An agricultural country, Pakistan is highly dependent on the Indus irrigation system, one of the largest irrigation networks in the world. The Indus River catchment area upstream of Tarbela reservoir is called the Upper Indus River basin (UIB) which contributes the main inflow to the main course of the Indus River at high elevations as a result of snow and glacier melt. A large portion of the UIB is situated in the remote regions of Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya ranges. Seasonal variation of the snow and glacier cover influences directly the stream flow in the Upper Indus River. It is, therefore, important to monitor the seasonal snow cover in snow-fed catchments for several purposes such as hydrometeorology, flood forecasting and water resource management. The hydro-meteorological and snow cover investigations based on the ground data are very difficult in these regions. Satellite remote sensing is a powerful tool to estimate the snow and glacier (cryosphere) covered area in remote and inaccessible areas. MODIS snow cover products have been widely used to estimate the snow cover area by researchers (Maurer et al., 2003; Tahir et al., 2011; Tekeli et al., 2005) in several regions of the world. MODIS (MOD10A2) snow cover satellite product over a period of 12 years (2000 to 2011) will be used to estimate the snow and glacier cover trend in the Gilgit River basin (a sub-catchment of the UIB). Gilgit River basin nearly doubles the Indus River flow at Partab bridge so the snow cover estimation will help the water managers to manage the water resources in the UIB.

Phosphorus (P) is of vital importance for plant production due to the plant metabolic requirements for growth and replication. However, P is taken up by plants and microorganisms only as orthophosphate (Pi). And soil microorganisms known to be more efficient for the assimilation of available P. Therefore, P limits the productivity of plants in many terrestrial ecosystems and is often the first or second element limiting aboveground net primary productivity of forests. Although the use of fertilizers is compensating the deficiency of phosphorus but it gives a worst impact on environment. An important strategy to overcome these problems is the use of natural renewable resources such as soil microorganisms which act as a sink and a source of available phosphorus (P) by mediating key processes in the biogeochemical P cycling. They can regulate the energy transfer processes with low input. In this context the microbial loop, based upon the predation of bacteria by their predator nematodes such as bacteria feeding nematodes, is thought to play a major role in the mineralization of nutrients such as phosphorus in terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about the impact of bacterial predation by nematodes on P nutrition of woody plants.
My planned work is in the context of the forth-coming P crisis that will limit biomass production very soon. To face this crisis, I propose to find innovative strategies aiming at better exploiting the soil and microbial P pools. I plan to focus my research activities on using the potential microbial strains which can improve the plant growth in a cheap and renewable way as biofertilizer. My main strategy will rely on a better exploitation of the biological complexity existing between bacteria, their grazers such as bactivorous nematodes.
Main objective of this study will be the establishment of the main factors regulating the effects of the microbial loop to the benefit of plant P nutrition in simplified conditions like a pot experimental study.

An agricultural country, Pakistan is highly dependent on the Indus irrigation system, one of the largest irrigation networks in the world. The Indus River catchment area, upstream of Tarbela reservoir, is called the Upper Indus River basin (UIB), which contributes the main inflow to the Indus River at high elevations as a result of snow and glacier melt. Seasonal variation of the snow and glacier cover (resulting from change in climate variables) influences directly the stream flow in the Upper Indus River. It is, therefore, important to monitor the impacts of climate change on the cryosphere melt in snow-fed catchments for several purposes such as hydrometeorology, flood forecasting and water resource management. The hydro-meteorological and snow cover investigations based on the ground data are very difficult in these regions. Satellite remote sensing is a powerful tool to estimate the snow and glacier (cryosphere) covered area in remote and inaccessible areas. MODIS (MOD10A2) snow cover satellite product over a period of 14 years (2000 to 2013) and hydro-meteorological data of various gauging stations will be used to estimate the climate variability impacts on snow and glacier cover trend and hydrology of the Shigar River basin (a sub-catchment of the UIB), situated in the Karakoram range – Northern Pakistan.

Purposed work is in the context of the forth-coming P crisis that will limit biomass production. To face this crisis and to increase the sustainability of agricultural production, especially in the developing countries where the access at mineral P is extremely limited, the present study proposes to find innovative strategies aiming at better exploiting the soil organic/inorganic P pool. The focus of this research activity will be on unavailable P either mineral/organic, which constitutes a major fraction of soil P and that is very poorly usable by plants because plants are hardly able to secrete acids/phytases, required to hydrolyse/solubilize insoluble inorganic/organic P compound to release free phosphate (Pi), the sole source of P taken up by living organisms. In contrast to plants, bacteria can be able to use both unavailable P sources in pure culture, either by releasing organic acids/phytases and Pi in the external medium (Gram+ bacteria, such as Bacillus sp.) or in the periplasmic space (Gram- bacteria, such as Pseudomonas sp.).

Our main strategy will rely on a better exploitation of the biological complexity between those bacteria, their grazers such as bacterivorous nematodes known as the microbial loop, together with the role of the mycorrhizal symbiosis. After the establishment of the main factors regulating the effects of the microbial loop to the benefit of plant P nutrition in simplified conditions in the laboratory. The effort will be to find indicators (i.e. nematofauna description) and possible drivers for ecological intensification of plant P nutrition in ecosystems with low availability P.

