eChapters

Environmental Ethics is a conceptual term which consist various aspects of environmental fundaments, Enviromental ethics is responsible to protect and sustain the resources and ecological system.

Introduction

Impact Assessment can be broadly defined as the prediction or estimation of the consequences of a current or proposed action (project, policy, technology). Emergence of EIA can be related to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 in the USA. This act is now considered as model legislation for implementation all over the world. Today we have more than 100 countries that have adopted EIA legislation. EIA requirements of aid agencies and funding agencies are typically based on the principles included in the NEPA. In any project planning, along with the traditional technical (engineering) and economic considerations the NEPA requires environmental impact considerations. Environmental impact statements (EISs) are prepared as action forcing mechanism in NEPA that describe the environmental consequences of major actions which significantly affect the quality of human environment. Thus, the primary purpose of EIA is to encourage the environmental considerations in planning and decision making process. Finally, it is expected to arrive at actions which are more environmentally compatible.

Many types of geological hazards namely, tsunami, earthquakes, tsunami, floods and drought affect coastal areas like any other place on the Earth. As coastal regions are thickly populated and have abundant urban, industrial and recreational establishments, impacts of geohazards are always severe along coastal regions. Compliance to coastal zone regulations, with protection of sanddunesandmangroveswillbe the best mechanism to minimizethe damages from such hazards. In future, climate change may result in more hazards such as erratic rainfall and increase the frequency of droughts, floods and storm surges, etc. In this context, proposed coastal management zone for the coastal protection, disaster mitigation and management tools in coastal areas are examined in this chapter. It is suggested that extensive use of GIS and development of Geodatabase for the risk prone areas will serve as efficient tool for planners and policy makers to deal with geological hazards. In addition, it is felt that more efforts are needed in legal and institutional framework for integrated disaster management planning on local as well as national level.

INTRODUCTION

Geologic hazards are natural geological processes that inflict severe damage in areas of their operation if the area is utilized by anthropogenic activity in terms of habitation, industrial, recreational or commercial establishments. Many a times, natural geological processes that operated uninhibited for millions of years turn into geological hazards due to human intervention. These losses – lives and economic are not evenly distributed and are more prevalent in the developing countries due to higher population concentration and low level of economic growth. United Nations had realized the need of reducing these losses due to natural disasters and declared the last decade (1991-2000) as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction. Objective of this proclamation was to reduce, through concerted efforts, the loss of life, property damage and socio-economic disruption caused by the natural disasters particularly in the developing countries (Tewar, 2000).

Pollution
The Latin word “polluere,” which meaning to “soil” or “defile,” is the source of theEnglish word “pollution.” Unwanted changes in our environment that negatively impact humans, animals, and plants are known as pollution.
Any unfavorable alteration to the physical, chemical, or biological properties of any element of the environment (air, water, or soil) that has the potential to negatively impact a variety of life forms and property is referred to as environmental pollution.
Substances that are produced by human activity and are present in greater quantities than they would naturally be—solid, liquid, or gaseou —and that negatively impact our environment are referred to as pollutants.
Three Categories of Contaminants Exist
• Pollutants that break down or are not persistent: Natural processes rapidly decompose them. For instance, leftover veggies, home sewerage, etc.
• Pollutants that degrade slowly or are persistent: These are bad for the environment and take decades to break down. For example, most plastics and DDT (pesticides).
• Non-biodegradable contaminants: These have long-term negative effects on the environment and public health since they cannot be broken down by natural processes. For instance, radioactive waste and toxic materials like lead or mercury.

Pollution: Environmental pollution in general, may be described as the contamination of the environment with harmful wastes arising mainly from human activities. These activities release certain materials which produce pollution in the atmosphere water and soil. In simple words, environmental pollution may be defined as direct or indirect changes as a result of human activities, which adversely influence the biological and non-biological equilibrium of the environment.

Metals are toxic and non biodegradable pollutants released into the environment through effluents from agriculture waste, mining, metal processing industries, pharmaceutical industries as well as domestic and natural activities. Metallic pollutants tend to persist indefinitely and eventually get accumulated in the ecosystem. Metals especially arsenic, copper, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium and silver etc. possess a risk to living systems. Conventional processes applied to remediation of metallic pollutants are often restricted due to technical and economical constraints. Particularly when the metal contamination is at very low concentration the conventional methods become inefficient. In this situation application of bioremediation techniques is a technology of choice for environmental protection and clean up.

