Cultivated Area Research Articles

Comparative study on paddy harvesting technologies in Sylhet region

Mechanized paddy harvesting is currently limited in Bangladesh, but the pace of mechanization is increasing. Harvesting must be done on time to minimize losses and timely harvesting depends on the availability of harvesting machinery. The aim of this study was to find out the state of mechanized paddy harvesting technologies in Sylhet region over the last five years. The study was conducted in all upazilas under the Sylhet region to compare mechanized and manual paddy harvesting technologies. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The survey revealed the changes in mechanization status in 2022 compared to the previous four years. In the study area, the average paddy cultivable area was 0.91 million hectares. The pace of mechanized harvesting in Sylhet, Sunamganj, Habiganj, and Moulvibazar district were 31.49%, 24.41%, 19.59%, and 15.95%, respectively. On the basis of the provided data, from 2018 to 2022 the number of harvesting machines increased from 547 to 1852. The manual method, combine harvester, and reaper were used to harvest 76.20%, 21.90%, and 1.90% of the total projected area respectively in 2021-2022. The study revealed that combine harvester covered around 87.47% area than reaper. In 2022, among the 40 upazilas, the most machines were found at Nabiganj upazila in Habiganj district =106, and the fewest machines were found at Barlekha upazila in Moulvibazar district =10. The trend of manual paddy harvesting has declined in Sylhet region due to the increase in the number of harvesting machines. So, harvesting machineries are needed in this region to update paddy harvesting mechanization status.

Exploring the role of new and enhanced BPM capabilities in customer experience management: does BPM matter?

PurposeAlthough improving customer experience (CX) has always been one of the top priorities of business process management (BPM), the evidence on the actual contribution made by traditional BPM to improving CX and customer experience management (CXM) is mixed. Recently, new and enhanced capability areas have been added to the traditional BPM frameworks, yet it is unclear which of them contribute to CXM. Moreover, it is not known which of them are necessary and which are sufficient conditions. The aim of this research is to shed light on the research gap concerning which BPM capabilities, especially new and enhanced ones, are relevant to CXM.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative data from 268 medium and large companies in 3 EU countries were analysed using hierarchical linear regression analysis and necessary condition analysis.FindingsThe results show that traditional BPM capabilities are a necessary condition for CXM, but with minor significance. Most highly significant necessary conditions and also most highly or medium significant sufficient conditions belong to the People or Culture area. Agile Process Improvement is the only new or enhanced BPM capability area in the Methods/IT area that is a necessary and also a sufficient condition for CXM maturity. Advanced Process Digitalisation was identified as neither a significant necessary nor a sufficient condition for CXM.Originality/valueThis research contributes to better understanding of the role played by BPM for CXM, where previous research provides mixed results.

The need for innovations to secure the future of artisanal mussel farming in the coastal sea of the Gulf of Trieste (Slovenia)

Mariculture along the Slovene coastline is mainly mussel culture operated as a family business; in one case, it is combined with sea bass farming. It started in the early 70 s with cultivation of Mediterranean mussels, while today, the two largest producers incorporate the cultivation of Venus clams and oysters as species with higher economic value on the market. Currently, all mussels and clams produced in Slovenia are sold in the Slovenian, Italian, Croatian and French markets. The production of Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) has increased steadily, with the main obstacles being a limited area for cultivation, occasional harmful algal blooms, predation by gilthead seabream and flatworms. In addition, more recent summer heatwaves negatively affected mussel production when seawater reached high temperatures at the thermal limits unsuitable for mussel growth. This study aimed to collect first-hand information about the current mussel production technology, processes and needs to identify opportunities for innovations that could benefit the entire sector (increased knowledge, production yield, reduced workload and effort with administrative issues). The study was based on a semi-structured questionnaire with the owners of mussel farms. Analysis of the questionnaire was supplemented with current knowledge from the field and provided comprehensive insight into a small sector of mussel farming along the Slovenian coast and its possible development in the future.

Risk perception and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in pesticide use: does risk shape farmers’ safety behavior?

