Short Dry Season Research Articles

NATURAL DIET OF AMNIRANA ALBOLABRIS (HALLOWELL, 1856), A FROG SPECIE FROM BANCO NATIONAL PARK (COTE DIVOIRE)

We have established the natural diet of Amnirana albolabris from the Banco National Park (Cote dIvoire), through this study. Firstly, a general analysis of prey composition in the stomach of 238 specimens (obtained by the force-feeding technique) has been done, and secondly, according to the age, sex of specimens, climatic seasons, and sampling sites. Nine categories of prey (Insects, Arachnids, Annelids, Molluscs, Myriapods, Crustaceans, animal debris, macrophytes, and undetermined prey) have been identified in the diet of this species of frog. Adults diet is statistically different from juvenile one. However, males and females consume the same foods. In terms of the climatic seasons, the foods consumed during the long rainy season differ from those during the short dry season. Similarly, the foods eaten during the major dry season differ from those consumed by this frog during the minor dry season. At the spatial level, the diet of this species does not differ significantly from one habitat to another. The diet composition of Amnirana albolabris revealed that this frog species has an omnivorous diet with an insectivorous tendency in Banco National Park.

Estimation of wind power in coastal areas using a Model based on the learning of a Multilayer Perceptron: Case of Douala, Cameroon

In recent years, the scientific community has been concerned about the threat of global warming. This phenomenon is due to the increase of greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse gas emissions due to human activity. Renewable energies present themselves as a potential solution to reduce to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Among the promising means of production As part of its policy of promoting renewable energy, the Cameroonian government launches each year projects in this area, hence the need to study the various sites and according to the parameters that are most often stochastic, hence the problem of choosing the type of wind power choose and implement. Thus this paper proposes a method of estimating the power produced according to the wind speed data of the scale coefficient and the shape on the station P/30 of Douala of the site of ASECNA - Douala Cameroon over a period of one year which presents different characteristics on the four seasons of the coastal areas of Cameroon by using the distribution of Weibull and by proposing another method using artificial intelligence ; This instability offers the opportunity to study other methods of power estimation using, as in this work, a multilayer perceptron type neural network. Based on the Weibull parameters, the power estimation is done by both approaches according to the different coastal seasons: hard dry season, short rainy season, short dry season and long rainy season. In addition, the form factor and scale factor fluctuated over the year from 1.36 to 1.94 and from 2.74 m/s to 3.80 m/s for different periods respectively. It was found that the average wind speed is 1.309 m/s, the average power for this site is 289.46 MW, and the months of March and July have high powers because the winds are warmer in these periods. For estimation we used a multi-layer perceptron consisting of: 03 input layers (wind speed, form factor and scale factor), 02 hidden layers of 10 neurons each and one output layer (wind turbine power), for training we used the gradient back-propagation algorithm using Matlab software. After an average of 200 training runs and a training step of 0.001, we obtained an RMSE for each of the four seasons of 0, 0065361; 0.00165361; 0.00052543; 0.0000011564. It was concluded that the algorithm improves the accuracy of power estimation by the MLP model and can be recommended for wind turbine power estimation.

Croaking’s activities of Amnirana albolabris (Hallowell, 1856) a frog from Banco National Park (Côte d’Ivoire)

The croaking activities of Amnirana albolabris were studied in Banco National Park from February 2018 to January 2019. The songs were acoustically counted then, eight croaks were recorded in a male using a Techno device and analyzed sing the Sounder software 0.9.6. The see wave R package was needed to highlight the graphics in the waveform. In this species, croaking usually begins at 3 p.m. and ends at 9 a.m. The rhythm of croaking activity is early during the heavy rainy season (6 p.m.) and peaks at 9 p.m. during the short dry season and the short rainy season. The peak is reached at 24 hours during the great dry season. The average duration of croaks is 3.197 ± 2.32s. The recorded average fundamental frequency is 3960.937 ± 4133.42 Hz. The average dominant frequency reaches 1980.47 ± 2066.72 Hz and the recorded average minimum frequency is 3890.625 ± 4113.72 Hz. As for the maximum frequency average, it is 4007.81 ± 4154.6 Hz. The average duration between intervals is 6.03 ± 2.25s and the notes were repeated in each croaking between 0 and 5 times.

