Tropical Climate Zones Research Articles

Diversity and prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths of free-roaming dogs on coastal beaches in Ecuador: Potential for zoonotic transmission.

Free-roaming dogs are highly exposed to a range of zoonotic parasites, including helminths, which can be transmitted to humans, particularly in rural tropical settings of developing countries. To evidence the diversity and prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths in the stools of free-roaming dogs on the public Pacific coastal beaches of Ecuador, a cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2021 to August 2022. The sampling beaches are located along the tropical Pacific coastal region. Stools were collected from the ground in containers with 10% formalin and processed using the Ritchie method; eggs were identified under a microscope. A total of 573 stools were examined from 20 beaches; the overall prevalence was 157 (27.4%) for one or more helminths. Ten parasites were identified, nine of which are potentially zoonotic. Ancylostoma spp. was the most prevalent (19.4%), followed by Toxocara spp. (7.2%). Trichuris spp., Dipylidium caninum, Diphyllobothrium spp., Capillaria spp., Dicrocoelium spp., Heterobilharzia americana, Hymenolepis spp. and Spirocerca spp. were also observed. Five of them are reported for the first-time infecting dogs in Ecuador. Hence, we evidenced that Ecuadorian beaches are highly contaminated with the dogs' zoonotic gastrointestinal helminths, posing a great risk to public health. Differences in the presence and prevalence were found in samples of tropical humid and dry climate zones. Therefore, based on our findings, we encourage the implementation of broad antiparasitic treatment and prevention strategies to reduce the zoonotic risk.

Evaluation of milk yield and composition, feed intake, chewing activities, and clinical variables in dairy cows under hot-humid climate of tropical zone

Dairy cows increase heat loads when the temperature-humidity index (THI) value is elevated in the ambient environments. This condition often occurs in the tropical areas due to a higher THI rate throughout seasons. The major objective of the study was to investigate the different responses in milk yield and composition, chewing activities, and health parameters in dairy cows under the dry and wet seasons of tropical climate zone in Indonesia. Twenty mid-lactating Indonesian Holstein-Friesian cows (139.3 ± 24.63 DIM; 10 primiparous and 10 multiparous; 441 ± 21.5 kg BW) were randomly subjected to 2 groups, dairy cows under dry (n = 10) and wet season (n = 10). Both groups received the same diets throughout the experiment. To determine the heat stress condition, the THI values were recorded daily. Overall, a higher number of THI was more pronounced in wet season. A lower dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield were observed in wet season group. A tendency towards higher milk protein contents was found in dairy cows under dry season compared to cows under wet season. The other milk compositions such as fat, lactose, and SNF remained unchanged in both dry and wet season groups. The comparison between both groups at several time points of eating and ruminating time revealed significantly higher in cows under dry season. Overall, a higher chewing per bolus was observed in cows under dry season than their counterparts. Furthermore, a tendential greater extent rectal temperature pointed in the wet season group compared to the dry season group relatively. Data suggest that a stronger heat stress condition in wet season was more pronounced compared to dry season, with adversely affecting stronger declined DMI, milk yield, and chewing activities of dairy cows.

Effects of Climate Change on Economic Growth: A Perspective of the Heterogeneous Climate Regions in Africa

Climate change is a negative global externality that threatens economic growth. In our study, we firstly reviewed the transmission mechanisms of climate change affecting economic growth based on existing literature. Secondly, we respectively used the fixed effect method and the panel vector autoregression method to test the short-run and long-run effects of climate change on the economic growth of 44 countries in six climatic zones in Africa, from 2000 to 2019. The results showed that temperature has inverted U-shaped effects on the economic growth of countries in tropical rainforest and tropical dry climate zones, but a U-shaped effect in warm temperate humid regions. The heterogeneity test was based on industrial and geographical perspectives. Climate change has a significant inverted U-shaped effect on agricultural and services output in tropical rainforest and tropical dry climate zones. Moreover, climate change positively impacts economic growth in coastal regions, but has no significant impact on inland countries. Lastly, the long-run results indicate that tropical rainforest and subtropical humid regions show a greater ability to adapt to climate change, while tropical desert regions show greater volatility resilience in response to climate change.