ABSTRACT Risk perception and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in pesticide use were studied in 109 farmers of northern Greece. Farmers differed in the levels of pesticide risk perception, with 26.6% showing very low and low levels, 34.9% showing moderate levels, and 38.5% showing high and very high levels. Pesticide risk perception was positively correlated with education and large cultivated area, but negatively with age and non-farming as a main profession. Most farmers (82.6%) showed adequate use of PPE (mostly face mask and gloves). The use of PPE was positively correlated with education and risk perception, but negatively with age and non-farming as a main profession. Farmers with high levels of risk perception used 1.3 and 2.6 times more PPE items than those with moderate and low levels of risk perception, respectively. High education was a positive predictor, whereas main profession other than farming was a negative predictor of PPE use.

First Report of Leaf Spot on Eriobotrya japonica Caused by Alternaria alternata in Southwest Korea.

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a crop cultivated in Southwest Korea, covering an area of 101 ha and yielding 120 tons at harvest (KASS, 2024). Due to its high-income potential, the cultivation area is gradually expanding. In May 2023, 30% of leaf brown spots were observed on all three trees in the Suncheonman National Garden, Suncheon (3488'57.97" N, 12750'92.83" E). As the disease progressed, the brown spot gradually enlarged, turning greyish-ivory inside and forming concentric circles. Three leaf lesions from each tree were cut into 5 x 5 mm pieces, surface-sterilized with 70% ethanol for 1 min, and washed in sterile water three times to isolate the pathogen potentially responsible for these symptoms. The samples obtained were subsequently cultured on 1.5% water agar and then incubated in the dark at 25℃. A total of nine isolates were obtained, with three isolates from each of the three trees through single-spore isolation, namely SYP-1202-1 to 3, SYP-1202-4 to 6, and SYP-1202-7 to 9. The colonies reached 90 mm in diameter after 10 days on potato dextrose agar (PDA), initially dark green, and turned sooty gray after 2 weeks. The hyphae grown on a 0.6% KCl medium for 3 days produced long chains containing three to twelve conidia. The conidia were ellipsoidal or obpyriform in shape and light brown. The conidiophores were straight or curved, measuring 12.1-75.3 x 1.6-4.8 μm (n = 100). The primary and secondary conidia measured length × width of 19.1-60.6 × 6.1-14.4 μm and 8.4-27.8 × 3.5-9.5 μm (n = 100), respectively. The conidia had 1 to 7 transverse and 0 to 3 vertical septa. The morphology of the nine isolates was identical and consistent with Alternaria species (van der Waals et al., 2011; Woudenberg et al., 2015). For molecular identification, ITS (OR844500 to OR844508), GAPDH (OR866383 to OR866391), TEF1 (OR866392 to OR866400), RPB2 (OR866401 to OR866409), Alt a1 (OR866410 to OR866418), endoPG (OR866419 to OR866427), and OPA10-2 (OR866428 to OR866436) sequences from SYP-1202-1 to 9 showed a 100% (515 bp/515 bp), 100% (579/579), 100% (240/240), 100% (753/753), 95.1% (449/472), 100% (448/448), and 100% (634/634) identity with that of type strain A. alternata CBS 115152 (KP124348, KP124202, KP125124, KP124816, KP123896, KP124049, and KP124658, respectively). A pathogenicity test was conducted on three 5-year-old E. japonica cultivar Daebang trees in pots. The surface of the five leaves per tree was sterilized with 70% ethanol for 1 min. Before inoculation, the leaves were wounded with sterile needles and sprayed with the conidial suspension (1×106 conidia/ml) produced from a 1-week-old culture grown on PDA. In contrast, control leaves were sprayed with sterile distilled water. The inoculated leaves were wrapped with black plastic bags and kept at 100% relative humidity for two days. At seven days post-inoculation, symptoms were observed on the wounded leaves, whereas the nonwounded and control leaves did not exhibit any symptoms. The experiment was performed three times in the greenhouse. For each experiment, pathogens were reisolated from the two symptomatic leaves per plant. The identity of the reisolated pathogens was then confirmed via analysis of ITS and RPB2 genes, thereby confirming adherence to Koch's postulates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of E. japonica being infected by A. alternata in Korea. This report provides important information to support effective disease control strategies for E. japonica in orchards in southern Korea.