Spatiotemporal Variation of Benthic Macroinvertebrates in Some Tropical Forest Streams of the Nyong Catchment (Cameroon)

With the aim of assessing the benthic macroinvertebrates’ diversity, a study was carried out in some tropical forest streams of the Nyong River catchment in Cameroon from February 2019 to February 2020. A total of 167 samples were carried out from 13 stations during 13 months. Some environmental variables were measured. These parameters varied more or less from station to station but significantly at the temporal level. In this study, 13,690 benthic macroinvertebrates belonging to 4 phyla, 7 classes, 16 orders and 93 families were collected. The benthic macroinvertebrates were more abundant and more diversified in the stations whose waters are well oxygenated and present a moderate current compared to the stations with a very weak current. The diversity varied significantly from 1.33 ± 0.14 bits/ind to 2.00 ± 0.35 bits/ind and the high values were found in stations with multiple substrates and well-oxygenated waters. Temporally, the diversity varied significantly from 1.10 ± 0.16 bits/ind in NM sampling station in February 2020 to 1.87 ± 0.1 bits/ind in the OB sampling station in September. In addition, the settlement was more abundant during the short dry season, more precisely during the month of August (1471 individuals) but richer during the long dry season during the month of February (54 families). The distribution of the abundances of the benthic fauna in the different stations made it possible to identify five typological groups using the rarefaction curves, the ascending hierarchical classification and the principal component analyses. Each of these five groups is characterized by a specific taxonomic richness, composition and abundance.

Analysis of Hydrological Characteristics of Blue Nile Basin, Nashe Watershed

Hydrological modeling is a technique for understanding hydrologic characteristics and estimation of the water balance of watersheds for integrated water resources development and management. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was used for modeling the hydrological behavior of the Nashe watershed in the north-western part of Ethiopia. The spatial data, daily climate, and stream flow were the required input data for the model. The observed monthly stream flow data at the outlet and selected sub-watersheds in the catchment were used to calibrate and validate the model. The model performance was assessed between the simulated and observed streamflow by using sequential uncertainty fitting-2 (SUFI-2), generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation, parameter solution (Parasol) and particle swarm optimization. The sensitivity of 18 parameters was tested, and the most sensitive parameters were identified. The model performance was evaluated using p and r- factor, coefficient of determination, Nash Sutcliffe coefficient efficiency, percent bias during uncertainty analysis, calibration and validation. Therefore, based on the set of proposed evaluation criteria, the SUFI-2 algorithm has been able to provide slightly more reasonable outcomes and Parasol is the worst compared to the other algorithms. An analysis of monthly and seasonal water balance has been also accomplished for the Nashe catchment. The water balance parameters were distinct for the three seasonal periods in the catchment. The seasonal water budget analysis reveals that the watershed receives around 19%, 69%, and 12% of rainfall through the short rain, long rain and dry seasons, respectively. The received precipitation was lost due to evapotranspiration by 29%, 34% and 37% for each season respectively. The surface runoff contributes to the catchment by 5%, 86% and 9% of the water yield.

Seasonality of surface water contamination by heavy metals in the lower Enyong creek, s.e. Nigeria)

Surface water samples from three locations in the Lower Enyong Creek, S.E. Nigeria were sampled over six months i.e June to October (wet season) and November in dry season for heavy metals such as Cd, Mn, Fe, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cr) using Atomic absorption spectroscopic method. Some specific physicochemical characteristics, such as temperature, hardness, alkalinity, salinity, TDS, TSS, pH and conductivity which are known to influence the interactions and dynamics of trace metal loads in water bodies were also determined. The result of the analysis indicated significant monthly variation of these parameters for the six months. Monthly summary statistics revealed a few seasonal patterns that echoed the hydrologic regime. During the short dry season in August–September period, all the sampled stream channels had lower levels of Cd, Ni, Zn, Cu Cr, Pb and Fe. Salinity, for instance, correlated strongly (p<0.05) with Cu (0.70); Cr (0.56); Ni (0.72); nitrate (0.61) and Na (0.49). However, the concentrations of most heavy metals were low, while Zn content was higher than the WHO standard for surface water which indicated significant contamination by Zn in the water body.

