Vimal Chandra Pandey

• Ph.D.
• Researcher at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University

As artificial intelligence continues its rapid evolution, large language models (LLMs) are increasingly stepping beyond technical tasks into roles traditionally reserved for human cognition and judgment. Neural Negotiators: The Role of Language Models in Shaping Policy and Power explores the emerging influence of LLMs in the realms of political dis...

In an era where uncertainty and complexity dominate global challenges, the need for advanced tools in strategic foresight has never been more critical. Algorithmic Intuition: How Large Language Models Are Shaping Strategic Foresight explores the transformative role of large language models (LLMs) in augmenting the human capacity for anticipating fu...

In an era marked by accelerating complexity and uncertainty, the capacity to anticipate and navigate emerging futures has become a strategic imperative. Architects of Intuition: How AI is Rewiring Strategic Foresight in Complex Systems explores the transformative role of artificial intelligence in enhancing human foresight and decision-making. This...

Land degradation and soil contamination have become global problem due to irresponsible anthropogenic activities and the overutilization of natural resources by humans. Land degradation and contamination due to toxic heavy metals have adversely impacted not only crop productivity but also the overall environmental health of our planet. Mitigation a...

The present book opens the ability of aromatic plants for phytoremediation programs and explores the opportunity of obtaining essential oil as an economy from polluted lands through the phytomanagement of valuable aromatic plants. The present book provides the notion of phytoremediation using aromatic plants to make phytoremediation a more viable o...

Elevated nickel (Ni) content in soils and water cause a potential threat to food safety and human health. Owing to its numerous uses from common domestic items to industrial usage, it is vital to assess its bioavailability and speciation in the natural environment. In this review, the biogeochemical cycling of Ni in the natural environment and nume...

Degradation and pollution of land resources is a severe issue worldwide. Rapid urbanization and increased food demand have necessitated the restoration of degraded and highly contaminated land resources in a sustainable manner. The role of soil microorganism in maintaining nutrient balance, texture, fertility, and soil health is widely acknowledged...

In forest ecosystems, the rapid turnover of fine roots (≤ 2 mm in diameter) is a major pathway of carbon and nutrient flow from plants to the soil. This study was conducted to determine how fine root biomass (FRB), productivity (FRP) and turnover (FRT) are affected by site characteristics, seasonal variation, soil depth and tree girth size in sub‐t...

Technogenic soil (technosol) developed from coal fly ash (FA) landfilling has been considered a critical environmental problem worldwide. Drought-tolerant plants often naturally grow on FA technosol. However, the impact of these natural revegetations on the recovery of multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality) remains largely unexplored and...

Increasing land degradation worldwide asks for restoration solutions that are often multi-purposed by nature. Establishment of Bioenergy crops, such as peren-nial grasses and short-rotation woody crops offers possibilities for both successful eco-restoration of various marginal lands and energy production. Besides many recognized benefits in terms...

Fly ash (FA) is an inevitable byproduct of coal-fired thermal power plants that need timely, effective, and safe disposal in many developing countries. It is an amorphous Ferro-alumino silicate material similar to soil having practically all the elements except organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. Although in many developed countries, its use...

The world’s population is growing at an expeditious rate, which is a global problem specific in context to the directly proportional need of edible food supply. Of late in research the term ‘Sustainable food production’ has caught the interest of many researchers worldwide. This kind of agriculture practice focuses on usage of land other than norma...

Plant-microbe associations contribute significantly to the nutrient supply of their host plant and may assist the plant in resolving a number of abiotic and biotic stresses. Plant-microbe interactions can be beneficial, harmful or neutral and they have a direct impact on ecological processes such as nutrient availability and plant health. Understan...

Hyperaccumulators’ ability to take up large quantities of harmful heavy metals from contaminated soils and store them in their foliage makes them promising organisms for bioremediation. Here we demonstrate that some ecotypes of the zinc hyperaccumulator Arabidopsis halleri are more suitable for bioremediation than others, because of their distinct...

Mining activities have led to the formation of dumps and abandoned mine lands which have negative impacts on environment immediately and even after several years. Mine lands pose environmental risk due to the presence of moving and transforming heavy metals. Several risk assessment methods via calculation of pollution indices have been designed to...

Surface mining activities destroyed the land and altered geological settings and biogeochemical cycles. Ecosystem restoration is practiced worldwide to mitigate the negative impact of mining and to restore ecological integrity. Restoration of mine waste dump is often challenging because of adverse spoil conditions and overall hostile environment in...

Increase in anthropogenic degradation of natural ecosystems is of prime concern to maintain ecological sustainability. Surface mining activities are continuously increasing to fulfil the energy demands of the growing population. At the same time, it is resulting in ecosystem disturbance and causes extensive environmental stress, loss of biodiversit...