Effects of high temperatures and heatwaves on dengue fever: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Studies have shown that dengue virus transmission increases in association with ambient temperature. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effect of both high temperatures and heatwave events on dengue transmission in different climate zones globally. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science from January 1990 to September 20, 2022. We included peer reviewed original observational studies using ecological time series, case crossover, or case series study designs reporting the association of high temperatures and heatwave with dengue and comparing risks over different exposures or time periods. Studies classified as case reports, clinical trials, non-human studies, conference abstracts, editorials, reviews, books, posters, commentaries; and studies that examined only seasonal effects were excluded. Effect estimates were extracted from published literature. A random effects meta-analysis was performed to pool the relative risks (RRs) of dengue infection per 1°C increase in temperature, and further subgroup analyses were also conducted. The quality and strength of evidence were evaluated following the Navigation Guide systematic review methodology framework. The review protocol has been registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). The study selection process yielded 6367 studies. A total of 106 studies covering more than four million dengue cases fulfilled the inclusion criteria; of these, 54 studies were eligible for meta-analysis. The overall pooled estimate showed a 13% increase in risk of dengue infection (RR=1.13; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11-1.16, I2=98.0%) for each 1°C increase in high temperatures. Subgroup analyses by climate zones suggested greater effects of temperature in tropical monsoon climate zone (RR=1.29, 95% CI: 1.11-1.51) and humid subtropical climate zone (RR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.15-1.25). Heatwave events showed association with an increased risk of dengue infection (RR=1.08; 95% CI: 0.95-1.23, I2=88.9%), despite a wide confidence interval. The overall strength of evidence was found to be "sufficient" for high temperatures but "limited" for heatwaves. Our results showed that high temperatures increased the risk of dengue infection, albeit with varying risks across climate zones and different levels of national income. High temperatures increased the relative risk of dengue infection. Future studies on the association between temperature and dengue infection should consider local and regional climate, socio-demographic and environmental characteristics to explore vulnerability at local and regional levels for tailored prevention. Australian Research Council Discovery Program.

Contrasting determinants of land surface temperature in three megacities: Implications to cool tropical metropolitan regions

Megacities in tropical regions are among the urban centers most vulnerable to increasingly intense heatwaves. However, the complex interactions between urban characteristics and thermal environments are yet to be fully understood. Here, we investigated the relationship between urban characteristics and land surface temperature (LST) for three megacities in the tropical savannah climate zone, Chennai, Dhaka, and Kolkata. LST values were retrieved from Landsat 8 data, and urban features were constructed using digital surface models, building footprints, and satellite imagery. Model-agnostic approaches were adopted to analyze the impacts of urban characteristics on LST. The boosted regression tree (BRT) model was used to capture the nonlinear effects of six most important factors on LST changes. The dominant influencing factors of LST were normalized difference built-up index, albedo, and normalized difference vegetation index. Building roofs, roads, and other hardscapes with high-albedo materials are preferred in alleviating surface urban heat island effect in Dhaka and Kolkata. The placement of urban parks with woody vegetation in an area larger than 0.6 ha produced effective cooling effect. In Chennai and Kolkata, urban policies to increase sky view factor are recommended. The application of BRT model with integrated urban data provides unique insights for thermal resilience planning.

Drivers of nematode diversity in forest soils across climatic zones.