First report of leaf spot disease caused by Neopestalotiopsis rosae on Lonicera caerulea L. in Heilongjiang Province, China.

Recently, interest in cultivating blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) for horticulture and medicinal uses has grown (Sharma and Lee 2021). Between September 2022 and September 2023, a leaf spot disease (Fig. S1) was observed on approximately 20% of 'Lanjingling' blue honeysuckles grown in a 0.18 ha field in Qiqihar city (123.43°E, 47.92°N), Heilongjiang Province, China. Infected plants displayed black leaf spots that expanded to cover the entire leaf. Small, 3 to 4 mm segments of infected tissue were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol for 30 s and 5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) for 3 min, rinsed three times with sterile distilled water, dried on paper towels, and plated in 9 cm Petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar (PDA) (Ma et al. 2023). To induce sporulation, nine purified cultures (Fig. S2) with similar culture characteristics were finally obtained from ten infected plants and they displayed a conidia morphology consistent with Neopestalotiopsis spp., no other fungi were isolated, and the isolation frequency was 90%. Conidiomata (Fig. S3) were brown to black and distributed in concentric rings with an average size of 261.98 (60.30-451.80) μm (n = 50). The conidia (Fig. S3) were fusoid and had four septa, straight to slightly curved, with an average size of 23.48 (13.50-30.30) × 5.42 (4.50-9.30) μm(n = 50), while basal and apical cells were hyaline and the three middle cells were brown with darker septa. PCR amplification was performed with ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EFl-728F/EF1-986R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), and Btub2Fd/Btub4Rd (Glass and Donaldson 1995) primers from the genomic DNA of the LD-330. Sequences of ITS (PP033584), TEF (PP048757), and TUB (PP048758) revealed 99 to 100% (499/500, 255/255, and 481/486) shared identity with Neopestalotiopsis rosae sequences (NR145243, KM199524, and KM199430) (Rebollar-Alviter et al. 2020). Therefore, based on morphological characteristics and molecular phylogeny, LD-330 was identified as N. rosae. Six two-year-old healthy plants of the 'Lanjingling' cultivar were selected for a pathogenicity test (Yan et al. 2023). The leaves were surface disinfected with 75% alcohol and then wiped with sterilized water three times. Three plants were inoculated with 10 ml of LD-330 conidial suspension (1 × 106 spores/ml) or with sterile water as an experimental control, respectively. All plants were in closed plastic bag, incubated in a greenhouse at 28 ℃ and 75% relative humidity (RH) under a 12-h light/dark cycle, and each experiment was performed three times (Rebollar-Alviter et al. 2020). Typical leaf spot symptoms were observed on inoculated leaves after 14 days (Fig. S4), whereas no symptoms were detected on water-treated leaves. The same pathogen was reisolated from infected leaves, displayed the same morphological and molecular traits, and was again identified as N. rosae, confirming Koch's postulate. Neopestalotiopsis rosae was previously reported on pecan (Gao et al. 2022), causing black leaf spot disease in China. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a blue honeysuckle leaf spot caused by N. rosae in China and specifically in the Heilongjiang province which has the largest blue honeysuckle cultivation area in the country. Future research should be directed toward developing comprehensive management measures.

Delineating the Area for Sustainable Cultivation of Morinda officinalis Based on the MaxEnt Model

Delineating the Area for Sustainable Cultivation of Morinda officinalis Based on the MaxEnt Model

Today's Shifting Cultivation and its Impact on Forest and Environmental Damage in Routa, Konawe, Southeast Sulawesi

This article is intended to explore and analyze some of the impacts of shifting cultivation to the forest environmental degradation in Routa today. This study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches, especially with the rational equation methods where the results of statistical calculations are then culturally interpreted. The results of this study indicate that current shifting cultivation has contributed greatly to the increasing damage to the forest environment and decreased hydro-urologic functions of forests in Routa as well as other ecological functions, including conversion of primary and secondary forest land to shifting cultivation areas, restoration of areas ex-shifting cultivation that are ongoing slower than usual, increased surface water flow, increased erosion, and sedimentation, increased local air temperature and decreased humidity and the potential for large carbon losses.

