They Say I Say

Tardiness in Schools [Name of the writer] [Name of the institution] Table of Contents Chapter 13 Introduction3 Problem of the Study3 Research Hypothesis and Questions4 Significance of the Study4 Scope and Delimitation5 Chapter 26 Related Literature6 Research paradigm7 Definition of Terms8 Chapter 39 Research Design9 Procedure9 Population9 Description of Subjects9 Instrumentation10 Statistical Treatment10 References11 Chapter 1 Introduction The behaviors of the student have a negative impact not only on the learning education system but on the nation too.The students who bunk for the school for a short or large part of the day called tardiness or the entire of the day called truancy not only harm academic failure, but give to the rising number of students who negatively impact the standing of the educational system as well as nation. The negative effect not only influence schools by deterring educational leaders from effectiveness and helpful educational plan with stability and exclus ive of information breaks for the students, but also puts requirements on society to determine how they will help students and their families with emotional and social requirements.This study explored the medical, economic, social, emotional and psychological causes for the tardiness of student in a middle school background (Leigh & Lust 2008). Tardiness of student is an important aspect in measuring if the student will become at threat. Without interference, tardiness behaviors of students regularly result in severe emotional and social issues. There is consideration that a major number of students of middle school are misplaced by school, demonstrating up late, and going outside from school during school timings for a diversity of educational, emotional, and social causes.Problem of the Study The problem statement of the study is to explore the connection between the school and work tardiness in students of middle school. School workers, school staffs, parents, and personals who o bserve this information will have an enhanced understanding of tardiness of school, associated school deviant actions, and punctuality in a middle school setting. Research Hypothesis and Questions Truancy, frequent nonattendance, and Tardiness behaviors are important forecasters of the students turning to be at hazard.These in danger students, in accordance of the reports, become engaged in delinquent behaviors to have a negative impact on not only these students themselves, but also on the society, educational system and nation as well. Questions The research questions are: Â ·What seems to be the basic reasons of extreme tardiness behaviors? Â ·How do these students of middle school elaborate repeated tardy behavior? Â ·What effect does staff of school consider the tardiness on student behavior? Why? Â ·What types of behaviors direct to tardiness? Why? Â ·What are the connections of severe tardiness? What sorts and types of programs seem to be successful for use in treating t he problem of increased tardiness? Significance of the Study The issue has significance for the educationalist, suffering families who are concerned in consideration why various students are persistently miss, and late for the school and how educationalists can have a constructive pressure on the students, they are accountable for and take them into class on time. The study on tardiness of the student is one of the important elements in knowing early on a child who might turn out to be at risk.Such endangered students are creating the option to come up to school late or do not mention it owing to the conditions and behaviors they have discovered themselves in, whether by option or an effect of situation. These behaviors students and are adversely influencing the schools of nation, and the students are endangered for reducing out of school. Scope and Delimitation Scope The study is about the number of students concentrate school late after an event with parents. These adverse connect ions with parents can regularly become customary for families, ensuing in the student gathering supplementary tardy days all through the school year.The hazard with these kinds of connections with parents is that students turn out to be usually tardy all through their childhood. Delimitation 1. The outcomes are surrounded to the students in the rural area school. 2. Not all local workers of school contributed in the research. 3. Not all students participating selected to be in the research. 