Browsing by Author "Rishikesh Singh"

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A critical review on the research trends and emerging technologies for arsenic decontamination from water
(Elsevier B.V., 2021) Pardeep Singh; Anwesha Borthakur; Rishikesh Singh; Rahul Bhadouria; Vipin Kumar Singh; Pooja Devi
To understand the current research output on arsenic (As) removal and research related to the As contamination, a bibliometric analysis based on Scopus database was carried out. The analysis includes the research covering the leading countries and year wise literature outputs. Bibliometric analysis revealed increasing trend in research published on As removal (more than 1200 articles) using physico-chemical methods during 1995 onwards and United States of America (USA) as leading contributor. Among different research institutions, Chinese Academy of Sciences has contributed maximally to research articles reaching up to 950 and maximum 635 research articles were published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology with respect to As removal using physico-chemical methods. With respect to As removal using biological methods, around 400 research articles were recorded during 1995 onwards and maximum article contribution (1052) was registered for China followed by USA (964). Based on Scopus data 2021, maximum 222 articles on As removal using biological methods were recorded for the journal ‘Chemosphere’. The present review emphasizes on currently available physico-chemical as well as emerging treatment processes for the removal of As, generally occurring as arsenite and arsenate, from drinking water. It has been suggested by various studies that a combination of low-cost physico-chemical treatment methodologies like ion exchange, reverse osmosis, precipitation, filtration and adsorption along with biological methods can be a safe alternative for As removal from drinking water. Overall, the study suggests that there is a strong need for further research on efficient processes involving lab to land approaches for As removal from groundwater in order to reduce the toxicity and contamination of As in drinking water. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
A global review of rubber plantations: Impacts on ecosystem functions, mitigations, future directions, and policies for sustainable cultivation
(Elsevier B.V., 2021) Ashutosh Kumar Singh; Wenjie Liu; Sissou Zakari; Junen Wu; Bin Yang; Xiao Jin Jiang; Xiai Zhu; Xin Zou; Wanjun Zhang; Chunfeng Chen; Rishikesh Singh; Arun Jyoti Nath
The growing global need for latex is driving rubber plantation (RP) expansion since the last century, with >2 Mha of cultivation area being established in the last decade. Southeast Asia is the hotspot for rubber cultivation at other land-use costs. Although rubber cultivation has improved the economic status of farmers, it has altered the habitat's ecology and ecosystem functions (EF). However, studies on the impacts of RP on EF are limited, and a clear overview is not available. To bridge this gap, we conducted an inclusive review of the EF of RP, including soil carbon storage, aboveground biomass (AGB) and belowground biomass (BGB), litter production and decomposition, respiration, and biodiversity (plants, animals, soil fauna, and microbes). We compared the EF in RP (monoculture) with those in forests because the conversion of forests to RP is prevalent in the tropics and because most RP studies used forests as reference ecosystems. We found RP generally have lower EF than forests. The impacts of RP on some EF are more severe (e.g., AGB, BGB, and plant diversity), causing decreases of >55%, and the effects are consistently negative irrespective of plantation age. However, including agroforestry or polyculture, integrated pest management, cover cropping, mulching, and composting can improve the EF in RP to some extent. We highlighted research gaps, particularly substantial research gaps concerning the influence of plant diversity treatments (i.e., agroforestry) performed in RP on EF. Additionally, more empirical data on the significance of spatial and temporal levels are required, such as how the impact on EF could vary with climate and RP age, as we showed some examples where EF differs spatially and temporally. More importantly, further research on plantation management to offset EF losses is needed. Finally, we emphasized knowledge gaps and suggested future directions and policies for improving EF in RP. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
A new insight into the warming potential of organically amended agro-ecosystems
(Springer Netherlands, 2018) Pratap Srivastava; Rishikesh Singh; Sachchidanand Tripathi; Hema Singh; Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi; Pradeep Kumar Mishra
