Ecosystem Sustainable Development Research Articles

Modeling of comparative studies on surface micro morphology of Aeolian, River, Lake, and Beach sand samples using SEM and EDS/EDAX

The study's aim was to affirm the micro morphological diversity of sand grains and to uncover the relationship between morphological features of sand grains and sampling sites from various transportation environments, like wind (Aeolian), River, Lake, and beach sand samples, their surface micromorphology and geochemical analysis has been investigated using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDS/EDAX). Exoscopy of sand particles are very useful for knowing the dominant type and rate of sediment transportation. Four different environmental sand samples were collected in the Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Karnataka (KA) states in South India. Aeolian, River, and Beach sand samples were collected in the Anantapur, Nellore, and Vishakhapatnam districts of AP. Lake samples were collected in the Udupi district of KA. The importance of the study is to identify the rate of transportation of the sample in different environmental condition like water, and wind. The present study data can be utilized for special relevance to environmental scientists, research scholars, and planning agencies for monitoring geomorphological agents for the sustainable development of ecosystems in a well-organized way. Micro textures on sand grain surfaces show details about the past environment. Environmental processes such as wind and water produce distinctive micro textures on sand grain surfaces, which can be seen using a scanning electron microscope at high magnification. The analysis of quartz sand grains from various sedimentary environments using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that some sedimentary processes impose distinct surface textures on the grains.

Effects of planting Melia azedarach L. on soil properties and microbial community in saline‐alkali soil

AbstractSaline‐alkali soils are widely distributed in China, affecting plant growth and sustainable development of ecosystems. Few studies have been done on the improvement of saline‐alkali soils by planting Melia azedarach in phytoremediation. This study characterized the effects of planting M. azedarach on chemical properties and microbial communities in saline‐alkali soils [bare (CK), bulk (BS), and rhizosphere soil (RS)]. Compared with the bare soil, planting M. azedarach lowered salt content and concentrations of extractable Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and Cl−, but significantly increased organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, available phosphorus, soil urease activity, and alkaline phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soil. High‐throughput sequencing results indicated that M. azedarach increased the Chao1 index and Shannon index of soil microbial communities. The three dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, and the three dominant fungal phyla were Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and Glomeromycota. Redundancy analysis indicated that total phosphorus concentration and alkaline phosphatase activity significantly influenced bacterial diversity, whereas soil Ca2+ and Mg2+ concentrations were closely related to the fungal community diversity. In conclusion, planting Melia azedarach improved soil properties, increased the diversity and richness of soil microbial communities, and thus ameliorated the saline‐alkali soil.

Sustainable development of the region's ecosystem: essence and support problems

The article examines the essence of the ecosystem of the region and the problems of its sustainable development support. In particular, different interpretations of the ecosystem are identified. The ecosystem approach is presented as the basis of the concept of sustainable development. 
 It is proposed to define the ecosystem of the region as a set of interdependent actors and factors coordinated to improve the social, ecological and economic condition of the region. The region's ecosystem has its own structure, which is defined in the paper. Each ecosystem is characterized by a specific set of characteristics, which determine the potential for ecosystem development, including resources, barriers and needs that distinguish ecosystems in different regions. The stakeholders within the ecosystem structure include public authorities and local governments, the private sector, the public sector, as well as educational institutions and research institutions. Each stakeholder has own functions, which contribute to sustainable development of the ecosystem. The components of the region's ecosystems meet the three dimensions of the sustainable development goals, the simultaneous implementation of which is of great importance. 
 There are a lot of factors, which influence the region's ecosystem development. The classification of these factors is presented in the article. The factors include internal and external, resource and regulatory, positive and negative impact etc. The possible manifestation of positive and negative impact of the factors on sustainable development of the region's ecosystem is examined. The factors specific to Luhansk oblast, which are connected with the negative impact of the armed conflict, are outlined. 
 The necessity to create the institutional support of sustainable development of region's ecosystem is defined. Such institutional support includes regulatory, organizational, managerial, financial, economic and information components. These components are realized within the legislative framework, organizational framework, civil society framework.

