Plant Area Research Articles

Monitoring of Respiratory Health Risks Caused by Biomass Storage in Urban-Type Heating Plants

The aim of this work was to carry out long-term monitoring on the concentration and identification of phytopathogens in wood chip storage areas in urban-type heating plants. Three municipal heating plants in the central part of Slovakia were selected. The plants store biomass in large-capacity piles with a volume of 4 to 5000 m3. Samples were obtained every year in the 2017–2022 period from the surface of the piles and from a depth of 0.5 m. Their moisture content was determined in the laboratory and the microbial analysis was performed by an accredited laboratory. The average number of colonies of phytopathogens did not differ significantly in individual years. The highest number of colony-forming units per gram was achieved by the species of the genera Penicillium and Aspergillus. In terms of occurrence in individual years and the frequency of occurrence in individual samples, the most frequently recorded species were Mycelia Sterilia, Aspergillus brasiliensis, Aspergillus unguis, and Yeasts. Based on the results achieved, in the future it will be necessary to establish legislative frameworks for these risks and, at least at the national level, work procedures for individual work activities, so that the health and life of the workers of the plants, as well as residents in the vicinity of this type of plant, are not endangered.

Method comparison of sample pretreatment and discovery of differential compositions of natural flavors and fragrances for quality analysis by using chemometric tools

Natural flavors and fragrances or their extracts have been widely used in a large variety of areas, including food, cosmetic, and tobacco industrial processes, among others. The compositions and intrinsic attributes of flavors and fragrances were related to many factors, such as species, geographical origin, planting environment, storage condition, processing method, and so on. This not only increased the difficulty in analyzing the product quality of flavors and fragrances, but also challenged the idea of “quality-by-design (QbD)”. This work proposed an integrated strategy for precise discovery of differential compounds among different classes and subsequent quality analysis of complex samples through flavors and fragrances used in tobacco industry as examples. Three pretreatment methods were first inspected to effectively characterize the sample compositions, including direct injection (DI), thermal desorption (TD), and stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE)-TD, coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis to obtain characteristic information of samples of flavors and fragrances. Then, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to discover the relation and difference between chromatographic fingerprints and peak table data once significant components were recognized in a holistic manner. Model population analysis (MPA) was then used to quantitatively extract the characteristic chemicals representing the quality differences among different classes of samples. Some differential marker compounds were discovered for difference analysis, including benzyl alcohol, latin acid, l-menthol acid, decanoic acid ethyl ester, vanillin, trans-o-coumaric acid, benzyl benzoate, and so on. Furthermore, partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and support vector machine (SVM) were respectively applied to construct multivariate models for evaluation of quality differences and variations. It was found that the accuracy attains to 100% for sample classification. With the help of optimal sample pretreatment technique and chemometric methods, the strategy for quality analysis and difference discovery proposed in this work can be widely delivered to more areas of complex plants with good interpretability and high accuracy.

Spaceborne LiDAR for characterizing forest structure across scales in the European Alps

AbstractThe launch of NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) mission in 2018 opens new opportunities to quantitatively describe forest ecosystems across large scales. While GEDI's height‐related metrics have already been extensively evaluated, the utility of GEDI for assessing the full spectrum of structural variability—particularly in topographically complex terrain—remains incompletely understood. Here, we quantified GEDI's potential to estimate forest structure in mountain landscapes at the plot and landscape level, with a focus on variables of high relevance in ecological applications. We compared five GEDI metrics including relative height percentiles, plant area index, cover and understory cover to airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in two contrasting mountain landscapes in the European Alps. At the plot level, we investigated the impact of leaf phenology and topography on GEDI's accuracy. At the landscape‐scale, we evaluated the ability of GEDIs sample‐based approach to characterize complex mountain landscapes by comparing it to wall‐to‐wall ALS estimates and evaluated the capacity of GEDI to quantify important indicators of ecosystem functions and services (i.e., avalanche protection, habitat provision, carbon storage). Our results revealed only weak to moderate agreement between GEDI and ALS at the plot level (R2 from 0.03 to 0.61), with GEDI uncertainties increasing with slope. At the landscape‐level, however, the agreement between GEDI and ALS was generally high, with R2 values ranging between 0.51 and 0.79. Both GEDI and ALS agreed in identifying areas of high avalanche protection, habitat provision, and carbon storage, highlighting the potential of GEDI for landscape‐scale analyses in the context of ecosystem dynamics and management.

