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Topic Review
Rangelands Livestock Production Systems
Rangelands as referred to herein can be defined as uncultivated lands that provide multiple ecosystem services for society, sustain habitat for grazing and browsing animals, and support the livelihoods of pastoralists and ranchers [1][2]. Under this definition rangelands comprise up to 70% of the world’s land area and include natural grasslands, deserts, temperate forests, and tropical forests [1]. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) released into the lower atmosphere mainly by the burning of fossil fuels and other anthropogenic activities have caused the earth’s temperature to rise by 1 °C since the 1860s [3][4]. If GHG emissions continue to rise, an increase in global temperature up to 3 to 5 °C is projected by the end of this century [4]. Extreme weather events are already increasing in frequency and severity in the US and globally [3][4][5]. Global concern is growing over the possibility that eventual irreversible, catastrophic climate change will result in massive loss of human livelihoods and mortality through adverse impacts on food production systems over both croplands and rangelands [3][4][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].
  • 1.6K
  • 05 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Dye Adsorption of Biochar
Biochar (BC) is a highly stable carbonaceous material that is aromatized and amorphous in nature. It is usually formed after thermochemical conversion of organic matter and wastes at temperatures of 350–750 °C under limited oxygen conditions. It is being studied to a great degree because of its potential for carbon sequestration, soil improvement, climate change mitigation, catalysis, wastewater treatment, energy storage, and waste management.
  • 1.6K
  • 12 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Arsenic Induced Neurotoxicity
Arsenic is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant widely distributed in the surrounding environmental compartments. Exposure to inorganic arsenic is known to cause major neurological effects such as cytotoxicity, chromosomal aberration, damage to cellular DNA and genotoxicity. On the other hand, long-term exposure to arsenic may cause neurobehavioral effects in the juvenile stage, which may have detrimental effects in the later stages of life. Thus, it is important to understand the toxicology and underlying molecular mechanism of arsenic which will help to mitigate its detrimental effects.
  • 1.6K
  • 11 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Ionic and Excited Species
Experimental and theoretical studies of either characterization and reactivity of ionic and excited species with atoms, molecules, and radicals of interest in the chemistry of plasmas and energy production. Single and ionized species with single or multiple charge (H+, He+, H3+, HCO+, H3O+, He22+, CO22+, etc.), excited atoms and molecules (e.g. O(1D), N(2D), H*(2s2S1/2), He*(21,3S0,1), N2*(A3Σu+), etc.) play a crucial role in various important chemical systems such as flames (i.e. chemi-ionizations), natural plasmas (i.e. planetary ionospheres, comet tails and interstellar clouds), and biological environments (e.g. damaged biological tissues via the interaction between ionizing radiation and living cells). Such processes are very interesting from a fundamental point of view in Physical Chemistry and attracted the attention of a wide scientific community, since many applications to important fields: radiation chemistry, plasma physics and chemistry, combustion processes, development of laser sources. In particular, the conversion of waste carbon dioxide via assisted plasma technology gained recently increasing interest due to the possibility of obtaining value-added products, like gaseous or liquid fuels. Such characteristics make this an encouraging strategy for the storage of electrical energy from renewable sources into chemical energy in a circular economy scheme.
  • 1.6K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Neolithic Subpluvial
The Neolithic Subpluvial, or the Holocene Wet Phase, was an extended period (from about 7500–7000 BCE to about 3500–3000 BCE) of wet and rainy conditions in the climate history of northern Africa. It was both preceded and followed by much drier periods. The Neolithic Subpluvial was the most recent of a number of periods of "Wet Sahara" or "Green Sahara", during which the Sahara region was much moister and supported a richer biota and human population than the present-day desert.