Spatial and Temporal Dynamics Analysis of the Anionic Composition (Sulfates, Fluorides, Chlorides) of the Proletarskoye Reservoir

This research’s goal is to study the features and find the patterns of changes in the concentration of chlorides, sulfates and fluorides over the past nine years and also along the longest part of the reservoir. Material and methods. During the research information on the history of the construction of the reservoir, its configuration and the sources used for desalination was used. Regular sampling data at three sampling points during 9 years was used for the research (in 2010-2018) these three sampling points are: one in the salty part of the reservoir and two in the desalinated part. Ion concentrations both annual and monthly average were used. Results. Chlorides, sulfates and fluorides dynamics was analyzed. It was discovered that the eastern part of the reservoir, which is river-fed and which is passing through salt marshes, is the main source of sulfates and chlorides while fluorides come from other sources. Conclusion. The conclusion about the spatial and temporal distribution of the anions also contains recommendations for a more detailed research of the salt composition of the Proletarskoye reservoir. It is also concluded that there is a particular influence of the anthropogenic factor on the development of sustainable ecosystems in such disturbed biogeocenosis as in an artificial reservoir.

Multilevel modelling of impacts of human and natural factors on ecosystem services change in an oasis, Northwest China

Clarifying driving mechanisms of ecosystem services changes is key to sustainable ecosystem management. This study evaluated three key ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration (proxied by net primary production, NPP), water yield, and soil conservation in Zhanyge during 1990-2015, and applied multilevel modeling to examine the impacts of sub-watershed level natural factors and county level human factors on ecosystem services changes. The results showed the ecological vulnerable Qilian mountain area possessed high values of these ecosystem services. During 1990-2015, NPP and water yield increased, and soil conservation decreased. Results of the multilevel models indicated that natural and human factors drove ecosystem service changes in various degrees and directions and it was necessary to consider the scale dependence of the driving factors at different levels. Particularly, forest land, grassland and cultivated land expansion led to increase of NPP, water yield and soil conservation, grain productivity and agricultural machinery level had negative effects on water yield, while had positive impacts on soil conservation. Overall, it is necessary to strengthen ecological protection in the Qilian mountain area and strictly control cultivated land expansion balance to maintain sustainable development of ecosystem with comprehensively considering the effects of driving factors and local conditions.

Predicting the Areas of Suitable Distribution for Zelkova serrata in China under Climate Change

Predicting the geographic distribution of a species together with its response to climate change is of great significance for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem sustainable development. Zelkova serrata is an excellent shelterbelt tree species that is used for soil and water conservation due to the fact of its well-developed root system, strong soil fixation, and wind resistance. However, the wild germplasm resources of Z. serrata have been increasingly depleted due to the fact of its weak ability to regenerate naturally and the unprecedented damage humans have caused to the natural habitats. The present work using Maxent aimed to model the current potential distribution of this species as well as in the future, assess how various environmental factors affect species distribution, and identify the shifts in the distribution of this species in various climate change scenarios. Our findings show habitat in provinces in the southern Qinling and Huai river basins have high environmental suitability. Temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, annual mean temperature, and warmest quarter precipitation were the most important factors affecting its distribution. Under a climate change scenario, the appropriate habitat range showed northeastward expansion geographically. The results in the present work can lay the foundation for the cultivation and conservation of Z. serrata.

Problems of sustainable development of ecosystems

The present paper provides the concept of self-renewing of ecosystems. It is shown that multidimensionality and mutual exclusion of individual components of the environment make the problem of optimization, i.e. achieving the conditions of sustainable development, too difficult. However, the goal of sustainable nature management is possible with the existence of ecosystem properties for self-renewal due to the presence of cyclical processes, ecological capacity, migration capabilities of ecosystem components and pollutants metabolism, as well as the use of waste-free and energy-saving technologies. It is proposed to model the ecosystem in the form of the “eight”, which reflects it as a closed cyclic system able for adaptation. When analyzing such a complex system, the following principles should be followed: simplification; consideration of processes in dynamics; considering the possibility of ambiguity, incompleteness and inaccuracy of information; using a risk-based approach to impact assessment; understanding the system as a hierarchical structure able for adaptation and development. It is noted that all local ecosystems in the region are interconnected and affect the characteristics of neighboring local ecosystems, usually requiring the adjustment of resources and connections.