Nematodes are the most abundant multi-cellular animals in soil, influencing key processes and functions in terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, little is known about the drivers of nematode abundance and diversity in forest soils across climatic zones. This is despite forests covering approximately 30% of the Earth's land surface, providing many crucial ecosystem services but strongly varying in climatic conditions and associated ecosystem properties across biogeographic zones. Here, we collected nematode samples from 13 forests across a latitudinal gradient. We divided this gradient into temperate, warm-temperate and tropical climatic zones and found that, across the gradient, nematode abundance and diversity were mainly influenced by soil organic carbon content. However, mean annual temperature and total soil phosphorus content in temperate zones, soil pH in warm-temperate zones, and mean annual precipitation in tropical zones were more important in driving nematode alpha-diversity, biomass and abundance. Additionally, nematode beta-diversity was higher in temperate than in warm-temperate and tropical zones. Together, our findings demonstrate that the drivers of nematode diversity in forested ecosystems are affected by the spatial scale and climatic conditions considered. This implies that high resolution studies are needed to accurately predict how soil functions respond if climate conditions move beyond the coping range of soil organisms.

Hydronic flow path analysis on the thermal comfort performance of radiant cooling system

Construction and operation in the building sector account for more than 1/5th of global energy consumption. Moving on to an energy-efficient cooling technology and eco-friendly building material can lead to energy savings and a reduction in associated CO2 emissions. In the present study, an energy-efficient thermally activated building system (TABS) is integrated with eco-friendly building material, namely, glass fibre reinforced gypsum (GFRG). The proposed hybrid system is termed as thermally activated glass fibre reinforced gypsum (TAGFRG) system. This system is not only energy-efficient and eco-friendly but also provides better thermal comfort. An experimental room is constructed with the TAGFRG roof within the Indian Institute of Technology Madras campus, Chennai, i.e., in a tropical warm and humid climate zone. The TAGFRG roof has reinforcement in every third cavity with cooling pipes, while in the other two cavities, cooling pipes are embedded with air gap and partial reinforcement. The TAGFRG roof has four parallel loops of cooling pipelines, and each loop consists of one reinforcement zone (RZ) and two air gap zones (AZ1 and AZ2) in series. According to the water flow path in a single loop, various combinations of the flow path, i.e., RZ → AZ1 → AZ2, AZ1 → RZ → AZ2 and AZ1 → AZ2 → RZ, have been analyzed. According to the adaptive thermal comfort model, the water flow path has a negligible effect on thermal comfort. The average operative temperature for all the cases investigated varies between 28.1 and 29.2 °C. The operative temperature is always within the 90% band of thermal comfort, as per the adaptive comfort model.

Energy consumption predictions by genetic programming methods for PCM integrated building in the tropical savanna climate zone

The development of energy-efficient buildings by considering early-stage design parameters can help reduce buildings' energy consumption. Machine learning tools are getting popular for forecasting the energy demand of buildings, which play a vital role in improving building energy efficiency. In this research, multi-expression and genetic expression programming were utilized to anticipate the energy consumption of PCM-integrated buildings by taking early-stage design parameters into consideration. The prediction models were developed using the data generated by energy simulations for the PCM-integrated building in eight cities within a tropical savanna climate. The statical parameters were used to evaluate and externally validate the proposed prediction model. The statistical evaluation reveals that the genetic expression programming-based predictive model gave more accurate energy consumption predictions for PCM-integrated buildings than multi-expression programming. The performance indices of the statistically analyzed gene expression programming-based prediction model (GEP7) showed excellent values: correlation coefficient (R) = 0.961, performance index (ρ) = 0.169, and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) = 0.108. Thereafter, the sensitivity and parametric analyses were performed. It was unearthed that the roof solar absorptance, window visible transmittance, wall solar absorptance, and the melting temperature of PCM were the influential early-stage design parameters for PCM-integrated buildings. In conclusion, the gene-expression programming-based predictive model can be utilized to predict the influence of early-stage design parameters on the energy consumption of PCM-integrated buildings.

Association between serum Vitamin D levels and asthma severity and control in children and adolescents.