Community Health Assessment to Identify and Prioritize Health Problems

Background: Community health assessment is a process in which researchers achieve a proper understanding of the community health status through the community active participation. The present study was conducted aiming to identify and prioritize health problems of Meshkin Tappeh village with people’s direct involvement. Methods: This study was conducted using the community assessment method in Meshkin Tappeh village in the city of Bueen Zahra, Iran, based on the North Carolina model. One person was selected from each household, and a total of 271 people were entered into the study. The community health assessment process was performed in 8 stages and problem prioritizing was also carried out using Hanlon’s scoring matrix method. Results: At the village level, 32 problems were identified in 6 areas, including problems related to health area (31.2%), municipal services area (21.8%), educational and cultural area (15.6%), economic and employment area (12.5%), social and citizenship rights area (12.5%), and security area (6.4%). Based on the matrix table scoring criteria, the problem of drug peddlers (15 points), poverty and low income (14 points), dropping out of school (13 points), emergency preparedness in unexpected events (12 points), and non-financial support for many health costs (12 points) were identified as 5 main problems at the village level. Conclusion: In this research, a broad spectrum of social, cultural, economic, and health problems were identified. Although the selected priority for further assessment was allocated to the problem of drug peddlers, solving all these problems requires the consultation and cooperation of all public institutions and organizations and the people.

Taxonomic and functional composition of arthropod assemblages across contrasting three different land use systems

Soil microarthropods play a crucial role in agricultural ecosystems and are necessary for the upkeep of fertile and productive soils. Limited knowledge exists regarding the composition of soil microarthropod communities in changing agricultural and impervious land use systems. Hence, we conducted a comparative analysis of the soil microarthropod diversity in shifting cultivation and impervious land areas, as well as the surrounding natural forest ecosystem in Aizawl, Mizoram, northeast India. Additionally, we evaluated the influence of shifting cultivation and impervious land use regimes on the diversity of these microarthropods. The investigation was done between 2022 and 2023. Soil and litter samples (n=50) were gathered from three distinct land use systems. The soil microarthropods were extracted using the Berlese funnel method. Microarthropod taxa were identified down to the most specific taxonomic level feasible. The variety of soil microarthropods was significantly affected by the practice of shifting cultivation and in the impervious land areas, in comparison to the natural forest system. The soil chemical profiles were notably altered in the shifting agriculture and impermeable land use systems, indicating their detrimental effects on soil microarthropod diversity. This study presented the startling information on the diversity of soil microarthropods and their relationship with the land-use systems in Mizoram, a region in northeast India.

Spiritual places: Spatial recognition of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual perception.

Tibetan Buddhism, as an indigenous religion, has a significant and far-reaching influence in the Tibetan areas of China. This study, focusing on Lhasa, explores the integration of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual perceptions within urban spaces. Employing a novel approach that combines street view data and deep learning technology, the research aims to identify and map the spatial distribution of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual sites against the backdrop of the urban landscape. Our analysis reveals a notable concentration of these spiritual places near urban architectural and cultural heritage areas, highlighting the profound connection between residents' cultural life and spiritual practices. Despite challenges posed by modern urbanisation, these spiritual sites demonstrate resilience and adaptability, continuing to serve as cultural and spiritual pillars of the Tibetan Buddhist community. This study contributes to the fields of urban planning, religious studies, and digital humanities by demonstrating the potential of technology in examining the impact of urban development on cultural and religious landscapes. The research underscores the importance of protecting and integrating spaces of spiritual perception in urban development planning. It shows that safeguarding these spaces is crucial not only for cultural heritage preservation but also for achieving sustainable urban development and social harmony. This study opens new avenues for interdisciplinary research, advocating for a deeper understanding of the dynamic relationship between urban development and spiritual spaces from psychological, sociological, and environmental science perspectives. As urban landscapes evolve, the study emphasises the need to maintain a balance between material sustainability and cultural and spiritual richness in urban planning.

