Search

Climate change and human activities both have a considerable impact on runoff depth, which are important parts of a changing ecosystem. Nevertheless, the main focus of hydrological response research has been on investigating the impact of climate change on the depth of runoff. In contrast, there has been limited emphasis on comprehending the precise mechanisms through which changes in land use, in relation to human activities, influence runoff depth. This paper employs the MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 model to simulate surface runoff in the study area from 1980 to 2020, assesses the effects of climate change and land use change on runoff depth using the runoff reduction method, and quantifies the influence of land use change on runoff depth through a spatio-temporal geographically weighted regression model. This study indicates that during the past 40 years, the average runoff depth in the Songnen Plain was 36.26 mm, exhibiting a tendency of 'increasing-decreasing-increasing'. The impact of climate change on surface runoff depth is more substantial than that of land use change. During the impact period 1, the runoff depth diminished by 19.07 mm, with climate change contributing to a decrease of 15.89 mm (83.31% contribution). In the impact period 2, the runoff depth increased by 7.49 mm relative to the baseline period, with climate change leading to an increase of 12.73 mm (70.84% contribution). Changes in various land types within the watershed can be used to observe the influence of human activities on runoff depth. More precisely, a 10% rise in the rate of change of construction land, dry land, and unoccupied land results in an increase in runoff depth of 6.21 mm, 2.45 mm, and 1.14 mm, respectively. Conversely, a 10% rise in the rate of alteration of marsh, paddy, and forest land leads to a reduction in the depth of runoff by 9.49 mm, 6.46 mm, and 3.07 mm, respectively. This research can contribute to improving the efficiency of water and land resource utilization and optimizing land resource governance., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Increasing precipitation accelerates soil erosion and boosts sediment loads, especially in mountain catchments. Therefore, there is significant pressure to deliver plausible assessments of these phenomena on a local scale under future climate change scenarios. Such assessments are primarily drawn from a combination of climate change projections and environmental model simulations, usually performed by climatologists and environmental modelers independently. Our example shows that without communication from both groups the final results are ambiguous. Here, we estimate sediment loads delivered from a Carpathian catchment to a reservoir to illustrate how the choice of meteorological data, reference period, and model ensemble can affect final results. Differences in future loads could reach up to even 6000 tons of sediment per year. We suggest there must be a better integration between climatologists and environmental modelers, focusing on introducing multi-model ensembles targeting specific impacts to facilitate an informed choice on climate information., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Rice is a staple food in the diets of more than half of the world's population. With India's irregular rainfall patterns and continual environmental anomalies, particularly in Kerala, the identification of climate-smart management practices which can withstand drought is critical. In this context, atrial was conducted in the experimental plots to evolve effective water and nutrient management practices under aerobic rice in lateritic soils of Kerala. However, during the experiment in a few treatments, rolling of leaves was observed, and when explored for the reasons, it was due to soil moisture deficit and plant water stress. When compared to other crop species, rice is highly vulnerable to water deficit. In this regard, an attempt has been made to study the leaf rolling pattern in aerobic rice and how this can be managed with a few soil amendments so that rice productivity can be sustained. The results showed that plant growth parameters, relative water content (RWC), membrane leakage (ML) and spectral signatures were significantly affected by the leaf rolling. It was found that leaf rolling affected plants have less RWC and higher ML and are under drought stress. Pearson correlation analysis showed a strong positive correlation (P < 0.05) of key spectral indices with other physiological traits such as RWC and negatively correlated with ML. Moisture absorbent media such as cocopeat, compost, saw dust and vermiculite were attempted as management strategies to overcome this stress. Results showed that among the absorbents attmepted, cocopeat was found to be better in managing the stress. These results suggest that for aerobic rice under lateritic soil, moisture absorbent media such as cocopeat, has to be incorporated so that it can reduce the rate of leaf rolling thereby sustaining the paddy yield., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In a rapidly changing thermal environment, reptiles are primarily dependent on in situ adaptation because of their limited ability to disperse and the restricted opportunity to shift their ranges. However, the rapid pace of climate change may surpass these adaptation capabilities or elevate energy expenditures. Therefore, understanding the variability in thermal traits at both individual and population scales is crucial, offering insights into reptiles' vulnerability to climate change. We studied the thermal ecology of the endangered Greek meadow viper (Vipera graeca), an endemic venomous snake of fragmented alpine-subalpine meadows above 1600 m of the Pindos mountain range in Greece and Albania, to assess its susceptibility to anticipated changes in the alpine thermal environment. We measured preferred body temperature in artificial thermal gradient, field body temperatures of 74 individuals in five populations encompassing the entire geographic range of the species, and collected data on the available of temperatures for thermoregulation. We found that the preferred body temperature (T p ) differed only between the northernmost and the southernmost populations and increased with female body size but did not depend on sex or the gravidity status of females. T p increased with latitude but was unaffected by the phylogenetic position of the populations. We also found high accuracy of thermoregulation in V. graeca populations and variation in the thermal quality of habitats throughout the range. The overall effectiveness of thermoregulation was high, indicating that V. graeca successfully achieves its target temperatures and exploits the thermal landscape. Current climatic conditions limit the activity period by an estimated 1278 h per year, which is expected to increase considerably under future climate scenarios. Restricted time available for thermoregulation, foraging and reproduction will represent a serious threat to the fitness of individuals and the persistence of populations in addition to habitat loss due to mining, tourism or skiing and habitat degradation due to overgrazing in the shrinking mountaintop habitats of V. graeca., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study aimed to assess the current water quality status across various regions within the Fayoum depression by examining water canals, drains, and potential contaminants impacting public health and the local ecosystem. Additionally, an adsorption treatability investigation was conducted on various antibiotics identified during the assessment. Fifteen sampling points were selected across the Fayoum depression, covering surface water bodies and agricultural drainage systems during both winter and summer seasons. Physico-chemical, microbiological, and antibiotic analyses were performed on collected water samples. The water quality parameters investigated included pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total coliforms, fecal coliforms, and concentrations of antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and tetracycline. The findings revealed significant variations in water quality parameters among different water sources, categorizing them into three types: irrigation canals, polluted canals, and drains. High contamination levels were observed in certain water canals and drains due to untreated sewage and agricultural drainage discharge. Notably, elevated TDS levels (exceeding 1200 mg/L), microbial indicators count (with total coliforms reaching up to 2.3 × 10 6 CFU/100 mL), and antibiotics (with concentrations of ciprofloxacin and tetracycline exceeding 4.6 µg/L) were detected. To mitigate antibiotic contamination, a Phyto-adsorption treatability study using magnetite nanoparticles prepared with Phragmites australis plant extract demonstrated promising results, achieving complete removal of high antibiotic concentrations with an adsorption capacity of up to 67 mg/g. This study provides updated insights into water quality in the Fayoum depression and proposes a novel approach for addressing antibiotic contamination, potentially safeguarding human and environmental health., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Zooplankton are critical indicators of pressures impacting freshwater ecosystems. We analyzed the response of zooplankton communities across different sub-catchment types-headwaters, natural, urban, urban-agricultural, and agricultural-within the Łyna river-lake system in Northern Poland. Using taxonomic groups and functional traits (body size, feeding strategies), we applied Partial Least Squares Regression (PLS-R) to elucidate the relationships between environmental conditions, land use, and zooplankton metacommunity structure. Two-Way Cluster Analysis (TWCA) identified local subsets with characteristic patterns, while Indicator Species Analysis (ISA) determined area-specific taxa. The natural river zone