Flowering and fruiting phenology of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) from Sumatra landraces in ex situ conservation area in Karangmojo, Yogyakarta

This study aimed to determine the flowering and fruiting phenology of jackfruit originated from Sumatra landraces planted in ex situ conservation in Yogyakarta within the 2018 and 2019 flowering periods. Flowering ontogeny and phenology were observed following Owens and Pushpakumara methods. Results found five developmental stages of male inflorescences, which last in 64-101 days, ended by the drought and abscissed of the males. Female inflorescences undergo five stages which take 92-160 days in total. Differences in rainfall and the dry season period resulted in different onset and duration of flowering. In 2018, which has more rainfall and a shorter dry season, flowering initiates lately (February-June) with a longer duration (6 months). In 2019, the less rainfall and more extended dry season resulted in early flowering (January-April) with a shorter duration (4 months). The Medan landrace flowered later and longer. Flowering synchrony occurred between sexes within the same tree, but there was asynchronous flowering among individual trees. Water availability is crucial in flowering and fruit production. Flowering stimulation and pollination management may also be conducted to increase flower production, pollinating agents, and fruit production and synchronize the flowering.

Spatial Heterogeneity and Seasonal Distribution of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L) in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire

Although the urban areas of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire have faced recurrent outbreaks of Aedes-borne arboviruses, the seasonal dynamics of local populations of the key vector Aedes aegypti remained still underexplored for an effective vector control. The current study thus assessed the seasonal dynamics and the spatial distribution of Ae. aegypti in three neighborhoods of Abidjan city. Aedes eggs were collected using ovitraps in three different neighborhoods (Anoumambo, Bromakoté, and Petit-Bassam) during the four climatic seasons of Abidjan. Aedes egg samples were immersed into distilled water, and emerged larvae were reared until the adult stage for species morphological identification. Spatial autocorrelation was measured with the Moran's Index, and areas with high egg abundance were identified. In total, 3837 eggs were collected providing 1882 adult mosquitoes in the 3 neighborhoods. All the specimens belonged to only one Aedes species, Ae. aegypti. The average of 15.89 eggs per ovitrap, 13.67 eggs per ovitrap, and 19.87 eggs per ovitrap were obtained in Anoumambo, Bromakoté, and Petit-Bassam, respectively, with no statistical difference between the three sites. A higher abundance of Ae. aegypti was observed during the long rainy season and the short dry season. The Moran analysis showed a clustered distribution of Ae. aegypti eggs during the long rainy season in the three sites and a random spatial distribution during the short dry season. Ovitraps with high number of eggs were aggregated in the peripheral part (near to the lagoon) of Anoumambo and Petit-Bassam in central Bromakoté and extending along the railway during the long rainy season. This study revealed a heterogeneous potential risk of transmission of arbovirus according to neighborhood. It provided data to better understand Ae. aegypti ecology to select appropriate periods and places for Aedes vector control actions and surveillance of arboviruses in Abidjan.

Effects of supplementing lactating camels with Acacia tortilis pods and ‘Chalbi salt’ on milk yield and calf growth in the peri-urban area of Marsabit town, Kenya

Camel milk production and marketing within the peri-urban areas within pastoral areas is emerging and has high potential due to sendentarization and urbanization of an increasing number of local inhabitants. Performance of grazing camels in these areas is poor due to inadequate feed resources, particularly during the dry season. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of supplementing lactating camels with milled Acacia tortilis pods and ‘Chalbi salt’ on milk yield, calf growth and its economic potential in the peri-urban area of Marsabit town, Kenya. Twenty Somali camels in early lactation (1-4 weeks post-partum) and parities 2 or 3 and their calves were recruited for the study. The dams and their calves were penned and fed individually with the supplements where applicable. The treatments were: browsing only (B), browsing and ‘Chalbi salt’ (BC), 2 kg/day milled Acacia tortilis pods, ‘Chalbi salt’ and browsing (BC2A) and 4 kg/day milled Acacia tortilis pods, ‘Chalbi salt’ and browsing (BC4A). Five camels were randomly allocated to each treatment based on initial live weight in a completely randomized design and data collection done for 90 days. During each milking, the two left or right quarters were alternately reserved for the calf, while the remaining two were milked by hand. Milk yields were recorded daily in the morning and evening for 90 days while the calves were weighed on weekly basis for the same period. The overall total mean milk yield during the experimental period ranged from 233.0 to 298.0 litres during the short rains and dry season, respectively. The mean calf weight gains over the study period were 15.2, 19.0, 32.2 and 39.0 kg for B, BC, BC2A and BC4A, respectively, with BC4A and BC2A being higher than B. Supplementing camels under treatment BC4A was profitable as it resulted in both higher milk yield and calf weight gain and hence positive net gain.
 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(1): 117-122, June 2021

