BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Choosing a location for mariculture is very important because it affects water quality, while problems that affect cultivation and the environment can be avoided by choosing the right location. The objective of this study is to develop a methodological strategy for integrating and analyzing spatial data, which will facilitate the identification of optimal locations for mariculture. In this context, the ecosystem approach to mariculture is analyzed with an emphasis on evaluating water quality conditions and determining primary productivity values.METHODS: Water quality parameter data was analyzed using principal component analysis, values, and distribution of primary productivity using the kriging interpolation method using geographic information system. Spatial analysis employing Geographic Information System applications is used to evaluate the appropriateness of locations for mariculture.FINDINGS: The distribution pattern of primary productivity is strongly influenced by the distribution of phytoplankton and the highest concentration values are located in coastal waters and small islands. The analysis identified three primary components that account for 79.64 percent of the results. The most influential factors include suspended particulate matters, nitrate, temperature, salinity, ammonia, current, and water transparency. According to the study results, the principal component values indicate that the most affected regions by pollutant pressure are agricultural lands that drain into rivers and watersheds, along with coastal residential neighborhoods.CONCLUSION: The status of water quality is the main limiting factor in determining the location of mariculture, therefore it is necessary to relocate existing mariculture, improve agricultural cultivation techniques, and/or regulate the use of pesticides that not carried out during the rainy season. These findings may assist the appropriate authorities in the selection and oversight of mariculture sites. The innovative aspect of this study lies in its focus on adaptive management of sustainable marine cultivation, designed to align with regional conditions and promote ecological health alongside the socio-economic prosperity of local communities.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mangroves are primarily found along Sumatra’s east coast in Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia. Fish communities and other marine life are supported by mangrove forests, which are extremely productive ecosystems. This study used morphological and 16 small subunit ribosomal ribonucleid acid barcodes to track fish diversity in waters surrounding mangroves. The study objectives were to integrate morphological identification with 16 small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid deoxyribonucleic acid barcoding to assess fish diversity in mangrove ecosystems along the east coast of North Sumatra and Aceh, Indonesia.METHODS: Study sites were selected in five locations, namely, Percut Sei Tuan, Belawan, Lubuk Kertang, and Pulau Sembilan in Sumatera Utara coast and Langsa in Aceh coast. Fish specimens were caught using gillnet and danish seines operated by the local fishermen. Morphological identification was performed based on standard taxonomic keys, and deoxyribonucleic acid barcoding using 16 small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid deoxyribonucleic acid marker was applied to validate species identification.FINDINGS: Seventy fish specimens were 70 collected, and 62 species and 39 families were morphologically identified. Leiognathus equula (Leiognathidae) was found in all study sites, followed by Ambassis vachellii (Ambassidae), Pomadasys argenteus (Haemulidae), and Eleutheronema tetradactylum (Polynemidae) in four locations. Gerres filamentosus (Gerreidae), Terapon jarbua (Teraponidae), Sphyraena qenie (Spyraenoidae), and Elops machnata (Elopidae) were detected in three locations. ribosomal ribonucleic acid barcoding confirmed 17 of the fish species detected. Deoxyribonucleic acid barcoding using 16 small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid validated the identification of 17 species, confirming that morphological and molecular approaches are complementary in assessing fish diversity. Two species, Larimichthys crocea and Thunnus maccoyii, were found to be critically endangered and endangered, respectively.CONCLUSION: The combination of field surveys and 16 small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid barcoding provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes in fish species composition and abundance over time, allowing for the identification of vulnerable species and the development of effective conservation strategies. The findings highlight the importance of long-term monitoring, habitat conservation, and sustainable fisheries management to protect fish biodiversity in mangrove ecosystems along the east coast of North Sumatra and Aceh.