Abstract: The aim of the presented study was to evaluate the suitability of textile mill wastewater (treated and untreated) at different concentrations (0, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) for irrigation purposes. Effect of textile mill wastewater on germination, delay index, physiological growth parameters and plant pigments of two cultivars of sorghum was studied. The textile effluent did not show any inhibitory effect on seed germination at lower concentration (6.25%). The other reported plant parameters also followed the similar trend. Seeds germinated in 100% effluents but did not survive for longer period. It has also been concluded that effect of the textile effluent is cultivar specific and due care should be taken before using the textile mill wastewater for irrigation purpose.

Keywords: Textile mill wastewater, sorghum cultivars, germination (%), delay index, plant biomass

Abstract: Platinum mines produce large amounts of inorganic tailings containing high levels of metals which are disposed of on tailings disposal facilities (TDFs) and there is no information available on their possible effects on the surrounding terrestrial environment. The aim of this study was to do an earthworm bioassay of soils along a gradient from a TDF over a period of 28 days in terms of growth, reproduction and metal accumulation. After 28 days the earthworms in the soil collected up to 1 km away from the TDF showed a significant (P 0.05) decrease in bodyweight and in the soil 2−5 km away showed no effect. The earthworms in the soil collected 15 km away from the TDF showed a significant (P 0.05) increase in bodyweight. The mean hatching success of cocoons was significantly (P 3−5 km > 2−0 km. Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn concentrations in the soils collected in the soils on the platinum TDF (TDF − 15 km in the case of Zn) were higher, while Cd, Co and Pb were lower when compared to screening benchmarks proposed by the U.S. Dept. of Energy. The presence of these metals in a mixture, however, makes it extremely difficult to assess their effects. All of the metals had low bioconcentration factors (BCFs) viz. 0.01 (CR, Ni and Pb), 0.01 (Co), 0.33−0.5 (Cd), 0.01−0.08 (Cu) and 0.18−0.29 (Zn). It can be concluded that platinum mining, with TDFs as source of contamination, has negative effects on the environment but further studies are needed to assess the exact extent of these effects.

Keywords: bioassay; earthworms; Eisenia fetida; metals; platinum mining

Abstract: Pyridine, a suspected genotoxic and formaldehyde, a potent carcinogen, are present in several industrial wastewater including commercial solvent, resin and pesticide manufacturing industries. The extent of pyridine and formaldehyde toxicity in aquatic organisms is unknown. Therefore, in present study the toxicity of pyridine and formaldehyde were investigated in artificial aquatic ecosystem (microcosm) using two freshwater organisms of different trophic levels i.e. a common duckweed; Lemna minor L. and an oligochaete; Tubifex tubifex Müller. In microcosm, formaldehyde was found to be more toxic to chlorophyll (21 days IC50 = 0.08±0.02 mgL-1), protein (21 days IC50 = 0.15±0.02 mgL-1) and biomass (21 days IC50 = 0.18±0.02 mgL-1) contents of L. minor than pyridine. In addition, pyridine was found growth supportive to L. minor at concentration of 0.1-0.3 mgL-1. Formaldehyde was found more toxic than pyridine for T. tubifex. Lethal concentrations for formaldehyde were 0.08±0.004 (LC10–21 days), 0.2±0.03 (LC25–21 days) and 0.39±0.05 mgL-1 (LC50–21 days). For pyridine, lethal concentrations were 0.85±0.08 (LC10-21 days), 2.14±0.2 (LC25-21days) and 4.27±0.3 mgL-1 (LC50- 21days). The concentration and time dependent decrease in growth rate, soluble protein and glycogen content was observed. To overcome the stress situation, high-energy requirement of worms lead to protein and glycogen catabolism. The results of present study might be an important consideration while assessing the hazards of materials to aquatic organisms or when deriving water quality criteria for aquatic organisms.