Digital Technologies Adoption and Economic Benefits in Agriculture: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Governments globally aim to boost productivity and enhance farmers’ livelihoods, addressing challenges like climate change, food security, and labor shortages through digital technologies. However, adoption rates in developing countries remain low due to uncertainties regarding expected returns and obstacles stemming from subjective and objective factors among farmers. This study takes China as a case study to examine the internal and external factors influencing growers’ adoption intensity of digital technology and its impact on enhancing economic benefits, aiming to provide valuable insights for the promotion of digital technology in other countries and regions. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating qualitative and quantitative methodologies, utilizing data from Shandong and Liaoning provinces. The findings underscore the significant role of growers’ knowledge, technology compatibility, government support, and competitive pressure in driving the adoption of digital technology among growers, with male growers and those managing larger cultivation areas demonstrating higher adoption intensity. Digital technologies can enhance growers’ economic benefits by reducing labor and input costs, increasing yields, and improving quality, with a 30.4% increase in economic benefits for each unit increase in adoption intensity of digital technologies. Technology promoters can use these findings to enhance growers’ awareness, highlight the practical benefits, and offer agricultural socialized services to promote digital technology adoption.

Mites associated with açaí palm trees (Euterpe oleracea: Arecaceae) in native and cultivated areas of the state of Pará (Eastern Amazon, Brazil).

The objective was to quantify and analyze the diversity of mites associated with native and cultivated açaí palms crops, as well as their distribution in the dry and rainy seasons in the municipalities of Bragança and Augusto Corrêa, state of Pará. Rarefaction curves were generated for diversity values using the statistical programming language R, rarefaction curves for estimates of richness and equitability, and analysis of variance with permutations. A total of 2069 mites from 28 families were sampled, being most representative Phytoseiidae (32.4%), Phytoptidae (13%), Cunaxidae (7.7%), Tetranychidae (5.6%) and Tydeidae (4.9%). Among predators, the most abundant species were Amblyseius sp. 1, Armascirus amazoniensis Wurlitzer & Silva, Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark & Muma, Scutopalus tomentosus Rocha, Skvarla & Ferla, and the phytophagous mites Acaphyllisa sp., Davisella sp., Oligonychus sp. and Retracus johnstoni Keifer. In the rainy season, more mites were sampled (n = 1176) than in the dry season (n = 893). The greatest richness was observed in the dry period (73 species) and diversity was also greater in this period. In the municipality of Bragança there was greater richness (78 species) and the cultivated açaí trees had greater acarine abundance (74.7%) than the native ones. However, natives had slightly higher wealth (6%) than those cultivated. The diversity and richness of predatory mites show the potential of the Amazon biome to be used in applied biological control.

Optimization of the Co-Production between the Rice Husk and the Pulp of the Cashew Apple Produced in the Natural Region of Casamance

Anaerobic digestion or anaerobic digestion is a biological process of degradation of organic matter in an anaerobic environment. It involves the degradation and stabilization of complex organic matter by a consortium of micro-organisms leading to methane-rich biogas that can be used as an alternative energy to fossil fuels. In addition, the use of biogas allows for the preservation of the environment and the sustainable development of rural areas and landlocked regions, as well as the diversification of energy resources, but also contributes to the development of agriculture through the production of organic fertilizer. In 2018, Senegal was ranked as the 15th world exporter of cashew nuts with a production of around 18,000 tons per year according to a study by PADEC (Support Program for the Development of Casamance). Four regions mainly invest in it: Kolda, Ziguinchor, Sédhiou, and Fatick. However, in the natural region of Casamance ( Kolda, Ziguinchor, and Sédhiou), each year, after the cashew nut campaign, more than 342,000 tons of cashew apples, pressed or not, are rejected without any recovery, thus degrading in the environment. In addition, rice is traditionally grown in Casamance and in some Diola circles, it had become one of the criteria of wealth, which explains why it occupied most of the cultivated areas and each year thousands of tons of rice husk are burned for elimination/reduction without any recovery. These immense annual productions of waste, without any recovery, in a context dominated by a deficit in cooking and lighting energy constitutes a form of energy resilience and motivates us to study the co-digestion of the rice husk (with a report of C/N equal to 101.317) on cashew apple pulp (having a C/N ratio of 23.201 ). The study of the co-digestion of rice husk and apple pulp at the laboratory scale with the inoculum reveals, that the co-digestion with pH correction contains 39.40% methane and 51.50% carbon dioxide after 49 days of production and 64.04% methane (CH4) and 25.86% carbon dioxide (CO2) on the 96th day. For co-digestion without adjustment, production stopped on the 49th day with a production of 23.68% methane and 45.65% carbon dioxide.

