Environment and Forestry

The main aim of this study was to determiner modeling and sensitivity analysis of rice production based on energy inputs and farm sizes using artificial neural networks in Guilan province of Iran. For this purpose the initial date were collected from 120 rice farmers by a face-to-face questionnaire in Astaneh Ashrafiyeh city of Guilan province of Iran. Total energy consumption and output energy was 51430 and 66387 MJ ha-1, respectively. Diesel fuel with 44.61% had the highest energy use among all of the inputs. Medium farms had the best condition in three group sizes from average of total energy consumption point of view. The Levenberg-Marquardt Learning Algorithm was trained for calculation of prediction models for rice yield based energy inputs and area. The results of the ANN model revealed the 12-13-1 structure belonged to the best topology with highest R2 and lowest RMSE and MAPE. The rate of R2, RMSE and MAPE was computed as 0.972, 0.153 and 0.007, respectively. With respect to sensitivity analysis human labor had the highest sensitivity with 0.311. It indicates that using an additional of 1 MJ either for human labor or seed energy would result in increasing the yield by 0.311 and 0.286 kg, respectively.

Geothermal energy can be used for power generation using thermocouple. In this technology the emission of greenhouse gases has been minimized to zero as compared to 5-7% in geothermal energy by drilling method. The chances of occurring earthquake in thermocouple are limited as compared to drilling method. The results indicate that the temperature ranges from 80-90 0C during the experiment performed under the laboratory condition. It is equal to the approximation recordings from the geo-thermal natural springs. Down fall observed in-between the noon time for the output voltage this is due to rise in the surrounding temperature cause the effects on the performance of the heat sink used. During the noon the mean temperature of the surrounding increase to 40-50 0C, hence mean temperature difference between the source and sink decrease which further causing decrease in the output voltage.

The increasing municipal solid waste (MSW) generation along with the high fraction of organic and other types of wastes is the current scenario in many tourist resorts of Kashmir valley in India. As a response to this problem, we carried out a study on the municipal solid waste (MSW) generation between May 2010 and 2011 in Yusmarg area, of the valley. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the quantity, composition and sources of wastes generated to recommend appropriate management practices. The study was based on three sites with marked differences in their physical and biotic features. The pattern of generation of municipal solid wastes (MSW) during the study showed a marked seasonal variation. The maximum average net weight of wastes was observed at site 2 (7.86 Kg/day), while as minimum was observed at site 3 (2.55 Kg/day). Among the constituents of wastes the net weight (%) was dominated by Food wastes (41.23%) followed by cardboard (15.28%), glass (11.16%) and rubber & Leather (0.17%) at all sites. Further analysis showed that the maximum Total Net Weight (46.25 Kg/Day) was contributed by recyclable wastes followed by (33.33 Kg/Day) compostable wastes, 2.57 Kg/Day by combustible wastes and 0.7 Kg/Day by inert materials. These insights into generated waste and management practice in Yusmarg health resort allow making suggestions for improved collection and disposal methods. A primary conclusion is that the biodegradable waste is a major fraction having suitable properties for recycling.

The Ganges basin is the largest river basin of India. It is one of the geologically youngest and tectonically active drainage regimes of the world. The sediment load of the basin consist of fine sand, silt and clay and mineral assemblage is dominated by quartz, feldspars, illite and kaolinite. For the present study of Ganges river basin middle Gngetic plain was chosen because of its immense cultural and economic significance. It covers the Bihar plain and entire Eastern Uttar Pradesh on either side of Ganges and Ghaghara rivers within Himalaya and peninsular ramparts on the north and south respectively. The sediment samples were collected from three locations, viz., upstream at Varanasi, midstream at Ghzipur and downstream at Patna, twice once in pre-monsoon period (April, 1999) and other in post-monsoon period (October, 1999). The sediments were analyzed to understand the distribution and biogeochemistry of C, N and P. The Organic Carbon (Corg) was found to be decreasing with depth due to the age of the sediment and extent of anaerobic decomposition. The post-monsoon concentrations were lower than pre-monsoon due to conducive environment for decomposition of organic matter. Total Carbon (Ctotal) was found to be comparable at all these three locations. The substantial part of Ctotal is found to be inorganic in origin. Nitrogen contents were very low decreasing with the depth due to mineralization of organic matter, as more than 90 % of nitrogen is organic in nature. Phosphorous content in all these three locations were comparable. The phosphorus content was decreasing with the depth due desorption of Fe-bound phosphorous under anaerobic condition formed by burial and compaction of the sediments. A distinct spatial pattern was obtained in the distribution of phosphorous. Corg/N ratio was found to be increasing with depth by mobilization and leaching out of nitrogen, due to its mineralization.

Nagaland lies in the extreme North-East corner of India at the confluence of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. For centuries, community fishing has played an indispensable and integral role in the social, cultural and religious life of the Naga. The community fishing also symbolizes a close interdependence between man and environment and demonstrates the sustainable use of resources with clear understanding of the eco-centric approach. The proposed paper tries to draw light on the cultural lives, practices and deep ecological understanding of the Ao Naga while sustainably utilizing the resources from their environment which is demonstrated through community fishing.