Organic fertilization enhances the global warming potential of the soil, which is primarily attributed to higher CO2 emission from the soil. However, long-term studies under organic fertilization to observe its impact on soil’s warming potential with respect to CO2 efflux are limited in the dry tropical ecosystem. Therefore, we observed the changes in soil organic matter (C, N), soil CO2 efflux (SCE), soil moisture, microbial biomass C, and dehydrogenase activity in the plots under 1, 3, 5, and 10 years of organic fertilization, designated as OM1, OM3, OM5, and OM10, respectively. Also, a nearby native forest was taken as a standard reference system (NF) in the present study for comparative purpose. We observed that organic fertilization significantly (P ≤ 0.05) increased soil organic carbon (SOC), soil organic nitrogen (SON), SCE, moisture, microbial biomass C, and dehydrogenase activity, whereas decreased the SOC/SON ratio after 10 years, which also approached closer to NF. However, only the plots under 10 years of organic fertilization showed SCE significantly (P ≤ 0.05) similar to NF. It indicates that long-term organic fertilization is required for the improvement in soil properties. SCE showed a significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher value (on average, by 61%) in OM10 site as compared to OM1. However, SCE on unit C basis (SCER) showed no change (P > 0.05). This increase in SCE after 10 years of organic fertilization might be attributed to the significant (P ≤ 0.05) increase in SOC, soil moisture, microbial biomass C, and dehydrogenase activity. However, no change in SCER after 10 years shows that organic fertilization has possibly been misinterpreted with respect to their impact on soil’s global warming potential. It might be attributed to the C protective nature of the organic fertilization. Overall, our results contradict with the often publicized higher warming potential of the organically amended systems. This indicates that organic fertilization does not increase the soil’s global warming potential, which is often misrepresented because SCE is not observed with respect to the existing SOC content. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
Agriculture in the era of climate change: Consequences and effects
(Elsevier, 2019) Rahul Bhadouria; Rishikesh Singh; Vipin Kumar Singh; Anwesha Borthakur; Arif Ahamad; Gaurav Kumar; Pardeep Singh
The changing environmental conditions, especially global warming and climate variability, are major concerns and have an adverse impact over the future of agriculture. The changing climate has become a global issue which needs rapid policy development at national and international levels. The melting of massive Himalayan glaciers would considerably change the impact of temperature regimes which is necessary for blossoming of several crop plants. Thus, the current generation needs to find solutions to combat the negative impacts of environmental consequences on agricultural crops. Useful strategies include the conservation of the world’s huge biodiversity together with other natural resources. Modifications in currently used agricultural practices and the search for new plant species tolerant to different abiotic and biotic environmental stresses could help to mitigate the negative impact of climate change. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
An urgent need for sustainable thinking in agriculture - An Indian scenario
(Elsevier B.V., 2016) Pratap Srivastava; Rishikesh Singh; Sachchidanand Tripathi; Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
This article emphasizes on the present urgent need to think in "Holistic Dimensions" to achieve a sustainable agro-ecosystem. In this respect, the complex network of dynamic interactions in the agro-ecosystem soil at spatiotemporal dimensions holds crucial importance. It reflects the inherent tendency of dynamic ecosystems to achieve a more efficient state successively through improved interactions. The short-sighted and inefficient agro-management during Green Revolution decades has been detrimental to these interactions in agricultural soils, which is widely evident by its boomerang effects (i.e. declining efficiency, productivity and multi-functionality). It jeopardized the internal regulation in our agro-ecosystem's functioning by erosion of efficiency building interactions among biotic and abiotic components. Therefore, a bottom-up as well as top-down approach in the soil management is required to restore and sustain the unaccounted but indispensible ecological subsidies for sustainable agriculture and development, globally. We propose a "commercial ecological agriculture" which should be an amalgamation of sustainable agricultural practices and supported by a progressive co-ordination among all the stakeholders via participatory learning and adaptation with time. It should be least-disturbing, resilience-building, resource (i.e. energy and nutrient) use efficient, site-specific, labor and skill-intensive, low-input, diversified and integrated, and intimately harmonized with nature. It may potentially provide us agricultural sustainability with time in real sense. It would be primarily based on management of interactions indirectly through identification of integrative variables as surrogate, which may help to achieve internal regulation or self-reliance in agroecosystems. Further, it would be helpful to eliminate the widening socio-economic divide and in mitigation of global change in environment (i.e. air, water and soil) and climate. Additionally, it would improve and restore the multifaceted potential of soil, thus quality and productivity, through improved internal regulation on resource-use efficiency. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Assessment of ground and surface water quality along the river Varuna, Varanasi, India
(Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2015) Pardeep Singh; R.K. Chaturvedi; Ankit Mishra; Lata Kumari; Rishikesh Singh; D.B. Pal; Deen Dayal Giri; Nand Lal Singh; Dhanesh Tiwary; Pradeep Kumar Mishra
Multivariate statistical techniques were employed for monitoring of ground-surface water interactions in rivers. The river Varuna is situated in the Indo-Gangetic plain and is a small tributary of river Ganga. The study area was monitored at seven sampling sites for 3 years (2010–12), and eight physio-chemical parameters were taken into account for this study. The data obtained were analysed by multivariate statistical techniques so as to reveal the underlying implicit information regarding proposed interactions for the relevant area. The principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA), and the results of correlations were also studied for all parameters monitored at every site. Methods used in this study are essentially multivariate statistical in nature and facilitate the interpretation of data so as to extract meaningful information from the datasets. The PCA technique was able to compress the data from eight to three parameters and captured about 78.5 % of the total variance by performing varimax rotation over the principal components. The varifactors, as yielded from PCA, were treated by CA which grouped them convincingly into three groups having similar characteristics and source of contamination. Moreover, the loading of variables on significant PCs showed correlations between various ground water and surface water (GW-SW) parameters. The correlation coefficients calculated for various physiochemical parameters for ground and surface water established the correlations between them. Thus, this study presents the utility of multivariate statistical techniques for evaluation of the proposed interactions and effective future monitoring of potential sites. © 2015, Springer International Publishing Switzerland.
Biological degradation of toluene by indigenous bacteria Acinetobacter junii CH005 isolated from petroleum contaminated sites in India
(Joint Center on Global Change and Earth System Science of the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University, 2018) Pardeep Singh; Vipin Kumar Singh; Rishikesh Singh; Anwesha Borthakur; Ajay Kumar; Dhanesh Tiwary; P.K. Mishra
The bacterium Acinetobacter junii was isolated from petroleum-contaminated site in India and tested for its efficiency in degradation of toluene under aerobic condition. Within pH range 4–9, the optimum pH for toluene biodegradation was found to be 7.5. With increase in time, there was enhancement in degradation of toluene. Pure culture of Acinetobacter junii was able to degrade 69, 73 and 80% of 150, 100, and 50 ppm toluene, respectively, within 72 h at 37 °C. Simultaneous growth and degradation of toluene by the bacterium indicated the utilization of toluene as carbon source. After 72 h of treatment, toluene biodegradation was nearly stable. Scanning electron microscopic characterization of bacterial cells treated with toluene revealed the changes in surface morphology. Some of the cylindrical cells of bacterium got transformed into ovoid and spherical shape to escape the toluene toxicity. Degradation intermediates were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy. The major intermediate compounds identified after toluene degradation by bacteria were 1-isopropenyl-4-methyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene; 1,3-Cyclohexadiene; 2-methyl-5-(1-methylethyl); 4-methoxycarbonyl-4-butanolide; and vinyl (2E,4E)-2,4-hexadienoate, which are less-toxic in nature. The degradation of toluene into non-toxic intermediate compounds as well as the growth in the presence of toluene presents the suitability of Acinetobacter junii in biofiltration of toluene-containing petroleum waste. © 2018, Joint Center on Global Change and Earth System Science of the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
Bioremediation: A sustainable approach for management of environmental contaminants
(Elsevier, 2019) Pardeep Singh; Vipin Kumar Singh; Rishikesh Singh; Anwesha Borthakur; Sughosh Madhav; Arif Ahamad; Ajay Kumar; Dan Bahadur Pal; Dhanesh Tiwary; P.K. Mishra
The release of various inorganic and organic chemicals from various industries such as petrochemicals, textiles, pharmaceuticals, agro-based industries, and tanneries is highly toxic to the environment and human health. Several processes and technologies such as physical, chemical, and advanced oxidation processes are available for treatment of these pollutants. However, these processes and technologies have their own limitations and the end products are also of toxic nature. Therefore, there is a need for identifying and exploring sustainable and eco-friendly methods which require a lesser amount of chemicals, are economically feasible, and produce nontoxic end products. The bioremediation approaches to clean up environmental pollutants are considered as emerging and sustainable methods recently. Bioremediation process is based on an integrated approach employing microbial communities such as actinomycetes, bacteria, fungi, and earthworms. It is considered as a sustainable process for management of organic pollutants-rich solid wastes and wastewater. Many microorganisms metabolize toxic chemicals to produce