Month: June 2022

The maximum acceptable levels of B. cereus in food vary slightly between countries, but in general concentrations between 3 and 5 log10 CFU g− 1 are considered satisfactory and above 5 log10 CFU g− 1 unsatisfactory . Another important factor to consider/include in our study is that after the nitrification process, preceding the introduction of the biofertilizer in the hydroponic growth system, the levels of B. cereus was monitored to 1 log10 CFU/mL indicating that this process might lower the initial high concentration to acceptable levels. The continuous presence of low levels of B. cereus throughout the challenge tests however indicates that the biofertilizer has a capacity to act as a reservoir for B. cereus spores and this is a critical factor to consider in each risk assessment for this product matrix. The bacteria’s ability to form spores  provides an explanation as to how it can be present after hygienization and anaerobic digestion of the biofertilizer, and also to how it can be steadily present in the biofertilizer in the challenge test experiments despite a large amount of the inoculation dying off after a very short time after incubation. The fact that S. enterica and L. monocytogenes do not establish themselves, even seemingly dying off within 48 h after incubation in the biofertilizer, implies that the biofertilizer constitutes a highly inhospitable environment for these food-borne pathogens. In the case of still having viable but non culturable cells, a calorimetric measurement where the biofertilizer was inoculated with the pathogenic bacteria was performed in parallel with the selective plating. As well as the non-supplemented control samples in Section 3.1, these samples showed no signs of microbial activity , which corresponds to the results from the selective plating. The apparent lack of nutrients supporting microbial growth in the biofertilizer  could be hindering the establishment of these pathogenic bacteria. This is supported by the findings in the accelerated microbial activity assessments in Section 3.1 where growth was only obtained after supplementation of BHI.

This is also in line with a recentstudy by Fern´ andez-Domínguez et al. who reported that non-biodegradable compounds increased largely after anaerobic digestion. Besides the lack of available nutrients, the chemical composition of the biofertilizer could exert an additional inhibitory effect on the establishment and survival of the food-borne pathogens. The pH of the biofertilizer was measured initially and was between 5.8 and 6.1, thus the pH of the biofertilizer should not be hindering the establishment of the bacteria. A previous chemical analysis of the presence of PPCP’s  in the biofertilizer , shows that the samples collected from local Swedish biogas production plants  may contain considerable levels,nft system exceeding 100 ng g− 1 of fenbendazole, however this compound is not reported to have any antimicrobial activity . Antimicrobial agent sulfaclozine was detected in low concentration, which might very well have an impact on the establishment of the pathogens. Theobromine, an antimicrobial bitter compound  found in cocoa was detected in levels of μg g− 1 , and caffeine was found in similar levels, which also might have an effect in hindering the establishment of the pathogens. Fungicides propiconazole, fludioxonil and imazalil were detected in considerable amounts, ranging from 100 to 900 ng g− 1 . It is possible the presence of these compounds and/or other inhibitory compounds produced by methanogens during anaerobic digestion in the biogas production plants, in combination with the apparent lack of nutrients, make the biofertilizer a non-growth-supporting environment for the food-borne pathogens to survive. Previous studies on the microbial community of anaerobic digestates reveal that the results vary widely depending on the composition and treatment of ingoing substrate, conditions of digestion, and variable region chosen to be sequenced, however, most studies conclude the most dominant phyla to be Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Proteobacteria . The general focus in sequencing of biofertilizers in previous studies has been on plant-growth promoting microbes, with less focus on risks regarding human health in the utilization of biofertilizer for food production. The purpose of this study was thus to consider the information from the microbial community analysis from a food safety perspective. The library preparation of the 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing yielded low amounts of DNA  for all samples except for the samples of non-nitrified biofertilizer  and the starting sample of nitrified biofertilizer  .

A negative control was also included in the library preparation. The 25 most abundant genera across all samples can be observed in Fig. 4A. If no genus level classification could be obtained, the lowest assigned taxonomic classification was given. In addition, the phylum level classification was given . The microbial communities of the samples were also analysed with multivariate statistical analysis , demonstrating the similarity in microbial community between the samples, as can be observed in Fig. 4B. The 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed that the most abundant genus within all the samples of nitrified biofertilizer from the hydroponic channels was Mycobacterium . This genus could not be detected in the samples of nonnitrified biofertilizer or the inorganic fertilizer. Since it is also present in the Day 0 sample , a transfer or contamination from the plant roots to the biofertilizer can be ruled out. Seeing that the nitrified and non-nitrified biofertilizer differ so drastically in the microbial community composition, as can be observed in the principle component analysis, it is apparent that the nitrification process, including lowering of the pH from 8 to 5.5, aeration, and changes in the composition of nitrogen compounds, affects the microflora present. Mycobacterium are known to be hardy bacteria that have acidic tolerance and resistance to disinfection, and can survive and grow in a low organic carbon environment.Since it is not detected in the non-nitrified biofertilizer it indicates that it emerges in the biofertilizer in some step after nitrification, however a count of 0 in relative abundance might not mean that the genus is absent, but that it is below the limit of detection . Regardless, finding Mycobacterium in a sample such as the biofertilizer is not unreasonable as they have been found to be common in cattle manure and in water distribution systems, and can survive there for long periods of time . It is also not such a surprising result to find this genus in the nitrified biofertilizer considering that species within the genus are denitrifying bacteria, and can rely on nitrate as an energy source during anaerobic conditions . While Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae are well-known pathogenic mycobacteria, several species of environmental mycobacteria can also be opportunistic human pathogens , and a further investigation of species level would be interesting in theaspect of ensuring microbiological safety in the utilization of this biofertilizer for production of food.

In the non-nitrified biofertilizer the most abundant genera from the16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing were Pseudomonas, Leuconostoc and Sporosarcina. Pseudomonas and Sporosarcina are naturally found in soil , and Leuconostoc is normally found widespread throughout the environment, in fermented foods and in plant matter.The microflora of the nitrified biofertilizer also varied between the samples taken at the same timepoint but from different channels; in comparison the samples of the inorganic fertilizer are much more clustered and vary less between samples. This behaviour can be connected to the variance shown between samples from the viable count analysis in Section 3.1, where the microflora differed in different replicates of the same kind of sample, and also from the discovery that some members of the microbial community exert antagonistic behaviour towards others. In the inorganic fertilizer, the most abundant genera were Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Serratia, and Pseudomonas. The high relative abundance of OTUs detected in the negative control in the samples is a result of the low DNA yield of the samples , rendering the sequenced background more prominent. It was concluded that these genera cannot be distinguished to originate from the sample or the sequenced background. The genera can originate in the sequenced background as the ingredients of the PCR reaction of the sequencing may contain bacterial DNA, which is a common occurrence. . It was furthermore not expected to have high yields of DNA in the inorganic fertilizer. In the inorganic fertilizer the most abundant genera were Lactobacillus, although this was also the most abundant in the negative control and is believed to be sequenced background, Enterococcus, also present in negative control but in generally lower abundances, Serratia, also present in negative control, and Pseudomonas present in negative control but in very low relative abundances. The low DNA yield from the biofertilizer samples was a quite unanticipated result as the biofertilizer was expected to have a rich microflora as a result of the anaerobic digestion. If the nitrification process that the biofertilizer undergoes was the culprit for the reduction in natural microflora, it would at least have been expected to find some genera of nitrifying bacteria in the 16S rRNA gene amplicon analysis. As this was not the case one explanation is that the apparent lack of factors for growth, as is fortified by the findings in the microbial activity assessment of the biofertilizer in Section 3.1, has simply reduced the types of microorganisms that can survive to very hardy bacteria such as Mycobacterium or spore formers that can endure in the low-carbon environment that the biofertilizer constitutes. In a study of the microbial community of soil, hydroponic gutter it is found that the low DNA yield is in fact a result of poor growth rather than an inadequate DNA extraction .

It is also reported that low DNA content might introduce bias in 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis, which is an important parameter to keep in mind when drawing conclusions regarding the composition of the microbial community . Food security has been one of the main concerns of the countries that depend on imported food, for instance, the Middle East countries like Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Full dependence on fresh food supplies from other cities or overseas has negative effects on food security. Shortages of fresh vegetables in some cities during the Covid-19 lockdown period have forced the government to reconsider its sources of fresh vegetables. Hydroponic systems are recognized as being among the main technical approaches to providing sustainable food and reducing pressure on agricultural land by shifting food production to urban environments. For instance, the state of Qatar imported approximately 90% of its food until 2017 and has been encouraging the firms to develop hydroponic farms to satisfy the country’s food demand. Hydroponic systems provide water-efficient food production but they are not an energy-efficient solution. This is because they require electricity for heating and cooling, ventilation, irrigation, LED lighting, and other horticultural practices to maintain the hydroponic farm operations in controlled environments. The huge energy consumption of the hydroponic system not only leads to an increase in operating costs but also environmental pollution. The industries are required to reduce the carbon emissions to achieve the 2 ◦C global warming target by adopting clean energy. In order to enhance sustainability when addressing the aforementioned challenges, governments must seek innovative solutions to achieving sustainable supplies of fresh food and energy supply. The photovoltaics presents a promising technology that can provide a portion of the clean energy needed to meet the huge electricity requirements of hydroponic farms. Fig. 1 illustrates a hydroponic system with solar energy generation. First, a timer is set such that irrigation starts at specific time intervals. At the appropriate time, the system starts performing irrigation using a reservoir that contains nutrient-rich water. The water-nutrient solution is pumped into the bottom of the growth tray where plant roots are held. The plant roots absorb some of the water-nutrient solutions and the rest is returned to the reservoir, where it can be used in the next irrigation process. Therefore, there is a recirculating system. These hydroponic systems are intended for use in closed buildings that are automatically irrigated, ventilated, cooled and heated, and illuminated. The energy required to run the various crop illumination equipment is supplied through a dual system in which regular grid energy is supplemented by solar power generation.

Fish weight was recorded monthly by extraction of all animals from each tank. In this process, changes in total biomass of fish were determined to calculate different growth parameters as average daily growth rate , specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio , according to Lobillo et al. . Average fish weight was calculated by dividing the total fish weight  by the number of animals. ADGR was calculated as the ratio between average fish weight  increment and elapsed time. SGR was calculated as 100 x. FCR was computed as the ratio between consumed feed and total fish weight increment . Tench were fed with a trouts’ starter feed from the company “Biomar” with 54% protein and 18% fat. Animals were fed twice a day applying an amount equivalent to 1.5% of total biomass, therefore modifying the quantity of feed provided after each fish weighting. The following parameters were analysed daily: ambient and water temperature by means of a maximum-minimum thermometer  and the volume of water replacement due to evaporation and transpiration water losses. Daily water replenishment rate was calculated as the ratio between the average daily consumption and the total water running in each system. Water samples were collected weekly from the fish tank in order to measure pH, electrical conductivity  and nitrates. The pH and EC were determined with a pH-meter GLP 22 and an EC-Meter BASIC 30 ; respectively. When the pH of the water dropped rapidly to values close to 7, sodium and potassium hydroxides were added to the sump until it reached a value above 7 again. Nitrates concentration was obtained by means of an RQflex 10 plus . Dissolved oxygen levels were determined using colorimetric test kits . Aquaponic systems usually show low concentration levels of elements such as K, Fe or Ca. Therefore, the plants were periodically examined to observe the occurrence of nutrients insufficiency. To alleviate these potential deficits, K2SO4 at 1.5% was foliarly applied in all aquaponics systems. The applications were performed twice a week , first thing in the morning with a manual sprayer.

