Browsing by Author "Prabhat Kumar Rai"

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Comparative assessment of Azolla pinnata and Vallisneria spiralis in Hg removal from G.B. Pant Sagar of Singrauli Industrial region, India
(2009) Prabhat Kumar Rai; B.D. Tripathi
The aim of the present work was to monitor the Hg pollution in water and sediments of G.B. Pant Sagar located in Singrauli Industrial Region, India and to suggest the efficient aquatic plants for its phytoremediation. The study assessed the comparative potential of a free floating water fern Azolla pinnata and submerged aquatic macrophyte Vallisneria spiralis to purify waters polluted by Hg. Six days laboratory experiments have been conducted to mark the percentage removal of Hg at initial concentration of 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 mg L-1. The percentage removal of Hg was higher for A. pinnata (80-94%) than V. spiralis (70-84%). Likewise, the Hg accumulated in dry mass was much higher for A. pinnata and a high correlation (R2 = 0.91 for A. pinnata and 0.99 for V. spiralis) was obtained between applied Hg doses and accumulated amounts in biomass. A concentration dependent decrease in chlorophyll a, protein, RNA, DNA and nutrients (NO3- and PO43-) uptake was detected in A. pinnata and V. spiralis due to Hg toxicity. The decrease was more prominent in Azolla than Vallisneria. The results recommended the use of A. pinnata and V. spiralis to ameliorate the industrial effluents (thermal power, chlor-alkali and coal mine effluent) contaminated with Hg. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008.
Ecological insights and environmental threats of invasive alien plant Chromolaena odorata: Prospects for sustainable management
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2024) Prabhat Kumar Rai; Jamuna S. Singh
The Anthropocene witnessed the landscape spread of several invasive alien plants which can remarkably influence the ecosystem services and environmental sustainability. To this end, Chromolaena odorata (Asteraceae) is widely identified among top hundred pervasive invaders in view of its adverse influence on environment, agriculture, and wildlife. The adverse effects of C. odorata can further be exacerbated under the event of invasion interaction with other anthropogenic stressors such as climate change. Nevertheless, there exists dearth of pragmatic studies on invasion ecology, socio-economic impacts, ecological economics, and sustainable management prospects of C. odorata. The present review discusses the invasion ecology, distribution, mechanisms, impacts, and management strategies of C. odorata invasion. The side-effects and unsustainable use of traditional control measures (e.g., controlled fire and chemical herbicides) of C. odorata paves the way to biological control methods (e.g., gall fly). However, the control measures of C. odorata need to be assessed for their long-term ecosystem level effects to mitigate the possible adverse environmental responses. The wise application of C. odorata biomass in marginal lands for soil fertility restoration, biosorption, biorefinery, bio-medicine, and bioenergy in conjunction with ecological control measures can cover economic incentive to facilitate sustainable management of C. odorata in forestry/agroforestry systems. Nevertheless, the use of weed biomass as feedstock in biorefinery and ethno-medicine may be inadequate in reducing its invasion. Future studies should explicitly elucidate the ecological mechanisms of C. odorata in concert with the quest for its field-scale application in biorefinery to augment sustainable management. © 2024 Weed Science Society of Japan.
Ecological Mechanisms and Weed Biology of World's Worst Invasive Alien Plant Mikania micrantha: Policy Measures for Sustainable Management
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2025) Prabhat Kumar Rai; Jamuna Sharan Singh
Invasive alien plants (IAPs) perturb biodiversity, ecosystem services, rural livelihood, and human health/well-being. To this end, the harmful effects of Mikania micrantha established it as worst global IAP. Nevertheless, finitude of past studies on invasion ecology, weed biology, and management aspects of M. micrantha paves the way to systematically review this IAP for holistic knowledge, inextricably linked with policy formulations. Henceforth, present systematic review aims to provide a critical assessment of previous studies, underscore the knowledge gaps, and synthesize the current pragmatic research advances on M. micrantha for elucidating management options. Standard methods were used to collect the literary evidences on multiple thematic aspects linked with its biology and management. Results revealed the substantial harmful impacts of M. micrantha on ecosystems, ascribed to multiple physiological, biochemical, molecular, and genetic mechanisms. Further, multitude of plant traits such as rapid stem elongation and efficient reproductive strategies imposed serious challenges in control of M. micrantha. Deployment of traditional control methods in conjunction with exploring the beneficial biorefinery and human health prospects of M. micrantha may help in its confinement. Nevertheless, the research on beneficial prospects associated with its biomass utilization are still narrow to endure field-scale and long-term management. In conclusion, policy measures like strict biosecurity/legal regulations, explicit elucidation of weed biology, early detection and response, ecological modeling, and “integrated weed management” with community participation can expand the horizon of M. micrantha control and help achieve its sustainable management, concomitantly buttressing the United Nation's “Sustainable Development Goals” and “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.”. © 2025 Weed Science Society of Japan.