CO2 or CH4, water, and biomass. These pollutants may be enzymatically altered to metabolites that are less noxious or innocuous. Moreover, the solid residue generated in this process has been found to have a potential influence on soil macro- and micronutrients, indicating its application as organic manure. However, bioremediation technique required more research for its establishment at a larger scale with an emphasis on the environmental consequences of the end products. In this chapter, we have performed a literature survey based on biological methods for the management of organic pollutants. Microbes responsible for degradation processes have also been presented in the later part of the chapter. In this chapter, a thorough understanding of the bioremediation processes and methods applied for abatement and remediation of organic pollutants has been described in detail. © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Challenges and opportunities for agricultural sustainability in changing climate scenarios: a perspective on Indian agriculture
(Springer, 2019) Rishikesh Singh; Hema Singh; A.S. Raghubanshi
Increasing population and related food demand always remain the most imperative challenges for the developing world. It could only be attained by an increased agricultural production based on external inputs like mineral fertilizers and pesticides during the twentieth century. The green revolution-based modern agricultural practices have resulted in the substantial increase in grain yield at the cost of natural resource degradation. The externalisation of agriculture led to a considerable decline in soil fertility and environmental resilience. It calls for a different approach which should educate the farmers to utilise their traditional knowledge to produce more grains using less external inputs. This approach is known as sustainable agriculture which is the need of the hour, at present. The sustainable agriculture practices are derived from the amalgamation of traditionally adapted healthy practices with a modern development of agricultural systems. Thus, sustainable agricultural practices are supposed to be resource-conservative and resilient to the present climate change scenario. Moreover, a higher proportion of traditional inputs either in the form of resources or the knowledge may encompass the socio-economic balance among different societies. In this review, a brief insight has been given on the concept of sustainable agriculture, its need in the present scenario and a critical assessment in terms of challenges and opportunities for overall sustainability in developing nations by considering India as a model country. How the integration of traditional knowledge and modern agriculture practices will improve the agricultural productivity, soil quality and health as well as socio-economic balance, has also been discussed in terms of research opportunities. © 2019, International Society for Tropical Ecology.
Combined application of biochar and farmyard manure reduces wheat crop eco-physiological performance in a tropical dryland agro-ecosystem
(Joint Center on Global Change and Earth System Science of the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University, 2020) Rishikesh Singh; Pratap Srivastava; Rahul Bhadouria; Abhinav Yadav; Hema Singh; Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
Combined application of biochar and organic fertilizer has been widely recommended for improving soil bio-physical properties. However, detailed exploration of combined application on crop eco-physiological performance is limited. In this study, we explored the agronomic and eco-physiological responses of wheat crop grown under different combinations of rice-husk ash (RHA/biochar), farmyard manure (FYM) and chemical fertilizers in a silty loam soil. Aboveground biomass varied significantly across the treatments and was found higher (11–31%) under chemical fertilizer-applied treatments, but lower (6%) under sole RHA-applied treatment as compared to control. Crop eco-physiological parameters varied significantly (at P < 0.01) with the treatment and crop growth stages. Sole chemical fertilizer- and FYM-applied treatments showed better (5–26% higher), whereas sole RHA- and combined RHA + FYM-applied treatments showed poor (2–15% lower) photosynthetic rate as compared to control. Ear length was moderately correlated (r = 0.53) with aboveground biomass and explained 27% of the variability in it. Transpiration rate, intercellular CO2 concentration and water-use efficiency (WUEp) were identified as the major determinants of photosynthetic rate during vegetative and maturity growth stages. WUEp along with transpiration rate was found to explain 94% of the variability in photosynthetic rate for overall dataset. The findings suggest that combined RHA + FYM amendment may limit crop agronomic and eco-physiological performance due to nutrient immobilization. Therefore, combined application of RHA + FYM with chemical fertilizer application at reduced rate can be suggested for improving crop eco-physiological and agronomic responses under the sustainable agriculture practices in silty loam soils of tropical dryland agro-ecosystems. © 2020, The Joint Center on Global Change and Earth System Science of the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University.
