Impact of Forestry Interventions on Groundwater Recharge and Sediment Control in the Ganga River Basin

Water related services of natural infrastructure will help to combat the risk of water crisis, and nature-based solutions involve the management of ecosystems to mimic or optimize the natural processes for the provision and regulation of water. Forested areas provide environmental stability and supply a high proportion of the world’s accessible freshwater for domestic, agricultural, industrial and ecological needs. The present work on “Forestry Interventions for Ganga” to rejuvenate the river is one of the steps toward the Ganga River rejuvenation programme in the country. The consequences of forestry interventions for Ganga will be determined on the basis of water quantity and water quality in the Ganga River. The study conservatively estimated the water savings and sedimentation reduction of the riverscape management in the Ganga basin using the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) & GEC, 2015 and Trimble, 1999 & CWC, 2019 methodologies, respectively. Forestry plantations and soil and moisture conservation measures devised in the programme to rejuvenate the Ganga River are expected to increase water recharge and decrease sedimentation load by 231.011 MCM·yr-1 and 1119.6 cubic m·yr-1 or 395.20 tons·yr-1, respectively, in delineated riverscape area of 83,946 km2 in Ganga basin due to these interventions. The role of trees and forests in improving hydrologic cycles, soil infiltration and ground water recharge in Ganga basin seems to be the reason for this change. Forest plantations and other bioengineering techniques can help to keep rivers perennial, increase precipitation, prevent soil erosion and mitigate floods, drought & climate change. The bioengineering techniques could be a feasible tool to enhance rivers’ self-purification as well as to make river perennial. The results will give momentum to the National Mission of Clean Ganga (NMCG) and its Namami Gange programme including other important rivers in the country and provide inputs in understanding the linkages among forest structure, function, and streamflow.

Sediment control function of river notches

The purpose of this study is to investigate the control function and mechanisms of natural river notches. Physical and numerical experiments are analyzed in this study for two representative types of sediment events： high intensity and short duration Type A sediment disaster events, and low intensity and long duration Type B moderate non-disaster events. Two dimensionless parameters, sediment trapping rate and reduction rate of peak sediment transport, are defined to evaluate the sediment control function of river notches. Study results indicate that the contraction ratio of the notch has a significant influence on sediment control function, with high contraction ratios resulting in both high sediment-trapping and high reduction rates. River notches provide better sediment control during Type A events than Type B events. The sediment control mechanism of river notches is the result of multiple interactions among river flow, sediment transport, and riverbed variation. Analysis of these interactions supports the significant protection role of river notches on sediment control for disaster events.

Assessing the Effect of Natural Controls and Land Use Change on Sediment Yield in a Major Andean River:The Magdalena Drainage Basin,Colombia

马格达莱纳河是哥伦比亚安第斯山区的一个世界级的河流网络，该河流年产沙量约为150Mt，是全世界10大主要产沙河流之一。在本研究中，我们探讨主要自然因子和人类活动对马格达莱纳河流域产沙模式的影响，重建该区森林砍伐和农业活动时空模式，探讨土地利用变化与产沙趋势的关系。我们的研究结果表明，整个马格达莱纳河流域的产沙量可以用自然变量（包括径流量和最大河水流量）来解释。这两个因子解释了产沙量58％的变化。含沙率和土地利用的时间分析表明，在过去10～20年里流域侵蚀呈现增加的趋势。许多人类活动的影响，包括森林覆被在20年里减小了近40％．农业和牧场增加了65％、土壤保持差、开矿活动，以及城市化的加速，都促进了该地区域尺度上产沙量的增加。

Forestry Interventions and Groundwater Recharge, Sediment Control and Carbon Sequestration in the Krishna River Basin

It is a known fact that human activities have a significant impact on global rivers, making the task of rehabilitating them to their former natural state or a more semi-natural state quite challenging. The ongoing initiative called “Rejuvenation of Krishna River through Forestry Interventions” aims to contribute to the overall river rejuvenation program in the country. In this context, the effects of forestry interventions on the Krishna River will be evaluated based on water quantity, water quality, and the potential for carbon sequestration through plantation efforts. To assess the outcomes of this study, various methodologies such as Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN), Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have been utilized to estimate water savings, reduction in sedimentation, and carbon sequestration potential within the Krishna basin. The projected results indicate that the implementation of forestry plantations and soil and moisture conservation measures in the Krishna River rejuvenation program could lead to significant improvements. Specifically, the interventions are expected to enhance water recharge by 400.49 million cubic meters per year, reduce sedimentation load by 869.22 cubic meters per year, and increase carbon sequestration by 3.91 lakh metric tonnes per year or 14.34 lakh metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent. By incorporating forestry interventions into the Krishna riverscape, it is anticipated that the quality and quantity of water flowing through the river will be positively impacted. These interventions will enhance water infiltration, mitigate soil erosion, and contribute to an improved vegetation cover, thereby conserving biodiversity. Moreover, they offer additional intangible benefits such as addressing climate change concerns through enhanced carbon sequestration potential along the entire stretch of riverine areas.