To assess the association of serum Vitamin D (vitD) levels with asthma control and severity in children and adolescents in different seasons of the year. Longitudinal, prospective study with 7- to 17-year-old children and adolescents diagnosed with asthma. All participants underwent two assessments conducted in opposite seasons of the year which included a clinical assessment, a questionnaire for classification of asthma control (Asthma Control Test), spirometry, and blood collection to measure serum vitD levels. In total, 141 individuals with asthma were evaluated. The mean vitD was lower in females (p = 0.006) and sunlight exposure appears not to be an influencing factor for vitD levels. We found no differences in mean vitD of patients with controlled and uncontrolled asthma (p = 0.703; p = 0.956). However, the severe asthma group had lower mean Vitamin D than the mild/moderate asthma group for both assessments (p = 0.013; p = 0.032). In the first assessment, the group with vitD insufficiency had a higher prevalence of severe asthma (p = 0.015). Vitamin D was positively correlated with FEV1 in both assessments (p = 0.008; p = 0.006) and with FEF25-75% in the first assessment (p = 0.038). In a tropical climate zone, there is no evidence of association between seasonality and serum vitD levels or between serum vitD levels and asthma control in children and adolescents. However, vitD and lung function were positively correlated and the group with vitD insufficiency had a higher prevalence of severe asthma.

Optimal sizing of renewable energy storage: A techno-economic analysis of hydrogen, battery and hybrid systems considering degradation and seasonal storage

Energy storage is essential to address the intermittent issues of renewable energy systems, thereby enhancing system stability and reliability. This paper presents the design and operation optimisation of hydrogen/battery/hybrid energy storage systems considering component degradation and energy cost volatility. The study examines a real-world case study, which is a grid-connected warehouse located in a tropical climate zone with a photovoltaic solar system. An accurate and robust Multi-Objective Modified Firefly Algorithm (MOMFA) is proposed for the optimal design and operation of the energy storage systems of the case study. To further demonstrate the robustness and versatility of the optimisation method, another synthetic case is tested for a location in a temperate climate zone that has a high seasonal mismatch. The modelling results show thatthe system in the tropical zone always provides a superior return when compared to a similar system in the temperate zone due to abundant solar resources.When comparing battery-only and hydrogen-only systems, battery systems perform better than hydrogen systems in many situations, with a higher self-sufficient ratio and net present value. However, if there is high seasonal variation and a high requirement for using renewable energy (the penetration of renewable energy is >80 %), using hydrogen for energy storage is more beneficial. Furthermore, the hybrid system (i.e., combining battery and hydrogen) outperforms battery-only and hydrogen-only systems. This is attributed to the complementary combination of hydrogen, which can be used as a long-term energy storage option, and battery, which is utilised as a short-term option. This study also shows that storing hydrogen in a long-term strategy can lower component degradation, enhance efficiency, and increase the total economic performance of hydrogen and hybrid storage systems. The developed optimisation method and findings of this study can support the implementation of energy storage systems for renewable energy.

Distribution, host range and host preferences of Dinocampus coccinellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): A worldwide database

Dinocampus coccinellae (Schrank) is a braconid parasitoid of ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and has exceptionally wide geographical and host ranges. Based on published and unpublished sources Dinocampus coccinellae probably occurs throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical climatic zones, but some regions, such as sub-Saharan Africa (except its southernmost part) and the Malay Archipelago, have not so far been surveyed for this wasp. In most of its extensive range D. coccinellae was present before the widespread use of classical biological control. It is likely, however, to have reached some oceanic islands and archipelagos at a later date, along with ladybirds used as biocontrol agents. At least 72 species of Coccinellidae are hosts of D. coccinellae. Three of them, Vibidia duodecimguttata (Poda), Calvia decemguttata (L.) and Coccinella miranda Wollaston, are reported here for the first time as hosts of this parasitoid. The most often reported host of D. coccinellae worldwide is Coccinella septempunctata L. followed by Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), Coleomegilla maculata (De Geer) and Hippodamia convergens Guerin.