4. The student sampling is moderately homogenous. Chapter 2 Related Literature Edgier (2007) stressed the adverse impact of tardiness by defining that the students have to be present and involved to learn.Perceptive the causes that pupils are late for school, the activities associated with this occurrence, and the force it has on students’ education and expansion is vital owing to the pessimistic consequences that effect from students who are lost class time. Tardy students are probable to turn out to be middle school withdrawals; consign irrelevant crimes; or develop into Student truancy, common student non-attendance, and tardiness carry on to be a main problem confronting American educational structure.In tackling the dilemma of truancy, it is showed what the middle schools system is performing to fight tardiness and truancy in the middle schools. The study affirmed that the concern of student tardiness is one of the primary symptoms of a student turning to be a student who is endangered. Researchers are supported to observe truancy and are confronted to identify truancy more widely, permitting researchers to deal with the obstacle students practice by gone all or a number of the school day. Scott (2010) defined the actions one-school system executed to decrease tardiness.A helper principal in fact visits a home of the student if such student does not arrive to school on time. The management concentrates not only on the student’s behavior who come to late s chool but also on his parents who do not observe no matter which wrong with their children arriving to school late. One of the most annoying concerns in contemporary’s schools is tardiness?. Students practice a harmful effect when the students become tardy. Tardiness not only influences the pupil who is tardy, but also has an influence on the school surroundings, teachers, and further students, as well as the school all together (Leigh & Lust 2008).Instructional time and force are pessimistically impacted by the students who become late; these students can turn out to be engaged in delinquent manners in unverified areas of the school. In this condition, there is chance for hostility, harassment, damage, and misbehavior. These types of behaviors can take over into the class and additional influence the learning setting. Extensive tardiness is a symbol that there is a main dilemma-taking place with the child at the instant or in the history.One of the main notions that instruct ed this research and given imminent into processes schools can take to control student tardiness was got from Ekstrom Goertz Pollack & Rock (2006)’ work on the morals of care. Formerly this significant association has been created, the cares will better appreciate and be better prepared to sustain, help, and direct the persons they are educating. Research paradigm While there is vast research on school tardiness and absence, no research in the literature review assessed the direct connection between students and tardiness behavior in middle school.The main purpose of this study is to gather quantitative data to observe if school tardiness can forecast the tardiness. The secondary objectives are to a) contrast the tardiness, absence and GPA records of the students to the middle school student sampling, b) resolve if the students at diverse are parallel to each other, c) observe if chosen demographics force school tardiness and unnecessary nonattendance, d) inspect the connecti on of school tardiness and unnecessary nonattendance in the middle school population. Definition of TermsTardy/Tardiness: Be late for whichever quantifiable duration of time passed the affirmed or planned start time for school. Truant: A usual truant ways a student who is not present from school devoid of a satisfactory reason for element or all of five or more days on which school is owned throughout a school section. Unexcused absence: Not presence or demonstrating up for class as also not gets a suitable rationale as elaborated by the school for the nonattendance, for example funeral, illness, vacation, or accepted school action. Chapter 3 Research Design This is the experimental study employing control and experimental factions to assess one of the purposes. Tardiness, unnecessary nonattendance and GPA information from middle school students are contrasted to the similar variables for the enduring middle school population. Procedure Information gathered on the middle school samp ling and the subgroup of students will be assessed. Successive results, outline, conclusions and recommendations will be merged with suitable workers of the school in the study.Population The population researched was middle students who concentrate a rural middle school in south-central Wisconsin. The school area faces presently over 500 square miles and gives somewhat more than 2,000 pupils from 4 years old throughout middle school. Description of Subjects At the time the research will begin, they had a full amount of 44 students. All 44-student students from the enduring four students are accepting letters calling them to contribute in the study.Instrumentation To test a hypothesis SPSS will be used in this regard in which excel and SPSS software’s are to be used. Statistical Treatment The students were raised to offer time records from March 30 to June 7, which was the previous week of the year of school. Uncertain nonattendance and tardiness concerns have a direct effect on schools and serve up as early on caution signs to researcher that there is a dilemma in the life of child. References Ediger, M. (2007).School Dropouts, Absenteeism, and Tardiness, Counseling. Ekstrom, Ruth, Goertz, M. , Pollack, J. , & Rock, D. (2006). Who Drops Out of High School and Why? Findings from a National Study. Teachers College Record Volume 87 Number 3, pp 356-373. Leigh, J. P. , & Lust, J. (2008). Determinants of employee Tardiness. Work and Occupations: An International Sociological Journal, 15(1), 78-95. Scott, C. A. (2010). Junior high school tardy lock out (RC017912). Florida: Nova University.

