Forest Floor Biomass, Litterfall and Physico-chemical Properties of Soil along the Anthropogenic Disturbance Regimes in Tropics of Chhattisgarh, India

Oraon, P.R.,Singh, Lalji,Jhariya, Manoj Kumar Institute of Forest Science 2018 Journal of Forest Science Vol.34 No.5

The long term ecological effects have been reported in natural forest ecosystem due to various anthropogenic disturbances, especially in tropics of the world. The present study was carried out in the sanctuary area of central India to assess the changes on litter biomass, litterfall pattern and soil attributes under different disturbance regimes. The study area includes three forest circles i.e., Bhoramdeo, Jamunpani and Salehwara each comprising three disturbances regimes viz., high, medium and low severity of biotic pressure. A noticeable variation and impact were recorded in different sites. The impact varies significantly from least disturbed sites to highly disturbed sites across the circle and among different disturbances level. The seasonal mean total forest floor biomass across the forest circles varied from 2.18 to $3.30t\;ha^{-1}$. It was found highest under lightly disturbed site and lowest under heavily disturbed site. Total litterfall varied from 5.11 to $7.06t\;ha^{-1}\;yr^{-1}$ across the forest circle. Lowest litterfall was recorded at heavily disturbed site while highest in lightly disturbed site. Annual turnover of litter varied from 69-73% and the turnover time ranged between 1.37-1.45 years. The turn over time was higher for heavily disturbed site and lower for lightly disturbed site. The heavily disturbed site of all the circle showed the sandy loam soil texture, whereas moderately and lightly disturbed site comprised of sandy loam, sandy clay loam and clay soil texture, respectively. The bulk density decreases from heavily disturbed site to lightly disturbed site and the pH of soils ranged from 5.57-6.89 across the circle. Across the circle the total soil nitrogen ranged from 0.12-0.21%, phosphorus from 10.03-24.00 kg and Potassium from $139.88-448.35kg\;ha^{-1}$, respectively. Our results demonstrate that anthropogenic disturbances regime significantly influences forest floors in terms of mass, composition and dynamics along with litterfall rate and soil properties.

Forest Floor Biomass, Litterfall and Physico-chemical Properties of Soil along the Anthropogenic Disturbance Regimes in Tropics of Chhattisgarh, India

P. R. Oraon,Lalji Singh,Manoj Kumar Jhariya 강원대학교 산림과학연구소 2018 Journal of Forest Science Vol.34 No.5

The long term ecological effects have been reported in natural forest ecosystem due to various anthropogenic disturbances, especially in tropics of the world. The present study was carried out in the sanctuary area of central India to assess the changes on litter biomass, litterfall pattern and soil attributes under different disturbance regimes. The study area includes three forest circles i.e., Bhoramdeo, Jamunpani and Salehwara each comprising three disturbances regimes viz., high, medium and low severity of biotic pressure. A noticeable variation and impact were recorded in different sites. The impact varies significantly from least disturbed sites to highly disturbed sites across the circle and among different disturbances level. The seasonal mean total forest floor biomass across the forest circles varied from 2.18 to 3.30 t ha -1 . It was found highest under lightly disturbed site and lowest under heavily disturbed site. Total litterfall varied from 5.11 to 7.06 t ha -1 yr -1 across the forest circle. Lowest litterfall was recorded at heavily disturbed site while highest in lightly disturbed site. Annual turnover of litter varied from 69-73% and the turnover time ranged between 1.37-1.45 years. The turn over time was higher for heavily disturbed site and lower for lightly disturbed site. The heavily disturbed site of all the circle showed the sandy loam soil texture, whereas moderately and lightly disturbed site comprised of sandy loam, sandy clay loam and clay soil texture, respectively. The bulk density decreases from heavily disturbed site to lightly disturbed site and the pH of soils ranged from 5.57-6.89 across the circle. Across the circle the total soil nitrogen ranged from 0.12-0.21%, phosphorus from 10.03-24.00 kg and Potassium from 139.88-448.35 kg ha -1 , respectively. Our results demonstrate that anthropogenic disturbances regime significantly influences forest floors in terms of mass, composition and dynamics along with litterfall rate and soil properties.