漓江流域生态系统服务价值最大化的土地利用结构优化

土地利用结构优化是促进生态系统可持续发展的重中之重，而生态管理的最终目标是优化生态系统服务，使生态系统提供的服务达到最大化。选择典型生态脆弱区漓江流域为研究区，将整个生态系统服务价值的最大化作为研究目标，首先结合野外实验和五期Landsat高分遥感影像获取基础数据，对研究区1998-2018年各项生态系统服务价值进行估算，然后结合灰色线性模型对2018-2028年价值进行预测，借助Lingo软件提出生态效益最大化的土地结构优化方案，进而对优化前后研究区生态系统服务价值进行比较与分析。结果表明：（1）近20年间研究区主要土地利用类型一直以林地与耕地为主，所占比例保持在整个流域的95%。水域与耕地面积逐年减少，林地、建设用地及未利用地面积持续增加。此外，未利用地面积发生的变化最为显著，增加了近30倍，主要由林地与耕地转变而来。（2）研究区生态系统服务价值总体约减少了19.55×10⁶元，呈现先上升后下降趋势，并将长期处于下降趋势，至2028年时流域生态系统服务价值将减少至8067.43×10⁶元。在流域整体生态系统中，林地价值最高，在历年约占流域总价值的86%，其次是水域及耕地，分别占比8%、6%。（3）对研究区进行优化后，漓江流域总生态系统服务价值增长了2%，其中主要来源于林地与水域面积的增加，提高了生态系统调节服务的供给能力，耕地、建设用地面积略微增加，未利用地面积显著减少，基本与2008年水平持平。本研究通过优化喀斯特地区关键生态系统服务价值，为该区域生态管理提供科学支撑。;The land utilization structure optimization will promote the sustainable development of ecosystems, which is the top priority. The ultimate goal of ecological management is to optimize the ecosystem services to maximize the services provided by the ecosystem. The paper select the typical ecologically fragile Lijiang River basin as the study area, and the maximization of the value of the whole ecosystem services as the research target. First, combined with field experiments and five phases of Landsat high-resolution remote sensing images to obtain the basic data, estimated each item from 1998 to 2018 for the value of ecosystem services research area. Then combined with the gray linear model for predicting the value in 2018-2028. Final,with the help of Lingo software so as to put forward the optimization scheme of land structure to maximize ecological benefits, and then further to making comparison and analysis for the ecosystem value in research area where were optimized before and after. The results showed that (1) Nearly 20 years, in study area the principal land-use types are forestland and cultivated land, which accounts for 98% of whole drainage basin. The water area and cultivated land area decreased year by year, but the forestland and construction land as well as unused land area continue to increase. In addition, unused land area had changed obviously, which even increased around 30 times and mainly converted from forest land and cultivated land. (2) During studying, the value of ecosystem service had decreased around 19.55×10⁶ RMB, which showed the trend of down after up and will keep such trend in long term. Till 2028, the drainage basin ecosystem services values will be reduced to 8067.43×10⁶ RMB. So, the forest land value is the highest among the overall ecosystem of the drainage basin, which occupies around the 86% of basin total value in past years, followed by the water area and cultivated land area, which account for 8% and 6% separately. (3) After optimizing the study area, the total ecosystem services values in the Lijiang River basin has increased 2%, which mainly because the forest land and water area increased and improved the supply capacity for the ecosystem regulating services. Meanwhile, the arable land and construction land increased slightly, and the area of the unused land decreased significantly, which keeps the same level in 2008. This study provided the scientific support for ecological management in karst areas by optimizing the key ecosystem services values.

Russian Arctic ecosystem sustainability in rapid changes and challenges

The issues of the ensuring of the Arctic ecosystem sustainability are considered in the paper. The authors research the main approaches to sustainable development policy implemented by the Arctic countries, including the Russian Federation. The relevance of the study is justified by the ongoing rapid changes in the Arctic space lead to negative consequences associated with the safety of human life in the northern regions. The article also substantiates the positive aspects of climate change and their impact on sustainable development. Based on statistical analysis, the authors identify the main trends in socio-economic and environmental changes in the Russian Arctic. The Conclusion outlines the directions for ensuring of ecosystem sustainable development, based on innovation, non-conflict coexistence of northern communities and business, the implementation of a rational state policy based on the balance of the economy, social sphere and natural capital.

