•This paper was produced following the Nutrient Use Efficiency in Wheat Expert Working Group, at the Wheat Initiative held in Harpenden, UK May 2017.•It provides a review of the implication of ...macro-nutrient interactions on the nitrogen use efficiency of wheat.•Available data suggests that balancing P, K and S availability with N can significantly increase NUE and mitigate the protein dilution.•However, less supporting data is available than expected and more research is needed to confirm the impact of nutrient interactions on NUE in wheat.
The efficient capture and utilisation of fertiliser nitrogen (N) by cereals has implications for crop growth, grain yield, farm profits, the environment and human nutrition. Extensive research has evaluated many innovative ways to improve the efficiency of fertiliser N recovery (N use efficiency; NUE) by wheat (Triticum aestivum). This review paper, prepared as an outcome of a workshop by the Nutrient Use Efficiency in Wheat Expert Working Group of the Wheat Initiative held in Harpenden, UK in May 2017, is specifically focused on the effects of the co-application of fertiliser N with fertiliser phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and/or sulphur (S) on the efficiencies of capture and utilisation of fertiliser N and its accumulation in wheat grain, as this specific aspect of wheat nutrition was identified by the meeting as a major gap in knowledge. The contribution of P, K and S individually to grain yield has been reasonably well studied, and it is generally assumed that interactions between N and P, K and S will improve crop performance. However, a total of 32 field studies only have been published since 1963 that examine the effects of multiple nutrients on wheat yield and NUE, or changes in the apparent recovery of fertiliser N (% applied) in grain and its impact on grain protein content. The published data showed that NxP, NxK and NxS interactions led to improvements in NUE and the apparent grain recovery of fertiliser N, with the strongest effects generally coming from co-applications of N + P, followed by N + K then N + S treatments. Only five studies explored the combined or interactive effects of NxPxK, and just one considered either NxPxS or NxPxKxS. Grain yields were usually improved by applications of three (N + P + K) or four (N + P + K + S) nutrients in combination, but it was difficult to draw conclusions about effects on fertiliser N recovery and NUE because of the small number of studies, the variability in responses, and the lack of a N fertiliser alone comparative treatment. Grain protein content did not appear to be strongly increased by nutrient interactions, but it did not decrease with higher yields under N, P, K, S fertilisation suggesting that balanced nutrition may provide some protection against protein dilution as yields increase. The available literature suggested that ensuring balanced availability of P, K and S has the potential to reduce the rates of fertiliser N required by wheat because N appears to be accumulated in grain with greater efficiency. This would have both positive agronomic and environmental benefits.
Irrigation is one of energy-intensive operations in agriculture, which consumes great part of energy inputs and has harmful environmental effects. Thus, the goal of this study is to simulate ...application of photovoltaic (PV) system as an alternative clean energy supplier to achieve energy-environmental sustainability under two irrigation methods, namely, surface irrigation (SFI) and sprinkler irrigation (SPI) in barley cultivation. Data are collected during the growing season of 2018–2019 from a 100-ha farm located in central region of Hamedan province, Iran. Moreover, applying PV system to SFI and SPI scenarios, which are simulated by using TRNSYS software, generate SFI-PV and SPI-PV scenarios, respectively. After that, environmental damages for all scenarios are evaluated by ReCiPe2016 method of life cycle assessment. Results indicate energy use efficiencies are 2.85 and 2.80 in SFI and SPI, respectively. On-Farm emissions in all scenarios, electricity in SFI and SPI and PV panels SFI-PV and SPI-PV are the hotspots of environmental damages. Cumulative exergy demand (CExD) findings show that shares of Non-renewable, fossil for barley production mainly result from electricity and diesel fuel. It is concluded that energy and environmental damage indices can be enhanced remarkably via using renewable energy technologies.
•Energy-Life cycle-Exergy of different irrigation systems are examined for barley.•Photolytic systems are simulated to supply energy in SFI and SPI scenarios.•Energy use efficiencies are 2.85 and 2.80 in SFI and SPI, respectively.•Non-renewable, fossils are 6135 and 6249 MJ/t of BGY in SFI and SPI, respectively.•SFI-PV is the best scenario in energy-environmental friendly perspective.
Environmental damage due to natural resource extraction, especially in watershed areas, seems to be of increasing concern and so far, from the aspect of aquatic and water resources, plankton is ...commonly used as an indicator of environmental damage. This study explores the distribution of microphyta as a parameter of environmental damage. The research was conducted in Pager watershed, Central Kalimantan and sampled at 2 (two) stations, namely station A (for the right side of the river) and station B (for the left side of the river). The study was conducted 13 sampling times, which began in the period 25 May 2019 ending until 9 November 2019. Laboratory analysis to identify the type and number of microphyta was carried out at the Palangka Raya University Laboratory. The results showed that the number of microphyta taxa at station A (right side of the river) was 12-13 species, more than station B (left side of the river). The number of microphyta taxa at Station B is 8 - 9 species, it is suspected that there is an influence from the gray water settlements around the left side, especially when the water level drops. The distribution characteristics of microphyta in the Pager river are as follows: large number of taxa/species, low abundance and low diversity index. River/peat water environments are vulnerable to change, especially human interference. This research shows the potential use of microphyta as an indicator of environmental damage.