Comparative study of dye degradation using TiO2-activated carbon nanocomposites as catalysts in photocatalytic, sonocatalytic, and photosonocatalytic reactor
(Taylor and Francis Inc., 2016) Pardeep Singh; M.C. Vishnu; Karan Kumar Sharma; Rishikesh Singh; Sughosh Madhav; Dhanesh Tiwary; Pradeep Kumar Mishra
In the present study, activated carbon-based TiO2 nanocomposites with carbon loading were synthesized by sol–gel method for photocatalytic, sonocatalytic, and sonophotocatalytic degradation of colored compound in wastewater. The prepared catalysts were characterized by Brunauer–Emmet–Teller surface area analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared analysis (FT-IR). The degradation efficiencies of the synthesized composites were determined by the degradation of Direct Blue-199 dye under three different reactors viz., photocatalytic, sonocatalytic, and sonophotocatalytic. Reaction kinetic modeling was done for these processes and the degradation rate was found maximum for sonophotocatalytic process as compared to individual ones. However, on considering the energy efficiency and degradation efficiency, photochemical reactor was found to be most economical. Therefore, for the treatment of wastewater-containing dye from industries, a photocatalytic process can be applied with further modification. © 2015 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.
Compatible package-based agriculture systems: an urgent need for agro-ecological balance and climate change adaptation
(Higher Education Press Limited Company, 2022) Rishikesh Singh; Tanu Kumari; Pramit Verma; Bhupinder Pal Singh; Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
Besides contributing majorly in the growth of a country, agriculture is one of the severely affected sectors at present. Several modifications and adaptations are being made in agricultural practices to cope-up with the declining soil fertility and changing climate scenarios across the world. However, the development and adoption of a single agricultural practice may not help in the holistic mitigation of the impacts of climate change and may result in economic vulnerability to farmers. Therefore, it is high time to develop and recommend a group of agricultural practices i.e., package-based agriculture system having some compatibility for one another in the long term. In this article, a viewpoint has been given on some emergent agronomic practices adopted in the tropical agro-ecosystems which have potential to be developed as compatible agricultural package in combination. Moreover, we also emphasized on exploring some key indicators/environmental factors to assess the compatibility of different agronomic practices. For identifying the research transition from single to combined agricultural practices, a bibliometric analysis was performed by using conservation agriculture (CA), the system of rice intensification (SRI), organic agriculture and soil (biochar) amendment as the major agronomic practices being used for improving agro-ecological services such as improving nutrient cycling, soil fertility and crop productivity as well as climate change mitigation. The results revealed that scientific communities are now paying attention to exploring the role of combined agricultural practices for agro-ecological balance and climate change adaptation. Moreover, the limitations of the adoption of agronomic packages under different agro-climatic zones have also been highlighted. The recommendations of the study would further help the environmental decision-makers to develop potential measures for climate change mitigation without compromising the agro-ecological balance. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2021, Higher Education Press.