Searching for Suitable Cultivation System of Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J.Koch) in the Tropical Lowland

Abstract Swiss chard as a leafy vegetable (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla (L.) W.D.J.Koch) is rarely cultivated in the tropical climate zone because this plant has not been recognized by local farmers. The purpose of this study was to compare the performance of three cultivation systems, i.e., conventional, floating, and bottom-wet culture systems on three Swiss chard cultivars with different petiole colors, i.e., ‘Red Ruby’, ‘Yellow Canary’, and ‘Pink Passion’. The best result was obtained if the Swiss chard was cultivated using the floating system since the water was continuously available by the capillarity force through the bottom hole of the pots, as indicated by the highest number of leaves, total fresh weight, leaf blade dry weight, and petiole dry weight. Fresh weight amongst the three cultivars cultivated in each system did not show a significant difference. ‘Yellow Canary’ produced a larger petiole and heavier fresh weight of individual leaves, but a lesser number of leaves per plant. The leaf area estimation model using the leaf length × width as the predictor, and the zero-intercept linear regression was accurate for all Swiss chard cultivars, as the coefficient of determination was considerably high in ‘Red Ruby’ (0.981), ‘Pink Passion’ (0.976), and ‘Yellow Canary’ (0.982), respectively.

The urban heat island and thermal heat stress correlate with climate dynamics and energy budget variations in multiple urban environments

Rising temperatures that occur in cities resulted in the urban heat island (UHI) which could also amplify the thermal heat stress, leading to climate-related human mortality. Our study investigated the UHI effect and thermal heat stress of heat index (HI) in the U.S. cities of arid, continental, temperate, and tropical climate zones. A long-term simulation of the UHI and HI was conducted using Community Land Model version 5.0 from 1990 to 2014. The relationship between UHI and HI with climate and energy flux variables are analyzed with divided study periods (1990–2000 and 2001–2014) for the urban impact assessment. Higher sensible heat was reported, particularly in the arid and tropical cities. Further, temperate climate showed increasing annual trends for UHI and ΔHI (urban-rural difference of HIs). The later period (2001–2014) demonstrated greater UHI and ΔHI trends, implying a notable change in climate and urban expansion. The UHI, ranging from 0.73 °C to 2.07 °C, was more intense compared with ΔHI, at 0.14 °C to 1.23 °C. The UHI was positively correlated with temperatures in hot cities, while precipitation is the main driver in the continental city. For ΔHI, the relationship with temperatures were dominant in all climate zones.

Microboring organisms — an overlooked Early-Mid Palaeozoic marine ecosystem: Case study from the Prague Basin (Czech Republic)

Nearly 800 of Ordovician to Middle Devonian petrographic slides from the Prague Basin (Barrandian area, Czech Republic) have been inspected for the presence of microboring structures in bioclasts. Traces of microbioerosion are rare in the Ordovician to Lower Devonian of the studied area and are produced almost exclusively by bacteria and fungi on bioclast surfaces. However, a gradual increase in the abundance of microboring structures and their shift into bioclast interior is observed during the Silurian to the Early Devonian interval. This coincides with a generally ascending quantity of tunnels possibly produced by phototrophic microboring organisms (Cyanobacteria and Algae). Subsequently, the abundance of microendolithic structures notably increased from the Emsian onwards. They are not randomly distributed in relation to their palaeoenvironments, with most abundant occurrences in low-energy hemipelagic red carbonates. Although this may partially reflect the global marine evolutionary trends, the changes in microbioeroder ecosystems were more likely driven by local factors such as the drift of the Prague Basin from temperate to tropical climate zone, increased oxygen content near the sea floor or to a larger extent, the preserved shallow littoral facies.

Decline of insects and arachnids driven by nutrient enrichment: A meta-analysis.

