Issue 2

This review deals with the importance of molybdenum (Mo) in nitrogen fixation in forests as well as the distribution of Mo in the various components of a forest ecosystems and its cycling. With regard to nitrogen (N) fixation in tropical forests, the limiting factor is the availability of phosphorus in soils. For the temperate and boreal forests, the Mo availability is more crucial. The canopies of the tropical forests retain Mo from precipitation, which is used for N fixation by the microorganisms living there. There is also retention of Mo in throughfall deposition by the canopy of temperate forests but so far, there has been no information as to the biological processes taking place there. The contribution of Mo in bulk and throughfall deposition in the Mo cycling is more important than once thought. There is great variability in Mo concentrations in tree leaves either conifers or broadleaves and even within the same species. In soils, the organic matter, clay and the oxides of Al, Fe and Mn play a predominant role in preventing Mo from leaching.

Hydrological modeling of a watershed is necessary for water resources planning and management. The hydrology of upper Ribb watershed has been analyzed using spatially semi-distributed Soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) model. This study aimed to determine the water balance components and its relation with the rainfall which reaches to the surface of the earth. Different spatio-temporal (land use, soil, digital elevation model, climate data, river discharge) data were used for hydrological modelling of Upper Ribb watershed. The applicability of SWAT model in Upper Ribb watershed has been evaluated using coefficient of determination (R2) and Nash Sutcliff efficiency (NSE) parameters. The calibration results revealed the observed data showed a very good agreement with the simulated data with the R2 and NSE values of 0.90 and 0.84 respectively. Similarly, the validation results of streamflow were acceptable with the R2 and NSE values of 0.80 and 0.82 respectively. The monthly average streamflow from Upper Ribb watershed were found 13.39 m3/s. The major portion of the rainfall contributes to the surface runoff due to the major percentage of the watershed is covered with agricultural lands. The groundwater flow was high in forested areas, while evapotranspiration was found very high in water bodies (Ribb reservoir). In this study area the rainfall showed a direct relationship with the streamflow. The ratio of streamflow and evapotranspiration with rainfall was 0.61 and 0.36 respectively. Due to the presence of high amount of surface runoff and evapotranspiration the deep recharge which contributes to the ground water is not that much significant.

Sustainability in textiles is now a day’s key demand of consumers and traders, where the process with zero effluent emission or less emission has been considered for aim to utilize the ecofriendly process in direct dyeing of cotton to minimize effluent load. For this purpose, variable amount of Table salt and Glauber salt has been used to achieve maximum exhaustion during direct cotton dyeing. Different dyeing variables have been employed, shade made at the optimum conditions were assessed according to ISO standards. It has been found that 3g/100mL of table salt for Direct dyeing of cotton using 40mL of DR 28 (8pH) at 65oC for 45 min, whereas using 40mL of DB 15 (8pH) for dyeing of cotton at 65 °C for 45min containing 3g/100mL of Glauber slat has given acceptable color characteristics. The reduction in dyeing variable using low salt amount has proved that this method is cost, time and energy efficient process, which can be utilized for dyeing of natural fabrics using various classes of dyes to obtain sustainable textile products.

Isotope mass balance in lake systems is strongly correlated with several climatic factors such as temperature, evaporation, precipitation and air moisture. On the other hand, the sedimentary budget of lake basins driven by climate, tectonic and/or human impact is an essential pool of environmental records. Precipitation, springs and lake water δD and δ18O isotope data were used in order to understand the key factors for the hydrological balance of Balkan lakes in West Macedonia. In general, it is concluded that the open lake Ohrida and the semi-closed lake Kastoria are more buffered hydrological as karst systems and less sensitive to evaporation effect, in contrast to the closed lake system of Prespes that present a strong dependence on climate seasonality. Based on oxygen isotopes in bulk sediments, it is concluded that in Kastoria lake basin an increased run-off on the land surface, probably under a more humid period, in 2.4 kyr BP disturbed the transition to a drier regime from mid/late Holocene to present.