Greenhouse Gas Mitigation through Agriculture

Environmental Economics and Policy, Q10, Q55, Q58,

Impact of climate events, pollution, and green spaces on mental health: an umbrella review of meta-analyses

Climate change may affect mental health. We conducted an umbrella review of meta-analyses examining the association between mental health and climate events related to climate change, pollution and green spaces. We searched major bibliographic databases and included meta-analyses with at least five primary studies. Results were summarized narratively. We included 24 meta-analyses on mental health and climate events (n = 13), pollution (n = 11), and green spaces (n = 2) (two meta-analyses provided data on two categories). The quality was suboptimal. According to AMSTAR-2, the overall confidence in the results was high for none of the studies, for three it was moderate, and for the other studies the confidence was low to critically low. The meta-analyses on climate events suggested an increased prevalence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety associated with the exposure to various types of climate events, although the effect sizes differed considerably across study and not all were significant. The meta-analyses on pollution suggested that there may be a small but significant association between PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO and mental health, especially depression and suicide, as well as autism spectrum disorders after exposure during pregnancy, but the resulting effect sizes varied considerably. Serious methodological flaws make it difficult to draw credible conclusions. We found reasonable evidence for an association between climate events and mental health and some evidence for an association between pollution and mental disorders. More high-quality research is needed to verify these associations

Revolutionizing livestock sustainability: Pioneering breeding strategies for superior forage biomass and quality

Livestock primarily rely on forage crops as a source of feed and nutrition. The milk productivity of a cow or meat production in goat/sheep could directly be associated with the availability of a sufficient quantity of quality green fodders with essential nutrients in a balanced ratio. Feeding the cereal/grass: legume fodders in the required proportion will not only improve productivity but also the reproductive capacity of animals. However, many countries of the world experience a huge gap between demand and availability of green fodder. In this context, emphasis should be placed on developing efficient forage genotypes with increased biomass and quality as per the requirements of animals, duly considering their digestibility. Breeding approaches encompassing required classical approaches, including wide hybridization to exploit natural genetic variability, biotechnological tools such as transgenic technology, marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, and various omics techniques alongside high-throughput phenotyping using multispectral cameras, would help to sustain livestock productivity by meeting out the present and future fodder requirements coupled with enhanced nutrient

Inheritance pattern of Qualitative traits, Genetic analysis and association of yield attributes in F2 populations of Rice (Oryza sativa)

Understanding the extent of genetic variability within the segregating generations is crucial for identifying superior segregants with high yield and better market acceptability. Thus, the present study was carried out to quantify the extent of genetic variation available in the segregating population of rice. Three crosses, viz., CO 55 × IC 457996, CO 55 × IC 464685, and CO 55 × IC 115439 were evaluated using a non-randomized experimental design for six yield attributing and two physical grain quality traits in F2 generation. The inheritance pattern of basal leaf sheath colour and grain colour in CO 55 × IC 115439 indicate digenic complementary gene interaction (9:7), whereas grain colour in CO 55 × IC 464685 exhibits inhibitory gene action (13:3). The positively skewed nature of productive tillers per plant and single-plant yield in the F2 segregants emphasizes the need for intensive selection to facilitate rapid improvement due to the influence of complementary gene action. Moderate to high GCV with high heritability and GAM for traits such as plant height, productive tillers per plant, hundred seed weight, grain width, and single-plant yield in the F2 segregants underscore the prevalence of additive gene action and thus provide the most effective condition for simple phenotypic selection. Moreover, productive tillers per plant and single-plant yield showed a strong positive association in all the crosses. Therefore, productive tillers per plant can be considered an indicator trait when selecting high-yielding segregants for grain yield improvement

Development of herbicide-tolerant lines through marker assisted backcross breeding

The widespread adoption of direct-seeded rice cultivation over traditional puddled transplanted rice has become necessary due to labor shortages and water scarcity. Amidst several biotic and abiotic challenges faced by direct seeded rice cultivation, weeds remain as a major bottleneck which negatively influences the performance of rice crop. Chemical method of weed control is one of the most economical ways compared to other weed management techniques. Development of rice lines which are resistant to new classes of broad-spectrum herbicides have paved way to introduce them into direct seeded rice cultivation. In this study, the herbicide-tolerant mutant named Robin-HTM, developed at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University and tolerance to imazethapyr, was used as a donor parent to introgress herbicide tolerant into the popular rice variety ADT 43. Initial evaluation with herbicide was done with the parents alone and subsequent evaluation was done in the advance backcross progenies of ADT 43 x HTM cross. The promising lines which perform better than the recurrent parent is selected and forwarded through backcrossing. Weed related parameters were also calculated in this study, to understand the weed dynamics present and the efficiency of the herbicide used.

