• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.703-718
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• 2021

An irrigation monitoring system is an efficient approach to save water and to provide effective irrigation scheduling for rice cultivation in desert soils. This research aimed to design, fabricate, and evaluate the basic performance of an irrigation monitoring system based on information and communication technology (ICT) for rice cultivation under drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation in desert soils using a Raspberry Pi. A data acquisition system was installed and tested inside a rice cultivating net house at the United Arab Emirates University, Al-Foah, Al-Ain. The Raspberry Pi operating system was used to control the irrigation and to monitor the soil water content, ambient temperature, humidity, and light intensity inside the net house. Soil water content sensors were placed in the desert soil at depths of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 cm. A sensor-based automatic irrigation logic circuit was used to control the actuators and to manage the crop irrigation operations depending on the soil water content requirements. A developed webserver was used to store the sensor data and update the actuator status by communicating via the Pi-embedded Wi-Fi network. The maximum and minimum average soil water contents, ambient temperatures, humidity levels, and light intensity values were monitored as 33.91 ± 2 to 26.95 ± 1%, 45 ± 3 to 24 ± 3℃, 58 ± 2 to 50 ± 4%, and 7160-90 lx, respectively, during the experimental period. The ICT-based monitoring system ensured precise irrigation scheduling and better performance to provide an adequate water supply and information about the ambient environment.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.548-558
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• 2013

In this work, laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is used to investigate soil samples collected from different desert areas of Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia. Both qualitative analysis and plasma parameters are studied via the observed LIBS spectra. These experiments have been done using a Spectrolaser-7000 system with 50 mJ fundamental wavelength of Nd:YAG laser and detection delay time of 1 microsecond. Many spectral lines are highly resolved for many elements like Al, Fe, Mg, Si, Mn, Na, Ca and K. The electron temperatures Te and electron densities Ne, for the constituent of generated LIBS plasma, are determined for all the collected samples. It is found that both Te and Ne vary from one desert area to other. This variation is due to the change of the elemental concentration in different desert areas that affects the sample's matrices. Time dependent measurements have also been performed on the soil samples. While the signal-to-base ratio (SBR) reached its optimal value at 1 microsecond, the plasma parameters Ne and Te reach values of $4{\times}10^{17}cm^{-3}$ and 9235 K, respectively, at 2.5 microsecond. The later indicate that the plasma cooling processes are slow in comparison to the previously observed results for metallic samples. The observed results show also that in the future it is possible to enhance the exploitation of LIBS in the remote on-line environmental monitoring application, by following up only the values of Ne and Te for one element of the soil desert sample using an optical fiber probe.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.9
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• pp.1517-1526
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• 2018

Investigating bacterial diversity and its metabolic capabilities is crucial for interpreting the ecological patterns in a desert environment and assessing the presence of exploitable microbial resources. In this study, we evaluated the spatial heterogeneity of physicochemical parameters, soil bacterial diversity and metabolic adaptation at meter scale. Soil samples were collected from two quadrats of a desert (Thar Desert, India) with a hot, arid climate, very little rainfall and extreme temperatures. Analysis of physico-chemical parameters and subsequent variance analysis (p-values < 0.05) revealed that sulfate, potassium and magnesium ions were the most variable between the quadrats. Microbial diversity of the two quadrats was studied using Illumina bar-coded sequencing by targeting V3-V4 regions of 16S rDNA. As for the results, 702504 high-quality sequence reads, assigned to 173 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at species level, were examined. The most abundant phyla in both quadrats were Actinobacteria (38.72%), Proteobacteria (32.94%), and Acidobacteria (9.24%). At genus level, Gaiella represented highest prevalence, followed by Streptomyces, Solirubrobacter, Aciditerrimonas, Geminicoccus, Geodermatophilus, Microvirga, and Rubrobacter. Between the quadrats, significant difference (p-values < 0.05) was found in the abundance of Aciditerrimonas, Geodermatophilus, Geminicoccus, Ilumatobacter, Marmoricola, Nakamurella, and Solirubrobacter. Metabolic functional mapping revealed diverse biological activities, and was significantly correlated with physicochemical parameters. The results revealed spatial variation of ions, microbial abundance and functional attributes in the studied quadrats, and patchy nature in local scale. Interestingly, abundance of the biotechnologically important phylum Actinobacteria, with large proposition of unclassified species in the desert, suggested that this arid environment is a promising site for bioprospection.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.244-247
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• 2012

