Evaluation of The Influence of an Aquaculture Basin on Water Resource Management Through The use of a Geographic Information System and The FREEWAT Modelling Tool: A Case Study in The El Tarf Region (Northeast Algeria)

The study area belongs to the Bouteldja plain in the northeast of Algeria that experiences a cold and rainy Mediterranean climate during winters alongside a hot and dry summer. As per the potentiometric map, the movement of groundwater is towards the east. During model development, a single-layer numerical model was created with the aid of the MODFLOW-2005 code and the FREEWAT modeling tool. Some GIS features were executed on the model in a steady-state condition through the hydrological year of 2020. MODFLOW Well (WEL) and MODFLOW Recharge (RCH) models were successively utilized to simulate groundwater extraction and recharge. Analysis of pumping test data indicates that the total contribution via the western boundary is lower than the term of extraction because of over-pumping. The simulation analyses of the water balance and groundwater recharge following the installation of the aquaculture basin, with or without pumping, demonstrate a reduction in hydraulic load in the area near the wells. As a result, the exploitation rate of these resources might amount to or even exceed their renewal rate. In conclusion, our work proposes a modeling approach to simulate the impact of an aquifer recharge management program by adding an aquaculture basin for a dual purpose: the development of fishery resources and agriculture in rural areas

Biochemical Approach to Assess Groundwater Pollution by Petroleum Hydrocarbons (Case Skikda Algeria)

Due to the accelerated population growth and development in all sectors especially industry, more water has been pumped and more effluents have been rejected to the natural system. In the coastal Skikda Valley; Petrochemical indus-try is practiced along the year and almost groundwater are threatened. This work is referred to the characterization of the environmental hydrobiochemistry in the coastal petrochemical industrial area. The study has investigated the groundwater pollution by hydrocarbons using biochemical approach and assessing the nature and extent of contamina-tion of groundwater in relation to petroleum industrial activities surrounding tank, channel and pipe. At site of this in-dustrial zone, groundwater circulates on slight deep in the mio-pliocene alluviums (sand and gravel) which is character-ized by an important permeability. Groundwater quality analysis proved that groundwater quality is largely polluted with respect to BOD5, COD, TPH and TSS. So, a narrow relationship between BOD and TPH and important qualitative degradation of the groundwater is shown, especially in the parts situated in the down gradient area and in direct prox-imity of tank, channel and pipe. The extent of groundwater contamination is influencing by the depth of the water table, permeability of the soil and therefore infiltration rate. In order to prevent further pollution of groundwater, oil must be stored and transported via impervious tank, pipe and channel. So, effluents must be treated prior to discharge

Przestrzenne i czasowe zmiany temperatury powierzchni ziemi w zlewni jeziora Oubeira w północnowschodniej Algierii

The difficulties of access and detailed measurements of land surface temperature (LST) and water surface temperature (WST) especially in wetlands made the use of remote sensing data as one of the sources and techniques to estimate many climate elements including surface temperature and surface emissivity (ɛ). This study aims to estimate the surface temperature of the wetland of Lake Oubeira located in northeastern Algeria and their spatiotemporal evolution in both land and water. Landsat OLI-TIRS images in two dates (April and September 2016) obtained from the USGS have been used in this work, and forms the basis of a series of operations to obtain the final LST: development of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), conversion of the digital number (DN) of the thermal infrared band (TIR) into spectral radiance as well as the calculation of the effective luminosity temperature of the sensor from the spectral radiation and surface emissivity (ɛ). The results show that the LST varies in space and time (from 16 to 31°C in April and from 24 to 41°C in September). This implies that the absorption of the equilibrium temperature at land cover depends on the optical properties of the surface, which are essentially determined by its water content, colour and morphology. At the same time, the water surface is the lowest land cover temperature, which also has a spatial variation (from 19 to 25°C in April and from 26 to 34.5°C in September) induced by atmospheric temperature, wind direction and speed and the depth of the lake.Trudności w dostępie do badanych obszarów i w wykonaniu szczegółowych pomiarów temperatury powierzchni ziemi (LST) i wody (WST), szczególnie w środowiskach podmokłych, sprawiają, że dane pozyskane metodą teledetekcji są źródłem informacji do szacowania elementów klimatu takich jak temperatura powierzchni i emisyjność (ɛ). Celem przedstawionych badań było określenie temperatury powierzchni siedlisk podmokłych jeziora Oubeira w północnowschodniej Algierii i jej zmian zarówno na ziemi, jak i w wodzie. W pracy wykorzystano obrazy Landsat OLI-TIRS z dwóch terminów (kwiecień i wrzesień 2016 r.) uzyskane z United States Geological Survey (USGS). Stanowiły one podstawę działań zmierzających do uzyskania końcowej temperatury LST – uzyskanie znormalizowanego różnicowego wskaźnika wegetacji (NDVI), konwersję numeru DN termicznego pasma podczerwieni (TIR) do spektralnej radiancji oraz obliczenie efektywnej temperatury barwowej sensora ze spektralnego promieniowania i emisyjności powierzchniowej (ɛ). Wyniki wskazują, że LST zmienia się w czasie i w przestrzeni (od 16 do 31°C w kwietniu i od 24 do 41°C we wrześniu). Oznacza to, że absorpcja temperatury przez pokrycie powierzchni ziemi zależy od optycznych właściwości powierzchni, które są określone przez zawartość wody, barwę i morfologię. Najniższą temperaturę wykazuje powierzchnia wody. Temperatura wody także ulega zmianom (od 19 do 25°C w kwietniu i od 26 do 34.5°C we wrześniu), wywołanym przez temperaturę powietrza, kierunek i prędkość wiatru oraz głębokość jeziora