Pollution and destruction of the environment are some of the severe threats to the conservation of the environment in Indonesia. The disturbed environmental balance needs to be restored as the giver ...of life and welfare benefits society by improving environmental protection, community development, and optimization of environmental law enforcement. It aims to maintain the existence of nature and aimed at solving environmental problems in Indonesia, primarily the caused by human activity. this case could be through civil, administrative, or criminal law so that it can cope with and take action against perpetrators of pollution, and the destruction of the environment and create a good environment, healthy, beautiful and comfortable for all people. Keywords: Environmental Law; Environmental Damage; Indonesia.
Wastewater pollution has been considered as a prominent bottleneck restricting global sustainable development. China is one of the largest discharges and eco-environmental damages of wastewater in ...the world. Through analyzing wastewater discharge data using emergy method in China from 2011 to 2017, the wastewater eco-environmental damage of 31 provinces is calculated with GDP and area to reveal the fundamental origins of inflection point of wastewater discharge in China. Studies results show that, (i) Chinese “12th Five-Year Plan” (2011–2015) is a watershed in wastewater discharge, and the eco-environment damages caused by China's wastewater accounted for more than 1/4 of GDP; (ii) China has the great potential to reduce eco-environment damages of 1.73 trillion $/year; (iii) In 2016 and 2017, wastewater eco-environmental damage has decreased by about 50% compared with that in 2015, and the effect of government policies was remarkable. We conclude that decoupling of China's economic development form eco-environmental damages of wastewater is began to appear, the strict formulation and implementation of China's environmental policies and the green upgrading of industrial structure are main driving forces, and it is little correlation with economic slowdown. This study offers the detailed list of China wastewater pollution and reveals the relationship between wastewater eco-environmental damages and economic development, and shows the experience and achievements of the Chinese government in the treatment of wastewater pollution, which provides a useful reference for the treatment of wastewater pollution in the world.
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•Analyzing the wastewater eco-environmental damage of 31 provinces of China•China has the great potential to reduce eco-environment damages of 1.73 trillion $/year.•Decoupling of China's economic development form eco-environmental damages of wastewater
The beginning of 2021 was marked by the adoption of several important regulatory legal acts in the field of ecology. One of these documents was the Methodology for calculating the amount of damage ...caused to atmospheric air as a component of the natural environment, approved by Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation No. 59 of 28.01.2021 (hereinafter referred to as the Methodology). This article examines the legal grounds for causing harm to atmospheric air as a natural component, provides a comparative legal description of the regulation of public relations on compensation for damage to atmospheric air, and also analyzes the text of the Methodology itself
Horticultural inputs have various potential environmental impacts, which can be simultaneously evaluated by using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. It is considered an appropriate evaluation ...tool to analyze ecosystems through recognizing, quantifying, and appraising resources depleted and released within the environment. Accordingly, in this work, environmental damages of horticultural crops are evaluated by using LCA technique and CExD analysis under different cropping systems including citrus, hazelnut, kiwifruit, tea, and watermelon in Guilan province of Iran. By applying LCA method and ReCiPe2016, three environmental indicators including human health, ecosystem and resources of the horticultural crops are determined. Functional unit is considered as 10 ton of horticultural crops yield. From the environmental viewpoint, On-Orchard emission and nitrogen fertilizer have the highest emissions in all systems, whilst more pollution is generated in hazelnut production than those in other horticultural crops. Results in CExD show that, amongst all studied horticultural crops, the hazelnut production entails higher energy amount. A comparison of environmental impacts and energy forms show that citrus production is the best, owing to the lowest values of emissions among horticultural productions. As such, this crop is suggested for horticultural crop cultivation. Generally, it can be concluded that modeling of citrus cropping system for other crops, utilization of organic fertilizers, replacement of worn out equipment and improvement of irrigation system can attain more sustainable horticultural production.
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•Exergoenvironmental LCA damages of horticultural crops are investigated in Iran.•Hotspots of environmental burdens belong to On-Orchard emission and nitrogen.•Hazelnut has the most total weighted damage category among horticultural crops.•CExD results show that non-renewable, fossil had higher energy content in all crops.•Citrus is exergoenvironmental friendly among horticultural crops.
The article focuses on the issues of liability for environmental damage caused by the military aggression of a terrorist country. The subject matter of the study is the impact of the consequences of ...military aggression against Ukraine on the state of its natural resources, the legal characterisation of these consequences in terms of liability and issues related to compensation for the damage caused. The purpose of the study is to outline the problems arising in the course of legal determination of the possibility of bringing a terrorist country which deliberately destroys natural resources to legal liability, and the difficulties arising in determining the extent of environmental damage caused. The research methods used, in particular, logical-semantic and dialectical, made it possible to consider the main features of the concept of “ecocide” as a crime against humanity and its direct connection with the genocide of the Ukrainian people.