Recent studies have documented global declines in insects and their relatives, but the exact mechanisms explaining these patterns are not fully understood. A potential driver underlying arthropod population declines is increases in anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Here, we synthesize the effects of N, P, and combined N + P enrichment on the abundance of hexapods (insects and collembola) and arachnids from 901 experiments reported in 84 studies. We found that N and combined N + P enrichment caused significant decreases in the abundance of these groups overall. While arthropod responses to nutrient enrichment across aquatic and terrestrial habitats and in temperate as well as tropical climatic zones differed in magnitude, our results suggest that arthropods are decreasing similarly in response to nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment. Further, despite previously shown differences in the nutrient demands of different insect metamorphosis groups, we found consistent negative effects of N + P enrichment on all groups. Our results also showed that the negative effects of nutrient additions are stronger for aquatic insects that are considered more sensitive to changes in physical-chemical parameters in their environments, Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT), compared with other aquatic insects. In addition, N + P enrichment reduced the abundance of above-ground and below-ground arthropods, suggesting that a similar mechanism driving arthropod community change is acting on both groups. These findings suggest that changes in elemental cycles are a potential cause of the ongoing global decline of arthropods and underscore the serious effects of nutrient enrichment on ecological systems.

Centennial Assessment of Greenhouse Gases Emissions of Young and Old Hydroelectric Reservoir in Mediterranean Mainland

The quantities of emitted greenhouse gases (GHG) from hydroelectric reservoirs around the world, especially in warm latitudes, have tarnished the green credentials of hydroelectric energy. The accurate measurement and evaluation of the emitted GHG, which is a critical element in climate change policy, present a significant challenge. Many works have been focused on GHG emissions assessment from reservoirs around the world, but there are no available data concerning reservoirs in Mediterranean countries. In this study, emitted GHG from a young and an old in line water reservoirs, located in Mediterranean mainland, were collected using a “static floating chamber”. Methane and carbon dioxide concentrations were measured and their specific emission rates were calculated. The data were used for the development of a mathematical prediction model, proposed for GHG emission assessment. Statistical correlation of GHG emissions and water physicochemical characteristics led to the interpretation of the biochemical processes taking place into the reservoirs. Furthermore, the impact of reservoir’s morphology on GHG emissions was recorded, enhancing its importance on decision making for "green" energy investments. The results of this study indicate that artificial reservoirs in Mediterranean mainland generally have lower GHG emissions than those located in tropical and subtropical climatic zones and higher than those in continental subarctic zones and approach the highest values of CO2 emissions and the mean CH4 emissions recorded in continental climatic zones. The applied methodology provides a comprehensive tool for the long term (centennial) emissions assessment and the assessment of reservoirs impacts on the environment.

Preliminary results of in-vitro laboratory propagation of barberry (Berberis L.)

The genus Berberis vulgaris (Berberis L.) is currently found in tropical, subtropical, temperate, and cold climate zones. There is little doubt that Southeast Asia is where the majority of Berberis vulgaris' interspecies biodiversity is found. Additionally, species are widely distributed, mostly in hilly areas, and, in terms of moisture requirements, they are mesophytic and xeromesophytic plants. In this article, experiments on in-vitro propagation of Berberis vulgaris (Berberis L.) seedlings were carried out in laboratory conditions. During the experiments, the time of sterilization of the explants obtained from the Berberis vulgaris plant was determined. Different concentrations of hormones and auxins were used in several nutrient mediums for growing in artificial nutrient medium. The results depicted that the highest rate was observed in the variant, where 2ml.BAP+0.5NAA+30g sucrose+7g accounted for 87% of plant rooting rate. It was observed that the rooting rate was slightly higher in the control variant of WPM-Woody plant medium-nutrient medium than the control variant of the MS nutrient medium, which was 17%.

