COVID-19, deforestation, and green economy

Corona has severely impacted many sectors in the past 2. 5 years, and forests are one of the major hits among all sectors affected by the pandemic. This study presents the consolidated data on deforestation patterns across the globe during COVID and also analyzes in depth the region-specific contributing factors. Exacerbated deforestation during COVID alarms biodiversity conservation concerns and pushes back the long-term efforts to combat pollution and climate change mitigation. Deforestation also increases the risk of the emergence of new zoonotic diseases in future, as deforestation and COVID are intricately related to each other. Therefore, there is a need to check deforestation and inculcation of conservation measures in building back better policies adopted post-COVID. This review is novel in specifically providing insight into the implications of COVID-19 on forests in tropical as well as temperate global regions, causal factors, green policies given by different nations, and recommendations that will help in designing nature-based recovery strategies for combating deforestation and augmenting afforestation, thus providing better livelihood, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, and better environmental quality

Not Available

Not AvailableA total of 15 years of experimentation period (1995–2010) was divided into two phases. In the first phase (1995–2005), five mango based agri - horticultural models (AHM) viz. Mango ? cowpea–toria, mango ? cluster bean/okra–toria, mango ? sesame– toria, mango ? black gram–toria and mango ? pigeon pea in addition to sole mango plantation (no intercrop) and in second phase (2005–2010), two mango based AHM (mango ? colocasia and mango ? turmeric) in addition to sole mango (no intercrop) were studied. The mean maximum cowpea equivalent yield (t ha - 1) was harvested from cowpea (1.84) followed by okra (1.21), black gram (1.11), sesame (0.68) and mean minimum with pigeon pea (0.58). The crop yield reduction among the mango basedAHMwas observed from third year to tenth year. The positive correlation was found between light transmission and intercrops yields amongst all models during both phases. However, the correlation between mango canopy spread and intercrop yields shown negative trends. The yield reduction in intercrops varied from 37.0–52.6 % during first phase and 20.6–23.5 % during second phase of experimentation compared to sole crop. The results revealed that the fruit based AHM were effective in improving fruit yields of the mango. The mean maximum fruit yield of mango (7.02 t ha - 1) was harvested with cowpea–toria crop rotation followed by black gram–toria (6.59 t ha - 1) and minimum fruit yield (5.76 t ha - 1) realized with sole mango tree during first phase (1999–2005). Likewise, mean maximum fruit yield (13.71 t ha - 1) from mango tree was obtained in the turmeric block followed by (13.00 t ha - 1) in colocasia block and minimum fruit yield with sole mango tree (11.86 t ha - 1). All the treatments of AHM recorded higher soil moisture as compared to sole mango plantation during both phases. The moisture retention under different AHM was in the order of cowpea (13.32 cm) black gram (13.29 cm) pigeon pea (13.27 cm) okra (12.42 cm) sesame (12.17 cm) sole mango (11.62 cm) during first phase, whereas moisture retention was observed in the order of turmeric (14.20 cm) colocasia (14.01 cm) sole mango (12.60 cm) during second phase. The cowpea– toria crop rotation with mango gave maximum benefit: cost ratio followed by okra–toria under rainfed conditions. Besides economic viability of cowpea– toria with mango, this system had improved tree growth as well as fruit yield of mango. In the second phase, mango ? turmeric yielded more benefit than mango ? colocasia system. In the first phase, the mango ? cowpea–toria system improved organic carbon, total nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and reduced pH by 49.0, 56.3, 48.6, 58.5 and 11.6 %, respectively as compared to initial values whereas mango ? turmeric system increased organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and reduction inpH by 51.0, 45.0, 29.7, 29.0 and 3.4 %, respectively over initial values within soil depths of 0–30 cm during second phased. Mango based AHM is recommended for adoption with selective intercrops up to 15 years of age of mango plantation for multiple outputs and good economic viability without impairing site fertility.Not Availabl

Intensified cropping reduces soil erosion and improves rainfall partitioning and soil properties in the marginal land of the Indian Himalayas

Environmental crises, land degradation, declining factor productivity, and farm profitability questioned the sustainability of linear economy-based existing agricultural production model. Hence, there is a dire need to design and develop circular economy-based production systems to meet the twin objectives of environmental sustainability and food security. Therefore, the productive capacity, natural resource conserving ability, and biomass recycling potential of four intensified maize-based systems viz. maize (Zea mays) + sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas)-wheat, maize + colocasia (Colocasia esculenta)-wheat, maize + turmeric (Curcuma longa), and maize + ginger (Zingiber officinale) were tested consecutively for three years (2020, 2021 and 22) in a fixed plot manner at Dehradun region of the Indian Himalaya against the existing maize-wheat systems. The result showed that the maize + sweet potato-wheat system significantly reduced runoff loss (166.3 mm) over the maize-wheat system. The highest through fall (68.12 %) and the lowest stem flow (23.54 %) were recorded with sole maize. On the contrary, the maize + sweet potato system has the highest stem flow (36.15 %) and the lowest through fall. Similarly, the maize + sweet potato system had 5.6 times lesser soil erosion and 0.77 t ha−1 higher maize productivity over the maize-wheat system. Furthermore, the maize + sweet potato system recorded significantly higher soil moisture (19.3%), infiltration rate (0.95 cm h−1), and organic carbon (0.78%) over the rest of the systems. The maize + sweet potato system also recycled the highest nitrogen (299.2 kg ha−1), phosphorus, (31.0 kg ha−1), and potassium (276.2 kg ha−1) into the soil system. Hence, it can be inferred that concurrent cultivation of sweet potato, with maize, is a soil-supportive, resource-conserving, and productive production model and can be recommended for achieving the circular economy targets in the Indian Himalayas

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field