Authors:Ayesha Noor; Rizwana Khanum, Aijaz Ahmed Abstract: Chitral has diverse importance and has designated as a biodiversity hotspot of the country due to junction of Hindu Kush, Himalayan and Karakorum ranges, thus supporting maximum number of endemic plants. The conservation status of those endemic plants was assessed for three years, which have at least few points’ data as per IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria 2011, 2017and relied more on B criterion using “GeoCat” for AOO and EOO assessment. Some of the taxa were also compared with their previous status assessed ten years ago. This guideline will assist in country’s policies for conservation, threat assessment and sustainable management. Assessing a total of fifteen endemic taxa (species and subspecies), most are endemic to Chitral except Anaphalis chitralensis and Impatiens lemannii (both country’s endemic).Twelve species fall in the criteria for Endangered (EN) where as two species fall under Vulnerable (VU) and one falls in critically endangered (CE) threat category. The most CE (critically endangered) species is Astragalus commixtus with only 56 mature individuals while Astragalus erionotus, Delphinium kohatense were found to as VU (Vulnerable), rest all species like Polygonum cognatum, Plocama asperuliformus etc. are EN (Endangered). These species need immediate strategies for in-situ and ex-situ conservation for survival. PubDate: Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Ria Ghosh; Tumpa Hazra, Indranil Mukherjee, Svitlana Ushcats, Md WasimAkram, Md Athar Akram, Mohd Sayeed Ul Hasan, Tinku Biswas, Sheela Malik, Md Anzar Rabbani, Oleh Vlasenko Abstract: Dhapa, the landfill situated in Kolkata, is a very active site for municipal dumping. A humongous amount of municipal solid waste is added in this dump daily and the nearby farmlands produce a significant yield for the local population. The current study seeks to examine the environmental associated with leachate migration due to open dumping of unsorted solid waste in Dhapa, Kolkata, India. Also, the second goal of the study is to assess the risk to public health associated with the consumption of agricultural products possibly contaminated with heavy metals through soil and groundwater. The seasonal soil and groundwater sample, and samples of products grown near the landfill were collected around the periphery of Dhapa. The presence of heavy metals in the samples was determined using classical methods in a specialized laboratory. The soil and groundwater results compared to FAO/WHO, and BIS/WHO was found that toxic metal Cd, Cr, Zn, Pb & Hg were present in high concentrations. For the vegetables grown at the site fields, multiple samples were collected as multiple different vegetables are grown around the year, it was found that mainly Cd, Cr, Zn, Pb and Hg exceeding Indian permissible standards of consumptions many fold. Finally by the use of multiple indices like Average Daily Dose (ADD) & Chronic Daily Intake (CDI) along with Hazard Quotient (HQ) it was found that carcinogenic risk, on human health, was highest in the ground water and vegetables. The current study fills the gap associated with the scientific substantiation of actively developing environmental hazards at the regional level. PubDate: Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Thao Phuong Thi Do; Long Quoc Nguyen, Le Hung Trinh, Viola Vambol Abstract: The increasing interest of users in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has developed new fields of application for it. Presently, UAVs are working in so many areas and the mining industry has shown grown interest in the use of UAVs for routine operations in surface, underground mines, and mine waste dumps. In this paper, a thorough review has been performed on the application of UAVs in mine safety management. Systematic reviews were conducted to summarize the results of over 60 papers published during the 2010-2021 period. The study offers a review of the most common applications involving mine safety, the styles of flying control, and the UAV types exploited. The paper also contributes to the identification of prevalent data acquired by sensors and points out the most popular processing techniques of aerial imagery. The obtained results revealed that UAVs are used at mining sites for safety purposes including mine surface displacements, stability monitoring, working environment, coal fire identification, drill and blast, and mine waste dump operations. This research hopes to provide a technical reference, expanding the knowledge and recognition of UAV monitoring to manage mine safety, as well as an assessment of applications in mining activities. PubDate: Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Chhan Kumar Kalita; Chiranjib Mili, Mansh Jyoti Deka, Pratisha Das, Sabebaro Namo Das Abstract: The inhabitants of char areas of Kamrup district, Assam (India) have relied on medicinal plants to treat various livestock diseases. Due to the lack of proper documentation, these plants have received little attention. Therefore, studying these plant species' diversity, utilisation, and phytochemistry is crucial. By doing so, we can preserve their traditional knowledge and comprehend the possibility of using these plants to develop new drugs. The present investigation documented 30 medicinal plant species belonging to 29 genera and 22 families. These plants were used against the treatment of 12 disease categories. The families Fabaceae and Zingiberaceae, with three species for each, were dominant, while the leaf (22%) and seed (16%) were the most frequently used plant parts. The informant consensus factor (Fic) was found to be highest in neurological disorders and neglected tropical diseases (NTD) with a value of 1.0 each. In contrast, the relative frequency of citation (RFC) was found to be highest in Curcuma longa L. (0.41) and Zingiber officinale Roscoe (0.37). This study provides reliable data on medicinal plants and indigenous ethnoveterinary knowledge that could