Trace mercury migration and human exposure in typical mercury-emission areas by compound-specific stable isotope analysis

Anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emissions have increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution, resulting in severe health impacts to humans. The consumptions of fish and rice were primary human methylmercury (MeHg) exposure pathways in Asia. However, the lifecycle from anthropogenic Hg emissions to human MeHg exposure is not fully understood. In this study, a recently developed approach, termed MeHg Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis (CSIA), was employed to track lifecycle of Hg in four typical Hg-emission areas. Distinct Δ199Hg of MeHg and inorganic Hg (IHg) were observed among rice, fish and hair. The Δ199Hg of MeHg averaged at 0.07 ± 0.15 ‰, 0.80 ± 0.55 ‰ and 0.43 ± 0.29 ‰ in rice, fish and hair, respectively, while those of IHg averaged at − 0.08 ± 0.24 ‰, 0.85 ± 0.43 ‰ and − 0.28 ± 0.68 ‰. In paddy ecosystem, Δ199Hg of MeHg in rice showed slightly positive shifts (∼0.2 ‰) from those of IHg, and comparable Δ199Hg of IHg between rice grain and raw/processed materials (coal, Hg ore, gold ore and sphalerite) were observed. Simultaneously, it was proved that IHg in fish muscle was partially derived from in vivo demethylation of MeHg. By a binary model, we estimated the relative contributions of rice consumption to human MeHg exposure to be 84 ± 14 %, 58 ± 26 %, 52 ± 20 % and 34 ± 15 % on average in Hg mining area, gold mining area, zinc smelting area and coal-fired power plant area, respectively, and positive shifts of δ202HgMeHg from fish/rice to human hair occurred during human metabolic processes. Therefore, the CSIA approach can be an effective tool for tracking Hg biogeochemical cycle and human exposure, from which new scientific knowledge can be generated to support Hg pollution control policies and to protect human health.

Shrub encroachment alters plant trait response to nitrogen addition in a semi-arid grassland.

Encroachment of shrubs over large regions of arid and semi-arid grassland can affect grassland traits and growth under a background of increasing nitrogen (N) deposition. However, the effects of N input rates on species traits and the growth of shrubs on grasslands remain unclear. We examined the effects of six different N addition rates on the traits of Leymus chinensis in an Inner Mongolia grassland encroached by the leguminous shrub, Caragana microphylla. We randomly selected 20 healthy L. chinensis tillers within shrubs and 20 tillers between shrubs in each plot, measuring the plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, leaf N concentration per unit mass (LNCmass), and aboveground biomass. Our results showed that N addition significantly enhanced the LNCmass of L. chinensis. The aboveground biomass, heights, LNCmass, leaf area, and leaf number of plants within the shrubs were higher than those between shrubs. For L. chinensis growing between shrubs, the LNCmass and leaf area increased with N addition rates, leaf number and plant height had binomial linear relationships to N addition rates. However, the number of leaves, leaf areas and heights of plants within shrubs did not vary under various N addition rates. Structural Equation Modelling revealed N addition had an indirect effect on the leaf dry mass through the accumulation of LNCmass. These results indicate that the response of dominant species to N addition could be regulated by shrub encroachment and provide new insights into management of shrub encroached grassland in the context of N deposition.

