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Soil salinity and the use of saline groundwater are two major constraints in crop production, which covers a ~1.0 billion ha area of arid and semi-arid regions. The improved drainage function of soil can modify the salty growing environment for higher agricultural production. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of cut-soiler-constructed rice residue-filled preferential shallow subsurface drainage (PSSD) to improve the drainage function and its effect on the yield, quality and plant–water relations of mustard over 2019–2021. Cut-soiler-simulated drains were made in a semi-controlled lysimeter (2 × 2 × 3; L*W*H m) as the main plot treatment in a double replicated split–split experiment with two soil types (subplot) and three irrigation water salinities (4, 8 and 12 dS m−1) as the sub-sub-plot treatment. The drainage volume of variable salinity (EC), dependent on the total water input, was substantially higher in the rainy season (April to October), i.e., 16.6, 7.76 and 12.0% during 2018, 2019 and 2020, with 1.7, 0.32 and 0.77 kg salt removal per lysimeter, compared to the post-rainy season. The mustard seed, straw and biological yields were improved by 31.4, 14.41 and 18.08%, respectively, due to a positive effect on plant–water relations. The mustard seeds produced in the cut-soiler-treated plots recorded higher oil, crude fiber and protein contents and a lower erucic acid content. The increase in salt load, by higher-salinity irrigation water, was also efficiently managed by using cut-soiler PSSD. It was found that the saline irrigation water up to 12.0 dS m−1 can be used under such PSSD without any extra salt loading. The present study showed the potential of cut-soiler PSSD in root zone salinity management by improving drainage in salt-affected arid regions.

Sufficient production, consistent food supply, and environmental protection in urban +settings are major global concerns for future sustainable cities. Currently, sustainable food supply is under intense pressure due to exponential population growth, expanding urban dwellings, climate change, and limited natural resources. The recent novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic crisis has impacted sustainable fresh food supply, and has disrupted the food supply chain and prices significantly. Under these circumstances, urban horticulture and crop cultivation have emerged as potential ways to expand to new locations through urban green infrastructure. Therefore, the objective of this study is to review the salient features of contemporary urban horticulture, in addition to illustrating traditional and innovative developments occurring in urban environments. Current urban cropping systems, such as home gardening, community gardens, edible landscape, and indoor planting systems, can be enhanced with new techniques, such as vertical gardening, hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, and rooftop gardening. These modern techniques are ecofriendly, energy- saving, and promise food security through steady supplies of fresh fruits and vegetables to urban neighborhoods. There is a need, in this modern era, to integrate information technology tools in urban horticulture, which could help in maintaining consistent food supply during (and after) a pandemic, as well as make agriculture more sustainable.

Today, the global food security is one of the most pressing issues for humanity, and, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the increasing demand for food is likely to grow by 70% until 2050. In this current condition and future scenario, the agricultural production is a critical factor for global food security and for facing the food security challenge, with specific reference to many African countries, where a large quantities of rice are imported from other continents. According to FAO, to face the Africa’s inability to reach self-sufficiency in rice, it is urgent “to redress to stem the trend of over-reliance on imports and to satisfy the increasing demand for rice in areas where the potential of local production resources is exploited at very low levels” The present study was undertaken to design a new method for land evaluation based on soil quality indicators and remote sensing data, to assess and map soil suitability for rice crop. Results from the investigations, performed in some areas in the northern part of the Nile Delta, were compared with the most common approaches, two parametric (the square root, Storie methods) and two qualitative (ALES and MicrioLEIS) methods. From the qualitative point of view, the results showed that: (i) all the models provided partly similar outputs related to the soil quality assessments, so that the distinction using the crop productivity played an important role, and (ii) outputs from the soil suitability models were consistent with both the satellite Sentinel-2 Normalize Difference Vegetation Indices (NDVI) during the crop growth and the yield production. From the quantitative point of view, the comparison of the results from the diverse approaches well fit each other, and the model, herein proposed, provided the highest performance. As a whole, a significant increasing in R2 values was provided by the model herein proposed, with R2 equal to 0.92, followed by MicroLES, Storie, ALES and Root as R2 with value equal to 0.87, 0.86, 0.84 and 0.84, respectively, with increasing percentage in R2 equal to 5%, 6% and 8%, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed model illustrated that around (i) 44.44% of the total soils of the study area are highly suitable, (ii) 44% are moderately suitable, and (iii) approximately 11.56% are unsuitable for rice due to their adverse physical and chemical soil properties. The approach herein presented can be promptly re-applied in arid region and the quantitative results obtained can be used by decision makers and regional governments.

The over-exploitation of groundwater resources is a significant concern due to the potential risks associated with the depletion of this valuable freshwater source. Future planning must consider changes in groundwater availability and urban expansion which are critical for understanding urban growth patterns. This study aims to investigate the impact of land cover change on groundwater depletion. Further, the Land surface temperature (LST) analysis has been performed to find the spatial spread of urbanization and its impact on surface temperature. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data for groundwater storage monitoring and Landsat data for land cover and LST mapping have been used. The GRACE-based Groundwater Storage (GWS) anomaly has been correlated with Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)-based precipitation data. The GWS is further cross validated with the groundwater monitoring stations in the study area and the correlation of 0.7 is found. The time series analysis of GWS and the land cover maps with a decadal interval from 1990 to 2020 has been developed to find the impact of groundwater change due to urbanization. The results demonstrate a rapid increase in groundwater depletion and urbanization rates over the past decade. The LST spatial pattern is increasing similarly with the study area’s urban expansion, indicating the temperature rise due to urbanization. The study highlights the limitation of effective policies to regulate groundwater extraction in urban areas and the importance of proper planning to ensure the long-term sustainability of freshwater resources.