exhibited significant habitat heterogeneity and feeding niches, whereas urban areas created functional homogenization of zooplankton, dominated by small, broad-diet microphages. Agricultural areas promoted diversity among large filter feeders (Crustacea), active suctors (Rotifera), and amoebae (Protozoa). However, intensified agricultural activities, substantially diminished the zooplankton population, biomass, taxonomic richness, and overall ecosystem functionality. The impact of land cover change is more pronounced at small-scale sub-catchments than at the catchment level as a whole. Therefore, assessing these impacts requires detailed spatial and temporal analysis at the sub-catchment level to identify the most affected areas. This study introduces a new sub-catchment-based perspective on ecosystem health assessment and underscores the zooplankton's role as robust indicators of ecological change., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Currently, a combination of natural and human factors has led to the lack of cost-effective production, resulting in the downturn of traditional animal husbandry (DTLH) in rural regions. This research aims to investigate the factors contributing to the DTLH in indigenous communities in northwestern Iran. The statistical population consisted of pastoralists residing in the villages of Namin-Ardabil, Iran. The research method employed was descriptive-analytical, and a questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. The sample size was determined by selecting approximately 5-10% of households in each village, preferably the household head. Friedman's test was utilized to prioritize the most significant factors influencing DTLH. The findings reveals that the most crucial economic criteria contributing to the DTLH were "the high cost of providing inputs and fodder required for livestock (mean rank = 11.12)," "more economic opportunities and access to well-paying employment opportunities in the city (mean rank = 8.99)", and "low profit from livestock farming in the rangeland (mean rank = 10.60)". Moreover, the most important social criteria were "uncertainty regarding the future well-being of children and the social and economic situation in the village (mean rank = 14.12)", "motivation for academic and career development in urban areas (mean rank = 14.10)", and "access to specialized and professional training opportunities in cities (mean rank = 13.80)". Furthermore, the most crucial ecological criteria impacting the DTLH were "drought" (mean ran = 7.96)" and "non-implementation of range management plans and grazing permits" (mean rank = 6.07)". In general, the results indicated that the ecological criteria had the highest impact on the DTLH, followed by social and economic criteria, with values of 41.1%, 34.6%, and 24.29%, respectively. Overall, understanding the challenges faced by traditional livestock husbandry and identifying the factors contributing to its decline is crucial for developing effective strategies to support and sustain this industry in rural areas., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The study covered a small, shallow lake, intensively used for recreation (sailing, tourist services and port infrastructure). This study aimed to determine the spatial differentiation of bottom sediments and the potential for phosphorus release in five zones, differing mainly in the type of recreation, depth, direct catchment management, shoreline management and macrophyte presence. The results were used to propose protective and restoration measures to improve the water quality of the studied lake. The innovation in the study was the detailed analysis of bottom sediments, which can be a significant source of pollution besides the external load from the catchment and tourist pressure, in the planned management of this ecosystem. Examination of the physicochemical properties of the bottom sediments showed a clear variation in both composition and potential for internal phosphorus loading. The sediments from the profundal zone, where the most boating activity was observed, together with the sediments from the shallow zone where the boats dock (mooring zone), had the highest potential to supply phosphorus to the bottom waters. This fact was demonstrated by the highest total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in sediments (up to 1.32 mgPg -1 DW) and the content of the most mobile fractions (up to 33%). The other zones associated with the marina, fuel zone, tributary and canal were not significant sources of phosphorus to the ecosystem. Based on the above results, a restoration method involving the removal of bottom sediments from the bottom zone was proposed, supported, of course, by protective measures in the catchment (maintaining a buffer zone around the lake and limiting the inflow of pollutants with tributary waters). The proposed measures with sustainable tourist pressure should improve water quality and thus contribute to protecting this valuable natural landscape., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Agricultural field experiments are costly and time-consuming, and often struggling to capture spatial and temporal variability. Mechanistic crop growth models offer a solution to understand intricate crop-soil-weather system, aiding farm-level management decisions throughout the growing season. The objective of this study was to calibrate and the Crop Environment Resource Synthesis CERES-Maize (DSSAT v 4.8) model to simulate crop growth, yield, and nitrogen dynamics in a long-term conservation agriculture (CA) based maize system. The model was also used to investigate the relationship between, temperature, nitrate and ammoniacal concentration in soil, and nitrogen uptake by the crop. Additionally, the study explored the impact of contrasting tillage practices and fertilizer nitrogen management options on maize yields. Using field data from 2019 and 2020, the DSSAT-CERES-Maize model was calibrated for plant growth stages, leaf area index-LAI, biomass, and yield. Data from 2021 were used to evaluate the model's performance. The treatments consisted of four nitrogen management options, viz., N0 (without nitrogen), N150 (150 kg N/ha through urea), GS (Green seeker-based urea application) and USG (urea super granules @150kg N/ha) in two contrasting tillage systems, i.e., CA-based zero tillage-ZT and conventional tillage-CT. The model accurately simulated maize cultivar's anthesis and physiological maturity, with observed value falling within 5% of the model's predictions range. LAI predictions by the model aligned well with measured values (RMSE 0.57 and nRMSE 10.33%), with a 14.6% prediction error at 60 days. The simulated grain yields generally matched with measured values (with prediction error ranging from 0 to 3%), except for plots without nitrogen application, where the model overestimated yields by 9-16%. The study also demonstrated the model's ability to accurately capture soil nitrate-N levels (RMSE 12.63 kg/ha and nRMSE 12.84%). The study concludes that the DSSAT-CERES-Maize model accurately assessed the impacts of tillage and nitrogen management practices on maize crop's growth, yield, and soil nitrogen dynamics. By providing reliable simulations during the growing season, this modelling approach can facilitate better planning and more efficient resource management. Future research should focus on expanding the model's capabilities and improving its predictions further., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This paper presents the composite drought indicator (CDI) that Jordanian, Lebanese, Moroccan, and Tunisian government agencies now produce monthly to support operational drought management decision making, and it describes their iterative co-development processes. The CDI is primarily intended to monitor agricultural and ecological drought on a seasonal time scale. It uses remote sensing and modelled data inputs, and it reflects anomalies in precipitation, vegetation, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration. Following quantitative and qualitative validation assessments, engagements with policymakers, and consideration of agencies' technical and institutional capabilities and constraints, we made changes to CDI input data, modelling procedures, and integration to tailor the system for each national context. We summarize validation results, drought modelling challenges and how we overcame them through CDI improvements, and we describe the monthly CDI production process and outputs. Finally, we synthesize procedural and technical aspects of CDI development and reflect on the constraints we faced as well as trade-offs made to optimize the CDI for operational monitoring to support policy decision-making-including aspects of salience, credibility, and legitimacy-within each national context., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Recently, δ 17 O and its excess (Δ' 17 O) have become increasingly significant "triple-oxygen-isotope" indicators of distinctive hydrological processes in hydrology and climatology. This situation mirrors the research regarding δ 18 O and δ 2 H in the 1960s towards a solid theoretical base and a surge in application examples and field studies worldwide. Currently, systematic global measurements for δ 17 O in precipitation are still lacking. As a result, attempts have been made to define a Global δ 17 O/δ 18 O Meteoric Water Line (GMWL), often by using regional or local datasets of varying systematicity. Different definitions of the global reference slope (λ ref ) for determining Δ' 17 O values have been proposed, by ongoing debate around a proposed consensus value of 0.528. This study used worldwide samples archived in the IAEA Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP) to (a) derive a δ 17 O/δ 18 O GMWL based on four-year monthly records from 66 GNIP stations, (b) formulate local δ 17 O/δ 18 O meteoric water lines (LMWL) for these stations' areas, and (c) evaluate regional