Influence of Foliar Application of Growth Regulators on Vegetative Growth and Flowering Of Chrysanthemum

The pot experiment was conducted at the Floriculture field of Horticulture Research Centre (HRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur during August 2020 to May 2021 to evaluate the foliar spray of gibberellic acid (GA3), benzyl adenine (BA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) on growth and flowering traits of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium). The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Four weeks old seedlings of chrysanthemum genotype CM-019 (flower class: Pompon and flower colour: Orange yellow) were transplanted in pot keeping under natural sunlight. The aqueous solution of GA3, BA and NAA @ 100 and 200 ppm of each were sprayed on the flower plants at monthly interval starting after one month of transplantation of seedlings along with control (water). The results revealed that vegetative growth and flowering parameters were significantly influenced by plant growth regulators. Maximum number of leaves per plant (50.0) and leaf area per plant (7.5 cm2) were recorded from the spraying of BA @ 100 ppm closely followed by BA @ 200 ppm (48.0 and 7.0 cm2/plant) and GA3 @ 100 ppm only for number of leaves (47.0/plant). Spraying of GA3 @ 100 ppm produced the tallest plant (70.0 cm) and the highest plant spread (23.0 cm). Number of flowers (26.0/plant), flower size (7.8 cm), average weight of stalk (37.0 g) and vase life (15.0 days) were also found maximum from the application of GA3 @ 100 ppm, closely followed by GA3 @ 200 ppm (23.5/plant, 7.2 cm, 36.0 g, 14.0 days) and NAA @ 100 ppm (18.5/plant, 7.0 cm, 36.0 g, 13.0 days) and irrespective of concentrations, BA failed to improve these characters. GA3 @ 100 ppm recorded maximum length of stalk (37.5 cm) and rachis (29.0 cm), which was identical with GA3 @ 200 ppm (34.6 cm and 25.0 cm), and BA @ 100 ppm gave the lowest length of stalk and rachis. GA3 also caused faster initiation of flowering, whereas NAA and BA delayed it. GA3 @ 100 ppm took the minimum days to flowering (50.0 days) was observed when plants were sprayed with GA3 @ 100 ppm whereas it was maximum (69 days) from BA @ 100 ppm treatment. It can be concluded that GA3 @ 100 ppm provided the best results for obtaining better vegetative growth of plants, maximum number of cut blooms with longer stalk as well as bigger flower size with prolonged vase life in chrysanthemum.
 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 47(1): 69-80, March 2022

Comparison of GEDI LiDAR Data Capability for Forest Canopy Height Estimation over Broadleaf and Needleleaf Forests

The GEDI LiDAR system was specifically designed to detect vegetation structure and has proven to be a suitable tool for estimating forest biophysical parameters, especially canopy height, at a global scale. This study compares the GEDI relative height metric (RH100) over different forest types, especially deciduous broadleaf and evergreen coniferous located in Thuringia, Germany, to understand how the forest structural differences affect the GEDI height estimation. A canopy height model that was produced using digital terrain and surface models (DTM and DSM) derived from airborne laser scanning data is used as the reference data. Based on the result, GEDI canopy height over needleleaf forest is slightly more accurate (RMSE = 6.61 m) than that over broadleaf (RMSE = 8.30 m) and mixed (RMSE = 7.94 m) forest. Evaluation of the GEDI acquisition parameters shows that differences in beam type, sensitivity, and acquisition time do not significantly affect the accuracy of canopy heights, especially over needleleaf forests. Considering foliage condition impacts on canopy height estimation, the contrasting result is observed in the broadleaf and needleleaf forests. The GEDI dataset acquired during the winter when deciduous species shed their leaves (the so-called leaf-off dataset), outperforms the leaf-on dataset in the broadleaf forest but shows less accurate results for the needleleaf forest. Considering the effect of the plant area index (PAI) on the accuracy of the GEDI canopy height, the GEDI dataset is divided into two sets with low and high PAI values with a threshold of median PAI = 2. The results show that the low PAI dataset (median PAI < 2) corresponds to the non-growing season (autumn and winter) in the broadleaf forest. The slightly better performance of GEDI using the non-growing dataset (RMSE = 7.40 m) compared to the growing dataset (RMSE = 8.44 m) in the deciduous broadleaf forest and vice versa, the slightly better result using the growing dataset (RMSE = 6.38 m) compared to the non-growing dataset (RMSE = 7.24 m) in the evergreen needleleaf forest is in line with the results using the leaf-off/leaf-on season dataset. Although a slight improvement in canopy height estimation was observed using either the leaf-off or non-growing season dataset for broadleaf forest, and either the leaf-on or growing season dataset for needleleaf forest, the approach of filtering GEDI data based on such seasonal acquisition time is recommended when retrieving canopy height over pure stands of broadleaf or needleleaf species, and the sufficient dataset is available.