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mangroves play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by absorbing carbon stocks. However, there is a lack of information on mangrove distribution and their carbon absorption abilities. Therefore, this study aimed to bridge this gap by gathering data on the ability of mangrove forest areas to absorb carbon stocks. Specifically, this study aims to assess the carbon absorption potential of the Lantebung mangrove ecosystem through field surveys, allometric calculations, and unmanned aerial vehicle imagery.METHODS: The methodology employed in this study consisted of field surveys, allometric calculations, and multispectral aerial imagery processing along the coastal of Makassar City, South Sulawesi, within the Lantebung mangrove ecosystem. Field surveys were conducted to determine the species composition of each mangrove stand and measure their diameter at breast height. The allometric formula was then used to calculate mangrove biomass, which was subsequently converted into carbon stock values. Aerial imagery was processed using the normalized difference vegetation index, followed by a regression analysis between normalized difference vegetation index and carbon stock values to obtain a carbon stock estimation model.FINDINGS: The results of the analysis of red-green-blue aerial imagery from the multispectral unmanned aerial vehicle has provided valuable insights into the extent of mangrove vegetation cover in the Lantebung mangrove forest area, revealing it to be 14.18 hectares. The normalized difference vegetation index results indicated that mangrove objects fall within a value range of 0.21–1, categorized into three density classes: high-, medium-, and low-density mangroves. The field surveys confirmed the presence of three types of mangroves in Lantebung Makassar, namely Rhizophora apiculata, Rhizophora mucronata, and Avicennia sp. The regression analysis conducted to assess the relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index value and carbon stocks yielded the equation model carbon stock = 474.61, vegetation Index value + 17.238, with a linear regression value of 0.7945. The carbon stock values for low-density class mangrove areas were predicted to range between 17.24 and 288.64 tons carbon per hectare, medium-density mangroves' carbon stocks to be between 126.04 and 391.14 tons carbon per hectare, and high-density mangrove areas' carbon stocks to range from 258.04 to 491.85 tons carbon per hectare.CONCLUSION: The utilization of drones as a technique for monitoring carbon stocks has offered significant benefits. Drones equipped with multispectral sensors enable the collection of precise and comprehensive data on vegetation and elevation in many ecological systems. The survey and subsequent analysis highlighted the wide variation in the density of mangrove forests in the Lantebung mangrove ecosystem. This study demonstrated a strong correlation between the normalized difference vegetation index extracted using unmanned aerial vehicle and mangrove carbon levels obtained from actual field measurements.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The crisis in the energy sector of Eastern European countries determines the search for alternative ways to solve the above problem, one of which is the development of economic policy in the field of energy in the context of European integration. The purpose of the article is to develop conceptual, theoretical-methodological and methodical-practical foundations of economic policy in the field of energy.METHODS: The methodological basis of the paper is a set of techniques, principles, general theoretical, special, interdisciplinary methods of scientific study. The method of metric ranking is used in assessing the levels of energy security in countries with high energy use. Based on the method of system equations, a functional system of critical infrastructure of the country is built.FINDING: A model of compatibility of energy infrastructure with other components of critical infrastructure (institutional and technological) was developed in order to ensure uninterrupted interaction between all key elements of critical infrastructure of the country and increase the level of energy, economic and national security of the country. Based on the content analysis of the legislation of the countries, it has been proven that in the system of critical infrastructure the energy sector is a key factor of national security. The calculated indicators of the level of energy efficiency of the energy system of Ukraine until 2035 based on the use of blockchain technology proved that the level of energy intensity of Gross domestic product should be reduced by more than half (53.57 %).CONCLUSION: As a conclusion, the developed model of the system of management of distribution of energy resources in the country using blockchain technology will contribute to decentralization of energy transactions, generation and supply of energy based on renewable and traditional sources, will allow to solve the problem of significant distance between renewable energy sources and industrial centers (its main consumers).