act as a reference for future researchers dealing with new drug discovery. PubDate: Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Katarzyna Łapkiewicz; Anna Cichy Abstract: Nematomorpha, also known as ‘horsehair worms’, is a poorly known group of animals that parasitize as larvae both, invertebrates and, less frequently vertebrates. There are approximately 360 species within this phylum, and previously, they were incorrectly classified as representatives of nematodes due to morphological similarity. Nematomorpha are cosmopolitan, found in fresh and salt water, and on land, usually in humid habitats. Their life cycles are simple or complex and usually associated with the phenomenon of ‘parasitic manipulation’ of the host. This term refers to parasites that can take control of their host's body and behaviour. These efforts mainly lead to the host's death in the name of parasites' survival. The level of knowledge about Nematomorpha is insufficient, as is the role of these behaviour-altering parasites in the ecosystem. This is mainly due to their relatively low species representativeness and a secretive lifestyle in which, alongside free-living adults, there are parasitic larvae. The aim of this article is a review of the literature on ‘horsehair worms’ and an attempt to determine further directions of research on this systematic group. PubDate: Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Anuradha Yadav; Shivani Shivani, Vijaya Kittu Manda, Vikramaditya Sangwan, Anna Demkiv Abstract: This research study examines the use of Blockchain technology for ecological and environmental applications. The study presents a conceptual view aided by a literature survey to identify three major Blockchain themes connecting with the research topic - Transparency and Traceability, Conservation and Incentives, and Data Management and Monitoring. The goal of the study is to use the features offered by Blockchain Technology for sustainability, ecology, and environmental applications. As this research shows, technology can help in conservation and incentive practices such as conservation finance, tokenized rewards for ecosystem services, and rewards for sustainable practices. Blockchain has good data management and monitoring practices that can help secure environmental data, monitor various environmental parameters in real time, and provide a decentralized platform/infrastructure for environmental data analytics. Findings from this study can help environmental practitioners and researchers, research bodies, and Governmental agencies keen to use technology to preserve ecology and the environment and encourage sustainable practices. PubDate: Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Sajan Thakur; Udhay Sharma, Sunit Singh , Harish Chander Dutt Abstract: Orchids are a group of plants famous for their showy and beautiful flowers. Besides their aesthetic value, these are also used traditionally for their ethnomedicinal properties. In Jammu and Kashmir, India, 21 orchid species from 17 different genera have been documented for their utilization as ethnomedicinal plants. Rhizomes and tubers of these orchids are the main plant parts to be used to cure many disorders like gastro-intestinal, skeleton-muscular, neurological and others. PubDate: Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Huong Nguyen Thi Thien; Manh Hung Bui, Andrzej Nienartowicz, Hai Dong Thanh, Dung Nguyen Quoc, Siu A, Vy Tran Huu, Lynn Smith Abstract: Indigenous knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of local people are very important concepts for wildlife conservation. Endangered wildlife species that live in Kon Plong forests have been under pressure from the communities living around them, including wildlife hunting, trapping, capturing, illegal logging, and encroachment for residential and production land. This study aims to understand the knowledge, attitude, and behaviour of indigenous people towards endangered wildlife in order to protect these species. Some participatory rural appraisal tools were used to discuss the situation and collect information in nine villages of four communes in Kon Plong District from December 2019 to March 2020. The results showed that the levels of knowledge about endangered wildlife among indigenous people in communes were statistically different. People’s knowledge of the law influenced their behaviour. Gender had the greatest influence on the level of knowledge. Most indigenous people had a positive attitude and wanted to protect endangered animals. “Commune” and “culture” were the two factors affecting people’s attitudes. “Commune”, “culture”, and the level of understanding affected the hunting behaviour of people. Negative human impacts have seriously influenced endangered wildlife species. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a long-term conservation strategy and plan, including the establishment of Kon Plong Special-Use Forests, supporting livelihoods for local people, communicating, and raising awareness among local people, and increasing the participation of community organisations. PubDate: Sun, 21 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
Authors:Barnali; Namita Nath Abstract: Cuscuta campestris is a well-known holoparasitic angiosperm of the family Convolvulaceae. This leafless, rootless, achlorophyllous angiospermic parasite rapidly expands through its diverse host range. This species also shows self-parasitism. The study recorded 92 host species; Mikania micrantha and Christella dentata being the most preferred hosts. In this manuscript, the taxonomic description of C. campestris, its host range, the anatomy of infected host parts and the nature of parasitism are described. This parasite can bring great loss in sectors like agriculture or horticulture by affecting the economically important host plants. This invasive neophyte must be controlled as soon as possible. PubDate: Sun, 21 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +020
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