Journal of Environmental & Earth Sciences

A New Method to Calculate Soil Water Content by Imaging and Testing the Color of the Soil Surface

Emad Ali Al-Helaly — 2025-06-26

Soil color changes with water content due to chemical and physical reactions, making it a potential indicator for moisture estimation. By analyzing soil surface images and comparing color variations against laboratory-measured water content, a rapid and cost-effective method for moisture determination can be developed. Traditional moisture measurement techniques are time-consuming, so an imaging-based approach would be highly beneficial for quick decision-making. Soil color is also influenced by factors such as particle coarseness, which creates shadows and alters perceived darkness. This research introduces a novel method to isolate true soil color by analyzing the maximum color response in image pixels, minimizing shadow effects. Several equations were derived to correlate color changes with moisture content and were validated against lab measurements to ensure accuracy and simplicity. The most effective equation can be further adapted for satellite imagery by accounting for atmospheric light scattering differences between ground and satellite sensors, enabling large-scale moisture monitoring. The derived equations can be programmed into a software tool, allowing moisture estimation from simple soil surface images. The study involved controlled experiments where soil samples at varying moisture levels were imaged to establish an empirical color-moisture relationship. This method provides a fast, economical, and practical alternative to conventional techniques. However, the approach requires further refinement to account for different soil types globally. Future work should focus on adjusting the model with variables that adapt the color-moisture relationship for diverse soils, ensuring broader applicability. Once optimized, this could significantly improve moisture assessment in agriculture, environmental monitoring, and land management.

Bioremediation of Wastewater of Osh City of Kyrgyzstan with Lemna minor and Azolla caroliniana

Bolotbek Karimov — 2025-06-30

Under conditions of increased pollution of water resources, the search for effective and environmentally safe methods of wastewater treatment becomes an urgent task. As noted by many researchers Lemna minor L. and Azolla caroliniana have great potential for biological treatment of wastewater. The present study is devoted to the biological treatment of municipal wastewater of Osh city (Kyrgyzstan) using aquatic plants Lemna minor L. and Azolla caroliniana Willd. Experiments were conducted in concrete basins of treatment facilities. The area of each pool was 1 m², depth 30–45 cm. The temperature of nutrient media ranged from 20 to 35 ℃, pH from 6.1 to 8.7, and light intensity from 284 to 360 W/m²FAR. The results showed that the cultivation of Lemna minor resulted in the oxygenation of wastewater and, a significant reduction of pollutants and pathogens. At the same time, the use of Azolla caroliniana provided a significant improvement in the physicochemical characteristics of water - reduction of BOD₅ to 4.3 mgO₂/L, disappearance of all forms of nitrogen, as well as improvement of transparency and elimination of unpleasant odor. Thus, both plants showed high potential as biological treatment agents. The obtained data confirm the prospect of their application for a sustainable water treatment system in the conditions of southern regions of Kyrgyzstan

Assessing the Convergence of Cropland Ecological Balance: A Panel Data Analysis of 13 Major Agricultural Countries

Orhan Şimşek — 2025-06-24

This study investigates the convergence hypothesis and stochastic dynamics of agricultural land use and ecological balance across 13 major agricultural countries from 1992 to 2022. The study's concentrated samples are Russia, the United States, the Netherlands, Brazil, Germany, China, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, Belgium, Indonesia, and India. The research uncovers notable variations in ecological balance by utilizing a comprehensive set of advanced panel unit root tests (Panel CIPS, CADF, Panel-LM, Panel-KPSS, and Bahmani-Oskooee et al.’s Panel KPSS Unit Root Test). The findings highlight significant improvements in Canada, contrasting with declines in the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the United States. The results indicate convergence in ecological balance among these countries, suggesting that agricultural practices are progressively aligning with sustainability objectives. The considered countries can determine and enact joint and collective policy actions addressing cropland sustainability. However, the univariate outcome also shows that the cropland ecological balance of Germany, China, France, Indonesia, and India does contain a unit root and stationary which means the presence of the constant-mean. The univariate actions from the mentioned governments will not promote persistent impact. Therefore, joint actions determined by the countries considered are recommended for the mentioned countries. However, the rest of the countries also enact local policies. The insights gained are critical for informing global sustainability strategies and aiding policymakers in developing effective measures to enhance agricultural practices and mitigate environmental impacts. This research provides a data-driven foundation for optimizing agricultural sustainability and supports international efforts to achieve long-term ecological stability.

