Heavy metal contamination is one of the significant concerns of environmental pollution. The present study was conducted to find out the correlation between soil and crop/food matrices grown at the exact location for Al, As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Ni, Na, P, Zn, and Pb elements near the industrial areas of Narol, Changodar, Vatva, Makarpura, Nandesari, and Ankleshwar in Gujarat, India. Soil samples were collected from 64 sampling sites in an industrial area. Twenty of these sites contained crop/food matrices used for the correlation study. The ranges of concentration of Cr (17-74.4 mg.kg-1), Cu (9.6-82.4 mg.kg-1), Ni (10.6-55.9 mg.kg-1), Pb (4.5- 20.7 mg.kg-1), Zn (21.5-112.4 mg.kg-1), and Al (7075-44557.5 mg.kg-1) for Soil and for crop Cr (0.3-0.6 mg.kg-1), Cu (0.3-8.6 mg.kg-1), Zn (1.1-43.5 mg.kg-1), Fe (12.6-69.4 mg.kg-1), and Al (5.8-102.2 mg.kg-1). According to the study, there is a strong correlation between the soil and crop/food matrices at the different locations, like 0.97 for Fe and Ni, 0.94 for Mg, 0.95 for Mn, and 0.55 for Pb and Zn, and very little correlation between K, P, and Ca, while a negative correlation between Al, Cr, Cu, and Na. The DTPA extractable method was used for the elemental analysis, and analysis was done using the ICP-OES instrument following microwave-assisted digestion. The results show that metal contamination transforms from soil to crop/food matrices, which represents a serious concern and requires action to address the metal contamination by industrialization.

In the current research work, the authors proposed a list of tactics to eliminate Cr (VI) with the help of pig bone biochar. The Cr (VI) was adsorbed in batches onto pig bone biochar to scrutinize the adsorption data. The studies determine the impact of adsorption dose, pH, and concentration. From the results, it was inferred that the optimum pH level was 7 for the removal of metal. The study calculated the adsorption isotherms in terms of affinity and adsorption capacity by leveraging Temkin, Langmuir, and Freundlich equations. According to the reports, the Langmuir model is suitable for the adsorption data, followed by Temkin and Freundlich equations. In this model, rapid adsorption kinetic rates were observed, whereas the equilibrium state was achieved after two hours. There seems to be a perfect collation between the kinetic adsorption data and the pseudo-second-order equation. The researchers determined both Lagergren and Ho’sconstants. When biochar was characterized with SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometer), and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer), it was revealed that the Cr (VI) ions interacted with the isolated aggregates formed on the biosorbent surface. From the results, it can be understood that the pig bone biochar can be effectively used to eliminate chromium ions from an aqueous solution.

As urbanization and population increase in the megacity, there is a need for engineering intervention and strategic monitoring of groundwater around landfills for environmental sustainability, pollution reduction and public health. This study evaluated water’s physical and chemical parameters in wells and boreholes near the Olusosun landfill in Lagos State to determine how they impact groundwater quality. An Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS) was used to evaluate groundwater samples obtained from five locations within the dump site. Some water parameters, such as dissolved oxygen (DO), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), and magnesium (Mg), had concentrations that were higher than the WHO, NESREA, and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) standard limits in some sampling sites, with mean concentrations of 0.33 mg.L-1, 0.04 mg.L-1, 0.74 mg.L-1, and 0.74 mg.L-1, respectively. A small amount of lead was identified in the groundwater of the study area. A major source of air and groundwater pollution, the Olusosun landfill has a detrimental impact on the health of those who live there. Solid waste, groundwater interactions, and contaminated migration into the nearby neighbourhood were studied. It was observed that the degradation of waste products in dump sites releases harmful leachate into the groundwater. Even though some heavy metal concentrations in the study area are still within WHO, NESREA, and NSDWQ standard limits, investigations and further monitoring should be conducted regularly to assess the concentrations of heavy metals in groundwater.

Scientifically delineating ecological function zones is essential for national territory spatial planning and comprehensive management. In this study, we evaluated five ecosystem services, habitat quality, water yield, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, and food production, in Fuping County, China, and introduced the application of the topographic position index in exploring the topographic gradient effect of each service. We next applied the K-means clustering algorithm to identify the ecosystem services bundles and analyze the dominant type of ecosystem service in these bundles. A particle swarm optimization-support vector machine model was also constructed to identify the boundaries of ecological function zones and complete the ecological function zoning. The results are as follows: (1) In Fuping County, the high-value areas of habitat quality are distributed in the west, north, and southeast; those of soil conservation are in the northwest, northeast, and southwest; those of water yield are in the east and south; those of carbon sequestration are in the west, and those of food production is in the east. (2) The habitat quality first decreases and then increases with an increasing topographic gradient; food production and water yield decline with increasing topographic gradient; carbon sequestration and soil conservation increase with increasing topographic gradient. (3) Four types of ecosystem services bundles were identified. The dominant ecosystem functions of Type I, II, and III bundles are food production and water yield, carbon sequestration, and soil conservation, respectively. Type IV bundles generally have low levels of ecosystem services in the study area. (4) Four ecological function zones were delineated: food production zone, ecological conservation zone, potential restoration zone, and critical restoration zone. The research findings can provide a theoretical and practical basis for formulating and implementing ecological spatial management policies in the Taihang Mountains of China.