P-solubilizing   Microbial Consortia from Lower Himalayas and their Potential for Bioethanol Production.  2016.  Funding agency- HECP-solubilizing   Microbial Consortia from Lower Himalayas and their Potential for Bioethanol Production.  2016.  Funding agency- HEC

The Hunza Valley, a tributary of the Indus River, is a highly glacierized river basin providing an ample amount of water to the Indus River and its tributaries. The river ultimately contributes large agriculture area in the downstream part for agrarian based economy of Pakistan. Global warming caused significant changes of glaciers with an average clear glacier mass loss worldwide. However, recent studies revealed the balanced mass budgets or even mass gain on investigated glaciers in Karakoram, eastern Pamir and western Kunlun Mountains and the occurrence of many surging glaciers. The Phenomenon is termed as the "Karakoram anomaly". The mechanism of the anomaly of glaciers and their future trend as well as potential impact on water availability in the region are key to the downstream economic development both in China and Pakistan. The purpose of the project, taking the case study of the Hunza Valley in close collaboration with the ICIMOD and its member country scientists, is to -analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of glacier area change during the past decades by comparison of an up to date glacier inventory and the existing previous glacier inventories, and mass changes by digital elevation model (DEM) differencing from the early map DEMs or that from declassified satellite images as well as that generated from the most recent satellite data. Snow cover dynamics is also analyzed by integration of AVHHR, MODIS, Fengyun, SMM/R, SSM/I, AMSR-E snow products with careful refinement of the cloud cover influence. The response mechanism of snow and glacier to climate change is discussed with a mass-balance-dynamic model. -model meltwater runoff processes with a conceptual hydrological model coupling with a glacier module for benchmark glacier watersheds with in-situ hydro-meteorological observations and detailed glaciological observations. -project the water availability of the Hunza Valley under changes of snow and glaciers with the hydrological model forced by CMIP5 climate ensemble scenarios. The outcome of this project will be a systematic assessment of the spatial and temporal variability of glacier area and mass changes in Hunza Valley, its influence on hydrologic regimes and natural disasters, and its control by local and regional climatic forcing. This will be realized with the aid of ground data collection, satellite image archives, and available hydro-meteorological network run by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Water, Pakistan
Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Karakoram International University as well as glacio-hydrologic modeling through bilateral cooperation of China and ICMOD scientists (member country scientists).

Study on the skin care efficacy of medicinal plants from Himalayan region. Technology Development Project 

Evaluation, adaptation studies and popularization of Kiwi Fruit in different ecologies (upper and lower altitudes) of Hazara division

Phytochemical profiling and in vitro antioxidant activity of selected edible wild fruits consumed by local communities of Lesser Himalayas-Pakistan

Impact of Environment on Phytochemicals Content, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities in Allium cepa L

PI Dr. Rashid Nazir

not applicable     

International Collaborative Research Project: No. ANSO-CR-PP-2020-07

Number of wastewater treatment plants are increasing rapidly along with human population and growing cities. This has been increasing large quantities of treatment sludge. In Turkey, treatment sludge are generally deposited in landfills after dewatering processes. Also it is used as soil conditioner which has adverse environmental effects such as odour and pollution in groundwater.

It is indicated that 4500 tons/day of treatment sludge (dried bases) are produced in Turkey. Anaerobic digestion process is one of the most promising uses of treatment sludge, by converting organic waste into stable organic soil conditioners or liquid fertilizers, and reducing the environmental impact of organic waste products prior to their disposal, resolving ecological and agrochemical issues. Also anaerobic treatment regarded as a source of renewable energy in the form of methane gas. In this project, before anaerobic digestion process, disintegration process will be applied to the treatment sludge. At the end of the process, the big particulates and long chain molecules are ruptured. Therefore, enhancing microbial decomposition, biodegradable level of sludge and biogas recovery will be increased. At the same time for this application, it is known that disintegration of treatment sludge fed to anaerobic digester cause more phosphor and nitrogen releasing in the effluent of discharge (supernatant). This effluent will be used in liquid fertilizer production for a commercial based.

Description of Technical Cooperation

Flavour is a critical idea in the sensory recognition and customer judgment. It is a mixture of fragrance and tastes. In plant base food, beverages and other substrates, flavor and aroma are strongly associated, independent of the taste perception. The specific type of flavor in food and beverages are mainly due to the presence of various secondary metabolites in their different such as flowers, fruits, leaves, bark, and seeds etc. Different types of phytochemicals, specifically polyphenolics, alkaloids, organic esters and carotenoids are the key contributors in plant based natural flavours. In plant-based extracts, these metabolites act as chemical triggers to accelerate the aroma and flavor receptors in the buccal cavity of consumers. The extracts of naturally growing plants are rich in aromatic and phenolic compounds that impart the distinctive flavor to plant-based products. In addition to distinctive flavours, various phytochemicals in natural extracts possess significant health benefits for consumers. Such as these extracts are used as natural antioxidant, antimicrobial, and therapeutic agents. Therefore, natural flavours extracted from plant species are attracting so much to consumers, and their demand is increasing rapidly in different food, beverages, and cigarette industries.

Himalayan region of Pakistan is rich in floral and faunal diversity. Various types of medicinal and aromatic plants are contributing significantly in the traditional health care systems and traditional food systems in the mountains of Himalayas. Local communities in the Himalayan region of Pakistan are using aromatic plants as medicines and in making traditional but most delicious cuisines since long time. However, these plants species have rarely been explored yet, specifically in context of their functional properties and application in food and beverage industries. Consequently, this technical agreement will be focused on the extraction of flavouring compounds from different aromatic plants growing naturally in different areas of Himalayan region of Pakistan. This agreement will be helpful in the screening of plant resources with significant flavouring potential. In addition, natural flavours from wild plant resources will be of commercial importance, specifically for various food and beverages industries.

Spatio-Temporal Glacier Variation and its Influence on the Water Availability in Hunza Basin along the CPEC Route