Chelated iron solution  was directly added to the water , 0.1 L for each system. This was done on Fridays every fortnight. The effect of the substrate type used in the aquaponic production of strawberry,rolling benches bare roots and rockwool, on studied variables was assessed by means of an analysis of variance . Since multiple, repeated measurements were made in an experimental unit in our experimental design, a “repeated measures structure” was considered. In this design, the observations can no longer be considered to be independent, and as a result, we assumed that there were correlations in the residual errors among time periods. A mixed general linear model , considering substrate type as fixed factor and sampling time  and block as random factors, was performed with the STATGRAPHICS Centurion XVIII statistical package . Previously, the normality and homoscedasticity were checked with the SmirnovKolmogorov test and the Levene test, respectively. The best transformation meeting normality criteria was obtained by means of Box-Cox transformation using the same software. In all the cases, with this power transformation, normality and homocedasticity were met. Post hoc analysis was performed using the HSD Tukey test and differences were considered significant when P < 0.05. When interaction between factors was found to be significant, the effect of main factors could not be discussed since this means that a substrate has an effect that changes along the sampling period. In these cases, the evolution along sampling period was described and compared between the two substrates studied. Despite the fact that the air temperature presented important variations within the greenhouse , water temperature in fish tanks underwent lower deviations, ranging between 17 and 28.1 ◦C throughout the period in which this test was performed . In general terms, the three systems studied were very similar with regards to the studied parameters of water quality. Nitrate content of the water increased from initial values around 20–30 mg L− 1 to values higher than 70 mg L− 1 after 42 days from the start of the test .

In this same period, pH decreased from initial values close to 8, similar to those corresponding to the available water source, to values between 7.2 and 7.6 as a consequence of the activity of nitrifying bacteria. In order to stabilize both parameters, the accumulated amount of water added to the system was increased from 49 days since planting . At the end of this trial, the daily water replenishment rates for systems 1, 2 and 3 were 2.16%, 2.21% and 2.22%; respectively. In relation to the electrical conductivity of water, the variations observed in Fig. 5 were analogous to those followed by the nitrate content as a consequence of the above referred water replacement operations. Weekly measurements of the dissolved oxygen levels showed stable values , which are considered adequate values for both fish and plants. Initial fish biomass in each of the three tanks was around 700 g, with 122 animals per tank  and average weights per fish were between 5.71 and 5.76 g. After an acclimatization period of 30 days, average fish weights increased to 6.46–6.47 g, reaching 10.93–10.97 g at the end of the trial. Average daily gain ratios  ranged from 0.023 and 0.025 g day− 1 at the initial period to 0.074–0.081 at the end, with a global value for the full period of 0.057 g day− 1 . Specific growth ratios  recorded at the same dates varied from 0.383 to 0.408–0.749–0.833% day− 1 , with global values of 0.707–713% day− 1 . Feed amounts supplied to the animals were increased as they grew, so that during the first month they were given 195 g, in the second 359 g and in the third 420 g, which meant a total consumption of 974 g per tank. According to the feed consumption and the weight gained by the fish, the feed conversion ratios  were calculated, with values in the range 2.22–2.32 during the first 30 days and 1.48–1.61 at the end of the trial, with global values of 1.53–1.56. The mortality rate of the fish was very low, since only one animal died in one of the three tanks studied in this trial. As happened with the water quality parameters between the three tanks shown above, there was a great uniformity in the results obtained for the different parameters related to the growth of fish in the three tanks. No discordant data were found for average weights at different ages, average daily growth rate, specific growth rate; mortality, or feed conversion ratios. Almost all the plants in the trial were able to produce fruits during the study period, as it can be observed in Table 2. Total production per plant varied between 0 and 105 g, where zero values indicate that the plants did not produce fruits at an early stage.

Taking into account that the total area occupied by the crop was 7.2 m2  a density of 10 plants m− 2 was estimated, so that the productions obtained for the different blocks of 6 plants were between 140 and 565 g m− 2 . The quality variables  and SPAD values were only affected by the elapsed time since transplanting . Overall, SPAD values tended to be higher at the end of the period, with a more marked trend and lower average values in new leaves when compared with old leaves . On the other hand, the effect of the differences between the two substrate types studied on productive variables  varied along the growing period studied as revealed by the significant interaction between this factor and time. The number of flower buds and the number of flowers were initially higher for the plants cultivated with bare roots than with rockwool, but at the end of the trial both values were increased for the plants in rockwool . On the contrary, the number of fruits with bare roots was slightly lower at the beginning, but at the end of the trial it showed the highest values, whereas the accumulated weight of fruits that was initially lower for bare roots eventuallyequalled those corresponding to rockwool at the end of the period . Our systems allowed to maintain stable water conditions throughout the time period of the test, resorting to simple pH control operations by adding alkalis, supplementing the deficit nutrients for the plants of these systems in the form of EDDHA, potassium sulphate, and sodium and calcium hydroxides; and reduction of nitrate levels based on water changes. The total time devoted to these tasks did not significantly increase the time normally required for operations related to the hydroponic cultivation of strawberries, where the pH and levels of nutrients in the nutritive solution must also be controlled and regulated. In this sense, pH regulation is a fundamental operation to optimize the extraction of nutrients by the roots of plants, the development and growth of fish and the performance of the bacterial community in the biofilters. This can be attributed to the use of a low fish density in our aquaponic facilities, which allowed the use of a simple system of aquaculture circuits . This avoids the need for a clarifier and settler, ebb and flow bench while the simple biological filters used reduced the investment since there is no requirement of extra aeration devices or powerful pumps for recirculation of water. However, if the density of fish was to be increased or the duration of the test prolonged, it is likely that these common elements in RAS facilities would have to be introduced.

The initial adjustment that was made of the ratio between the area dedicated to strawberry cultivation and the daily amount of feed provided to the fish was not fully appropriate, probably due to the fact that most of the bibliographic references used for the initial adjustment were based on the use of tilapia, a fish species that requires lower protein contents in the compound feed supplied. Tench requires higher levels of crude protein, so the total contribution of nitrates generated was somewhat higher in our systems. This explains the substantial increase in the daily rate of water replacement from day 49 to keep nitrate levels stable around 70 mg L− 1 . Despite this increase in water consumption, the final daily water replacement rate was around 2.2%, well below the 5–10% required in recirculating aquaculture systems. Regarding this water saving potential, in an aquaponic tench-lettuce production system similar to this one, the authors obtained daily water replacement rates of 1.18% in a 65 days period . This should be highlighted, since in the conditions in which strawberry productions are carried out in Spain, water is a scarce resource. In this sense, the results obtained by Van Ginkel et al.  comparing traditional agricultural productions in California with hydroponic and aquaponic productions, pointed out that these systems are recommendable strategies to save water, since consumption was 66 and 8 times lower than in the traditional systems, respectively. As previously mentioned, the growth of the animals in the three tanks was quite homogeneous, although the weight increases were not of great magnitude, something that is characteristic of this species. The survival rate of animals was very high , within the range described by other authors  for animals with similar weights .This confirms the high adaptability of this species to the aquaponics system. In order to keep the water quality parameters stable over time, regardless of the changing weight of the fish with time elapsed, it is recommended to use several connected fish tanks . In each of these tanks there would be fish of different ages, which would be harvested in stages, thus maintaining a similar proportion of animals in different growth stages. With this system, fingerlings should be restocked each time a tank is harvested . This arrangement of tanks would also allow increasing the density of fish in a simple way, improving the productivity associated with fish farming. In view of the current findings, the slow growth of the tench is verified, which supposes an important obstacle for the extension of its cultivation in recirculating aquaculture systems, except to support sport fishing favouring the repopulation of the water courses in which naturally it is found.

Lao women farmers, who are permitted to be more involved in farming, do not just pass along the information they receive to their household members but they also actively pass it along to their friends and neighbors within  and outside  their villages. These results can lead to some conclusions that women can be as active as men farmers in information exchange if they are given the opportunity to be educated and trained .Based on the data of Badan Pusat Statistik  or Statistical Central Board of Republic of Indonesia, since March 2011 to March 2012 the number of poor society in Indonesia is 29.13 millions or 11.96%, from this number, around 18.48 millions live in villages with the main living in the agriculture sector. The poverty in remote area is the national main problem that must be something important to pay attention on to overcome and cannot be delayed but has to be the first priority in developing social welfare. Therefore, the economic national development agriculture-based in villages will give the good result such as decreasing the societies’ poverty. The basic problem faced by the farmers in Indonesia is lacking of source of financial capital, market and technology, and the farmers’ organization which is still weak. That is why overcoming the societies’ poverty is the important part of realization in long term development planning and global agreement to reach Millennium development Goal. Indonesian Agriculture Ministry since 2008 have started the exertion development program for the society in remote area  under the coordination of the PNPM program  and involved in developing society organization program. PUAP Program which was implemented starting in 2008, with the approaches that have been done, are expected to produce a important result in developing the work of PUAP program have facilitated such as; providing Penyelia Mitra Tani , co-workers investigator, and technology investigating by Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian .

Through investtigating, developing and consolidating the way societies’ economic development based on the agriculture in the place, giving financial capital through the Gapoktan program who have production and marketing exertion and saving and loan association unit. On the other way the role of analysis factor  from all undertaking stakeholders programs PUAP to be relevance steps aimed to understand the relation or connectivity from all factors in the network and also the role of factor inside the network itself be the relevance steps in arranging the strategy and work intention from the realization stage of PUAP program for the continuity of the realization program in the future , dutch bucket for tomatoes one of the problem is lacking of co-worker investigator who responsible to accompany the farmers, farmers’ organization and Gapoktan in implementing PUAP to support the region revitalization development, therefore in order to reach this goal it is interesting to be observed. Social Network in implementing PUAP is done to more understand the information, knowledge sharing and knowledge building between co-worker investigator, Penyelia Mitra Tani  and Farmer Organization . Network is an association of relations between nodes, formally network has some objects called nodes, a simple example of network can be found and seen is on the existence of the society, the existence of the society can be seen as a network, social relationship between one individual and another and really complex, in a network symbolizing an interaction between nodes or actors, basically the interaction or relationship happen can be categorized become a symmetrical or non-directional relationship  and directional relationship . We can see this thing in the example of two nodes or actors . X and Y are interested one another as symmetrical or non-directional relationship. As the continuation, if X likes Y can be called as directional relationship. In the society we can find the network and social network. Social network itself meant as small world phenomenon who comes from observation that each individual often connected by the short introduction chain, the relation chain which is accumulated to form a complex social network. Simply the social network can be descried based on the components that form it like: 1) A group of people, objects or events at least 3 who play role as terminal. Commonly interpreted by using dots that is called nodes or actor, 2) as a bound who relates one dot to another dots in network.

This bound is interpreted by using lines which is an access or a way. This bound include a visible bound or an invisible bound. Usually this bound happen and identified by network relation or boundaries, and 3) flow, it is symbolizing by an arrow in the diagram. It describes something that flows from one dot to another dot, through the direction that relates every dots in the network.In social sciences, social network analysis has become a strong methodology beside the statistic, network concept that has been definite, tested, an applied in research tradition in all social science , starting from anthropology, sociology, business administration and history. Social Network Analysis  is a tool to map the important knowledge relationship between individuals. SNA as an approach used to do social research to find the vertical and lateral information, indentify the sources and aim to find the limitation about the resources, SNA is developed to understand the relationship  from actors  in a system with 2 focuses such as; actors and the relation between actors in particular social context. This focus helps the understanding about how the actors position can influence the access towards the resources such as; materials, financial capital and information. This case shows that the economic activities are related to the social structure which is finally goes to the concept of financial capital social. Information as a the most important resources that flows in a network so the SNA often implemented to identified the information flows. Theoretically, by indentifying the information flows can help to develop the strategy that can encourage the actors to share the information rather than they have to create a new strategy. When the actors access the recourses they have, the actors will form a cluster, where the actor with the best position will get more information compared to the others. Usually the actor who has access from many resources will join in many clusters, and it can give more power because they act as mediator to those who have few contacts and access. Something has to be observed is the information flow does not need to be same, whish meant the hierarchy is formed based on the actor’s position in the network. Network is not only giving the access to the sources, but also giving the access to another source that can help to give value towards the sources itself. This shows that actor can arrange the social network to maximize their benefit by approaching the sources and the opportunities available. Spatial social network analysis tries to see and discuss how an actor’s position in geographical space/regions can be analyzed along with their position in the social network. Spatial Social Network explains the important role of spatial concepts, such as distance, location, proximity, environmental, and regional influence in society, blueberry grow pot social behavior is a geographically specific context, and that space and society formed with each other, then it requires merging multiple spatialities into the analysis social network.

Spatial location of social network analysis to identify the actors in the social network , by entering the simultaneous position and place the actors in the relationship in a network, social network facilitates spatial analysis of social behavior in the context of simultaneous and related network position and relative location in geographical space. Rural Agribusiness Development  is a program of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia breakthrough, the program began in 2008, has been implemented in 20,426 villages in 417 districts and 33 provinces in Indonesia. One of the main activities are distribution of funds PUAP Direct Community Assistance  to Gapoktan  in the form of capital gain that is used to: 1) cultivation of food crops, horticulture, livestock, crops, and 2) nonfarming businesses include venture farm household industries, small scale marketing and other business-based agriculture. The main approach Rural Agribusiness Development  is expected to produce a resultant significant, as well as the main indicator of the successful implementation of the program PUAP namely: a) Empowerment Gapoktan , b) working capital assistance for productive activities, c) Agribusiness, d) Regional, e) Institutional and f) Empowering communities in a participatory manner. To improve performance, Gapoktan PUAP has much facilitated, such as the provision of expert Supervisor Mitra Tani , a companion extension , technology assistance by the Center for Agricultural Technology , coaching by the provincial and district governments. 1) Combined Farmers Group  is a collection of some Farmers Group  who join and work together to improve economies of scale and opera tionalefficiency. Gapoktan PUAP institutional management is the Ministry of Agriculture grant of 100 million dollars for capital strengthening, so that members can Gapoktan develop economically productive agribusiness. The pattern of development PUAP pursued through facilitation/ mentoring, sharpening and strengthening of community-based economic development direction of local agricultural resource potential. Gapoktan that will be the goal of providing venture capital is Gapoktan that have production and marketing efforts, and the Savings. 2) Extension agricultural extension escort is assigned by the Regent/Mayor or his representative to assist farmers, farmer groups  and Gapoktan PUAP implementation, with tasks: a) to identify the economic potential of village-based agriculture, b) provide technical guidance rural agri-business including the marketing of the business, c) help solve the business problems of farmers/farmer groups, as well as during the preparation of the documents accompanying Gapokan PUAP and institutional growth process, d) Conducting training agribusiness and economically productive suitable village potential and e) Helps to facilitate ease of access to the means of production, technologi. 3) Supervisor Mitra Tani  are individuals who have expertise in the field of microfinance recruited by the Ministry of Agriculture: a) Supervise and advocacy processes to Gapoktan institutional growth through the development PUAP Instructor Companion, b) Conducting regular meetings with Extension Complementary and Gapoktan, c) Conduct preliminary verification of the RUB and other administrative documents and d) Implement escorts utilization of funds managed by the BLM PUAP Gapoktan. Rural Agribusiness Development  aims to: a) reduce poverty and unemployment through the growth and development of agribusiness activities in rural areas in accordance with the potential of the region, b) improve the capability of agribusiness, Gapoktan Board , Extension Companion  and Supervisor Mitra Tani , c) to empower farmers and rural economic institutions for the development of agribusiness activities and d) improving the institutional function of peasant economy into a financial institution or a partner network in order to access to capital.

Problems faced at the stage of preparation and strengthening program implementation PUAP, one of which is still less optimal Supervisor Mitra Tani  and a companion extension assigned to assist farmer groups and Gapoktan  in the implementation of programs to support the revitalization PUAP increase local food, therefore in order to meet these expectations, interesting to study. Mapping social networks of all program stakeholders PUAP a relevant step, in-depth understanding of information flow, knowledge sharing and knowledge building among extension companion , Supervisor Mitra Tani  and Gapoktan Patronage , with the goal of understanding the connectedness or Connectivity of the actors, as well as view the role of actors in the networkand external elements determine what influence the sustainability of the program in the future PUAP. It’s all become a necessity in order to develop a strategy and planning phase of the program of work of PUAP for the sustainability of the program in the future. This study tries to combine lifting and social network analysis  with spatial analysis methods, they see that the social sciences seem to have clear linkages with geography, the compatibility of the techniques of social network analysis  with a geographic network theory, but the theory was widely repudiated, due to lack of nuance or geographical considerations spatialities strength and other social relationships in a social network.

All of these publications recommend growing in raised beds when yard soil contamination is above 400 ppm. However, overtime, risks to contamination of new, clean soil in a raised bed include resuspension of exposed surrounding surface soils, tilling too deeply into contaminated soil beneath the raised bed media or plants with deep roots, which may reach past the clean soil. While both UMass Amherst and the University of Connecticutrecommend using a liner under a raised bed to avoid the latter two mechanisms of resuspension, only the University of Connecticut specifies their recommendation as landscape fabric liner, though research based evidence was not cited. Many studies have looked at Pb uptake and partitioning in plants and contaminated soils, but few studies have looked at physical barriers to limit or prevent Pb movement from contaminated soil into raised bed environments where produce is grown. Therefore, this study supplements gaps in current literature pertaining to use of barriers in a raised-bed garden in Pb contaminated areas. The objective of this study is to evaluate barriers to prevent Pb mobility from contaminated ground entering into the uncontaminated raised bed environment. Ideally, a specific barrier for lead exclusion will be identified. Within each container, contaminated media was layered to simulate contaminated ground soil and uncontaminated raised bed media . Between the media layers in each container, barrier treatments were applied . Barrier material treatments included PremleneTM Neoprene  , landscape fabric  , and a no-barrier control. The media used in this study is similar to standard potting mixes used in raised beds. Media was mixed in large batches using 4 cubic feet of peat moss , 18 cubic feet of 5/8th inch screened pine bark , 4 cubic feet of washed large grain sand , 10.5 pounds  of Osmocote 19-5-9 , 0.5 pounds  of Micromax , and 8 pounds  of dolomitic lime . Each treatment container was first filled with 5 gallons of contaminated media . To attain a final concentration of 500 ppm, media was spiked with a 10,000 ppm Pb standard in a 5% nitric acid  solution  diluted to concentration using municipal water.

Inductively coupled plasma-optical emission analytical spectrometry   was used to analyze total Pb in media to confirm intended initial concentrations . The contaminated media layer was then covered and sealed to the edges of the containers using the experimental barriers . After applying the barrier treatments,ebb and flow trays each container was filled with 15 gallons of uncontaminated media into which the experimental plants were to be grown . All treatment containers were arranged in a complete randomized design  with three replications per barrier treatment. Brassica rapa  was selected to be grown out in the simulated raised bed conditions. Chinese Cabbage plants were replicated five times per treatment plot .Seeds of Brassica rapa ‘Mibuna’ were planted in 50 cell trays  using SunGro Metro-Mix 830  on March 11, 2020 and April 11, 2020 and grown in a greenhouse. Temperatures through the first and second trials ranged between 53˚F and 78˚F. Transplants were watered daily with overhead irrigation twice a day for five minutes. Transplants were fertilized using Peter’s ProfessionalTM water soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer  at 400 ppm every other week. The seedlings were thinned to one plant per cell. Two weeks after seeding, five plants were transferred into each raised bed treatment container at 12 inch spacings . These containers were located under a hoop house with open sides where temperatures ranged between 53˚F and 78˚F. The plants were hand-watered daily and Bifenthrin insecticide  was applied at recommended rates to control aphids, , flea beetles , and cross-striped cabbage worms . After 30 days of growth in the treatment containers, all plants were harvested at the base of the stem and the above ground portion of the plant was weighed for fresh weight in grams. All plants were divided between two dryers  at an average of 60˚C and dried to a constant weight before grinding through a 1 mm sieve in preparation for analysis. Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry  procedure was used to analyze total Pb accumulated in the plant tissues . The neoprene rubber sheeting was also analyzed for Pb content using a similar procedure as above. A respirator and goggles were the personal protective equipment  used each time Pb standards and loose contaminated media were handled. Upon conclusion of this study, contaminated materials were disposed of by Louisiana State University Hazardous Waste Disposal . Data were analyzed with the statistical program SAS  Proc GLM with Tukey and Excel for Microsoft 365 .The effects of lead on final harvest weight of Brassica rapa did not vary significantly across barrier treatments which indicates that growth was not affected by the treatments applied .

The large error bar values reflect the wide range of weight variability within each treatment . Lead accumulation data suggests that neither neoprene rubber or landscape fabric significantly excluded lead uptake in Brassica rapa ‘Mibuna’ compared to the no barrier control treatment . There were no significant differences in Pb uptake between the neoprene rubber and landscape fabric barriers nor between landscape fabric and the no-barrier control treatment . Furthermore, the plants in neoprene and fabric treatments exceeded the reference value published by the Chinese National Food Safety Standard for maximum levels of contaminants in foods. Not only did the neoprene rubber sheet treatment exceed the threshold discussed above, the accumulation reported in this treatment was significantly higher than the no barrier treatment. Plausible explanations for the unexpected results include: pores in the landscape fabric may have allowed some contaminated soil movement; contamination could have occurred via the barrier materials themselves; or the plant roots did not grow deeply enough to reach the uncontaminated-contaminated media interface of the simulated raised bed to accumulate substantial lead in the plant tissues. ICP-OES extractions were subsequently carried out on the neoprene rubber revealing the material contained a concerning amount of lead , possibly contributing to the elevated lead accumulation in the Chinese cabbage plants. Studies of other systems which use neoprene corroborates this conclusion by demonstrating other occurrences of lead leaching from neoprenematerials. Lead analysis was not performed on the landscape fabric because the accumulation data of the plant tissue did not indicate increased Pb levels in this treatment as compared to the control treatment. Upon conclusion of this study, having no barrier is still not recommended as sufficient to prevent Pb uptake in vegetable crops. While the no barrier control treatment had similar Pb values as the landscape fabric treatment , further investigations of barrier materials is recommended. In this study,4×8 flood tray the plants were only allowed to grow for 30 days, whereas a homeowner may let them grow for 40 or 50 days. If plants were allowed to grow for a longer period of time, there is a chance that higher accumulation in the no barrier treatment may have been observed.

Future projects related to this research should evaluate other impermeable barriers such as other plastics like visqueen, and landscape fabrics of other densities as well as longer harvest intervals.Florida’s human population has increased dramatically over the last four decades; increasing from approximately 4.95 million in 1960 to ca. 19.7 million in 2010 which makes Florida the fourth most populous state behind only California, Texas and New York. Moreover, Florida’s population has typically grown considerably faster than the overall U.S. population; for instance, Florida’s population increased 14.2% for the eight-year period 2000-2008, while the overall U.S. population increased by only 7.8% . This rapidly increasing human population is placing a great deal of stress on Florida’s ecosystems, especially its watersheds, freshwater supply and coastal communities. As a result, riparian zones have become a major focus of watershed initiatives to improve degraded stream systems because alterations of these transitional ecotones can have significant effects on the aquatic ecosystems that they bor-der. Natural tributaries are common in suburban and urban settings, but they are often highly disturbed , eutrophic from excessive inorganic nutrient loading and have reduced plant diversity, especially of shrubs and trees. Substantial research has found that high levels of nutrients in lotic systems can significantly affect the ecology of recipient rivers, lakes and estuaries. Of special concern are levels of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous which are the two nutrients most often associated with algal blooms, although the strength of the relationship is often affected by other environmental factors such as irradiance and water temperature. In addition, the relative strength of top-down  and bottom-up  factors in limiting phytoplankton abundance and/or diversity vary temporally. For instance, Vanni and Temte found that grazing by zooplankton was more important in limiting phytoplankton populations in a lake during the spring, but nutrient limitation was more important in the summer. Removal of native vegetation, especially trees and shrubs, while facilitating access and maintenance of urban streams, can greatly affect ecosystem functions including in-stream processing of nutrients and pollutants. Loss of riparian forest has been found to influence stream parameters such as light fluxes, temperature, and nutrient levels. For instance, Peterjohn and Correll calculated that surface water that had filtered across approximately 50 m of riparian forest removed about 45 kg/ha of nitrate nitrogen per year; additionally, riparian forest sequestered more nutrients than nearby cropland. Wahl et al. found outflow of inorganic nitrogen from urbanized deforested stream was more than twice that of a forested riparian watershed.