Policing Rough Neighborhoods

The united States should be to police a rough neighborhood because there trying to stop another incident like 9/1 1 from happening. The U. S. Has to start policing a rough neighborhood because it will help The role the United States should take In the middle east and in the united States is that we need to police rough neighborhoods because the Taliban and AAA Qaeda are very effective in the middle east. Stop terrorist attack before they happen.A quote from an article named â€Å"options In brief† first entente, â€Å"The attack of September 1 lath and the aggressive dictatorship of the middle east prove that the world Is a dangerous place. † This quote shows the worlds a dangerous place and this Is why we need to police rough neighborhoods. Another example Is â€Å"The U. S. Cannot allow Afghanistan to become another Taliban run sanctuary for AAA Qaeda which could cause another 9/1 1 This quote Is saying the U. S. Doesn't want Afghanistan to become a place run by the Taliban because It could lead to another 9/11. Cause Its talking about how we need to make sure that we don't eve September 1 lath to happen again. The united States needs to start protecting the U. S. More because of terrorist. The united States role in the Middle East should be to police rough neighborhoods, we need to protect other countries because people shouldn't die for no reason. Like it says in the quote said by president john in the article â€Å"why we fight† â€Å"We seek neither territory nor bases. We fight for the principle of self determination. † I think this quote is saying that we don't want your land we want to help.The United States is the greatest force for good in the world and we have an obligation not to start and fight wars but to spread democracy and freedom through the world. † This quote is saying that America Is a good country and there trying to help not fight. These because it's showing that we're not trying to invade were trying t o help innocent people. U. S. Needs to help stop innocent people from dying in the Middle East. The United States role in the Middle East should be to police a rough neighborhood. I believe the u. s. Would take his into this is a big effect on both the United States Middle East and we need our neighborhoods policed. Innocent people are dying and we can not have another 9/1 1 happen again. We must be protected and not killed. Policing Rough Neighborhoods By governmental The United States should be to police a rough neighborhood because there trying to neighborhood because it will help The role the United States should take in the middle east and in the United States is that we need to police rough neighborhoods attack before they happen.A quote from an article named â€Å"options in brief† first middle east prove that the world is a dangerous place. † This quote shows the worlds a dangerous place and this is why we need to police rough neighborhoods. Another example is à ¢â‚¬Å"The U. S. Cannot allow Afghanistan to become another Taliban run sanctuary for AAA Qaeda which could cause another 9/1 1 . † This quote is saying the U. S. Doesn't want Afghanistan to become a place run by the Taliban because it could lead to another 9/11. Because its talking about how we need to make sure that we don't eve September 1 lath to happen again.The United States needs to start protecting The United States role in the Middle East president John in the article â€Å"why we fight† â€Å"We seek neither territory nor bases. We fight for the principle of self determination. † I think this quote is saying that we don't the world and we have an obligation not to start and fight wars but to spread democracy and freedom through the world. † This quote is saying that America is a good country and there trying to help not fight.

How might government debt reduction plans affect Bury Sports Ltd Essay

How might government debt reduction plans affect Bury Sports Ltd - Essay Example The UK public sector budget deficits, which are recorded since 2002-03, have already reached at the level of  £6.0 billion in February 2010, more than double in comparison with its previous year level. Net capital borrowing has increased almost one and half times more to  £12.4 billion than its previous year level. As a percentage of GDP the net public sector debt of the UK government has touched to 60.3 per cent in February, 2010, a 10 scale higher than the level of February, 2009. At the end of February, 2010 the net debt also has increased to  £857.5 billion from a level of  £712.4 billion in February 2009. Net public sector borrowing has also jumped to  £49.4 billion from the level of  £ 32.4 billion, at the end of the third quarter of 2009-10. Excluding the financial interventions, the public sector net debt has risen to  £741.6 billion by the end of February, 2010 from the level of  £596.9 billion which was seen in February, 2009, exactly before one year. (Month ly:  £6.0bn budget deficit, March 29, 2010; Tanweer, Thompson, n.d.). Keeping these issues in mind the government has taken a deficit reduction strategy. This set the path to Mr. Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer to take an aggressive decision towards the reduction of debt. The government has planned for high cuts in its public spending over the coming two years. Mr. Darling intends to reduce the general government spending excluding capital investment, interest on debt and social welfare costs by almost 1.5 per cent and 2 percent in 2011 and 2012 respectively. (Fiscal Responsibility Bill, 2009-10, pp. 1-3). With the outlook of bringing the budget back into balance within 2017 financial year, the government would like that its budget deficit as a percentage of GDP may fall to almost the half level of the present year standard. With the