and seasonal variations of Δ' 17 O in precipitation. The GMWL for δ 17 O/δ 18 O was determined to be δ' 17 O = 0.5280 ± 0.0002 δ' 18 O + 0.0153 ± 0.0013, in keeping with the consensus value. Furthermore, our results suggested that using a line-conditioned 17 O-excess is a viable alternative over the global λ ref in the context of regional hydrology and paleoclimatology interpretations; however, without challenging the global λ ref as such., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The increasing demand for renewable and environmentally friendly energy sources is a top priority for many countries around the world. It is obvious that renewable solar energy will help to meet most of the energy demand in the coming years. A solar pond is a huge Salt artificial Lake that serves as a solar energy collection system. However, site selection is a critical factor that affects the effectiveness and lifetime of a solar pond. Here, we present an innovative methodology for site selection based on three environmental factors, including direct solar irradiance (DNI), temperature, and wind speed. Our approach uses Python programming and clustering analysis with several libraries, including Pandas, Geopandas, Rasterio, Osgeo, and Sklearn, to analyse and process data collected over a 30-year period from NASA power. This method was applied to the geographic boundaries of Egypt, but the methods can be applied to any spatial context if the same dataset is available. The results show that Egypt has a potential land area of 500 km 2 suitable for solar ponds construction along the border with Sudan throughout the year, including 2000 km 2 in winter (between January and March), 800 km 2 in spring (between April and June), 900 km 2 in summer (between July and September), and the largest area of 3700 km 2 (between October and December), most of which is located in the south of the Eastern Desert and around the Nile River. Notably, the northwestern region, close to the Mediterranean Sea on the border with Libya, exhibits suitability for solar pond development, with consistent performance throughout the year. Our results provide an efficient way for GIS and data processing and could be useful for implementing new software to find the best location for solar ponds development. This could be beneficial for those interested in investing in renewable energy and using solar ponds as an efficient water treatment plant., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

There is a need to address resource security and distributional justice in developing countries. People need water, energy, and food to sustain their livelihoods, grow economies, and achieve sustainable development. The interactions between these resource sectors form the crux of water-energy-food (WEF) nexus assessments. In this study, we have utilised the WEF Nexus Index to analyse the WEF nexus of 54 African nations. The results from the analysis were used to illustrate the opportunities and constraints for future development. Generally, African countries are performing sub-optimally in the WEF Nexus Index due to the insecurity of water, energy and/or food. The performance of countries varies with context, highlighting the need for contextual analysis in identifying challenges and potential solutions. Implementation of interventions for achieving WEF security needs to be planned from an integrated perspective to optimise synergies and minimize trade-offs. Implementation of the WEF nexus approach towards simultaneous security of WEF resources has potential to improve the WEF nexus. For example and for many African countries, policies that undergird investments in energy supply projects are needed to unlock available freshwater resources and meet food requirements-energy is shown to be a critical enabler of development. Such projects can be utilised to enhance the ability of farmers to manage water through drought-proofing rainfed agriculture, an increase in irrigation development, or both. WEF nexus-based studies, policies, and projects must be focused on the direct and indirect achievement of SDGs 1, 2, 6, 7, and 13, both in terms of access and availability, to ensure distributional justice, especially in the African context. Such actions, combined with broad public participation, can have a ripple effect on other SDGs such as SDGs 5, 10, and 17, thereby reducing inequalities and building partnerships to attain these aspirational goals. The assessment of Africa's relatively low scores in terms of the WEF Nexus Index does not represent a negative narrative. Instead, it provides an entry point to identifying hotspots and understanding the underlying challenges, through which more detailed analyses can lead to identified solutions and policies. Many African countries are trapped in an environment that could be termed a 'poverty-unemployment-inequality nexus' (due to the interlinkages that exist between these 'wicked' problems). The WEF Nexus Index provides high-level insights into these opportunities., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Although Ghana is a leading global cocoa producer, its production and yield have experienced declines in recent years due to various factors, including long-term climate change such as increasing temperatures and changing rainfall patterns, as well as drought events. With the increasing exposure of cocoa-producing regions to extreme weather events, the vulnerability of cocoa production is also expected to rise. Supplemental irrigation for cocoa farmers has emerged as a viable adaptation strategy to ensure a consistent water supply and enhance yield. However, understanding the potential for surface and groundwater irrigation in the cocoa-growing belt remains limited. Consequently, this study aims to provide decision-support maps for surface and groundwater irrigation potential to aid planning and investment in climate-smart cocoa irrigation. Utilizing state-of-the-art geospatial and remote sensing tools, data, and methods, alongside in-situ groundwater data, we assess the irrigation potential within Ghana's cocoa-growing areas. Our analysis identified a total area of 22,126 km 2 for cocoa plantations and 125.2 km 2 for surface water bodies within the cocoa-growing regions. The multi-criteria analysis (MCA) revealed that approximately 80% of the study area exhibits moderate to very high groundwater availability potential. Comparing the MCA output with existing borehole locations demonstrated a reasonable correlation, with about 80% of existing boreholes located in areas with moderate to very high potential. Boreholes in very high potential areas had the highest mean yield of 90.7 l/min, while those in low groundwater availability potential areas registered the lowest mean yield of 58.2 l/min. Our study offers a comprehensive evaluation of water storage components and their implications for cocoa irrigation in Ghana. While groundwater availability shows a generally positive trend, soil moisture and surface water have been declining, particularly in the last decade. These findings underline the need for climate-smart cocoa irrigation strategies that make use of abundant groundwater resources during deficit periods. A balanced conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources could thus serve as a sustainable solution for maintaining cocoa production in the face of climate change., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Global sand demand due to infrastructure construction has intensified sand mining activities in many rivers, with current rates of sand extraction exceeding natural replenishment. This has created many environmental problems, particularly concerning riverbank stability, which adversely affects the livelihoods of people in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD). However, sand mining's social impacts in the region remain inadequately understood. Here we assess locals' perception of sand mining activities in the VMD and its impacts on riverbank erosion. Residents living along the Bassac River, a hotspot of sand mining, were interviewed. Our results showed that while sand mining is perceived as destructive to the environment, few were aware of its role in worsening riverbank erosion. Only residents directly affected by riverbank collapse were aware of the implications of sand mining and its negative effect on bank stability, as they seem to have actively sought clarification. Our findings highlight the need for greater awareness and understanding among the locals regarding sand mining's impact on riverbank stability., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

