In this study, the samples of the spatial soil and organs of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera) cultivar Tamjanika were collected from the selected zones near the Mining and Smelting Complex Bor (East Serbia). They were analyzed by ICP-OES to determine the content of Cu, Zn, Pb, As, Cd, and Ni with the aim of ascertaining if these data may help in the assessment and improvement of the quality of environment in polluted areas such as Bor and its surrounding area. The results obtained from the calculated biological and enrichment factors, as well as from the Pearson correlation study and hierarchical cluster analysis confirmed that very useful information is recorded in plant organs: root, stem, leaves, and fruit. Yet, when the atmospheric pollution is the sphere of interest, the most informative data are found in unwashed leaves. The results of this study indicated also that the investigated plant species has some highly effective strategies involved in tolerance to the stress induced by heavy metals, which makes it an excellent candidate for phytostabilization purposes. Planting of this grapevine cultivar can be recommended in all areas that are severely polluted with heavy metals.

Multifunctional sorbents, activated carbons (AC), were prepared by one-step microwave activation utilizing peanut shells and sunflower seed husks. The influence of the original particle size of raw materials on the yield and specific surface area of AC was studied, which reached 33.5 % and 1133.27 m²/g, respectively. The repetitive and competitive uptakes of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and chromium were applied to investigate the sorption properties of AC. The sorption mechanisms were demonstrated using sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure analysis (XANES). In the repetitive experiment, AC made from peanut shells (ACP₀₅) still retained 70 % removal efficiency of PFOS after the fourth sorption because sorbed PFOS might form a new organic phase that supplied effective sites for the hydrophobic partition of PFOS. However, the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) decreased dramatically from 60 to 11 % after the fourth uptake because electrostatic attraction was its only removal pathway. In the binary solutes system, ACP₀₅ possessed perfect sorption performance for both PFOS and Cr(VI), which were 885 and 192 mg/g, respectively. In the multivariate solutes system, the XANES spectra indicated that the thiol functional group existed in the resulting AC and a metal chelate was formed between thiol and Zn²⁺/Cu²⁺. Hence, the presence of Zn²⁺/Cu²⁺ further promoted the removal of PFOS and Cr(VI) through the electrostatic attraction between the anions and positive metal chelate.

Fluctuations of groundwater table (GWT) has great role in agriculture through assured supply of irrigation in industry and other fronts. As such, probability of possible GWT also plays an important role in terms of efficient usages of this valuable resource. An attempt has been made to find probability distributions taking seasonal (January, May, August and November for 2005 to 2013) information on GWT for the districts under five agro-climatic zones of West Bengal. The study reveals that 17 districts of West Bengal, India, can be categorised into 6 probability model groups: Weibul, Normal, Weibul (3P), Log Logistic (3P), Log Normal (3P) and Gamma (3P). These models can be used to ascertain the probability of occurrences of GWT in specific district. Cluster analysis, using GWT figures for various seasons over the period of study reveals that the districts could be grouped into four clusters, which in-turn may facilitate clusterwise strategy for restricting the depletion of GWT depth or maintenance of the same. These techniques can be used for intradistrict GWT analysis for efficient monitoring of GWT.

Frequent oil spills in the Niger Delta have severely influenced the environment in oil production and transportation areas. Vegetation degradation is one of the remarkable results of oil spills in the region. Hence, GIS was used to build an Oil Spill Risk Assessment Model for Vegetation (OSRAMV) in the southern part of the Rivers state, mainly in the Bonny district to define areas under high levels of oil spill hazard and vegetation areas under high oil spill risk. Oil Spill Hazard Model (OSHM) was examined to ensure its accuracy by recorded oil spill impacted areas | 71.6% of impacted areas pixels were in severe hazard areas. Whereas none of impacted areas were located in very low, or low oil spill hazard areas. The final OSRAMV showed that 66.5% of the examined oil spill sites were located in high risk areas.

This study was aimed to investigate the growth characteristics of Oxyrrhis marina and Chattonella marina in co-culture to provide experimental evidences for discussing successions of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and coastal biological communities. The colour changes of culture media of C. marina and growth characteristics of O. marina and C. marina in co-culture were analysed by the combined methods of macroobservation, microscopic examination and counting. In co-culture, the colours of culture media of C. marina had changed and their transparencies had increased with increasing elapsed incubation time after inoculated by O. marina under different initial cell densities. With the increase of the initial density of O. marina (0.17×104 cells/mL, 0.50×104 cells/mL and 0.64×104 cells/mL in C. marina culture media), the time required, that the populations of O. marina reached the stationary phases, was shorter i.e. 6d, 5d and 3d after inoculated by O. marina, respectively, and the death time of all cells of C. marina became shorter, i.e. 7d, 6d and 4d after inoculated by O. marina, respectively. During the 15 days culture period, all C. marina populations were evolved to O. marina populations. Residues of C. marina adhering to precipitates and chromatophores scattering in the culture media could strengthen the colour of culture media, C. marina populations were evolved to O. marina populations respectively within the concentrations designed in co-culture in this experiment. Disturbance feeding was one of the reasons for successions, and the results provide experimental evidences for discussing successions of red tides and coastal biological communities.