Parliament house of victoria bc canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Parliament house of victoria bc canada - Essay Example It is situated off the coast of Canada’s Pacific (Olson, 20). The population of Victoria City is about 325000 and takes up only a small corner of the island. The size of the city is almost one-fifth of England. Many parts of the city is filled with so much wilderness that there are no roads and the only option to travel in these parts is by boat or by foot (Olson, 207). The settlement of Victoria City was established in the year 1805 by Martin De Leon. The area was located between the lower Guadalupe River and the Lavaca River and was surrounded by Jackson, Calhoun, DeWitt and Victoria counties. The government house was located on the banks of the Guadalupe River on an area of 640 acre. The first site that was selected was to construct a school in the city. Initially there were eight Catholic Anglo-American families with sufficient wealth. De Leon was supposed to bring 150 families which did not happen because of his â€Å"death and cholera epidemic of 1833†. The cityâ €™s planning was made taking ideas from cities in Europe and Mexico. The City Hall is situated in the old market square (â€Å"Early History of Victoria†). Victoria is a peaceful city and has all the privileges needed by people going on a holiday. The city is major attraction for visitors because it can be easily accessed. Victoria has beautiful gardens with flowers. Butchart Garden which is located in downtown Victoria is a major tourist attraction for its fireworks on Saturday nights. The Royal BC museum is one of the best museums in the world and is a reflection of the city and its people. Ferry rides especially in the evening during sunset is another pleasant activity for tourists (Olson, 1-4). When the city was founded, it was inhabited mostly by people from UK and Scotland. The British rule began in Victoria in the middle of the 19th century when the Strait of Juan de Fuca divided US and

Sales Force Compensation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sales Force Compensation - Term Paper Example As such, the use of total rewards program as a way of attracting, retaining and motivating employees involves the extension of what an employee perceives as being of value to that employee. The need for an effective Total rewards program is underscored by firms being solely dependent upon it for growth, stability and overall success. Likewise, the success of a firm that wants to have an effective sales force must use total rewards program, the size of that firm notwithstanding. 1. Six Features of an Effective Total Rewards Program In order to motivate the sales force to produce the highest number of clients, there are six features of an effective total rewards program that should be put to use. One of the features that of an effective total rewards program that will help is compensation. Compensation is the pay that is extended to an employee for the services that the employee renders. Compensation should not only include both short and long-term rewards. Fair and effective compensat ion is that which supports the organization's goals, mission and business objectives. It is against this backdrop that Nike Inc. provides its personnel with very competitive salary that totally complements employees' duties, roles and responsibilities. Another feature of an effective total rewards program that should be put to use is the definition and moderation of work-life. Work-life comprises a particular set of organizational policies, practices, programs and philosophy which actively sustain and support efforts to help employees attain success both at the workplace, and at home. Some of the examples and facets of work-life include job sharing, telecommuting, sabbaticals, flexible work hours, compressed workweek, and continued education. Nike Inc allows sabbaticals for its employees annually. Employees who have worked with Nike Inc. for five years are entitled for two-week rest while those who have worked with the firm for more than six years are entitled for a one-month's leav e. Nike Inc's sales and marketing department and employees are the best paid in the sportswear industry, according to Borgardus (2006). Failure to observe proper work-life easily paves way for dissatisfaction and de-motivation among employees. In another wavelength, Nike Inc or any other organization that is serious about its effective total rewards program must factor its benefit program into consideration. Benefits refer to programs that an employer dispenses to supplement monetary emoluments that are given to employees. Aspects of these benefits include income protection, retirement programs, health and savings. Cichelli (2010) divulges that a well-designed program may not be generic, but needs to customize the diverse workforce which makes up Nike Inc.'s retail and organization. Nike Inc.'s benefit program will help its selling and promotion undertakings since Nike Inc. provides health insurance, disability insurance, life and accident insurance, paid sabbaticals, tuition assist ance, product discounts, transportation allowance and discount.