Sedimentation and its response to management strategies of the Three Gorges Reservoir, Yangtze River, China

The Three Gorges Dam (TGD), on the upper valley of the Yangtze River, China, is the largest water conservancy and power generation project in the world. Problematic sedimentation in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) is related to the reservoir lifetime, hydropower generation, riverbed erosion, and sustainable development of ecosystems. In this study, measures to holistically and systematically address sedimentation in the TGR are -discussed and demonstrated, including upstream sediment trapping, regulatory optimisation with respect to sediment peaks and reservoir tail sedimentation reduction, and sediment dredging. Owing to upstream reservoir sediment trapping, the incoming sediment load of the TGR has decreased markedly. Results showed that the annual incoming sediment was only 164 million tons, nearly 70% lesser than the preliminary design value. By intercepting the sediment in the upstream reservoirs and conducting sediment peak regulation, the volume and rates of sedimentation in the TGR decreased significantly. Meanwhile, through sediment peak regulation during the flood season, increased volumes of sediment could be discharged downstream, thereby relieving sediment starvation downstream of the TGD. Overall, through adoption of the related sedimentation management strategies, sediment deposition decreased considerably, to approximately 33% of the preliminary design value, thereby successfully addressing the sediment problems in the TGR. Useful sedimentation management strategies learned from the TGR experience can be applied elsewhere to ensure the sustainable use and management of reservoirs.

Study on Abundance and Distribution Pattern of Collembola on Three Types of Land Utilizations in Banjar Regency, South Kalimantan

Collembola is one of soil organism which classified as mesofauna. This reseach is aims to study the abundance and distribution patterns of Collembola on three types of land utilization in Banjar District, South Kalimantan Province. This research was conducted on April 2020 by using a purposive sampling method. Based on results of Collembola identification obtained at the sampling location, there are 12 genera, 6 families, and 2 orders of Collembola. The highest abundance is found in oil palm plantations. While the Collembola distribution pattern on the three types of land clearing is the same, which is clustering. The results of this study are expected to provide information on the study of abundance and distribution patterns of Collembola in South Kalimantan Province related to environmental factors also help in carrying out sustainable ecosystem development.

Identification of geo-environmental factors on Benggang susceptibility and its spatial modelling using comparative data-driven methods

Benggang, a fragmented erosion landform, is the most serious threat to the sustainable development of ecosystem and economy in southern China. However, few studies have been conducted on variations and conditions of the geo-environmental factors that influence the susceptibility of Benggang. To address this challenge, the spatial susceptibility of Benggang was investigated using three data-driven methods (multinomial logistic regression, MLR; random forest, RF; multilayer perceptron, MLP) in Fujian province, and the dominant driving forces to Benggang susceptibility were identified by Boruta algorithm, while the contribution of each factor’s class to Benggang occurrence was determined by frequency ratio (FR). Herein, thirteen conditioning factors with relate to geomorphology, climate, vegetation, and land use was employed. Among these factors, the most noticeable contributions to Benggang occurrence at a provincial scale were from rainfall erosivity, soil moisture, and NDVI with their corresponding critical ranges of 7475 ∼ 8349 MJ mm(ha ha)−1, 0.268 ∼ 0.297 m3 m-3, and 0.58 ∼ 0.68. According to the area under the success rate and prediction curves (AUC) for the evaluation of susceptibility modelling, the averaged training accuracies for susceptibility levels were 85.70 %, 99.99 % and 99.23 %, while the prediction accuracies were 85.79 %, 99.17 % and 97.07 % for MLR, RF and MLP, respectively. In general, RF with its AUC value, exceeding 98% at each susceptibility level for both success and prediction curve, was especially suitable for the assessment of the regional Benggang susceptibility. Furthermore, the methodological framework of this study could be implanted in Benggang erosion regions with similar conditions and data availabilities, whereas different data mining techniques and condition factors should be considered at different scales in our future work.