Effects of bed obstacles on the behaviour of inclined dense jets

ABSTRACT Coral reefs around the discharge areas of desalination plants have effects on the distribution and dilution of discharged saline jet. In the present study, effects of bed obstacles with different heights on the behaviour of inclined negatively buoyant jets (INBJs), including dilution and spatial characteristics, are experimentally investigated using the light attenuation (LA) optical method. Present experiments show that as the confinement induced by the bed and obstacle intensifies, the maximum normalized jet centreline dilution decreases up to 40%. As the jet approaches the obstacle, spreading along the inner and outer edges of the jet increases. The present results also show that upstream of the maximum height point, the jet is not considerably sensitive to the bed obstacle since the momentum dominates the jet behaviour. However, the jet dilution in regions downstream the maximum height point reduces when the obstacle is present.

Genetic Variability, Heritability and Genetic Advance for Yield and Yield Associated Traits in Bread Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.)

The experiment carried out during Rabi 2018-2019, ten genotypes and 45 F1s of bread wheat were assessed for yield and yield associated traits in a Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications to determine genetic variability, heritability, and genetic advance percent of mean. The value of GCV ranged from 1.37 (days to maturity) to 19.87 (grain yield per plant) and PCV ranged from 1.59 (days to maturity) to 19.86 (grain yield per plant). The value of GCV and PCV as observed for grain yield per plant, productive tillers per plant, biological yield per plant and flag leaf area are (19.78,19.86), (13.11,14.07), (13.87,13.91) and (12.32,12.46) respectively. The traits like days to heading, plant height, flag leaf area and grains per spike shows high narrow sense heritability which has a great scope of genetic improvement through selection method whereas as flag leaf area and grains per spike shows high narrow sense heritability along with high genetic advance which are mainly governed by additive gene effects.

ANALISIS POTENSI BEBAN EMISI PADA PEMBANGKIT LISTRIK TENAGA UAP (PLTU) CO-FIRING DAN KEMAMPUAN SERAPAN TANAMAN PENGHIJAUAN DI AREA KERJA TERHADAP EMISI CO2 PT MAKMUR SEJAHTERA WISESA KABUPATEN TABALONG PROVINSI KALIMANTAN SELATAN

One of the policies of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia related to the contribution in reducing the effect of greenhouse gases is to terminate or discontinue the construction permit for coal-fired Steam Power Plants, which will begin gradually in 2025. This policy is considered difficult to implement, because there are still many Coal Power Plant that are still operating in accordance with the permits issued by the Government. So in addition to the policy of retiring coal-fired power plants, the Government has implemented a policy of Co-firing Power Plant innovation for better environmental management and supporting sustainable development goals. Coal Power Plant PT Makmur Sejahtera Wisesa (MSW) in South Kalimantan will implement the Power Plant Co-Firing policy. This study aims to analyze the amount of power plant greenhouse gas emissions so far, then project the amount of emissions until 2030 with the treatment of coal-fired power plants and co-firing power plants, and calculate the carbon uptake of plants in reforestation areas at PT MSW Power Plant. The method used is the data collection and calculation of Green House Gas Emissions (GHG) produced so far and then simulated calculations using waste pellets as co-firing fuel, using the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines approach method. The calculation results The GHG emission is projected until 2030 using the Auto- Regressive Moving Average (ARIMA) method. The GHG emissions produced by the Power Plant are compared with the company's efforts so far by planting trees in the reforestation area of the PLTU. To assess these efforts, an evaluation of the GHG emissions produced by the ability of reforestation plants to absorb CO2 emissions has been carried out so far. The results of the study obtained that the GHG Emissions of the PT MSW Power Plant in 2021 amounted to 156,436 tons / year. From the results of data projections obtained for the next 9 years (until 2030) the results of gas emissions will decrease every year. Theresults of the inventory and estimation of the absorption capacity of plants in the reforestation area of PT MSW Power Plant with an area of 30,535.12 m², is 3,820.5 tons/year and carbon absorbed is 103.86 tons. With a total number of tree plants, an inventory of 2,764 trees was carried out.