Intra-annual tree growth responds to micrometeorological variability in the central Amazon

Intra-annual distribution of precipitation in central Amazonia leads to a short mild dry season, which is associated with an increase in irradiance and temperature and a decline in relative humidity; however, the independent effect of each individual climatic variable on tree growth is still under investigation. The objective of this study was to determine how tree growth (inferred from radial stem increment) responds to monthly variations of micrometeorological variables in the central Amazon. During five years (2013-2017) we measured tree growth in 51 trees from nine species and, above the forest canopy, collected environmental data, such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), air temperature (T), precipitation, air relative humidity (RH), air vapor pressure deficit (VPD), reference evapotranspiration (ETo), and soil water content (SWC). We used principal component regression to evaluate the effect of micrometeorological variability on tree growth. Mean tree growth across species was responsive to variations in almost all the micrometeorological variables examined, with the exception of mean and minimum temperature, maximum RH, and minimum VPD. Mean tree growth across species increased with increasing precipitation, RHmean, RHmin and SWC, while it decreased with increasing PAR, Tmax, and ETo. It was also shown that an increase in VPDmean and VPDmax has a negative effect on tree growth. These results contribute to improve our understanding of effect of climate variability on tree growth, and shed light on the potential effect of severe droughts in the central Amazon.

Technical note: Evaluation and bias correction of an observation-based global runoff dataset using streamflow observations from small tropical catchments in the Philippines

Abstract. Even in relatively wet tropical regions, seasonal fluctuations in the water cycle affect the consistent and reliable supply of water for urban, industrial, and agricultural uses. Historic streamflow monitoring datasets are crucial in assessing our ability to model and subsequently plan for future hydrologic changes. In this technical note, we evaluate a new observation-based global product of monthly runoff (GRUN; Ghiggi et al., 2019) for 55 small tropical catchments in the Philippines with at least 10 years of data, extending back to 1946 in some cases. Since GRUN did not use discharge data from the Philippines to train or calibrate their models, the data presented in this study, 11 915 monthly data points, provide an independent evaluation of this product. We demonstrate across all observations a significant but weak correlation (r2=0.372) between the GRUN-predicted values and observed river discharge, as well as somewhat skillful prediction (volumetric efficiency = 0.363 and log(Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency) = 0.453). GRUN performs best among catchments located in climate types III (no pronounced maximum rainfall with short dry season) and IV (evenly distributed rainfall, no dry season). There was a weak negative correlation between volumetric efficiency and catchment area, and there was a positive correlation between volumetric efficiency and mean observed runoff. Further, analysis for individual rivers demonstrates systematic biases (over- and underestimation) of baseflow during the dry season and underprediction of peak flow during some wet months for most catchments. To correct for underprediction during wet months, we applied a log-transform bias correction which greatly improves the nationwide root mean square error between GRUN and the observations by an order of magnitude (2.648 mm d−1 vs. 0.292 mm d−1). This technical note demonstrates the importance of performing such corrections when determining the proportional contribution of smaller catchments or tropical islands such as the Philippines to global tabulations of discharge. These results also demonstrate the potential use of GRUN and future data products of this nature after consideration and correction of systematic biases to (1) assess trends in regional-scale runoff over the past century, (2) validate hydrologic models for unmonitored catchments in the Philippines, and (3) assess the impact of hydrometeorological phenomena to seasonal water supply in this wet but drought-prone archipelago.