A comprehensive assessment of the spatial and temporal patterns of the most common indicators of climate change and variability in the Arab world in the past four decades was carried out. Monthly maximum and minimum air temperature and precipitation amount data for the period 1980-2018 were obtained from the CHELSA project with a resolution of 1 km 2 , which is suitable for detecting local geographic variations in climatic patterns. This data was analyzed using a seasonal-Kendall metric, followed by Sen's slope analysis. The findings indicate that almost all areas of the Arab world are getting hotter. Maximum air temperatures increased by magnitudes varying from 0.027 to 0.714 °C/decade with a mean of 0.318 °C/decade while minimum air temperatures increased by magnitudes varying from 0.030 to 0.800 °C/decade with a mean of 0.356 °C/decade. Most of the Arab world did not exhibit clear increasing or decreasing precipitation trends. The remaining areas showed either decreasing or increasing precipitation trends. Decreasing trends varied from -0.001 to -1.825 kg m -2 /decade with a mean of -0.163 kg m -2 /decade, while increasing trends varied from 0.001 to 4.286 kg m -2 /decade with a mean of 0.366 kg m -2 /decade. We also analyzed country-wise data and identified areas of most vulnerability in the Arab world., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Water and nitrogen (N) are the most limiting factors to plant productivity globally, but we lack a critical understanding of how water availability impacts N dynamics in agricultural systems. Plant N requirements are particularly uncertain when water is limited because of the interactive effect of water and N on plant growth, N demand, and plant uptake. We investigated impacts of N application and water availability on plant growth and N movement, including above and belowground growth, water productivity, N productivity, N uptake, N recovery, and greenhouse gas emissions within a semi-arid system in northeastern Colorado, USA. Moderately high soil N availability depressed grain yield and shoot growth under both limited and full water availability, despite no indication of physical toxicity, and came with additional risk of deleterious N losses. Under low N availability, plant N concentrations in aboveground tissues showed greater recovery of N than what was applied in the low N treatments under both full and limited water availability. This enhanced recovery underscores the need to better understand both plant soil foraging and processes governing resource availability under these conditions. Finally, limited water availability reduced N uptake across all N treatments and left 30% more soil nitrate (NO 3 ) deep in the soil profile at the end of the season than under full water availability. Our results show that plant N needs are not linearly related to water use and emphasize the need for an integrated understanding of water and N interactions, plant foraging for these resources, and the dynamics of processes that make N available to plants.- ) deep in the soil profile at the end of the season than under full water availability. Our results show that plant N needs are not linearly related to water use and emphasize the need for an integrated understanding of water and N interactions, plant foraging for these resources, and the dynamics of processes that make N available to plants., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Monitoring safe water access in developing countries relies primarily on household health survey and census data. These surveys are often incomplete: they tend to focus on the primary water source only, are spatially coarse, and usually happen every 5-10 years, during which significant changes can happen in urbanisation and infrastructure provision, especially in sub Saharan Africa. In this work, we present a data-driven approach that utilises and compliments survey based data of water access, to provide context-specific and disaggregated monitoring. The level of access to improved water and sanitation has been shown to vary with geographical inequalities related to the availability of water resources and terrain, population density and socio-economic determinants such as income and education. We use such data and successfully predict the level of water access in areas for which data is lacking, providing spatially explicit and community level monitoring possibilities for mapping geographical inequalities in access. This is showcased by applying three machine learning models that use such geographical data to predict the number of presences of water access points of eight different access types across Uganda, with a 1km by 1km grid resolution. Two Multi-Layer-Perceptron (MLP) models and a Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) model are developed and compared, where the former are shown to consistently outperform the latter. The best performing Neural Network model achieved a True Positive Rate of 0.89 and a False Positive Rate of 0.24, compared to 0.85 and 0.46 respectively for the MaxEnt model. The models improve on previous work on water point modeling through the use of neural networks, in addition to introducing the True Positive - and False Positive Rate as better evaluation metrics to also assess the MaxEnt model. We also present a scaling method to move from predicting only the relative probability of water point presences, to predicting the absolute number of presences. To challenge both the model results and the more standard health surveys, a new household level survey is carried out in Bushenyi, a mid-sized town in the South-West of Uganda, asking specifically about the multitude of water sources. On average Bushenyi households reported to use 1.9 water sources. The survey further showed that the actual presence of a source, does not always imply that it is used. Therefore it is no option to rely solely on models for water access monitoring. For this, household surveys remain necessary but should be extended with questions on the multiple sources that are used by households., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)

Monitoring spatial and temporal trends of water use is of utmost importance to ensure water and food security in river basins that are challenged by water scarcity and climate change induced abnormal weather patterns. To quantify water consumption by the agriculture sector, continuous monitoring is required over different spatial scales ranging from field (< 1 ha) to basin. The demand driven requirement of covering large areas yet providing spatially distributed information makes the use of in-situ measurement devices unfeasible. Earth observation satellites and remote sensing techniques offer an effective alternative in estimating the consumptive use of water (Actual EvapoTranspiration (ET a ) fluxes) by using periodic observations from the visible and infrared spectral region. Optical satellite data, however, is often hindered by noises due to cloud cover, cloud shadow, aerosols and other satellite related issues such as Scan Line Corrector (SLC) failure in Landsat 7 breaking the continuity of temporal observations. These gaps have to be statistically filled in order to compute aggregated seasonal and annual estimates of ET a . In this paper, we introduce an approach to develop a gap-filled multi-year monthly ET a maps at medium spatial resolution of 30 m. The method includes two major steps: (i) estimation of ET a using the python based implementation of surface energy balance model called PySEBAL and (ii) temporal interpolation using Locally Weighted Regression (LWR) model followed by spline based spatial interpolation to fill the gaps over time and space. The approach is applied to a large endorheic Lake Urmia Basin (LUB) basin with a surface area of ~ 52,970 km 2 in Iran for the years 2013-2015 using Landsat 7 and 8 satellite data. The results show that the implemented gap filling approach could reconstruct the monthly ET a dynamics over different agriculture land use types, while retaining the high spatial variability. A comparison with a similar dataset from FAO WaPOR reported a very high correlation with R 2 of 0.93. The study demonstrates the applicability of this approach to a larger basin which is extendible and reproducible to other geographical areas., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Optimizing soil health through soil amendments is a promising strategy for enhancing rainwater efficiency for stabilizing crop production. Biochar, obtained by torrefaction of sugarcane bagasse, a byproduct from sugar mills, has a high potential for its use as a soil amendment, which can boost crop yields, but needs further field trials for its adoption in farming systems. A field study was conducted during 2019-2021 at Stoneville, Mississippi, to assess rainfed cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production under four biochar levels (0, 10, 20, and 40 t ha -1 ) on Dundee silt loam soil. The effects of biochar on cotton growth and lint yield and quality were examined. Biochar levels had no significant impact on cotton lint and seed yield for the first two years. Still, in the third year, a significant increase in lint yield by 13 and 21.7% was recorded at 20 and 40 t ha -1 biochar levels, respectively. In the third year, lint yields were 1523, 1586, 1721, and 1854 kg ha -1 at 0, 10, 20 and 40 t ha -1 biochar levels, respectively. Similarly, cotton seed yield increased by 10.8% and 13.4% in 20 and 40 t ha -1 biochar plots. This study demonstrated that successive biochar applications at 20 or 40 t ha -1 can enhance cotton lint and seed yields under rainfed conditions. These improved yields with biochar did not produce increased net returns due to the increased production costs. Many lint quality parameters were unaffected except for micronaire, fiber strength and fiber length. However, potential long-term benefits of enhanced cotton production from biochar application beyond the length of the study merit further investigation. Additionally, biochar application is more relevant when accrued carbon credits through carbon sequestration outweigh the increased production costs due to biochar application., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Many dimensions of human life and the environment are vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change and the hazards associated with it. There are several indices and metrics to quantify climate hazards that can inform preparedness and planning at different levels e.g., global, regional, national, and local. This study uses biased corrected climate projections of temperature and precipitation to compute characteristics of potential climate hazards that are pronounced in the Gomal Zam Dam Command Area (GZDCA)- an irrigated agricultural area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The results answer the question of what the future holds in the GZDCA regarding climate hazards of heatwaves, heavy precipitation, and agricultural drought. The results of heatwaves and agricultural drought present an alarming future and call for immediate actions for preparedness and adaptation. The magnitude of drought indices for the future is correlated with the crop yield response based on AquaCrop model simulations with observed climate data being used as input. This correlation provides insight