5.1 INTRODUCTION

A GIS database without single error is reliable for decision making. There are various possible sources of errors in GIS. If an error is not removed during scanning, the final output will also have that error. Besides whatever the work has been carried on wrongly scanned map it will add to errors because the source map itself's erroneous. This is like garbage in garbage out proverb. If wrong data is taken for analysis it will only result in wrong output. Hence it is important to remove error at every stage of GIS work. It is important to locate the sources of errors so that due care may be taken while handling a project.

5.2 ORIGINAL SOURCES OF ERRORS

All the equipments which give attributed data and spatial data will give errors. Before going to field or before collecting data all the related instruments should be calibrated properly. Also the instrument should not cross the permissible error. Besides these while using data from diversified sources errors pertaining to those instruments are mixed to give a different result. When very good accuracy is desired data should be collected from high end equipments. Even if one adds the data from a comparbly less accurate instrument to the data of many accurate instrument is then the result obtained finally will not reliable enough. Global Positioning System (GPS) is available with mm accuracy to meters accuracy. Also surveying with suitable map projection and datum is important; otherwise the result will be wrong. Survey instruments posses some inaccuracy and when a person is using it he should have the accuracy over the instrumental like rain gauge, water level recorders which give attributed data which should be checked for instrumental inaccuracies and method of data collection before using it. Likewise satellite and aerial sensors miss some data and some error are inherent. Such errors should be removed before moving ahead. Errors are resulted due to map reduction, enlargement, data editing and computation method adopted. At the same mapping instruments also possess inaccuracies. When after certain interval a person is going for survey, the registered object may have been changed. Many new features might have come up. Hence the established control points are changed and if the wrongly placed control points are taken for survey then the result itself will be wrong. If proper resolution is not available in the instruments, then the instruments may not capture the minute details which are required.

Introduction

The GIS database is a model of real world. It goes without saying that there is an inherent discrepancy between GIS database and the real world it represents. This is so because all models are fraught with cognitive issues and remain as approximations. To realize the objectives of a GIS, geographical data collected, entered and processed are to be sufficiently error free and reliable.

Errors can be statistical errors like mistakes, wrong inputs or faulty field surveys or system errors like excessive tolerances or high RMS error. The spatial database has further problems in the sense that the real world phenomena are not always intrinsically discrete. For instance where is the bank of a shallow river? Where is the boundary between two soil types? These are but a few questions revealing the fuzzy nature of geographic data. Many soil scientists, geographers have noticed that carefully drawn boundaries or iso-lines on maps in general give misrepresentations of change that are often gradual, vague or fuzzy. Traditional cartography as a medium of spatial data handling had a solution to such problems. But now when digital data are handled, they need to be stored with certain precision. Moreover, the spatial variation of natural phenomena is not just a local noise function or inaccuracy that can be removed by collecting more data or by increasing the precision measurement but is often a fundamental aspect of nature that occurs at all scales. (Goodchild, 1980; Mark and Aronson, 1984). This means residual unmapped variation is a remarkable problem in geographical information processing. It is therefore a prerequisite to fully understand how errors arise or propagated in GIS and what might be the effects of errors on output.

[Bray’s Method (Bray and Kurtz, 1945) – Acid Soils]

Introduction

The term available phosphorus (P) refers to the inorganic form, occurring in the soil solution, which is almost exclusively ‘orthophosphate’. This orthophosphate occurs in several forms and combinations, and only a small fraction of the total amount present may be available to plants, which is of direct relevance in assessing the P fertility level.

The phosphate concentration in solution is governed by heterogeneous equilibria in which it takes part. This situation can be represented as follows:

P adsorbed in solid phase ↔ P in the soil solution ↔ P precipitated

The phosphorus absorbed by plants from soil solution comes from the soil solution in which it exists as inorganic orthophosphate ions viz., H₂PO₄ ^–, HPO₄ ^2– and PO₄ ^3–. The most accessible ion is H₂PO₄ ^–, with the greatest activity coefficient, followed by HPO₄ ^2–. The quantity of P accessible to the plants is influenced by a series of soil properties. The relative abundance of these ions is, however, relatively dependent on the soil pH. For soils having a pH between 4.5 and 7.5, ions of H₂PO₄ ^– as well as HPO₄ ^2– exist in soil solution. At a pH of 7.2, H₂PO₄ ^–and HPO₄ ^2– ions have an equal activity, and, when the pH is strongly alkaline (>8.3), ions of HPO₄ ^2– predominate in solution. Above pH of 9.0, the trivalent ion (PO₄ ^3–) becomes more important than H₂PO₄ ^–, but even at a pH of 12, the HPO₄ ^2– concentration is still greater than that of PO₄ ^3–. Soluble phosphorus may be adsorptively retained at the surface of colloidal particles. This retention is more marked when the higher amounts of clay and sesquioxides are present. Relatively, the available inorganic P tends to accumulate in its most stable state under prevailing conditions, thus, in calcareous soils, the available inorganic P would be acid-soluble, whereas, in acid soils the adsorbed P would be more available. In flooded soils, with low oxidation potential, certain forms of P, normally considered as unavailable, for example, iron and phosphate, can be regarded as available. In most soils, the main source of orthophosphate is organic matter unless, of course, direct fertilization, with soluble phosphate, has been made.