Outline and assess the major changes to journalism over the past 40 Essay

Outline and assess the major changes to journalism over the past 40 years and explain the extent to which these changes have helped or hindered democracy - Essay Example That is, the concept of democratic journalism has paved way into the academic jargon of the subject matter; implying that social media platforms tend to be launch-pads for such trend which then make news and influence journalists in dramatic ways. Therefore, it would be imperative to see the evolution of journalism from the era of Watergate scandal to the social media age to see how the subject matter and the professionalism in the field has expanded and moved forward (Starkey 2004: 5). Therefore, the paper will aim at exploring how journalism emerged as a forward-moving discipline and how the journalists in the field faced immense challenges and turbulences to bring the discipline where it stands today. Furthermore, the paper will explore how issues like media financing, advertising and political affiliations have impacted the field and therefore, how journalism has impacted democratic developments. Prior to analyzing the evolutionary phases of journalism in the past 40 years, and its contribution towards democracy; it is critical to understand the scope and nature of the discipline of journalism. Journalism incorporates the gathering and processing of news while including dissemination of news and information. Furthermore, journalism may also be understood in context to reporting, editing, writing, photography and even broadcasting of news as part of the business of an organization. Another perspective deals with the academic aspects whereby journalism stands for the coursework which prepared the students for intriguing careers in news writing and broadcasting, even editing. Similarly, considering the opinion formation function of journalism, it may also be understood as thought provoking and research oriented composition which is reflected via newspapers, print media and more recently even the social media. However, the feedback mechanisms must also not be

CRS-y Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CRS-y - Assignment Example 58)Managers in every success-oriented organization are faced with three key decisions to make; First, the decision on the company’s value proposition. Second, the decision on company’s value-driven operational model, and thirdly, the decision on the company’s value disciplines. The company’s value proposition entails the implicit promise to the customers outlining all values combination (Iacobucci 2011, p. 89). The company’s value-driven operational model involves integration of operation processes with the systems of management and culture, required to deliver effective value proposition (Cooper 1999, p. 56). The company’s value disciplines entail the integration of operational models and value proposition to achieve leadership in the market through competitive advantage. The Treacy and Wiersema value disciplines have impacted greatly on CRM as reviewed in the following discussion of the value disciplines. The first value discipline is opera tional excellence which involves provision of reliable products to the customers and pricing services competitively, with less or no difficulties and inconveniences to the customers. A good example of a company that has embraced this discipline is Dell (Egan 2008, p. 83). Operational excellence stresses on a specified strategic approach on production and delivery of products and services. The companies following this discipline strive for leadership in the industry through price and convenience. The companies seek ways on; overhead minimization, elimination of unnecessary production cost and business processes optimization across all organization frontiers (Mukerjee 2011, p. 167). The companies in pursuance of Operational Excellence concentrate on direct sale to customers, sale based on order rather than inventory and low-cost. Dell, General Electricals, Wal-Mart, America Airlines and Federal Express are some of the companies that have had a significant adoption of the operational e xcellence. This has helped them to be leaders in their industries by undercutting their competitors through the discipline. The companies witnessed an increase in their customer base and their sales (Kincaid 2003, p. 48). However, Operational excellence possess key challenges in maintaining a consistency customer loyalty. This is because the discipline does not focus on product innovation and a long-lasting customer relationship. Instead it concentrates largely on price and convenience in products and services. This results to high switching in buyers as they seek more innovative products, hence leading to a low customer loyalty (Kincaid 2003, p. 43). The other discipline indicated by Treacy and Wiersema is product leadership. This discipline entails product excellence through differentiation. The companies that choose to embrace the discipline shift their focus on making the product different from those of the competitors (Rafinejad 2007, p. 58). Customers may be required to pay a price premium on the products which are differentiated from the competitors’ products. Companies on this discipline strive for the ‘’state-of-art products† characterized by high creativity. Product leadership requires increased product innovation, commercialization of ideas, and pursuance of new solutions and risk taking management structure (Rafinejad 2007,