Experimental investigations of 3.75 kW laboratory scale pico Kaplan hydraulic turbine

Experimental investigations of 3.75 kW Pico Kaplan turbines have been carried out in this communication. The turbine is utilized for the experimental purpose for the students and it is procured under TEQIP-III project of World Bank. The load test of the turbine has been done which run at 50% capacity and presented the main and operating characteristic curves. It is observed that the efficiency of the turbine will improve at low speed, high brake power and high discharge. The discharge is also depending on the available head and the quantity of water. So, the turbine efficiency is also improved with respect to increasing the discharge. At the increasing the specific speed the discharge will also be increased linearly. The Pico Kaplan turbine can be used for runways water likes in Canals, rivers and no dam is required. The basic design is very simple and it is very common because it has vast applications for small, pico and micro power generation. It can be used in lot of regions like Himachal, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Eastern State (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Manipur), Punjab, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Rajasthan states of India. This study will be useful for the researcher in the area of small hydro power plants.

Evaluation of Ornamental Flowering Plants for Vertical Gardening During Summer Season

A study was carried out to evaluate the suitability of ornamental flowering plants for vertical gardening during 2019–2020 (10 months) the College of Horticulture, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Twenty (20) species of ornamental flowering plants, representing a wide spectrum of morphological variability were selected for the current investigation. The experiment was conducted in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 20 treatments and 2 replications. Quantitative characters like plant height (cm), stem diameter(mm), plant area coverage (cm2), number of leaves, number of branches, days required for flower initiation, number of flowers, size of flowers, duration of flowering, crop duration, flower colour, growth habit, leaf type, leaf shape and consumer acceptance were considered for the current study. The result showed that all 20 plant species performed well but the ornamental flowering spp viz., Begonia spp., Dianthus caryophyllus, Torenia fournieri, Gomphrena globose and Catharanthus roseus were found to be best suited for vertical gardening during the summer season based on their overall performance.

The effect of increasing doses of mineral fertilizers on productivity and structural indicators of Raphael spring barley new variety

Study of the effectiveness of the use of increasing doses of mineral fertilizers (N16P16K16...N120P120K120) was carried out in 2020-2022 in the conditions of the Ryazan region on dark gray forest heavy loamy soil of average fertility. The object of the research was a new variety of spring barley Raphael, included into the State Register of the Russian Federation for the Central (3) and Volga–Vyatka (4) Regions in 2022 (patent No. 12254). As the result of the research, there was revealed a positive trend for raising the yield of the Raphael variety resulted from the use of increasing doses of NPK (y = 0.1829x + 6.36, R2 = 0.8866). On average, over the years of the research, the minimum yield productivity (6.50 t/ha) was shown by the control variant (N16P16K16), the variant with application of high doses (N120P120K120) had the maximum productivity (7.40 t/ha). The yield increase by 0.6...0.9 t/ha was provided by mineral fertilizers in doses of N45P45K45...N120P120K120. The yield of barley per year with sufficient moisture supply during the growing season (HTC = 1.39) was 4.6-5.1 % higher than in dry years (HTC = 0.63-0.53). Structural analysis of yield indicates that during the experiment, the yield of this variety has been influenced by the length of the ear (r = 0.689), the number of grains in the ear (r = 0.467), the weight of grain per the ear (r = 0.715). Increasing doses of applied fertilizers led to an increase in the leaf surface area of plants and the height of the productive stems. The highest protein content in barley grain was observed in the variant with the use of N120P120K120 (on average 14.1 %), the minimum – with the application of N16P16K16 (on average 13.2 %). The calculation of economic efficiency showed that the highest conditional net income (69413 rubles/ha) and the level of profitability (187.1 %) with the yield of the new Raphael variety of 7.1 t/ha can be achieved by applying medium doses of fertilizers N45P45K45.

