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Purpose Intensification of rice cultivation to meet the growing demand has imbalanced the nitrogen level in soil. Amendments of inorganic fertilizers increase yield, but at the same time affects the environment. Hence, different amendments are to be investigated which acting sustainably on soil and the environment upholds yield gains. Methods A study was carried out on acidic sandy loam soil in the irrigated summer seasons of the years of 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 to examine the effects of various amendments on rice growth, soil health and yield. The applied amendments were inorganic fertilizer blended with crop residues, farm yard manure and compost made of daily household green wastes. Results The highest yield of 53.33 ± 2.09 Q/ha was recorded with application of inorganic fertilizer blended with compost and the lowest yield of 32.71 ± 3.09 Q/ha without amendment. Strong positive correlations were found between soil moisture and volumetric water content (0.982 at p < 0.001), manganese and copper (0.900 at p < 0.001), whereas available phosphorus and manganese showed a strong negative correlation (− 0.901 at p < 0.001). Performing stepwise regression analysis, yield was found affected mostly by soil moisture and total carbon out of evaluated 17 soil traits. Conclusion The inorganic fertilization blended with the compost increased rice yield by 13.61% over inorganic fertilizer but a higher yield associated with compost demoted total nitrogen contents in soil, leading to lower soil nitrogen fertility and providing a negative feedback to sustainable agriculture. More research is required on compost development and application in different rice agroecosystems.

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An investigation has been made to recognise the medicinal and economic potential of plant species occurred in the semi-evergreen forest of Hollongapar Gibbon wildlife sanctuary, Assam using semi-structured questionnaire. In the present study, the importance of plant species recorded in this semi-evergreen forest is analysed and assessed in terms of their medicinal and economic values. A total of 157 plant species belonging to 136 genera and 78 families were having medicinal and economic values. These include 69 trees (55 genera and 39 families), 17 shrubs (15 genera and 14 families), 58 herbs (57 genera and 37 families), 5 lianas (5 genera and 5 families) and 8 bamboo/cane/palm (5 genera and 2 families). The study revealed 78% of plant species were having significant values either in terms of medicinal or economic and both which make the plant diversity of the sanctuary a vital source for resource supply. Majority of the recorded medicinal plants were used for the treatment of some common health problems such as fever,

The present study provides data collected during rescue operations involving Bengal slow loris Nycticebus bengalensis which were carried out opportunistically in and around Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India. A total of 27 individuals consisting of 21 males and 6 females were rescued from the study sites; 81% of these were adult and 19% sub-adult. Of the 27 individuals, 12 were rescued from private gardens. All rescued individuals were kept under observation in the Biological Park zoo situated within the sanctuary, where they received the necessary treatment, and were then released to the wild in the sanctuary. Various anthropogenic threats were recorded in the study; these included illegal logging, firewood collection, forest fires and habitat encroachment to enable the traditional practice of shifting cultivation, and infrastructural developmental activities. The present study highlights factors impeding the conservation of slow loris in and around the sanctuary. FREE REE