To remediate lead (Pb)-contaminated soils, it is proposed that microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) would provide the best alternative to other remediation technologies. In this study, Pb bioremediation in soils was investigated using the calcite-precipitating bacterium Kocuria flava. Results indicate that the Pb is primarily associated with the carbonate fraction in bioremediated soil samples. The bioavailability of Pb in contaminated soil was reduced so that the potential stress of Pb was alleviated. This research provides insight into the geochemistry occurring in the MICP-based Pb-remediated soils, which will help in remediation decisions.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.31-40
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• 2022

Background: Plant vegetation appears in heterogeneous and patchy forms in arid and semi-arid regions. In these regions, underneath the plant patches and the empty spaces between them are covered by biological soil crusts (moss, lichen, cyanobacteria, and fungi). Biological soil crusts lead to the formation and development of fertile islands in between vegetation patches via nitrogen and carbon fixation and the permeation of runoff water and nutrients in the soil. Results: The present study has investigated the association of biological soil crusts, the development of fertile islands, and the formation of plant patches in part of the Takht-e Soltan protected area, located in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. Three sites were randomly selected as the working units and differentiated based on their geomorphological characteristics to the alluvial fan, hillslope, and fluvial terrace landforms. Two-step systematic random sampling was conducted along a 100-meter transect using a 5 m² plot at a 0-5 cm depth in three repetitions. Fifteen samplings were carried out at each site with a total of 45 samples taken. The results showed that the difference in altitude has a significant relationship with species diversity and decreases with decreasing altitude. Results have revealed that the moisture content of the site, with biocrust has had a considerable increase compared to the other sites, helping to form vegetation patterns and fertile islands. Conclusions: The findings indicated that biological crusts had impacted the allocation of soil parameters. They affect the formation of plant patches by increasing the soil's organic carbon, nitrogen, moisture and nutrient content provide a suitable space for plant growth by increasing the soil fertility in the inter-patch space.

• Journal of Plant Biology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.158-162
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• 1974

Some ecological attributes of perennial plants and Pb contamination were analyzed for study plots near an entrance of Nevade Test Site at Mercury Valley, Nye County, Nevada. The surface of the desert pavement soil was composed of stones (1 to 4cm diameter). The underside of each stone was coated with coarse and fine sand (about 90%). The profiles of soil were constituted with the A-horizon and C-horizon only. The soil pH at the plots ranges from 7.6 to 8.5, C/N was 13 and cation exchange capacity showed 15me/100g. Nine species and 42 number of individuals were found in all plots. Franseria dumosa and Larrea divaricata were dominant species. The discrete clumps of vegetation were consisted of 9 species of common perennials and these were covered about 25% on desert pavement, on the other words, bare area without vegetation was about 75%. The size and spacing of the plants was irregular. Community coefficient as comparison between shrub species in these study area and those in near the low elevation desert indicated a low degree of similarity. Density, cover and productivity in the study plots as compared with those in the nearest study areas in Mercury Valley showed a higher value. The soils in the studied area involved high heavy metal contents in the plant tissue was higher than those of its soil. The leavds of Lycium andersonii tended to accumulate more Zn and Mo than those of the other species. Larrea divaricata leaves accumulated very high leaves of Fe and Ephedra nevadensis were generally high in Mn. Lead contamination was apparent in foliage of desert vegetation collected alongside the roadway, reflecting the variation in traffic volume. Lead contents greater than fifteen-fold of normal (low traffic) were found in plant foliage alongside the heavily traveled roadway. Lead content of old foliage by the heavily traveled roadway was as much as 129 ppm but that of new foliage 17 ppm only.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.71-78
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• 2019