Discovery of electrons(J,J Thomson) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discovery of electrons(J,J Thomson) - Essay Example Cathode rays were an enigma during the late 1800s. Many Europeans thought that the rays emitted at the cathode in the discharge tube were an ethereal disturbance, like light. Crookes proposed in 1879, that the cathode rays were radiant matter or negatively charged particles that were attracted to the anode and repelled from the cathode (Cambridge Physics, 2015). In Germany, Hertz conducted an experiment where he observed that the rays discharged could pass through very thin gold sheets. He also conducted another experiment to find out the impact of electric fields on the rays and wrongly concluded that the rays were not deflected by the electric fields. In 1897, J.J Thomson repeated Hertz’s experiment (Cambridge Physics, 2015). The difference between J.J Thomson’s experiment and Hertz’s experiment was that J.J Thomson conducted his experiment in a vacuum tube. Hertz had too much gas in his discharge tube and the gas had become ionized by the electric field. The positive ions were attracted to the negative plate and the negative ions were attracted to the positive plate. This reduced the net charge on the plates and the strength of the field was not enough to deflect the cathode rays. J.J Thomson repeated the experiment and when he passed the cathode rays through the electric field in a vacuum, deflection occurred. The fact that the cathode rays moved towards the positively charged plate allowed him to conclude that the rays must be negatively charged. After this, J.J Thomson used two coils of wire known as the Helmholtz pair to produce a uniform magnetic field. Any beam of charged particles when passed through the magnetic field produced by the Helmholtz pair will be bent at 90 degree angle to the field into a complete circle Using this concept, J.J Thomson positioned the coils to cause a deflection in the opposite direction to that produced by the electric field. To balance the forces

