Search Results (11,755)

This study assesses the future availability of water resources in Lake Guiers by 2050, considering the combined impacts of climate change and human activities, using the Water Evaluation and Planning System. As Senegal’s main freshwater source, the lake faces growing pressure from agricultural expansion, aquatic plant overgrowth, competing stakeholder demands, and increasing water use. The study combines field data on hydrological flows and agricultural water use with climate projections under the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. Climate data were downscaled and bias-corrected using CMhyd, multiple linear regression, and the Mann–Kendall test. Model calibration showed strong performance (NSE = 0.95; R² = 0.96). Results reveal decreasing precipitation and rising temperatures under both scenarios. Agricultural withdrawals (79,331,457.14 m³/year) already exceed crop water needs (69,115,088.03 m³/year), resulting in significant water losses estimated at over 10 million m³ per year. Scenario analysis indicates that high water demand under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways SSP8.5 could lead to critical declines in lake volume as early as 2026 (550 million m³), while moderate demand growth under SSP4.5 could maintain water availability until 2050. The proposed PREFERLO-Grand Transfer project would add further stress to the lake’s capacity. These findings emphasize the urgent need for sustainable water management and policy actions. Full article

Drought remains a persistent challenge affecting agricultural and pastoral livelihoods, particularly in dryland mixed crop–livestock systems. Water Monitoring and Early Warning Systems (WM-EWS) have increasingly been promoted as tools for delivering climate information services and supporting drought-related decision-making. However, empirical understanding of how users perceive and engage with such systems in pastoral contexts remains limited. This study explores stakeholder perceptions regarding the usefulness and operational relevance of a WM-EWS implemented in the Borana zone of Ethiopia. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining survey data from 71 purposively selected mixed stakeholders with qualitative insights obtained through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Findings indicate that respondents widely reported using WM-EWS information for water-related decision-making and perceived the system as useful in supporting drought preparedness and adaptive responses. Participants associated WM-EWS use with perceived changes in areas such as livestock management, access to water-related information, and coordination among stakeholders. Respondents also reported adopting multiple coping strategies, including early livestock sales, strategic herd mobility, and engagement with external support mechanisms. Respondents perceived fewer conflicts over water resources and greater engagement from humanitarian actors following WM-EWS implementation. Overall, the study provides exploratory insights into stakeholder experiences, perceived usefulness, and operational relevance of user-centered WM-EWS in drought-prone pastoral systems. The findings contribute to understanding how pastoral communities engage with climate information services while highlighting the need for future research using objective and longitudinal approaches to assess system effectiveness more rigorously. Full article

Environmental degradation caused by unsustainable farming practices has depleted soil resources across sub-Saharan Africa. Conservation agriculture (CA) has been promoted to reverse this damage, yet outcomes remain variable, and the role of long-term training is underexplored. Using propensity score matching with 238 smallholder households across five communities in Ghana, we examine the impacts of long-term CA training. Specifically, we assess whether participation in a training program characterized by repeated engagement and follow-up workshops improves yields, farmer knowledge of soil health, and soil indicators (nitrogen and carbon). Farmers receiving long-term CA training did not exhibit significantly better soil chemical metrics. However, they demonstrated significantly more accurate knowledge of soil health (nitrogen, p < 0.001; carbon, p < 0.05), produced a 10.7% higher maize yield (kg/acre) (p < 0.001), and reported fewer soil problems, including fertilizer runoff, top-soil erosion, and waterlogging, compared to conventional farmers (all p < 0.05). We conclude that long-term CA training enhances farmer knowledge and maize yields, suggesting it is a critical intervention for improving productivity and farm management resilience, even where direct improvements in measured soil metrics are not immediately detectable. These findings highlight the need for training programs to emphasize the full suite of CA principles and for evaluation timeframes of 5–10 years to capture soil regeneration. Full article

Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a member of the Lamiaceae family, which includes a wide variety of medicinal and aromatic herbs cultivated for their essential oils and bioactive compounds. However, prolonged drought stress can significantly impair growth and essential oil content. In this study, a two-season pot experiment was conducted under open-field conditions. The study was carried out at the Floricultural Nursery, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Aswan University, Egypt, during 2024 and 2025, with the aim of assessing how foliar applications of silicon (Si) and zinc (Zn) impact the morphological, physiological, and biochemical responses of sweet basil under different soil water capacity (SWC) levels (80%, 60%, and 40% SWC). Drought stress markedly reduced plant height, branch number, leaf area, biomass, photosynthetic pigments, macronutrient content, and essential oil content, while increasing levels of proline and secondary metabolites such as phenolics, flavonoids, and ascorbic acid. Growth and productivity were highest under 80% SWC, followed by 60%, and lowest under 40%. Under drought stress (40% SWC), Si₂₀₀ increased plant dry biomass by approximately 12%, chlorophyll content by 53%, and essential oil content by 46% compared with untreated plants. Silicon application proved more effective at ameliorating the negative consequences of drought than Zn, with Si₂₀₀ combined with 80% SWC yielding the best results in terms of plant performance and essential oil percentage and content. Meanwhile, Si₂₀₀ under 40% SWC induced the highest accumulation of secondary metabolites. These results highlight the potential of silicon foliar application as a practical strategy to reduce drought stress in sweet basil, enhancing both yield and phytochemical quality, and offering valuable guidance for sustainable cultivation under water-limited conditions. Full article

Potentially toxic element (PTE) contamination in rice poses significant food safety risks, particularly in regions with intensive agriculture, industry, and traffic. This study provides a systematic assessment of the accumulation, translocation, sources, and health risks of PTEs (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in the atmospheric deposition–soil–rice system across four distinct anthropogenic source areas (industrial, peri-urban, rural, and roadside areas) in Hunan Province, China. The rural area was categorized as clean. Industrial areas had the highest soil pollution index, while roadside areas recorded the highest atmospheric deposition flux of Pb (19.95 μg/m²/day) and As (1.93 μg/m²/day). Correspondingly, industrial areas exhibited the highest Cd (0.38 mg/kg) and Pb (0.94 mg/kg) in rice grains, whereas roadside areas showed the highest Pb (1.40 mg/kg) and As (2.99 mg/kg) in leaves. The findings indicated that rice in roadside areas primarily accumulate PTEs through foliar absorption of atmospheric deposition, whereas in industrial and peri-urban areas it was primarily through root uptake and translocation of PTEs to rice grains, particularly for Cd and Pb. Source apportionment identified natural, industrial, and traffic as the three primary sources. The Bayesian mixing model revealed that the natural source contributed the highest proportion to rice grains (48.3–70.6%) across all four source areas. Except for natural sources, industrial sources dominated in industrial areas (29.1%), traffic emissions prevailed in roadside areas (19.4%), while mixed sources had the highest proportion in peri-urban areas (28.4%). Health risk assessment revealed that the total hazard index followed the order of peri-urban > industrial > roadside > rural areas, with rice ingestion being the dominant exposure pathway, accounting for over 90% of the total risk. The primary contributors to health risks were identified as As, Cd, and Pb, particularly in industrial and peri-urban areas. These findings provide a scientific basis for developing region-specific mitigation strategies tailored to the dominant contamination pathways in each area. Full article

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by recurrent intestinal inflammation and mucosal injury. This study evaluated the protective potential of red ginseng ethanolic extract (RGEE) using a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model and an LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage model. Preliminary LC-MS profiling was also performed to characterize the detectable chemical features of RGEE. In vivo, RGEE alleviated DSS-induced body weight loss, disease activity, colon shortening, spleen enlargement, and histopathological injury, with the histopathological score reduced by approximately 51.1%. RGEE also partially improved DSS-induced hematological alterations without causing obvious changes in major organ weights. In vitro, RGEE showed no obvious cytotoxicity up to 250 μg/mL and reduced LPS-induced NO, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β production by approximately 60.0–67.1%. LC-MS analysis putatively annotated several saponin-related features, including notoginsenoside R1 and ginsenosides Rb1, Rb2, Rh1, Rh4, and Rh2. These findings suggest that RGEE has protective potential against DSS-induced colitis, which is associated with the suppression of inflammatory mediator production. Further studies are needed to clarify its active constituents and mechanisms of action. Full article

The main sources of biodegradable waste come from agriculture and municipal waste, with animal manure and food waste (FW) being the most representative respectively. Most of this waste remains still unexploited, while there is skepticism regarding the environmental footprint of various methods of their utilization. This work provides a reliable comparative environmental evaluation using life cycle assessment (LCA). In the present work, LCA applied to compare two alternative scenarios regarding the management of (a) sheep and goat manure and (b) FW. Alternative scenarios for sheep and goat manure include composting for fertilizer and energy production via anaerobic digestion (AD), while FW scenarios include incineration and energy production through AD. In both case studies, the AD scenario generates environmental benefits (expressed as negative damage) across all three damage categories namely resource scarcity, human health and ecosystem quality. Regarding sheep and goat manure, the most significant effect of AD is on human health (−0.016 Pt) while in the scenarios of FW the superior performance of AD is particularly evident in the ecosystem quality (−0.21 Pt). Both case studies reached the same conclusion pointing out that the use of sustainable technologies for managing agricultural and municipal waste mitigates the environmental impacts. Full article

