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The rapid increase in urbanization has an important effect on cropping pattern and land use/land cover (LULC) through replacing areas of vegetation with commercial and residential coverage, thereby increasing the land surface temperature (LST). The LST information is significant to understand the environmental changes, urban climatology, anthropogenic activities, and ecological interactions, etc. Using remote sensing (RS) data, the present research provides a comprehensive study of LULC and LST changes in water scarce and climate prone Southern Punjab (Multan region), Pakistan, for 30 years (from 1990 to 2020). For this research, Landsat images were processed through supervised classification with maps of the Multan region. The LULC changes showed that sugarcane and rice (decreased by 2.9 and 1.6%, respectively) had less volatility of variation in comparison with both wheat and cotton (decreased by 5.3 and 6.6%, respectively). The analysis of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) showed that the vegetation decreased in the region both in minimum value (−0.05 [1990] to −0.15 [2020]) and maximum value (0.6 [1990] to 0.54 [2020]). The results showed that the built-up area was increased 3.5% during 1990–2020, and these were some of the major changes which increased the LST (from 27.6 to 28.5°C) in the study area. The significant regression in our study clearly shows that NDVI and LST are negatively correlated with each other. The results suggested that increasing temperature in growing period had a greatest effect on all types of vegetation. Crop-based classification aids water policy managers and analysts to make a better policy with enhanced information based on the extent of the natural resources. So, the study of dynamics in major crops and surface temperature through satellite RS can play an important role in the rural development and planning for food security in the study area.

The agricultural sector faces the dual challenge of enhancing crop productivity and mitigating environmental impacts. Optimizing nutrient management is vital for sustainable agriculture, particularly in sloping terrains like the Himalayan region, where damaged soils require restoration. This study explores the synergistic effects of urea, poultry manure, and zeolite on wheat growth and yield in degraded mountainous soils. A total of twelve treatments were implemented in a randomized complete block design, replicated three times. The treatments included a control (T1); urea nitrogen at 120 kg N ha−1 (UN120) (T2); poultry manure (PM) at 120 kg N ha−1 (T3); zeolite-1 (Z1) at 5 t ha−1 (T4); zeolite-2 (Z2) at 5 t ha−1 (T5); UN120 + Z1 (T6); PM + Z1 (T7); UN120 + Z2 (T8); PM + Z2 (T9); ½ UN + ½ PM + Z1 (T10); ½ UN + ½ PM + Z2 (T11); and ½ UN + ½ PM + ½ Z1 + ½ Z2 (T12). The UN120 treatment demonstrated significant improvements in wheat growth, with notable increases in shoot length (79.7%), shoot fresh weight (50.8%), root length (50.6%), chlorophyll content (53.6%), and leaf area (72.5%) compared to the control. Wheat yield and its components experienced significant improvements when treated with urea nitrogen (UN) and zeolites. Among these treatments, UN120 exhibited the highest efficacy. Nutrient content analysis revealed substantial increases in shoot nitrogen (70.6%), phosphorus (33.3%), and potassium (15.6%) with UN120 treatment compared to the control. The concoction of UN and PM with zeolites further enhanced nutrient levels. Integrating mineral nitrogen sources with organic amendments and zeolites proved effective in enhancing wheat productivity in degraded mountainous soils. Despite positive results, further research is essential for widespread recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil amendments containing carbonized materials increase the soil carbon reservoir, influence plant productivity, and, ultimately, help to clean the environment. There is data on the effect of such additions on soil physicochemical properties or plant growth, but few studies have focused on how these carbonized materials are distributed by termite species in the soil ecosystem. It is the first comprehensive study of the transportation of biochar (BC) by termite species under tropical environmental conditions in Pakistan. The present study was carried out to test the hypothesis that if termite species I) were involved in the distribution of biochar particles II) if yes, then how far these particles were transported during the study period (10 days) and III) check their preference between the enriched BC (EBC) and non-enriched BC. BC was enriched with the cattle slurry after its pyrolysis in the study. The results showed that EBC particles were significantly more widely distributed than non-enriched BC particles, but both types of BC were transported more than 4 cm (ring 4) within 10 days (at the end of the