  • 1.6K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Weichselian Glaciation
Weichselian glaciation[upper-alpha 1] refers to the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) that spread out from the Scandinavian Mountains and extended as far as the east coast of Schleswig-Holstein, the March of Brandenburg and Northwest Russia. In Northern Europe it was the youngest of the glacials of the Pleistocene ice age. The preceding warm period in this region was the Eemian interglacial. The last cold period began about 115,000 years ago and ended 11,700 years ago. Its end corresponds with the end of the Pleistocene epoch and the start of the Holocene. The German geologist Konrad Keilhack (de) (1858-1944) named Weichselian glaciation using the German-language name (Weichsel) of the River Vistula (Polish: Wisła) in present-day Poland.
  • 1.6K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Friends of Science
Friends of Science (FoS) is a non-profit advocacy organization based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The organization rejects the established scientific conclusion that humans are largely responsible for the currently observed global warming. Rather, they propose that "the Sun is the main direct and indirect driver of climate change," not human activity. They argued against the Kyoto Protocol. The society was founded in 2002 and launched its website in October of that year. They are largely funded by the fossil fuel industry. Madhav Khandekar, Chris de Freitas, Tim Patterson and Sallie Baliunas act or acted as advisers to the Friends of Science with their work cited in Friends' publications. Douglas Leahey has been president since December, 2009.
  • 1.6K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
DPSIR Assessment on Ecosystem Services
The DPSIR framework (Driver – Pressure – State – Impact – Response) is a useful tool to assess and investigate the cause-effect within an ecosystem to aid better systems - thinking approach for stakeholders, policymakers and governance managers to draft response measures. The DPSIR framework helps to identify and analyse the different effects of human activities over the ecosystem services and human well-being in the different ecosystems such as estuarine, delta, river, coastal, etc. The varied human activities involves mining, construction, fishing, infrastructure development, etc. The DPSIR study shows a holistic view on several interlinked pressures and state changes in the ecosystems, also supporting the development of some potential responses to form systematic, sustainable approaches for mitigating and adapting the impacts caused by human activities. This contribution describes the application of DPSIR framework to study the impacts of sand mining and sand consumption in the Vietnam's Mekong Delta ecosystem services, 
  • 1.6K
  • 25 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Biogas Plants
The biogas production technology has improved over the last years for the aim of reducing the costs of the process, increasing the biogas yields, and minimizing the greenhouse gas emmisions. To obtain a stable and efficient biogas production, there are several design considerations and operational parameters to be taken into account. Besides, adapting the process to unanticipated conditions can be achieved  by adaquate monitoring of various operational parameters. This paper reviewa the research that has been conducted over the last years. This review paper summarizes the developments in biogas design and operation, while highlighting the main factors that affect the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion process. The study´s outcomes revealed that the optimum operational values of the main parameters may vary from one biogas plant to another. Additionally, the negative conditions that should be avoided while operating a biogas plant were identified.
  • 1.6K
  • 05 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Exposure Routes and Health Risks Associated with Pesticides
There are four main pesticide application methods, including hydraulic spraying, backpack spraying, basal trunk spraying, and aerial spraying. Pesticide application methods are mainly selected by considering the habits of target pests, the characteristics of target sites, and the properties of pesticides. Humans are directly exposed to pesticides in occupational, agricultural, and household activities and are indirectly exposed to pesticides via environmental media, including air, water, soil, and food. Human exposure to pesticides occurs mainly through dermal, oral, and respiratory routes. People who are directly and/or indirectly exposed to pesticides may contract acute toxicity effects and chronic diseases. Although no segment of the general population is completely protected against exposure to pesticides and their potentially serious health effects, a disproportionate burden is shouldered by people in developing countries. Both deterministic and probabilistic human health risk assessments have their advantages and disadvantages and both types of methods should be comprehensively implemented in research on exposure and human health risk assessment. Equipment for appropriate pesticide application is important for application efficiency to minimize the loss of spray solution as well as reduce pesticide residuals in the environment and adverse human health effects due to over-spraying and residues. Policymakers should implement various useful measures, such as integrated pest management (IPM) laws that prohibit the use of pesticides with high risks and the development of a national implementation plan (NIP) to reduce the adverse effects of pesticides on the environment and on human health. 
