PROFILE IN AN EXCAVATED ACRISOL, SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

Increased population density has led to a lot of pressure on the limited natural/land resources of south-eastern Nigeria. This includes the need for laterite, sand, kaolin, gravel and clay for buildings, backfills and road construction. This has led to extensive unmoderated excavation of these resources, particularly in Anambra state. The excavation has in turns, culminated in increased intensity of land degradation in the state, underscoring the need to characterize and evaluate the land use potentials of such sites to better understand the nature of the soils and the impacts of the attendant land use. Samples were collected from the different horizons of the profile to evaluate the physical, chemical and morphological properties of the soils. Coefficient of variation was used to measure the soil variability within the profile. Land capability class was determined, which informed the land use and management recommendations. The results show that the soil is very deep (>21.5m). The soil texture ranged from sandy clay loam to sandy. Infiltration rate and saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased by up to 300 to 560 % with excavation. The soils were strongly acidic; organic carbon and total nitrogen was low but highly variable; Al, H, Ca, Mg, K, Na, and phosphorus were moderately variable while pH, CEC and base saturation (BS) were the least variable. The land capability class was IIIes. Given the evidence of erosion and preponderance of erodible Nanka sands in the subsoil, the site should be reclaimed as soon as the mining activities are discontinued.

MANN-KENDALL TEST: TREND ANALYSIS OF TEMPERATURE, RAINFALL AND DISCHARGE OF GHOTKI FEEDER CANAL IN DISTRICT GHOTKI, SINDH, PAKISTAN

Temperature and precipitation variations have huge environmental, socio-economic impacts. This study aims to detect the trend of temperature, precipitation, and discharge from 2000-2020 in the district Ghotki. Mann Kendal test and Sen’s slope were applied by using XLSTAT in MS Excel to investigate the significance of all trends. The results showed that the annual rainfall trend was increased with the highest intensity noted in 2003; 275mm and 2010; 271 mm. The trend in the monsoon season was increased with the highest slope 0.863 by comparing with non-monsoon which showed the slope was 0.642. The annual temperature was increased an average temperature recorded in 2016; 28.5 & 2018; 28 °C. Further, the summer-autumn season’s trend has sharply increased. While the trend of Ghotki feeder discharge was slightly increased in January due to the continuous flow of water and less demand for water during the Rabi season. But in July, the highest discharge was recorded in 2010 due to heavy rainfall and flood situations over the study area. The trend in Kharif was continuously declined due to farmers started sowing sugarcane crops instead of rice and cotton which need less irrigation water. It is concluded that the performance of MK and SS tests was consistent at the verified significance level.

AN ATTEMPT TO IDENTIFY CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND RELATED LAND USE TYPES IN RURAL AREAS UNDER URBANIZATION

Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) play an important role in socio-natural ecosystems. Assessment of CES in rural areas is crucial for development planning and decision-making. However, assessment of CES at the local scale and, in particular, rural areas remain under-researched. In order to reveal the importance of different kinds of CES and the related land uses perceived by the rural residents, a simplified tick-scoring method was developed and tested in a case study of four villages in Shandong Province, China. This method poses CES questions and seeks answers about corresponding land use types in a questionnaire form that is accessible and useful to village residents. Furthermore, the important categories of CES and related land use types were identified and ranked based on the questionnaire. The results showed that ecological culture and aesthetic services ranked in the top two of twelve CES categories, while scenic spots/mountains, forests, and lakes/rivers/reservoirs scored for multiple CES and attained higher than average CES scores. Overall, the simplified method is practical to understand the perspectives of rural residents on the important CES and related landscapes. The established approach shed lights on CES assessment and management improvement at local scale of rural areas under different socio-environmental contexts in China and elsewhere.

PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON AIR POLLUTION TOLERANCE INDEX (APTI) OF SELECTED PLANT SPECIES IN BIKANER CITY

Air Pollution Tolerance Index is used to find out the level of air pollution in any area with the help of plants. Plants are categorized as sensitive, intermediate and tolerant based on their APTI values. The present study examines the Air Pollution Tolerance Index of selected plant species in Bikaner city. The APTI of various plants have been computed with the values obtained by analysis of biochemical parameters such as pH of leaf extract, ascorbic acid content (AAC), total leaf chlorophyll content (TLC) and leaf relative water content (RWC). It was found that plant species Khejri (Prosopis cineraria), Neem (Azadiracta indica), Babul (Acacia nilotica), Ber (Ziziphus nummularia), Aak (Calotropis procera) and Peepal (Ficus religiosa) showed APTI values in the range of 30 to 100 which are tolerant to air pollution. Datura stramonium was the only species which falls under the intermediate category due to its APTI value of 21.5. It is recommended that these plants can be grown on national highways to combat air pollution in arid areas. Such plants can be used in the development of green belt.

IMPACTS OF DUMPSITE ON SOIL AND GROUNDWATER QUALITY: A CASE STUDY OF ERINFUN COMMUNITY, ADO EKITI, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Groundwater pollution has increased as a result of poor waste disposal practices in developing countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the levels of physicochemical parameters and heavy metal concentrations in order to investigate the impact of dumpsites on groundwater and soil quality in Erinfun community. Four (4) water samples were collected hand dug well and four (4) soil samples designated Ss1 to Ss4 were collected at distances of 10, 20, 30 and 40 m, respectively, away from the waste dumpsite. Physicochemical parameters and traces such as odour, colour, taste and temperature, as well as Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Dissolve Oxygen, Total Dissolve Solid, pH, and chloride were measured in collected water samples. Collected soil samples were also analyzed for heavy metals such as Magnesium, Zinc, Iron, Chromium, and Lead. All the physical parameters of the water samples analysed were found not to be within the acceptable limit of World Health Organization and Nigerian Standard of Drinking Water Quality standards. The chemical constituents tested were within the acceptable limit of World Health Organization and Nigerian Standard of Drinking Water Quality except for the Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand and Dissolve Oxygen of water samples 1 and 2, respectively. The concentration of trace metals in water sample test were within health limit except for Magnesium and Iron which has the highest concentrations in water sample 1 at 10 m away from dumpsite (61.00 mg/l and 0.46 mg/l). Consequently, open dumpsites are discouraged, and constructed standard landfills with appropriate monitoring guidelines are recommended.

GIS-BASED LAND SUITABILITY ANALYSIS FOR EX-SITU PRODUCTION OF THREATENED Citropsis articulata IN UGANDA

Citropsis articulata (Spreng.) is a potent medicinal plant that is increasingly threatened by unsustainable harvesting and habitat destruction due to deforestation. This calls for enhancement of ex-situ conservation of C. articulata through offsite production. However, the success of offsite production of this species heavily rests on precisely assessing the suitability of the land for its production. In this study, an integrated GIS based multi-criteria evaluation approach was used to depict suitable areas for production of C. articulata based on key factors of; climate, soil and topography. Results revealed that only 13.04% (31495.77 km2) of Uganda’s land is very suitable to support natural production of C. articulata and is mainly situated in the western and central regions. Findings further revealed that 76.4% (24062.77 km2) of very suitable land area is situated outside protected areas, thus implying availability of potential sites for ex-situ and commercial production of C. articulata in the country. Findings also indicated that C. articulata has potential of thriving in well drained, moderately acidic soils and pleasantly warm regions endowed with moderately high precipitation and humidity. Since current stocks of C. articulata are mainly restricted to protected areas, cultivating this species will provide alternative sources of the plant harvest. This will help to relieve current pressures on the wild populations of C. articulata, thus providing a safety backup to the current in-situ conservation efforts.