Quantitative assessment of driving factors affecting human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) in the Qilian Mountains, China

The combined effects of climate change and human activities pose threat to the sustainable development of ecosystems. Human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP) has been extensively used as an important indicator for evaluating the sustainable development of the ecosystem. However, few studies quantitatively assessed the driving factors of HANPP. Based on Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data, methods of net primary production (NPP) model and regression analysis, the spatial and temporal distribution of HANPP and its driving factors in the Qilian Mountains from 2005 to 2015 were illustrated. The results showed that the HANPP in the Qilian Mountains decreased gradually from both east to west and from south to north, showing a slight upward overall. The regions affected by human activities and climate change accounted for 26.8% and 73.2% respectively. Moreover, there was a significant negative impact between grain yield and HANPP, and a significant positive impact of either the annual sunshine duration, or livestock amount to HANPP.

A Remotely Sensed Assessment of Surface Ecological Change over the Gomishan Wetland, Iran

Due to the excessive use of natural resources in the contemporary world, the importance of ecological and environmental condition modeling has increased. Wetlands and cities represent the natural and artificial strategic areas that affect ecosystem conditions. Changes in the ecological conditions of these areas have a great impact on the conditions of the global ecosystem. Therefore, modeling spatiotemporal variations of the ecological conditions in these areas is critical. This study was aimed at comparing degrees of variation among surface ecological conditions due to natural and unnatural factors. Consequently, the surface ecological conditions of Gomishan city and Gomishan wetland in Iran were modeled for a period of 30 years, and the spatiotemporal variations were evaluated and compared with each other. To this end, 20 Landsat 5, 7, and 8, and 432 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), monthly land surface temperature (LST) (MOD11C3) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (MOD13C3) products were utilized. The surface ecological conditions were modeled according to the Remote Sensing-based Ecological Index (RSEI), and the spatiotemporal variation of the RSEI values in the study area (Gomishan city, Gomishan wetland) were evaluated and compared with each other. According to MODIS products, the mean of the LST and NDVI variance values for the study area (Gomishan city, Gomishan wetland) were obtained to be 6.5 °C (2.1, 12.1) and 0.009 (0.005, 0.013), respectively. The highest LST and NDVI temporal variations were found for Gomishan wetland near the Caspian Sea. According to Landsat images, Gomishan wetland and Gomishan city have the highest and lowest temporal variations in surface biophysical characteristics, respectively. The mean RSEI for the study area (Gomishan city, Gomishan wetland) was 0.43 (0.65, 0.29), respectively. Additionally, the mean Coefficient of Variation (CV) of RSEI for the study area (Gomishan city, Gomishan wetland) was 0.10 (0.88, 0.51), respectively. The surface ecological conditions of Gomishan city were worse than those of the Gomishan wetland at all dates. Temporal variations in the surface ecological conditions of Gomishan wetland were greater than those of the study area and Gomishan city. These results can provide useful and effective information for environmental planning and decision-making to improve ecological conditions, protect the environment, and support sustainable ecosystem development.

A Persistently Increasing Precipitation Trend Through the Holocene in Northwest China Recorded by Black Carbon δ13C From Sayram Lake

Precipitation is the crucial factor for the stability and sustainable development of ecosystem and human community in arid areas under the future climate change.However, Holocene precipitation evolution and its long-term characters in arid northwest China have not been well documented. Thus, more reconstruction records are needed to deepen our understanding of the regional Holocene precipitation variation.In this study, we present a well-dated and high-resolution black carbon isotope-inferred precipitation record over the last 12880 cal.yr BP from Sayram Lake in the western Tianshan Mountains, Xinjiang province, northwest China. The variation of the black carbon δ 13 C values indicate that the precipitation in the study areas gradually decreased from ~12280 to 9260 cal.yr BP, and then persistent increased after 9260 cal.yr BP to the present with millennial to centennial timescale oscillations superimposed on this general trend. During the Holocene, a distinct less precipitation stage appeared in 9800-8800 cal.yr BP and two episodes of increasing precipitations occurred in 8000-7600cal.yr BP and 5800-2500 cal.yr BP respectively, with the highest rainfall around at ~3800 cal.yr BP. The precipitation persistent increasing trend is generally consistent with the records from surrounding areas. Solar radiation and its activities on the millennial and centennial timescales control the precipitation variation in the arid Northwest China through the influence on the North Atlantic SST and westerly wind intensity to determine the water vapor transported to Xinjiang. Our study results will facilitate the understanding on the driving mechanisms of Holocene precipitation evolution.