Sabater et al. found that open nutrient-rich tributaries with warmer temperatures had significantly higher levels of algal biomass than shaded nutrient-poor streams. These results are consistent with other studies that have found interactions of various degrees between light levels, temperature and nutrient levels. Transitional zones such as wetlands and riparian ecotones also provide important habitat for invertebrate communities and provide refugia for juvenile fish and amphibians. According to Richardson et al. , riparian management was initially developed to protect and improve fish habitat. Loss of tree and shrub communities, which is common along urban and suburban tributaries, will result in decreased leaf litter. Reduced leaf litter has been associated with decreased detritivore populations, which leads in turn to decreased abundance of aquatic and terrestrial insect prey available for fish. In addition, Renöfält and Nilsson found that when they experimentally disturbed riparian vegetation by cutting along a river in Sweden, plant species composition was unaffected, but species richness was reduced. Reduction of vegetation in riparian and marine habitats may have cascading effects on higher trophic levels. For instance, arthropod abundance was significantly higher in riparian sites that contained supralittorial vegetation compared to a site in which the vegetation had been removed. Riparian reforestation projects, incorporating native shrubs, forbs and other understory species, have the potential to ameliorate nutrient loading and reduce rates of species loss in urbanized areas. Riparian strips also serve as corridors for both plants and wildlife by facilitating the movement of colonizing individuals between suitable patches of habitat as well as gene flow among otherwise isolated populations. Restoration projects are becoming increasingly common and provide important opportunities to conduct research on the effects of scale on basic ecological principles such as nutrient cycling and species-area relationships. It has been suggested that riparian forest widths of 30-100 m may be necessary to provide sufficient habitat to maintain pre-logging densities of some wildlife.The current study suggests that partial restoration of native vegetation of much smaller fragmented patches along first-order tributaries of the St. Johns may provide local benefits to the watershed including reduction of nutrients associated with eutrophication and algal blooms and modest increases in biodiversity over a relatively short time. The St. Johns River is Florida’s largest river and it is an important natural and cultural resource for central and north Florida. Although it is a primary source of fresh water for Florida and it was designated as a National Heritage River in 2002, high levels of inorganic fertilizers enter the watershed from commercial and residential areas, significantly reducing water quality. Continued loading of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous is likely facilitated by typical urban riparian management techniques such as tree removal and regular mowing, which are designed to facilitate maintenance and rapid removal of large volumes of water after storms, reduces the structure and complexity of the ecosystem. This increase in nutrient enrichment has resulted in frequent and extensive algal blooms in the river over the past ten years.

Sampling method of flower-visiting insect community that sampling of flower-visiting insects which are frequently active in Prunus persica flower were done every 5 – 7 days, from 9:00 to 17:00 on April to June 2016 when 5 trees from sunny and shady slope each site, respectively. Photos were taken for insects visiting and foraging nectar and pollen from 3 fixed flower sprays/tree, recording worm access if insects flew away and visited again. Wu , Xue and Zhao and other taxonomic books were consulted for identifying insect species .We detected 20 VOCs emitted from Prunus persica floral branches by ATD-GC/MS, and floral VOCs from sunny slope were more than shady site  . On high altitude trees, foral scents from upslope branch are lower than that from downslope of same tree, in accordance with high altitude tree emitted 10 and 15 VOCs from upslope and downslope branches in sunny site, 7 and 8 VOCs from upslope and downslope in shady site. That 6 special floral scents from sunny slope are alpha-dimethyl-benzenemethanol, isoropyl palmitate, ethylbenzene, p-xylene, acetophenone, 3-ethyl-2-methyle-heptane, and 3 special floral scents from shady site are propylene glycol, decanal, hexadecane. Sampled trees from high altitude emit special floral scents are more than low altitude tree, and downslope branches emit special floral scents are more than upslope branches from the same tree except the downslope branches without special scents. Toluene, hexanal, 2-ethyl-hexanol, dodecane, pentadecane 5 VOCs from Prunus persica floral branches can sampled during 8 temporal quantum, that 1 alcohol, 1 aldehydes, 1 terpene, and 2 hydrocarbons common VOCs emitted from sampled floral branches. The highest pentadecane content emitted from upslope branches on low altitude shady slope during 12:37-12:47, the lowest during 10:39-10:49 . VOCs pentadecane, toluene, 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, hexanal emitted 2 climaxes, while docecane emitted 3 climaxes. Floral VOCs emitted from floral branches of Prunus persica differently between temporal dynamic sampled trees, the most VOCs 16 constituents emitted from branches of flower during 10:39-11:08, and the lest floral volatiles 8 constituents emitted on the period 11:20-11:47, 12:00-12:24, 12:37-13:01.

In addition, 6 common floral scents 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, hexanal, toluene, dodecane, tetradecane,pentadecane released from trees during 4 temporal quantum . LSD analysis indicated that 2-ethyl-1-hexanal, dodecane and tetradecane emitted same content all the temporal quantum, while hexanal, toluene and pentadecane emitted different content some temporal quantum. Floral scents from floral branches of high altitude tree in sunny site are significantly with scents from other kind of trees.Insects visit 15 and 4 floral branches of Prunus persica in sunny and shady site, vertical farming racks respectively. Most richness, abundance and diversity on sunny or shay slope is similar, while there is difference between SUSD with n/2 − 1 and n/2 + 1 . Table 4 indicated that floral scent constituent number from sunny slope were significantly negative, and volatile constituent number were remarkably positive correlated with richness, abundance and diversity that insects visiting flowers on sunny or shady slope. Toluene, dodecane were dramatically negative, while tetradecane and pentadecane were significantly positive with SUSR, SUSA, SUSD, SHSR, SHSA and SHSD that FSNS seperated with n/2 − 1 or n/2 + 1, and FSAS with n/2. Floral scents correlated with insect community on sample day, insects only visited Prunus persica flower on shady slope . If floral scents from sunny slope were significantly negative correlated with richness, abundance and diversity, while floral scents from shady slope were remarkably positive correlated with those insect community parameters in shady site. 2-ethyl-1-hexanol, tetradecane and pentadecane were significantly positive, while hexanal, toluene, dodecane are dramatically negative correlated with SHSR, SHSA and SHSD separated FSNS with n/2. After sampled floral scents day that insects visiting Prunus persica floral branches community index that SUSR response to floral scents correlation with n/2 − 1 separated branches is similar to that with n/2 + 1, the same occurred at SHSR response to floral scents . Moreover, there is difference between SUSA that separated branches with n/2 − 1 and n/2 + 1, and SHSA, SUSD, SHSD holding the difference. Table 8 indicated that flower-visiting insect SHSA with n/2 − 1 separated floral branches and SUSA with n/2 + 1 were not correlated with scents from flowers. Floral VOCs and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol from sunny slope were significantly positive correlated with flower-visiting insect community index richness, abundance and diversity on sunny slope, but those scents from shady site were negative correlated with those indexes in sunny and shady sites with n/2 + 1, respectively. Hexanal, toluene, dodecane was evidently negative, while tetradecane, pentadecane was positive with SUSR, SUSA, SUSD, SHSR, SHSD with n/2 − 1. Furthermore, tetradecane, pentadecane was negative, and hexanal, toluene, dodecane was positive with community indexes with n/2 + 1 separated floral branches.

Our results show that 20 floral scents were emitted from 1 variety Prunus persica branches of flower; that is similar to that 22 constituents produced by 1 variety Hydrocleys marii and 13 constituents produced by 1 variety H. nymphoides, while 6 floral VOCs were emitted from 6 varieties of Camellia sinensis, so Prunus persica flower emitted more VOCs than some plants. Floral scents that were released from sunny slope were more than shady slope, dependingon strong sunshine, high temperature, and big humidity affecting floral volatile constituents emitted, which testified different chemical substances of fragrance released from Yucca filamentosa on different slopes’ geography condition. Moreover, floral volatile constituents of high altitude were more than low altitude that strong sunshine on high altitude promotes flowers emitting floral scents on the same slope, and volatiles fromOcimum basilicum leaves on high altitude are lower than low altitude in College of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture of Hainan University. Floral scents of 3-methyl-butanal, hexanal were released from Prunus persica floral branches that were emitted from plant leaves defending pests from foraging. We inferred that once insects visit flowers, floral aldehydes were released from Prunus persica, or volatile constituents were released from leaves, when depending on flower and leaf nutrition substance N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Zn, Na and Cu, which affected fruit. Floral aldehydes were emitted from Prunus persica branches on sunny slope emitted with sunshine. Hydrocarbons such as 3-ethyl-2-methyl-heptane, dodecane, tridecane, tetradecane, pentadecane and hexadecane were released from Prunus persica branches, and hydrocarbons produce a pleasant smell, so 6 floral hydrocarbons from Prunus persica attracted insects visiting. Dissimilarity with ATD-GC/MS analysed dominant volatile constituents from Agiceras comiculatum terpenes with poison, and dissimilarity with floral volatiles from Osmanthus fragrans ketones and alcohols. Floral VOCs were differently emitted from Prunus persica on temporal quantum, and difference VOCs of flower were released from Sorbaria kirilowii on different seasons with TCT-GC/MS analysis, while floral scents were produced from Lilium brownii on open period, semi-open, blooming period and recession period, but VOCs were emitted from Rosa rugosa and Sorbaria kirilowii with diurnal rhythm variation. Most floral scents of 16 constituents were emitted from Prunus persica on 10:39-11:08, while same 8 constituents were released from trees on other temporal quanta, which is related with sunshine and temperature, and flower quantity affected volatiles release, different floral volatiles from Agiceras comiculatum branches without flower, with flower and with fruit.

Floral VOCs from Prunus persica before 12:00 are higher than those after 12:00; special floral scents were emitted from both temporal quanta, while floral terpenes and esters were emitted most from Arabian jasmine florescence. Floral hexanal was released in all the sampling time and content from Prunus persica is significantly highest during 10:30-11:30, while hexanal was released from Sorbaria kirilowii in all the sampling time. Pink flowers from Prunus persica and white flowers from Sorbaria kirilowii absorb and reflect different wavelength of light, which release a different amount of hexanal, and flower color has the characteristics of adaptive environment. LSD analysis indicated that there was significantly same floral scent dynamic difference of some constituents, same floral volatile constituents emitted different contents from Sorbaria kirilowii during 7:00-19:00, and same floral scent constituents emitted different contents from Rosa rugosa one day. There was same floral volatile significant difference of common constituents among some temporal quantum, while VOCs were emitted significant difference from Sorbaria kiriowii on different temporal quanta one day, and floral scents were differently released from Lilium brownii on different period.Floral scent correlation with insect community that floral VOCs emission responded to insects visiting Prunus persica flower branches and floral VOCs total content and relative content of each component response to Mylabris forage. Methyl benzenecarboxylate emitted from pollinated Pentunia flower with certain rules , while more volatiles released from the plant that foraged by insects to attract enemy insects, and volatile emission correlated with foraging insect population. Flavoring substance VOCs emission from Cirsium flowers increased with flower-visiting insect community index ascend , while VOCs emitted from needles correlated with Dendrolimus punctatus burst frequently, furthermore, fragrance floral VOCs emitted from Heterobathmiina pollinated flowers are higher than that Aves pollinated flowers. We first founded that there were different correlation between floral scents and insect community visited Prunus persica floral branches before sampled day, that odd branch number from sunny slope and even branches from shady slope separated with n/2 − 1 or n/2 + 1, and n/2, but the floral scent constituents is negative correlated with flower-visiting insect community richness, abundance and diversity on the sunny slope, and positive correlated with those indexes adopted whichever separated method, so could adopted some floral scents that positive correlated with flower-visiting insects on sunny slope to attract insects pollinating. We firstly inferred that floral scents response to flower-visiting insect community depending on the tree branch number and even branches distributed slopes, because 2-ethy-l-hexanal, toluene, dodecane are dramatically negative, while tetradecane and pentadecane are significantly positive with SUSR, SUSA, SUSD, SHSR, SHSA and SHSD that FSUS separated with n/2 − 1 or n/2 + 1, and FSHS with n/2.

