Development a Framework for Assessment of Water Security in Egypt

Water Security is very urgent for sustainable development in Egypt. Growing population needs more food production, water for drinking, hygiene, and to respond to economic activities which rely on access to more water.The objective of this paper is to develop an operational and applicable framework for assessment of water security index for Egypt.  The water security index for Egypt was calculated according to the methodology of the Asian Water Development Bank Outlook (AWDO) using 2020 data and it was found that the water security situation is below average and huge efforts are needed to enhance this indicator in order to meet the current water challenges. After applying AWDO methodology for assessment of water security and its five indicators, it was found that some of them are misleading and some are not applicable to Egypt. In this paper, a modification for the indicators will be proposed to be more relevant to Egypt and to be more practical. The modified framework and its new indicators have represented the situation in Egypt with the challenges of an arid and extremely variable climate. The modified water security index evaluation methodology is also used in light of the Egyptian local conditions in predicting the indicator Water security for 2030 based on the assumed expectations of three water shortage scenarios. These future scenarios helped draw a road map for the necessary measures needed to secure the water situation and thus economic growth

Efficiency of fluazifop-p-butyl and Oxyfluorfen herbicides separately and in combinations with selected spray tank additives on weeds in onion field

Two field experiments were carried out at Faculty of Agriculture Farm, Al-Azhar University, Assiut governorate in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons to evaluate the efficiency of two post-emergence herbicides, i.e. Fusilade forte (fluazifop-p-butyl) and Goal (oxyfluorfen) on onion weed control at 30 and 60 days after treatment. Both herbicides were applied at their recommended and ¾ recommended rates with and without spray tank additives, i.e. sodium lauryl ether sulphate and organosilicone   adjuvants.  The results showed that the tested adjuvants obviously increased the herbicidal efficiency of fusilade forte against grassy weeds and Goal against broad leave weeds. In most cases the maximum efficiency was achieved when both fusilade forte and Goal were applied at their recommended (187.5 and 180 g a.i/fed.) or ¾ recommended (140.625 and 135 g a.i/feddan) rates, + organosilicone adjuvant at 0.1% v/v concentration without significant adverse effects in onion crop

Comprehensive analysis and implications of Veronica persica germination and growth traits in their invasion ecology

Abstract Invasive alien species implications in ecological threats are attributed to their unique characteristics that are linked to their invasion. Veronica persica (Plantaginaceae family) is an alien weed species in Egypt. Regardless of its widespread globally in various regions, the growth traits and behavior of V. persica remain poorly understood. The comprehensive analysis, reveals the optimal germination (Gmax) was detected at 10/20 °C, 15/20 °C, and 20/25 °C at the moderate temperature regimes. The rapid germination rate (G rate) peaked at 10/20 °C regime, with a rate of 0.376 per day. Furthermore, under stress conditions, V. persica has 50% germination inhibition (G50) and 50% of growth inhibition occurred at − 0.91 MPa and 0.75 MPa of osmotic pressure and 3225.81 ppm and 2677.1 ppm of salt stress (NaCl) respectively. The germination ranged from 6 to 9 pH, with the highest germination percentage occurring at a pH of 7 & 8, reaching 88.75% compared to the control group. There is a strong interaction effect between habitats and plant stages, the plant stages and habitats have significant effects (p ≤ 0.00) on V. persica growth. There was high and moderate plasticity in the response of morphological and growth features between stages. During the seedling-juvenile interval and the juvenile-flowering stages, respectively, there was a noticeable increase in both Relative Growth Rate and Net Assimilation Rate. Demographic surveys identified approximately 24 species across 11 families associated with V. persica in invaded areas. The Sorenson indices of qualitative index exhibited high similarity values in the invaded sites by (82.35%) compared to (72.72%) in non-invaded sites. However, interactions with native communities were reflected in lower richness, diversity, and evenness, displaying slightly higher Simpson index 1 (λ) values compared to invaded and non-invaded sites (0.043 and 0.0290) vs. (0.0207 and 0.268), in rangelands and F. carica orchards respectively. These results emphasize the substantially higher adaptability of V. persica to variable environmental conditions and abilities to invade a new community. This knowledge about invasive V. persica weeds germination and growth is itemized as the consistent predictive base for future invasion and informs strategic management priorities

Comparison between rainfall simulator erosion and observed reservoir sedimentation in an erosion-sensitive semiarid catchment

Estimating catchment scale soil loss based on rainfall simulators is often hampered by the difficulty to scale up simulator results. Our objective was to develop and test a method for estimating catchment scale soil loss based on observed rainfall using a variable intensity rainfall simulator in an erosion-sensitive catchment in semiarid Tunisia. A 7-year period, 1992-1999, with observed sedimentation amounts in a downstream reservoir was chosen to test a methodology. The methodology was based on (1) energy adjustment for the used simulator due to the difference in kinetic energy of simulated and natural rainfall at equal intensities and (2) upscaling of simulated erosion in which rill erosion was estimated by adjusting the difference between slope lengths for the plots versus the catchment after onset of runoff. The comparison between calculated soil loss from rainfall simulator experiments and observed sedimentation in the downstream reservoir displayed good overall results. Calculated soil loss was found to be about 96%, 36%, and 80% for different observed subperiods, respectively. The observed low value for the second period was probably due an exceptionally intense rainfall event during this period, which appears to have led to gully erosion, soil slide, and riverbank collapse. Therefore, during this event, siltation in the reservoir may essentially be due to unaccounted erosion processes such as gully erosion. Overall, however, it appears that plot-scale variable intensity rainfall simulators can rather successfully estimate catchment scale soil losses. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved