Review on Climate change impact on soils: adaptation and Mitigation (Published)
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures are expected to increase 1.1 to 6.4°C during the 21st century, and precipitation patterns will be altered by climate change. Soils are intricately linked to the atmospheric–climate system through the carbon, nitrogen, and hydrologic cycles. Altered climate will, therefore, have an effect on soil processes and properties, and at the same time, the soils themselves will have an effect on climate. Study of the effects of climate change on soil processes and properties is still nascent, but has revealed that climate change will impact soil organic matter dynamics, including soil organisms and the multiple soil properties that are tied to organic matter, soil water, and soil erosion. The exact direction and magnitude of those impacts will be dependent on the amount of change in atmospheric gases, temperature, and precipitation amounts and patterns. Recent studies give reason to believe at least some soils may become net sources of atmospheric carbon as temperatures rise and that this is particularly true of high latitude regions with currently permanently frozen soils. Soil erosion by both wind and water is also likely to increase. However, there are still many things we need to know more about. How climate change will affect the nitrogen cycle and, in turn, how the nitrogen cycle will affect carbon sequestration in soils is a major research need, as is a better understanding of soil water–CO2 level–temperature relationships. Knowledge of the response of plants to elevated atmospheric CO2 given limitations in nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus and associated effects on soil organic matter dynamics is a critical need. There is also a great need for a better understanding of how soil organisms will respond to climate change because those organisms are incredibly important in a number of soil processes, including the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
Keywords: Adaptation, Climate Change, Impact, Mitigation, Review, soils
Environmental Quality of Enugu, Nigeria As Impacted by the Primary Air Pollutants in the Area (Published)
Air pollution activities have increased over the years in urban areas of most developing countries like Nigeria. The same has been experienced in Enugu metropolis. This study therefore examined how environmental quality of Enugu metropolis has been impacted by the polluted air in the environment. The metropolis was classified into different neigbourhoods and then stratified into low, medium and high density areas. Samples were randomly collected from these neighborhoods. In determining the residential environmental quality of the area factor analysis (principal component analysis was used to reduce the various environmental quality variables into single factor known as “Y” variable. This served as dependent variable. Primary air pollutants; particular matter, Nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide constituted the independent variables as x1, x2, x3 and x4 respectively. Using multiple regression model a relationship between the dependent and independent variable was established. The coefficient of determination in the result showed that adjusted r2=.917, indicating that 91.7% variation in the residential environmental quality could be predicted from air pollution. Health challenges of reduced oxygen carrying capacity of blood, chronic bronchitis and worsening respiratory illnesses were identified as some of the effects. Also identified, are acidification of soils, staining of fabrics among others on the environment. Making petroleum products like kerosene available and affordable to all by the federal government of Nigeria, among others have been recommended.
Keywords: Enugu, Environment, Impact, Nigeria, Quality
Status of Discharged Abattoir Effluent and Its Effects on the Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Orogodo River, Delta State, Nigeria (Published)
The discharge of untreated wastewater into waterbodies results in water quality deterioration of the receiving waters. This study assesses the impact of abattoir wastewater discharge on the water quality of Orogodo River in Nigeria. Effluent discharges and water samples were collected from river at six points over a 6-month period. Physicochemical analyses were conducted using standard methods. The pH was within a fixed band of 5.56 – 8.04. The downstream biochemical oxygen demand of the receiving river water increased significantly to 75% in July and up to 192% in December. Suspended solids, chemical oxygen demand, total nitrogen and total phosphorus followed a similar trend. Dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, also increased appreciably. The downstream levels of these parameters were higher than their corresponding upstream values, indicating that the discharge of the abattoir wastewater into the river has negatively impacted the river water. The dilution of the waste in the river water was not enough to reduce them to acceptable levels. This study demonstrates that abattoir wastewater impacts Orogodo River water negatively. The abattoir effluent did not meet the National standard for effluent discharge into the environment leading to cross pollution of the receiving water based on the parameters investigated. This therefore, calls for the need to put an effective wastewater treatment and monitoring system in place to enforce existing legislations to curb water pollution and to safeguard both the environment and human health.
Keywords: Abattoir, Impact, Orogodo, Pollution, Water Quality, physico - chemical, wastewater
A Study On the impact of Microbes on Oil Transporting Pipelines in Obiafun/Obrikom, Rivers State, Niger Delta Region, Nigeria (Published)
A study on the impact of microbes on oil transporting pipelines in Obiafun/Obrikom, Rivers State, Nigeria was conducted between 2011 and 2012. To harvest biofilms from the pipelines, ten coupons were placed into the inner surfaces of five pipelines (two per pipeline) and allowed for normal flow of petroleum for a period of 127 days. At the end of the 127 days, biofilms were scraped and used for the enumeration and identification of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB), total heterotrophic bacteria and total fungal counts. Corrosion rate was determined by weight loss method. The results revealed the following species of SRB, Desulfuromonas acetoxidans, Desulfosarcina variabilis and Desulfobulbus propionicus. The bacteria species identified were Bacillus Cereus, Klebsiella oxytoca, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Serrratia marcescens and Halomonas subglaciescola. Among the bacterial species, Gram positive bacteria were more dominant with 62.5% occurrence and the Gram negative bacteria with 37.5%. the fungal isolates identified were mostly of the genera; Aspergillus, Verticillium, Saccharomyces and Microsporarium; Penicillum, Aureobasidium and Hormoconis. The mean values of corrosion rates in each pipelines were 1.6, 5.39, 1.0, 3.37 and 2.22 mpy respectively for 7 TUB, 6 LS, 6 25, 11ss and OBF31 pipelines. These results will provide baseline data for monitoring and controlling of biocorrosion in oil transporting pipelines.
Keywords: Impact, Microbes, Obiofun, Obrikom, Transporting pipelines
A Study On The Impact Of Microbes On Oil Transporting Pipelines In Obiafun/Obrikom, Rivers State, Niger Delta Region, Nigeria (Published)
A study on the impact of microbes on oil transporting pipelines in Obiafun/Obrikom, Rivers State, Nigeria was conducted between 2011 and 2012. To harvest biofilms from the pipelines, ten coupons were placed into the inner surfaces of five pipelines (two per pipeline) and allowed for normal flow of petroleum for a period of 127 days. At the end of the 127 days, biofilms were scraped and used for the enumeration and identification of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB), total heterotrophic bacterial and fungal counts. Corrosion rate was determined by weight loss method. The results revealed the following species of SRB, Desulfuromonas acetoxidans, Desulfosarcina variabilis and Desulfobulbus propionicus. The bacteria species identified were Bacillus Cereus, Klebsiella oxytoca, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Serrratia marcescens and Halomonas subglaciescola. Among the bacterial species, Gram positive bacteria were more dominant with 62.5% occurrence and the Gram negative bacteria with 37.5%. the fungal isolates identified were mostly of the genera; Aspergillus, Verticillium, Saccharomyces and Microsporarium; Penicillum, Aureobasidium and Hormoconis. The mean values of corrosion rates in each pipelines were 1.6, 5.39, 1.0, 3.37 and 2.22 mpy respectively for 7 TUB, 6 LS, 6 25, 11ss and OBF31 pipelines. These results will provide baseline data for monitoring and controlling of biocorrosion in oil transporting pipelines.
Keywords: Impact, Microbes, Obiofun/Obrikom, Transporting pipelines