We concluded that 2-ethyl-1-hexanol from sunny and shady slope could be used to attract insects visiting flower of Prunus persica, in that insects only visiting floral branches on shady slope that holding odd floral branches, and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol from sunny and shady slope were positive correlated with SHSR, SHSA and SHSD on sampled volatiles day. But, after sampled volatiles day floral scent constituents and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol on sunny slope were positive correlated with SUSR, SUSA, SUSD, and negative correlated with SHSR and SHSD, vertical rack system that separated floral branches with n/2 − 1. So 2-methyl-1-Hexanol from sunny and shady slope could used to lure insects to pollinate on separate slopes, just as flora scents from one kind of plant attract insects pollinating. While no quantitative insects visiting floral branches of Prunus persica that disadvantage sunshine and temperature climate condition on shady slope, and once insects visit floral branches, volatile constituents and quantity emitted possibly from Prunus persica to attract insects visiting to pollinate or inhibit insects foraging flowers, so floral scents were significantly related with flower-visiting insect community indexes . Advantage sunshine and temperature climate condition on sunny slope distributed more flower-visiting insect species that pollinated easily. In addition, flower structural characteristics, the amount and composition of nectar affect flower-visiting insect species . When insects visiting, less floral volatile constituents and contents emitted from Prunus persica branches to inhibit insects from visiting, and secondary metabolic substances emitted from Prunus persica branches to inhibit insects from visiting.Punus persica in Wan Bailin Ecological Garden healthily grow and fruit need insect visiting and emitters attract and inhibitory floral scents, we first definite the 20 floral scents, dominant and special fragrance of Prunus persica that which constituents are attractive could be specific to lure insects pollinating in the future, and perhaps that 2-ethyl-1-hexanol is likely to attract insects, mostly. We first presented that floral scents emission correlated with floral branches and hold different response to flower-visiting insect community indexes separated floral branches with even or odd methods, that prune Prunus persica tree leaving branches odd on sunny slope and even on shady slope to promote those tree growing and fruiting, and get high economic benefit.The arboretum section of the Rio de Janeiro’s Botanical Garden  comprises about 1500 species and almost 9000 specimens.

It is the fifth largest forest country in the world and the African country has the largest area of forest, with 47% of Africa’s forest formations. From a regional point of view, there are more than 60% of all forests in the Congo Basin. In addition, forests cover 67% of the national territory. Dense wet forests occupy nearly 99 million hectares, of which just over 83 million are low-lying. It is estimated that 60 million hectares of these forests would be suitable for timber production, roughly equivalent to all other forest countries in Central Africa. These forests are located mainly in the central basin .Through to the analyzed data we obtained the results presented in Table 2. This development points to a risk of the country slipping in the forest transition curve, which would result in a very strong acceleration of the dynamics of loss of forest cover in the coming years, like other tropical countries . The result of the forest cover estimate in 1990 and the detection of negative change in 2018 give an annual deforestation rate relative to forest area of 2.12% ± 0.07%. Poverty, population growth, weak local  governance and scarcity of infrastructure  and energy, fuel rural exodus, and are the indirect causes of deforestation. Agriculture and charcoal production: Currently, the main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in the Democratic Republic of Congo are food agriculture and charcoal production, which alone destroy more than 90% of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s forests. Firewood collection and logging and mining operations also have an impact. Democratic Republic of Congo’s deforestation rates are closely linked to population growth, with nearly two-thirds of the population living in rural areas and producing nearly half of their own food. Small-scale agriculture appears to be the main driver of deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries in the Congolese basin.

However, researchers warn that a “new wave” of industrial deforestation could emerge. If the Congolese basin does nothing to reduce deforestation rates, all forest cover is likely to pass through. Illegal logging is the second largest factor in deforestation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is mainly fuelled by small-scale logging for national and regional markets, and has played a key role in financing the current conflict. Although itinerant cultivation does not necessarily indicate expansion in the primary forest,stackable flower pots growing populations can intensify agricultural practices, reducing fallow periods when trees naturally regrow. In 2017, 3% of the total loss of tree cover occurred in protected areas and 10% in forest concessions. Watershed degradation in the developing countries due to anthropogenic activities is increasingly becoming a threat to the natural water resources . As a result, most rural areas are undergoing rapid and far reaching land use changes. Many researchers including Olson and Matina  concur that most of the changes are mainly associated with intensification of agriculture and expansion of mixed-crop livestock systems into former grazing land and other natural areas. In addition there is increased deforestation and encroachment of the forests hence reduced forest cover . Changes in land use patterns in Kenya are linked to a rapidly increasing population in rural areas . This growth rate translates to an increased pressure and demand for land resources especially in the watershed regions such as Mau Forest Complex. As a result, there is continuing watershed degradation reflected through diminishing forest cover, reduced water quality, soil productivity, loss of riparian vegetation and wetland areas leading to a decline in the ecological stability of these systems .

SWMFC is considered the most important of the five main watershed areas in Kenya because of its immense economic, social and environmental contributions to the country . It is the main source of Chemosit and Kipsonoi rivers among other major rivers that drain into the Lake Victoria Basin. Despite the critical role in supporting environmental, socio-economic and biological processes, South West Mau Forest Complex has been greatly deforested through excision and encroachment for settlement and farmland . This high rate of vegetation loss has led to decline in the ecological and hydrological changes that may threaten the sustainable future of areas downstream, biodiversity conservation and livelihood support systems . Riparian areas are essential for diminishing negative impacts of land use activities on rivers . However, the riparian areas in SWMFC are experiencing diverse development initiatives likely to have also considerably reduced the biodiversity and increased threats to these river systems . This study set out to determine how land use activities have affected riparian structure, water and soil qualities along Chemosit and Kipsonoi rivers in South West Mau Forest Complex. Adjacent land use activities were obtained through direct observation and photographs. Information on major crops was collected using a structured questionnaire administered to the sampled households living in the immediate vicinity and within 1 km on either side of the river bank. Local land use in every sampling site was recorded. Physical parameters , chemical parameters  and heavy metals  was done according to the standard procedures as described in APHA . These are as follows: Total suspended solids were estimated gravimetrically, water pH using a pH meter, Total Nitrogen determined by Kjeldahl digestion. Total phosphorous was determined using the ascorbic acid method  while analysis for potassium, copper, cadmium and lead was carried out using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer . Before analysis, calibration standards of different concentrations were prepared. In this particular analysis, each replica representing samples from the middle and the two edges were mixed separately to form a composite sample.

A total of 18 composite samples were obtained for the entire water samples collected. Soil samples were separately air-dried at room temperature, crushed, homogenized and passed through a 2 mm sieve. Soil organic carbon content was determined by the Walkey Black titration method . Total Nitrogen was determined using the Kjeldahl distillation method . Potassium, Sulphur, Phosphorous, Cadmium, Copper, and Lead were analyzed using inductivity couple plasma spectrophotometer . Soil pH was determined using a pH meter. Chemosit and Kipsonoi rivers traverses through different land use types. In this case, six distinct land use activities were identified along based on their dominant land uses and characteristics. Generally there is a variation in land use activities from upstream to downstream. Upstream is dominated by indigenous forest characterized by dense network of trees and bushes with little human disturbance. From the edge of the forests towards midstream, the land opens up to a rich upland agricultural area of extensive and intensive farming characterized by tea plantation and few human settlements. Moving downstream, grazing and mixed agricultural farming predominate with more permanently settled small scale farmers and urban set-up with high population and economic activities. From our results, farming plays an important role in South West Mau catchment and is in agreement with findings by Calamari et al., 1995; Jaetzold and Schmidt, 2009. Figure 2 reports the overall riparian biodiversity disturbance in South West Mau catchment. Upstream riparian vegetation was least disturbed with native vegetation present on both sides of the river, intact canopy and with continuous woody vegetation along the riparian zone, dense ground cover and river banks in natural condition. Midstream riparian vegetation is in poor condition characterized by isolated woody vegetation, limited ground cover and disturbed banks. In addition there is a high disturbance of the riparian zone by stock or through the intrusion of exotic species, although some native species remain. Valley vegetation is clearly agriculture with native vegetation clearly disturbed and with a high percentage of introduced species present. Downstream riparian vegetation is severely disturbed on both sides as indicated by reduced and absence of riparian vegetation.During the study period, significant differences were observed in Water pH and Total Nitrogen between sampling sites. Tukey’s test showed that the mean water pH at upstream sampling site differed significantly from that recorded at downstream of Chemosit river. Along Kipsonoi river, the mean water pH differed significantly between midstream and Downstream sampling sites. In both rivers, the mean value for water pH ranged from 6.9  to 7.2 . However these values fall within the pH range associated with most natural waters of 6.5 to 8.5 . Most ecosystems are sensitive to changes in pH while certain organisms prefer different ranges of pH . The reported land use activities in SWMF do not seem to modify the pH of the water. On the other hand, along Chemosit river significant differences were observed in total nitrogen between upstream and midstream sampling sites and between upstream and downstream along Kipsonoi river, respectively. The high Total Nitrogen concentrations of 6.7 mg/l and 5.7 mg/l observed midstream of the two rivers could be associated with adjacent urban and agricultural land use activities.

According to  agricultural activities can lead to an increased flux of nitrogen into water bodies while use of fertilizers on agricultural land has been associated to high nutrient levels at such sites . Further, total suspended solids, potassium, flower pots for sale total phosphorous, cadmium, lead and copper did not however show any significant differences. Total Suspended Solids were highest midstream on both rivers. This variation could be associated to the different land use activities reported for these sites, run-off from agriculture, soil erosion as well as in- stream activities such as car washing. Presence of indigenous forests, absence of agricultural activities, intact riparian zones characterized by dense vegetation explain the low levels of Total Suspended Solids in the upstream of the two rivers . However total suspended solids in SWMF ranged from 24 – 84 mg/l which is below WHO  limits of 1000 mg/l of suspended solids of drinking water. Total phosphorous concentrations increased downstream with the highest concentration recorded at midstream and lowest at upstream on both rivers. Natural concentrations of phosphorous in surface waters usually range from 0.005 to 0.02 mg/l, while the Environmental Protection Agency  recommends a 0.1 mg/l for aquatic systems to prevent accelerated eutrophication . Low concentrations of total phosphorus  recorded upstream of Chemosit and Kipsonoi rivers is linked to the undisturbed dense network of trees. In undisturbed forested areas, streams are believed to have good water quality with low concentration of nutrients . The dense riparian vegetation within the forest land use are effective buffers in filtering out most of the nutrients from the surface run-off . These findings mirror previous studies that concluded that water quality is greatly linked to land use in a catchment  and confirms several studies that have shown agriculture and urban land use as a primary predictor for nitrogen and phosphorous in stream water . The amount of heavy metals represented by Cd, Cu and Pb did not differ significantly across sites and their concentration did not follow any trend from upstream to downstream. These results agree with previous study that metal concentrations at sites located relatively high up in the catchment were comparable to, or higher than concentrations of these metals downstream. These values are linked to effluent discharge, agricultural and urban run-off, washing and bathing activities by local inhabitants and livestock access to the rivers. In addition degradation of the forest cover and other anthropogenic activities going on inside the forest, atmospheric deposition and geology weathering are potential sources of these metal ions . The mean values and standard deviation of soil physico-chemical variables at different sampling sites along the two rivers of Chemosit and Kipsonoi are presented in Table 3 below. The low soil pH upstream might be due to the presence of slightly higher organic carbon content in the soil. Variability in total organic carbon along the two river systems is linked to the reduction in organic material being returned to the soil system due to decreasing vegetation cover downstream and oxidation of soil organic matter as a result of continuous cultivation along the riverbanks, uncontrolled grazing and browsing, loss of organic matter by water erosion and removal of green materials. These results are in agreement with other studies that reported that the soil organic content differed with different land use types .

