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The Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) has seen rapid growth in the development of real-time applications due to its ease of management and cost-effective attributes. However, the balance between optimization of network lifetime and load distribution between sensor nodes is a critical matter for the development of energy-efficient routing solutions. Recently, many solutions have been proposed for constraint-based networks using the cloud paradigm. However, they achieve network scalability with the additional cost of routing overheads and network latency. Moreover, the sensors’ data is transmitted towards application users over the uncertain medium, which leads to compromised data security and its integrity. Therefore, this work proposes a light-weight secure and energy-efficient fog-based routing (SEFR) protocol to minimize data latency and increase energy management. It exploits the Quality of Service (QoS) factors and facilitates time-sensitive applications with network edges. Moreover, the proposed protocol protects real-time data based on two levels of cryptographic security primitives. In the first level, a lightweight data confidentiality scheme is proposed between the cluster heads and fog nodes, and in the second level, a high-performance asymmetric encryption scheme is proposed among fog and cloud layers. The analysis of simulation-based experiments has proven the significant outcomes of the proposed protocol compared to existing solutions in terms of routing, security, and network management.

Even though, the blue carbon ecosystems are gaining keen research interest around the globe, the carbon stock of South-West coast of India was poorly reported, and this study is a pioneer attempt and will be an important document for filling the gaps in uncertainties in global carbon stock assessment and also will increase knowledge on biomass variability among mangrove species and mangrove habitats. The study also highlighted the vital role of biomass carbon pool for long-term soil carbon burial. We estimated the above and below-ground biomass carbon stock of 13 mangrove species using two common allometric equations and species-specific equations and reported a very high mean total living biomass carbon stock of Kochi mangroves at 237.19 ± 113.82 Mg C ha-1, 295.78 ± 143.14 Mg C ha-1, and 272.42 ± 132.78 Mg C ha-1 according to Chave's, Komiyama equation and species-specific equation respectively corresponding to carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) of approximately 4,37,774.51 Mg CO2e. The biomass stock was significantly differed between the stations (p = 0.000) and also within species (p = 0.020). Among the mangrove species, Avicennia officinalis contributed highest and Bruguiera sexangula contributed least. Variation was observed for biomass stock of mangroves with large trunk diameter while comparing different allometric equations and therefore projected the need for the development of site- and species-specific equations for solving the uncertainty in global mangrove carbon stock. The study observed that dominant mangrove vegetation type, salinity and also the geomorphology of mangrove habitat had strong influence on variability in biomass stock within a small regional area. The study also suggests that understanding the structure and biomass carbon storage of each regional mangrove habitats can be wisely used in mangrove restoration and conservation programmes and in turn for nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation efforts.

The cobalt nanoparticles decorated biomass Juncus derived carbon (Co@JDC) was prepared by facile calcination strategy and applied to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for eliminating ofloxacin (OFX) in the water environment. The results of catalytic experiments show that 97% of OFX degradation efficiency and 70.4% of chemical oxygen demand removal rate are obtained within 24 min at 0.1 g L-1 Co@JDC, 0.2 g L-1 PMS, 20 mg L-1 OFX (100 mL), and pH = 7, which indicates that Co@JDC/PMS system exhibits excellent performance. Meanwhile, the experimental results of affect factor show that Co@JDC/PMS system can operate in a wider pH range (3-9) and Cl-1, NO3-1, and SO42- have an ignorable effect on OFX degradation. The radical identification experiments confirm that SO4˙-, ·OH, O2˙-, and 1O2 are involved in the process of PMS activation, especially SO4˙- and 1O2 are the main contributors. Furthermore, a possible PMS activation mechanism by Co@JDC was proposed and the degradation pathways of OFX were deduced. Finally, the stable catalytic activity, negligible leaching of Co2+, and the outstanding degradation efficiency for other antibiotics prove that Co@JDC possesses good stability and universality.

Agriculture is the major source of livelihood in rural areas and is considered the backbone of the Indian economy. In Sikkim, agriculture is being practiced by 80% of the rural population, and having no other major livelihood options has created immense pressure on the farmers and agricultural land. Agriculture sector is under great stress as the farmers are being confronted by various challenges in Sikkim Himalaya in recent years, such as land degradation, climate change and socio-economic problems. Despite the number of indigenous agriculture management methods being practised in Sikkim Himalaya, the agricultural production system is weakening. In this context, this paper presents an analysis of challenges faced by indigenous communities, local farmers and potential sustainable strategies for their management in Rani Khola watershed of Sikkim Himalaya. Data and information were collected by field observation, questionnaire surveys of 300 households, key informant interviews and focus group discussions conducted during 2017–18. Data processing and analysis were carried out with a combination of techniques, such as the application of remote sensing (RS), geographic information system (GIS)-based data processing and descriptive statistics. Major challenges identified in the watershed are water scarcity (80%), climate change (88%), soil erosion and runoff (72%), higher investment cost (100%), lack of irrigation facilities (77%), fragmentation and size of landholdings (100), human–wildlife conflict (59%) and pests and disease (60%). Some possibilities and innovations that could address these problems are the use and retaining of various indigenous soil and water conservation (SWC) measures, diversified farming systems, community involvement in the government development process, better irrigation facilities, strengthening the local economy, coordinated planning between stakeholders and development of market feedback mechanism within the system.