  • 1.5K
  • 30 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Clathrate Gun Hypothesis
The clathrate gun hypothesis refers to a proposed explanation for the periods of rapid warming during the Quaternary. The idea is that changes in fluxes in upper intermediate waters in the ocean caused temperature fluctuations that alternately accumulated and occasionally released methane clathrate on upper continental slopes, these events would have caused the Bond Cycles and individual interstadial events, such as the Dansgaard–Oeschger interstadials. The hypothesis was supported for the Bølling-Allerød and Preboreal period, but not for Dansgaard–Oeschger interstadials, although there are still debates on the topic.
  • 1.5K
  • 18 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Spilled Oil in Marine Environment
Oil spill is a widespread environmental problem with significant ecological impacts. When oil is spilled in the sea,  it undergoes different  degradation processes such as dispersion, photooxidation, evaporation, dissolution, emulsion, biodegradation and other weathering processes. The most important among these processes is biodegradation, which is facilitated by naturally occurring oil-degrading bacteria.  The interaction of bacteria with hydrocarbons in oil is affected by different environmental factors.  Several studies have evaluated the effects of each factor on the biodegradation of the oil by bacterial, but none has taken all these factors together.
  • 1.5K
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Urban Overheating in Australia
Cities in Australia are experiencing unprecedented levels of urban overheating, which has caused a significant impact on the country’s socioeconomic environment. This study provides a comprehensive review on urban overheating, its impact on health, energy, economy, and the heat mitigation potential of a series of strategies in Australia. Existing studies show that the average urban heat island (UHI) intensity ranges from 1.0 °C to 13.0 °C. The magnitude of urban overheating phenomenon in Australia is determined by a combination of UHI effects and dualistic atmospheric circulation systems (cool sea breeze and hot desert winds). The strong relation between multiple characteristics contribute to dramatic fluctuations and high spatiotemporal variabilities in urban overheating. In addition, urban overheating contributes to serious impacts on human health, energy costs, thermal comfort, labour productivity, and social behaviour. 
  • 1.5K
  • 16 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Microplastics in Ecosystems
Plastics are widely used due to their excellent properties, inexpensiveness and versatility leading to an exponential consumption growth during the last decades. However, most plastic does not biodegrade in any meaningful sense; it can exist for hundreds of years. Only a small percentage of plastic waste is recycled, the rest being dumped in landfills, incinerated or simply not collected. Microplastics can be generally divided in two big families: primary microplastics and secondary microplastics. Plastics with microscopic size, ca. 2–5 mm in diameter, are defined as primary microplastics. Secondary microplastics enclose tiny plastic fragments derived from the breakdown of larger plastic debris, both at sea and on land. Waste-water treatment plants can only minimize the problem by trapping plastic particles of larger size and some smaller ones remain within oxidation ponds or sewage sludge, but a large amount of microplastics still contaminate water streams and marine systems. 
  • 1.5K
  • 23 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Reducing Phosphorus Loads
The wide application of fertilizers in tile-drained agricultural systems commonly results in the loss of phosphorus (P) to the underground tile drains during precipitation events and emission to downstream surface waters. As different catchments are subject to local geological and climatic conditions, among other factors, it is observed a large spatiotemporal variation in the dynamics of P emissions, including the load and dominant form (i.e., particulate or dissolved). In-farm practices may be able to mitigate this problem to some extent (e.g. by optimizing the P application), but may not suffice in areas saturated with P. Therefore, systems designed to reduce the excess P loads at relatively low costs and located at the edge of tile-drained catchments have been tested and implemented. This has been done by increasing the hydraulic residence time of the drainage discharge, allowing sedimentation of particles and biogeochemical processes between the water, soil/sediments and biota to occur; by trapping P at the bank of watercourses; and by enhancing the retention of dissolved P with filters rich in P sorbents. The retention of P by these measures, however, can be rather variable and largely depends on the catchment conditions. Thus, a series of considerations, e.g., in regards to design parameters, long-term stability of the P retained and retention of different P forms, must be taken into account, including major constraints (e.g., use of agricultural land), to ensure successful application of edge-of-field measures and achieve the desired cost-efficiency.