The molecular phylogeographical investigations on the European members of Aretia by amplified fragment length polymorphism  markers revealed a strong genetic divergence between the Italian and the Montenegrin populations. The study led to the establishment of a new species called A. komovensis sp. nov., which morphologically resembles A. mathildae Levier from the Abruzzo mountains , but differs in the persistent, dense and regular indumentums of the leaf margin. Furthermore, molecular phylogenetic data indicate that A. komovensis is not closely related to A. mathildae Levier, but instead it is a sister species to the Eastern Alpine endemic A. hausmanni Leyb..We invested great effort in a comprehensive study about this Primulacea in order to describe its morphological and ecological characteristics. A number of experiments to obtain callus induction and neomorphogenesis were conducted to identify suitable procedures for in vitro preservation of A. mathildae. This in vitro material will be useful in cryopreservation and improvement of restocking activity.More than half of the vascular plant flora may become endangered by the year 2080 as a result of climatic changes. The Red List evaluations represent the first unfavourable trends in the threat status of plant species , as it is in our study case. As specified in Secretariat of the CBD 2002, the success of conservation must be based on a solid knowledge to understand the value of plant diversity. Our study aimed at deepening the morphological analysis of the plant. SEM observation of Androsace, performed in our work for the first time, allows us to describe the structural characteristics of a high altitude plant species. The pollen grain is oblate-spheroidal, the exine is foveolated without echine suggesting that pollination might be ambophily by insects and wind.

The androceo consists of five stamens, connate with the corolla tube, and as many carpels welded consisted the ovary, which is overcome and unilocular. The tests we carried out with the TTC on the collected seeds indicate that pollination is successful because the seeds are vital showing mitochondrial respiration. The tracts of humic acids. This condition in nature is replicated from the decomposition of the lower leaves of A. mathildae which welcome the seeds fallen from the plant’s floral mature peduncolate capsule. Androsace mathildae can be found in the cracks of limestone at an altitude above 2500 m, with a little substrate, hydroponic fodder system therefore the success of germination is due to the presence of organic material consisting of the same basal rosette decomposition. On the aerial portion of the plant we identified Pyrenophora bromi, never reported at these altitudes, as an agent of leaf decomposition. The results obtained by in vitro treatments show that the highest percentage  of sprouted seeds was obtained on media with NAA  and BAP  pre-treated with a solution containing humic extracts. Callus induction was obtained from cotyledons of in vitro germinated seeds on a medium containing 0.5 mg∙l−1 6-benzylaminopurine and0.25 mg∙l−1 α-naphthalene acetic acid. The frequency of calli formation is about 93%, they presented a colour tending to green, solid mass, excellent growth and strong neomorphogenesis response.Positive results were obtained in culture media containing 0.5 mg∙l−1 BAP and 0.25 mg∙l−1 NAA; we obtained an extremely high frequency  in callus, buds and shoots formation.Water is also a key element of the Persian Garden and at least three conceptual, functional and aesthetic aspects are present in the garden. These aspects can easily be followed in topics such as the presence of water in garden and its movement and cycle, water supplies and garden irrigation. In most cases, aqueducts or fountains were the main sources of water supply for gardens and in many cases, the water and its management and division which were done precisely in past, determined the area of garden. How to irrigate the gardens, which is in direct contact with the shape and type of land in Persian Garden, is important and of course due to the water shortage in most parts of Iran as well as the sanctity and respect for water in the past and Iranian great interest in the use of water in gardens, has caused them to move water in various ways in the garden and add on its beauty and elegance. Plants in Persian Garden, besides the genus and species, are very impressive in terms of location, planting design, beauty and usefulness and even play a role in the protection of garden against destructive natural factors.

For a long time, human beings are always trying to meet their needs through exchange of information, visually, auditory and written and for realization of dialogue between human beings, which prerequisite is the existence of common subject and language, the principle of mutual understanding should be considered . So, classifying articles to different types makes each person find his own audience. In a classification, reports are included in two social and professional categories which the first is the inclusion of reasoning and critical forms and the latter covers research and review. Thus, this paper is in expert and review area. In fact, each system of search includes general structure and partial techniques. There should be coherence and continuity among all of those areas. With this interpretation, the research methodology is qualitative-descriptive.Persian Garden is the oldest and most important gardens in the world. Persian garden is mostly indicative of psychological needs and less measurable with water requirements. Since ancient times, it was an essential part of Iranian life and its architecture and contributed in the presence of large temples and their symbolic strength. Since Sumerians, gardens surrounded the temple and the royal palace. Life in Iran is dependent on water and the water is in fact the main factor of life. Iranians have drawn a tree with running water which is the most favorable views in a dry land. After water, trees play the most important role in the formation of Persian Garden. Ancient Iranians believed in a sacred angel called Aororoza that hurting the plants would made her upset and angry. Much earlier than other nations, Iranian found that creating gardens is the basis for agriculture and achieved the best practices of building gardens since ancient times. In the Islamic era, huge gardens surrounded the palace, and were considered as part of its architecture, so that the garden covered all main aspects of the building symmetrically. The area was divided into rectangular pieces that small streams passed through them. The gardens were built according to the Iranian predecessors and from the first centuries AD, Iranian-style garden goes beyond borders and widens its scope over time. The garden building method in the eastern countries were inspired by Iranian garden building, in Islam, planting trees was good and unnecessary cut them was considered reprehensible and there are many verses and narrations in this case.In Iranian garden, special attention is paid to geometric shapes and square which shows the distance between the components simple and clear, was of great importance.

At the time of planting a tree, the first step is precise in determining the distance from each side and thus forming squares that looking from each side, rows of trees could be seen. Therefore, the general pattern of most Persian gardens consisted of a rectangular space which is quartered by intersecting streams and pathways. The common irrigation system of the time has been known as another effective factor in the formation of geometric garden structure besides the impact of Persian beliefs and morals. This is in addition to directing the flow of water and avoid wasting it, results in rise of the exact order of how planting trees. So, aeroponic tower garden system outer boundary of the garden, water flow paths, fountains’ location, terracing, the planting system of trees and plants, the location of the palace and garden buildings, have been determined based on precise geometrical structure. Beginning to water from inside the palace to garden and its extension in space seems that one feels the main route of water passed through the pavilion. Sound of water in garden space was done by fountains, small waterfalls and ripple marks.Building gardens have a long history in our country and have been considered in all eras, especially the Islamic period. Gardens had several performances in general and in some eras, public gardens were constructed for travel and leisure time of residents. During the Islamic period, creation of gardens and woodlands was also of interest for inhabitants of this old land. In addition to large and magnificent gardens out of the cities, phenomenon of building gardens in and around cities has been special for this land for centuries. In Islam, tree planting is good and its unnecessary cutting is reprehensible, and there are various traditions in this case. On the other hand, due to climatic differences in various regions of Iran, especially in tropical regions, garden is particularly important. These two issues and other issues caused the tree to be respected as a plant and vital factor by the people. In fact, the Iranian culture doesn’t separate man from nature, but sees him along with evolution of natural elements to discover the signs of God.In the gardens, or in other words, discipline is the elements of natural, manmade and put together and how the use of natural elements, and select characteristics of their discipline, how to take advantage of them, and their relation with everyday life of people, play a central role.In this way, other elements may be used in the creation of the gardens, which are minor elements or component parts, and the effects of the main elements of garden .

Water is a world used in speaking always and everywhere and if someone asks us to define, we say it is a colorless liquid which is the source of life, but is it really the definition of water in architecture and only in terms of the physical aspect, it is an interface between man and architecture? Or like the two hides something within itself to be beyond their origin and material? To answer this question, we first examine the human psyche and then the architectural spirit and then we examine the water hidden side and the way it affects humans and architecture, so by contemplating in them, the question can also be answered. Water in the art has a high status and is remembered as a symbol of life, purity, joy and light and is of great importance in rituals of grief and joy. Different states of water create different feelings of the inhabitants of the planet and everyone according to his age takes his own psychological advantage. Arts from the water are apart from the thoughts and beliefs of Iranians. Understanding the concept of water in architecture or water architecture, depends on understanding of water physical laws, our feelings to interactions of water, and most importantly, the role, allegory and communication with human life. Water symbolizes all things that exist potentially. Interpretations and meanings in relation to water somewhat has a close bond with its inherent meaning and its vital role. Water is the messenger of light and purity and is of great value. In addition that water moves people beyond, but also wherever it appears, it reflects the architects’ perception of nature. Water makes human sees the nature around and feels it by simulating the visual, auditory and tactile powers and understands the concept of place precisely with composition and the conflicts with the nature.Water is the most important and critical element which forms garden because birth and life of garden will be meaningless without its presence. After water, plants play the most important role and their flow is rooted in water. Shape and presence, movement and flow of water in the garden have a special system coordinated with geometry and its architectural structure. Water has always no identical state, and every time, it finds a new look. Change of seasons and hours in every moment makes water in a different color. While character of water particles is involved in determining its color. Water is the source of all the sounds and each is the creator of a different feeling in man’s heart . Inspired by nature, man enters these different musical rhythms of water into the architectural space of his life and made it the music of his soul. The music not only caused spirit gratification but also was used as treatment.

Moreover, collectively, emergence time, height and RCD are considered factors of growth and fitness. This result suggests that relative performances of white birch populations in the field, to some extent, could be estimated from germination and pre-planting performances. We expected that survival among the populations would be influenced by cold winter temperature at the common garden site because most of the populations in the experiment were from climates that are warmer than the common garden climate: That was not the case. Surprisingly, most of the populations with good performances in common garden were from locations with warmer climates. However, a study has shown that it is possible for species to perform differently at different climatic extremes. For instance, in a 6 year provenance study of white ash, the provenances with tallest height in the coldest climate were the shortest in a relatively warmer environment and vice versa. The authors pointed out that such result underpins the genetic basis for trade-off between growth and cold tolerance. However, white birch appears to be a generalist with regards to frost tolerance . Mortality was only observed later in the spring and could not be attributed to frost damage. More importantly, mortality was lowest among the populations from Western Canada where the climate is much warmer than in Northern Ontario. Nonetheless, we exercise caution here because short-term growth investment may lead to future mortality when populations from warm climates are transferred to cold climates.Also in this study, summer temperature proved to be a strong predictor of climatic distance to which white birch populations may be transferred. This was consistent with the parallel factorial experiment that we conducted in the greenhouse. We used two temperatures  and two water regimes . Seedlings in the high temperature environment outperformed those in the low temperature environment .

In theory, it implies that white birch populations will benefit from transfers to warmer climates. However, successful transfer is most probable if the climate of the test site matches that of the populations. This is because there is a potential risk of maladaptation when transferring species along climate or geographic range. Also, nft hydroponic system populations might express adaptation to their original environments even when planted in common gardens. For these reasons, a conservative climatic distance will be more appropriate. Out of the populations tested, the closest matches for the common garden site were populations from Timmins  in Northern Ontario and St George’s in Newfoundland. Although St George’s is a climatic match for the common garden site, the population’s performance was not very impressive. Apart from being a match, in the absence of a population from Thunder Bay  in this experiment, populations from Timmins invariably serve as surrogate for the test site. Timmins is located in Northern Ontario with similar cold northern climate as the test site. However, this is not a conclusive outcome because the performances of the remaining two populations from Timmins are less than average even though they were from locations which are a few kilometers apart. This poses a question of how much influence do seed sources have on the post-planting performance of white birch. Also, it should be pointed out that white birch has different ploidy levels with polyploids being generally more tolerant than the diploids. It is difficult to know if there is a confounding effect of ploidy level in addition to population effects. Growth and survival is controlled by many factors other than climates and it is important to understand genotype performance from both genetic, developmental and growth viewpoints to adequately capture the dimension of variations among the populations. However, the prediction of the transfer functions is not trivial. The models summarized the important climate variables relevant to the species transfer and aided the matching of populations with the test site. This will provide a useful guide in the decision making process.