Given the mounting pressure on agricultural water resources in China, which poses a threat to agricultural production safety, this study focuses on Hunan Province and analyzes five major crops over the period 2012–2022. Using a water footprint (WF) accounting method, it quantifies grey water from non-point source pollution and optimizes planting structures under 5%, 10%, and 15% water-saving scenarios. The results indicate that crop water footprints per unit mass follow the descending order: oilseeds, leaf tobacco, rice, fruits, and vegetables. Regarding water footprint components, green water footprint accounts for the largest proportion, playing a dominant role in crop water use, followed by grey water footprint. Blue water footprint and irrigation losses contribute the least. After optimization, under the 5% and 10% water-saving scenarios, the cultivated areas for rice, oilseeds, and leaf tobacco decreased compared to 2021, while those for vegetables and fruits increased. Under the 15% water-saving scenario, all crop planting areas were reduced relative to 2021. The optimized crop planting structure enhanced water use efficiency by 0.35%, 0.58% and 0.77%, respectively, under water-saving scenarios of 5%, 10% and 15%. These results provide a scientific basis for sustainable agricultural water management in Hunan Province. Full article

Digital technologies provide effective tools for formulating sustainable, evidence-based policies; however, this field has so far lacked a cohesive and practical framework to guide their application. Providing comprehensive answers to six primary research questions, this study aims to address this critical gap concerning the prerequisites, challenges, opportunities, key technologies, policy areas, and critical success factors (CSFs) for applying digital technologies in environmental sustainability policymaking. In this study, 39 articles were analyzed from 293 documents indexed in the Web of Science as of 19 August 2025, in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The prerequisites are categorized into the following themes: fiscal incentives, a culture of innovation and sustainability, effective regulations, robust digital infrastructures, participation, and reliable and accessible data. We identified significant challenges, including financial constraints, human resource deficits, infrastructural and regulatory gaps, and the adverse environmental impacts of digital technologies themselves. Opportunities emerged under two main domains: effective policymaking and enhanced environmental management. Our study indicates that pioneering technologies at the core of this transformation include artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, the Internet of Things, machine learning, and robots. Their applications are predominant in key policy areas, including the environment, energy, climate change, urban sustainability, agriculture, industry, and food security. The analysis identifies four CSFs: the policy–digital–sustainability nexus, fundamental processes, soft capacities, and hard capacities. Full article

Driven by the digital transformation of territorial spatial governance, traditional urban planning is irreversibly shifting towards a data-driven empirical paradigm. However, constrained by mimetic isomorphism and path dependence, many geography-based regional universities remain trapped in an educational dilemma: they overemphasize morphological representation while marginalizing quantitative decision-making, fostering a structural mismatch between graduate competencies and industry demands. To explore a systematic pathway out of this dilemma, this study chronicles a three-year pedagogical intervention utilizing a mixed-methods design with a historical control cohort (N = 275) within the urban planning program of Gansu Agricultural University—a regional institution situated in a less-developed frontier where territorial renewal demands macro-spatial synthesis over aesthetic forms. The intervention strategically redefined the graduate competency profile as “spatial data analysts”, constructing a pedagogical model comprising foundational algorithmic training, cross-disciplinary faculty collaboration, and real-world Project-Based Learning (PBL), coupled with a restructured, evidence-based evaluation system. Longitudinal tracking and quantitative analyses indicate a structural alignment with elevated educational efficacy. At the macro level of employment trajectories, the proportion of graduates securing knowledge-intensive data positions experienced a structural shift, rising from a baseline of 14.5% to 42.5%, reflecting an enhanced capacity to capitalize on expanding societal demands. At the meso level of practical competence, the award rate in high-level professional competitions increased by 35.4%. At the micro cognitive level, the new evaluation mechanism is associated with a successful redirection of students’ cognitive resources toward algorithmic logic and policy translation (p < 0.001) while highly significantly enhancing their self-efficacy in tackling complex, wicked engineering problems (p < 0.001). Rather than isolating pure causal mechanics, this study interprets these systemic gains as a contextual realignment of academic supply. It provides a context-sensitive, reproducible methodological reference for cultivating professional distinctiveness and reshaping the spatial planning education system in the digital era. Full article

