Environmental Science
A. Iriany; F. Hasanah; D. Roeswitawati; M.F. Bela
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Increasing global temperature imposes large risks to food security globally and regionally. Besides, adaptation effort on cultivation practices, such as mulching, is urgent to overcome environmental problem due to certain material used, commonly plastic that is not biodegradable. ...
Read More
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Increasing global temperature imposes large risks to food security globally and regionally. Besides, adaptation effort on cultivation practices, such as mulching, is urgent to overcome environmental problem due to certain material used, commonly plastic that is not biodegradable. Biodegradable mulch is a mulch that could be degraded by microorganism and made from renewable organic materials. It plays a role in carbon sequestration and will contribute carbon and nutrients to the soil after being degraded. This current research aimed at investigating soil microclimate under various biodegradable mulch compositions and optimizing the compositions of biodegradable mulch that can be used to support the growth of short-cycle crops i.e. horenso (Spinacia olearecea L.).METHODS: This study was carried out using a simple randomized complete block design with one control (without mulch) and five treatments (biodegradable mulch compositions), namely the percentage of water hyacinth (40-80%) and coconut coir (20-60%). FINDINGS: All tested biodegradable mulch compositions could modify microclimate by decreasing 1-2°C of soil temperature and maintaining the soil moisture within the range of 63-84%. Although there was no significant difference in the growth and yield of horenso among the differing biodegradable mulch compositions, the biodegradable mulch composition treatments resulted in signficantly higher value than the control (without mulch). The biodegradable mulch composition treatments could increase fresh shoot weight around 38-55%, fresh root weight for about 55-94%, and dry shoot weight approximately by 1.6-2.8 times compared to the control (without mulch). CONCLUSION: This finding has emphasized that all tested biodegradable mulch compositions are potentially used as mulch for horenso (Spinacia oleracea L.) cultivation. This study provide information in the formulation of biodegradable mulch to adapt the compositions on other short-cycle crops and other horticulture crops.==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.==========================================================================================
H. Eryilmaz
Abstract
Global warming is increasing permanently, because the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is rising continuously. According to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 407 ppm in June 2016 and 413 ppm in April 2017 as a last record for now. ...
Read More
Global warming is increasing permanently, because the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is rising continuously. According to National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 407 ppm in June 2016 and 413 ppm in April 2017 as a last record for now. If the effects of other greenhouse gases, such as CH4, N2O, SF6, NF3, chlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons are added, the effective concentration may reach or exceed 550 ppm CO2-equivalent. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-2014 Climate Change Report, this is about two times higher than 278 ppm CO2 concentration in the pre-industrial year 1765. Thus, very urgent solutions must be found. The aim of this article is to suggest a vital, fast and very meticulous solution using NH3 gas in the atmosphere in order to decrease the atmospheric CO2 without delay. The laboratory experiments in the gas phase for (NH3+ CO2) reaction showed us that to use NH3 gas in the atmosphere will be a very fast, effective method for decreasing CO2 concentration of atmosphere. (NH3+ CO2) reaction is also quantitative in the cold atmosphere strata and there will be no more free ammonia in the atmosphere and no public health problem.