The coastal area of Bohai Bay of China has a wide distribution of salt-accumulated soils which could pose a problem to the sustainable development of the local ecology. As a result, the land remains largely degraded and unsuitable for biophysical and agricultural purposes. In this study, we characterized the soil and native plants in the area, to properly understand and identify species with satisfactory adaptation to saline soil and of high economic or ecological value that could be further developed or domesticated, using appropriate cultivation techniques. The goal was to determine the salinity parameters of the soil, identify the inhabiting plant species and contribute to the ecosystem data base for the Bay area. A field survey involving soil and plant sampling and analyses was conducted in Yanshan and Haixing Counties of Hebei Province, China, to estimate the level of salt ions as well as plant species population and type. The mean electrical conductivity (EC) of the soils ranged from 0.47 in more remote locations to 23.8 ds/m in locations closer to the coastline and the total salt ions from 0.05 to 8.8 g/kg, respectively. Each of the salinity parameters, except HCO₃⁻ showed wide variations as judged from the coefficient of variation (CV) values. The EC, as well as chloride, sulphate, Mg and Na ions increased significantly towards the coastline but the HCO₃⁻ ion showed a relatively even distribution across sampling points. Sodium was the most abundant cation and chloride and sulphate the most abundant anions. Therefore, the most dominant salinity-inducing salt that should be properly managed for sustainable ecosystem health was sodium chloride. Based on the EC readings, the most remote location from the coastline was non-saline but otherwise, the salinity ranged from slightly to strongly-very strongly saline towards the coast. There were considerably wide variations in the number and distribution of plant species across sampling locations, but most were dominated entirely Phragmites australis, Setaria viridis and Sueda salsa. Other species identified were Aeluropus littoralis, Chloris virgata, Heteropappus altaicus, Imperata cylindrica, Puccinellia distans, Puccinellia tenuiflora and Scorzonera austriaca. On average, the sampling points furthest from the coast produced the most biomass, and the point with the highest elevation had the most diverse species composition. Among species, Digitaria sanguinalis produced the highest dry mass, followed by Lolium perenne and H. altaicus, but there were considerable variations in biomass yield across sampling locations, with the location nearest the coastline having no vegetation. The observed variations in soil and vegetation should be strongly considered by planners to allow for the sustainable development of the Bahai bay area.

This research delves into the urgent requirement for innovative agricultural methodologies amid growing concerns over sustainable development and food security. By employing machine learning strategies, particularly focusing on non-parametric learning algorithms, we explore the assessment of soil suitability for agricultural use under conditions of drought stress. Through the detailed examination of varied datasets, which include parameters like soil toxicity, terrain characteristics, and quality scores, our study offers new insights into the complexities of predicting soil suitability for crops. Our findings underline the effectiveness of various machine learning models, with the decision tree approach standing out for its accuracy, despite the need for comprehensive data gathering. Moreover, the research emphasizes the promise of merging machine learning techniques with conventional practices in soil science, paving the way for novel contributions to agricultural studies and practical implementations.

The chemical reinforcement of sandy soils is usually carried out to improve their properties and meet specific engineering requirements. Nevertheless, conventional reinforcement agents are often expensive; the process is energy-intensive and causes serious environmental issues. Therefore, developing a cost-effective, room-temperature-based method that uses recyclable chemicals is necessary. In the current study, poly (styrene-co-methyl methacrylate) (PS-PMMA) is used as a stabilizer to reinforce sandy soil. The copolymer-reinforced sand samples were prepared using the one-step bulk polymerization method at room temperature. The mechanical strength of the copolymer-reinforced sand samples depends on the ratio of the PS-PMMA copolymer to the sand. The higher the copolymer-to-sand ratio, the higher the sample’s compressive strength. The sand (70 wt.%)-PS-PMMA (30 wt.%) sample exhibited the highest compressive strength of 1900 psi. The copolymer matrix enwraps the sand particles to form a stable structure with high compressive strengths.

In this paper, we explore the static and dynamic effects of oil rent on competitiveness in Saudi Arabia’s economy during the period 1970–2022. In addition, we examined the short-run, strong and long-run relationships between exports and industry, inflation, energy use (oil rents) and agriculture using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach developed. The analysis showed that government spending will contribute to enhancing the competitive environment with a difference of one year. Moreover, the industry will contribute to increasing competitiveness for a positive relationship in the long term. The results stated that there is an insignificant relationship between competitiveness, inflation, and oil rents. The analysis also shows that inflation has a negative impact with statistical significance in the short term. In addition, the error correction model (ECM) coefficient is negative and has statistical significance at 0.76 at a 1% significant level, which indicates the existence of an error correction mechanism and thus the existence of a long-term relationship between the variables.

The new oil derivatives transportation scheme proposed by the 2013 Mexican Energy Reform allowed new participants to enter the sector. The new legal framework requires fulfilling many requirements and corresponding duties for the transportation of oil products. The Mexican government already has an institution dedicated to measuring the regulatory cost of each federal procedure. This work aims to quantify the regulatory costs associated with the procedures and their compliance to obtain permits for transporting oil products by truck. We use the standard cost method to measure these costs, considering all associated costs. The results showed that two government offices did not adequately measure these costs. They did not consider relevant information on frequency and opportunity costs, resulting in undervaluation and leading to wrong expectations. As a result of this research, we provide a more accurate way of estimating these costs, which brings greater certainty in the budgeting of these projects and, therefore, increases the probability of survival and success.

This study aims to examine and challenge the impact of local government policy governance on the oil palm plantation sector in Riau Province, Indonesia. It was discovered that 1,628 million hectares of illegal oil palm plantations are located within forest areas. Plantation area and crop harvest areas are declining due to the increase in damaged old plants, low productivity of plantation crops, inadequate facilities and infrastructure conditions, low technology application, plantation business licensing, limited downstream plantation industry and marketing, assistance in changing the attitudes, behavior, and skills of farmers. The methodology used was exploratory qualitative to explore this topic, and the determination of research topics was conducted using Biblioshiny application analysis. Then, the data was analyzed using Nvivo 12 Plus software. The results of this study discovered that the policy governance of the oil palm plantation sector as a leading commodity in Riau Province, Indonesia, is influenced by three dimensions: firstly, the actor dimension; secondly, the structural dimension; and third, the empirical dimension of governance. This research contributes as a knowledge reference to oil palm plantations.