Drought detection is crucial for managing risk, often using continuous drought indicators derived from satellite data, rainfall, and other hydrometeorological variables. The study examined meteorological and agricultural drought patterns in North Wollo, Ethiopia, using various indices such as Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI), Vegetation Health Index (VHI), Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), and Vegetation Drought Index (VDI) from 2000 to 2022. The study utilized satellite-derived data like MOD11A2 LST Terra and MOD13Q1 NDVI, as well as ground-based data like rainfall. The study employs multiple linear regression correlation analysis to examine the correlation between indices and climate variables such as precipitation, air temperature, and soil moisture. The findings indicated that the average LST was high (37.11°C–42.83°C), whereas the NDVI was low and unhealthy (<0.33) in the lowland area. It revealed that the lowland region had higher mean LST and lower NDVI values due to less favorable moisture conditions compared to central and highland regions. The regression analysis result revealed a significant strong negative correlation with NDVI and LST (R = -.977, p < .01) across all study districts. This study also identified the existence of positive relationships between VHI and rainfall (R² = .996, p < .01), VHI and SSM (R² = .956, p < .01), and NDVI and SSM (R²/p = .97/.01) in all study regions. The study found a positive linear correlation between VDI and VHI with (R² = .74, p < .01) across the study region, despite negative correlations between NDVI-LST and NDWI-LST. Both VHI and Soil Moisture (SSM) indices serve as valuable indicators for monitoring the development of both meteorological and agricultural droughts in this study area. The study aids in drought monitoring in Northeastern Ethiopian Highland by identifying the most effective drought indices for assessing meteorological and agricultural drought.

The rising temperatures impact the environment, economy, public health, and global climate. This rise can be attributed to greenhouse gas emissions, urbanization, deforestation, and changes in oceanic currents. Higher temperatures pose a health risk and can result in dehydration and heat stroke while also affecting agricultural yields, aggravating water scarcity, increase in the frequency and intensity of hydroclimatic extreme weather events such as heatwaves, flooding, or droughts in different regions. Further, it can affect the construction, energy generation, and tourism industries. This paper highlights the fundamental factors behind the summer temperature rise in India and its impacts. The recommendations aim to improve the adaptation to the changes on individual and governmental levels. There is a need to encourage a carbon-neutral economy and tap into the resources for research and development of technologies. The paper also underscores the relationship between increased temperatures and the possibility of a pandemic in the future, as increased temperatures have the ability to change the pathogen behavior, and understanding the relationship between both is essential to formulate policies and future interventions.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Despite being environmentally harmful, conventional tillage’s (CT) importance under furrow irrigation for ridge-making (RM) and furrow maintenance (FM) cannot be overemphasized. No-till (NT) practices’ soil health and sustainable production benefits are well documented. The Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) region’s 70% land is furrow irrigated. Therefore, skepticism over NT synergy with furrow irrigation standard practices hinders NT adoption. RM and FM are crucial for judicious surface water application for row crop production and expediting drainage following precipitation to curb flash flooding and avert undesirable water logging conditions. The impact of adopting a long-term NT practice compared to the CT prevalent in the LMD region was evaluated from 2019 to 2022. NT increased soil total nitrogen, organic matter, organic sulfur, magnesium, calcium, cation exchange capacity, and stored soil water compared to CT during 4 years of soybean production following 11 years under corn. Phosphatase enzyme activity was 27% higher under NT than CT in the top 10 cm depth. NT and CT had no significant differences in wet aggregate stability and soybean yields. The loss in nutrients observed under CT in the top 10 cm manifests the impact of disturbing the surface soil and exposing it to denudation processes and consequent nutrient losses. CT developed a 5-cm thick plow pan at 10 cm depth. This was possibly due to the excess land preparation operations count, 83% higher for CT than NT for the 4-year study period. NT adoption coupled with shallow occasional FM operations is a viable conservation practice under furrow irrigation.