into the suitability of various drought indices for agricultural drought characterization. The results elaborate on how the yield of wheat crop grown in a typical setting common in the South Asian region respond to the magnitude of drought indices. The findings of this study inform the planning process for changing climate and expected climate hazards in the GZDCA. Analyzing climate hazards for the future at the local level (administrative districts or contiguous agricultural areas) might be a more efficient approach for climate resilience due to its specificity and enhanced focus on the context., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Illumina MiSeq is the current standard for characterizing microbial communities in soil. The newer alternative, Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION sequencer, is quickly gaining popularity because of the low initial cost and longer sequence reads. However, the accuracy of MinION, per base, is much lower than MiSeq (95% versus 99.9%). The effects of this difference in base-calling accuracy on taxonomic and diversity estimates remains unclear. We compared the effects of platform, primers, and bioinformatics on mock community and agricultural soil samples using short MiSeq, and short and full-length MinION 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. For all three methods, we found that taxonomic assignments of the mock community at both the genus and species level matched expectations with minimal deviation (genus: 80.9-90.5%; species: 70.9-85.2% Bray-Curtis similarity); however, the short MiSeq with error correction (DADA2) resulted in the correct estimate of mock community species richness and much lower alpha diversity for soils. Several filtering strategies were tested to improve these estimates with varying results. The sequencing platform also had a significant influence on the relative abundances of taxa with MiSeq resulting in significantly higher abundances Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Gemmatimonadetes and lower abundances of Acidobacteria, Bacteroides, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia compared to the MinION platform. When comparing agricultural soils from two different sites (Fort Collins, CO and Pendleton, OR), methods varied in the taxa identified as significantly different between sites. At all taxonomic levels, the full-length MinION method had the highest similarity to the short MiSeq method with DADA2 correction with 73.2%, 69.3%, 74.1%, 79.3%, 79.4%, and 82.28% of the taxa at the phyla, class, order, family, genus, and species levels, respectively, showing similar patterns in differences between the sites. In summary, although both platforms appear suitable for 16S rRNA microbial community composition, biases for different taxa may make the comparison between studies problematic; and even with a single study (i.e., comparing sites or treatments), the sequencing platform can influence the differentially abundant taxa identified., (© 2023. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

In animal production, yield is critically related to animal health status. To ensure high productivity, innovative control strategies for herd and parasites monitoring are required. Gastrointestinal parasites have a strong influence on changing feed intake or nutrient use, limiting animal productivity. Serological control has been proposed, given that parasite development is largely dependent on environmental temperature and humidity. However, breeders and field veterinarians lack readily accessible climate characteristics that provide information to determine whether and when herds require laboratory examination. To help reduce the testing costs incurred by farmers, we investigated whether selected meteorological data could serve as conclusive predictors to increase the precision of herd selection for serological monitoring. Our results indicate that the selection of herds by farmers for testing can be guided by regular checking of meteorological data, especially various temperature and humidity indicators. In general, ranges of 24-28 °C, as well as - 0.5 to 7.5 °C for the monthly maximum and minimum temperature, respectively, and relative humidity (68-79%) and vapour pressure (10-15 hPa) correspond to a high antiparasitic response of the herd, expressed as the optical density ratio. It is recommended to introduce coproscopic and/or serological tests if the observed weather pattern (covering the prepatent period of parasite development) ranges within the estimated values., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The harmful alga Heterosigma akashiwo possesses a hybrid nitrate reductase (NR) enzyme, NR2-2/2HbN, which has the potential to convert NO to nitrate for assimilation into biomass. In previous research, NR transcription in H. akashiwo was induced by nitrate while NR activity was inhibited by ammonium. Here, the capacity of H. akashiwo to use NO in the presence of nitrate and/or ammonium was investigated to understand the regulation of NO assimilation. Continuous cultures of H. akashiwo were acclimated to growth on nitrate, ammonium, or a mixture of both. Aliquots from these cultures were spiked with 15 N-labeled NO. The expression of genes involved in nitrogen assimilation was evaluated, as well as nitrate reductase activity and assimilation of 15 N-labeled nitrogen into algal biomass. Results showed that NO induced expression and activity of NR, and upregulated expression of GOGAT regardless of the presence of other inorganic nitrogen sources, while GS expression decreased over time. Furthermore, 15 NO uptake and assimilation was significantly higher in cultures acclimated for growth on ammonium compared to cultures acclimated for growth on nitrate alone. Assimilation of NO may provide H. akashiwo with a competitive advantage in N-poor environments or areas with elevated NO., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

This paper describes the instability of river channel systems in alpine rockslide deposits using the Fernpass Rockslide and the river Loisach in the Tyrolian Außerfern District (Austria) as an example of paleoenvironmental developments. This is the first investigation of this kind of the Fernpass, one of the most important Alpine north-south transport connections since the bronze age. It uses geomorphological, sedimentological, onomastic and hydrogeological investigations to reconstruct the course of a late Holocene river in this area and a probabilistic simulation for dating. Tracer tests assisted in investigating the potential groundwater connections of the river systems. The findings show that the Palaeoloisach runs on the orographically right side in a marginal valley of the Fernpass furrow and changes to the orographically left side of the furrow within the Rauth suburb in the village of Biberwier. A probabilistic simulation of the Narrenbichl slip event, which changed the course of the Palaeoloisach, dates the event to an age of 664 ± 116 BC. This investigation is an important contribution to understanding Quaternary postrockslide developments, how groundwater contributes to forming postrockslide channel systems and archaeological findings occurring in populated areas., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The Upper Indus Basin (UIB) heavily depends on its frozen water resources, and an accelerated melt due to the projected climate change may significantly alter future water availability. The future hydro-climatic regime and water availability of the Hunza basin (a sub-basin of UIB) were analysed using the newly released Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) climate projections. A data and parameter parsimonious precipitation-runoff model, the Distance Distribution Dynamics (DDD) model, was used with energy balance-based subroutines for snowmelt, glacier melt and evapotranspiration. The DDD model was set up for baseline (1991-2010), mid-century (2041-2060) and end-century (2081-2100) climates projections from two global circulation models (GCM), namely EC-Earth3 and MPI-ESM. The projections indicate a substantial increase in temperature (1.1-8.6 °C) and precipitation (12-32%) throughout the twenty-first century. The simulations show the future flow increase between 23-126% and the future glacier melt increase between 30-265%, depending on the scenarios and GCMs used. Moreover, the simulations suggest an increasing glacier melt contribution from all elevations with a significant increase from the higher elevations. The findings provide a basis for planning and modifying reservoir operation strategies with respect to hydropower generation, irrigation withdrawals, flood control, and drought management., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this study, 16 USEPA-prioritized PAHs in gas- and particle-phase (PAH g+p ), associated chemical and meteorological parameters, and backward trajectory simulations were explored in a coastal city in Poland, between April 2019 and May 2020. This study reports several important aspects of PAH g+p , i.e. variation, composition, distribution profiles, impact of weather conditions, and correlation analysis between target PAH compounds and influencing inorganic gaseous pollutants. Specifically, higher and more variable concentrations of total PAH g+p (mean ± SD, ng m -3 ) were observed during winter (36.38 ± 24.19) compared to autumn (22.3 ± 17.44), summer (21.52 ± 13.30) and spring (19.90 ± 13.13). A distribution profile of parent PAH g+p was as follows: 3-ring > 4-ring > 2-ring > 5-ring > 6-ring, although their relative contribution to the total PAHs showed statistically significant differences between seasons (p < 0.05). Precipitation-driven loss of ΣPAH g+p was lower in the warm period than in the cold one, reflecting higher PAH concentrations in winter. A seasonal model-based analysis of incremental lifetime cancer risk showed a higher potential cancer risk for children than those for adult females and males. The