Maize, as a major cereal crop in China, is vital for national food security, and appropriate nitrogen fertilization is essential for its growth and yield. Avoiding excessive nitrogen fertilizer application while maintaining productivity remains a critical challenge for sustainable agriculture. Although straw returning is widely adopted to reduce chemical fertilizer inputs, its effectiveness is often regionally constrained. In the West Liaohe Plain, low temperature and spring drought limit straw decomposition and nutrient release, making it difficult to reduce nitrogen fertilizer input and improve fertilizer use efficiency. Therefore, this study examined the effects of different nitrogen management modes on straw decomposition, nutrient release, mineral fertilizer substitution potential, soil available nutrients, and maize yield under shallow buried drip irrigation with integrated water and fertilizer management. A field experiment was conducted with five nitrogen (N) fertilizer management treatments: a conventional fertilization treatment (CK), in which 15% of total N was applied as starter fertilizer; two increased starter N treatments, in which 30% (30%N) and 45% (45%N) of total N were applied as starter fertilizer; and two organic substitution treatments, in which 30% (30%ON) and 45% (45%ON) of mineral N fertilizer were substituted with decomposed sheep manure based on equivalent total N input. Straw decomposition and nutrient release were measured using the nylon mesh bag method and fitted with an exponential decay model. The mineral fertilizer substitution potential was estimated based on straw nutrient release, while soil available nutrient dynamics in the 0–40 cm soil layer were analyzed, and the Mantel test and PCA were used to assess their relationships. Organic substitution promoted straw decomposition. The 30%ON treatment showed the highest rate at 70.91%, which was 19.2% higher than that of CK, and it exhibited a higher theoretical maximum decomposition rate (a), higher decomposition rate constant (k), and a shorter half-life. All treatments increased nutrient release and soil available nutrients, and organic substitution demonstrated stronger temporal persistence and more uniform vertical distribution among soil layers. The 30%ON treatment increased straw nutrient release by 4.8% to 18.2% and enhanced mineral fertilizer substitution potential. Although the 30%ON treatment did not increase yield in the first experimental year, it showed a significant yield advantage in the second year, which coincided with greater straw nutrient release and higher soil available nutrient levels under this treatment. Substituting 30% of mineral N fertilizer with organic fertilizer under shallow buried drip irrigation (300 kg N ha⁻¹) optimized the C/N balance of the input system and facilitated straw decomposition and nutrient release. The continuous accumulation of soil available nutrients under this treatment, together with sustained straw nutrient release, was associated with a significant yield advantage in the second experimental year. Therefore, the 30%ON treatment may represent an appropriate management strategy for coordinating straw resource utilization, soil fertility maintenance, and stable maize production in the West Liaohe Plain. Full article

Across semi-arid and environmentally vulnerable regions, intensifying climate pressures, land degradation, and resource scarcity are placing growing demands on institutions, communities, and land users. However, the knowledge and technical skills required to respond effectively remain uneven and often poorly aligned with local needs. This study presents a comparative skills audit in Kimberley, Upington, and Rietfontein in the Northern Cape, identifying capacity gaps, stakeholder-specific training priorities, and structural barriers in natural resource and sustainable land management. Using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, participatory site visits, and multi-stakeholder consultations, competencies were assessed across GIS and remote sensing, climate resilience, soil and land restoration, water conservation, sustainable agriculture, and policy literacy. Results show significant disparities in skills proficiency. GIS and remote sensing (0.8) and climate resilience strategies (1.0) were weakest, while policy literacy (1.5) and soil management (2.0) were also limited. Sustainable agriculture (4.0) and water conservation (2.8) showed relatively stronger capacity. Training needs varied by stakeholder, with government prioritizing geospatial tools and governance, and farmers emphasizing climate adaptation and resource management. Key barriers include limited digital infrastructure (83%), insufficient government support (80%), high training costs (78%), and contextual mismatches (50%). Integrated, place-based capacity development is essential to strengthen adaptive governance and long-term resilience. Full article