This study seeks to examine the impact of directly releasing the treated wastewater from Al-Gabal Al-Asfar WWTP into Ismailia Canal, Egypt, and evaluate how the discharged water affects the water quality and quantity of Ismailia Canal. The HECRAS 1D model is employed to model water quantity, whereas the QUAL2K model is applied to assess the water quality parameters including dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N), and ammonium (NH₄-N). In the winter and summer of 2023, five scenarios were evaluated with a discharge flow varying from 1.15 to 2.50 Mm³/day for the treated water released from Al-Gabal Al-Asfar WWTP, intended for injection into the Ismailia Canal. The optimal scenario was chosen according to the canal water quality post-injection following Article 49 of Law 92/2013, along with the hydraulic capacity of the canal's cross-section. The findings indicated that the fifth scenario (recycling 46% of the treated water, which amounts to 1.15 million cubic meters daily) is the optimal scenario for keeping the concentration of the studied parameters in the Ismailia Canal within the allowable limits and ensuring the canal’s cross-section remains hydraulically secure. Nonetheless, the fourth scenario (reusing 1.50 million cubic meters per day) might be feasible if the efficiency of the plant is enhanced by lowering the ammonium-nitrogen concentration in the effluent. Overall, the suggested solutions can only be implemented if rigorous preventive actions and contingency plans are put into effect on-site. Furthermore, wastewater at Al-Gabal Al-Asfar WWTP must undergo tertiary treatment before its discharge into the Ismailia Canal. The findings of this research may contribute to a decision support system concerning the reuse of treated wastewater in any nation facing water shortages.

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of varying irrigation levels on haricot bean yield and its related attributes. The experiment was conducted with five irrigation treatments: 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% Manageable Allowed Depletion (MAD). The results revealed that the 80% MAD treatment produced the highest haricot bean yields, with 25.03, 26.07, and 23.46 qt/ha in 2016, 2017, and 2018, respectively, with no significant difference from the 100% MAD treatment. The lowest yields per hectare were observed under the 140% MAD treatment, with yields of 18.05, 18.6, and 15.45 qt/ha respectively, across the same years. The average maximum yield across all 3 years was 24.84 qt/ha for the 80% MAD treatment, whereas the minimum was 17.36 qt/ha for the 140% MAD treatment. Water productivity was lowest at 4.32 kg/mm for the 60% and 140% MAD treatments, while the highest values were recorded at 6.09 and 6.07 kg/mm for the 100% and 80% MAD treatments, respectively. Economically, the 80% MAD treatment yielded the highest economic gain of 30,193.1 birr/ha. Therefore, based on these findings, applying 80% MAD under furrow irrigation is recommended for optimal haricot bean production in the semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and similar environments.

The variables that most significantly affect bulb yield in Ethiopia’s irrigated agricultural onion production systems are the amount of irrigation water and the irrigated fertilizer application rates. North Ethiopia has gradually adopted drip irrigation for onion farming due to significant water savings and improved water and fertilizer use efficiencies. However, the optimal irrigation water (I) and fertilizer application rates (F) for drip irrigation are still unknown; field experiments using a random complete block design in factorial arrangement were conducted during summer season of 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 to explore the effects of irrigation water and fertilizer application rates on onion production and productivity. The trials were carried out at four recommended microdose fertilizer rates for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P₂O₅; F₁-125%, F₂-100%, F₃-75%, and F₄-50%) and three different irrigation water levels (I₁-100%, I₂-75%, and I₃-50%). The interaction effect of water amount and microdose fertilizer application rate significantly (p ⩽ .05) affected onion yield, yield-related components, and water productivity. A combined analysis of variance using SAS software 9.0 revealed that the interaction between irrigation depth and fertilizer rate had a significant (p ⩽ .05) impact on yield, yield-related components, and water productivity. Onion production and water use efficiency (WUE) increased significantly with increasing irrigation water and microdose fertilizer application rates. However, irrigation water less than 100% were not beneficial to the above parameters. In the two-season study, a maximum onion yield of 39.22 t ha⁻¹ was obtained at F₁I₁, with a WUE of 8.20 kg m⁻³. All the factors related to growth, yield, and yield-related components, the combination of a microdosing fertilizer application of 172.5 N and 86.25 P₂O₅ kg ha⁻¹ and 100% water per irrigation was the best drip irrigation pattern for onion. These findings provide a scientific basis for drip irrigation and microdosing fertilizer management of onions in northern Ethiopia.

