Organic materials responsible for water-repellency in some Australian soils were extracted with an amphiphilic mixture of iso-propanol/l5.7 M ammonia (7 : 3, v : v) in a Soxhlet apparatus, after which the water-repellent soils were rendered wettable. The successful extraction by an organic solvent system indicates that the bulk of hydrophobicity in these soils is not covalently linked to the surface of the sand. The extracted materials restored hydrophobicity on acid washed sands or ignited sands at levels comparable to the original soils.Spectroscopic and chromatographic examination of the extracted materials indicated that both free and esterified long-chain, 1G32 carbon atom, fatty acids were present with a bimodal distribution showing maxima at C,, and CZ2. The I3C-NMR and infrared spectra of the most hydrophobic extract suggest that hydrophobicity is caused by molecules with extensive polymethylene chains. Calculations with model compounds indicate that at least a close packed monolayer is required before measurable hydrophobicity can be detected with the molarity of ethanol droplet penetration test.

The water repellency of a sandy lucerne pasture soil is critically dependent on aqueous extraction and subsequent drying procedures. Freeze-drying converts a very severely water-repellent soil into a readily wettable soil, but subsequent rewetting and oven-drying regenerates water repellency. These changes are ascribed to changes in the molecular conformation of the organic matter. Prolonged shaking detaches organic matter coatings from sand particles and so reduces repellency. Allowing for these effects, it is shown that a sequence of alcohol-benzene extraction, acid leaching, and NaOH extraction removes the major part of the water-repellent substances present.

Water-repellency in sandy soils is determined by the amount of hydrophobic organic matter coating the sand particles and the specific surface area of the sands. The hydrophobic state can be simulated by coating hydrophilic sand with cetyl alcohol. Admixture of finely particulate materials with either naturally occurring water-repellent sands or the model cetyl alcohol-coated sand markedly reduced the water-repellency. Dispersible sodic clays were more effective than calcium saturated clays in reducing water-repellency, suggesting that the addition of dispersible, fine-grained illites and kaolinites couid play an important role in the rapid control of water-repellent soils in field situations.

The Lesser Sunda islands, i.e. Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara are locus of the harsh climate regime in Indonesia. The research was conducted in 2020 by a Descriptive method that aims to identify occurrence of climate change represented by anomalies of sea surface temperature (SST), air temperature, precipitation, and wind vector. The study area was focused on the convergence zone of the South Indian Ocean extending from 0° to 10°S, and 114° to 130°E. The temporal observation was at a peak of the rainy season in February and a transition period in March and April. Changes in climate variables were quantified by a test of two linear regression slopes and a binomial probability. Climate data were acquired from the International Research Institute (IRI) in a span of 30 years (1990 to 2020), with exception of air temperature from 1920 to 2020. Results showed that rainfall and SST had changed since 2005, and air temperature since 1995. Rainfall was significantly decreased afterward. SST and air temperature subsequently increased. The impact of climate change was compounded by wind vector anomalies in February, March and April. In conclusion, the Lesser Sunda Islands had experienced the ongoing climate change, indicated by lowering annual rainfall by 130.8 mm, increasing SST by 0.8°C and air temperature by 0.1°C in a decade respectively. In addition, Persistence Westerly winds through the end of April possibly induced severe flooding, on the other hand, the early emergence of southeast Trade winds before April could result in severe drought.

Persoalaan sampah rumah tangga, khususnya jenis sampah organic, masih menjadi issue yang mengemuka yang membutuhkan penyelesaian. Kebanyakan masyarakat masih menerapkan pola pengelolaan sampah konvensional yaitu menimbun sampah organic di suatu tempat/lokasi. Timbulan sampah ini berpotensi memunculkan masalah baru, seperti terjadi emisi gas metana (CH4), timbulnya bau yang tidak sedap, air lindi sampah berpotensi mencemari lingkungan. Karena itu kepada masyarakat perlu diberikan pembelajaran mengenai cara penanganan sampah organic untuk mengurangi jumlah sampah organic yang ditimbun di tempat pembuangan sampah. Salah satu caranya yaitu dengan memanfaatkan limbah organik segar, limbah buah dan/atau sayur, menjadi produk Eko-Ensim. Filtrat dari Eko-Ensim digunakan sebagai pupuk organic cair dan/atau pestisida nabati, sedangkan padatannya digunakan sebagai pupuk organic padat. Kegiatan ini dilaksanakan bermitra dengan Kelompok Pemanfaat Sampah “PaManSam” yang berlokasi di Desa Narmada Kecamatan Narmada Kabupaten Lombok Barat- NTB. Sebagai sasaran pembelajaran adalah petani milinial dan mahasiswa PKL di kelompok PaManSam. Kegiatan ini diawali dengan sosialisasi  mengenai UU RI no 18 tahun 2008 dan Peraturan Daerah Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Barat Nomor 5 Tahun 2019 tentang Pengelolaan Sampah. Kegiatan kedua adalah Bimtek Pembuatan Eko-Ensim, diawali dengan persiapan bahan, pelaksanaan fermentasi Eko-Ensim, analisis karakteristik filtrat Eko-Ensim. Hasil kegiatan sebagai berikut, peserta kegiatan 1) memiliki pengetahuan tentang pengelolaan sampah menurut UU dan Peraturan Daerah yang berlaku; 2) menguasai teknik pembuatan Eko-Ensim; 3) Eko-Ensim yang dihasilkan ber-pH netral. Teknik pembuatan Eko- Ensim ini dapat diaplikasikan untuk membuatan produk lain dengan berbahan baku bahan organic segar