Exploration of mineral resources and mining is indispensable for the economic development of any nation, but its ruinous impact on environment is inevitable. Though mining sector significantly contributes to gross domestic product (GDP) and employment of workforce in any nation, it causes irreversible harm to the environment. This sector is known t...

This chapter emphasizes on post‐mining reclamation techniques of disturbed lands as a result of mining. As mining poses serious environmental threats and deleterious effects on the landscape, reclamation is a challenge and requires elaborate planning much before mines are opened. In this chapter, a detail regarding proper reclamation strategies inc...

Destruction of natural ecosystems due to mining cannot be averted as soil and vegetation are lost. However, restoration of mine lands can contribute toward ecosystem remodeling, through planning, systematically identifying goals and objectives. A restoration planning model is applicable on degraded topsoils where practical consideration is prior. I...

Phytoremediation is an ecologically sustainable, affordable, and scientifically proven method for the remediation of contaminants, with the only limitations are that it is a time-intensive process and its probable health impacts on living beings through biomagnification. This limitation of biomagnification can be overcome by the use of nonedible co...

Phytoremediation is an ecofriendly and affordable green technology for remediating various contaminants present in nature. The incorporation of genetic engineering in phytoremediation will further enhance its utilization. Through genetic manipulation, the accumulator plant can be improved to enhance its contaminant accumulation capacity, and thus f...

The remediation of land sites that have been declared as polluted/contaminated or unfit for agricultural activities is a major global issue. Traditional technologies are successfully employed to clear the contaminated sites, but cost effectiveness is a primary challenge. The restoration of contaminated sites through phytoremediation, especially by...

Bast fiber is a natural fiber collected from the bast surroundings of certain dicotyledonous angiosperm plant stems. It is composed of cellulose and hemicellulose compounded with a mixture of lignin or pectin. Bast fiber plants are generally annual, nonedible crops with a short life cycle. Its continuous fiber supply with easy maintenance makes it...

Fiber crops have always been a vital component of human society. Fiber crops and, later, fabric preparation were linked to the growth of various civilizations in the world as well as being regarded as a measure of the lifestyle of people of ancient cultures. Presently, fiber crops are explored for innovative and diverse applications such as natural...

Phytoremediation is a green technology for cleaning the environment. It is aesthetically pleasing, ecofriendly, cheap, socially acceptable to the masses, and less disruptive than physical, chemical, and mechanical methods for removing contaminants. Initially, the phytoremediation method was confined only to finding plants that could accumulate cont...

Phytoremediation using grass fiber crops is an advantageous technique to remediate contaminants from contaminated sites. This is because the majority of grass fiber groups are seasonal, fast-growing, and have great potential to remove a range of organic, inorganic, hazardous, nonhazardous, radionuclide, and heavy metal (HM) contaminants. Although g...

Coal is the major source of energy in India, where 66% of the thermal power is generated from different grades of coal. The surging energy demand for domestic and industrial sectors has accelerated coal production through intensive coal mining from existing mines and there is exploration for potential areas across the Country. More than 80% of the...

Fly ash application to the soil at lower doses with organic substrates has been advocated by researchers due to its beneficial soil ameliorative properties. But its xenobiotic effects in presence of vermicompost have not yet been studied fully. The hypothesis of the present study was to ascertain the ameliorative effects of fly ash and vermicompost...

Plant species possess a huge potential in restoration of fly ash ecosystem. Litter deposition and its decomposition in the ash deposited sites are two important processes of the fly ash ecosystem. In order to identify the biological potential of a plant species to aid restoration of fly ash deposited sites, it is needed to assess leaf litter decomp...

The soil samples of old Zawar mine sites were sandy texture, basic, electric conductivity range from 16 to 59 dSm−1 with a high content of heavy metals of Zn, Pb, Cd, and Fe, indicating poor soil-health. Two bacterial isolates Pseudomonas aeruginosa HMR1 and P. aeruginosa HMR16 (GenBank-accession-number KJ191700 and KU174205, respectively), differe...

The current study focused on the pollution remediation of textile industry wastewater by using Chlorella pyrenoidosa in two different physical forms: free algal biomass and immobilized algal biomass. The hypothesis behind the present study was to analyze the pollution reduction efficiency of immobilized algal biomass and free algal biomass on compa...

Adaptive Phytoremediation Practices: Resilience to Climate Change discusses current phytoremediation practices under an ever-pressing need for environmental remediation due to increasing pollution in a changing climate. Phytoremediation is increasingly relevant due to plants’ high effectiveness and sustainability during remediation and the ability...

Fly ash dump has been noticed as one of the hazardous dumpsites on the earth, which pollutes our environment. Therefore, an affordable and effective approach for the restoration of fly ash dumps is urgently required worldwide. In this direction, to find out potential plant species through the assessment of naturally colonized vegetation is a basic...