Malabar Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica indica) is one of the four subspecies endemic to India (Abdulali 1952), common to northern and central Western Ghats among species Ratufa indica belonging to Subfamily Ratufinae. The study was designed to analyze the nest tree preferences of animals in the dry deciduous forests of the Umblebyle range, Shimoga, Karnataka (South India) during February, March, and April 2021, surveying 20 transects covering a distance of 47.7 km. Nest tree preferences were assessed by observing 406 dreys (nests) on 385 trees covering an area of 8350.89 ha. The nest trees came from 20 families and 41 species, with 12 tree species in the Family Fabaceae and 84 trees in the Terminalia paniculata having the highest preference. The Squirrels showed the highest preference for deciduous trees over semi-evergreen and evergreen trees. The most preferred tree height and nest height ranged between 11-20m, including 87.53% of nesting trees and 83.89% of nests, respectively. The average nest height was estimated to be 14.73 (±3.311) m, with a minimum and maximum height of 7 m and 28 m, respectively. The difference between average tree height and average nest height was 1.512m.

The COVID-19 first case was reported in India on January 30, 2020, and in Chhattisgarh on March 19, 2020, and since then a sharp surge has been noticed. The government of India imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25, 2020, a complete suspension of human activities, viz., industry, construction, transport, academic institutions, etc., which resulted in an improvement in air quality (a decrease in PM2.5 and PM10, alteration in NO2 and an increase in O3). But the rate of cases of COVID-19 has increased sharply, and eventually, under economic pressure, the lockdown was withdrawn on June 1, 2020, which further accelerated the exponential growth of COVID-19 cases. We noticed that in the Chhattisgarh State of India, the alteration in the air quality index during the lockdown period is continuing even after the restoration of anthropogenic activities. Among PM2.5, PM10, NO2, and O3, the behavior of NO2 was found to be different than others; it was found to increase during the lockdown period but further decreased with the resumption of anthropogenic activities. We conclude that the air quality index has an insignificant impact on COVID-19 infection.

Agriculture is the most important sector and the backbone of a developing country’s economy. Accurate crop yield prediction models can provide decision-making tools for farmers to make better decisions. Crop yield prediction has challenged researchers due to dynamic, noisy, non-stationary, non-linear features and complex data. The factors that influence crop yield are changes in temperature and rainfall, plant disease, pests, fertilizer, and soil quality. The paper discusses the factors affecting crop yield, explores the features utilized, and analysis deep learning methodologies and performance metrics utilized in crop yield prediction.

In recent years, interest in boron has expanded from microscopic to macroscopic levels, and several studies have contributed to understanding the role of boron in earth and natural processes. The boron isotopic composition provides a unique perspective into the crystallization process in granites, pegmatites, and temperature variations. Boron isotopic studies have been used as a tracer to understand geothermal systems, rivers, rock processes, reconstruction of pH and pCO2, groundwater pollution, and further help in understanding the changes which have occurred in oceans through geological time. Furthermore, boron isotopes have also been utilized to understand the genesis of ores and understanding subduction processes and as a tracer in groundwater pollution. In plants, it acts as a micronutrient. However, its deficiency and the excessive amount may inhibit the growth of plants, bacteria, and fungi and may also affect the soil and aquatic microflora. Boron maintains and regulates several metabolic pathways, and its quantity above a certain level may prove detrimental to the environment. This overview explains boron isotope variations and their implications in earth sciences and natural processes.

A field-based experiment was conducted to know the relevance of potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB), and Osmo-priming mediated morphological changes and yielded recovery in green gram (Vigna radiata L.) under water-limiting conditions. Hence, the experiment was carried out at the research farm of Lovely Professional University. The characters like plant height, number of leaves, leaf area plant-1, and LAI were considered to track the morphological changes, while the primary branches, nodules, pods plant-1, seeds pod-1, the average length of the pod, test weight, biological yield, grain yield, and harvest index (HI) were used to determine the recovery of yield as compared to control. Among the treatments, T8 was recorded as one of the best treatments for all the morphological parameters studied, i.e., plant height (51.80 cm), number of leaves (42 plant-1), leaf area (577.27 cm2.plant-1) and LAI (1.92) while most of the yield contributing characters were found better in T6 i.e. nodules (8.3 plant-1), seeds pod-1 (10) and length of the pod (7.65 cm) except for the primary branches and the number of pods plant-1 which was remain recorded maximum in T8 (6.0 and 22). The yield of green gram and its biological yield were recorded as highest in T6 and T2 (6.83 and 24.23 g.plant-1), while HI and test weight were also noted in T6 (32.0% and 5.90 g). This study has concluded that the KSB, combined with KNO3, showed a strong potential to modify the morphological structure while the yield of green gram was in KSB + Ca(NO3)2 under water scarcity.

Climate change crises and environmental imbalances have been a significant concern globally in recent times. The climatic changes give rise to various issues such as global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, deterioration of natural resources, soil erosion, deforestation, and more. Many international and national agreements and policies have been created to protect the environment, from the UNFCCC to the recent Paris Agreement, aiming to control rising environmental issues. However, developed and developing countries must achieve desirable results in combating climate change. Industrial and technological developments are critical reasons for environmental pollution and degradation. Progress is necessary for planned developing countries, but growth and expansions shall also consider ecological sustainability. Technology shall be novel in adapting to the changes, considering the effects it can produce on the environment. Green technology combines technology with the environment, also called environmental technology, clean technology, or sustainable technology. It is a combination of science and technology together to mitigate climatic changes and protect the environment. Green technology is the modern sustainable solution to pressing environmental concerns. India is one of the countries globally showing rapid green technology developments. The authors of this paper have tried to highlight the dire need to modify technological developments vis-a-vis environmental sustainability to protect the environment. The research paper delves into and understands the interface between clean technology’s importance and relevance for ecological sustainability and the role of patent law, particularly in dealing with issues of the environment. The paper shall also establish a harmonious relationship between patent law and its role in ensuring environmental sustainability.