Critical assessment and future dimensions for the urban ecological systems
(Elsevier, 2020) Pramit Verma; Rishikesh Singh; Pardeep Singh; A.S. Raghubanshi
This chapter indicates that there is a dire need for a comprehensive book on urban ecological studies, which holistically addresses emerging concepts of urbanization and compiles an all-inclusive account of development in its various themes. In this chapter, we have applied bibliometric analysis to assess the state of research in the past 10 years. Furthermore, the conceptual structure, density and centrality of the major themes were explored, which revealed that the current research may be organized into Ecology of Cities, Ecology in Cities and Management and Sustainability. The major challenges faced in these broad categories were described based on the review of literature, and their possible solutions were also highlighted. It was found that transdisciplinary approach with coproduction of research activities is the essential requirement for the Urban Ecology at present time. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.
Current and emerging trends in bioremediation of petrochemical waste: A review
(Taylor and Francis Inc., 2017) Pardeep Singh; Rajat Jain; Neha Srivastava; Anwesha Borthakur; D.B. Pal; Rishikesh Singh; Sughosh Madhav; Pratap Srivastava; Dhanesh Tiwary; Pradeep Kumar Mishra
Various industries release harmful petrochemical contaminants into the environment. To treat these petrochemical contaminants at source, different physical, chemical, and biological methods have been proposed and applied worldwide. However, physical and chemical methods have their own advantages and limitations; in this review, we majorly focused on the biodegradation of petrochemical wastes. First, a background study on the literature available in this field is presented. Second is a review of the toxic effects of petrochemical waste and various physical and chemical processes, followed by elaborate biological processes available for petrochemical waste degradation. Further, different aspects of bioremediation, such as modes, factors, limitations, and future perspectives are critically reviewed and presented. It was found that most of the studies performed on bioremediation of petrochemical waste employed bacteria for the degradation purpose. Some studies also made use of algae, fungi, yeast, genetically modified organisms, biosurfactants, or a consortium of these microbes. Moreover, use of bioremediation is still limited at field scale due to certain limitations, which have been elaborated in this article. Overall, we strongly believe that with bioremediation capturing the attention of environmentalists worldwide, there is still a prevailing need to scale up from lab to land level applications and adaptations. © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Effect of anthropogenic disturbance on biomass allocation to different above- and below-ground vegetation components of a dry tropical forest in India
(Springer Nature, 2024) Manutai Thakrey; Lalji Singh; Rishikesh Singh; Shalini Toppo; J.S. Singh
Biotic and anthropogenic disturbances are mediating changes in species diversity and vegetation composition in different regions of the world. Such changes may affect plant biomass allocation patterns in different tree components and vegetation types. To assess the impact of anthropogenic disturbances such as grazing, lopping, harvesting of non-wood forest products, fuel wood and fodder collections on biomass allocation to different components of the vegetation, two study sites i.e., one undisturbed site and the other a disturbed site located in the Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, Chhattisgarh were selected. Biomass allocation was measured by placing ten (10 m × 10 m) quadrats randomly, at both the forest sites (i.e., disturbed and undisturbed). Based on the regression equations relating tree circumference to dry weight of components (viz., bole, branch, leaf, and root), biomass of different vegetation components (i.e., above- and below-ground) was measured. Total biomass (above- and below-ground, including herbaceous shoots and litter mass) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher on the undisturbed site (360.38 t ha−1) compared to the disturbed site (113.99 t ha−1). Among different above-ground components, most of the biomass was allocated to branches followed by bole and leaf. Above-ground biomass ranged between 76.47 and 270.87 t ha−1 with higher value at undisturbed forest site and the lower at the disturbed forest site. The below-ground biomass varied between 37.52 and 89.51 t ha−1, and like above-ground biomass it was also higher at the undisturbed forest site and lower at the disturbed forest site. A higher (~ 8%) biomass allocation to below-ground component was observed at the disturbed site, compared to the undisturbed site. Moreover, the proportion of biomass in the herb layer was higher at the disturbed site compared to the undisturbed site. Based on the results of present study, it can be concluded that under the disturbed conditions plants allocate major portion of the biomass to the below-ground and herbaceous components in the tropical dry deciduous ecosystems. © Indian National Science Academy 2024.