Influência de sistemas de cultivo e melhoradores não-fertilizantes no microclima e crescimento de espinafre-brasileiro

ABSTRACT Brazilian spinach is a leafy vegetable originating from the tropical region of South America. Despite the similarity in agroclimatic conditions, this nutrient-rich plant has not been widely cultivated in southeast Asia. Therefore, this research aimed to determine the most suitable growing technique (conventional, floating or bottom-wet culture systems) for Brazilian spinach grown in the wet tropical climate. Non-fertilizer ameliorants were applied to improve the physical characteristics of the growing substrate, making it more permeable. The addition of fine sand and/or rice husk biochar to the growing substrate did not increase the growth rate and the leaf yield of Brazilian spinach. The floating and bottom-wet culture systems performed better, when compared to the conventional system commonly practiced by farmers, particularly during the onset of the dry season. The harvest period lasted from 6 to 9 weeks after planting (WAP). The rate of leaf fresh weight to the total shoot weight gradually decreased during the harvest period, along with the percentage of marketable yield. Related to microclimate conditions, the floating and bottom-wet culture exhibited a higher substrate humidity, while the canopy temperature was not significantly affected by the air or substrate temperature. The substrate temperature measured at midday was significantly higher in the conventional system due to a decrease in the substrate water. In conclusion, Brazilian spinach is suitable for cultivation in wet tropical climate zones, with the application of floating or bottom-wet culture systems and harvest between 6 and 9 WAP emerging as the recommended approach.

Identification of the root-knot nematode species associated with Carica papaya

Abstract. Plena SNG, Indarti S, Widiastuti A, Putra NS. 2022. Identification of the root-knot nematode species associated with Carica papaya.Biodiversitas 23: 6212-6217. Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are important economic pests causing low production and yield losses in horticultural crops. Meloidogyne spp. is widespread and regarded as a major pest since they are found all over the world in a variety of geographic locations, most frequently found in tropical and subtropical climate zones. They are obligate parasites that feed on various plants, including papaya and other horticultural plants. They are root-galling in host plants. Many species of root-knot nematodes may be found in a suitable environment. Therefore, accurate identification of the root-knot nematode species in papaya plants is important for developing and applying control and management measures. Surveys and sampling of nematodes on papaya plants were performed at the Agrotechnology Innovation Center, Universitas Gadjah Mada, the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and its surroundings. Identification was performed both morphologically (based on the perineal pattern of female nematodes) and molecularly (using root-knot nematode species-specific primers). The results revealed that the species of root-knot nematode associated with papaya plants was Meloidogyne javanica based on the perineal pattern of female nematodes, specifically the lateral lines. This finding was also supported by the results of the DNA amplification at 670-bp product using specific primers for M. javanica (FJav/RJav). Consequently, plant protection efforts will need to focus on minimizing M. javanica damage in papaya cultivation.

DATAMAN: A global database of methane, nitrous oxide, and ammonia emission factors for livestock housing and outdoor storage of manure.

Livestock manure management systems can be significant sources of nitrous oxide (N2 O), methane (CH4 ), and ammonia (NH3 ) emissions. Many studies have been conducted to improve our understanding of the emission processes and to identify influential variables in order to develop mitigation techniques adapted to each manure management step (animal housing, outdoor storage, and manure spreading to land). The international project DATAMAN (http://www.dataman.co.nz) aims to develop a global database on greenhouse gases (N2 O, CH4 ) and NH3 emissions from the manure management chain to refine emission factors (EFs) for national greenhouse gas and NH3 inventories. This paper describes the housing and outdoor storage components of this database. Relevant information for different animal categories, manure types, livestock buildings, outdoor storage, and climatic conditions was collated from published peer reviewed research, conference papers, and existing databases published between 1995 and 2021. In the housing database, 2024 EFs were collated (63% for NH3 , 19.5% for CH4 , and 17.5% for N2 O). The storage database contains 654 NH3 EFs from 16 countries, 243 CH4 EFs from 13 countries, and 421 N2 O EFs from 17 countries. Across all gases, dairy cattle and swine production in temperate climate zones are the most represented animal and climate categories. As for the housing database, the number of EFs for the tropical climate zone is under-represented. The DATAMAN database can be used for the refinement of national inventories and better assessment of the cost-effectiveness of a range of mitigation strategies.