Browsing by Author "Rajeev Kumar Srivastava"

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Conservation Agriculture for Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration in the Indian Himalayan Region
(Springer Singapore, 2023) Ashish Rai; Sumit Tripathi; Ayush Bahuguna; Sumit Rai; Jitendra Rajput; Anshu Gangwar; Rajeev Kumar Srivastava; Arvind Kumar Singh; Satish Kumar Singh; Dibyanshu Shekhar; Rahul Mishra; Eetela Sathyanarayana; Supriya Pandey
Mountains the most significant agro-ecosystems that directly or indirectly support human life. The areas surrounding the hills are abundant in biodiversity and have enormous potential for sustaining Indian agriculture. It has been widely recognised that the ecological fragility and sensitivity of the Himalayas to climatic aberrations, topography, peculiar geographical features, and some of the particular identified problems, which may be soil loss, runoff, steep slopes, acidity of soils, and loss of soil nutrients, form it a very distinct region as opposed to plains in terms of socioeconomic situation. Conventional agriculture was one of the best aspects of food production during the green revolution and after India gained its independence for securing food and nutrition through intensive agricultural practices, but on the flip side, it has simultaneous effects on resource degradation and soil biodiversity. The need for food and fodder, an ever-growing population, the preservation of soil biodiversity, declining soil health, climate change, the use of unbalanced fertilisers, and decreased farm profitability all call for a paradigm shift in the agriculture sector. On the other hand, increasing the intensity of the hillside agriculture system without implementing any conservation measures greatly increases the likelihood of disastrous conditions. Conservation agriculture has long been known to improve soil health and sustain agricultural production systems by reducing environmental footprints. Between the atmosphere and the lithosphere, numerous biological and physical processes are regulated by soils. An integral aspect of soil that promotes agricultural sustainability is soil health. However, each measurement of a specific soil health parameter is always tied to a unique set of circumstances. A fundamental concern in maintaining soil health to feed an expanding population is resource conservation. Climate change is a topic of discussion on a worldwide scale in the current globalisation context. The greenhouse effect is best for life but only up to a point beyond which it becomes dangerous. Due to urbanisation, changes in land use, cropping patterns, and other factors, human influences on climate change go beyond the range of natural fluctuation. Climate change in the soil system is significantly influenced by carbon regulation in the soil. The rate of organic matter decomposition is accelerated by an increase in mean annual temperature, which affects aggregate stability, water storage capacity, and nutrient balance— all of which are crucial for healthy soil structure, soil fertility, productivity, and sustainability. In actuality, soil bacteria break down organic materials, but a change in temperature regime may change the microbial population. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
Microbes and compost: an emerging role in climate resilience agriculture
(Elsevier, 2024) Ashish Rai; Rahul Mishra; Abhik Patra; Arvind Kumar Singh; Sachin Sharma; A. Arvind; Ayush Bahuguna; Sumit Rai; Jitendra Rajput; Anshu Gangwar; Shankar Jha; Sumit Kumar Tripathi; Rajeev Kumar Srivastava; Dibyanshu Shekhar; Satish Kumar Singh; Tejaswini Kapil; Ram Babu Sharma; Supriya Rai
Microbes and their metabolic activity are crucial for a healthy and functioning soil. The rhizosphere, where plant roots and microbes mingle, is a bustling hub for nutrient cycling, energy flow, and microbial activity. Sustainable farming prioritizes nurturing these rhizospheric processes. Biofertilizers, including symbiotic and nonsymbiotic microbial partnerships, plant growth-promoting microbes, and arbuscular mycorrhizal collaborations, all play diverse roles in soil health and plant growth. Some microbes like Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Streptomyces spp. help convert insoluble phosphorus into plant available forms. Composting, is another sustainable process, transforms organic waste into valuable compost, a dual-action fertilizer and soil amendment. Microbes decompose organic matter in compost, turning it into a stable, plant-friendly material. This aerobic process breaks down easy-to-digest molecules, generating CO2 and more durable substances. Composting effectively manages organic waste, reusing nutrients, reducing volume and moisture, and breaking down harmful organics plus, intricate humic-like chemicals form, boosting soil health. Thus, understanding and nurturing the vibrant microbial world in the rhizosphere through sustainable practices like biofertilizers and composting is key to healthy soil and a thriving future for farming. © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Plastics waste management in India: An integrated solid waste management approach
(World Scientific Publishing Co., 2013) Tirthankar Banerjee; Rajeev Kumar Srivastava; Yung-Tse Hung
India has witnessed a substantial growth in the production of plastics and an increased consumption of plastic. In the absence of adequate waste collection and segregation process, the management of thewaste created by discarded used plastics items, especially ones used for packaging applications has become a challenging task. This article provides an overview of the resource recovery from plastic waste with consideration of integrated waste management (IWM), to evaluate the best possible option for tackling waste in Indian circumstances. © 2014 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. All rights reserved.