The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that the negative environmental consequences of hostilities violate the norms of both Ukrainian and international law and have all the signs of ecocide, which is currently considered a crime exclusively at the level of national legislation. It has been concluded that it is possible to ensure the responsibility of the aggressor State for environmental damage through the establishment of a special international tribunal. The factors that make it difficult to determine the amount of environmental damage caused in order to ensure its further compensation have also been identified. These factors include: a significant area of damage; species diversity of natural resources that were damaged (soils, subsoil, water bodies, atmospheric air, flora and fauna, territories and objects of the nature reserve fund); the connection of natural resources, which contributes to the spread of negative effects on the environment; the international nature of environmental damage; the long-term consequences of environmental damage; the fact that it is impossible for state authorities and civil society activists to record the full extent of the negative environmental impact of hostilities due to the existing danger.
A conclusion has been made that it is necessary to take these factors into account when developing terminology for environmental damage caused by military actions. It has also been proposed to take a number of practical measures aimed at ensuring compensation for environmental damage, in particular: to recognise the fact of environmental terrorism as part of ecocide, which is combined with genocide of the Ukrainian people, at the national and international levels; to introduce a system of continuous monitoring and recording of the damage identified; to develop methods for assessing the impact of terrorist actions on the state of each individual natural resource, taking into account the possibility, necessary means and expected timeframe for restoration to a state suitable for their intended use; to apply political and economic levers based on international law to ensure compensation for environmental damage caused by a terrorist country.
Glyphosate is a broad-spectrum, non-selective herbicide used to control weeds and protect agricultural crops, and it is classified as potentially carcinogenic by the International Agency for Research ...on Cancer. In Mexico, the use of pesticides is a common practice, including glyphosate. However, on December 31st, 2020, the Mexican government decreed the prohibition of this herbicide as of January 2024. In this review, we investigate the association between glyphosate and cancer risk and found that most of the studies focused using animals showing negative effects such as genotoxicity, cytotoxicity and neurotoxicity, some studies used cancer cell lines showing proliferative effects due to glyphosate exposure. To our knowledge, in Mexico, there are no scientific reports on the association of glyphosate with any type of cancer. In addition, we reviewed the toxicological effects of the herbicide glyphosate, and the specific case of the current situation of the use and environmental damage of this herbicide in Mexico. We found that few studies have been published on glyphosate, and that the largest number of publications are from the International Agency for Research on Cancer classification to date. Additionally, we provide data on glyphosate stimulation at low doses as a biostimulant in crops and analytical monitoring techniques for the detection of glyphosates in different matrices. Finally, we have tried to summarize the actions of the Mexican government to seek sustainable alternatives and replace the use of glyphosate, to obtain food free of this herbicide and take care of the health of the population and the environment.
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•Glyphosate negatively impacts health and ecosystems.•In Mexico there are few investigations on glyphosate, therefore it is difficult to estimate the effect on human health.•Agroecological alternatives to replace glyphosate may be a short-term solution.
Climate change, increasing energy demand, and fossil fuel constraints have led to many plights regarding sustainable food and agricultural production. The purpose of this paper is to assess of ...exergoenvironmental aspects across different paddy production systems, including conventional (CS), low external input (LEI), and organic systems (OS) in Iran. Also, life cycle cost (LCC) and the emissions costs have been considered as a novelty for these scenarios. Data were collected through interviews from 213 paddy producers. Environmental life cycle damages were assessed by IMPACT 2002+ based on 1 ton of paddy yield as the functional unit. The findings revealed that diesel fuel followed by nitrogen had the most substantial role in the resource damage category of CS and LEI, while most values of OS belonged to diesel fuel followed by electricity. Furthermore, On-Farm emissions claimed almost the largest share among the other impacts categories in the surveyed systems. The cumulative exergy demand (CExD) analysis indicated that Non-renewable, fossil fuel was the main energy consumer. In this regard, diesel fuel was the most substantial part of energy forms for all three systems reducing the total CExD. The economic analysis showed that the lowest LCC was associated with OS; accordingly, the highest net profit belonged to OS, followed by CS. Overall, it can be concluded that the advantage of the OS scenario is evident for long-term management and planning in different environmental-exergy-economic indices of production systems.
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•CS, LEI, and OS of paddy scenarios surveyed from LCA, CExD, and LCC viewpoint.•Emissions cost is considered in LCC analysis for mentioned scenarios as a novelty.•Hotspots environmental impacts were attributed to On-Farm emission and diesel fuel.•The lowest LCC and highest net profit belonged to OS.•OS was the exergoenvironmental-economical friendly amongst paddy systems.
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