(Neutral Normal Ammonium Acetate Method)

Introduction

The total potassium (K) content of a soil varies from 0.05 to 2.5 %. The total K is distributed in mineral form (lattice – K, 90-98 %), fixed non-exchangeable or temporarily retrograded K (1-10 %) and exchangeable plus water soluble K (1-2 %). Exchangeable K represents an average of 2 – 15 % of the sum of exchangeable bases and 1 – 3 % of the total capacity for cation exchange. The K concentration in the soil solution is on an average 0.08 – 3 meq/litre. Both water soluble and exchangeable K are most accessible to the plant. Available K can, thus be separated into that, immediately available, which is water soluble and exchangeable, and that, potentially available or fixed. The neutral normal ammonium acetate extract contains both water soluble and exchangeable K. K extraction by this extractant is considered as a suitable index of K availability in most soils, based on crop response correlation study. Thus, the K extracted by this method is equated as the available K.

[Williams and Steinbergs (1959) Method]

Introduction

Sulphur (S) occurs in numerous forms in soil, viz., sulphites, sulphates, sulphides and in organic compounds. It is considered that the most accessible form is ‘sulphate’ (SO₄ ^2–). The organic forms of S compounds become assimilable, especially following, microbiological transformation into SO₄ ^2–. The mineralization of organic S in a soil depends primarily upon the N:S ratio, and any SO₄ ^2– formed may be fixed against extraction, particularly if much Fe or Ba is present or if the soil is very acid. Despite the fact that the plants absorb S almost exclusively as SO₄ ^2–, mobility of SO₄ ^2– in soil may not always yield satisfactory results in accordance with the time of sampling, while assessing SO₄ ^2– availability.

The Electrical Conductivity (EC) of the soil is a measure of soluble salts present in the soil and is expressed as millimhos/cm or dSm^-1.

Principle

As the amount of the soluble salts in a solution increases, the electrical conductivity also increases. This electrical conductivity is measured in terms of resistance offered to the flow of current using a conductivity bridge.

It is known that solutions offer some resistance to the passage of current through them, depending upon the concentration of the soluble salts present. Hence, EC is measured in terms of electrical Resistance between parallel electrodes immersed in the soil water suspension.

In such a system, the solution between the electrodes becomes the electrical conductor to which the physical laws relating to resistance are applicable. The electrical resistance ‘R’ is directly proportional to the distance ‘L’ between the electrodes and inversely proportional to the cross sectional area ‘A’ of the conductor.

[Titrimetric/ Walkley and Black (1934) Method]

Introduction

The role of soil organic matter, in relation to soil fertility and physical conditions, are widely recognized. The organic matter is the source of plant nutrients which are released inassimilable forms during microbial degradation. A major proportion of N (95 – 99 % of the total), P (33 – 67 % of the total) and S (75 % of the total) in soils occur in organic combinations, which mineralize to release the nutrients in inorganic forms to be used by plants. Nevertheless, it serves as a reservoir of plant nutrients, in promoting water storage, and in regulating microbial activity.

The organic matter content of a soil varies from 0.344 % in very sandy arid soils to more than 86 % in Peats and Mucks. Soil organic matter contains 5 % N, and 0.5 % each of P and S, thereby, having a N:P:S ratio of 10:1:1. The organic matter content of a soil is estimated by the amount of organic carbon (C) present, as this element represents, on an average, 52 – 58 % of the organic matter, and the C:N ratio is 10 – 15. In the sub-soil, the average organic carbon amount is 36 – 44 % (40 %), and the C:N ratio is < 8. In order to find out the amount of humified organic material, the organic carbon content is multiplied by 1.724, which represents the ratio between the humus and the organic carbon (100/58) and is known as the ‘von Bemmlen factor ’.