Challanges of sustainable food technology

Over the last decades due to rapid development of human civilization along with revolution in technology, some burning issues about generation of environmental contaminant, management of by-products from technologies, high consumption of natural resources and conservation of natural resources have been dramatically raised. Without any contradiction, impacts in overall ecosystem as well as human civilization have negative effects. These evoked lots of scientific and industrial researches, and implemented several stricter environmental legislations on the development of sustainable ecosystem. Thus, sustainability has become an emerging topic all over the world, as evidenced by the growing body of scientific publications in the last 20 years with one order of magnitude increase since the start of the new century. The study attempts to perform a review ty is an emerging topic all over the world of the sustainable development from the food industry’s perspective. At present, the agro-food sector produces high amount of carbon dioxide, food waste, packaging waste, wastewater, etc. and it is still consuming a lot of water, land, oxygen and energy. Furthermore, taken into consideration the increasing number of the world’s population, there has been an enhancing interest experienced towards sustainable development among food manufacturers in the last decades. The article highlights the paramount areas of sustainable production, which offers new directions towards the increasing number of human beings for the future survival. The paper also gives an overview of the main perspectives contra constraints of sustainable food production, offers innovative food products from sustainable food waste and by-product, and focuses on the growing importance of sustainable food production in life cycle assessment methodology as well.

Assessing Human Molybdenum Nutritional Status by Analyzing Frequency distribution Properties in the Hair and Whole Blood with a Median Derivatives Bioassay

Abstract Objectives Molybdenum is the essential trace element in human nutrition since it is a part of a pterin coenzyme which is essential for the activity of various oxidases. High doses of Mo are neurotoxic to the human brain. The safe adequate intake of Mo is set at 75–200 µg·g−1, but there is no available long-term biological indicator tissue to assess the Mo nutritional status. The aim of this study was to assess human Mo nutritional status with a median derivatives bioassay. Methods We analyzed frequency distribution of hair Mo (HMo) in a prospective, observational, cross sectional and exploratory epidemiological study of 1073 apparently healthy adults (339 men, M and 734 women, W) from Zagreb, CROATIA. Whole blood Mo (WBMo) was assessed in a population subsample of 143 W and 91 M. Both hair and whole blood, a long- and short-term biological indicator, respectively were analyzed for Mo with the ICP MS at the Center for Biotic Medicine, Moscow, Russia: an ISO certified bioelement (electrolytes, trace- and ultra-trace elements) analytical laboratory. Hair Mo natural frequency distribution was analyzed with the aid of median derivatives bioassay logistic sigmoid curve for men and women separately. The range of values below the linear segment of the sigmoid curve (the adequate Mo intake) was considered to reflect Mo deficiency, whereas the values above that linear range indicate Mo dietary excess. The adequate linear range may be further subdivided into marginal (subclinical), true adequate, and ample region with a 30:60:10 ratio, respectively. Results The linear segment of the hair Mo deposition was distinctly different (ng·g−1) and higher in M (34–75) than W (27–57) with the observed median ♀/♂ ratio 0.82. The marginal (subclinical) interval ranges are M 34–46.3, W 27–36). However, there were no difference in the WBMo confidence intervals between M (455–1380) and W (480–1145); the Median ♀/♂ observed ratio is 0.93. Conclusions Adequate human population Mo nutritional status may be accurately assessed by analyzing hair Mo frequency distribution with the median derivatives bioassay. Apparently, there is gender dependent delay of Mo hair saturation in the men hair. For the first time it was possible to differentiate the subclinical levels of sparsely adequate dietary Mo. Funding Sources Institute for Research and Development of Sustainable Eco Systems, 10,000 Zagreb, Croatia.

