Journal of Global Ecology and Environment
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COMPARISON OF THE POTENTIAL OF DIFFERENT WATERSHED MANAGEMENT OPERATION IN CARBON SEQUESTRATION OF MOUNTAINOUS RANGELANDS, CASE STUDY RAZIN WATERSHED, WEST OF IRAN
No full textLand carbon stock is the main carbon sink in carbon cycle and carbon sequestration in the land resource is the main hope to mitigate climate change. This research was conducted to evaluate the carbon sequestration capacity of rangeland management in mountainous rangeland in Zagros area in west of Iran. For this study, ten experimental sites in three provinces were selected. Then, rangeland management practices effects on carbon sequestration were analyzed and while prioritizing reviewed projects, proper projects for every management were recommended. Results indicated that operations including seeding, mass plantation, graze management and preservation can accordingly sequester 40.3, 77.4, 11 and 61.9 tons of carbon per hectare
VERMITECHNOLOGY: A SOLUTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS; A REVIEW
No full textSolid wastes generation is one of the environmental challenges faced by the world in general. Solid waste waste are majorly from sources like domestic and commercial activities and the waste are either inorganic or organic in nature. The generation of solid waste has increased tremendously as a result of the rapid increase in population. Several disposal methods like landfilling, incineration, recycling among others are adopted all over the world for disposing solid waste. Vermicomposting technology can be an effective method of disposing solid waste. Production of vermicompost and it use is an environmental friendly process because waste that are supposed to end up in lanfill can be use for it production. It also decreases emission associated with green house gas due to the small quantity of energy utilized for it production. The use of vermicompost on farmland acts as conditioner and also helps to improve soil nutrients and organic matter. This review is designed to reveal the importance of vermitechnology to environmental problems and economic empowermen
CONTRIBUTIONS OF COLUMN, BEAMS, AND SLABS STIFFNESS ON SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH RISE BUILDINGS
No full textThe stiffness of columns, beams, and slabs were reduced by 10% to 90% to show by what value each element can be contributed the overall performance of the high rise buildings under seismic load. A 13th models were analyzed using SAP2000 version14 for square and rectangular in plane 12th floors RC buildings to illustrate the contribution of column stiffness and cross section (rectangular or square), building plane, beams stiffness and slab stiffness on resistance the earthquake (El-Centro). The studied variables which show how the variation in the stiffness contribution which a comparable response is investigated are top displacement, top acceleration, base shear force, base bending moments and base normal force. The study shows that the stiffness of columns contribute by nearly 55%, beams by nearly 20% and slabs by nearly 10% of earthquake resistance of high rise buildings. Rectangular columns orientations contribute by nearly 40% of building earthquake resistance. Rectangular cross section columns must be oriented by the way that achieves the maximum resistance the earthquake loads. In buildings with slander, exterior column orientations can be enhanced the stiffness of the short direction to control the top displacements and accelerations values in both x and y directions
GIS BASED ASSESSMENT OF SURFACE WATER POLLUTION IN THE QUA IBOE RIVER BASIN, SOUTH EASTERN NIGERIA
No full textThis research was aimed at using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to assess the level of surface water pollution within the Qua Iboe River Basin. The table of random numbers was used to select five sampling points from each of the three zones of the basin. Three pollution parameters made up of nutrients, metals and physio – chemical properties were analyzed. Multi-criteria methods were used along with the interpolation function of spatial analyst extension in ArcMap software to produce layers for each pollution indicator, A final pollution map was generated by combining the three resultant layers of nutrients, heavy metals and physico-chemical properties using the single output map algebra of the spatial analyst extension in ArcMap. The pollution surface generated showed that the lower parts of the basin were highly polluted with areas around Esit Eket, Ibeno and Eket having the highest incidence. Conversely, most areas in the middle and upper parts of the basin were found to be either marginally polluted or not polluted at all. However, the one-way ANOVA test conducted for the 3 zones indicates that the variation of the pollutants was not significant at 0.05 level of significance the high incident of pollution noticed in Ibeno means that there is need for enforcement of strict policies here. Increased general awareness on the effects of human activities on water bodies should also be encouraged. Comprehensive and regular studies of the health of water basins should be encouraged not only by the government environmental agencies, but also by corporate organizations
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS OF MAGNETIC POLLUTANTS AROUND ROAD NETWORKS IN ABUJA METROPOLIS
No full textVehicle emissions are the major sources of magnetic grains pollution especially in urban areas and places with high vehicular activities. These magnetic grains tend to accumulate around the road corridors and form part of the roadside dust. To investigate the spatial distribution and extent to which they can be deposited, Magnetic susceptibility mapping was conducted around 20 busy road pavements within Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. From the results obtained, magnetic susceptibility was found to decrease with distance from the road pavements and also deposition of these magnetic grains tend to occur at a distance of more than 8.0 m from the road. High concentration of magnetic grains was observed immediately after the road pavement to a distance of about 3.0 m away from the road pavement. This indicates that, vehicular activities are generally responsible for these magnetic pollutants. From this work also, it is clear that magnetic susceptibility measurement can be successfully used to map out contamination area especially those polluted with heavy metals
DEVELOPMENT, CALIBRATION AND VALIDATION OF A MACRO - CATCHMENT RAIN WATER HARVESTING MODEL: OVERCOMING LIMITED HYDROLOGICAL DATA IN SEMI-ARID AREAS OF TANZANIA