Biochar or pyrogenic carbon, obtained from the thermo-chemical conversion of biomass in an anaerobic or oxygen-limited environment has been in use in agriculture since long back to the Neolithic era. Its unique soil ameliorating properties, render it suitable for environmental remediation as well as sustainable crop production. It improves soil phy...

Environmental pollution is increasing gradually and causing a serious impact on living organisms including humans. It can be reduced by microorganisms or plants that have biosynthetic pathways for the degradation or accumulation of environmental pollutants from soil and water. Lack of genetic components in natural microorganisms or plants lessens t...

Anthropogenic activities and irresponsible land use practices are putting global land resources at risk. Reinstating degraded and polluted land is critical for restoring ecosystem services and sustainable development to meet current and future generations’ diet, fodder, fuel, and fiber needs. Phytoremediation is an eco-friendly approach for repairi...

Green biotechnology employs biotech food crops and phytoremediators adapted to climate change. Climate-resilient plants useful in agriculture and phytoremediation practice are possible to design and build through gene editing tools that provide precise genome modification. Fine-tune techniques, such as clustered regularly interspaced palindromic sh...

Anthropogenic activities have generated an enhanced level of many toxic contaminants including heavy metals in the environment. Enhanced level of heavy metals is a major environmental concern globally because of their hazardous effect on living organisms. Plants belonging to various species can fix contaminant in roots, accumulate them in leaves, o...

Globally, the rapid development in industrialization and urbanization is the primary cause of the rising pollution problem. Because of population growth and agricultural reliance, the earth's finite natural freshwater resources will be under severe strain until 2030. The conservation of the environment necessitates a well-thought-out strategy for r...

Water pollution is one of the challenges for society, especially for industries working in the water sector. With rapid urbanization, population, and industrial growth, there is a serious threat to water management. New chemicals are released every day, and they are making their way into the water, putting more challenges on water-reuse technologie...

Energy security is currently a worldwide challenge, so the only solution is to find new energy sources. Algae have been known as a food resource for a long time but these have also been established recently as a new source of energy feedstock. The feasibility of microalgae for bioenergy application depends on the cost-effective cultivation, harvest...

Book

For centuries, organic wastes have been used in agricultural operations as soil amendments. Various organic amendments are frequently utilized in agricultural operations because they have been known to improve soil health properties like water holding capacity, nutrient availability, porosity, etc., and biological properties like microbial activity...

The present study focuses on the possibility of applying fly ash to agricultural fields for enhancing the production of agricultural crops. In this study, Pisum sativum L. was grown from germination stage to maturation stage in phytoremediated and non-phytoremediated or raw fly ash-amended soil. All the morphological (height, biomass, number of lea...

Fly ash is an inevitable by-product from the coal-fired power plants in many developing countries including India that needs safe, timely and productive disposal. The addition of fly ash alters physicochemical properties of soil and hence could be used as a soil conditioner or modifier along with the appropriate level of vermicompost to support pla...

Fly ash is a prominent environmental by-product or residue that is produced during the combustion of coal for energy production in thermal power plant. The huge amount of fly ash generation is a global problem; still could not be found a safe and sustainable approach of fly ash disposal. The fly ash dumps not only creates air, water, and soil pollu...

The present study entails the phytoremediation potential of different bamboo species on 5-year-old FA-dumped site near Koradi thermal power plant of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. The selected FA-dumped site was treated with farmyard manure, press mud, and bio fertilizer followed by plantation of six promising species of bamboo namely Bambusa balcooa...

Forestry and greening programs in urban area are faced due to lack of awareness about multiple roles/benefits of trees, especially their role in drought proofing, prevention of soil and water run-off, degraded land restoration, livelihood security and sustainable development. In this regard, Butea monosperma (Lam.) Taubert, a medium-sized legume tr...

Fly ash deposits cover significant areas throughout the world, and have extremely adverse environmental effects on ecosystems and landscapes. Natural colonization by native plant species is an important process in the recovery of areas impacted by fly ash deposit and there is increasing interest to promote these species during restoration of these...

Among the field crops, cereals being the staple food for humans and feed for cattle, occupy 50.8 per cent of the cultivated land and contribute 52.5 per cent of the body calories. Cereals are the good source of carbohydrate, minerals, and dietary fibre for humans and animals. With the ever growing human population the agricultural production and ag...

Fly ash (FA) is the 80% of coal burnt by-product of thermal power plants (TPPs), its disposal in landfills causes environmental and health issues. The amount of FA production is increasing continuously to fulfil the worldwide energy for demand, which possibly never find a practically safe method for FA dumping. Its fine particle size disperses in t...

The present study aimed to elucidate the remediation potential of visibly dominant, naturally growing plants obtained from an early colonized fly ash dump near a coal-based thermal power station. The vegetation comprised of grasses like Saccharum spontaneum L., Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers., herbs such as Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers., Sida rhombifol...

