Environmental monitoring and prediction of land use and land cover spatio-temporal changes: a case study from El-Omayed Biosphere Reserve, Egypt

LULC change detection using support vector machines and cellular automata-based ANN models in Guna Tana watershed of Abay basin, Ethiopia

Recurrent changes recorded in LULC in Guna Tana watershed are a long-standing problem due to the increase in urbanization and agricultural lands. This research aims at identifying and predicting frequent changes observed using support vector machines (SVM) for supervised classification and cellular automata-based artificial neural network (CA-ANN) models for prediction in the quantum geographic information systems (QGIS) plugin MOLUSCE. Multi-temporal spatial Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) imageries, Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus 7 (ETM+), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were used to find the acute problem the watershed is facing. Accuracy was assessed using the confusion matrix in ArcGIS 10.4 produced from ground truth data and Google Earth Pro. The results acquired from kappa statistics for 1991, 2007, and 2021 were 0.78, 0.83, and 0.88 respectively. The change detection trend indicates that urban land cover has an increasing trend throughout the entire period. In the future trend, agriculture land may shoot up to 86.79% and 86.78% of land use class in 2035 and 2049. Grassland may attenuate by 0.03% but the forest land will substantially diminish by 0.01% from 2035 to 2049. The increase of land specifically was observed in agriculture from 3128.4 to 3130 km2. Judicious planning and proper execution may resolve the water management issues incurred in the basin to secure the watershed.

Application of remote sensing and geographic information systems in irrigation water management under water scarcity conditions in Fayoum, Egypt

Egypt suffers from severe water scarcity, which affects the sustainability of agricultural production. Therefore, the sustainable use of available water resources under water scarcity requires the adoption of water allocation policies favoring conservative and efficient use. Water management with free satellite data and geographical information system modeling capabilities can be a valuable approach for optimizing the benefits from the available water resources to meet the requirements for agricultural lands. This study aims to (i) detect and evaluate changes in agricultural areas because of urbanization and reclamation activities using Landsat data in 1999, 2009, and 2019 and (ii) update the irrigation water demand by monitoring the seasonal changes of agricultural area based on normalized difference vegetation index. Water management of Fayoum Governorate in Egypt is characterized by a non-uniform distribution flow over its canals; thus, two pilot areas are selected. The first site is the Sinnuris canal, the served areas of which represents the urbanization problem. The other site is the Gharaq canal, the served areas of which represents the urbanization and agricultural expansion situations. The results reveal that changes in agricultural areas considerably affect the uniformity of water management. Urbanization activities reduce the agricultural area by ∼5.0% and 5.7% in Sinnuris and Gharaq served areas, respectively. However, the newly cultivated lands in Gharaq preserve an increase of 5.8% in the total agricultural area. The considerably changed water allocation strategies in these districts since Sinnuris has an excess of 1.5 m³/s of water supply, while the Gharaq area faced an irrigation shortage of 0.26 m³/s in 2019. As per the proposed approach, the decision-makers can readjust the water allocation plan to satisfy the water requirements for other demand areas.

Environmental monitoring of anthropogenic impacts and climate change: a case study from the national network of roads in Egypt

Economic development and land use/land cover (LULC) changes are deeply connected. Egypt has started the National Road Project to add 7000 km new roads to the 23.500 km existing network. The present study aimed at assessing anthropogenic impacts of the establishment and development of one of the newly developed arterial roads (Wadi Al-Natroun Al-Alamin road) on the LULC of surrounding region in relation to climate change during the period from 1986 to 2019. Using RS (remote sensing) techniques and four satellite images from 1986, 1999, 2011, and 2019, five classes were identified (vegetation, urban, water, agriculturally affected soils, and bare soils). The study area was divided based on different human activities into six areas of interest (AOIs). Results showed that massive changes have occurred during the 33-year period along the six AOIs and the five identified classes. Four climatic variables (annual mean temperature, maximum temperature of the warmest month, annual precipitation, precipitation of the wettest month) have been used to investigate climatic conditions of the study area in 1986 and 2018 and link it to the continuous development in the study area. Results showed an average increase of 2°C in annual temperature and maximum temperature of the hottest month. In contrary, a significant decrease in the annual precipitation and precipitation of the wettest month has been documented. Statistical analysis results showed significant correlations between climatic conditions and economic development along the study area. Climate change and human development stress on both natural and artificial ecosystems of the study area have been discussed, and recommended measures for sustainable development and natural resources perseveration have been provided.