Changes of Rainfall Partitioning and Canopy Interception Modeling after Progressive Thinning in Two Shrub Plantations on the Chinese Loess Plateau

Understanding the interaction between the hydrological cycle and vegetation management strategies, such as thinning, is essential to improve watershed management and support ecological services. However, it remains unclear how thinning affects the key components of hydrological cycle of dense shrublands in the semiarid regions. Thus, the purpose of this study was to analyze and evaluate the effect of thinning on rainfall partitioning and interception simulations in dense shrublands. In a 5-year field experiment, we compared rainfall partitioning in two re-vegetated shrublands (Caragana korshinskii and Salix psammophila) in the Chinese Loess Plateau under two thinning intensities (moderate thinning [MT] and heavy thinning [HT] refer to the removal of 25% and 50% of the branches, respectively) or no thinning (NT) (control). We modeled canopy interception losses (I) in the two thinning treatments and control treatment using the revised Gash model. The results showed that under MT and HT, the throughfall (TF) rate increased by about 12% and 20%, respectively, compared to NT. The stemflow (SF) and observed I rates decreased by about 26% and 33%, respectively, under MT, and the corresponding values for HT were about 50% and 52%, respectively. The observed I rate decreased proportional to the percentage of biomass removed from the C. korshinskii and S. psammophila plots. The results also revealed a significant linear correlation between the plant area index (PAI) value and the canopy water balance of the two shrub plantations (R2 > 0.83, P < 0.05). The performance of the revised Gash model (i.e., relative error [RE] < 20%) was satisfactory according to the Nash − Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE) coefficient (0.34–0.71). Based on the RE values, the performance of the revised Gash model was better when applied to the plots subjected to MT and HT (RE ≤ 3%) than NT (RE = 9.3%) for S. psammophila. Changes in the canopy storage capacity and canopy evaporation rate strongly affected changes in simulated interception loss. The model can facilitate water management in semiarid shrub plantations by accurately simulating the effect of thinning on interception loss.

INDO-RUSSIA RELATIONS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO UKRAINIAN IMBROGLIO: AN ANALYTICAL STUDY

Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. Development of India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of India’s Foreign policy. India and Russia have enjoyed good relations since 1947 wherein Russia helped India in attaining its goal of economic self-sufficiency through investment in areas of heavy machine-building , mining, energy production and steel plants. Later India and Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in august 1971 which was the manifestation of shared goals of the two nations as well as blueprint for the strengthening of regional and global peace and security. After the dissolution of Soviet Union, India and Russia entered into a new Treaty of Friendship and cooperation in January 1993 and a bilateral Military-Technical Cooperation agreement in 1994. As the Indian government’s response to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis received a mixed reaction, it puts a serious introspective question to Indian lawmakers: is Indian foreign policy still dependent upon the big superpowers or are we moving towards Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India)? After abstaining in UN Security Council, New Delhi again abstained from voting in United Nations General Assembly on a resolution condemning “in the strongest terms” Russia’s belligerence against Ukraine and calling on Moscow to “immediately, completely, and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine’s territory within its internationally recognised borders.” In the current crisis, India has strived to maintain a non-aligned collinear, avoiding pointing a finger or naming names. This has proven to be challenging in the present predicament. It has done so by reiterating fundamental principles enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, but also appeals for a halt to violence and to return for dialogue as “the only response to addressing disagreements and conflicts, however daunting that may sound at this time.”

Evaluation of the salinity tolerance of cotton trees under saline stress on two substrates

The aim of this study was to evaluate the salinity tolerance of cotton plants grown under saline stress in two substrates. The experiment was carried out in an experimental area at the Centec Cariri School of Technology (FATEC Cariri), located in the city of Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará state. A completely randomized design was applied, using a 4 x 2 factorial scheme consisting of four irrigation water salinity levels (0.5; 3.0; 5.0, and 10 dS m-1) and two substrates (0 - 20 cm soil layers and earthworm humus) with four replications. To assess the tolerance of cotton plants to salinity, the methodology proposed by Fageria (1985) was used. The percentage reductions in plant height, absolute growth rate, stem diameter, number of leaves, and leaf area of cotton plants submitted to different levels of irrigation with saline water in the two substrates were quantified, comparing them to the control (plants cultivated with water whose electrical conductivity is equal to 0.5 dS m-1). Based on the found results, it was found that the used type of substrate changed the classification of cotton salinity tolerance, especially at the highest salinity levels tested (5.0 and 10 dS m-1). When considering the data of stem diameter and leaf area, cotton plants grown in soil substrate showed greater tolerance to salinity. However, from the data regarding absolute growth rate and number of leaves, cotton plants grown in earthworm humus substrate were more tolerant to salinity.