adverse health impacts associated with PAH exposure via inhalation route indicate the need for implementation of pollution-control policies in this region., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Countries depending on small-scale agriculture, such as Bangladesh, are susceptible to climate change and variability. Changes in the frequency and intensity of drought are a crucial aspect of this issue and the focus of this research. The goal of this work is to use SPI (standardized precipitation index) and SPEI (standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index) to investigate the differences in drought characteristics across different physiognomy types in Bangladesh and to highlight how drought characteristics change over time and spatial scales when considering different geomorphologies. This study used monthly precipitation and temperature data from 29 metrological stations for 39 years (1980-2018) for calculating SPI and SPEI values. To determine the significance of drought characteristic trends over different temporal and spatial scales, the modified Mann-Kendall trend test and multivariable linear regression (MLR) techniques were used. The results are as follows: (1) Overall, decreasing dry trend was found in Eastern hill regions, whereas an increasing drought trends were found in the in the rest of the regions in all time scaless (range is from - 0.08 decade -1  to - 0.15 decade -1  for 3-month time scale). However, except for the one-month time scale, the statistically significant trend was identified mostly in the north-central and northeast regions, indicating that drought patterns migrate from the northwest to the center region. (2) SPEI is anticipated to be better at capturing dry/wet cycles in more complex regions than SPI. (3) According to the MLR, longitude and maximum temperature can both influence precipitation. (4) Drought intensity increased gradually from the southern to the northern regions (1.26-1.56), and drought events occurred predominantly in the northwestern regions (27-30 times), indicating that drought meteorological hotspots were primarily concentrated in the Barind Tract and Tista River basin over time. Findings can be used to improve drought evaluation, hazard management, and application policymaking in Bangladesh. This has implications for agricultural catastrophe prevention and mitigation., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The novelty of the current article is to investigate the adsorption potential of the Egyptian natural and activated bentonite (Na-bentonite) to inorganic and organic phosphorus (IP, OP) in aqueous media. The natural bentonite (NB) was activated to Na-bentonite (Na-B) by a new facile method within 2 h. NB and Na-B were also characterized using XRD, XRF, BET ESM, and FT-IR. The batch experiment has been employed to select the ideal conditions for the removal of inorganic and organic phosphorus (IP, OP) from aqueous solutions. The findings clearly showed that the Na-bentonite is enriched with sodium in the form of Na-montmorillonite with a higher specific area 138.51 m 2 /g than the value for the natural bentonite 74.21 m 2 /g. The batch experiment showed maximum absorption for both IP and OP adsorbents occurred at an equilibrium pH = 6, contact time of 40 to 50 min, 40 °C temperature, and a dose rate of 2 mg/L and 1 mg/L, respectively. The equilibrium data displayed better adjustment to Langmuir than the Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherms and adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order-type kinetic, and the parameters of thermodynamics reveal that adsorption occurs spontaneously and exothermic nature. Na-bentonite proved to be more efficient in removing target material than natural bentonite. The spent bentonites were easily regenerated by chemical methods., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Reducing nitrogen losses can be accomplished by mixing fertilizers with nitrification inhibitors (NI). In some agricultural systems, increasing soil N supply capacity by the use of NI could lead to improved N use efficiency (NUE) and increased crop yields. This study examined the effect of different N rates and NI in maize in the north of Iran. The maize was fertilized with urea at three levels (69, 115 and 161 kg N.ha -1 ) alone or with nitrapyrin as NI. Increasing the N application rate resulted in a considerable rise in growing-season N 2 O emissions. When nitrapyrin was used, N 2 O emissions were dramatically reduced. NI treatment reduced N 2 O emissions in the growth season by 88%, 88%, and 69% in 69, 115, and 161 kg of N.ha -1 , respectively. NI treatment reduced yield-scaled N 2 O emissions; the lowest quantity of yield-scaled N 2 O was found in 69 N + NI (0.09 g N 2 O-N kg -1  N uptake). Additionally, grain yield increased by 19%, 31% and 18.4% after applying NI to 69 N, 115 N, and N69, N115 and N161. Results showed that 115 N + NI and N69 treatments showed the highest (65%) and lowest (29%) NUEs, respectively. Finally, our findings show that NI can reduce N 2 O emissions while increasing NUE and yield, but that the application method and rate of nitrapyrin application need to be improved in order to maximize its mitigation potential., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Exploring the effects of bank vegetation on fluvial morphodynamics has long been an essential part of fluvial morphodynamic-related research. In a practical sense, a central question is: does increased vegetation density increase or decrease the channel width? Several aspects concerning the role of vegetation may result in examples of both width decrease and increase. In this study, we examined more than 170 alluvial river sections. Our goal was to detect the phenomena that ultimately determine riparian woody vegetation-induced width variation. We found that bed material is a governing factor. In the case of fine-grained material, i.e. median size D 50  < 2 mm, increasingly densely forested riparian vegetation reduces the bankfull Shields number, and destabilizes the banks toward a wider bankfull channel. In the case of coarse-grained material (i.e. median size D 50  ≥ 16 mm), the effect is the opposite; increased density is correlated with a higher bankfull Shields number and a narrower bankfull channel. The extent of the role of vegetation varies depending on the ratio of characteristic root zone depth to channel depth and channel width. We present an improved estimator for bankfull Shields number, which considers riparian vegetation density. The bankfull Shields number can be estimated up to 19% more accurately with our corrected estimator., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The Late Cretaceous orogeny followed by the Eocene collision of the Adriatic with the European plate dissected the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) by a number of well-studied strike-slip fault systems accommodating N-S shortening and E-W stretching. However, the post-Miocene fault activity is poorly constrained due to lack of Neogene faulted sediments, and glacial erosion of geomorphic indicators. Using the protected environment of caves, we fill the knowledge gap in the post-Miocene evolution of the NCA by paleostress analysis of 172 reactivated faults that offset passages in 28 caves near major faults. Constrained maximum age of caves, our results indicate that the NCA have been subjected to N to NE trending compression since Pliocene. Faulted speleothems dated with 230 Th/U method, indicate that the recorded present-day stress state did not significantly change during the last 0.5 Ma. In contrast to the previously proposed post-Miocene N-S extension of NCA, but in agreement with what was observed in Vienna and Pannonian basins, we conclude that the eastward extrusion resulting from N-S convergence has continued despite a distinct slowdown of plate tectonic velocities in the late Miocene. The N-S extension affected only the Alpine front during Pliocene Molasse basin inversion, while at the scale of the Alpine orogen the NCA underwent successive N-S shortening and E-W stretching., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

This study evaluated the effects of water stress on rice yield over Punjab and Haryana across North India by integrating Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) and Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) models. Indian Remote Sensing Satellite datasets were used to define land use/land cover in WRF. The accuracy of simulated rainfall and temperature over Punjab and Haryana was evaluated against Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and automated weather station data of Indian Space Research Organization, respectively. Data from WRF was used as weather input to DSSAT to simulate rice yield in Punjab and Haryana for 2009 and 2014. After simulated yield has been evaluated against district-level observed yield, the water balance components within the DSSAT model were used to analyze the impact of water stress on rice yield. The correlation (R 2 ) between the crop water stress factor and the rice yield anomaly at the vegetative and reproductive stage was 0.64 and 0.52 for Haryana and 0.73 and 0.68 for Punjab, respectively. Severe water stress during the flowering to maturity stage inflicted devastating effects on yield. The study concludes that the regional climate simulations can be potentially used for early water stress prediction and its impact on rice yield., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

