Current Issue : July-September Volume : 2024 Issue Number : 3 Articles : 5 Articles
Groundwater is a crucial water resource, particularly in regions with intensive agriculture and a semi-arid climate, such as Campo de Cartagena (Murcia, Spain). Groundwater salinity in the area can be attributed to hydrogeological characteristics, irrigation return water, or even marine intrusion and communication between aquifers. The management of these waters is essential to maintain sustainable agriculture in the area. Therefore, two groundwater salinity prediction models were developed, a backpropagation artificial neural network (ANN) model and a multiple linear regression (MLR) model, based on EC (electrical conductivity) data obtained from official information sources. The data used were the bicarbonate, calcium, chloride, magnesium, nitrate, potassium, sodium, and sulphate concentrations, as well as EC, pH, and temperature, of 495 water samples from 38 sampling stations between 2000 and 2023. Variables with the least influence on the model were discarded in a previous statistical analysis. Based on seven evaluation metrics (RMSE, MAE, R2, MPE, MBE, SSE, and AARD), the ANN model showed a sligntly better accuracy in predicting EC compared to the MLR model. As a result, the ANN model, together with crop tolerance to EC, may be an effective tool for groundwater irrigation management in these areas....
The link between the total hardness of drinking water and the primary and total population turnover in polyclinics of the city, located on the territory supplied with drinking water from the infiltration water intake, for some diseases (malignant neoplasms, blood diseases, endocrine diseases, diseases of the circulatory system, respiratory diseases, digestive diseases, skin diseases, diseases of the musculoskeletal apparatus, diseases of the genitourinary system, congenital deformities) was searched. Different manifestations of links between diseases of the population and the available level of water hardness of the infiltration water intake zone were revealed....
Microplastics (MPs) have been an emerging concern due to their harmful effects on the ecosystem and are ubiquitous in various habitats, from marine to terrestrial environments. However, studies on the presence of MPs in recreational areas are limited. One of the previous works has reported that urban recreational parks are considered “sinks” for plastic debris, including MPs. In this study, low-density MPs (LD-MPs) in soil samples collected from recreational parks of Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) were isolated by density flotation method. Results showed that these parks have varying levels of LD-MPs caused by various anthropogenic activities, such as sludge use and application of reclaimed water from wastewater treatment facilities in those areas. These plastic particles were isolated in 87% of the soil samples, with an average concentration of 1550 ± 340 MPs/kg. Predominantly, these comprised large LD-MPs (300 - 5000 μm), with red and blue being the most common colors. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy identified possible synthetic polymers, including polyethylene and polypropylene. Additionally, a negative correlation was observed between LD-MP concentration and soil pH and moisture content, indicating potential adverse effects on soil health. These findings highlight the need for monitoring and managing microplastic pollution in urban recreational areas to mitigate its ecological impacts....
Previously, we showed that prophylactic addition of glucose to Harsha Lake water samples could inhibit cyanobacteria growth, at least for a short period of time. The current study tested cyanobacterial control with glucose for the entire Harsha Lake bloom season. Water samples (1000 ml) were collected weekly from Harsha Lake during the algal-bloom season starting June 9 and lasting until August 24, 2022. To each of two 7-liter polypropylene containers, 500 ml of Harsha Lake water was added, and the containers were placed in a controlled environment chamber. To one container labeled “Treated,” 0.15 g of glucose was added, and nothing was added to the container labeled “Control.” After that, three 25 ml samples from each container were collected and used for 16S rRNA gene sequencing each week. Then 1000 ml of Harsha Lake water was newly collected each week, with 500 ml added to each container, along with the addition of 0.15 g glucose to the “Treated” container. Sequencing data were used to examine differences in the composition of bacterial communities between Treated and Control containers. Treatment with glucose altered the microbial communities by 1) reducing taxonomic diversity, 2) largely eliminating cyanobacterial taxa, and 3) increasing the relative abundance of subsets of non-cyanobacterial taxa (such as Proteobacteria and Actinobacteriota). These effects were observed across time despite weekly inputs derived directly from Lake water. The addition of glucose to a container receiving weekly additions of Lake water suppressed the cyanobacterial populations during the entire summer bloom season. The glucose appears to stimulate the diversity of certain bacterial taxa at the expense of the cyanobacteria....
This study was conducted over four consecutive years (2015-2018) in the Sefrou region of Morocco, between Sais and the Middle Atlas Mountains. The goal of the study was to assess how plum trees respond to three different irrigation strategies: a normal supply of water (T2) to meet 100% of crop water needs; an irrigation deficit (T1) that provides only 75% of the water needs; and an additional water supply of 25% (T3) above the crop needs. The study found that deficient irrigation (T1) had no significant effect on plum yield or average fruit weight at harvest, but an excess water supply of 25% (T3) over the requirements (T2) resulted in higher yields and average fruit weight than the control. T3 also showed an increase in fruit size at harvest compared to the control, but not in T1 compared to T2. However, the excess water input for T3 did not justify the excess yield in terms of water use efficiency (WUE). On the other hand, T1 maintained the same level of production as the control while saving water, which resulted in a higher WUE compared to T2 and T3.. Keywords: Deficit irrigation, Sustainable Deficit Irrigation, Plum crop, Mediterranean climate, Water Productivity....
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