Pineapple production in Benin is dominated by conventional monocropping with high levels of agrochemicals and the burning of harvest residues. This study aimed at evaluating the decomposition of pineapple harvest residues (PHR) under different modes of placement (surface mulching and burying). A complete random block design with for factor “residues application method” at two levels (surface mulching or burying) and four replications was installed in southern Benin. The residues decomposition was monitored through random sampling of eight litter bags each 60 days for the determination of residual weight, carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) contents. A linear mixed-effects model was carried out on the data. The results showed that buried PHR were more rapidly degraded in the soil and the analysis revealed a drop of its K (90%) and P (75%) contents at 4 months after application, while N and C contents decreased slowly until 12 months. Burying at deep of 10 cm can be recommended for direct PHR application to soil. The study highlights the importance of residue management practices in pineapple cultivation and recommends further exploration of methods to optimize the use of PHR in agricultural systems for enhanced soil health and reduced environmental impact.

A study was carried out from November to May in the cropping season of 2016E.C to evaluate the performance of Temsa small scale irrigation scheme. Both internal and external indicators were considered for evaluation. The internal indicator efficiencies such as conveyance, application, storage, distribution uniformity, and deep percolation ratio and the external indicators such as agricultural output, water supply, water delivery capacity, physical, and economic and financial indicators were evaluated. The result reveals that, the average conveyance efficiency of the main, secondary, and tertiary canals were 79.6%, 85.6%, and 84.7%, respectively. The scheme has on average application efficiency (Ea), storage efficiency, deep percolation ratio, and distribution uniformity of 40.87%, 78.04%, 59.70%, and 93.33%, respectively. The poor Ea and low conveyance efficiency of the canal affected the overall scheme performance. The result reveals that, the overall efficiency of the scheme was 23.19%. The four basic agricultural output indicators of the scheme such as output per unit irrigated area, output per unit command area, output per unit irrigation diverted, and output per unit water consumed were 4,738.58 US$/ha, 1,176.08 US$/ha, 1.16 US$/m³, and 0.89 US$/m³, respectively. This shows that, the command area was beneficial and was giving a revenue for the farmers at the cropping season. The relative irrigation supply and the water delivery capacity of the canal were 2.37 m³ and 83%, respectively. In the current study, the irrigation ratio and the sustainability of the irrigated area were 0.25 and 0.43, respectively. The irrigation ratio was low due to the designing problem. Availability of water throughout the year and market accessibility near the scheme were the advantage of the scheme that encourage the farmers. However, the input costs were affecting the return obtained from the product. Hence it is better to provide access to credit for the sustainable production and improve the farmers income.