This paper presents the state and spatial distribution of surface sediment contamination of 77 lakes in Poland by Cr, Ni, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu. The analyzed lakes were located within a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union (EU). Spatial distribution of the heavy metals (HMs), factors favoring the delivery/accumulation of HMs in surface sediments, and pollution sources were analyzed. The results indicate the contamination of lake sediments by HMs, but the potentially toxic effects of HMs are only found in single lakes. The spatial distribution of Cr indicates predominant impacts of point sources, while for Pb, Ni, and Zn, the impact of non-point sources. The analysis showed the presence of areas with very high values of particular HMs (hot spots) in the western part of Poland, while a group of 5 lakes with very low values of Ni, Pb, and Zn (cold spots) was identified in the central part of Poland. Principal component analysis showed that presence of wetlands is a factor limiting HMs inflow to lakes. Also, lower HMs concentrations were found in lake surface sediments located in catchments with a higher proportion of national parks and nature reserves. Higher HMs concentrations were found in lakes with a high proportion of Special Protection Areas designated under the EU Birds Directive. The positive matrix factorization analysis identified four sources of HMs. High values of HMs concentrations indicate their delivery from industrial, urbanized, and agricultural areas. However, these impacts overlap, which disturbs the characteristic quantitative profiles assigned to these pollution sources., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Nitrogen and phosphorus budgeting is considered to be a key tool for policy makers and stakeholders when dealing with nutrient contamination issues, however no unified method has been employed in countries affected by this eutrophication problem. The current study offers a detailed insight into the estimations of nutrient loads and their distribution between different sources for a middle-sized agricultural catchment, with the use of two approaches: mass balance (static) and modelling (dynamic). Both methods revealed similar contributions of analysed nutrient sources, although the final estimates in the chosen calculation profile were divergent due to the various reasons related to the methods' specificity. The advantages and disadvantages of both approaches have been specified in our study, and a hybrid solution on a local and country wide scale has been proposed., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Particular attention is devoted to pharmaceutical residues in sewage sludge caused by their potential ecotoxicological effects. Diclofenac, ibuprofen and carbamazepine, 17-α-ethinylestradiol, β-estradiol, were analysed in four types of fertilizers, based on sewage sludge commercial products, in compliance with Polish requirements. The release of active pharmaceutical compounds from fertilizers to water the phase after 24 h and 27 days was analysed. Solid-water partition coefficients (K d ) and partitioning coefficient values normalized on organic carbon content (log K OC ) were evaluated. The environmental risk to terrestrial ecosystems, due to the application of fertilizers onto soils, was estimated. Cumulative mass of pharmaceuticals emitted to water from fertilizers ranged from 0.4 to 30.8 µg/kg after 24 h contact. The greatest amount of the material that was released, over 70%, was observed for carbamazepine. No presence of compounds except ibuprofen was observed after 27 days of testing. The highest environmental risk in fertilizers is due to carbamazepine, risk quotation, RQ = 0.93 and diclofenac RQ = 0.17. The values of risk quotation estimated for soil were below RQ = 0.01. This fact means that no risk to terrestrial ecosystems is expected to occur. The important decrease of the concentrations of active compounds after passing from sewage sludge to fertilizers [and] to fertilized soil could be observed., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Environmental flows have primarily a practical purpose, being an important part of water management. Despite the widespread use of environmental flows, current studies rarely describe practical insights of the methods or consider environmental flows based on ecological traits, especially regarding macroinvertebrates. In addition to hydraulic parameters, the ecological traits may also indicate processes that drive the distribution of organisms. Nevertheless, so far the habitat suitability criteria for functional feeding groups, the most commonly used ecological trait for macroinvertebrates, have not been described. In this study, we performed a detailed analysis of habitat suitability curves for the macroinvertebrate community and for FFGs. The criteria were determined based on data collected during two field campaigns (2018 and 2019) from the Flinta River, a lowland, dynamic, sandy stream located in western Poland. The method of habitat preference curves (HPCs) for flow velocities, depths and substrate was adopted. Before determining the final habitat suitability criteria, for all considered groups the habitat preference curves and habitat utilization curves were determined separately for the data collected in 2018 and 2019. The results showed that this step was key in developing the final habitat suitability criteria. Additionally, considering FFGs provided insight into the mechanisms that drove the distribution of organisms and resultant suitability., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Evaluation of grazing impacts on land degradation processes is a difficult task due to the heterogeneity and complex interacting factors involved. In this paper, we designed a new methodology based on a predictive index of grazing susceptibility to land degradation index (GSLDI) built on artificial intelligence to assess land degradation susceptibility in areas affected by small ruminants (SRs) of sheep and goats grazing. The data for model training, validation, and testing consisted of sampling points (erosion and no-erosion) taken from aerial imagery. Seventeen environmental factors (e.g., derivatives of the digital elevation model, small ruminants' stock), and 55 subsequent attributes (e.g., classes/features) were assigned to each sampling point. The impact of SRs stock density on the land degradation process has been evaluated and estimated with two extreme SRs' density scenarios: absence (no stock), and double density (overstocking). We applied the GSLDI methodology to the Curvature Subcarpathians, a region that experiences the highest erosion rates in Romania, and found that SRs grazing is not the major contributor to land degradation, accounting for only 4.6%. This methodology could be replicated in other steep slope grazing areas as a tool to assess and predict susceptible to land degradation, and to establish common strategies for sustainable land-use practices., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The present paper utilizes entropy theory and Google earth engine cloud computing technique to investigate system state and river recovery potential in two large sub-basins of the Mahanadi River, India. The cross-sectional intensity entropy (CIE) is computed for the post-monsoon season (October-March) along the selected reaches. Further, a normalized river recovery indicator (NRRI) is formulated to assess the temporal changes in river health. Finally, NRRI is related to a process-based variable-LFE (low flow exceedance) to comprehend the dominating system dynamics and evolutionary adjustments. The results highlight the existence of both threshold-modulated and filter-dominated systems based on CIE and NRRI variabilities. In addition, the gradual decline in CIE and subsequent stabilization of vegetated landforms can develop an 'event-driven' state, where floods exceeding the low-flow channel possess a direct impact on the river recovery trajectory. Finally, this study emphasizes the presence of instream vegetation as an additional degree of freedom, which further controls the hierarchy of energy dissipation and morphological continuum in the macrochannel settings., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Reservoirs interrupt natural riverine continuity, reduce the overall diversity of the environment, and enhance the spread of non-native fish species through suitable environments. Under favourable conditions, invasive species migrate to tributaries to benefit from local resource supplies. However, the changes in physical conditions in reservoirs that motivate fish species to migrate remain poorly understood. We analysed migration between a reservoir and its tributary in three non-native (asp Leuciscus aspius, ide Leuciscus idus, and bream Abramis brama) and two native (chub Squalius cephalus and pike Esox lucius) species equipped with radio tags. This 5-year study revealed that an increasing day length was the most general predictor of migration into the tributary in all observed species except E. lucius. Only L. aspius responded to the substantially increasing water level in the reservoir, while the migration of L. idus and S. cephalus was attenuated. Abramis brama and S. cephalus occurred more frequently in tributaries with an increase in temperature in the reservoir and vice versa, but if the difference in temperature between the reservoir and its tributary was small, then A. brama did not migrate. Our results showed that migration from the reservoir mainly followed the alterations of daylight, while responses to other parameters were species specific. The interindividual heterogeneity within the species was significant and was not caused by differences in length or sex. Our results contribute to the knowledge of how reservoirs can affect the spread of non-native species that adapt to rapid human-induced environmental changes., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The construction of check dams is an important measure to prevent soil erosion on the Loess Plateau and reduce the amount of sediment entering the Yellow River. Based on an analysis of the current situation of soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau and the three major problems faced by the traditional homogeneous soil check dam construction, the study of anti-scouring materials, hydrological calculation methods, dam design