At this stage of this experiment, we use the term “match” with caution and we are itching to know what the populations’ performances might be in a few years from now.Ex situ living collections of socio-economically important plant species are an important resource for sustainable development research and use. Globally, botanic gardens propagate and grow a third of all known higher plant species.This means they have the potential to provide the scientific community with plant material and a wealth of knowledge about how to grow plants successfully, the starting points for their study and sustainable use. Although botanic garden and arboretum collections are acknowledged as important ex situ conservation repositories in FAO’s Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources in Food and Agriculture and their State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources report, botanic garden collections remain largely unknown and under-utilised by the crop and forestry communities. For example, Khoury et al. recently published a paper entitled “Comprehensiveness of conservation of useful wild plants: An operational indicator for biodiversity and sustainable development targets”. This paper concludes that 70% of these taxa are conserved ex situ, and only 33.5% are adequately conserved ex situ in 11 or more collections. However, their analysis did not include data on ex situ living collections and seed bank collections in botanic gardens. This despite the fact that many botanic gardens and arboreta were established with a strong focus on economic botany, and historically were largely responsible for the establishment and the global distribution of valuable plant-based commodities such as rubber, tea, coffee and cinchona. Furthermore, plant conservation efforts led by botanic gardens over recent decades have included a strong focus on socio-economically important plant species, including crop wild relatives, wild food plants and timbers. Botanic Gardens Conservation International , a network of botanic gardens and arboreta in >100 countries, maintains a database of the plants that are grown and conserved in more than 1100 botanic gardens and arboreta around the world. In this paper, we compare this dataset with the dataset of 6941 socio-economically important plants taken from the analysis carried out by Khoury et al. to assess whether botanic garden and arboreta collections contain a significant proportion of socio-economically important plant species, and whether they have a role in contributing to future research and use of such species.

We also examine the reasons why botanic garden/arboreta collections are under-utilised, and make recommendations for increasing their visibility and use.PlantSearch does not provide accession-level data. It is a database of the names of plants in the living collections and seed banks of the world’s botanic gardens. It is therefore not possible to assess the uniqueness or diversity of accessions for any given species, and therefore their genetic representation in ex situ collections. However, PlantSearch does record how many collections a taxon is held in . These data are a useful surrogate for the diversity of accessions for a species and for genetic representation. Therefore, for each species, the number of collections they are held in was used to assess the genetic representation of all collections with 11 or more having comparatively good representation.The comparison between Khoury et al.’s WEP dataset and Plant Search showed that 6017  of the species identified as of socio-economic importance by Khoury et al. are currently conserved within the living and seed collections of the botanic gardens and arboreta in BGCI’s network. Using data from the crop and forestry communities as recorded in Genesys, Khoury et al reported that 30% of socio-economically important plant species  are not currently conserved in any ex situ collections. However, when taking into account species in that list that are found in at least one botanic garden collection, hydroponic nft system our study reduces this number to 732 taxa. BGCI’s Garden Search database currently lists 2952 botanic gardens globally. Since BGCI’s Plant Search database currently contains accession records from 1157 botanic gardens, arboreta and similar institutions, despite it being the most comprehensive database of its kind, this means that 61% of gardens have not made their collections data available through Plant Search. The figures in Table 1 are therefore likely to be an underestimate of the coverage of socio-economically important plants in botanic garden ex situ collections. In addition, PlanSearch and the WEP dataset on which the Khoury et al. study is based use different phylogenies and taxonomies. It is therefore likely that, due to synonymy, this analysis, which is based on direct name matches, is an underestimate of the taxa the two databases share in common, and therefore of the representativeness of botanic garden collections.Of the 6941 useful wild taxa included in the Khoury et al. WEP dataset, 6748 were assigned a medium or high conservation priority by Khoury et al. This analysis shows that only 924 of these taxa are currently not present in any BG collection, and 3238 taxa are comparatively well conserved in 11 or more ex-situ collections. Of the 3017 taxa to which Khoury et al. assign a high conservation priority, their analysis suggested that 1407 are not in ex situ collections. However, this analysis shows that just 544 of these taxa are currently not present in any BG collection. In addition, 911 of the 1407 taxa Khoury et al. suggest are not in any ex situ collection can be found in at least 1 botanic garden and 161 can be found in 11 or more collections each. Finally, a more objective measure of conservation priority is provided by BGCI’s ThreatSearch database, which is the most comprehensive database of threat assessments for plant species available. Of the taxa assessed by Khoury et al. as of medium or high conservation priority, 5253 have threat assessments included in ThreatSearch but only 1153 of these are classified as “Threatened”. The breakdown of threat status categories is in Table 3 below. Of the threatened species that are also medium or high conservation priority according to the Khoury et al. analysis, currently 86% are found in at least 1 ex situ botanic garden collection and 41% are found in 11 or more ex situ botanic garden collections.

Our analysis confirms this supposition. However, they go on to say, “Some information on these holdings likely exists in additional, scattered online databases or in off-line datasets, while other conservation repositories may not yet have digitized their data.” PlantSearch is a public facing meta-database, which is well known in the botanic garden and arboretum community that contributes data to it. In addition, BGCI, the global membership body that maintains PlantSearch, GardenSearch and several other global plant databases is well known to the crop and forestry communities. It is therefore likely that the reasons for not taking the collections of botanic gardens into account are more complex than the lack of available data. One obvious problem is that, with a few exceptions, the botanic garden community does not share its collections level data with Genesys and the crop and forestry sectors. This is in part because the botanic garden sector has no equivalent data portal that enables the sharing of accessions level information. Instead, botanic gardens maintain their own accessions databases  and currently only share the names of those accessions on PlantSearch. Accession-specific information, such as collection number, date of collection, origin and so on, is not recorded in PlantSearch. This is about to change in that BGCI is developing an accessions-level module on PlantSearch which will enable responsible and informed exchange of plant material between institutions and which will be compatible with Genesys. This will greatly facilitate import of accessions level data from PlantSearch into Genesys. A second problem is cultural rather than technical. Botanic garden collections are often grown or conserved for different reasons from those of the crop or forestry communities. These reasons include public display, conservation and scientific research. In addition, botanic garden collections are far more taxonomically diverse than the crop or forestry sectors are. Mounce et al. estimate that, as a minimum, botanic gardens grow over 105,000 flowering plant species, increasingly collected from the wild. To this can be added several hundred thousand  cultivars but, in general, botanic gardens do not cultivate or conserve large amounts of infra-specific genetic diversity. In contrast, crop and forestry gene banks conserve relatively few species but concentrate their efforts on conserving a huge diversity of landraces and cultivars of those species of greatest utility for food security, timber production and other human uses. This means that collection priorities, data and methodologies are not always comparable.

Most of the older people in the country are suffering from many basic human problems such as lack of sufficient income and employment opportunities, absolute poverty, senile diseases and absence of proper health and medical facilities, exclusion, negligence, deprivation, socio-economic insecurity, etc. Health is one of the important human rights that strengthens the persistence of human being and help them to increase basic capabilities. The breakdown of traditional family pattern, changes in traditional norms and values, innovation of modern medical facilities and increasing the rate of older people. For these changes, the older people face difficulty to meet their physiological, psychological and social needs. They are mostly vulnerable in terms of living arrangement, food consumption and possessions on wealth, participation in decision making of the family and social attitude and values. In Bangladeshi context because of traditional norms and religious and social values most of the older people are living with their offspring but at the same time it should be elicited that how easier this co-residency. Because of wide spread poverty and socio-economic change, living together is no guarantee of economic well-being of the older people. Old age brings both physical ailments and social problems. Major social problem of the old people is their adjustment to their surrounding social world in general and their immediate families in particular. Old people very often feel neglected and forgotten. This gives rise to anger, sorrows and frustration leading to tension in the family. In low-income societies, very few older people have access to any comprehensive care, and there is little or no emphasis on the importance of understanding the contextual reality of the older people’s life.

Social support for the older people mostly comes from the informal networks, often with a little support from semiformal network. The tea garden older people avoid seeking health care from a formally qualified doctor due to high costs. Familiarity and accessibility of health care providers play important roles in health-seeking behavior of older people in tea garden areas. Flexibility of health care providers in receiving payment is a crucial deciding factor of whether or not to seek treatment, ebb flow table and even the type of treatment sought. Most significantly, old age is found to be an accepted explanation of ill health and the decisions taken to seek health care are influenced by factors such as perception of severity of illness, familiarity and accessibility to health care providers, and financing of health care. In the absence of specialized knowledge in geriatric health care, multiple sources of health care, such as allopathic care, kabiraji and homeopathic care are sought by the elderly people as also reported in an earlier survey on health-seeking behaviour of adults in rural Bangladesh. It is very important to understand the health needs of the older people and so solicit their opinion in improving the existing health care and hygiene system in the country. Therefore, this study was undertaken to understand the health care and hygiene practices of older people and to gather some information about their perceive health needs using the information and over of Lackatoorah tea garden in Sylhet district.For the purposes of the study, the following operational definitions of the key terms were used. Old age is considered the closing period of human life of an individual. The Constitution of Bangladesh in its clause 15  clearly declares to introduce the Social Security Programme in 1998 for the older people who is 65 years or above for man and 62 years or above for woman. The government, through the Public Servants   Ordinance, 2012, promulgated on Dec 6, 2012, increased the retirement age of the public servants to 59 years from 57 years and the freedom fighter public servant will enjoy one more year in job before going on retirement.

Therefore the inclusive criteria were to become Bangladeshi citizens living in the tea garden areas in Sylhet District and having the age of sixty years and above. The area around Sylhet is a traditional tea growing area. In the tea garden area, most of the land is hill slopes and tea garden worker and their family live in hilly place. They have no their own land for building their houses. So, they live in small and soil made houses. In this study tea garden refers to a place where disadvantage indigineous people live with poverty, poor healths and nutritions, densely, inadequate lighting, lack of safe drinking water, water logging during rains, absence of toilet facilities and non-availability of basic physical and social services. Particularly older people suffer more in tea garden areas. Health care is generally used to indicate the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. In this study health care was used to refer to the government health care services, NGO, voluntary and family health care related services etc. In this study Sylhet district was used to refer the area of Sylhet district including the all tea garden in this region. Health seeking behavior was used to refer the way of seeking health care and their attitudes about health care. Hygiene is a set of practices performed for the preservation of health. Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases. Social support was used to refer the services and allowances for older people and their health care and it was statutory and non-statutory support. The term attitude was used to refer the treatment behavior, thinking pattern and outlook of family members and community people towards older people in tea garden areas.This study was based on qualitative research method with various data collection procedures, such as interview, focus group discussion  were employed to collect necessary information. Although the study was based on primary data, a number of secondary sources, such as policy documents, journal articles, academic books, official documents were used to conduct the study. In this study Lackatoorah tea garden was selected for collecting information about health care and hygiene practices of older people. This tea garden has eleven villages  and all tea garden workers live in that area with their older people. The older people live in soil made small houses with their other family members.

The researchers were selected those villages purposely because Lackatoorah tea garden was near to researchers resident and had proper knowledge about the study area. The primary population of the study was comprised the aggregate number of older people living in Lackatoorah tea garden area of Sylhet District who belong to the age of sixty and above. The total older population of the above eleven villages were 108 and among them 67 female and 41 male person. Purposive sampling procedure was used to access the data necessary to address the research objectives. A number of 20 samples were purposively selected and collected information from each of them. In addition two focus group  were formed with eight participants in each group. The methods/techniques of data collection were semi-structured interview schedule and focus group discussion . Apart from primary sources of data secondary source was used in order to understand the present situation of older people in slum areas.Validity in research is concerned with the accuracy and truthfulness of scientific findings. In this study, it was demonstrated what actually exists and a valid instrument or measure actually measured and what it was supposed to measure. Reliability is concerned with the consistency stability and repeatability of the informant’s accounts as well as the investigators’ ability to collect and record information accurately. In this study the consistently of the same results over repeated testing periods was checked. During study period, hydroponic grow table the researcher using the same or comparable methods obtained the same or comparable results every time and used the methods on the same or comparable subjects. The researcher developed consistent responses or habit. The researcher collected information from the respondents through in-depth interview and focus group discussion and observed their present health conditions personally. Whenever needed, responses were cross-checked with the respondents over telephone. In case of content analysis, principle of authenticity and subjectivity was maintained. So data were credible and reliable as possible.Qualitative analysis of data requires an interpretive approach concerned with understanding the meaning which people attach to phenomena  within their social world. The recorded interviews and focus group discussions were transcribed in full and the accuracy was checked against the original recording and noted by the researcher. The transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis, derived deductively from the research questions and inductively from meanings or actual phrases used by the participants. The trustworthiness of the data analysis process was enhanced by the researcher.