Nitrogen (N) fertilization is a fundamental agronomic practice that governs crop productivity, yet its effects on the molecular composition and chemical stability of soil organic carbon (SOC) remain poorly understood, especially in cereal–legume intercropping systems. Traditional studies have focused on total SOC stocks rather than molecular-level changes, and the mechanistic pathway linking N addition to SOC functional group transformation remains unclear. This study addressed these critical gaps by investigating how graded N addition (0, 180, 270, and 360 kg N ha⁻¹) reshapes SOC chemistry in a subtropical soybean–maize intercropping system. Soil physicochemical properties, inorganic N pools, N-transformation enzyme activities (urease, nitrate reductase, and glutaminase), microbial biomass indices, labile organic carbon fractions (particulate, mineral-associated, and dissolved organic carbon), and SOC functional groups characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were quantified across a two-year field experiment (2024–2025). Results showed that increasing N rates significantly elevated nitrate nitrogen (NO₃⁻-N) accumulation while depressing soil pH. Nitrogen-transformation enzymes, especially nitrate reductase and glutaminase, responded strongly and positively to the N gradient. Microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) increased with moderate N input but exhibited saturation or decline at 360 kg N ha⁻¹, accompanied by reduced microbial carbon use efficiency (CUE) and a lower MBC/MBN ratio. Among labile carbon fractions, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was the most responsive pool, increasing markedly with N addition and correlating strongly with NO₃⁻-N. FTIR analysis revealed that N addition shifted SOC functional group composition toward chemically recalcitrant structures: the relative abundances of aromatic C=C and carbonyl C=O groups increased significantly, whereas labile C–O groups declined. Random forest modelling identified C=C, NO₃⁻-N, and DOC as the three most influential predictors of SOC chemical composition. Structural equation modelling (SEM) demonstrated a sequential mechanistic pathway: N fertilization increased NO₃⁻-N, which stimulated glutaminase activity and enhanced DOC, ultimately promoting C=C/C=O stabilization and explaining 91.3% of the variance in SOC aromaticity. These findings reveal that N addition does not merely augment SOC quantity but fundamentally transforms its molecular architecture toward greater chemical stability through a nitrate-mediated, enzyme–labile carbon coupling mechanism. This study provides a novel spectroscopic–mechanistic framework for understanding carbon–nitrogen interactions in intercropping agroecosystems and informs precision N management strategies aimed at simultaneous crop production and long-term soil carbon sequestration. Full article

One of the major agricultural, nutritional, and medicinal resource in the plant kingdom is the family of Cucurbitaceae, which is also recognized for its richness in carotenoids, terpenoids and triterpenoids. Mevalonate diphosphate decarboxylase (MVD) plays a crucial role in the mevalonate pathway by catalyzing a key step in isoprenoid biosynthesis, which is important for plant growth as well as for responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. Despite its metabolic relevance, comparative analyses of the MVD gene and protein in cucurbits remain limited. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and characterize MVD gene and protein in Cucurbitaceae using in silico approaches. Homology searches, multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic and selective pressure analyses, physicochemical characterization, structural prediction, conserved motif analysis, cis-regulatory element prediction, and public expression profiling were performed. The predicted proteins showed high conservation in amino acid sequence, motif organization, and structural conformation, with lengths ranging from 398 to 424 aa. Descriptive FPKM-based transcriptomic profiles in Cucumis sativus showed higher MVD expression values in reproductive tissues and an apparent increase under powdery mildew infection. These findings suggest a potential role of the MVD gene in the Cucurbitaceae family and provide an exploratory framework for future studies on terpenoid and triterpenoid metabolism, promoter regulation, and stress-associated transcriptional responses. Full article

Climate change intensifies hydrological variability and threatens agricultural water security. This review synthesizes literature on agricultural water system resilience under climate change through a structured critical narrative approach informed by PRISMA/SALSA reporting principles. We examine four linked domains: resilience concepts and indicators, assessment methods under uncertainty, climate impact and vulnerability evidence, and adaptation/governance pathways. The synthesis indicates a broad shift from engineering-centered water-supply approaches toward socio-ecological resilience frameworks that combine infrastructure, ecosystem processes, farmer behavior, and institutions. Methodologically, deterministic optimization is increasingly complemented by stochastic, robust, integrated-assessment, remote-sensing, and machine-learning approaches, although data requirements, uncertainty propagation, and interpretability remain important constraints. Evidence suggests that crop water demand and irrigation requirements may increase substantially under high-emission scenarios, with acute risks in arid and semi-arid regions. Effective adaptation is unlikely to rely on single technologies alone; precision irrigation, nature-based solutions, climate services, and infrastructure investments require complementary demand-side rules, water accounting, equity safeguards, and participatory governance to avoid maladaptation such as the irrigation-efficiency rebound effect. We identify priority research needs in transparent review protocols, uncertainty quantification, cross-scale governance, farmer decision-making, digital inclusion, and monitoring systems. The review provides a moderated conceptual framework and policy-oriented research agenda for strengthening agricultural water resilience. Full article