Sustainable Agriculture and Advances of Remote Sensing (Volume 2)

Agriculture, as the main source of alimentation and the most important economic activity globally, is being affected by the impacts of climate change. To maintain and increase our global food system production, to reduce biodiversity loss and preserve our natural ecosystem, new practices and technologies are required. This book focuses on the latest advances in remote sensing technology and agricultural engineering leading to the sustainable agriculture practices. Earth observation data, in situ and proxy-remote sensing data are the main source of information for monitoring and analyzing agriculture activities. Particular attention is given to earth observation satellites and the Internet of Things for data collection, to multispectral and hyperspectral data analysis using machine learning and deep learning, to WebGIS and the Internet of Things for sharing and publication of the results, among others

Antimicrobial activity of pomegranate peel extracts from "Karamustafa" and "Idzis" varieties

The aim of this study was determination of antimicrobial activity of pomegranate peel extracts from “Karamustafa” and “Idžis” varieties. For this purposes, the peel of the two varieties of pomegranates was dried, powdered and extracted three times by methanol: water solution (80:20). After evaporation, the extracts were investigated for their “in vitro” antibacterial and antifungal properties using a disk-diffusion method in Petri dishes. The pomegranate peel extracts were tested for antibacterial activity against one Gram-positive bacterial strain Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), and against one Gram-negative bacterial strain Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), and for antifungal activity using Candida albicans (ATCC 1023). In brief, each microorganism was suspended in Mueller Hinton (MH) broth and diluted approximately to 10E6 colony forming unit (cfu)/mL. Gentamicin (20 μg/well), nalidixic acid (30 μg/well), ciprofloxacine (5 μg/well) and erytromicine (15 μg/well) were used as positive control. The antibacterial activity is ranked from no activity (-: inhibition diameter < 10 mm), low (+: inhibition diameter between 10 and 15 mm), moderate (++: inhibition diameter between 15 and 20 mm) and high activity (+++: diameter inhibition ≥ 20 mm). All tests were performed in triplicate and clear halos greater than 10 mm were considered as positive results. Our results showed very high antimicrobial activity of the extracts from both variety against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923) with inhibition zone of 40 mm. The antifungal activity against Candida albicans (ATCC 1023) was very low with inhibition zone of 10 mm

Application of ERTS-1 data to integrated state planning in the state of Maryland

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Sustainable Agriculture for Climate Change Adaptation

© 2020 by the authors. This is an open access work distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.As we lie firmly entrenched within what many have termed the Anthropocene, the time of humans, human influence on the functioning of the planet has never been greater or in greater need of mitigation. Climate change, the accelerated warming of the planet’s surface attributed to human activities, is now at the forefront of global politics. The 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP21) Paris Agreement saw a landmark agreement reached between countries belonging to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement seeks to arrest climate change and maintain the global temperature rise below a 2 ◦C increase compared to pre-industrial levels, and to devise means and ways to adapt to its effects. The agriculture sector not only contributes to climate change but, as a land-based industry, is also greatly affected by climate change. This publication is a collection of carefully selected papers addressing multiple climate related issues from across the five continents, providing a truly global perspective

Cadmium geochemistry and groundwater pollution status evaluation using indexing and spatial analysis for Keffe community and Environs Sokoto Basin, North Western Nigeria

Representative groundwater samples were collected from the Kaffe community and environs to evaluate the concentrations and geochemical constraints for mobilizing cadmium (Cd) and selected heavy metals. Field-based in-situ measurements of physicochemical parameters were combined with Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer analysis of dissolved elemental concentrations. Pollution indices (i.e. heavy metal pollution index; HPI, heavy metal evaluation index; HEI, contamination degree; Cd, metal index; MI, synthetic pollution index; SPI, ecological risk index; ERI and Nemerow index; NI) evaluations highlighted the levels of heavy metals in the groundwater. Cadmium and iron (Fe) concentrations exceeded the recommended limits in 97% of the analysed samples, with an average pH of 6.3. Strong positive correlations were observed between cadmium and the computed pollution indices (p 0.774 to p 0.100), suggesting significant Cd pollution of the groundwater. Components analysis grouped Cd, Fe, and the pollution indices in the first PC. This was favourably compared to the correlation analysis result. Cluster analysis categorized Cd, Zn and pH in the first cluster consistent with the suggested dissolution and enrichment of Cd and Zn in the groundwater under similar geochemical conditions. The study area is medium and moderately polluted based on HPI, HEI, Cd, and NI