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study aims down to evaluate the ability of chloride magnesium- aluminium- layered double hydroxides (4:1) for nitrate adsorption from the soil solution in successive cropping periods. METHODS: The study was conductedunder long-term cropping periods, including first crop): bell pepper; second crop: mentheae; third crop: cherry tomato; and fort h crop: wheat), absorption of soil mineral nitrate in fallow periods and nitrate absorption from plants by layered double hydroxides. The effect of layered double hydroxides on qualitative and quantitative characteristics of plants was also studied. FINDING: Results indicated that layered double hydroxides were able to induce long-term nitrate exchange in crop and fallow sequences. Layered double hydroxides can adsorb soil excessive nitrates in cropping periods and reduce nitrate concentration in the soil solution. Compared to control, the treatment with 16 gram layered double hydroxide/kilogram soil could reduce nitrate concentration in the soil solution by 95%. During two-week fallow periods, the amount of nitrates mineralized in the soil solution was increased, but layered double hydroxides treatments could adsorb them well and maintained the N-nitrate concentration in the soil solution at a low level. Additionally, Results indicated that application of 2, 4, 8 and 16 gram layered double hydroxides/kilogram soil led to 34%, 44%, 58% and 69% reduction in N-nitrate concentration of soil leachates, respectively, compared to control. By increasing nitrogen availability, layered double hydroxides improved the quantitative and qualitative properties of plants. Application of 2, 4, 8 and 16 gram layered double hydroxides/ kilogram soil increased the plant height (cherry tomato) by 14%, 26%, 50% and 80%, respectively. CONCLUSION: It is concluded that the layered double hydroxides has a potential to be used as a long-term nitrate exchanger to control the movement of nitrate in soil, and thereby reduce risks of nitrate leaching in crop production in sensible areas.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The eutrophication process is increased by anthropogenic or aquaculture facilities in marine ecosystems. DNA damage biomarkers for fish species detect genotoxic parameters for ecological risk assessment. The aim of the present study was to determine genotoxic potential induced by marine cage culture in Iskenderun Bay on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) using Comet assay. METHODS: This study was conducted at cage and reference stations of Iskenderun Bay, Northeastern Mediterranean in January 2017. The wild and cultured samples of S. aurata and water samples were collected from wild and fish farm. FINDING: The DNA damages at gill and liver cells of gilthead sea bream in the present study were observed with a higher level of DNA damage in gill cells compared to liver cells, and were determined at the low and minimal scale at the cage and reference stations, respectively. The present study demonstrated that the TP values were recorded at 0.020 and 0.016 mg/L in the cage and reference stations which are at border and below 0.020 mg/L. The DIN values were recorded at 0.097 and 0.075 mg/L in the cage and reference stations, which are at below 0.1 mg/L. The water bodies in the cage and reference stations exhibit Moderate/Mesotrophic water quality The correlations between physical-chemical parameters and DNA damage were shown that DIN, NH4-N, NO3-N and NO2-N in water revealed significant positive correlations with DNA damage levels in gill cells. CONCLUSION: The present study provides the first data set on genotoxic damage induced by marine cage culture in Iskenderun Bay on gilthead sea bream. The result of this research is an early warning for the marine system and further detailed research is needed to establish the source of the pollution and monitor environmental pollution.

Building information modeling can help in predicting the energy efficiency in future based on dynamic patterns obtained by visualization of data. The aim of this study was to investigate the effective parameters of energy consumption using BIM technology which can evaluate the buildings energy performance. First, three forms of general states in the building were modeled to evaluate the proposed designs in Autodesk Revit Software. Then, the main building form for energy modeling and analysis was selected. Autodesk Revit 2020 software was also used to obtain the results of climate data analysis and building energy consumption index. Finally, the most optimal mode was selected by examining different energy consumption modes. The results showed that the use of building information modeling technology in adjusting the parameters affecting energy consumption can save energy cost up to 58.23% in block D. Energy cost savings for block C and the western lobby were obtained as 51.03% and 43.05%, respectively. Based on energy use intensity, energy cost savings for blocks C, D, and the western lobby were estimated as 16.67%, 16.30%, and 11%, respectively. The results of parametric studies on alternative schemes of energy use intensity optimization showed that 16.30% savings could be achieved by the base building model in a 30-year time horizon. Therefore, it was concluded that optimization of energy consumption would reduce the environmental pollutants emission and contribute to preservation and sustainability of the environment.