Eco-Friendly Amylase Production and Immobilization on Macadamia Based Carbon Using Aspergillus niger

Farah Salma Elida — 2025-06-30

This study demonstrates the valorization of macadamia nutshells, a lignocellulosic agricultural waste, as both a carbon source for amylase production and a support matrix for enzyme immobilization. Under optimized solid-state fermentation conditions, Aspergillus niger ICP2 synthesized amylase with a peak activity of 0.312 U/mL after 72 hours. A four-step purification process of the crude enzyme extract resulted in a 188.54-fold increase in specific activity, albeit with a final recovery yield of 0.0031%. In parallel, nutshells were carbonized at 600 °C, 700 °C, and 800 °C, then chemically activated with ZnCl₂. The carbon derived at 700°C exhibited superior physicochemical characteristics, including enhanced porosity and increased availability of functional groups, which enabled effective enzyme adsorption, improved catalytic performance, and enhanced reusability. Immobilized amylase on this support retained approximately 30% of its initial activity after five hydrolysis cycles, demonstrating moderate operational reusability and potential for repeated use in bioprocesses. In contrast, carbon materials from 600 °C and 800 °C showed lower stability and enzyme performance. These findings highlight the critical role of carbonization conditions in designing effective immobilization matrices and underscore the potential of macadamia nutshells as a renewable and sustainable resource for biocatalyst development. This "biowaste-to-biocatalyst" strategy exemplifies a circular bioeconomy model with implications for green chemistry, industrial biocatalysis, and environmental sustainability.

Home Gardens into Climate Resilience Strategies: Insights from Tribal Communities in Keonjhar, Odisha

Shusrisangeeta Das — 2025-06-23

Home gardens serve as a crucial adaptation strategy for tribal communities in Keonjhar district, Odisha, enhancing food security, income generation, and climate resilience. This study examines the role of home gardens in sustaining tribal livelihoods while addressing challenges such as climate variability, soil degradation, and market constraints. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, it integrates the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) and socio-ecological resilience theory. Data from 120 tribal households across four villages in Banspal block were collected through structured interviews and focus group discussions. A key innovation lies in integrating indigenous knowledge systems with the Problem Facing Index (PFI) methodology to generate quantified, community-driven insights on climate adaptation barriers. Findings reveal that home gardens contribute around ₹10,000 per season to household income, reducing market dependency by over 70% during crises such as the COVID-19 lockdown. Over 75% of households face high to medium challenges due to climate variability (PFI = 252), soil degradation (PFI = 251), and wildlife intrusions (PFI = 250). Other notable constraints include pests (75%) and poor market access (61.7%). Although 82.5% reported no issue with agricultural inputs, water scarcity remains a seasonal concern for 23%. Despite constraints, home gardens were found to enhance all five SLF capitals: natural, human, social, financial, and physical. The study recommends context-sensitive interventions, including seed distribution, organic inputs, weather-based advisories, and strengthened institutional support. It highlights the potential for scaling home garden models across other marginalized agroecological regions in India and Asia, aligning them with national rural development and climate adaptation programs.

Assessment of the Promotional Effects of New Energy Fitness Equipment on Sports Economics and Management

Shaoai Wu — 2025-06-27

The Internet of Things (IoT) technology offers significant advancements in fitness trackers and AI-driven health management systems and presents practical applications for monitoring health and performance. New energy composites, which improve the performance of traditional metals, have been widely used in automotive manufacturing but have limited application in the sports industry. To bridge this gap, the study proposes integrating these advanced composites into sports equipment and facilities, utilizing IoT technology as the foundation for intelligent health monitoring. The research explores how IoT technology can enhance the promotional impact of fitness equipment within the sports industry. Additionally, the communication process for data assessment is conducted using the Priority-based Congestion-avoidance Routing Protocol (PCRP) to ensure efficient data transmission. The analysis of sports activities is performed by utilizing the data transferred through PCRP. Experimental results show that the proposed mechanism outperforms conventional models, achieving an energy efficiency of 0.502 joules (J), a delay of 0.407 seconds (s), and a throughput of 0.620. These results demonstrate the potential of combining IoT technology and new energy composites to revolutionize sports equipment and enhance fitness monitoring systems. These findings highlight the potential of combining IoT and advanced composite materials to revolutionize sports equipment, improve fitness monitoring, and contribute to the growth of the sports industry through enhanced data management and energy-efficient technologies.