A comprehensive evaluation index system is established in this study, and evaluation and comparison of resource and environmental carrying capacity from 2005 to 2012 are conducted from four aspects, namely, land, water resource, transportation and environment. Research results show that from 2005 to 2012, the carrying capacity of the 10 main urban agglomerations increased, except for the wing of Beijing and Tianjin urban agglomeration. A significant difference in carrying capacity was observed. Among the top 10 urban agglomerations, the resource and environmental carrying capacity of the eastern region is the highest, followed by that of the central region. The resource and environmental carrying capacity of the western region is the lowest. Traffic capacity, circular economy development level, water resource consumption, and industrial pollution emission are the main reasons for the difference in resource and environmental carrying capacity.

Ecological base flow is a basic requirement of water flow for a healthy river ecosystem. But in Weihe River the ecological flow is not guaranteed because of the water shortage, high sediment concentration and considerable agricultural water use along the river. In this study, Baojixia under-tableland irrigation area was selected as a representative area to which a mathematical model of one-dimensional steady water non-uniform sediment regulation was applied, to analyse the impact of channel desilting on guaranteeing the ecological base flow of Weihe River. The results indicated that scouring and silting of the channel was significantly correlated with the channel water capacity and sediment content in water flows. In addition, channel desilting contributed to 55.9×104m3 and 79.2×104m3 water saving in the irrigation area in January and December which belonged to the dry season. Their contribution rates to basic flow were 3.5% and 4.9%, respectively.

Wheat (Triticum durum) yields have increased significantly because of the increasing higher irrigation and fertilizer inputs since the last half of 20th century. With varying climate and rising population, increasing focus is being given to enhancing resource use efficiency while increasing yields. This study utilized the CERES (Crop Estimation through Resource and Environment Synthesis) - Wheat model to analyse the impact of irrigation, nitrogen (N) and climate on wheat yield, using 58-year climate data. Analyses were conducted using four assumed scenarios with step-by-step method. Results showed that the optimum irrigation and nitrogen ranges were not uncertain when taking into account a single factor. When considering both irrigation and nitrogen, the impact of irrigation on simulated grain yield was greater than that of nitrogen, which was similar to the results obtained from the experiments. The average variation in grain yield was attributed to irrigation (46.8%), nitrogen (5.5%) and climate (2.4%). Besides, relative humidity and maximum temperature were consistently and significantly correlated with grain yield under all conditions, while precipitation had a significant correlation with grain yield when no irrigation or N was applied, or one of them was applied. However, solar radiation was significantly correlated with grain yield when both irrigation and N were available.

A field experiment on direct-seeded rice was conducted during kharif 2011 and 2012 at the College Farm, ANGRAU Hyderabad, to study the influence of different doses of bispyribac sodium 10% SC (10, 15, 20, 25 and 40 g a.i/ha) on physical, physico-chemical and fertility properties of the soil. Persistence of the herbicide in soil from application to harvest of the crop and the residues in plant samples at harvest were also studied. No significant changes in physical (texture, bulk density, particle density, pore space, maximum water holding capacity), physico-chemical (pH, EC, CEC, organic carbon) and fertility properties of the soil (available N, P2O5 and K2O) were noticed at any of the applied doses. Bispyribac sodium dissipation in soil followed a first-order decay process. Half-life (DT50) of bispyribac sodium was 13.10 days, 10.21 days and 9.93 days at 40 g/ha, 25 g/ha and 20 g/ha doses respectively. DT90 values were also calculated. No detectable residues of bispyribac sodium were found in the straw or grain at the time of harvest.

With the rapid development of China’s modern industry, human beings have consumed enormous amounts of high-carbon energy resources. This has caused huge destruction to the systems of environmental resources. Low-carbon development is the best solution to the irrational demand for natural resources, environmental pollution and other associated problems. This study discusses the coupling and coordinating mechanism of low-carbon development and environmental resource system. Herein, we argue that lowcarbon development is a necessary requirement for the improvement of environmental resource system and it can promote an effective utilization of environmental resource. The improvement of environmental resource system is also conducive to low-carbon production. This paper studies 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in China, establishes index system, comprehensively applies entropy evaluation method and coupling coordination model, measures the coupling and coordination degree of two systems, and arrives at the following conclusions. From 2000 to 2013, the comprehensive level and the coordinating degree of China’s low-carbon development and environmental resource system generally increased, Shandong and Guangdong rank at the top of provincial-level administrative region, the two provinces also have a high coordinating degrees. Also, this study puts forward several policy recommendations to upgrade the coupling and coordinating development of low-carbon and environmental resource system.