Entanglement of Hair Iodine and Selenium Nutritional Status

Abstract Objectives Iodine and selenium are two essential trace elements intimately associated with the thyroid gland function. The aim of this study was to assess the combined hair iodine and selenium frequency distribution in the hair to assess their nutritional status and their mutual ratio. Methods Hair was collected in 1073 healthy adult subjects (339 men and 729 women) living in Zagreb, CROATIA. Hair samples were analyzed for Se and I by the ICP-MS at the CBM, Moscow, RUSSIA, an internationally ISO certified analytical laboratory. I and Se were detected in all the 1073 hair samples. The frequency distribution of hair I and Se was statisticaly analyzed with the median derivative bioassay method of the log transformed data. Results The adequate nutritional status of iodine and selenium in the hair is shown by the linear response interval on ther sigmoid curves. The adequate nutritional status was associated with the hair iodine and selenium (µg·g−1) of men (M) and women (W), respectively. Iodine was M 0.506 W 9.482, and selenium M 0.346 and W 0.269, Over the same linear (adequate) interval of the responsive sigmoid curve of the combined iodine and selenium dietary intake (I&Se) the adequate dietary interval was (µg·g−1) 0.209–2.433 (r2 0.90); their combined ratio was also constant at (log µg·g−1) 0.740 within the ±2% difference between men and women. Conclusions Iodine and selenium deposition into the hair are closely entangled over the adequate interval of their dietary intake. The iodine to selenium mutual ratio should be also kept constant to provide the most optimal nutrition environment for the thyroid gland function. Single element supplementation should be always viewed on how it may affect the rest of the elements in our body. Funding Sources Institute for Research and Development of Sustainable Eco Systems, 10,000 Zagreb, Croatia.

Combined Silicon-Phosphorus Fertilization Affects the Biomass and Phytolith Stock of Rice Plants.

Phytoliths are silica bodies formed in living plant tissues. Once deposited in soils through plant debris, they can readily dissolve and then increase the fluxes of silicon (Si) toward plants and/or watersheds. These fluxes enhance Si ecological services in agricultural and marine ecosystems through their impact on plant health and carbon fixation by diatoms, respectively. Fertilization increases crop biomass through the supply of plant nutrients, and thus may enhance Si accumulation in plant biomass. Si and phosphorus (P) fertilization enhance rice crop biomass, but their combined impact on Si accumulation in plants is poorly known. Here, we study the impact of combined Si-P fertilization on the production of phytoliths in rice plants. The combination of the respective supplies of 0.52 g Si kg–1 and 0.20 g P kg−1 generated the largest increase in plant shoot biomass (leaf, flag leaf, stem, and sheath), resulting in a 1.3-fold increase compared the control group. Applying combined Si-P fertilizer did not affect the content of organic carbon (OC) in phytoliths. However, it increased plant available Si in soil, plant phytolith content and its total stock (mg phytolith pot−1) in dry plant matter, leading to the increase of the total amount of OC within plants. In addition, P supply increased rice biomass and grain yield. Through these positive effects, combined Si-P fertilization may thus address agronomic (e.g., sustainable ecosystem development) and environmental (e.g., climate change) issues through the increase in crop yield and phytolith production as well as the promotion of Si ecological services and OC accumulation within phytoliths.

Prediction of groundwater level fluctuations by artificial neural network models : A case study

In the last few years, due to excessive exploitation of groundwater resources, the water level has gone down in many parts of India. According to a data from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), the average groundwater level in India has decreased by 61 per cent between 2007 and 2017, due to which the availability and quality of water are taking serious problems day-by-day. According to the CGWB (2017), 313 blocks out of a total of 6881 blocks are Critical, 1186 blocks are over exploited, and 100 blocks fall into the category of saline. And there are 94 such blocks where the availability of groundwater is significantly less. The overall development and management of groundwater resources are critical because of the water crisis arising from the declining level of groundwater resources and its immense importance in the social and economic growth of the country. Accurate forecasting of groundwater levels is essential for efficient management of groundwater resources and sustainable development of ecosystems. In this study, Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) artificial neural network (ANN) was used to predict groundwater levels in a selected aquifer system. The development of the ANN model included data on rainfall, temperature and river water level and groundwater level. The ANN model was trained using the gradient decant algorithm (GDM). The said model was applied and validated at seven different observation locations, and the estimated capacity of the ANN model was developed for each location. This was assessed using four statistical indicators [Bias, RMSE, NSE and MSE] as well as visual testing. Based on the results of this study, the Neural Network Model (ANN) was found to be efficient for forecasting monthly groundwater levels at almost all selected observation locations. The study concluded that artificial neural network techniques (ANNs) could be used efficiently to predict groundwater level fluctuations, especially in data-scarce situations.