Keywords: Lemna minor L.; Tubifex tubifex Müller; formaldehyde; pyridine; toxicity; microcosms

Abstract: Changes in the soluble protein content, electrophoretic profiles of total and thermostable proteins and polypeptides in endosperms and roots of wheat seedlings germinated under optimal and stress conditions were investigated. Low and high temperature, 0.2 M NaCl, 0.5 M sucrose, 30 μM ABA and 10 mM H2O2 were applied as stress factors and seeds germinated for 72 hours. The results obtained show that the time course of soluble protein mobilization at early germination depended on the nature of stress factors applied. The response to stress conditions was tissue specific. Low temperature stress elicited the greatest number and most intense total polypeptides in the roots of treated seedlings. High temperature most strongly influenced the thermostable polypeptide profile in endosperms. Content of a 25-kDa polypeptide related to cold tolerance increased in the roots of stressed seedlings. A thermostable polypeptide with a molecular weight of 42 kDa was found in H2O2 stressed samples that was highly intensive and probably constitutes a stress specific response.

Keywords: ABA, germinating seeds, hydrogen peroxide, polypeptide spectra

Abstract: Even though vermicomposting is an age old process, due to rapid changes in technology in present scenario it is essential to change such process with application of advanced technique available. The same attempt is made by authors during series of their experiments of bioconversion over solid waste containing substrates cellulose into useful biofertilizer. In the present study the substrate sugarcane bagasse taken as carbon source is bio-converted with species of earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae. The role of moisture content in the process is studied by varying moisture content from 45 ± 5%, 55 ± 5%, 65 ± 5%, 75 ± 5% to 85 ± 5%. It is observed that the moisture content 75 ± 5% is the optimal at which the vermicomposting is fastest. Other relative parameters observed varied with maximum changes in range of 75 ± 5% of moisture content. The maximum kinetic reaction rate is recorded at the same level of moisture content.

Keywords: Cellulose, bagasse, Eudrilus eugeniae, Absolute BOD, C/N

Abstract: Long-term field experiments are the conventional means for developing; evaluating and demonstrating site-specific land/water use plans. However, it has been often observed that at times they are unable to propose sustainable practices, when planned for shorter time durations (say 2-3 years) or become cost-ineffective and obsolete, when planned for longer time durations (say more than 15 years or so). Hence, what should be the ideal length of such long-term experiments has always been a debatable issue. The present study attempts to demonstrate application of one indigenously developed decision support system (DSS) for planning appropriate length of long term conjunctive water use experiments on a test salt affected farmer’s field. Before application the proposed DSS was extensively validated on several farmers and controlled experimental fields in Haryana (India). Validation of DSS showed its potential to give realistic estimates of root zone soil salinity; sodicity and salt stress induced relative crop yield reductions under local resource management conditions. Long term impact assessment of varied conjunctive water use strategies, on the test farmer’s field, with the so validated DSS showed that the time required for achieving stable crop yields could be treated as a good measure of the minimum length of such experiments. For the test (rice-wheat growing) farmer’s field, this time ranged between 5.5 – 6.0 years. It was observed that at shorter time scale (i.e. 2 years), though application of 50% canal waters (CW) blended with 50% tube well waters (TW), was as productive and superior as cyclic applications of (2CW, 1TW, 1CW); (1CW, 1TW, 2CW) and (CW: TW) during wheat cropping season yet it could not maintain its superior performance at DSS proposed time duration of 6 years or more. Similarly irrigation practice of (4CW, 5TW) during rice cropping season, though beneficial at shorter time scale, was much inferior to the cyclic application of canal and tube well waters (i.e. CW: TW) at longer time scales (i.e. at ³ 6 years). Hence, limiting the proposed long-term conjunctive water use experiment to the DSS proposed minimum time duration of 6 years lead to the selection of the most stable and sustainable irrigation practice(s) for the test farm.

Keywords: sustainability, long term studies, environmental impact assessment, water use planning

Abstract: The groundwater quality of Jaipur city experienced degradation due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. The hydrochemical investigation in the present study is restricted to the major ions concentrations, distributions, their relative abundance, and the pattern of the variability in groundwater chemistry. On the basis of the groundwater chemistry an evaluation of groundwater for domestic and irrigation uses is established. Eleven ground water samples were collected from Jaipur City, Rajasthan (India) from different hand pumps to study the chemical parameter, such as pH, EC, Total Hardness, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Carbonate, Bicarbonate, Sulphate, and Chloride, with the help of standard method of APHA during pre-monsoon (April 2006 to June 2006).