Air pollution and development in Africa: impacts on health, the economy, and human capital

Background Africa is undergoing both an environmental and an epidemiological transition. Household air pollution is the predominant form of air pollution, but it is declining, whereas ambient air pollution is increasing. We aimed to quantify how air pollution is affecting health, human capital, and the economy across Africa, with a particular focus on Ethiopia, Ghana, and Rwanda. Methods Data on household and ambient air pollution were from WHO Global Health Observatory, and data on morbidity and mortality were from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study. We estimated economic output lost due to air pollution-related disease by country, with use of labour income per worker, adjusted by the probability that a person (of a given age) was working. Losses were expressed in 2019 international dollars and as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP). We also quantified the contribution of particulate matter (PM)2·5 pollution to intelligence quotient (IQ) loss in children younger than 10 years, with use of an exposure–response coefficient based on previously published data. Findings Air pollution was responsible for 1·1 million deaths across Africa in 2019. Household air pollution accounted for 697 000 deaths and ambient air pollution for 394 000. Ambient air pollution-related deaths increased from 361 000 in 2015, to 383 000 in 2019, with the greatest increases in the most highly developed countries. The majority of deaths due to ambient air pollution are caused by non-communicable diseases. The loss in economic output in 2019 due to air pollution-related morbidity and mortality was $3·02 billion in Ethiopia (1·16$1·63 billion in Ghana (0·95% of GDP), and $349 million in Rwanda (1·19% of GDP). PM2·5 pollution was estimated to be responsible for 1·96 billion lost IQ points in African children in 2019. Interpretation Ambient air pollution is increasing across Africa. In the absence of deliberate intervention, it will increase morbidity and mortality, diminish economic productivity, impair human capital formation, and undercut development. Because most African countries are still early in development, they have opportunities to transition rapidly to wind and solar energy, avoiding a reliance on fossil fuel-based economies and minimising pollution. Funding UN Environment Programme

Assessing the Human Health Benefits of Climate Mitigation, Pollution Prevention, and Biodiversity Preservation

Background: Since the Industrial Revolution, humanity has amassed great wealth and achieved unprecedented material prosperity. These advances have come, however, at great cost to the planet. They are guided by an economic model that focuses almost exclusively on short-term gain, while ignoring natural capital and human capital. They have relied on the combustion of vast quantities of fossil fuels, massive consumption of the earth’s resources, and production and environmental release of enormous quantities of chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, and plastics. They have caused climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, the “Triple Planetary Crisis”. They are responsible for more than 9 million premature deaths per year and for widespread disease – impacts that fall disproportionately upon the poor and the vulnerable. Goals: To map the human health impacts of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. To outline a framework for assessing the health benefits of interventions against these threats. Findings: Actions taken by national governments and international agencies to mitigate climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss can improve health, prevent disease, save lives, and enhance human well-being. Yet assessment of health benefits is largely absent from evaluations of environmental remediation programs. This represents a lost opportunity to quantify the full benefits of environmental remediation and to educate policy makers and the public. Recommendations: We recommend that national governments and international agencies implementing interventions against climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss develop metrics and strategies for quantifying the health benefits of these interventions. We recommend that they deploy these tools in parallel with assessments of ecologic and economic benefits. Health metrics developed by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study may provide a useful starting point. Incorporation of health metrics into assessments of environmental restoration will require building transdisciplinary collaborations. Environmental scientists and engineers will need to work with health scientists to establish evaluation systems that link environmental and economic data with health data. Such systems will assist international agencies as well as national and local governments in prioritizing environmental interventions