Causes and Flock Level Risk Factors of Sheep and Goat Abortion in Three Agroecology Zones in Ethiopia.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted to estimate the incidence of small ruminant abortion and identify its major causes and potential risk factors in goat and sheep flocks in three agroecology and production systems of Ethiopia. Information on pregnancy outcomes and management risk factors were collected for 299 goat and 242 sheep flocks. Blood samples were collected from 133 sheep and 90 goat flocks and tested for Coxiella burnetii, Brucella spp., Chlamydia abortus, and Toxoplasma gondii. A causal diagram outlined relationships between potential predictor variables and abortion in the flock. The effect of management and exposure to infectious causes on the number of abortions in the flock across agroecology was tested using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Results showed that 142 (58.68%) goats and 53 (17.73%) sheep flocks reported abortions in the 12 months before the survey. The mean annual flock abortion percentages were 16.1% (±26.23) for does and 12.6% (±23.5) for ewes. Farmers perceived infectious diseases, extreme weather conditions, feed shortage, physical traumas, and plant poisoning as the most important causes of abortion. A higher proportion of abortion was recorded during the short rainy season (March to May) and start of the short dry and cold season (June to August) in the lowland mixed crop-livestock and pastoral agroecology and production system, respectively. Overall, 65.41% sheep and 92.22% goat flocks tested positive for one or more abortion causing agents, namely, C. burnetti, C. abortus, Brucella spp., and T. gondii; mixed infection was found in 31.58% sheep and 63.33% goat flocks. Spending the night in a traditional house and providing supplementary feed for pregnant dams were important management factors which significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased the risk of abortion by 2.63 and 4.55 times, respectively. However, the presence of other livestock species and dogs in the household and exposure of the flock to Brucella spp. or anyone of the four tested infectious agents significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased the risk of abortion in sheep and goat flocks. In general, abortion is a challenge for small ruminant production in the study area especially in lowland agroecology and calls for improvement in husbandry practices, health care and biosecurity practices.

Unraveling the relative role of light and water competition between lianas and trees in tropical forests: A vegetation model analysis.

Despite their low contribution to forest carbon stocks, lianas (woody vines) play an important role in the carbon dynamics of tropical forests. As structural parasites, they hinder tree survival, growth and fecundity; hence, they negatively impact net ecosystem productivity and long‐term carbon sequestration.Competition (for water and light) drives various forest processes and depends on the local abundance of resources over time. However, evaluating the relative role of resource availability on the interactions between lianas and trees from empirical observations is particularly challenging. Previous approaches have used labour‐intensive and ecosystem‐scale manipulation experiments, which are infeasible in most situations.We propose to circumvent this challenge by evaluating the uncertainty of water and light capture processes of a process‐based vegetation model (ED2) including the liana growth form. We further developed the liana plant functional type in ED2 to mechanistically simulate water uptake and transport from roots to leaves, and start the model from prescribed initial conditions. We then used the PEcAn bioinformatics platform to constrain liana parameters and run uncertainty analyses.Baseline runs successfully reproduced ecosystem gas exchange fluxes (gross primary productivity and latent heat) and forest structural features (leaf area index, aboveground biomass) in two sites (Barro Colorado Island, Panama and Paracou, French Guiana) characterized by different rainfall regimes and levels of liana abundance.Model uncertainty analyses revealed that water limitation was the factor driving the competition between trees and lianas at the drier site (BCI), and during the relatively short dry season of the wetter site (Paracou). In young patches, light competition dominated in Paracou but alternated with water competition between the wet and the dry season on BCI according to the model simulations.The modelling workflow also identified key liana traits (photosynthetic quantum efficiency, stomatal regulation parameters, allometric relationships) and processes (water use, respiration, climbing) driving the model uncertainty. They should be considered as priorities for future data acquisition and model development to improve predictions of the carbon dynamics of liana‐infested forests. Synthesis. Competition for water plays a larger role in the interaction between lianas and trees than previously hypothesized, as demonstrated by simulations from a process‐based vegetation model.

Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Data for Savannah Land Cover Mapping: Optimising the Combination of Sensors and Seasons

Savannahs are heterogeneous environments with an important role in supporting biodiversity and providing essential ecosystem services. Due to extensive land use/cover changes and subsequent land degradation, the provision of ecosystems services from savannahs has increasingly declined over recent years. Mapping the extent and the composition of savannah environments is challenging but essential in order to improve monitoring capabilities, prevent biodiversity loss and ensure the provision of ecosystem services. Here, we tested combinations of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data from three different seasons to optimise land cover mapping, focusing in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Tanzania. The NCA has a bimodal rainfall pattern and is composed of a combination savannah and woodland landscapes. The best performing model achieved an overall accuracy of 86.3 ± 1.5% and included a combination of Sentinel-1 and 2 from the dry and short-dry seasons. Our results show that the optical models outperform their radar counterparts, the combination of multisensor data improves the overall accuracy in all scenarios and this is particularly advantageous in single-season models. Regarding the effect of season, models that included the short-dry season outperform the dry and wet season models, as this season is able to provide cloud free data and is wet enough to allow for the distinction between woody and herbaceous vegetation. Additionally, the combination of more than one season is beneficial for the classification, specifically if it includes the dry or the short-dry season. Combining several seasons is, overall, more beneficial for single-sensor data; however, the accuracies varied with land cover. In summary, the combination of several seasons and sensors provides a more accurate classification, but the target vegetation types should be taken into consideration.