Keywords: Jaipur City, ground water, pre-monsoon, physico-chemical parameter, hydrochemistry

Abstract: Vegetation analysis of the forest ecosystem of Similipal Biosphere Reserve (SBR) was carried out at 10 sites to study changes in structure and composition in plant community distributed in the core (undisturbed) and buffer (disturbed) areas of the reserve. The study reveals a higher number of herbs and shrubs and a lower number of trees in the buffer area indicating greater anthropogenic disturbance. Total tree basal area varied from 48.7 to 78.61 m2 ha-1 in the buffer area and 81.4 to 104.9 m2ha-1 in the core area. The density of saplings and seedlings was nearly equal both at the disturbed and undisturbed sites. However, the rate of conversion of saplings to trees was greater at undisturbed sites. The lower rate of conversion at disturbed sites is due to the removal of seedlings of most of the tree species. The high herb diversity (2.14 – 3.50) and low tree diversity (2.14 – 2.98) in buffer area is a result of Environmental openings providing greater opportunity for the recruitment of herbs and shrubs. The presence of only a few individuals of major tree species in larger diameter classes and more in young diameter classes in buffer areas indicate that the plant community was subjected to disturbance and are in the regenerating stage. Greater fluctuation in the species / genus ratio in the herbaceous species at sites of the buffer area in comparison to core area has led to variation in developmental status of plant communities among the core and buffer areas of the reserve. However, the presence of the seedlings of dominant tree species in the buffer area may help in the restoration of the plant communities in the long-run, provided protection means are strengthened and biotic stress reduced.

Keywords: Disturbance index, diversity, regeneration, community, succession, India

Abstract: Free living nitrogen fixers represent a range of microorganisms including bacteria living on plant residues (saprophytes), bacteria which live entirely within plants (endophytes) and bacteria living in close association with the plant roots (rhizobacteria). We have isolated a number of rhizosphere associated bacteria from two of the hot arid zone plants and explored these in terms of nitrogen fixing ability both in solid and liquid culture conditions. The maximum coloring zone was developed in T-1 (22 mm) whereas minimum was in T-3 (4 mm) in case of the C. polygonoides associated bacterial community. The coloring zone was found maximum in TS-2 (27 mm) and minimum in TS-1 (11 mm), in case of isolates associated with rhizosphere of L. sindicus. The highest and lowest acetylene reduction activity (ARA) was detected in TS-13 (8303 n moles / 24 h) and T-10 (1658 n moles / 24 h), respectively.

Keywords: Hot arid region, rhizospheric bacteria, nitrogen fixation, ARA, malate media

Abstract: There is good evidence that higher global temperature will promote a rise of green house gas levels, implying a positive feedback which will increase the effect of the anthropogenic emissions on global temperatures. Here we present a review about the results which deal with the possible feedbacks between ecosystems and the climate system. There are a lot of types of feedback which are classified. Some circulation models are compared to each other regarding their role in interactive carbon cycle.

Keywords: climate control, climate change, biotic feedbacks, ecosystem, community

Abstract: Many news bulletins found in the literature only consent themselves with the description of the night distribution of the trapped species not examining the beginning and the end of the insects' flight towards the light with the measurement of environmental lighting, expressed in lux. For this reason, we had examined the daily appearance of the first and last specimens of the species in the light trap concerning the exact lighting figures. We have used the hourly collection data of the fractionating light trap at the farm of Julianna in Nagykovácsi, belonging to the MTA Crop Protection Research Institute. With the help of our own computer programme we had counted the light coming from the sun, moon and from the starry sky, for every full hour separately and in total. We had given two lighting figures to every trapping data: we had counted the first minute of the first and the next hour of the given hour in lux within which the trapping had happened. Hereby, two lighting figures had become known during which the flight towards lighting had begun and end. The flight of 51 species towards the light happens when the total of the given hour concur in the duration of navigation twilight, of 26 species in the duration of sidereal twilight and of 7 species in the duration of night light. There were 2 species where the first imago was already captured during daylight. In the period of the quick reduction of lighting only the first specimens of the 14 species appear, accordingly: 4 from daylight to civil twilight, 4 from daylight to navigation twilight, 1 from sunset to navigation twilight and 4 species from civil twilight to sidereal twilight. The flight towards light ends in the case of 16 species after midnight during the night light, at 48 species during sidereal twilight and at 28 species at navigation twilight. The flight of only 3 species end when it is clearing up quicker within the given hour, from navigation twilight to daylight. Our results could stop a gap.

Keywords: Lepidoptera, flying threshold, lux