Feasibility of Relative Strain Index (RSI) for the Assessment of Heat Stress in Outdoor Environments: Case Study in Three Different Climates of Iran

Objectives: Different indices are used to evaluate heat stress in outdoor environments. This study was aimed at examining the applicability of the Relative Strain Index (RSI) to the assessment of heat stress in several climates of Iran. Methods: Based on the Köppen classification, three different climates were studied. Arak, Bandar Abbas, and Sari were selected as representative of semi-arid and cold climates, hot and dry, and Mediterranean, respectively. The data recorded by the meteorological organization, including air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity were surveyed during 15-year period in three different climates. The RSI index was calculated by the formula. Also, the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) index was computed using a model presented by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM). Data were analyzed using SPSS v.22, descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and linear regression. Results: The mean RSI index in summer of the 15 years in Arak was 0.033 ± 0.33, in Bandar Abbas 0.54 ± 0.6 and for Sari was 0.17 ± 0.05. A high correlation was found between environmental variables and RSI index in three different climates. As well, there was a positive and significant correlation between both RSI and WBGT indices in three different climates (R2>0.96). Conclusion: The RSI index is a simple and empirical index and can be used for the evaluation of heat stress along with other indices. The index estimates the situation more than expected to be stressful in warm and dry conditions. So, it is not a useful index for hot and dry climates such as Bandar Abbas.

Exploration of Ecological Footprint in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian Developed Waterfronts: The Case of King Abdullah Seafront Park (KASP) – Dammam

Background:Sustainable development identifies the requirements for the environmental enhancements while preserving a balance among environmental factors. Sustainable integrated systems reinforced or promoted the persistence of the structural and operational components into the natural component.Objective:The study aims to apply a modified ecological footprint model to assess how much the ecosystem functions were affected by the development of urban waterfronts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Methods:A modified ecological footprint model has been applied to assess the outcomes obtained from the ecosystem functions of urban waterfronts.Results:The study revealed alteration or embedment of natural processes in all developed urban waterfronts; leading to loss of biodiversity, diminishment of site productivity, and increase of hidden costs regarding maintenance and replacement. It has positive performance in biodiversity enrichment, continuous productivity, maintenance and enhancement of natural physical and biological processes.Conclusion:The sustainable designs for urban waterfronts should aiming for the enhancement of natural processes for the productivity of coastal areas.

Livelihood Vulnerability Associated with Forest Fire in Pauri-Garhwal, Western Himalaya

Background: The livelihood of mountainous communities of Himalayan region closely knotted with forest related activities. However, forest degradation especially forest fire significantly affects the mountainous livelihood and hence, there is an urgent need to describe, evaluate and understand specificity of mountainous areas to forest fire. Methods: In this view, a study on livelihood vulnerability with forest fire of High Altitude Zone (HAZ) and Low Altitude Zone (LAZ) was assessed with Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI). It uses 35 indicators, reduced to six components to create an overall index. Each component is composed of set of indicators and they are function of observable variables. The framework uses primary data and employs maximum-minimum normalization to restrict the value range of indicators between 0 to 1. Results: The value near to 0 shows lower vulnerability. The overall vulnerability of HAZ region is higher, that might be attributed to higher dependency on forest; live in proximity of forest; unstable socioeconomic condition; less infrastructural development and higher exposure to climatic extreme events. Conclusion: Therefore, the adaptive capacity of HAZ should be strengthened in a cross cutting manner for reducing livelihood vulnerability to forest fire. The sectors specific developmental policies/programmes should also be rationalized through bottom up adaptation planning with special reference to forest fire vulnerability.

Greenhouse Gas Emission, Rainfall and Crop Production Over North-Western India

Background: This study is based on datasets acquired from multi sources e.g. rain-gauges, satellite, reanalysis and coupled model for the region of Northwestern India. The influence of rainfall on crop production is obvious and direct. With the climate change and global warming, greenhouse gases are also showing an adverse impact on crop production. Greenhouse gases (e.g. CO2, NO2 and CH4) have shown an increasing trend over Northwestern Indian region. In recent years, rainfall has also shown an increasing trend over Northwestern India, while the production of rice and maize are reducing over the region. From eight selected sites, over Northwestern India, where rice and maize productions have reduced by 40%, with an increase in CO2, NO2 and CH4 gas emission by 5% from 1998 to 2011. Results: The correlation from one year to another between rainfall, gas emission and crop production was not very robust throughout the study period, but seemed to be stronger for some years than others. Conclusion: Such trends and crop yield are attributed to rainfall, greenhouse gas emissions and to the climate variability.