The presence of heavy metal in soil and water resources has serious impact on human health. The study was designed to examine the phytoremediation ability of plant species that are growing naturally on the Zn-contaminated site. For the study, six plant species and their rhizospheric soil as well as non-rhizospheric soil samples were collected from...

Soil contamination by heavy metals and metalloids is a serious problem which needs to be addressed. There are several methods for removal of contaminants, but they are costly, while the method of phytoremediation is eco-friendly and cost-effective. Pteridophytes have been found to remediate heavy metal-contaminated soil. Pteridophytes are non-flowe...

The extraction of natural resources through mining activities has tremendously increased to maintain the trade‐off between demand and supply of energy resources. Surface mining activities lead to deforestation, displacement of topsoil and overburden rocks, and disposal of huge amounts of waste that depletes ecosystem services. We attempt to summari...

Extensive gaps in invasive plant species research in terms of ecosystem distribution and impact are major barriers faced by global decision making bodies for scientific management of plant species invasions of native flora. Effective strategies need to be worked out which would enable simultaneous management and the use of invasive plant species fo...

To minimize the pressure of growing demands of bioenergy crops and remediating polluted sites in a wide range of environmental stressed conditions are some major issues and have increased interest worldwide to solve both the problems by using reed canary grass. Besides, this perennial grass has good potential to contribute a number of desirable att...

Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J.Houz. (Moso bamboo) is a monopodial, indigenous, widely distributed, highly productive, and economically important bamboo of China. Its growth rate is markedly higher than any other tree species and known as the fastest growing plant in the world. It is a monopodial bamboo develops from long, slender, leptomorph rh...

Fly ash (FA), a by-product of coal combustion, is a nutrient-enriched source of plants. It also contains different types of pollutants such as toxic elements, radioactive elements, and organic compounds. The present chapter explores how the unique physicochemical properties of the FA can be usefully employed to neutralize acidity, ameliorate sodici...

One of the biggest challenges in coal-based thermal power stations is how to deal with the huge amount of fly ash (FA) generated in power operations. The dominant practice of FA disposal is as slurry of ash through cast-iron pipelines to open lands or ash ponds located near thermal power stations, and this has lain to waste thousands of hectares of...

Fly ash (FA) is a major concern for both aquatic and terrestrial biota existing in the vicinity of coal-fired power plants, as it causes water, soil, and air pollution. The generation of FA in huge quantities has become a leading issue worldwide. Its safe disposal is the need of the hour. Green capping is one of the most effective methods to revege...

Fly ash (FA)—a coal combustion residue of thermal power stations—has been recognized as a soil ameliorator throughout the world. Usually, FA contains essential plant micro- and macronutrients and unique physicochemical properties. Besides, several hazardous substances, such as metal(loid)s, organic pollutants, and radioactive elements, are present...

Remediation and utilization of fly ash (FA) through ecologically and socioeconomically valuable plants are a safe and sustainable approach, considered as the phytomanagement of FA. Disposal of huge amount of FA not only requires large amount of water, energy, and thousands acres of land but also poses significant environmental and socioeconomic pro...

This chapter broadly describes the concept of ecosystem goods and services from the rehabilitated fly ash (FA) catena. There is no literature to identify and characterize the goods and services of the rehabilitated FA ecosystem. First time, the classification of the services of FA ecosystem is specified. My conclusions highlight the extent of resea...

Worldwide fly ash (FA) generation would require about thousands of hectares of land for its disposal. This large area of the earth surface can be utilized as “potential sink” for carbon sequestration. FA dumps’ rehabilitation through ecological engineering that revitalizes ash disposal sites while simultaneously contributing to bioresources’ genera...

Fly ash (FA), a coal combustion residue, has been recognized as a nutrient-enriched source, which can be used for improving the properties of barren soil along with crop yield. But the dose of FA in the agricultural field is still a matter of concern for scientific societies, because it varies crop to crop and soil to soil. Several studies showed t...

Coal-based thermal power stations are the major source of fly ash (FA) generation all over the world and produce millions of tons of FAs that are deposited in ash ponds. The FA contains micro- and macronutrients of plants as well as pollutants including metal(loid)s, radionuclides, organic pollutants, and atmospheric emissions. There are several us...

Fly ash (FA)—a coal combustion residue of thermal power plants—has been recognized as a problematic solid waste all over the world. Its proper disposal and safe utilization are a great challenge to the owners of the thermal power plants to have a quality environment around us. Use of FA in agriculture sector has been examined in several countries t...

Phragmites is a genus of perennial grasses from Poaceae family. Phragmites species has adaptive potential against multiple stress conditions, and is a promising perennial grass for phytoremediation and biofuel production. It is the most widely distributed grass in the world, and is also lavishly found in temperate regions as well as sub-tropical ar...