The organic matter content of soils is estimated from the organic carbon, determined by using the ‘Titrimetric method / Walkley and Black method. The Titrimetric determination, also known as the ‘wet-digestion method’ involves a rapid titration procedure for the estimation of organic carbon content of soils.

The pH is defined as negative logarithm of hydrogen ion concentration or the log of the reciprocal of the hydrogen ion concentration (Sorenson, 1906).

Principle

A glass electrode in contact with hydrogen ions of the solution acquires an electric potential which depends on the concentration of hydrogen ions. This is measured potentiometrically against some reference electrode which is usually a calomel electrode. The potential difference between glass electrode and calomel electrode is expressed in pH units.

Two electrodes are used in the determination of pH. One is reference electrode which provides a standard voltage and is usually a saturated calomel electrode which has two layers of saturated solution of KCl and mixture of solid HgCl₂ and Hg. The outer tube is usually 5-15 cm long, 0.5-1 cm in diameter. The mixture of solid HgCl₂ + Hg paste is contained in an inner tube that is connected to the saturated KCl solution in the outer tube by means of small opening. The resistance developed by this type of electrode is 2000-3000 Ohms.

The outer electrode is glass electrode that consists of a tube enclosing a lead wire made up of Ag coated with AgCl. This wire is again enclosed in a wax insulation. To the tube at the bottom is attached a glass bulb made up of a special kind of glass which is sensitive to hydrogen ions. The thickness of the glass membrane varies from 0.03 to 0.1 mm and has a resistance of 50 to 500 mega Ohms.

When these electrodes are dipped in solution, the saturated solution of KCl comes out of reference through small holes and forms an invisible ionic bridge between electrodes through which current passes. The hydrogen ions are absorbed by glass electrode and depending upon the amount of hydrogen ions present in the solution, an electric potential develops between electrodes. This potential difference is measured in terms of pH units by suitable Galvanometer.

Abstract

Crocus sativus L. commonly called as saffron is a Persian plant belonging to the Iridaceae family and is cultivated for more than 4000 years. It grows exclusively in India, the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean region. Saffron is traditionally used for, as a food supplement and its pharmacological properties such as antihypertensive, anticonvulsant, anxiolytic aphrodisiac, antioxidant, antidepressant etc. It comprises of the dried stigma which comprises of 150 different types of metabolites, of which some are responsible for the color, flavor and aroma of the Saffron. Saffron is a plant with great significance as an adaptogen and seems to be promising as a nutraceutical in barring several diseases. The current chapter explores the Ethnobiology, historical background, chemical constituents, ethnopharmacological properties, uses and toxicity of Saffron.

Abstract

Plants have been the source of food and medicine since time immemorial. Tribal people have been using several plants and their parts as source of alternative food that is conventionally not consumed by urban population. However recently, due to increasing population and reducing agriculture land, such alternative foods are gaining attention. Such alternative foods often also have medicinal value and are consumed by tribals for ameliorating certain disorders. Due to rising costs of modern medicine and associated side effects, general public perception is positive for alternative medicines and traditional therapies. Yams are an example of such alternative medicinal foods and are the focus of this chapter. Here we describe the ethnobotanical and nutraceutical potential of yams. We have discussed, in detail, some of the species that are consumed in various regions of India. During the compilation of this data, it was noticed that detailed molecular information is not available for most species, while for some species almost no molecular data exists. Further, many species have not been properly evaluated through modern natural product chemistry and pharmacological screening methods to validate the claims made in ethnobotanical surveys. These and other lacunas in knowledge pertaining to yams have also been pointed out towards the end of the chapter.

Abstract

Mentheae, one of the largest tribes of subfamily Nepetoideae of family Lamiaceae is represented by five genera (Mentha, Nepeta, Origanum, Salvia and Thymus) in Jammu and Udhampur districts (Jammu division). Frequent surveys made of these districts to generate ethnobotanical data revealed the existence of Mentha arvensis L., M. longifolia (L.) L., M. piperita L., M. spicata L., Nepeta cataria L., Origanum vulgare L., Salvia splendens Sellow ex Schult and Thymus serpyllum L. While the enlisted Mentha species are represented more or less equally in the two districts, N. cataria, O. vulgare, S. splendens and T. serpyllum are mainly adapted to temperate regions of Udhampur. The frequent interactions with the locals indicated that except M. spicata whose leaves are used for seasoning dishes or preparing refreshing drinks and those of O. vulgare which find utility in making herbal tea, others are largely used for therapeutic purposes. Amongst these species, maximum use value was noted for M. longifolia (0.81) followed by that for M. arvensis (0.69). So far as agreement among the informants regarding the usage of a species for curing a particular disease is concerned, it came out to be maximum for both M. longifolia and M. arvensis for treatment of respiratory (Fic=0.93) and gastrointestinal problems (Fic=0.93). In our study, most of the informants have predisposition towards using M. longifolia for treating respiratory disorders particularly cough and cold. For this species, fidelity level was found to be maximum equal to 33.33%. This indicates that M. longifolia carries great potential for using in new herbal formulations. Finding of lesser use value for O. vulgare (0.21) and T. serpyllum (0.30), reportedly having many medicinal important components, is a matter of concern. The probable reasons underlying quite less usage of these taxa have also been discussed in this communication along with the future prospects of cultivating these.