FIRE CHARACTERISTICS OF ZAGROS FOREST ECOSYSTEM, KERMANSHAH PROVINCE, WESTERN IRAN

Fires are an integral part of many terrestrial biomes and a major source of disturbance in nature. The purpose of this study is to assess the causes and characteristics of fires in the Zagros ecosystem in ten consecutive years from 2011 to 2020. To conduct this research, wholly fire events that occurred in natural areas in the Gilan-e Gharb basin during the fire season detailed in a decade. In practice, immediately after informed of the occurrence of fires in natural areas, research data recorded. Totally, 233 event fires have occurred in the ten years from 2011 to 2020. The fire affected approximately 11,420 hectares of natural areas. The highest frequency of monthly fires during the months of the fire season includes 53, 44, and 40 events, which concern August, July, and September, respectively. The frequency of fires in different components of natural resources shows that the highest and the least frequency includes non-wooded pastures (44.6±5.6) and mixed Forest-rangeland (14.25±4.11). The most causes of fire in natural areas include recreation and hunting (43.3±16.1). The maximum frequency of the fire area includes <100 hectares’ classes (83.6±20.57). Most fires suppressed in a very short period (64.27±26.17). Daneh Khoshk, Nawdar, Poshteh, Peikoleh, Belaleh, Cheleh – Ghalajeh as well as Chikan regions include a high risk of fire. The issues connected to the fire are multidimensional. It deals with climatic and habitat factors, social issues, and the nature conservation culture institutionalization among the local people. To reduce the fire and the resulting damage, it is necessary to perform basic proceedings in whole fields.

ASCERTAINING THE QUALITY OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION AND ITS IMPACT ON VEGETABLE QUALITY: A CASE STUDY ALONG THE BIBINI RIVER IN KUMASI

Farmers in peri-urban areas use diluted wastewater for irrigation. Over time, heavy metals may accumulate in agricultural soils and food crops causing health problems when consumed. Physicochemical, heavy metals (cadmium, lead and chromium) and microbial analysis of water, soil and vegetables were conducted to ascertain the quality of water and vegetables using standard methods. The results of the study showed that the water quality indicators; dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand and water temperature were not within the recommended standards of Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency. The presence of heavy metals in the water, soil and vegetables were in the order of; soil (1.47 ± 0.017 of cadmium, 0.0019 ± 0.00011 of chromium and 0.541 ± 0.017 of lead) > vegetable (1.472 ± 0.044 of cadmium, 0.0020 ± 0.00010 of chromium and 0.474 ± 0.021 of lead) > water (0.068 ± 0.009 of cadmium, 0.0047 ± 0.00037 of chromium and 0.110 ± 0.014 of lead). Cadmium, chromium and lead concentrations in soil, vegetables and water varied significantly. Cadmium and lead concentrations as well as coliform counts in water and vegetables exceeded Food and Agriculture Organization/ World Health Organization’s maximum permissible levels. Soil samples from the control site showed almost negligible concentrations of heavy metals (0.00017 mg/kg of cadmium, 0.00014 mg/kg of chromium and 0.0011 mg/kg of lead) whereas farm sites had heavy metals as a result of long-term wastewater irrigation. Cadmium and lead concentrations in the water and vegetables makes them toxic and microbial populations of faecal coliform in water and lettuce indicated faecal contamination. Therefore, the quality of vegetables produced using the Bibini river is low and unsafe for human consumption.

ASSESSING LINK BETWEEN ON FARM AGRO-BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD SELF- SUFFICIENCY IN TWO AGRO-ECOLOGICAL REGIONS OF NEPAL

Biodiversity is more recognized as a critical component of food production and food security and an important component of environment conservation. So, the paper tries to address the key research questions about the factors influencing crop diversity on the farm and are the household with high farm diversity more food secure or not? The study thus aimed to assess the on-farm crop diversity and their relation to food self-sufficiency in two different agro-ecological regions of Nepal, i.e. Tulsipur sub-metropolitan (inner terai) and Sundarbazar municipality (mid-hill). For this, a total of 70 households were randomly selected, 35 from each region, and semi-structured interviews, direct observation, and focus group discussion were employed to collect primary data. And the richness, Shannon–wiener, Simpson index, and food self-sufficiency level of households were assessed. The Shannon Wiener index of vegetables, spices were found to be 3.770 and 3.721 and that of fruits was found 2.772 and 2.607 in the home garden of Tulsipur and Sundarbazar respectively. Food self-sufficiency was achieved among 40% of households in the Tulsipur while the figure of the Sundarbazar was only 28.6%. The size of cultivated area and species richness was found moderately positive correlated. Statistical analysis showed that agro-biodiversity across two regions had less difference and finally, the paper showed that biodiversity level has a direct link to household food self-sufficiency level which helps in reducing food insecurity. Our results, therefore, promote to make effective implementation of regional food security strategies and policies to improve.