Pests of Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus Ostreatus) in Western Kenya

Productivity of oyster mushrooms has been hampered by pests but little is known about them. Pest spectrum of oyster mushroom on farms in western Kenya was investigated. Oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus was established at three sites namely; old mushroom farm, new mushroom farm and on-station during short rains, dry season and long rains in Butere constituency Kakamega County between September 2012 and August 2013. Pests were sampled weekly and identified using taxonomic keys at the National Museums of Kenya. The mite Pygmephorus spp. (Acaridae) and dipterans Megaselia scalaris (Phoridae), Bradysia spp. (Sciaridae), Culicoides spp. (Ceratopogonidae) and Anatrichus spp. (Chloropidae) were identified. All the other pests except Bradysia spp. were reported at the three sites across the three seasons. The incidences of all these pests were reported only during the incubation phase of oyster mushroom. Incidences of M. scalaris were 42% of the total four pests that were sampled followed by Culicoides spp. at 33% with that of Pygmephorus spp. being 17% while that of Anatrichus spp. being 8%. Pygmephorus spp. was vectored by M. scalaris hence the incidence of Pygmephorus spp. depended on M. scalaris. These two pests were found to be pests of economic importance in oyster mushroom production causing both direct and indirect damage on oyster mushroom. The old mushroom farm reported high incidences of these two pests, with the new mushroom farm recording the lowest incidences. Equally the short rains recorded high incidences these two pests with long rains recording low incidences. Although Bradysia spp. has been considered a major mushroom pest, it was found to be a minor in the area of study.

Analysis of the qualitative evolution of groundwater in the Abouabou area in the Port-Bouët municipality (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)

The study aimed to analyze the seasonal qualitative evolution of the Quaternary groundwater in the Abouabou area in order to see the capacity of this water to be used as a water supply by the populations. In-situ measurements (temperature, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity and pH) and chemical parameter analyses (NH4+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, NO3-, NO2-, PO43-, SO42-, Cl− and HCO3-) were performed on the 24 samples collected during the four (4) seasons of the year. The use of Kruskal-Wallis and ANOVA tests has allowed the monitoring of seasonal variations in hydro-chemical parameters in well and borehole water. Also, the Piper diagram permit to identify the main hydrochemical facies according to the seasons. Finally, the Kohonen Self Organizing Maps (SOM) method was applied to physico-chemical parameters in order to highlight the spatial distribution of groundwater quality in the Abouabou area. The results show that, based on the physico-chemical parameters analysed, the groundwater is of good quality due to meeting WHO standards for drinking water consumption during all seasons of the year. Significant seasonal variations were recorded in the values of the parameters like turbidity, pH and Cl− for well water and turbidity, PO43-, NO3-, NH4+, K+, Cl− for borehole water. The hydrochemical facies shows a seasonal variation. Analysis of Abouabou's water reveals the variation of its hydrochemical facies. Thus, bicarbonate, calcium and magnesium facies during the long dry and rainy seasons move towards the chlorine, calcium and magnesium facies during the short dry and rainy seasons. Four water groups have been identified using SOM method, including heterogeneous groups composed mainly of borehole water (I and III) or of well water (II and IV). Borehole and well water acquire most of their mineralization by the infiltration of surface elements. Drinking water from boreholes is of good quality.

Pollen morphological variability correlates with a large-scale gradient of aridity

Abstract. The study of the morphology of living organisms is essential to understand their evolution and diversity. This study aims to determine the importance of climatic gradients in the diversity of pollen morphotypes using Atriplex halimus L. (Amaranthaceae) as a model species. Atriplex halimus is a perennial shrubby plant, polymorphic and very resistant to severe environmental conditions. In seven bioclimatic zones, ranging from mesic conditions in the north to hot–hyperarid in the south, pollen samples were collected from 49 sites, with seven accessions per bioclimate. Under a light microscope, pollen grains were selected and analyzed from three anthers of different flowers. Besides the usual pollen grain types, some previously unknown morphotypes, such as sulcate, triangular, and ovoid, were observed and described at the different climatic zones. A total of 10 pollen grain shapes were quantified and discussed following their specific occurrences within different climatic zones. Occurrence frequencies of different pollen shapes ranged between 0 % and 85.7 %, where the pantoporate spheroidal was the most widespread in all climatic zones, especially in the desert climate (85.7 %). Five pollen types occurred exclusively once per climate zone. The pantoporate prolate spheroidal in mesomediterranean climate with a long dry season (28.6 %), sulcate in the xerothermomediterranean climate (14.3%), pantoporate subtriangular in the subdesert climate with a short dry season (14.3 %), and pantoporate subprolate and boat-shaped in a subdesert climate with a long dry season with 14.3 % for each. Our findings help to understand the evolutionary effects of climate gradients on pollen morphology and variability in arid and desert areas and point towards a high degree of specialization in order to maximize trade-offs between pollination efficiency and protection of pollen grains from dehydration.