A V2O5 nanorod decorated graphene/polypyrrole hybrid electrode: a potential candidate for supercapacitors

DeAdhikari, A.,Oraon, R.,Tiwari, S.,Lee, J.,Kim, N.,Nayak, G. Royal Society of Chemistry 2017 NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY Vol.41 No.4

<P>Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) nanorod decorated graphene polypyrrole nanocomposites have been synthesized successfully by a facile hydrothermal process for supercapacitor (SC) applications. The morphological study revealed the successful decoration of V2O5 nanorods and polypyrrole (PPy) within the intergallery of graphitic materials due to their high degree of propensity for intercalation which leads to the formation of mesoporous 3D nanostructures. These mesoporous structures can efficiently allow fast diffusion and ion transport at the electrode-electrolyte interface towards high electrochemical utilization and superior performance. Here, decoration of V2O5 within a polymer matrix along with a graphitic material renders different electrical profiles by virtue of their electron hopping within nanocomposites. Galvanostatic charging discharging revealed that VGP was found to be superior with a maximum specific capacitance of 787 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1) using KCl as an electrolyte. These observations were also confirmed by electrochemical measurements through CV and EIS studies. Furthermore, cyclic stability performed for 5000 consecutive cycles also substantiate their high durability and high power delivery uptake. Thus, considering all such key features, V2O5 based nanocomposites can be suitable for SC applications.</P>

Polyaniline-Stabilized Intertwined Network-like Ferrocene/Graphene Nanoarchitecture for Supercapacitor Application

Adhikari, Amrita De,Oraon, Ramesh,Tiwari, Santosh Kumar,Jena, Naresh K.,Lee, Joong Hee,Kim, Nam Hoon,Nayak, Ganesh Chandra Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley Sons) 2017 Chemistry, an Asian journal Vol.12 No.8

CdS-CoFe₂O₄@Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanohybrid: An Excellent Electrode Material for Supercapacitor Applications

Adhikari, Amrita De,Oraon, Ramesh,Tiwari, Santosh Kumar,Saren, Pupulata,Lee, Joong Hee,Kim, Nam Hoon,Nayak, Ganesh Chandra American Chemical Society 2018 INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH - Vol.57 No.5

<P>CoFe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB> nanospheres ornamented CdS nanorods were successfully assembled over the reduced graphene oxide nanosheets. Such hierarchical morphology established by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy studies, with high surface area offered a high specific capacitance of 1487 F g<SUP>–1</SUP> at a current density of 5 A g<SUP>–1</SUP> owing to fast diffusion of ions, facile transportation of electrons, and great synergism between the components, which led to reversible redox reactions. Furthermore, the electrode material has specific capacitance retention of 78% up to 5000 cycles, thus demonstrating its good reversibility and cyclic stability. The resulting CdS-CoFe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB>@reduced graphene oxide nanohybrid can deliver excellent electrochemical performance and can be a potential candidate for supercapacitor application.</P><P><B>Graphic Abstract</B> <IMG SRC='http://pubs.acs.org/appl/literatum/publisher/achs/journals/content/iecred/2018/iecred.2018.57.issue-5/acs.iecr.7b04885/production/images/medium/ie-2017-04885n_0010.gif'></P><P><A href='http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/ie7b04885'>ACS Electronic Supporting Info</A></P>

Mixing sequence driven controlled dispersion of graphene oxide in PC/PMMA blend nanocomposite and its effect on thermo-mechanical properties

Santosh Kr. Tiwari,Goutam Hatui,Ramesh Oraon,Amrita De Adhikari,Ganesh Chandra Nayak 한국물리학회 2017 Current Applied Physics Vol.17 No.9

Herein, we report an efficient approach for the fabrication of polymer blend nanocomposites with welldispersed graphene oxide in polycarbonate (PC)/poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) through melt compounding under the controlled temperature and pressure. Graphene oxide was synthesized by Improved Hummer's method and consequently dispersed in PC and PMMA through different mixing sequences to access their dispersion in the blend nanocomposites. Thermo-mechanical investigations indicate ~119.4% increase in tensile strength, ~64.87% increase in the Young's modulus and ~16.3% increase in glass transition value for the sample prepared by mixing GO first with PMMA and then with PC, in comparison to neat blend. This reinforcement in thermo-mechanical properties of sample prepared by mixing GO first with PMMA and then with PC, on incorporation of 1% of graphene oxide (by weight) is due to the effective interfacial adhesion and uniform load transfer at the interfaces of polymer blend nanocomposites. Furthermore, Thermogravimetric analysis showed a remarkable decrease in weight loss at elevated temperature for the nanocomposites, which confirms the role of graphene oxide on thermal stability of PNCs. The fabricated blend nanocomposites are ecofriendly, cost effective and can be used for various industrial applications where elevated temperature is required.