Massive investments are going on to promote and build transportation infrastructure all across the globe with the challenges being more than budgetary. Sandy soils which are predominant in coastal and border areas in India have typical characteristics. The shear strength of such soil is very low which makes it difficult for any kind of geotechnical construction and hence soil stabilization needs to be carried out for such soil conditions. The use of geocells is one of the most economical methods of soil improvement which is used to increase strength and stiffness and reduce the liquefaction potential of the soil. The use of geocells in stabilizing desert sand and results from a series of plate load test on unreinforced soil and geocell reinforced homogenous sand beds are presented in the present study. It also compares the field results using various load class vehicles like heavy load military vehicles on geocell reinforced soils with the experimental results and comes out with the fact that the proposed technique increases the strength and stiffness of sandy soil considerably and provides a solution for preventing settlement and subsidence.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.64-73
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• 2013

Because some particulate matter emission sources may inherently produce soluble species, or some soluble species may be produced during atmospheric transport, it is important to understand the origin of a particles's solubility when water-soluble tracers are used in source apportionment studies. Laboratory experiments were performed on three types of soils (Mongolia grassland, Mongolia desert, and Korean rural soils), to study the impact of acidification by nitric acid vapor on the solubility of metals in the soils. To achieve this goal, concentrations of water-soluble metals (Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Mn, and Fe) in the soils measured before and after acidification. Contributions of concentrations of water-soluble metal species before and after acidification attack to their total concentrations varied little with soil type. Concentrations of water-soluble Mg, Al, K, Ca, Mn, and Fe from the soils after interaction with nitric acid vapor increased, with significant increases in soluble Ca and Mn for all soil types suggesting soil acidification enhances the amount of leachable metal species in soil dust. There was little increase in water-soluble Na and K after acidification for each soil type. This experiment demonstrates that quantities of water-soluble metal species in particulate matter are produced under high gaseous nitric acid conditions.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.553-562
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• 2018

Road construction is becoming increasingly important in marine and desert areas due to population growth and economic development. However, the load carrying capacity of pavement is of gear concern to design and geotechnical engineers because of the poor engineering properties of the soils in these areas. Therefore, stabilization of the soils is regarded as an important issue. Besides, due to the fuels combustion and carbonate decomposition, cement industry generates around 5% of global $CO_2$ emission. Thus, using bentonite as a natural pozzolan in soil stabilization is more eco-friendly than using cement. The aim of this research is to experimentally study of the stabilized marine and desert sands using deep mixing method by ordinary Portland cement and sodium bentonite. Different partial percentages of cement along with different weight percentages of sodium bentonite were added to the sands. Unconfined compression test (UCS), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were conducted on the specimens. Moreover, a mathematical model was developed for predicting the strength of the treated soils.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.785-801
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• 2017

Biopolymer treatment of geomaterials to develop sustainable geotechnical systems is an important step towards the reduction of global warming. The cutting edge technology of biopolymer treatment is not only environment friendly but also has widespread application. This paper presents the strength and slake durability characteristics of biopolymer-treated sand sampled from Al-Sharqia Desert in Oman. The specimens were prepared by mixing sand at various proportions by weight of xanthan gum biopolymer. To make a comparison with conventional methods of ground improvement, cement treated sand specimens were also prepared. To demonstrate the effects of wetting and drying, standard slake durability tests were also conducted on the specimens. According to the results of strength tests, xanthan gum treatment increased the unconfined strength of sand, similar to the strengthening effect of mixing cement in sand. The slake durability test results indicated that the resistance of biopolymer-treated sand to disintegration upon interaction with water is stronger than that of cement treated sand. The percentage of xanthan gum to treat sand is proposed as 2-3% for optimal performance in terms of strength and durability. SEM analysis of biopolymer-treated sand specimens also confirms that the sand particles are linked through the biopolymer, which has increased shear resistance and durability. Results of this study imply xanthan gum biopolymer treatment as an eco-friendly technique to improve the mechanical properties of desert sand. However, the strengthening effect due to the biopolymer treatment of sand can be weakened upon interaction with water.