  • 1.5K
  • 01 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Nanotechnological Approaches for Removal of Persistent Organic Pollutants
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of hazardous chemical compounds that originate from anthropogenic activities during production, utilization, and disposal. They can impact living beings and the environment adversely because of their ease of transportation by wind and water. The level of hazardous persistent organic pollutants is increasing every day in the environment.
  • 1.5K
  • 02 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Bioindicators of Heavy Metals Pollution
       There is a wide interest in the air quality due to the constant development of many industries and technologies, as well as an extensive use of transport, ultimately leading to emissions of atmospheric pollutants. The application of ubiquitous organisms to assess air pollution has developed significantly during the last few decades. Such living organisms are successful indicators of the presence and availability of different contaminants over time. Lichens are a very popular and effective tool in bioimonitoring. They are usually applied by transplanting from unpolluted area to a contaminated one and assessing the bioaccumulation of the pollutants in the lichen tallus. On the other hand, spider webs are a quite new tool used in the biomonitoring, although they seem to be an easy, cheap method of bioindication which could work all-year–round. Thus, the comparison between these two tools (lichens and spider webs) is eligible and very important  for efficient monitoring of air quality.  We decided to compare the way of heavy metals accumulation in spider webs from Agelenidae family (Eratigena atrica and Agelena labyrinthica) and lichens Hypogymnia physodes, exposed for two months. 
  • 1.5K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Energiewende in Germany
The Energiewende (German for energy transition) is the planned transition by Germany to a low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and affordable energy supply. The term Energiewende is regularly used in English language publications without being translated (a loanword).:4 The new system will rely heavily on renewable energy (particularly wind, photovoltaics, and hydroelectricity), energy efficiency, and energy demand management. Most if not all existing coal-fired generation will need to be retired. The phase-out of Germany's fleet of nuclear reactors, to be complete by 2022, is a key part of the program. Legislative support for the Energiewende was passed in late 2010 and includes greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 80–95% by 2050 (relative to 1990) and a renewable energy target of 60% by 2050. These targets are ambitious. The Berlin-based policy institute Agora Energiewende noted that "while the German approach is not unique worldwide, the speed and scope of the Energiewende are exceptional". The Energiewende also seeks a greater transparency in relation to national energy policy formation. Germany has made significant progress on its GHG emissions reduction target, achieving a 27% decrease between 1990 and 2014. However the country will need to maintain an average GHG emissions abatement rate of 3.5% per year to reach its Energiewende goal, equal to the maximum historical value thus far. As of 2013, Germany spends €1.5 billion per year on energy research in an effort to solve the technical and social issues raised by the transition. This includes a number of computer studies that have confirmed the feasibility and a similar cost (relative to business-as-usual and given that carbon is adequately priced) of the Energiewende.
  • 1.5K
  • 09 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Education for Sustainable Development in Teacher Education
Teachers play a crucial role in supporting the development of students’ environmental knowledge and skills for responding to environmental change. Education for sustainable development (ESD) involves holistic, transformational and lifelong learning processes that aim to enhance the cognitive, social, emotional and behavioural dimensions of learning.
  • 1.5K
  • 30 Nov 2023
Topic Review
5G for Climate Change Control
Climate change is one of the most challenging problems that humanity has ever faced. With the rapid development in technology, a key feature of 5G networks is the increased level of connectivity between everyday objects, facilitated by faster internet speeds with smart facilities indicative of the forthcoming 5G-driven revolution in Internet of Things (IoT).
  • 1.5K
  • 11 Jan 2022
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