Impact of Climate Change on Maize and Pigeonpea Yields in Semi-Arid Kenya

The objective of this study was to assess the impact of climate change on intercrops of maize and improved pigeonpea varieties developed. Future climate data for Katumani were downscaled from the National Meteorological Research Centre (CNRM) and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) climate models using the Statistical Downscaling Model (SDSM) version 4.2. Both models predicted that Katumani will be warmer by 2°C and wetter by 11% by 2100. Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) model version 7.3 was used to assess the impact of both increase in temperature and rainfall on maize and pigeonpea yield in Katumani. Maize crop will increase by 141–-150% and 10–-23 % in 2050 and 2100, respectively. Intercropping maize with pigeonpea will give mixed maize yield results. Pigeonpea yields will decline by 10–20 and 4–9% by 2100 under CSIRO and CNRM models, respectively. Intercropping short and medium duration pigeonpea varieties with maize will reduce pigeonpea yields by 60–80 and 70–90% under the CSIRO and CNRM model, respectively. There is a need to develop heat and waterlogging-tolerant pigeonpea varieties to help farmers adapt to climate change and to protect the huge pigeonpea export market currently enjoyed by Kenya.

Ecosystem Changes in Shola Forest-Grassland Mosaic of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR)

The Shola grasslands are tropical montane forests found in the high altitudes of Western Ghats separated by rolling grasslands. These unique ecosystems act as the home for many of the floral and faunal endemic species and also serve as the water reservoir for the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The grassland let the rainwater to flow through the sholas into the stream and provide water to the region throughout the year. The region once covered with tropical montane forest and grassland was transformed into a land of plantation over the centuries. As the grasslands are easy to clear off, tea estates, coffee estates and timber plantations were established by the British and later by the Indian forest department to satisfy the various need of the growing economy. Majority of this region are being replaced by the invasive tree species and agricultural plantations. This led to the loss of major proportion of the shola forest and grassland. Many developmental works have been carried out in the region and these developmental activities results in the gradual disappearance of the ecosystem. These ecosystem need to be conserved and hence, identifying the knowledge gap and application of current state of knowledge is necessary.

Fate and Occurrences of Pharmaceuticals and Their Remediation from Aquatic Environment

Pharmaceuticals have been present in our world’s waters since humans began experimenting with medicines; however, product propagation and ready access to pharmaceuticals coupled with burgeoning human population have significantly increased the loading of these compounds into the environment. Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) are considered to produce a biological activity on humans and animals. Drugs manufacturing processes lead to release of toxic organic compounds and their metabolites into the environment. Safety and toxicology studies have used to investigate the side effects of pharmaceuticals on human and animal health. Treatment processes can and do reduce the concentrations of pharmaceuticals in water, however, the degree of efficacy is often a function of chemical structure, cost, and energy. All treatment processes have some degree of side effects, such as generation of residuals or by-products. This paper provides a concise report on removal of PhACs by recent advances oxidation processes (AOPs) where hydroxyl radicals (HO . ) acts as a common oxidant and the improvement of biodegradability to a level amicable for subsequent biological treatment.

Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Generation in Dir City

The study is an attempt to analyze municipal solid waste generation Dir City, District Dir Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. This study has utilized primary data collected through a semi-structured questionnaire and direct waste sampling as primary research. Mathematical analysis and descriptive statistical analysis is applied and generation of municipal solid waste at different scales is estimated. Results indicated that the total waste generated was 16.65 million kg/annum (18356.5 tons) or 45624 kg/day (50.29 tons), or 0.37 kg/capita. Average waste produced by residential, commercial, educational and health sectors was 3.3 kg, 21 kg, 12 kg and 7 kg, correspondingly. Among all, residential sector was the leading producer with 40738 kg (89%) follow by commercial sector 4321 kg (9%) per day while remaining in fraction. High income households and large size families were producing average waste of 5.6 kg/day and 4.9 kg/day, respectively. The main components of waste generated in the study area included paper (8%), organic matter (53%), plastics (12%), clay, pebbles, gravels, ashes and broken ceramic objects (24.8%). The spatial distribution of waste generation varies across the city, high rate of generation was found Rehankot and Shaow whereas Fringe areas were characterized by low generation rate.