Abstract

Asteraceae, one of the largest families of flowering plants, is of worldwide distribution and inhabits almost every environment except Antarctica. The family exhibits various life forms and is known to harbour a wide variety of phytochemicals. The study aimed at systematically documenting the precious ethnobotanical knowledge (ethnomedicinal, ethnotoxic and wild edible plants) of Asteraceae in district Udhampur. A total of 42 infomants between the age group 21-90 years were interviewed and 28 plant species of Asteraceae belonging to 26 genera were observed to be of ethnobotanical significance in district Udhampur. All the taxa were growing in wild and majority of them were herbs. The ethnomedicinal formulations were prepared in the form of paste, decoction, powder, etc which were found to be effective against plethora of ailments. The ethnotoxic plants were observed to exert their adverse effects by causing different ailments or diseases. The present study may serve as a base line data for further research and will go a long way in the treatment of major and minor ailments, protecting people from being poisoned by substances that may have cured them and also serving as food source.

Abstract

India with plethora of flora and fauna is a rich repository of cultural and ethnic diversity. Bestowed with varied biogeographically distributed ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots, the country has always been the torch bearer as far as ethnobotanical knowledge is concerned. Jammu and Kashmir in the North-Western part of India has a rich biological and cultural diversity. Owing to the distinct geographical location and varied climatic conditions, district Poonch represents a rich repository of biodiversity including the wealth of medicinal plants. This study aimed at documenting and examining the use of plants in various medicinal herbal preparations. A total of 223 plant species belonging to 77 families and 173 genera were documented to be used as ethnomedicine by people residing in the study area. The portion of plant parts used were leaves (28.14%), followed by root (16.33%), fruit (11.55%), whole plant (10.3%), stem (09.79%), flower (7.53%), seed (5.27% each), rhizome (4.77%), tuber (3.76%), bulb (1%) and bark and latex (0.75% each). These parts are utilized as herbal remedies for curing 109 human ailments such as abscess, acidity, asthma, back pain, body pain, boils, cancer, cholera, cold, cough, dandruff, erectile dysfunction, eye pain, fever, gastroenteritis, haemorrhoid, high blood pressure, menstrual disorders, sexual disorders, stomach pain, diabetes, diarrhoea, dysentery and weakness. The dominant disease was fever (52), followed by abdominal pain (30), cough (29), headache (22), constipation (20), diabetes (18), wounds (17), weakness (16) and others. There is need for proper documentation and an attempt has been made to highlight high value medicinal plants so that proper strategies could be made for their conservation.

Abstract

Toxic plants are a grave threat to existence and bodily functions of humans and animals resulting in death or sickness through accident, unawareness or bad intention resulting in huge economic loss. They have always been part of our daily life and some of them are so prevalent that we do not even doubt their poisonous nature. The study aimed at systematically documenting the precious traditional knowledge regarding the ethnotoxic plants of district Udhampur. Ethnotoxic data was collected by interviewing 125 infomants between the age group 24-95 years. A total of 89 plant species belonging to 69 genera and 43 families were observed to be toxic to either humans or animals or both. Majority of the taxa were growing in wild. Leaves were observed to be the most toxic plant parts. Frequently encountered toxic plant families include Fabaceae, Solanaceae, Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Apocynaceae and Ranunculaceae. The route /mode of entry of toxic chemicals was mainly observed to be ingestion. A total of 62 ailments/ conditions/diseases were reported to be caused in humans or animals or both by the ingestion, contact or inhalation of toxic plants in the present study. These include nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhoea, hematochezia, abdominal spasms, anorexia, dysuria, deep yellow or no urine, bloat, etc. The present study may serve as a base line data for further research and will go a long way in safeguarding people from being poisoned by stuff that may have healed them.