No full textRainwater harvesting (RWH) has become a critical water conservation method throughout the world. Success of RWH depends upon efficient design based on accurate hydrological modelling Model designed specifically to macro catchments RWH are very few and site specific. This study therefore report on development, calibration and validation of a Macro catchment RWH in the area with limited hydrological data in semi arid areas of Tanzania. Macro catchment model was developed from modifying Parched Thirst (PT) rainwater harvesting model for micro catchments systems. Conceptual model modeling, coding and performance testing were conducted at Newcastle upon Tyne University. Calibration and validation were carried out in Mwembe – Makanya catchment in Same District in Kilimanjaro region. Two experimental models were set for runoff generation and data were collected for two rainy seasons from each site. Three tests were conducted to validate the model: runoff amount for single and significant storms; total monthly runoff and seasonal runoff over the 2-years period. The result showed that the model was able to simulate macro catchment rainwater harvesting in slope between 3 15%, Validation results showed high correlation between observed and simulated runoff during long rainy season (R2 0.98). The study was able to establish a boundary scenario which can assist in validation of simulation of runoff in ungauged catchment. The model for the macro catchment RWH system included runoff generation and routing. The addition of the routing component enabled the model to simulate runoff in large catchments. The Parched Thirst (PT) model for macro catchment can be used in simulation of runoff from large catchments. The model can also be used in planning of water resources in other sectors requiring estimation of long term series of runoff records
VARIABILITY IN THE FRACTION OF INTERCEPTED PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION: EFFECTS OF IRRADIANCE CONDITIONS AND TEMPORAL SCALES
No full textLight interception by plant canopies is one of the main drivers of biomass production. Quantifying spatiotemporal patterns of the fraction of intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (FIPAR) is essential in quantifying the CO2 assimilation at the landscape level, in ecosystem process modeling and for the interpretation of remote sensing data. To adequately characterize FIPAR, one important issue is temporal scale, as FIPAR is temporally dynamic and it is constantly changing under different irradiance conditions. Using ground measurements of FIPAR over various landscape ecosystems, this study addresses the impact of irradiance conditions and temporal scales on variability of FIPAR. This research examines 1) the variability of FIPAR based on hourly, daily, 10- and 30- daily integrated data, and 2) the impact of irradiance conditions on FIPAR as a function of solar zenith angle (SZA), weather conditions and seasonality. The goal is to examine the most optimal time and temporally integrated steps in generating FIPAR for better landscape characterization. Both the instantaneous and integrated FIPAR values for over 78 ecological sampling units (ESU) worldwide were generated and compared for different irradiance conditions and temporal periods. The findings suggest that diurnal time and solar zenith angle (SZA) of illumination are more important than weather condition and integration time when the instantaneous and integrated FIPAR values are compared. The instantaneous in-situ measurements serve as a good estimator of the integrated values when acquired in the morning or afternoon as a function of SZA. Both, non-linearity and high variability in the relationship between instantaneous and integrated FIPAR are observed at low SZA diminishing when instantaneous measurements are collected at around 9:30 or 14:30
Althaea officianali EFFICIENCY IN WASTEWATER TURBIDITY REMOVAL
No full textThe efficiency of using Althaea officianali as a new natural coagulant aid in conjunction with Alum and PAC as coagulants on waste water turbidity removal was investigated. The study was laboratory based using wastewater. It was found that the reduction of turbidity occurred at pH between 7 and 7.5. The efficiency of turbidity removal using 20 and 40 mg/L of Alum and Althaea officianali respectively as optimum condition was 90.1%. It was also observe that, the optimum turbidity removal of 93.27% was achieved at 30 mg/L of PAC and Althaea officianali. The results shown by the turbidity removal values obtained in this study revealed that, the use of Althaea officianali as a coagulant aid is ideal and cost effective
FOOD SECURITY, AGRODIVERSITY AND INDIGENOUS HOMEGARDENS IN MEXICO
No full textCan indigenous homegardens contribute to food security? Mexico is a mega-diverse and multicultural country. Much of the biological and cultural diversity is found in indigenous regions, whose population struggle due to malnutrition, food insecurity and poverty. The role of homegardens as a key factor to achieve food security is analysed. Data from Ocotal Texizapan, a Nahuatl indigenous community from Veracruz, Mexico is presented. Homegardens of Ocotal Texizapan contain a total of 177 species, belonging to 70 families and 142 genera. The greatest number of species are herbaceous (44%) and the main use is for food (46%). The number of plants ranges from 132 up to 804/per plot. We calculate that homegardens here contribute 25% of the food security of 20 surveyed households, while staple maize produced in milpas contributes 60%. We discuss how indigenous strategies can address the issue of food production, conservation of agro-biodiversity and food security
COMBUSTION AND PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF KARANJA, JATROPHAAND COTTON-SEED OILBASED BIOFUEL AS SUBSTITUTE IN DIESEL ENGINE
No full textBiofuel has become a main source as a substitution fuel and is making its place as a future renewable energy. The biodiesel has emerged as a potential substitute for diesel fuel on account of its renewable source and lesser emissions. Non-edible filtered Jatropha (Jatropha curcas), Karanja (Pongamia pinnata) and Cottonseed oil based biodiesel blends with diesel were tested for their use as alternate fuels in diesel engines. The objective of the present investigations was to check the practical applications of biodiesel in a single cylinder compression ignition engine used in agricultural applications in India. Diesel and biodiesel from Jatropha, Karanja and Cottonseed and their blends (10 to 50% by volume) were used for conducting tests at varying loads (0, 50, 75 and 100%). The engine combustion parameters such as peak pressure, heat release rate and performance were calculated. Combustion analysis shows that Karanja biodiesel that result in maximum peak cylinder pressure (5.32 bar). The result shows that when the test engine was fuelled with JME(Jatropha Methyl Ester) and CSME (Cottonseed Methyl Ester), the engine performance slightly poor, the combustion characteristics slightly changed than that of diesel fuel. The biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, unburned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, but it increases nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. Improved heat release characteristics were observed for the Karanja biodiesel