Invasive alien plant species: Their impact on environment, ecosystem services and human health
(Elsevier B.V., 2020) Prabhat Kumar Rai; J.S. Singh
Ecological perturbations caused by biotic invasion have been identified as a growing threat to global sustainability. Invasive alien plants species (IAPS) are considered to be one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss and thereby altering the ecosystem services and socio-economic conditions through different mechanisms. Although the ecological impacts of IAPS are well documented, there is a dearth of studies regarding their economic quantification, livelihood considerations, biotechnological prospects (phytoremediation, bioenergy, phyto-synthesis of nanoparticles, biomedical, industrial applications etc.) and human health risk assessments of IAPS. In this context, the current panoramic review aimed to investigate the environmental, socio-ecological and health risks posed by IAPS as well as the compounded impact of IAPS with habitat fragmentation, climate and land use changes. To this end, the need of an integrated trans-disciplinary research is emphasized for the sustainable management of IAPS. The management prospects can be further strengthened through their linkage with geo-spatial technologies (remote sensing and GIS) by mapping and monitoring the IAPS spread. Further, the horizon of IAPS management is expanded to ecological indicator perspectives of IAPS, biosecurity, and risk assessment protocols with critical discussion. Moreover, positive as well as negative implications of the IAPS on environment, health, ecosystem services and socio-economy (livelihood) are listed so that a judicious policy framework could be developed for the IAPS management in order to mitigate the human health implications. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd
Magnetic properties of vehicle-derived particulates and amelioration by Ficus infectoria: A keystone species
(Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2005) Sudhir Kumar Pandey; B.D. Tripathi; Santosh Kumar Prajapati; Virendra Kumar Mishra; Alka Rani Upadhyaya; Prabhat Kumar Rai; Atul Prakash Sharma
[No abstract available]
Microbial contamination in vegetables due to irrigation with partially treated municipal wastewater in a tropical city
(2007) Prabhat Kumar Rai; B.D. Tripathi
A total of 144 samples of water used for irrigation were collected from Dinapur, DLW sewage treatment plant and river water of Ganga at Rajghat and 258 irrigated vegetable samples were collected from nearby agricultural fields in the close vicinity of three treatment plants and examined using standard procedures for coliform and viable counts and the presence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Clostridium and Vibrio during the winter and rainy seasons. Irrigation water from Rajghat drain had significantly higher coliform counts by location and season than the water from the Dinapur and DLW. Although all the vegetables had coliform counts higher than the recommended standard (range 3.40-6.38 log10 cfuml-1), spinach and cabbage had significantly higher (p < 0.05) counts compared to other vegetables during the dry season. Salmonella was significantly more likely to be detected during the rainy season than during the dry season. Contaminated vegetable intake may pose a serious threat to human health. © 2007 Taylor & Francis.
Plant invasion in protected areas, the Indian Himalayan region, and the North East India: progress and prospects
(Springer Nature, 2021) Prabhat Kumar Rai; J.S. Singh
Global biodiversity is not uniformly distributed in terms of species richness. The global and national protected areas (PAs), the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) and the North East (NE) India, are extremely rich in plant biodiversity, contributing to the environment and the socio-economy/livelihood prospects, linked with human health or well-being. However, the anthropogenic disturbances have modified the vegetation structure of PAs, IHR, and NE India, such that the pristine landscapes are now ripe for the encroachment of invasive alien plants (IAPs). The plants invasions is now increasingly being realised as a major threat to biodiversity globally and the ecologically sensitive mountain ecosystems are no exception. The abrupt spread of IAP in these regions can significantly exacerbate the biodiversity conservation problems, as these regions are already faced with challenges of habitat fragmentation and climate change. Also, the complex interactions among the plants invasion, habitat destruction and climate change can further impose a challenge to the restoration ecologists. Interestingly, the invading plants are equipped with several species or site or habitat-specific adaptive mechanisms like the presence of allelochemicals as novel weapons that facilitate their landscape spread and ecological dynamics. This review describes the theories or hypotheses which may account for the accelerated IAPs spread in IHR, NE India and PAs. The research progress in IHR and NE India is discussed with respect to worst invaders like Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, Ageratum conyzoides, Parthenium hysterophorus, Mikania micrantha, etc. In this respect, the outcome of preliminary research in NE India to identify the dominant invaders through quantitative methods is also mentioned. Lastly, the management strategies are described to mitigate the IAPs hazards for sustainable biodiversity conservation. © 2021, Indian National Science Academy.