Abstract Tribal communities have rich knowledge about medicinal plants and its uses. The traditional livelihood system of tribal people (also known as adivasis) has been based on shifting cultivation and collection of edible forest produce. The area is hilly and has dam and innumerable number of streams which swell up during rainy season. An ethnobotanical survey particularly the uncultivated plant used by them other than medicinal purposes was carried out among the Kaani tribes in various tribal villages of Kanyakumari district, South Western Ghats of Tamilnadu. Forests in the study area hold thousands of medicinal plants which are used by the tribal people for primary healthcare needs. The medicinal plants were mostly used to cure asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cold, cough, fever, headache, stomachache, diarrhoea, dysentery, skin diseases, poison bites, cut/ wounds, diabetes. Medicinal plants used by Kaani have been listed along with plant parts used with its ethnomedicinal significance.

The study investigated the comparative effect of Tectona grandis to different concentration level of CCA preservative. The species were obtained from five plantation trees from Burgma forest at Onigambari Forest Reserve, a total of 75 test samples consisting 60 samples treated to CCA and the remaining 15 as control experiment. The samples were later subjected to termite attack at a termittarium for 3months. The preservation absorption, retention and penetration were measured while analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Results showed that Teak had the highest absorption, retention and penetration of 48.33km/m3 and longitudinal and lateral penetration of 4.1mm and 2.0mm at 5% concentration. The absorption of 4% concentration was 42.89kg/m3 with retention of 1.59kg/m and 47.78kg/m3 with retention of 1.40kg/m3. After exposure to termite, Tectona grandis immersed in 5% concentration of CCA produce the most durable. Analysis of variance showed a significant difference among the absorption rate while the retention shows insignificant differences among the absorption rate while the retention shows insignificant differences among the concentration. In conclusion, preservative treatment at 5% concentration produce the most durable, the higher the concentration the better the durability of Tectona grandis, hence, the treatment of the species at 5% concentrate by immersion is recommended.

This study examined the dependence of women on the harvesting, processing and marketing of Shea seeds a non-wood forest product (NWFPs) with a view of establishing its contribution to their economic empowerment in Saki, Oyo state. Data were obtained from a random sample of three categories of target groups; harvesters, processors and marketers of Shea butter in the study area by means of questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency table and percentages for clarity purpose. Results from the analysis revealed that women were actively involved in the Shea business across all levels with 73.3% gatherers, 100% processors and 70.70% marketers/middlemen, this is probably because women are involved in the provision of food security and family welfare in most communities worldwide. Twenty-nine (96.67%) of the processors and all the gatherers had Vitellaria paradoxa stands on their farmland which served as a major source of V. paradoxa fruits from which the Shea is processed while others without tree stands collected the fruits from nearby forest lands. The result also showed the rate of collection of shea nut by harvesters. 10%, 10%, 20%, 23.33%, 6.67% and 16.67% gathered between 1, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 tons of shea nuts respectively while 13.33% gathered less than 1 ton per annum. The average per capital income generated by the different categories of respondents in the business showed that harvesters (6.67%) earned between 10,000 and 50,000, 23.33% earned above >50,000, 26.67% earned above >90,000 and 43.33% earned above >130,000 as annual income for their families.

This research work examined the consumption pattern of Irvingia gabonensis in Ukwuani area of Delta State, Nigeria. The target respondents were the households in the study area. Data for the study was collected by administering structured questionnaires to and interview of one hundred (100) respondents. Data analysis was done using simple descriptive statistics, T-test and Chi-Square. The students T-test was used to compare the different uses of Irvingia gabonensis in the study area by the consumers/households. The result showed that 100% of the respondents are aware of the species; most of the respondents (89.4%) consume it while 10.6% did not utilze it. It was also discovered that, majority of the respondents (62.4%) use it for soup only while 37.6% consumed it as food and fruits. Most of the respondents (67.1%) sourced them from the markets, 4.9% from the collectors and 2.8% from forested areas. The result also confirmed that it is widely accepted (87.1%) in the study area. The study also revealed that the utilization rate of Irvingia gabonensis in the study area is increasing (76.5%) while 23.5% asserted that it is decreasing. Majority of the respondents (79.2%) confirmed that they use it because of its nutritional importance while 20.8% consume it because of its medicinal uses. The socio-demographic results showed that all of the respondents (100%) that used it are less than 30 years, 100% of students and civil servants utilize it more than other categories while the result of the Chi-square reveals that utilization depends on primary occupation and also educational background of the respondents. This paper therefore recommended among other things that domestication and interventions of this species should be encouraged for proper management and sustainability.

Late colonization of baited hives is a serious problem facing apicultural industry in tropical countries. Towards providing practical solution to this problem, three methods of artificial colony division were experimented in Ogbomoso, Nigeria, using top bar hives. Hives with strong and active colonies (aged > 12 months) were used as Mother Colony and were divided into new hives tagged Daughter colony. Method A involved placing Daughter colony at original place of Mother Colony and taking Mother colony to a distance of 30 m away from its original position. Method B involved placing Daughter colony on top of Mother colony, maintaining original position of Mother colony but facing opposite direction. Method C involved placing Daughter colony 30 m away from its Mother colony. In each method, 3 brood combs and 4 honey combs were placed in the Daughter colony hive and the remaining space on the hive filled with empty top bars. The results indicate that Method A was the best, having no pest infestation or intruder but higher weight gain. At 2, 6 and 8 weeks after colony division, weight gain observed in Method A (3.2, 2.1 and 2.1 kg respectively) was significantly (p<0.05) higher than weight gain observed in Methods B (2.2, 0.75 and 0.65 kg) and C (1.61, 0.75 and 1.12 kg ) respectively. The pests encountered in Methods B and C were Aethina tumida, Oecophylla longinoda and Galleria melonella while Brachymeria species was the only intruder encountered in the study.