Current Issue : January-March Volume : 2026 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
The oasis area of the Cherchen River Basin (OACRB) is located in the southeast edge of the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang, China. High boron (B) groundwater is observed in the OACRB according to 40 groundwater samples collected in May 2023. Identification of the chemical characteristics and B sources of groundwater in the OACRB is of great significance for the sustainable development and utilization of groundwater resources and the protection of animals, plants and human health. To explore the chemical characteristics and main B sources of groundwater, Piper three-line diagram, Gibbs diagram, correlation analysis, hydrogeochemical simulation and absolute principal component analysis (PCA-APCS-MLR) were used for analysis. The contribution of different factors to groundwater B was quantitatively evaluated. The results showed that the groundwater is weakly alkaline (with an average pH of 7.94) and mainly brackish water and saline water with Cl− and Na+ as the main anions and cations. The groundwater is dominated by SO4 · Cl-Na type. The average concentration (ρ) of groundwater B in the study area was 1.48 mg·L−1 with the over-standard rate was 45.0%. The APCS-MLR receptor model analysis revealed that groundwater chemical components including B were mainly derived from leaching-enrichment, human activity, primary geological factors, and unknown sources. Groundwater B is obviously greater than the standard limit, which is mainly due to agricultural activities (fertilizers and pesticides) and unknown sources....
To ensure water source security and sustainability of the national major strategic project “South-to-North Water Diversion”, this study aims to evaluate the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of the ecosystem service value (ESV) in its water source area from 2002 to 2022. This study reveals its changing trends and main influencing factors, and thereby provides scientific support for the ecological protection and management of the water source area. Quantitative assessment of the ESV of the region was carried out using the Equivalence Factor Method (EFM), aiming to provide scientific support for ecological protection and resource management decision-making. In the past 20 years, the ESV has shown an upward trend year by year, increasing by 96%. The regions with the highest ESV were Garzê Prefecture and Aba Prefecture, which increased by 130.3% and 60.6%, respectively. The ESV of Xinlong county, Danba county, Rangtang county, and Daofu county increased 4.8 times, 1.5 times, 12.5 times, and 8.9 times, respectively. In the last two decades, arable land has decreased by 91%, while the proportions of bare land and water have decreased by 84% and 91%, respectively. Grassland had the largest proportion. Forests and grasslands, vital for climate regulation, water cycle management, and biodiversity conservation, have expanded by 74% and 43%, respectively. It can be seen from Moran’s I index values that the dataset as a whole showed a slight positive spatial autocorrelation, which increased from −0.041396 to 0.046377. This study reveals the changing trends in ESV and the main influencing factors, and thereby provides scientific support for the ecological protection and management of the water source area....
Ants serve critical ecological functions, acting as both prey and predator, and contributing to the decomposition of organic material. This study examines how varying soil nitrogen levels affect the mortality of Western Harvester ants (Pogonomyrmex occidentalis ). It was hypothesized that elevated nitrogen concentrations in soil would significantly reduce ant survival rates. The experiment was conducted in a controlled laboratory environment at High Technology High School, where all variables such as temperature, food, and water were held constant across groups, with soil nitrogen levels being the sole variable. Ant mortality was recorded over a four-week period. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA and multiple t-tests, revealed significant differences in mortality between the control and nitrogen-treated groups. All experimental groups receiving nitrogen fertilizer exhibited 100% mortality by the end of the study. While the data were statistically significant, high mortality in the early weeks suggests that nitrogen concentrations may have been excessively high. Future research should focus on evaluating the effects of lower fertilizer concentrations to gain a more nuanced understanding of nitrogen’s impact on subterranean insect populations. This research highlights the potential ecological risks posed by nitrogen-heavy fertilizers and underscores the need for more sustainable agricultural practices to mitigate environmental harm....
Soil erodibility is a fundamental property associated with its susceptibility to particle detachment and transport by erosive agents such as water, wind, or anthropogenic disturbances. Its quantification is essential to support conservation management, land-use planning, and modeling of environmental degradation processes. However, direct laboratory determination of erodibility can be costly and time-consuming, limiting its application in regional studies. This study aimed to develop a pedotransfer function (PTF) to estimate soil erodibility based on the silt fraction, using data from 65 sampling points distributed across the municipality of Sorocaba (SP), Brazil. Samples underwent granulometric characterization, and erodibility values were estimated following the parameters of the EPIC model, which considers intrinsic soil variables such as texture and organic carbon content, derived from the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The relationship between silt content and erodibility was analyzed through simple linear regression, resulting in a statistically significant model (R2 = 83%, p < 0.05). Findings indicate that the silt fraction has predictive capacity, demonstrating to be a reliable indicator of soil susceptibility to physical degradation. The proposed PTF offers an accessible and applicable methodological alternative at the regional scale, useful for preliminary assessments in areas with limited data and edaphoclimatic characteristics like Sorocaba. The results highlight the importance of textural variables in predicting functional soil properties and emphasize the potential of simple statistical approaches to support environmental planning and erosion mitigation....
Soil profile and physical properties of soil are important for crop cultivation and horticultural practices. This study was carried out to identify the soil profile of the research field of Institute of Environmental Science (IES) of University of Rajshahi during December 2024-February 2025. For getting the Soil Profile of Rajshahi University campus, two bores were dug in research field. The soil samples were collected from two sites at a considerable depth with possible variation of the horizons. A total 12 sediment samples from two soil profile sites were collected and analyzed in the laboratory of Department of Geology and Mining of University of Rajshahi. In 1st soil profile site (SP1), soil horizon A was found at 0 - 15 cm, E & B1: 15 - 60 cm, B2: 60 - 78 CM, C1: 78 - 100 cm and C2: 100 - 200 cm, whereas in the 2nd soil profile site (SP2), the soil horizon was found at different depths, A: 0 - 30 cm, E & B1: 30 - 58 cm, B2: 58 - 83 cm, C1: 83 - 163 cm and C2: 163 - 203 cm. From physical soil properties analysis, the particle size was found dominantly sands with almost identical silt and clay. Major soil textures of the studied profiles are sandy loam, sandy clay loam, loamy sand and medium loam, and most cases, soil order is mainly Entisols. The soil composition of IES research field of University of Rajshahi was found to suitable for diverse agricultural activities, however, challenges like water retention and soil fertility are problematic in some areas of this research field....
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