and construction technology and soil and water conservation monitoring are carried out in this paper. The results showed that the current soil and water conservation measures on the Loess Plateau have achieved remarkable outcomes. The new design and application concept of check dams with anti-burst and multi-sand interceptions is innovatively proposed in this paper. The new materials of solidified loess have good durability and anti-scouring characteristics and could meet the overflow and anti-scouring requirements of the new check dam. The small watershed high sand content of hydrological calculation can establish the upper limit of the flood sediment boundary for the anti-scouring protection layer of the check dam. The new technology of dam design and construction can achieve no collapse or slow collapse when encountering floods exceeding the standard. Intelligent monitoring systems can realize real-time dynamic monitoring for soil and water conservation on the Loess Plateau. The results will eventually contribute to the national strategy of the Ecological Protection and High Quality Development in the Yellow River basin., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) of magnesium (Mg) and aluminium (Al) are ion exchangers that can be used as slow release phosphorus (P) fertilisers. These LDHs can be used successfully to concentrate P from waste streams such as urine. This study was set up to test the fertiliser potential of P derived from urine and concentrated on LDHs. Ryegrass was grown in a pot trial using a P- and N-deficient soil where different urine derived fertilisers, i.e. LDH-P, stored urine and urine mixed with sludge as a source of P were compared to different mineral N and P doses in a full factorial design. Plants were grown for 75 days with four cuttings and did not exhibit salinity stress in stored urine treatments. Plant growth and P uptake responded to N, P doses in mineral fertilizer treatments with significant N-P interaction. The fertiliser use efficiency of urine fertilisers was lower than that of mineral fertilisers at equivalent total nutrient input for stored urine, due to lower N availability, and for urine mixed with sludge due to lower P availability. In contrast, the yield and P uptake of ryegrass grown on LDH loaded with P from urine (LDH-P) showed equal fertiliser P use as mineral fertiliser. Interestingly, the residual soil P after harvest, scored by the sum of isotopically exchangeable P in soil and the P uptake, was higher for LDH-P than for mineral P, confirming slow release properties of LDH that limit loss of P by fixation in soil., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The Sundarban mangrove or tidal influenced natural ecosystem is extremely productive and providing multiple goods and services to millions of people. In the last few decades, the quality and quantity of mangrove ecosystem are being deteriorated. The main objectives of this current research are (i) to investigate the ecosystem service values (ESVs) using a time series satellite data (1975, 2000 and 2020) and different unit values (ii) to analyze the dynamic pattern of carbon sequestration through InVEST model and (iii) determination of ESVs change hotspots by Getis-Ord Gi * method. Here, mangrove forest has the highest ecosystem service value and highest carbon sinker. The total loss of ESVs was estimated 3310.79 million USD during last 45 years in Sundarban Biosphere Reserve (SBR) due to high natural and anthropogenic adversities. InVEST model also revealed that the total static carbon storage over the study area was 48.87, 46.65 and 43.33 Tg for the year 1975, 2000 and 2020 respectively. Total 6313944 mg/6.31Tg loss of carbon has been observed in the case of mangrove forest during the overall study period (1975-2020). So, illegal human encroachment should be strictly (through law and regulations) restricted within Sundarban mangrove ecosystem for the benefits of people., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Hydrological drought forecasts outperform meteorological ones, which is anticipated coming from catchment memory. Yet, the importance of catchment memory in explaining hydrological drought forecast performance has not been studied. Here, we use the Baseflow Index (BFI) and the groundwater Recession Coefficient (gRC), which through the streamflow, give information on the catchment memory. Performance of streamflow drought forecasts was evaluated using the Brier Score (BS) for rivers across Europe. We found that BS is negatively correlated with BFI, meaning that rivers with high BFI (large memory) yield better drought prediction (low BS). A significant positive correlation between gRC and BS demonstrates that catchments slowly releasing groundwater to streams (low gRC), i.e. large memory, generates higher drought forecast performance. The higher performance of hydrological drought forecasts in catchments with relatively large memory (high BFI and low gRC) implies that Drought Early Warning Systems have more potential to be implemented there and will appear to be more useful., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

We developed an empirical soil wetting geometry model for silty clay loam and coarse sand soils under a semi-permeable porous wall line source Moistube Irrigation (MTI) lateral irrigation. The model was developed to simulate vertical and lateral soil water movement using the Buckingham pi (π) theorem. This study was premised on a hypothesis that soil hydraulic properties influence soil water movement under MTI. Two independent, but similar experiments, were conducted to calibrate and validate the model using MTI lateral placed at a depth of 0.2 m below the soil surface in a soil bin with a continuous water supply (150 kPa). Soil water content was measured every 5 min for 100 h using MPS-2 sensors. Model calibration showed that soil texture influenced water movement ([Formula: see text] < 0.05) and showed a good fit for wetted widths and depths for both soils ([Formula: see text] = 0.5-10%; [Formula: see text] 0.50; and d-index [Formula: see text] 0.50. The percentage bias [Formula: see text] statistic revealed that the models' under-estimated wetted depth after 24 h by 21.9% and 3.9% for silty clay loam and sandy soil, respectively. Sensitivity analysis revealed agreeable models' performance values. This implies the model's applicability for estimating wetted distances for an MTI lateral placed at 0.2 m and MTI operating pressure of 150 kPa. We concluded that the models are prescriptive and should be used to estimate wetting geometries for conditions under which they were developed. Further experimentation under varying scenarios for which MTI would be used, including field conditions, is needed to further validate the model and establish robustness. MTI wetting geometry informs placement depth for optimal irrigation water usage., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Joint operation of the Longyangxia and Liujiaxia reservoirs (Long-Liu operation) is of great significance for water and sediment regulation in the Yellow River. The water-sediment-electricity coupling system is a giant system with complex nonlinear relationships. A reliable Long-Liu operation scheme facilitates maximization of the benefits of the water-sediment-electricity system. Based on systems thinking, this paper quantitatively evaluated the reliability of different Long-Liu operation schemes and coordination of the water-sediment-electricity coupling system through the entropy weight method and dissipative structure model. The results indicated that the current operation scheme is more reliable than the adjusted scheme at the inter-annual scale and during the summer-autumn flood season and ice flood season within a year. However, the operation scheme should be improved during the spring irrigation period. The key factors influencing the quality of the water-sediment-electricity system include the outflow of the Liujiaxia reservoir, incoming sediment load into the Yellow River at Toudaoguai, sediment inflow-outflow difference in the Ningxia-Inner Mongolia Reach, water flow at Lanzhou and power generation upstream of Toudaoguai. The water-sediment-electricity system under the current Long-Liu operation scheme is more coordinated than that in the adjusted state, but the overall coordinated development of the system remains at a low activity level., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

The global economic activities were completely stopped during COVID-19 lockdown and continuous lockdown partially brought some positive effects for the health of the total environment. The multiple industries, cities, towns and rural people are completely depending on large tropical river Damodar (India) but in the last few decades the quality of the river water is being significantly deteriorated. The present study attempts to investigate the river water quality (RWQ) particularly for pre- lockdown, lockdown and unlock period. We considered 20 variables per sample of RWQ data and it was analyzed using novel Modified Water Quality Index (MWQI), Trophic State Index (TSI), Heavy Metal Index (HMI) and Potential Ecological Risk Index (RI). Principal component analysis (PCA) and Pearson's correlation (r) analysis are applied to determine the influencing variables and relationship among the river pollutants. The results show that during lockdown 54.54% samples were brought significantly positive changes applying MWQI. During lockdown, HMI ranged from 33.96 to 117.33 with 27.27% good water quality which shows the low ecological risk of aquatic ecosystem due to low mixing of toxic metals in the river water. Lockdown effects brought river water to oligotrophic/meso-eutrophic condition from eutrophic/hyper-eutrophic stage. Rejuvenation of river health during lockdown offers ample scope to policymakers, administrators and environmentalists for restoration of river health from huge anthropogenic stress., (© 2021. The Author(s).)