Digital technologies are used in various local government activities. Adopting suitable digital technology strategies could enhance service efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability. The challenges of technology adoption among local governments, however, are also evident. One of the major challenges is capacity, including the lack of knowledge or awareness of how to balance the local government’s resources and the strategies that need to be implemented. This challenge also forms a research gap. The study aims to consolidate the understanding of local government digital technology adoption strategies via the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). It analyses the adoption opportunities, challenges, and strategies through the lens of people, processes, and technology frameworks. The results show that: (a) Strategies concerning the people aspects include building a platform for public participation, employees’ skills, and decision-makers' positive mindset development. (b) Strategies concerning the process aspects include recognizing the players’ roles, having a clear aim and procedure, proper regulation, and receiving user input. (c) Strategies considering the technology aspects include understanding the effect of the technology, technological preparedness, and convenience adoption. The findings inform local government policymakers in digital technology adoption and transformation endeavors.

In the near future, the year 2050, agricultural production should expand to fulfill the needs of approximately 9.7 billion inhabitants. Such an objective should be harmonized with social, economic, and environmental sustainability aspects to maintain safe food production and food security worldwide. For more than a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has raised and is still strongly disrupting the agro-livestock production sector, similar to several other economic sectors. In this sector, the relationships between suppliers, producers, and consumers should always continue to maintain the activity of the production chain, which are impaired by social distancing decisions taken following the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, a global cross-sectional survey (translated into four languages: Arabic, English, French, and Spanish) was shared with people belonging to the agricultural sector to identify: (1) the role of the agricultural information and communication technologies (ICTs) in agro-livestock farming systems sustainability during the period of COVID-19 pandemic, (2) the need for such technologies in the agricultural sector, and (3) the factors that affect the use of such technologies. The results showed that the most frequently used agricultural ICTs were social media (Facebook and/or WhatsApp; 27.3%) and online platforms and Internet services (26.3%), whereas robotic vehicles and/or drones (6.6%) were less frequently used. During the emergence of the pandemic, the major reasons impacting agro-livestock farming systems’ sustainability were social distancing (30.0%), shortage of labor (17.7%), maintaining precision farm management (14.8%), product marketing (14.2%), access production inputs (7.2%), and others (16.1%). Applying agricultural ICTs solved many obstacles related to the production process, such as maintaining precision farm management (25.6%), product marketing (23.6%), and access production inputs (16.1%). The subgroup analyses of the results considering the degree of country advancement, size of agribusinesses, and role/position of respondents in the farm highlighted the importance of supporting the use, availability, and awareness of agricultural ICTs at least for some groups of people such as those belong to developing countries, laborers, and small-scale agri-business holders. This cross-sectional study highlights the urgent need to turn to and to expand the use of new agricultural ICTs to meet the growing demand for food production in the world and to ensure the resilience and sustainability of farming systems, specifically under unexpected and extreme conditions.

Over the past 70 years, the world has witnessed extraordinary growth in crop productivity, enabled by a suite of technological advances, including higher yielding crop varieties, improved farm management, synthetic agrochemicals, and agricultural mechanization. While this “Green Revolution” intensified crop production, and is credited with reducing famine and malnutrition, its benefits were accompanied by several undesirable collateral effects (Pingali, 2012). These include a narrowing of agricultural biodiversity, stemming from increased monoculture and greater reliance on a smaller number of crops and crop varieties for the majority of our calories. This reduction in diversity has created vulnerabilities to pest and disease epidemics, climate variation, and ultimately to human health (Harlan, 1972). The value of crop diversity has long been recognized (Vavilov, 1992). A global system of genebanks (e.g., www.genebanks.org/genebanks/) was established in the 1970s to conserve the abundant genetic variation found in traditional “landrace” varieties of crops and in crop wild relatives (Harlan, 1972). While preserving crop variation is a critical first step, the time has come to make use of this variation to breed more resilient crops. The DivSeek International Network (https://divseekintl.org/) is a scientific, not-for-profit organization that aims to accelerate such efforts.