Landscape-Scale Biodiversity Impacts Analysis of Côte d'Ivoire's Cocoa Cultivation along Export Supply Chains.

Agricultural land use for export commodities leads to significant biodiversity impacts. A spatially detailed assessment of these impacts is crucial for implementing effective mitigation policies. Using cocoa cultivation and exports in Côte d'Ivoire as an example, we present a novel framework that combines earth observations, enhanced landscape-scale biodiversity models, and subnational export supply chain data sets to track the tele-connected potential biodiversity impacts of export groups and importing countries. We found that cocoa cultivation accounts for ∼44% of the biodiversity impacts in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa cultivation areas, with >90% attributable to cocoa exports. The top 10 importing countries account for ∼84% of these impacts. Our method offers improved spatial detail compared to the existing approaches, facilitating the identification of biodiversity impact hotspots. Additionally, the biodiversity impacts of agroforestry cocoa are not always lower compared to full-sun cocoa, especially when agroforestry systems are established in regions of high biodiversity importance. Our transferable framework provides a comprehensive understanding of biodiversity footprint and promotes informed decision-making for sustainable agricultural production, processing, and trade. Our framework's application is currently constrained by the scarcity of detailed supply chain data sets; we underscore the urgent need for improved supply chain transparency to fully unlock the framework's potential.

A concise review: edible mushroom and their medicinal significance

In many areas of human life, including food, health, culture, and religion, mushrooms have had a significant impact. Most people eat mushrooms for their flavor and texture. Recently, they have gained popularity as a protein source and a drug research tool. According to the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota, mushrooms are fungi that produce spongy fruiting bodies, particularly those that possess a stalk and an envelope top. Mushrooms are composed of 90% water and 10% dry material. Additionally, it has a physicochemical composition that is important for nutrition. Edible mushrooms have been shown to offer therapeutic benefits, including anti-cancer, cardiovascular, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, hypolipidemic, antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-diabetic actions. Mushrooms are a fantastic source of nourishment since they are rich in proteins, minerals, complex sugars, unsaturated fatty acids, and secondary metabolites. The composition and nutritional benefits of edible mushrooms have been carefully investigated in this review. Edible mushrooms have been used as potential therapeutic stand-ins, and bioactive components present in edible mushrooms, such as polyphenolic compounds and antioxidant activity, have also been studied. This review article may also help scientists, researchers, and medical professionals slow the advancement of some lifestyle diseases, neurological disorders, along autoimmune disorders.

How Did Alexander the Great influence Macedonian Culture?

Alexander's empire had a great influence on the later history of Europe. Therefore, this paper hopes to study the culture and policies of other countries in the most glorious period of Alexander's empire, the period of Alexander the Great, to determine whether it really had such a big impact. Alexander the Great exported Macedonian culture including but not limited to architecture, transportation, military ideas, philosophy, and literature. At the same time, he promoted the exchange and integration of various ethnic cultures during his reign. Therefore, we can judge that Alexander's empire had a great influence on the whole of Asia and Europe in every important area of culture, policy and economy. This paper allows the reader to get a clearer picture of where and to what extent Alexander's influence mainly existed.