Biochar and jasmonic acid application attenuates antioxidative systems and improves growth, physiology, nutrient uptake and productivity of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) irrigated with saline water

The effect of foliar treatment with jasmonic acid at 0.5 mM (JA) and biochar (15 ton ha^-1) as a soil amendment for the faba bean (Vicia faba L. Sakha 4) was studied under salinity conditions. Salt stress led to a significant decrease in leaf numbers, leaf areas and plants, chlorophyll content, relative water content, and yield parameters. In contrast, reactive oxygen species, the proline concentration, level of malondialdehyde, and amount of electrolyte leakage were noticeably increased during both seasons under salt levels of 1500 and 3000 ppm sodium chloride (NaCl). Also, enzyme activities (i.e., of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and glutathione reductase) were increased, especially under a high level of salinity stress (3000 ppm). Application of biochar, jasmonic acid, or biochar + jasmonic acid significantly reduced the catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione reductase activities in salt-stressed plants to values approaching those of the control (unstressed) plants, especially under 1500 ppm of NaCl stress. Biochar and jasmonic acid treatments mitigated the damaging effects of salinity and improved the plant status as indicated by the plant height, leaf area, relative water content, and chlorophyll a and b concentrations. Moreover, biochar and jasmonic acid treatments of the salt-stressed plants enhanced plant productivity, number of flowers, number of seeds per plant, and weight of 100 seeds during two successive seasons. Overall, this study suggests that biochar or jasmonic acid treatments might be promising for mitigating the detrimental impact of salt stress on faba beans.

Exogenous Nitric Oxide Reinforces Photosynthetic Efficiency, Osmolyte, Mineral Uptake, Antioxidant, Expression of Stress-Responsive Genes and Ameliorates the Effects of Salinity Stress in Wheat

Salinity stress is one of the major environmental constraints responsible for a reduction in agricultural productivity. This study investigated the effect of exogenously applied nitric oxide (NO) (50 μM and 100 μM) in protecting wheat plants from NaCl-induced oxidative damage by modulating protective mechanisms, including osmolyte accumulation and the antioxidant system. Exogenously sourced NO proved effective in ameliorating the deleterious effects of salinity on the growth parameters studied. NO was beneficial in improving the photosynthetic efficiency, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll content in normal and NaCl-treated wheat plants. Moreover, NO-treated plants maintained a greater accumulation of proline and soluble sugars, leading to higher relative water content maintenance. Exogenous-sourced NO at both concentrations up-regulated the antioxidant system for averting the NaCl-mediated oxidative damage on membranes. The activity of antioxidant enzymes increased the protection of membrane structural and functional integrity and photosynthetic efficiency. NO application imparted a marked effect on uptake of key mineral elements such as nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and calcium (Ca) with a concomitant reduction in the deleterious ions such as Na⁺. Greater K and reduced Na uptake in NO-treated plants lead to a considerable decline in the Na/K ratio. Enhancing of salt tolerance by NO was concomitant with an obvious down-regulation in the relative expression of SOS1, NHX1, AQP, and OSM-34, while D2-protein was up-regulated.

Spatial-Temporal Change of Land Use and Its Impact on Water Quality of East-Liao River Basin from 2000 to 2020

Land use change is an important driving force factor affecting the river water environment and directly affecting water quality. To analyze the impact of land use change on water quality change, this study first analyzed the land use change index of the study area. Then, the study area was divided into three subzones based on surface runoff. The relationship between the characteristics of land use change and the water quality grade was obtained by grey correlation analysis. The results showed that the land use types changed significantly in the study area since 2000, and water body and forest land were the two land types with the most significant changes. The transfer rate is cultivated field > forest land > construction land > grassland > unused land > water body. The entropy value of land use information is represented as Area I > Area III > Area II. The shift range of gravity center is forest land > grassland > water body > unused land > construction land > cultivated field. There is a strong correlation between land use change index and water quality, which can be improved and managed by changing the land use type. It is necessary to establish ecological protection areas or functional areas in Area I, artificial lawns or plantations shall be built in the river around the water body to intercept pollutants from non-point source pollution in Area II, and scientific and rational farming in the lower reaches of rivers can reduce non-point source pollution caused by farming.