COVID-19 is a huge tragedy for the world community. Everything in the world is affected due to this pandemic right from economy to resources where the economy of major countries of the world are facing recession and resources are surplus with no takers at all. The measures to contain COVID-19 pandemic include lockdown, social distancing, isolation, and home quarantine. Lockdown adopted by the different governments which involve non-functioning of all the industry and manufacturing units. However, as a blessing in disguise, these measures have a positive effect on the environment in terms of reduction in toxic gasses like nitrogen dioxide, aerosols, atmosphere ozone, particulate matter, and improvement in air quality. In this paper, the effect on various environmental parameters like aerosol, ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and temperature on India by lockdown due to COVID-19 as a preventive measure has been analyzed. The work involves the refining and preprocessing of raw data of this year and last year of various harmful pollutants present in the environment along with satellite images from National Aeronautics and Space Administration for comparison of different parameters. It has been observed that with the above adopted measures temperature has been reduced to near about 15 degree Celsius, there is also reduction in humidity i.e. it is reduced to 40%, particulate matter (PM2.5) reaches near about normal i.e. 40 g/m3 and carbon monoxide levels has also been reduced to 10 ppm. The main idea is to emphasize the fact that how the environment is self-healing during the lockdown. And this study will be beneficial to environmentalists and industry professionals to make the future strategy for improving the environment.

Predicting land use change is an indispensable aspect in identifying the best development and management of land resources and their potential. This study used certified land-use maps of 1997, 2006, and 2015 combined with ancillary data such as road networks, water bodies and slopes, obtained from the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Surveying and Mapping in Malaysia, respectively. The prediction of future land use changes in the Selangor River basin in Malaysia was performed using the Cellular Automata Markov model. The transition probability matrices were computed using the land use conditions of the periods 1997-2006, 2006-2015, 1997-2015. The performance of the model was very good in its overall ability to simulate the actual land use map of 2015, with the index values of 0.92% and 0.97%, respectively for Kappa for no information and Kappa for grid-cell level location which indicated the reliability of the model to successfully simulate land use changes in 2024 and 2033. Based on the expected results, the future urban area will grow faster (33%) over the next two decades, leading to a decline in forest area that is expected to lose 8% of its total space during these periods. Agricultural land will increase to 4%, while water bodies will change slightly increasing to 1%, and other areas of land use will likely become reservoirs of water, topsoil or new green spaces shrinking at 30%. Given the importance of knowledge of future land use in addressing the problems of uncontrolled development on environmental quality, this study could be valuable for land use planners of the river basin largely covered by natural forest. The study however, suggests future research to integrate geospatial techniques with biophysical and socio-economic factors in simulating land use trends.

<strong> </strong>Due to the growth of population and industrialization, a great number of problems associated with producing industrial wastes have been created for both the environment and human beings. The industrial waste management in Brujen industrial park, located in the western part of Iran, has been investigated in this study using the environmental rapid impact assessment matrix technique. For this purpose, the effective activities and components were classified. The determination of the best scenarios with the least impact on the environment was performed by developing the scenarios for possible industrial waste disposal and making calculations by the rapid impact assessment matrix method. The components of the environment were first classified into physical/chemical, economic/operational, biological/ecological, and social/cultural items. Afterward, with respect to the criteria of the rapid impact assessment matrix method, the importance of environmental impacts was determined by standard scoring of the developed scenarios. Ultimately, the environmental score of each component for the scenarios was calculated using the rapid impact assessment matrix method, and the best scenario with the least environmental impacts was selected through a quantitative comparison. According to the results, scenario 3 (pyrolysis) and scenario 1 (recycling) were found to have the most negative impact and the most positive impact on the environment. Scenario 4 (incineration), with its severe air pollution, obtained a high negative score and was excluded from the options. As a result, two systems of recycling (scenario 1) and the sanitary landfill (scenario 2) were identified as complementary to each other and were selected as a solid waste management method.