An analysis of the perceived effectiveness and upscaling potential of climate-smart agriculture interventions in the Sistan Plain, Iran

The deficient extension of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) interventions in developing regions, where farming livelihood is threatened by natural disasters like drought, is still a concerning dilemma. Development paradigms are not consistent with CSA competencies in providing food security and climatic resilience and often neglect livelihood indices regarding upscaling patterns in CSA development. This research investigated the effectiveness and upscaling potential of CSA interventions in the Sistan Plain in Sistan and Baluchistan province, Iran. A sample of 361 farmers was taken by stratified randomization with proportional allocation. The CSA effectiveness was measured by productivity, income, resilience, and impact mitigation, and the CSA upscaling potential was measured by technical feasibility, technology cost, gender inclusivity, and synergy with government plans. The factors determining CSA effectiveness and upscaling potential were specified by regression models considering farmer households’ livelihood indices. The results revealed that the variables of participation in education, the cultivation area, road connections, hygienic facilities, educational level, house type, farming water resources, cooking facilities, experience in farming, social recognition, and access to shared facilities determined the effectiveness of CSA practices. Also, CSA upscaling potential was found to be influenced by participation in education, the cultivation area, social recognition, farming water resources, house type, hygienic facilities, educational level, experience in farming, road connections, cooking facilities, and number of children.

Unlocking the Potential of Pepper Plants under Salt Stress: Mycorrhizal Effects on Physiological Parameters Related to Plant Growth and Gas Exchange across Tolerant and Sensitive Genotypes.

Agriculture is confronted with the challenge of ensuring global food security, yet the rapid expansion of salinity stress undoubtedly restricts plant productivity in cultivable areas, posing a significant threat to crop yields. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) have emerged as a biological tool for enhancing plant salt stress tolerance. To utilize this biological tool, this study evaluated the response in growth and physiological parameters of tolerant (Karaisali) and sensitive (Demre) pepper genotypes. The experiment involved mycorrhizal-treated (Glomus clarium) and non-mycorrhizal (control) plants of both the tolerant and sensitive pepper genotypes. The plants were subjected to two salt doses: 75 and 150 mM. The plant growth and physiological parameters were measured at 40 days after transplanting. The mycorrhizal activity was found to be significantly more effective in the sensitive genotype. We found notable differences in mycorrhizal activity between the pepper genotypes under salt stress conditions, with the sensitive genotype "Demre" showing greater responsiveness to mycorrhizal association compared with the "Karaisali" variety. Under both moderate (75 mM NaCl) and higher salt stress levels (150 mM NaCl), both the "Karaisali" and "Demre" varieties exhibited substantial increases in their shoot dry weights. However, these increases were consistently higher in the "Demre" plants. Moreover, the AMFs demonstrated significant enhancements in photosynthesis rates under both moderate and high salinity levels in both genotypes. Overall, our findings suggest that AMFs play a crucial role in improving plant growth, water status, and photosynthesis characteristics, particularly in salt-sensitive pepper genotypes, under moderate-to-high salinity levels. In conclusion, the plant growth, water status, and photosynthesis characteristics of the salt-sensitive pepper genotype were significantly improved by AMFs at medium and high salinity levels, such as 75 mM and 150 mM NaCl, respectively.

Establishing a protected area network in Xinlong with other effective area-based conservation measures.

Protected areas (PAs) are pivotal to biodiversity conservation, yet their efficacy is compromised by insufficient funding and management. So-called other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) present a paradigm shift and address PA limitations. Such measures can expand conservation areas, enhance connectivity, and improve the existing system. To assess the conservation status of biodiversity in Tibetan cultural areas in China, we investigated the spatial distribution of wildlife vulnerable to human disturbance (large- and medium-sized mammals and terrestrial birds) in Xinlong, a traditional Tibetan cultural area. In particular, we compared a PA (Xionglongxi Nature Reserve) and OECMs targeting species conservation. We also investigated the relationship of wildlife with human temporal and spatial activities. The OECMs complemented areas not covered by PA, especially in rich understory biodiversity regions. More species in OECMs tolerated human presence than species in the PA. Existing biodiversity reserves failed to cover areas of high conservation value in Tibet and offered limited protection capacity. Expanding PAs and identifying OECMs improved Xinlong's system by covering most biodiversity hotspots. Building on the tradition of wildlife conservation in Tibet, harnessing OECMs may be an effective means of augmenting biodiversity conservation capacity. We recommend further evaluation of OECMs effectiveness and coverage in Tibetan area as a way to enhance the current PA system.