Groundwater is an invaluable natural resource that sustains human life and supports the economic development of nations. However, its unsustainable utilization has emerged as a critical issue, particularly in developing countries. This study investigates the groundwater potential of the Chemoga watershed to address these challenges. Conventional groundwater assessments have typically relied on labor-intensive and time-consuming field surveys, which are resource-demanding and often fail to provide accurate estimates due to the inherent complexity of groundwater systems. In response, this research utilizes geospatial and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) techniques to assess groundwater potential in the Chemoga Watershed, aiming to overcome these challenges. Eight critical biophysical and environmental factors: geology, slope, rainfall, land use/land cover (LULC), soil type, elevation, lineament density, and drainage density were selected for analysis using Saaty’s AHP methodology. Data was gathered from satellite imagery, existing thematic maps, local water offices, and national meteorological agencies. The integration of these thematic maps was performed through a weighted overlay analysis using ArcGIS 10.8, which resulted in the delineation of groundwater potential zones (GWPZ). The model was validated by cross-referencing the generated GWPZ with existing data from dug wells and boreholes. The results reveal five groundwater potential zones: very high (0.73%), high (24.39%), moderate (43.38%), poor (31.25%), and very poor (0.25%). The most suitable zones are in the south, southeast, and southwest of the watershed, particularly near Debre Markos Town. These high-potential zones were validated with a significant 81.5% match to ground truth data from shallow wells. The findings of this study provide crucial insights for decision-makers, enabling the formulation of more effective groundwater management strategies. By identifying cost-effective and suitable well sites, this research contributes to ensuring a sustainable water supply for Debre Markos Town.

Monitoring soil erosion is crucial for soil conservation policies, especially in tropical regions that are prone to water erosion. A 2-year field study was conducted to assess the impact of simple engineering approaches and poultry manure application on soil loss, soil physical properties, maize yield, and economic benefit in Southwest Nigeria. The experiment was a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement with three replications. The treatments included four engineering approaches (surface mat, silt fencing, furrow dike, and no approach [control]) and two poultry manure application rates at 0 and 20 t ha⁻¹. Annual soil loss was higher under the control (6.22–8.01 Mg ha⁻¹ year⁻¹). The combination of engineering approaches with poultry manure at 20 t ha⁻¹ significantly (p ⩽ .05) reduced soil loss by 9.7% to 85.4% compared to control. Engineering approaches and poultry manure application did not significantly improve soil physical properties; however, saturated hydraulic conductivity was highest under surface mat combined with poultry manure at 20 t ha⁻¹ in both years. Maize yield increased by 27.7% under surface mat compared to control, while an additional grain yield of 0.14 Mg ha⁻¹ was obtained for 20 t ha⁻¹ poultry manure over 0 t ha⁻¹. Soil loss was negatively and significantly correlated with grain yield. The results suggest that integrating surface mats with poultry manure can be effective in controlling soil loss, enhancing soil properties, and improving maize yield.

Rapid population growth and increased use of agricultural technology have exacerbated agrarian problems. While mechanization has improved agricultural production, the use of heavy machinery for planting, irrigation, and harvesting has resulted in soil compaction. Soil compaction reduces pore space and increases soil bulk density, which hinders plant growth. Globally, automated agriculture has reduced crop production by more than 50%. In developing countries, grazing animals in crop fields increases soil compaction. Soil compaction hinders root penetration, nutrient absorption, and water infiltration, increasing the risk of soil erosion and runoff. The study investigates novel ways to reduce soil compaction, namely the utilization of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanotechnology (NT). NPs have unique qualities that can improve the mechanical properties of soil, increase its strength, and minimize compaction. Some of the NPs such as Carbon nanotubes, nanolites, nanosilica, and nanoclay have been demonstrated to increase soil fertility, water retention, and structural stability. NPs can reduce environmental pollutants while improving soil quality. However, questions about their long-term biodegradability, ecological toxicity, and health effects require further investigation. The study also addressed how NPs affect the environment and human health. Their small size raises concerns about potential exposure and toxicity to individuals and ecosystems. The paper also briefly discusses the economic and regulatory considerations related to the production, use, and disposal of NPs, emphasizing the need for comprehensive legislation, environmental impact studies, and stakeholder involvement in decision-making. Although NPs offer promise for sustainable agriculture practices, more research is necessary to optimize their use and ensure long-term safety, as well as to gain a better understanding of their unique interactions with soil physics.

Graphical Abstract

(Some icons created in BioRender. Alkhaza’leh, H. (2024) https://BioRender.com/b61r626).