experiment). The current study also revealed that EBC was easily attached to the setae, cuticle, and legs of termites, implying that it could potentially be transported over a greater distance. Furthermore, transportation of EBC over larger distances indicated a potential preference of termite species between the EBC and BC particles. During the study, however, the preference among the termite species was also observed. Under the prevailing study conditions, the Coptotermes heimi and Heteroterme indicola species transported the EBC further than Microtermes obesi and Odontotermes obesus. These findings revealed that transportation preferences were observed among the four termite species. In conclusion, the current study found that termites were involved in the distribution of BC particles, with a preference for EBC and that these have the potential to transport BC particles more than 4 cm within 10 days. Furthermore, two species Coptotermes heimi and Heteroterme indicola may be more suitable candidates for EBC transpiration in Pakistani soils. It was necessary to conduct additional research into the effect of temperature on the transportation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian squash (Praecitrullus fistulosus) crop faces heat and drought during its growth that is considered the most important abiotic stress in semi-arid areas. Seed priming with growth regulators enhances stress tolerance; hence, mitigates the adverse effects of unpredictable stresses due to adverse weather conditions. This two-year (2019 and 2020) study was conducted to infer the role of seed priming in improving heat tolerance of Indian squash (cultivar Sahavi) through improvement in physiological and antioxidant defense systems. Six treatments that included no priming (control), hydropriming, priming with indole acetic acid (IAA) at 100 mg L-1, salicylic acid (SA) at 50 mg L-1, ascorbic acid (AA) at 100 mg L-1 and thiourea at 500 mg L-1 each for 06 hours) were included in the study. Results revealed that priming with AA and SA significantly (P ≤ 0.05) enhanced germination (39 and 47%), germination index (57 and 58%), plant height (23 and 22%), vine length (15 and 14%), number of fruits per plant (62%), fruit weight per plant (66 and 67%), economic yield (32%), photosynthesis rate (18 and 17%), protein content (10%), proline (23%), glycine betaine (3%), malondialdehyde content (11 and 10%) and catalase activity (24%) compared to control treatment. Furthermore, seed priming with AA and SA significantly (P ≤ 0.05) shortened the mean germination time (25 and 28%) compared to the control. The results indicated that AA and SA had significant potential to mitigate adverse effects of heat stress in Indian squash. Findings from this study showed that seed priming with AA and SA promoted heat-stress tolerance and enhanced growth and productivity of Indian squash. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead (Pb) is a pervasive contaminant and poses a serious threat to living beings. The present study aims at batch and fixed bed column scale potential of commercial compost (CCB) and peanut shells biosorbents (PSB) for the sequestration of Pb from contaminated aqueous systems. The PSB and CCB were characterized with FTIR, SEM and Brunauer Emmett-Teller (BET) to get insight of the adsorption behavior of both materials. Fixed bed column scale experiments were performed at steady state flow (2.5 and 5.0 mL/min), initial Pb concentrations (25 and 50 mg/L) and dosage of each adsorbent (3.0 and 6.0 g/column). Columns packed (15.9 cm2) with PSB and CCB have revealed excellent adsorption of Pb with PSB as compared with CCB. The total volume of injected contaminated water was 1,500 mL and 3,000 mL at 2.5 and 5.0 mL/min, respectively while total bed volume number was 157. A series of batch experiments with CCB and PSB was conducted at adsorbent dosage (1.25-5.0 g/L), initial Pb level (25-100 mg/L), interaction time (0-180 min) and solution pH (4-10) at room temperature. Batch scale results revealed that PSB removed 92% Pb from water at 25 mg Pb/L concentration as compared with CCB (79%). The presence of competing ions in groundwater showed less Pb removal as compared with synthetic water. The experimental data were simulated with equilibrium isothermal models: Langmuir, Freundlich, and kinetic models: pseudo first order, pseudo second order and intra-particle diffusion. The Freundlich and pseudo second order models better described the equilibrium and kinetic experimental data, respectively with maximum sorption of 42.5 mg/g by PSB which is also evident from FTIR functional groups and SEM results. While equilibrium sorption of Pb onto CCB was equally explained by Freundlich and Langmuir models. These findings indicate that PSB could be an active and ecofriendly biosorbent for the sequestration of metals from contaminated aqueous systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]