Effect of Engineered Nanoparticles on Soil Attributes and Potential in Reclamation of Degraded Lands
(Springer Nature, 2021) Vipin Kumar Singh; Rishikesh Singh; Ajay Kumar; Rahul Bhadouria
Rapid upsurge in the discipline of nanoscience and technology has led to emergence of myriads of nanoparticles. Apart from substantial application in medicine, textile, food science, and environmental technology, nanoparticles have received considerable application and immense opportunities in agricultural practices. Given the inherent potential, nanoparticle based on zinc, iron, manganese, copper, titanium, and mixtures thereof has been successfully employed in agricultural lands. Although negative consequences of nanoparticle application are well recognized, the judicious application of various nanoparticles in agriculture could improve the soil productivity in a better way in contrast to currently used strategies. Therefore, assessment of soil attributes may provide important insight on possible threats of nanoparticles in agro-ecosystem. The modulation in characteristics like pH, moisture content, soil organic matter, nutrient and mineral composition, microbial attributes, fauna and enzymatic activities to a great extent after the introduction of nanoparticle in agroecosystem is documented. Unprecedented rise in agricultural technologies and accelerated application of agrochemicals are the important phenomena responsible for massive degradation of agricultural lands worldwide causing decline in crop productivity. Nanotechnology could provide important platform for efficient restoration of degraded land areas. This chapter has reviewed on application of engineered nanoparticles in (a) improving agricultural productivity, (b) important techniques for nanoparticle quantification, (c) impact on soil characteristics, and (d) potential in management of degraded lands. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Effect of nanoscale TiO 2 -activated carbon composite on Solanum lycopersicum (L.) and Vigna radiata (L.) seeds germination
(Joint Center on Global Change and Earth System Science of the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University, 2016) Pardeep Singh; Rishikesh Singh; Anwesha Borthakur; Pratap Srivastava; Neha Srivastava; Dhanesh Tiwary; Pradeep Kumar Mishra
The extensive use of nanoparticles under different industrial processes and their release into the environment are of major concerns in the present global scenario. In the present study, the effects of activated carbon-based TiO 2 (AC-TiO 2 ) nano-composite on the seed germination of Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) and Vigna radiata (mungbean) were investigated. The size of nanoparticles used in the study ranged from 30 to 50 nm, and their concentrations were from 0 to 500 mg L −1 . The composites were synthesized by sol–gel method and further characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Energy-dispersive X-rays spectroscopy (EDX), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to investigate all the surface structural and chemical properties of AC-TiO 2 nano-composite. The results showed that increase in nano-composite concentration improves the germination rate and reduces germination time up to a certain concentration. Therefore, employing AC-TiO 2 nano-composites in suitable concentration may promote the seed germination and also reduce the germination time in Solanum lycopersicum and Vigna radiata. Further, it may help to understand the interface of TiO 2 nanoparticles with the environment and agriculture before its application to the field. © 2016, Joint Center on Global Change and Earth System Science of the University of Maryland and Beijing Normal University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
Effect of rainfall variability on tree phenology in moist tropical deciduous forests
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2022) Pramit Verma; Priyanshi Tiwari; Rishikesh Singh; Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
Plants in their life cycle go through a series of life processes. These phenological changes are influenced by different climatic conditions. Abiotic factors like temperature, precipitation, and photoperiodism affect the onset and offset of particular phenophase in the plant periodic cycle. In this study, we tested the influence of precipitation on the forest phenology at two sites of Dudhwa National Park (DNP), Uttar Pradesh and Simlipal National Park (SNP), Odisha, India. DNP and SNP receive an annual average rainfall of 1093.5 mm and 1500 mm, respectively, of which most rainfall (~ 90%) occurs during June–September. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was measured for 2 years 2015 and 2018, with 2015 being a drought year and 2018 being a normal rainfall year. NDVI was analyzed at different temporal scales of months, season, and years using the t test (Welch’s two-tailed) and General Linear Mixed Model (GLMM). Effect of drought (2015) and normal (2018) rainfall year was not significant at both the sites, whereas season, year*season interaction, season*rainfall interaction, and year*season*rainfall interaction were found significant at DNP (P < 0.05, ICC = 0.68, marginal R2 = 0.81; conditional R2 = 0.94). At SNP, rainfall, year, season, and their interaction were non-significant, whereas several months showed a significant effect on the NDVI values for both sites. Winter and monsoon season in DNP, and post-monsoon season in SNP, showed a significant effect on the NDVI patterns. Thus, the effect of precipitation stress in the deciduous forests was evident at small intervals of observation. Tree phenology compensated for differences when observed from a higher temporal scale of a year. There existed a mechanism in trees to tide over adverse conditions and maintain the phenology over longer intervals of time. The resilience and vulnerability of such forest ecosystems against abiotic factors and extreme events would be instrumental in climate change adaptation strategies. Tree phenology can be used as an indicator of forest health and resilience. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Effects of cocoa pod husk biochar on growth of cocoa seedlings in Southeast Sulawesi-Indonesia
(Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2018) Andi Bahrun; Muhammad Yunus Fahimuddin; La Ode Safuan; Laode Muhammad Harjoni Kilowasid; Rishikesh Singh
Background andObjective: High quality cocoa seedlings can be produced by improving soil fertility of the plant growing media through application of biochar during the nursery growing period. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of cocoa pod husk (CPH) biochar on soil temperature, soil moisture and growth attributes of cocoa seedlings. Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted in the glasshouse of Agricultural Faculty, Halu Oleo University, Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. The experimental design was a randomized block design with seven levels of cocoa pod husk (CPH) biochar (i.e., without biochar (control), 3 g of CPH biochar kg-1 soil, 6 g of CPH biochar kg-1 soil, 9 g of CPH biochar kg-1 soil, 12 g of CPH biochar kg-1 soil, 15 g of CPH biochar kg-1 soil and 18 g of CPH biochar kg-1 soil in 3 replications. Data were analyzed by using two way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Duncan's multiple range test with an error rate of 5% (p < 0.05). Results: The CPH biochar significantly increased soil temperature, soil moisture, soil fertility and cocoa seedling growth.Theapplication of CPH biochar kg-1 increased soil pH,soil-C,PandCEC (cation exchange capacity). Cocoa seedling growth was significantly improved by CPH biochar and a rate of 9 g CPH biochar kg-1 soil showed the best results in cocoa seedlings in terms of increased seedling height, number of leaves, leaf area and shoot dry weight by 20.99,26.62,75.63 and 78.36%, respectively, as compared to control. Conclusion:Therefore,CPH biochar has the potential to improve soil temperature, soil moisture, soil pH, soil organic-C, P, CECand cocoa seedling growth, however, the amount of CPH biochar material applied should be considered. © 2018 Andi Bahrun et al.
Effects of grass competition on tree seedlings growth under different light and nutrient availability conditions in tropical dry forests in India
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2020) Rahul Bhadouria; Pratap Srivastava; Rishikesh Singh; Sachchidanand Tripathi; Pramit Verma; Akhilesh Singh Raghubanshi
The interactive effects of light, nutrient availability and grass competition on seedlings of four tropical dry forest tree species, namely, Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana), arjun (Terminalia arjuna), gum arabic (Acacia nilotica) and catechu (Acacia catechu), were evaluated in an experimental study at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India. Full- and reduced- (20% of the full) sunlight, no-nutrient and nutrient supplementation, and presence of grass and no-grass conditions were taken in a split-plot design to observe the effects on the plant growth and leaf nutrient parameters. We observed a significant interaction between light and nutrient availability on total dry weight and relative growth rate for the tree seedlings of all the species. Seedling growth was lower in presence of grass under full sunlight condition with/without nutrient addition, and also under reduced sunlight condition with nutrient addition. However, leaf-N and -P concentration showed slight increase following nutrient addition across the species and light conditions. All the species responded positively to nutrient addition irrespective of light and grass conditions. Our study further indicates that nutrient addition under reduced light condition in tropical dry forests may be a possible strategy to ameliorate the negative impact of grasses on tree seedling growth. Overall, a better understanding of tree seedling establishment in the presence of grasses is of utmost importance for the development of management plans that may improve the diversity of tree species in tropical dry forests. © 2020 The Ecological Society of Japan