Ecosystems provide humans with services that include benefits from food, fresh water, climate regulation, and socio-economic assets. The Mesopotamian marshlands are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and they provide various benefits. However, ecosystem services of the Marshlands are consistently undervalued in national economic analysis and decision making. This study focusses on the Central Marshes, the first National Park in Iraq, and is the first attempt at valuing a series of ecosystem services from a valuable natural ecosystem in Iraq. We adopted the Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA) for the determination of biophysical and economic values of services at the site level. Data on key ecosystem services (as determined by 30 interviews with residents of the Marshes) included the trading of fish, harvested plants, water buffalo milk, and fodder were collected across six months in 2014. We valued the ecosystem services within the CM (40,000 ha) over a 6-month period to have a total value of 860,078.23 USD. This estimated total value was the sum of 86,637.25 USD from harvested plants, 551,334.80 USD from trading fish, 167, 303.70 USD from trading water buffalo milk, and 54,804.00 USD from trading fodder. The average income per individual in Iraq in 2014 was 6720 USD (World Bank data - https://data.worldbank.org/country/iraq): thus, the CM provided an average salary for 256 people. Our results provided greater understanding of the ecosystem services contributed by the Central Marshes and has highlighted the crucial role of nature in supporting sustainable well-being for humans living in the area. In addition, the results can be used to enhance local policy, to aid management plans of the National park, and to estimate lost and damage that could result from impact of climate change on the area.
A novel Schiff base ligand (DBC) synthesized from 4-chlorobenzoic acid, along with its Cu (II) and Co (II) complexes, was prepared and characterized using FT-IR, 1H and 13C-NMR, UV-Vis spectroscopy, as well as magnetic and conductivity measurements. Based on this, a tetrahedral structure of [M(DBC)Cl2] was proposed for the complexes. Antioxidant activity of the compounds was assessed and compared to ascorbic acid, revealing that the copper complex exhibited superior antioxidant properties compared to the cobalt complex and the ligand. Furthermore, the antibiofilm potential of the copper and cobalt complexes was assessed against five clinically relevant bacterial species (P.aeruginosa, E.coli, K.pneumoniae, S.aureus and S.typhi) usin
... Show MoreBiodiesel can be prepared from various types of vegetable oils or animal fats with the aid of a catalyst.
Calcium oxide (CaO) is one of the prospective heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel synthesis. Modification
of CaO by impregnation on silica (SiO2) can improve the performance of CaO as catalyst. Egg shells and rice
husks as biomass waste can be used as raw materials for the preparation of the silica modified CaO catalyst.
The present study was directed to synthesize and characterize CaO impregnated SiO2 catalyst from biomass
waste and apply it as catalyst in biodiesel synthesis. The catalyst was synthesized by wet impregnation
method and characterized by x-ray diffraction, x-ray fluorescence, nitr
To prepare a new ligand, many compounds were used to synthesize Schiff-Mannich base, such as isatin, Para chloro Aniline, 2-mercaptobenzimidazole and indole. The resulting compound 1-((2-((1H-indol-1-ylthio)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol1-yl)methyl)-3-(4-chlorophenylimino)indolin-2-one (L). (L) was used to create a series of metal ion complexes with Co (II), Ni (II), Cu (II), Pd (II), Pt (IV), and Au (III). C.H.N.S., FTIR, mass spectra UV-ViS, 1H-NMR, 13CNMR, magnetic moment, and molar conductivity were used to characterize all of these compounds. Except for the palladium(II) and gold(III) complexes, all of the produced complexes had an octahedral geometry, according to the data. The antibacterial activity of the produced compounds was tested by usin
... Show MoreThe ligand 2-[1-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethylimino) methyl]naphthalene-1-ol, derived from 1-hydroxy-2-naphthaldehyde and 2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethylamine, was used to produce a new sequence of metal ions complexes. Thus ligand reactions with NiCl2.6H2O, PdCl2, FeCl3.6H2O and H2PtCl6.6H2O were sequentially made to collect mono-nuclear Ni(II), Pd(II), Fe (III), and Pt(IV). (IR or FTIR), Ultraviolet Reflective (UV–visible), Mass Spectra analysis, Bohr-magnetic (B.M.), metal content, chloride content and molar conductivity have been the defining features of the composites. The Fe(III) and Pt(IV) complexes have octahedral geometries, while the Ni(II) complex has tetra
... Show MoreThe design of coordination compounds with solvent-responsive optical properties remains a central challenge in molecular photonics. Here, we describe the synthesis and full characterisation of a symmetrical tetradentate diamine ligand, 3,3′-((1,2-phenylenebis(azanediyl))- bis(methanylylidene))bis(pentane-2,4-dione) (H₂L), and its neutral square-planar complexes [M(L)] (M(II) = Co, Ni, Cu). The Cu(II) complex crystallised as [Cu(L)]⋅0.5 (pyrazine), adopting a nearly square-planar geometry (τ₄ = 0.06) in the solid state, as confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In DMSO solution, UV–Vis spectra revealed reversible axial coordination of two solvent molecules, driving a transformation to a distorted octahedral geometry. Struc
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