Invasive plant species and their threat to biodiversity

The problem of the uncontrolled spread of alien plant species matured in the world in the second half of the 20th century, and in recent decades it has become the main threat to the biological diversity of various regions of the world. Prevention of biological Invasions is a new urgent task in the field of nature protection, which determines the relevance of the study. The purpose of the study is to determine and predict the distribution area of invasive plants, based on the use of the following methods: comparative morphological-ecological-geographical, route using determinants and atlases of plants of Ukraine, and the method of structural analysis. It is established that the characteristic features of invasive plant species are very high tolerance to habitat and climatic conditions, high rate of reproduction, simple and effective distribution by wind, water, animals, and rapid growth, which contributes to the displacement of slow-growing plants of other species and uncontrolled spread in the absence of natural enemies and restrictions. A particular danger to the biodiversity of Ukraine is the spread of invasive plant species: Sosnowsky’s Hogweed (Heracleum sosnowskyi), Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L), American maple (Acer negundo L.), Red Oak (Quercus rubra), Common Ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.), Silver Berry (Elaeagnus angustifolia), American pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana), Ecballium (Ecballium elaterium), Common Sandbur (Cenchrus pauciflorus Benth), Wall Barley (Hordeum murinum L.), Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), etc. The results of the study are an important scientific and practical basis for developing national and regional strategies for controlling invasive plant species

Analysis on the dynamic mechanism of Acetes aggregation near a nuclear power cooling water system based on the Lagrangian flow network

The outbreak of nuclear power cooling water system (NPCS) disaster-causing organisms has become more frequent, causing huge economic losses. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the aggregation mechanism of disaster-causing organisms for the risk prevention and control of NPCS. Hence, this study applied the Lagrangian flow network (LFN) to analyze the aggregation mechanism of Acetes near NPCS, as such a complex network can describe the interconnections between massive nodes and has already been used for modeling complex nonlinear systems, revealing how the mechanisms of such novel processes emerge. In this study, the degree and probability paths in the network were used to reveal the transport pathway and aggregation area of Acetes. The experimental results highlighted that the sea area of the nuclear power plant is the key node with a large in-degree of the LFN, where the material easily accumulated. The Acetes near the NPCS mainly originated from the east along two critical paths. Overall, this study demonstrates that the LFN is a feasible approach to predicting the transport and the accumulation of the NPCS disaster-causing plankton.

Canopy structure from space using GEDI lidar

Canopy structure from space using <scp>GEDI</scp> lidar

Preparations Use Based on Bacteria of the Genus Bacillus to Increase the Yield of Oats (Avena sativa L.)

The work studies the effect of microbiological preparations based on the culture of B. subtilis and B. megaterium on the growth processes, photosynthetic parameters, and grain productivity of oats. Field tests were conducted in 2019 in the conditions of a micro plot experiment in the North-West of Russia. Microbiological preparations were introduced by soaking seeds and treating plants in the third leaf stage with preparations of 1 ml/l.The research finds that the introduction of microbiological preparations leads to a significant increase in growth. In the tillering stage, the leaf surface area of the experimental plants was higher by up to 40.1%, and plants' fresh and dry mass increased by 27.8–58.9%. Introducing microbiological preparations increased the average daily increments and the net productivity of plant photosynthesis by 1.080–2.801 g/m 2 . By the time of harvesting, the mass of the experimental plants remained higher by 13.4–23.3%. The studied preparations increased the grain productivity of oats by up to 16.3% compared to the control. The study indicated a positive effect of microbiological preparations based on B. subtilis and B. megaterium strains on oats.