Enhanced cold active lipase production by metagenomic library recombinant clone CALIP3 with a step-wise temperature and dissolved oxygen level control strategy

A metagenomic library recombinant clone CAPL3, an Escherichia coli strain generated by transformed with metagenomic library from deep-sea sediments, can efficiently produce cold active lipase. The effects of both temperature and dissolved oxygen（DO） on cold active lipase production by batch culture of metagenomic library recombinant clone（CAPL3） from deep-sea sediment were investigated. First, a two-stage temperature control strategy was developed, in which the temperature was kept at 34 ℃ for the first 15 h, and then switched to30 ℃. The cold active lipase activity and productivity reached 315.2 U·ml^-1and 8.08 U·ml^-1·h^-1, respectively,increased by both 14.5% compared to the results obtained with temperature controlled at 30℃. In addition, different DO control modes were conducted, based on the data obtained from the different DO control strategies and analysis of kinetics parameters at different DO levels. A step-wise temperature and DO control strategy were developed to improve lipase production, i.e., temperature and DO level were controlled at 34℃, 30% during 0–15 h;30 ℃, 30% during 15–18 h, and 30 ℃, 20% during 18–39 h. With this strategy, the maximum lipase activity reached 354.6 U·ml^-1at 39 h, which was 28.8% higher than that achieved without temperature and DO control（275.3 U·ml^-1）.

Seasonal Dynamics of Runoff-Sediment Relationship and Its Controlling Factors in Black Soil Region of Northeast China

以位于东北典型黑土区的黑龙江省乌裕尔河流域中上游为研究区,利用依安站31年的日水沙观测资料,对流域水沙的季节性动态特征进行了分析,对影响水沙关系的自然及人为因素进行了探讨。观测数据表明,7-9月的径流量占全年的64.7%,对本区的产流起主导作用;径流平均含沙量在4月融雪期和6月底到7月中旬明显高于其他时段,含沙量的季节变化与径流的变化明显不同。为描述各影响因素对含沙量变化的贡献,本文通过将含沙量的季节变化与其影响因素的变化进行关联,提出了一种从多因素联合影响中分离出单因素影响的思路,分析表明:冻融作用对裸地的径流含沙量影响剧烈,明显增加土壤侵蚀;在地表有无植被及耕作措施情况下,降雨侵蚀力的增加都将增加径流含沙量;植被的出现可以削弱降雨侵蚀力增大时的增沙效应,但7月降雨侵蚀力的增沙作用超过了作物覆盖的减沙作用。所提方法可方便地用于缺少对比观测实验地区的土地利用和管理措施水保效用评价。

Optimized operation plan for sewer sediment control

Severe operational problems of sediment deposition have frequently occurred in stormwater sewer systems in Shanghai city due to the flat topography of the area and serious illicit connections. To control sewer sediment and its subsequential problems,optimized operation plans were proposed and an innovative performance assessment method was developed. Simula-tion results demonstrated that,through changing the way of pump operation and installing necessary actuators in the system,the optimized operations,especially batch intermittent intercept plan,effectively improved the flow velocity in the entire system in dry-weather condition. In conclusion,the optimized operation is an innovative idea for improving the performance and solving the problem of sediment deposition in the sewer system in Shanghai,China.

RISK MANAGEMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE:WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR OPERATION IS BEING CONSTRUCTED?

Nearly forty years after the Clean Water Act(CWA)was passed,we’ve come a long way in our understanding of the strength and fragility of our water resources and the impact that our actions or inactions can have on them.Though regulatory systems are in place and best management practices(BMPs)are plentiful,successfully managing risk in environmental compliance remains a constant concern.Fortunately,the rules to environmental compliance are simple:half of it is paperwork and the other half is maintenance.If you take an organized and balanced approach to compliance,you should be able to keep risk at bay and avoid enforcement action.However,remember that no matter how thoroughly you prepare for a construction project,you may still encounter unexpected situations requiring environmental knowledge and understanding.As you start to plan your operation,you should take the time to stop and consider the risk associated with your project.The Environmental Protection Agency(EPA)considers risk to be“the chance of harmful effects to human health or to ecological systems resulting from exposure to the environmental stressor.”The“stressors”are a variety of physical,chemical,or biological activities that can cause negative reactions to ecosystems and the environment.1 In order to limit,and hopefully prevent,risky situations,the key is to assess and target the problems that could arise and then implement a system of metrics that help with prevention.