Triangulation of data was ensured by comparing focus group discussions and interviews data for identifying consistency and contradictions and eventually inconsistencies were examined and interpreted. In contrast, semi-structured interviews provided a great deal of information concerning personal issues. Interview and focus group discussion participants talked about their health and hygiene status, hospital experiences and the issues of general wellbeing. They were confident to talk about family matters including personal experiences of care, evaluation of self, and attitude towards diseases, treatment and future planning.When we talk about ethics in social research we are addressing those issues that concern the behavior of social researchers and the consequences that their research brings to the people they study. As such ethical issues have the potential to impact at every stage of the research process and within any research project. This is particularly important issue in qualitative research where there is significant potential for misleading people to be genuinely interested, using contacts to gain confidential information, betraying confidences, and consequentiality. Participation in the study was voluntary and relied on the ethical principal of consent. At the start of interview and focus group discussion, the study purpose and nature were explained. Although the written consent was not taken from the respondent but verbal consent was taken from them. Since the most of the participants were illiterate in Bengali and English; their presence at the interview or focus group was taken to be consent. It was further explained that while the anonymity of individual participants were preserved that their verbatim may be published, although action was taken to prevent them being identified.The demographic information of the population living in the studied area is important to understand the health care and hygiene practices characteristics of older people in the tea garden area. From the study it was seen the average age of respondents in tea garden areas in Sylhet District was 70.25. In the tea garden areas most of the older people live with their son’s and daughter family. It was revealed that the thirty six percent respondents live in joint family with their sons and sixty four percent of respondents live single family with one son or daughter. Education is the backbone of the nations. Education is considered as an important factor of the socioeconomic characteristics of the household. It reveals from the collected information that only fifteen percent respondents completed primary schooling and other dropped out due to poverty of their parents and lack of educational facilities in the tea garden areas. Most of the older people are unemployed and they spend their time in home. Although a few numbers of older people work in tea garden but their income is very law. Twenty three percent respondents earn one thousand taka per month through picking tea leaf and planting in the garden. Older people in tea garden areas suffer various diseases, so, for their treatment and livelihood they need money. Their expenditure is high in respect of their income. It is seen that monthly expenditures of the respondents are three to four thousand taka and eighty five percent respondents depend on their offspring for daily food and medicine. Bangladesh is a multi-religious country. Mainly four types of religious people live in this country but in the tea garden they are indigenous and mainly belong to sanatan/hindu religion. Marital Status of the respondents was shown that thirty three percent of the respondents are widow and widower. The high proportion of widowhood among the older women and who live with their son or daughter’s family.

There are no suitable alternatives to replace livelihood and income bound to extractive forest behaviour for timber and firewood charcoal supply. The only source for securing livelihoods in the country is subsistence farming and extraction from the forest reserves, not only because of poverty but also because of the lack of sustainability regulations adapted to the reality of this population. Moreover, the increase of areas allocated to the settlements revealed basic subsistence needs as the main drivers of the natural resources utilization, but also the need to build houses for this growing population. The built infrastructure and private settlements are consuming space for many other causes.The selected protected areas reported the presence/absence of plants/animals and the survey of the management agent’s : In the Oti-Keran reserve, 80% of these local respondents agreed to the protected area regulatory structure, while many farmers continue to grow crops and graze domestic animals inside the PA. Some villagers recognized that several animal populations disappeared from protected areas because of human pressure through uncontrolled hunting. Animals like buffaloes, antelopes, lions, and elephants are no longer extant in the area, as historical populations have diminished. Forest species such as Vitelleria paradoxa, Anogeissus, Terminalia lactiflora are present while Khaya, Pterocarpus, Accacia albiob, Deterium microcarpum, Gardenia termifolium disappeared from the area. Farmers have argued that some factors, such as bush fires and tree logging, have been contributing to climate change, and seasons come late or earlier between years. At the time the survey was conducted, no effective structure or proactive management system existed. The past reductionist view management approach of PA from the policymakers has resulted in conflicts and distrust arising from the local population. In the protected area of Togodo North, there is a high richness of plant and animal diversity. Tree species such as Ciba pentandra, Milicia excelsa, Pterocarpus, Afzelia africana, Diospyros mespiloformis are present in the PA. Many young people feel disenfranchised from the management of this diverse and species-rich area. In the Abdoulaye faunal reserve, villagers reported various issues with local wildlife. Many animals destroy crops, such as foxes, baboons. African elephants, which were very abundant in the past, are no longer extant. Farms continue to expand at the expense of the reserve area, causing a lack of appropriate wildlife habitat and subsequent movement over the boundaries to the Benin Republic.

The forest resources found are mainly Pterocarpus and Anogeissus. Resource use comprises firewood, charcoal, and timber. Many honey producers recognized a decrease in the honey harvest, which is an important activity that benefits the local populations of the reserve. Effective implementation of sustainable management plans of this rich and useful area for animal biodiversity conservation and the surrounding populations’ needs would be of great importance. The contradiction between terrestrial protected areas increasing and the savannahs and forests decreasing demonstrates the challenge of strategizing the protected areas. The conception of management regulations for protected areas is very important,vertical farming racks but not sufficient without PA models suitable for each area. Indeed, results Oti-Keran National Park in the north showed that there were anthropogenic settlements in the PA coupled to farming activities and hunting, and these observations also exist in the south part of the country in Abdoulaye fauna reserve and Togodo national reserve.At the national level, trends in driving factors showed that while terrestrial protected areas are increasing, forest and savannah land covers are decreasing alarmingly. This contrast showed that the implementation of a protected area strategy encounters some difficulties especially in the management process and system. The Togolese government’s efforts to protect biodiversity showed remarkable growth and multiplication of protected areas in Togo since 2000  with positive trends in the equation reflecting this parameter increase. However, these efforts have not prevented certain protected areas from being subjected to strong socio-economic pressure. Indeed, it has been insufficient to focus solely on avoiding biodiversity losses as the protected area strategy, where proactive measures are necessary to confront the needs of the local population and their vulnerability. Therefore, faced with the degradation of plant and animal biodiversity and compounding environmental problems, protected areas appear as an all-terrain solution adopted by several countries. Their effectiveness is not the same everywhere as previously implemented. This analysis has shown that despite the status of classified areas, the protected areas suffer the same degradation as all other forests due to uncontrolled tree logging for timber production by the surrounding local population. If the status of the PA cannot preserve the environment from degradation, then effective interventions can confront any local population misunderstandings about the purpose of the protected area and also address improvements to the management plan that reduce the protected area into the core area only. A reductionist view of protected areas should be replaced by a model which will reduce conflicts between man and nature. Protected areas can aim to provide all the needs of the human population while maintaining diverse species richness if the Viable Strategy Approach is implemented .

A protected area would be effectively benefiting both the officials and the local population if the PA satisfies the triple basic needs of sustainable management, including social, economic and environmental, in such a way that the resources remain available from generation to generation through sustainable use. For example, since the local economy bases sales and income from agriculture and the wood products, then if these were extracted primarily from protected areas, this situation would be normal and non-antagonist. If protected areas divided into areas able to satisfy agricultural and other anthropogenic needs and managed on a systembased approach, then it would bring integrated activities such as education, monitoring, research and any human settlements in a useful circle . These findings were not consistent with the work of  on the OTA which found that agricultural activities were the main drivers of forest ecosystem degradation around a protected area. This research shows that agriculture was not planned to take place in the buffer zone, and was absent from the management plan that had conceptually opposed agriculture encroaching the protected area. In previous research, in the OTA national parks, many think that tree logging and hunting are illegal activities without proving the legitimacy of these activities, which helped those populations to survive from generation to generation. Thus, the zonation of the PA attempt to mitigate the challenge of local populations’ opinion of a PA as restricted or otherwise hostile to man’s freedom to benefit nature’s services freely. In these villages surrounding a protected area, the population depends on farming and forest resource use. No other professional activities nor governmental financial support or subsidies in the form of economic incentives are available to the local population to mitigate these problems. These findings are also consistent with the results found by previously in the Rumpi Hill in Cameroon. Social factors and lack of structured government programs seriously impact the natural resources despite the effective implementation of a protected areas strategy. These examples testify for the need to redefine the “notion” of a protected area , which should not be perceived as a “forbidden area” ruled strongly as a gold mine. The PA should be able to be divided and managed synergistically to benefit both local populations and as non-local people, such as academic workers, tourists and officials, based on the principle of sustainable use and renewal of the zoned PA. Indeed, sustainable development stands in the background of the present generation to meet basic needs without forgetting the future generation.As long as the present generation’s basic needs are in jeopardy, then it is impossible to think of future sustainability.

Moreover, for  in 1998, the “triple bottom line principle” of sustainability requires three pillars; economic , social  and environmental  to sustain any PA’s aim to be a model of sustainability. Many researchers think that local government policies are inefficient in classified forest management for African regions, especially West Africa. Policies lack economic facilities to put regulations into action that would alternatively stimulate the economy in the region, and consequently, vertical rack system these protected areas management policies lack cooperation with the local population. Unaddressed social needs become the drivers that negatively impact vegetation coverage and the biodiversity in and around a protected area. The biggest challenge of PA resource management is not only the absence of concrete regulations to account for the basic needs of the surrounding population but their understanding and total participation in the protected area management process . Henceforth, the community management strategy can be developed in these protected areas to find a suitable period to enjoy the resources wisely and to renew them for the achievement of sustainable management principles. In many protected areas, researchers have shown that the management rules and enforcement are nearly absent, thus inadvertently permitting the uncontrolled access of the surrounding populations to natural resources, especially forests or faunas. In Togo, for example, Law No. 2008-009 of June 2008 provides for provisions concerning the forest regime, testifying to the desire of the Togolese government to involve, at all stages, local governments in the process of setting up and managing sustainable-use forest and animal resources . Thus, despite the insufficiency of the efforts of the Togolese local authorities to preserve the ecosystems for the well-being of the current and future generations, these efforts are promoted and encouraged by the national government. It is therefore imperative to be part of the logic of multi-scale sustainable development principles, the most basic of which involve participatory or community management to take into account the different socio-economic and environmental needs of the local area and the mutual sharing of the services provided by the PA. The principles established within a protected area are derived from the specific goals and reasons for implementation. Setting limits to avoid using any resources has been a popular strategy in many countries and areas, and serves as a method to perpetuate the existence of natural resources. Natural resources should be available not only for the present generation but also for the future ones; therefore, this is the foundation of sustainable management. The reason why an area establishes boundaries was originally only for plants, animals, or biodiversity purposes. As this goal is facing real challenges related to the supply of ecosystem services to supply basic human needs, then policymakers realized that this paradigm of focusing only on biodiversity preservation was not effective. Thus, the concept of protecting nature and profiting wisely from it becomes unavoidable for a balanced supply of ecosystem services and also for biodiversity preservation. This equilibrium becomes the solution for the survival of the protected area and is based on the background of sustainable principles.

PA should reconcile man with nature through new viable management approaches based on the zonation of these protected areas, as suggested by UNESCO. These models are consistent with those used by   in tropical forests. The Biosphere and Man concept includes the principle of integrated protected areas that are managed sustainably without contradiction or exclusion of human settlements and accompanying activities such as education, monitoring, research, and tourism in the limits of the PA. Those who reject ideology for the inclusion of protected areas towards progressive openness to the public will continue to face challenges and conflicts between natural resources conservation and fundamental anthropogenic land cover change and disturbances. The protected area does not belong only to the local people living locally, as it is a model of sustainable development that seeks to harmonize biodiversity conservation and anthropogenic needs. Alignment with sustainable development is a long process with many uncertainties, although, when managed with the wisdom of sustainability clearly defined, then it becomes understandable and accepted by all the actors involved in the management from the beginning to the end. Moreover, many previous studies on the topic of PA in Togo pointed out that anthropogenic pressure due to socio-economic and political troubles consequences as serious drivers of PA resources degradation. Therefore, monitoring unavoidable activities such as agriculture to be predicted and previewed for integration into the management process by dividing the PA into different areas that supply several services for a peaceful and symbiotic relationship between PAs and residents.