Assessment of soil erosion by Universal Soil Loss Equation model based on Geographic Information System data: a case study of the Mafragh watershed, north-eastern Algeria

ABSTRACT: Soil resources in Algeria are limited by physical surface area, geogenic, and anthropogenic degradation. Given the importance of food production, soil resource management is an essential part of Algeria's long-term agricultural development. Furthermore, soil erosion is one of the serious natural environmental problem, affects millions of hectares of arable farmland. Soil erosion assessments coupled with hydrologic modeling is tool to estimate this phenomenon and is useful for watershed management and conservation. In this study, the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS) data to assess annual soil erosion rates in the Mafragh watershed located in northeastern Algeria. The aim was to generate practical erosion risk maps of the catchment area. Results showed that 74 % of the watershed is within a tolerant erosion rate (A value between 0 and 1), while the remaining 26 % of the study area is classified under moderate to severe erosion risk (A value between 1 and >10). The study suggests considering these results when evaluating soil erosion management practices to ensure sustainable agricultural development in the region

HARBOUR BIOSECURITY: FOULING SYSTEMATIC DETERMINATION AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ASSESSMENT

Biological invasions and chemical pollution are increasingly recognized key problems for the conservation of biological diversity. To plan species risk assessment, taxonomic species and mode of settlement and the role of temporal-seasonal factors of the fouling have been examined in the harbour of Naples (Italy). Each sample was subjected to systematic determination after fixing and microscopic observation and/or barcoding for biosecurity management of biological pollution. Our data, obtained monthly from artificial panels of Conatex immersed at different depths (from the surface up to three meters deep) showed up to now a total of 17 native species: two algal and fifteen invertebrate species, with Tunicates and Bryozoans more abundant. On the panels resulted that the specific biodiversity is not influenced by seasonality and depths; the settled biomasses is influenced by depth; a climax facies, is represented mainly by Mytilus galloprovincialis, after twelve months. Genomic DNA, using mobility shift and tunel assay, and metals detection were evaluated in gonads and/ or gametes showing fragmentation and apoptosis when arsenic, aluminum and iron increases. More information like diversity, dominance and similarity index processed with cluster analysis and statistical approach could be, in the next future, very useful for biodiversity monitoring security using the benthic communities as an early warning of biological and chemical pollution damage

Frog Gonad as bio-indicator of Sarno River Health

The Sarno River is affected by an extreme environmental degradation as a result of uncontrolled agricultural activities and the outflow of industrial waste. Changes in the abundance indexes and biodiversity of frogs can be used as a measuring tool to determine water quality of the Sarno River. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the potential in using frog tissue as environmental indicators and to monitor changes in water quality of local streams in the development area of Sarno River. Thus, many samples are collected from sedi-ment, water and frogs for metals analysis. To identify any differentiations of bioaccumulation of metals we have been analyzed skin and gonad of the more representative frog specie along the Sarno river, the barcoded Pelophylax bergeri. Results show that the degree of pol-lution in the Sarno river varies by zone, as well as by metal to metal, with contents that often are very elevated in frogs and higher in water than sediment. The concentrations of heavy metals, especially Arsenic (As) Chromium (Cr) and Zinc (Zn) were found higher in testis than skin of the collected frogs. Therefore, our results sustain the important role of frog gonads as a good bio-indicator of pollution. Frogs, Pelo-phylax bergeri, and water of Sarno River are very contaminated by arsenic and need to be urgently remediated

Frog (Pelophylax bergeri, Gunther 1986) endocrine disruption assessment: characterization and role of skin poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases

Model of the our research was the adult male amphibian anura, Pelophylax bergeri, poikilotherm species not considered threatened by the IUCN, sampled in representative sites at different degree. In the first phase, a biochemical characterization of the ADP-ribosylation on the skin of barcoded amphibian anura collected from Matese Lake (clean reference site in CE, Italy) was carried out. Two PARP isoforms were evidence: the first of 66 kDa is localized into nucleus and activated by DNA damage; the second of 150 kDa is in cytoplasm, as demonstrated by biochemical and immunohistochemical analysis. Subsequently, the PARP activity, the quantitative expression of androgen receptor gene, and the levels of arsenic and chromium in skin and testis of frog and soil, water, and sediment collected from sites at different degrees of pollution were measured. A significant variation of PARP activity and androgen receptor expression levels was detected in both tissues of barcoded frogs from Sarno and Scafati, along Sarno River (SA, Italy), suggesting that a PARP activation is correlated to pollution and to steroid-regulated physiology disruptio

Biodiversity Studies for Sustainable Lagoon: Thermophilic and Tropical Fish Species vs. Endemic Commercial Species at Mellah Lagoon (Mediterranean, Algeria)

Lagoons play an important socio-economic role and represent a precious natural heritage at risk from fishing pressure and chemical and biological pollution. Our research focused on better understanding the discrimination of fish biodiversity, the detection of non-indigenous species, and the valorization of commercial indigenous species at Mellah lagoon (Algeria). Taxonomic characterization and barcoding for all fish species and Inkscape schematic drawings for the most common species are provided. A total of 20 families and 37 species were recorded. The thermophilic species Coris julis, Thalassoma pavo, and Aphanius fasciatus and tropical species such as Gambusia holbrooki and Parablennius pilicornis were identified. Numerous Mediterranean species of socio-economic importance are highlighted, and detailed information is summarized for the lagoon’s sustainability. This short-term evaluation goes hand in hand with long-term programs documenting the interaction between indigenous and non-indigenous species in the lagoon and will allow the development of a provisional relationship model for future studies. Thermophilic and tropical species patterns in the Mellah lagoon are presented. Taken together, we provide useful data that can guide future investigations and may become a potential management tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and protecting species with large socio-economic roles from potential thermal stress impact