February 2014
Promoting a low cost energy future in Africa
With a large part of the population not having access to modern energy services in their daily life, energy poverty remains one of the most pressing development challenges on the African continent. Africa’s fossil fuel resources as well as its renewable energy potential can serve as the means to achieve this. For Africa’s social and economic development in the 21st century, however, the benchmark for these...
February 2014
Performance evaluation of constructed wetlands: A review of arid and semi arid climatic region
Aiming at environmental pollution control through the use of constructed wetlands systems (CWs) in arid and semi arid climatic region, a detailed review of CWs was undertaken. Given the practical application and simplicity of the technology, principles for building phytotechnology-ecohydrology environment used for wastewater remediation is appropriate. The ability of wetlands to filter, absorb and metabolize suspended...
February 2014
The relationship between landscape planting patterns and perceived safety in urban parks in Tabriz, Iran
The relationship between plants and perceived safety in residential areas has been argued by landscape researchers, but there is inadequate or no relevant literature available on the effect of plants in urban parks’ safety. Therefore, a photo-questionnaire survey was conducted among urban park users in Tabriz, Iran to gauge the perceived safety of landscape scene with diverse types of texture to discover its...
February 2014
Characterization of groundwater quality in Oran Sebkha basin
Growing populations and increasing industrialization causes increase in living standard, which result in decrease in the quality of water and may put stresses on natural waters by impairing both the quality of the water and the hydrological budget. This research aimed at determining the origin of the chemical elements of groundwater from the Oran Sebkha basin. It applied the inverse geochemical modeling to derive the...
February 2014
A multi-method analysis of forest fragmentation and loss: The case of ward 11, Chiredzi District of Zimbabwe
Forest fragmentation and loss seriously affect biodiversity. There is need to monitor and assess forest fragmentation and loss in communal areas for effective biodiversity management. In this study, we analysed the extent of forest fragmentation and loss in ward 11, Chiredzi district of Zimbabwe over a 14 year period (1989 to 2003). A multi-method design was adopted for triangulation and verification purposes. This...
February 2014
Histopathological changes induced by copepoda parasites infections on the gills of economically important fish mugilidae (Liza falcipinnis and Mugil cephalus) from Ganvie area of Lac Nokoue, Republic of Benin
Histopathological changes induced by copepods parasitic infection on the gills of economically important fish, Mugil cephalus and Liza falcipinnis from Ganvie area of Lac Nokoue were examined from December 2011 to July 2012. Histopathological changes shows that the nature of damage observed in the gill of both M. cephalus and L. falcipinnis remained the same. Histopathological observation reveals serious damage of...
February 2014
Monitoring the land-use and vegetation cover changes in the Kainji Lake Basin, Nigeria (1975-2006)
This paper demonstrates the use of remotely sensed data and geographic information system (GIS) techniques for monitoring the land-use and vegetation cover changes in the Kainji Lake Basin between 1975 and 2006- a period of thirty one (31) years. Since 1968 when Kainji Lake was constructed, various activities such as agriculture, deforestation, irrigation, fishing and construction of roads and bridges have taken place....
February 2014
Comparison of plant nutrient levels between compost from Sky loo and Fossa alterna toilets
Recent scholars have highlighted the benefit of harvesting compost from eco-san toilets for application as plant nutrients. However, levels of nutrients in eco-san compost may vary depending on the type of toilet and also the type of top soil in a particular geographical region. This study compared levels of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and sodium between compost from Sky loo and Fossa alterna toilets....
February 2014
Assessment of environmental responses to land use/land cover dynamics in the Lower Ogun River Basin, Southwestern Nigeria
This study investigates the pattern of land use/land cover change in the Lower Ogun River Basin between 1984 and 2012. Two sets of topographical maps, a Landsat-5 TM image of 1984, Landsat-7 ETM+ of 2000 and a Google Earth image of 2012 were used for the study. The topographical maps and satellite images were digitally processed using ILWIS 3.2™ software and exported to ArcGIS 9.3™ for further processing and...
February 2014
Heavy metals concentration in various tissues of two freshwater fishes, Labeo rohita and Channa striatus
Heavy metals like cadmium, zinc, copper, chromium, lead and mercury were measured in the various tissues of Labeo rohita and Channa striatus and in the water samples collected from the Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh during 2009-2010. The concentrations of heavy metals in the different organs of fishes varied. In L. rohita, the concentrations of heavy metals were in the order of liver > kidney > gills > muscles...
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