Natural and Anthropogenic Impacts on Forest Structure: A Case Study of Uttarakhand State

Forests are among the most important natural resources in Uttarakhand as they occupy 71% of the geographic area and contribute a good share in state economy. They are rich repositories of biodiversity and are providers of ecosystem goods and services to both regional and global community. People are dependent on forests for fuel wood, grass and other biomass. But unfortunately recent trend of data shows a huge degradation of forestland due to natural and anthropogenic activities. Variations in climatic condition and natural disasters are triggering rate of degradation of forests in Uttarakhand. The present paper reviews the status of forest in Uttarakhand and discusses the major natural and anthropogenic factors responsible for its degradation.

Skin Spotting Variation Associated with Biometric and Reproductive Parameters in Naturalized Populations of Rainbow Trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, from Southern Chile

Background: Skin pigmentation in fish is involved in various biological processes. In salmonids, the interactions of skin spottiness with biometric and reproductive parameters are mostly unknown, especially in naturalized populations influenced by different ecological factors. Objective: To associate skin spottiness variation with biometric and reproductive parameters in broodstocks of naturalized rainbow trout populations from southern Chile. Method: The number of dark spots below the lateral line was assessed in male and female broodstocks of rainbow trout from two reproductive seasons, years 2007 and 2012, and then this dataset was associated with biometric and reproductive parameters of the same individuals, using multivariate data analysis in the form of stepwise forward multiple regression. Results: Male body weight from year 2007 had a significant negative influence on the number of dark spots below the lateral line (P < 0.01), while the reproductive variables egg diameter and spawning time of females from years 2007 and 2012, respectively, had a significant positive influence on this parameter (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Our results indicate that there are male biometric parameters with a significant negative influence on skin spottiness. Our data also reveal that some reproductive parameters have a positive influence on skin spottiness. The identification of these reproductive parameters related to spottiness variation would reflect the reproductive quality of female broodstocks living in natural environments.

Effectiveness of Protected Areas in Conserving the Highly Hunted Mammal Species as Bushmeat in Southern Benin

Background: The habitat degradation together with fragmentation and illegal hunting represent a major threat for biodiversity conservation in Lama protected areas. Method: We used a combination of questionnaire survey with local communities for ranking the hunted mammal species as bushmeat and track surveys in gridded-cell system of 500x500 m2 (n=268) to assess at what extend the management design, the anthropogenic factors and habitat type affect the occupancy model of those mammal species. Results: Twenty mammal species have been predominantly reported by the local inhabitants to consume bushmeat species and 5 of them have been identified as the most preferable as hunted game mammals. The selection of the preferred habitat among the swampy forest, the dense forest, the tree plantations and cropland for the prioritized game species varies between species but looks similar when grouping in different orders. Some bushmeat species were found to select the more secure habitat (natural forest); suggesting the zoning system in the Lama forest can passively protect those species. However, some species such as T. swinderianus although highly hunted showed preference to anthropogenic habitat, avoiding the well secured core zone in Lama Forest. Conclusion: Our findings highlighted the importance of the zoning system with different management objectives in the habitat occupancy model of the highly hunted wildlife species.

Rehabilitation of Industrial Barren in Arctic Region Using Mining Wastes

Background: This work has explored the possibility of applying mining waste-based ameliorants for the remediation of soil that has been transformed by copper-nickel smelter emissions by means of forming artificial phytocenosis. Objective: The aim of our work was to propose, develop and approbate a technique for the preservation of dumps polluted by heavy metals and prevention of their erosion by creating dense grass covers with the use of wastes from mining and processing enterprises to form a supporting substrate for herbaceous plants. Methods: The vegetative cover was cultivated on a supporting medium, consisting of mining waste, with a hydroponic vermiculite substrate and a mix of graminaceous plant seeds, indigenous to the study area and resistant to heavy metal pollution. The mining wastes, used in the experiment, contained acid-neutralizing minerals such as calcium and magnesium carbonate and hydrous magnesium silicate. Results: It is shown that, due to a large pool of Ca and Mg, these mineral substrates are alkaline (pH 8.4 – 9.2) and can perform successfully in optimizing of edaphic conditions for the plant communities grown on industrial barrens. In a pilot experiment without a proposed supporting medium, the plants did not form a stable grass cover and had died out by the beginning of the third growing season, whereas the experimental plots with a proposed supporting medium (waste-based substrate) developed a high-quality grass cover by the end of second vegetation seasons. Conclusion: The resulting plant communities grown on a proposed supportive medium is find to be resistant to aerotechnogenic pollutants and capable of independent survival, representing the initial stage of progressive succession in the presence of on-going pollution.