City green infrastructure (CGI) makes cities more resilient and sustainable, as required by the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 11–Sustainable Cities and Communities. Based on the CGI policies of Beijing, land use/land cover (LULC) changes of two Asian capitals, Beijing, China and Islamabad, Pakistan, are simulated. LULC maps for 2010 and 2015 are developed by applying object-based image analysis (OBIA) to Landsat imagery. Dynamics of land system (DLS) model was used to simulate the LULC changes for 2020 and 2025 under three scenarios: (1) business-as-usual (BAU); (2) urban green space work plan (UGWP); and (3) landscape and greening policies (LGP). Results reveal that DLS is efficient than other simulation models. The BAU scenario predicts an overall expansion in Beijing’s greenery, while Islamabad will encounter a decline by 7.3 km2 per year. Under the UGWP scenario, urban green spaces and other vegetation area of Beijing will expand by 7.6 km2, while, for Islamabad, vegetation degradation rate will slow down to 6.9 km2 per year. The LGP scenario envisage a massive increase of 23.5 km2 per year in green resources of Beijing and Islamabad’s green land loss rate will further slowdown to 6.1 km2 per year. It is inferred from the results that vegetation degradation in Islamabad need to lessen by implementing LGP policy after basic amendments according to the local conditions and available resources.

On a global scale, wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a widely cultivated crop among all cereals. Increasing pollution, population expansion, socio-economic development, ecological and industrial policies have induced changes in overall climatic attributes. The impact of these factors on agriculture dynamics has led to various biotic and abiotic stresses, i.e., significant decline in rainfall, directly affect sustainable agriculture. Increasing abiotic stresses have a direct negative effect on worldwide crop production. More promising and improved stress-tolerant strategies that can help to feed the increasing global population are required. A laboratory experiment was performed on two of the latest wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes (Akbar 2019 and Anaj 2017) from Punjab Pakistan, to determine the influence of seed priming with thiamine (vitamin B1) along with soil inoculation of Endophytic bacterial strains to mitigate the effects of drought stress at different degrees. Results revealed that thiamine helped in the remote germination; seeds of Anaj 2017 germinated within 16 hours while Akbar 2019 germinated after one day. Overall growth parameters of Anaj 2017 were negatively affected even under higher levels of drought stress, while Akbar 2019 proved to be a susceptible cultivar. A significant increase in RFW (54%), SFW (85%), RDW (69%), SDW (67%) and TChl (136%) validated the effectiveness of D-T3 compared to C-T0 in drought stress. Significant decrease in MDA, EL and H2O2 signified the imperative function of D-T3 over C-T0 under drought stress. In conclusion and recommendation, we declare that farmers can get better wheat growth under drought stress by application of D-T3 over C-T0.

Over the years, cultivation using sustainable tillage practices has gained significant importance, but the impact of tillage on soil water infiltration is still a concern for landowners due to the possible effects on crop yield. This study investigates the impact of different tillage managements on the infiltration rate of sandy clay loam soil under a semiarid environment. Field experiments were conducted in Chott Mariem Sousse, Tunisia. The tillage practices consisted of three treatments, including a tine cultivator (TC, 16 cm), moldboard plows (MP, 36 cm) and no-tillage (NT). Three infiltration models, Kostiakov, Philip and Horton, were applied to adjust the observed data and evaluate the infiltration characteristics of the studied soils. Comparison criteria, including the coefficient of determination (R2), along with the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE), were used to investigate the best-fit model. The results showed that moldboard plowing enhanced soil infiltration capacity relative to tine cultivation and no-tillage treatments. The mean saturated hydraulic conductivity was highest under MP, while it was lowest in NT, with 33.4% and 34.1% reduction compared to TC and MP, respectively. Based on the obtained results, Philip’s model showed better results with observed infiltration due to a higher R2 (0.981, 0.973 and 0.967), lower RMSE (3.36, 9.04 and 9.21) and lower MAE (1.46, 3.53 and 3.72) recorded, respectively, for NT, MP and TC. Horton’s model had a low regression coefficient between observed and predicted values. It was suggested that the Philip two-term model can adequately describe the infiltration process in the study area.

The optimization of outdoor thermal comfort has become the keystone to guarantee the healthy and comfortable use of outdoor spaces. This study aims to optimize the outdoor thermal comfort through vegetation parameterization in a boulevard located in Guelma city, Algeria during summertime. However, two main parameters were investigated, species and tree layout, through a numerical simulation. We first collected microclimate data of a sunny summer day. Second, we used real microclimate data in different simulations using the Envi-met atmospheric model. The findings reveal that Ficus Nitida is the most significant species to intercept solar radiation and provide shade over the day in Souidani Boudjemaa Boulevard, with a maximum reduction of Ta = 0.3 °C and UTCI = 2.6 °C at 13:00 p.m. Tree layout is a determining parameter in the creation of shaded paths, based on the quality of the shadows cast by the trees, namely, their size. Thereby, planting the washingtonia palm trees along the center of the boulevard is the best option to maximize the shaded area within the boulevard, with maximum reduction of Ta = 1.8 °C and UTCI = 3.5 °C at 16:00 p.m.