Environment & Ecosystem Science (EES)

This study comparatively assessed the regeneration and diversity of indigenous woody species under three exotic tree plantations (Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Cupressus lusitanica, and Grevillea robusta) and adjacent natural forests in Gomma District, southwestern Ethiopia. We hypothesized that exotic plantations vary in their capacity to support native species, with higher canopy openness favoring greater richness and diversity. Systematic sampling was conducted in 48 plots to evaluate species composition, diversity indices, regeneration status, and stand structure. Natural forests exhibited the highest diversity (H’ = 3.29; R = 8.36), while Cupressus plantations showed the lowest (H’ = 2.05; R = 2.13). Among plantations, Eucalyptus camaldulensis supported higher richness and diversity than Grevillea and Cupressus. Inverse J- shaped DBH distributions indicated generally good regeneration, yet valuable timber species such as Podocarpus falcatus were absent, suggesting dispersal and microsite limitations. Low compositional similarity (<40%) between plantations and natural forests underscores ecological disconnection. Beyond species counts, our findings reveal functional and management implications: exotic plantations partially support native regeneration but cannot substitute for natural forests. Integrated plantation design—enrichment planting, mixed-species stands, and assisted regeneration—offers pathways to balance production forestry with biodiversity conservation in Ethiopia’s highlands.

Salinity in soils of coastal Bangladesh, one of the foremost challenges for agriculture, differs considerably owing to various factors. But, the salt dynamics of coastal soils has not been experimented comprehensively despites its significance in coastal agriculture. In the present study, we looked at such variability along four locations of Batiaghata upazilla under Khulna district, Bangladesh. Soil samples were collected at weekly intervals from January 2011 to June 2011. Descriptive statistics was used to calculate the salinity levels (dS m-1) and moisture content (%). Regression analysis was done to mark the relationship between those two aspects. Our results disclosed that soil salinity gradually increased from January onwards and reached the maximum in April. Thereafter it decreased gradually and touched the bottom most during June. A negative and linear correlation was established between soil salinity levels and soil moisture contents, specifying the dependency of salinity on soil wetting (or drying). This inquiry, hence, may subsidize to existing policies on land management in southwestern coastal Bangladesh.

Over the last 30 years, Odo Shakiso’s natural forest in Oromia Region has undergone severe fragmentation and vegetation change. By combining multi-temporal Landsat imagery and household surveys, this study examined spatial and temporal patterns of deforestation, identified main drivers of land degradation, and evaluated vegetation health changes over the past 30 years through NDVI trends. Land cover conversion was identified using supervised classification and change detection analyses across Landsat images collected from 1995-2025, and NDVI was used to appraise average canopy density and greenness. The remote sensing analysis was complemented by data derived from structured household interviews, which served to identify perceived socio-economic and policy-related drivers of local forest change. Overall, the forest loss was 29,478.74 hectares or 55.16% of the initial forest cover since 1995, while NDVI analysis indicated consistent decreases in vegetation health, density, and greenness over each decade examined. Despite local efforts of conservation, ongoing forest disturbance occurs due to increasing and overlapping pressures on forest resources. Major Drivers of land degradation include: Agricultural expansion and encroachment, the increasing number of population on the area and socio-economic related resource use, uncontrolled wildfires and climatic variability, the spread of settlements, over-exploitation and grazing, and Ambiguous and limited forest policy. Recommendations include: strengthen and integrate indigenous conservation approaches through community building, develop and enforce distinct, forest-specific forests policy separate from agricultural policy, and establish formal platforms linking scientists, educators, and policymakers to allow for broad, evidence-based decisions.

Rapid urbanization and unregulated land use are intensifying water quality challenges in sub-Saharan African cities, yet local data to guide effective management remain scarce. This study assessed the spatiotemporal variability of drinking water quality in Limbe, Cameroon, by integrating hydrochemical analyses of the Limbe and Macocar rivers with community-based surveys. Water samples collected at upstream, midstream, and downstream during the dry and rainy seasons were analyzed for physicochemical and microbial parameters, while household surveys captured perceptions of health and socioeconomic impacts. Results revealed pronounced dry-season spikes in electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, and coliform counts in the Macocar River, while the Limbe River exhibited persistent downstream increases in nutrient and microbial loads. Statistical analyses linked these trends to farming, waste disposal, and unplanned urban expansion. The weighted arithmetic Water Quality Index (WQI) classified several downstream sites as “poor” or “unfit” for drinking, particularly in the dry season. Community responses corroborated laboratory findings, reporting increased health risks, economic burdens, and reliance on untreated surface water among low-income households. These findings underscore the urgent need for context-specific, participatory watershed management strategies to safeguard water security and public health in rapidly urbanizing, resource-limited settings.

Resilience is often seen as a good thing. If an ecosystem or human society is resilient, it will be able to withstand the disruptions it faces. For a system to maintain a particular state, it must not be subjected to disturbances that exceed its ability to recover from that state. So resilience, like carrying capacity, is closely linked to sustainability. This is why it efforts to improve resilience from groups like the Resilience Alliance. They want our human-environment system to be preserved. City growth and sustainability depending on the stability of the urban indexes such as new development attracted by the people to economic prosperity, proximity as well as the political stability in the area. Keffi is being growing base on the urban growth indexes stated. Sampling based on the indexing of the major factors of sustainability was conducted. About 95% of the inhabitant in the study area agreed upon educational expansion is responsible for urban sprawl as well as the city resilience 80% on proximity index, 70% on economic stability, 60% social resilience and 45 % on political stability of the inhabitant.

Shelford’s Law of Tolerance provides a foundational ecological framework explaining how organisms respond to environmental gradients. This study employed a photographic documentation approach to interpret climatic variability and its impact on human activities, particularly schoolchildren’s outdoor behavior, in an urban setting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A sequence of photographs was analyzed to represent a range of climatic conditions, progressing from clear skies to heavy haze. The images serve as a proxy to visualize the zones described by Shelford’s Law: optimum, stress, and intolerance. By integrating the concepts of stenotopic and eurytopic responses, this article illustrated how narrow and broad tolerance species (and individuals) vary in response to environmental changes. The findings highlighted the relevance of visual, pragmatic learning to deepen ecological understanding in urban education and planning.

The investigation aimed to record the vertical distribution of some key physicochemical parameters in the Pasur River estuary across five sampling stations using a CTD. Each sampling zone demonstrated varying depth according to the local bathymetric feature. Data were collected at one-meter intervals, ranging from 6 to 22 vertical layers, according to the stations. Pressure exhibited a consistent linear increase with depth, as expected in aquatic environments. Temperature profiles showed overall stability around 29°C, with minor variations at greater depths in some stations. Turbidity generally demonstrated an increasing trend with depth, though sporadic deviations were observed. Conductivity values remained predominantly stable across depths at all stations (nearly 1 S/m) with marginal deviations, reflecting a relatively homogeneous ionic composition corresponding to salinity, which ranged from 4.47 to 5.65 PSU. pH levels exhibited marginal but steady increases (within approximately 0.1 units) along the vertical profiles, suggesting a well-buffered system. These baseline findings provide critical insights into the estuarine dynamics of the Pasur River and contribute valuable reference data for future studies on environmental monitoring, biogeochemical cycling, and ecosystem modelling.

Ukraine is on the path to integration into the European Union. The state and national community face many challenges. It is necessary to understand, develop, adapt and implement the European bases of sustainable development at the economic, social and environmental levels at the national level. The ambitious sustainable development goals that the EU wants to achieve are now focused on rural areas and everything that surrounds them, including the health and welfare of domestic and livestock animals and not just agricultural production. Animal welfare legislation is aligned with the most recent scientific evidence outlined in documents such as the European Green Deal, the From Farm to Fork strategy, Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, due to military actions taking place mostly in the Steppe Zone of Ukraine, where four out of five biosphere reserves are located, this has negatively affected the balance in local ecosystems due to the reduction in the number of large and small ruminants raised on pastures and the disappearance of wild fauna, the existence of which depends on the presence of farm animals.

This study investigated the effects of flooding and post-flood irrigation on soil properties (soil fertility and salinity) along the Kamanda River in Kiru LGA Kano State, Nigeria. The region, characterized by a distinct wet and dry season, supports both rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, making it crucial to understand how flood-related processes influence soil quality. Soil samples were collected from four land-use categories (irrigated upland, irrigated lowland, unirrigated upland, and un irrigated lowland) at 0 to 30 cm depth. The results showed that all sampled sites had a sandy loam texture, with sand content ranging from 50.47% to 69.13%, silt content from 27.27% to 42.60%, and clay content from 3.61% to 7.60%. The soils had a slightly acidic to neutral pH (6.23-6.66) and moderate fertility, with organic carbon content ranging from 0.35% to 0.67%, total nitrogen from 0.14% to 0.18%, and available phosphorus from 11.29 mg/kg to 24.56 mg/kg. The cation exchange capacity (CEC) ranged from 3.79 cmol/kg to 6.38 cmol/kg, with exchangeable calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium varying across land uses. Salinity indicators, including electrical conductivity (0.011-0.022 dS/m), exchangeable sodium percentage (2.55-8.74%), and sodium adsorption ratio (<1), remained within acceptable limits. However, higher exchangeable sodium percentage values in irrigated lowlands suggest potential sodium accumulation. The study highlights the importance of sustainable land and water management practices to preserve soil quality and ensure long-term agricultural productivity in the region. The findings underscore the dual influence of flooding and irrigation on soil properties, suggesting the need for adaptive soil and water management practices to maintain long-term productivity in flood-prone agricultural landscapes.

Weaver ants (Oecophylla smaragdina) are a prominent species in tropical ecosystems, known for their unique leaf-folding nest-building behaviour and their mutualistic relationship with host plants. This article explores the ecological significance of weaver ants, their nest-building strategies, their impact on host plant health, and their role in biological pest control. The study is based on observations made in the Department of Biology, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), where a large population of weaver ants was found building nests by folding leaves, with host plants showing no signs of pest damage. This phenomenon highlights the beneficial relationship between weaver ants and plants, where the ants provide protection from herbivores, ensuring plant health. The article also discusses the implications of this mutualism for ecological management and sustainable agricultural practices. This in-person observation should be part of understanding the Principles of Ecology.