Evolution, and functional analysis of Natural Resistance-Associated Macrophage proteins (NRAMPs) from Theobroma cacao and their role in cadmium accumulation

The presence of the toxic metal cadmium (Cd2+) in certain foodstuffs is recognised as a global problem, and there is increasing legislative pressure to reduce the content of Cd in food. The present study was conducted on cacao (Theobroma cacao), the source of chocolate, and one of the crops known to accumulate Cd in certain conditions. There are a range of possible genetic and agronomic methods being tested as a route to such reduction. As part of a gene-based approach, we focused on the Natural Resistance-Associated Macrophage Proteins (NRAMPS), a family of proton/metal transporter proteins that are evolutionarily conserved across all species from bacteria to humans. The plant NRAMP gene family are of particular importance as they are responsible for uptake of the nutritionally vital divalent cations Fe2+, Mn2+, Zn2+, as well as Cd2+. We identified the five NRAMP genes in cacao, sequenced these genes and studied their expression in various organs. We then confirmed the expression patterns in response to variation in nutrient cation availability and addition of Cd2+. Functional analysis by expression in yeast provided evidence that NRAMP5 encoded a protein capable of Cd2+ transport, and suggested this gene as a target for genetic selection/modification

Hydroponics as a valid tool to assess arsenic availability in mine soils

The low solubility of As in mine soils limits its phytoavailability. This makes the extrapolation of data obtained under hydroponic conditions unrealistic because the concentration in nutrient solution frequently overexposes plants to this metalloid. This work evaluates whether As supply in hydroponics resembles, to some extent, the As phytoavailable fraction in soils and the implications for phytoremediation. Phytotoxicity of As, in terms of biomass production, chlorophyll levels, and As concentrations in plants, was estimated and compared in both soils and hydroponics. In order for hydroponic conditions to be compared to soil conditions, plant exposure levels were measured in both cultures. Hydroponic As concentration ranging from 2-8 μM equated to the same plant organ concentrations from soils with 700-3000 mg kg-1. Total and extractable As fractions exceeded those values, but As concentrations in pore water were bellow them. According to our results (i) hydroponics should include doses in the range 0-10 μM As to allow the extrapolation of the results to As-polluted soils, and (ii) phytoextraction of As in mining sites will be limited by low As phytoavailabilityThis study was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, project CTM 2007-66401-CO2/TECNO, and by Comunidad de Madrid, project S-0505/AMB/029

Removal of various contaminants from water by renewable lignocellulose-derived biosorbents: a comprehensive and critical review

© 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Contaminants in water bodies cause potential health risks for humans and great environmental threats. Therefore, the development and exploration of low-cost, promising adsorbents to remove contaminants from water resources as a sustainable option is one focus of the scientific community. Here, we conducted a critical review regarding the application of pristine and modified/treated biosorbents derived from leaves for the removal of various contaminants. These include potentially toxic cationic and oxyanionic metal ions, radioactive metal ions, rare earth elements, organic cationic and anionic dyes, phosphate, ammonium, and fluoride from water media. Similar to lignocellulose-based biosorbents, leaf-based biosorbents exhibit a low specific surface area and total pore volume but have abundant surface functional groups, high concentrations of light metals, and a high net surface charge density. The maximum adsorption capacity of biosorbents strongly depends on the operation conditions, experiment types, and adsorbate nature. The absorption mechanism of contaminants onto biosorbents is complex; therefore, typical experiments used to identify the primary mechanism of the adsorption of contaminants onto biosorbents were thoroughly discussed. It was concluded that byproduct leaves are renewable, biodegradable, and promising biosorbents which have the potential to be used as a low-cost green alternative to commercial activated carbon for effective removal of various contaminants from the water environment in the real-scale plants