Rhizobacteria response to the yield of corn variety (Zea mays L.) in Sleman Regency, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Corn is a type of plant that contains high carbohydrate. It can grow in dry season. Current climate change causes disadvantages in climatic condition such as short rainy season and long dry season. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of rhizobacteria to the yield of several corn varieties. The research was conducted in Kalasan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The research used a Split Plot Design. The first factor as main factor showed a high variety of corn yield, namely Hybrid 1, Hybrid 2, Hybrid 3, and Hybrid 4. The second factor as sub-factor was rhizobacteria level (0% and 15%). The data was analyzed using Analysis of Variance. Based on the research results, there was a long dry season and short rainy season which were caused by climate change. Corn variety did not affect growth rate, yield and yield index for it’s resistant to climate change. Rhizobacteria increases the growth rate and tolerance index and making yield index to be higher than non-rhizobacteria which can help corn to survive in climate change.

Perception of Fogera Cattle Farmers on Climate Change and Variability in Awi Zone, Ethiopia

This study aimed at assessing perception of Fogera cattle farmers on climate change and variability in selected districts of Awi zone. The zone was classified as lowland (2500 m.a.s.l) based on altitudinal variation from which a total of three districts one per cluster were selected through random sampling. 150 households were selected through systematic random sampling targeting Fogera cattle owners for primary data collection. Over 36 years (from 1983-2019) of meteorological data were taken from the National Meteorological Agency. Meteorological data result confirmed that climate was changing across all the agro-ecological zones. Both the mean annual maximum and minimum temperature was considerably increasing for all agro-ecological zones whereas the mean annual rainfall was decreasing which is consistent with the farmers’ perception. Meteorological data result also showed that the short rainy and dry season rainfall indicated high interannual variability at all agro-ecological zones. Survey result revealed that 97.13% of the farmers recognized climate change and variability impact in all agro-ecological zones. About 80.91% of Fogera cattle farmers reported the incidence of negative impacts of climate change and variability on cattle. Chi-square test values of survey results show that in all agro-ecological zones frequency of drought, duration of dry spell, wind, and floods were ever-increasing (p < 0.001). Moreover, about 84.48%, 65.3%, and 60.47% of farmers owning Fogera cattle in the lowland, midland, and highland, respectively perceived the prevalence of increasing (p < 0.001) cattle mortality. In response to climate change and variability, farmers were reducing number of livestock, diversification of livestock species, and replacing Fogera cattle with small ruminants as adaptation strategies. Thus, regular prediction of climate change and variability and designing pertinent response strategies is essential to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change for enhancing resilience capacity of the Fogera cattle farmers in the study areas.

Biotic resistance and rhizobacteria on the growth and yield of selected red onion (Allium ascalonicum L.) variety

Red onion has high nutrient and economic value. Onion can grow in both dry and wet season. Currently, we face climate drawbacks such as long rainy seasons and a short dry season due to climate change. This research aims to study the affects of rhizobacteria on the three red onion yield varieties. The research was conducted in Balecatur, Gamping, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The research used a Split Plot Design. The main factor was red onion variety, namely Bima, Biru and Thailand. The sub-factor was Rhizobacteria with a concentration of 0%, 0.75% and 1.5%. The data were analyzed using variance analysis with 5% significance level. The results showed that rhizobacteria increases the growth rate and tolerance index in red onion. Rhizobacteria does not increase yield and red onion yield index. Biru variety was as good as Thailand variety in terms of the number of bulb per plant, weight bulb per plant and yield. Thailand and Biru varieties are suitable in rainy season. Bima variety has the lowest number of bulb per plant, weight bulb per plant, growth rate, yield and yield index.