Earth Essay Example for Free

Earth Essay Earth is the planet on which we live. Earth is the third planet from the sun. The particles which compose of the mass of the earth but more particularly the particles which from the mould on the surface of Earth. The Earth is the largest member of the group of inner planets and is also the most massive. When the Earth is compared with its planetary neighbors, marked similarities as well marked differences are found. Of course, what singles the Earth out from any other planets is the fact that it has an oxygen-rich atmosphere and a temperature that makes it suitable for life of the kind we can understand. Were the Earth slightly close to the sun and slightly farther away, life here might not have developed. The purpose of this research is to let us learn more about our Planet that we are living and also aims to help us understand more about our planet. Even we have an idea what Planet Earth is all about, we must dig deeper and know the characteristics of Earth that we haven’t yet know. `The completion of this paper was made possible through my research in library, and computers. Some books, encyclopedia, dictionary, some magazines computer encyclopedia and other website, I got all I want to know. They are very helpful for my research, and thanks be to God for giving me wisdom to do this term paper alone and by myself. Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar Systems four terrestrial planets. It is sometimes referred to as the world, the Blue Planet, or by its Latin name, Terra. Earth formed approximately 4. 54 billion years ago, and life appeared on its surface within one billion years. Earths biosphere then significantly altered the atmospheric and other basic physical conditions, which enabled the proliferation of organisms as well as the formation of the ozone layer, which together with Earths magnetic field blocked harmful solar radiation, and permitted formerly ocean-confined life to move safely to land. The physical properties of the Earth, as well as its geological history and orbit, have allowed life to persist. Estimates on how much longer the planet will be able to continue to support life range from 500 million years (myr), to as long as 2. billion years (byr). Earths crust is divided into several rigid segments, or tectonic plates, that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years. About 71% of the surface is covered by salt water oceans, with the remainder consisting of continents and islands which together have many lakes and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere. Earths poles are mostly covered with ice that is the solid ice of the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice that is the polar ice packs. The planets interior remains active, with a solid iron inner core, a liquid outer core that generates the magnetic field, and a thick layer of relatively solid mantle. Earth gravitationally interacts with other objects in space, especially the Sun and the Moon. During one orbit around the sun, the Earth rotates about its own axis 366. 26 times, creating 365. 26 solar days, or one sidereal year. The Earths axis of rotation is tilted 23. 4Â ° away from the perpendicular of its orbital plane, producing seasonal variations on the planets surface with a period of one tropical year (365. 24 solar days). The Moon is Earths only natural satellite. It began orbiting the Earth about 4. 53 billion years ago (bya). The Moons gravitational interaction with Earth stimulates ocean tides, stabilizes the axial tilt, and gradually slows the planets rotation. The planet is home to millions of species, including humans. Both the mineral resources of the planet and the products of the biosphere contribute resources that are used to support a global human population. These inhabitants are grouped into about 200 independent sovereign states, which interact through diplomacy, travel, trade, and military action. Human cultures have developed many views of the planet, including its personification as a planetary deity, its shape as flat, its position as the center of the universe, and in the modern Gaia Principle, as a single, self-regulating organism in its own right Formation The earliest material found in the Solar System is dated to 4. 5672Â ±0. 0006 bya; therefore, it is inferred that the Earth must have been forming by accretion around this time. By 4. 54Â ±0. 04 bya. The primordial Earth had formed. The formation and evolution of the Solar System bodies occurred in tandem with the Sun. In theory a solar nebula partitions a volume out of a molecular cloud by gravitational collapse, which begins to spin and flatten into a circumstellar disk, and then the planets grow out of that in tandem with the star. A nebula contains gas, ice grains and dust (includingprimordial nuclides). In nebular theory planetesimals commence forming as particulate accrues by cohesive clumping and then by gravity. The assembly of the primordial Earth proceeded for 10–20 myr. The Moon formed shortly thereafter, about 4. 53 bya. The Moons formation remains a mystery. The working hypothesis is that it formed by accretion from material loosed from the Earth after a Mars-sized object, dubbed Theia, had a giant impact with Earth, but the model is not self-consistent. In this scenario the mass of Theia is 10% of the Earths mass, it impacts with the Earth in a glancing blow, and some of its mass merges with the Earth. Between approximately 3. 8 and 4. 1 bya, numerous asteroid impacts during the Late Heavy Bombardment caused significant changes to the greater surface environment of the Moon, and by inference, to the Earth. Earths atmosphere and oceans formed by volcanic activity and outgassing that included water vapor. The origin of the worlds oceans was condensation augmented by water and ice delivered by asteroids, proto-planets, and comets. In this model, atmospheric greenhouse gases kept the oceans from freezing while the newly forming Sun was only at 70% luminosity. By 3. 5 bya, the Earths magnetic field was established, which helped prevent the atmosphere from being stripped away by the solar wind. A crust formed when the molten outer layer of the planet Earth cooled to form a solid as the accumulated water vapor began to act in the atmosphere. The two models that explain land mass propose either a steady growth to the present-day forms or, more likely, a rapid growthearly in Earth history followed by a long-term steady continental area. Continents formed by plate tectonics, a process ultimately driven by the continuous loss of heat from the earths interior. Ontime scales lasting hundreds of millions of years, the supercontinents have formed and broken up three times. Roughly 750 mya (million years ago), one of the earliest known supercontinents, Rodinia, began to break apart. The continents later recombined to form Pannotia, 600–540 mya, then finally Pangaea, which also broke apart 180 mya. Evolution of life Highly energetic chemistry is thought to have produced a self-replicating molecule around 4 bya and half a billion years later the last common ancestor of all life existed. The development of photosynthesis allowed the Suns energy to be harvested directly by life forms; the resultant oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere and formed a layer of ozone (a form of molecular oxygen [O3]) in the upper atmosphere. The incorporation of smaller cells within larger ones resulted in the development of complex cells called eukaryotes. True multicellular organisms formed as cells within colonies became increasingly specialized. Aided by the absorption of harmful ultraviolet radiation by the ozone layer, life colonized the surface of Earth. Since the 1960s, it has been hypothesized that severe glacial action between 750 and 580 mya, during the Neoproterozoic, covered much of the planet in a sheet of ice. This hypothesis has been termed Snowball Earth, and is of particular interest because it preceded he Cambrian explosion, when multicellular life forms began to proliferate. Following the Cambrian explosion, about 535 mya, there have been five major mass extinctions. [55] The most recent such event was 65 mya, when an asteroid impact triggered the extinction of the (non-avian) dinosaurs and other large reptiles, but spared some small animals such as mammals, which then resembled shrews. Over the past 65 myr, mammalian life has diversified, and several million years ago an African ape-like animal such as Orrorin tugenensis gained the ability to stand upright. This enabled tool use and encouraged communication that provided the nutrition and stimulation needed for a larger brain, which allowed the evolution of the human race. The development of agriculture, and then civilization, allowed humans to influence the Earth in a short time span as no other life form had, affecting both the nature and quantity of other life forms. The present pattern of ice ages began about 40 mya and then intensified during the Pleistocene about 3 mya. High-latitude regions have since undergone repeated cycles of glaciation and thaw, repeating every 40–100,000 years. The last continental glaciation ended 10,000 years ago.

Payroll System Essay Example for Free

Payroll System Essay Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Nowadays all establishment are becoming modernized, they use modern technologies to make their transaction fast, easy, and accurate in order to avoid waste of time and for the sake of safety and security. It also helps human to solve and understand complex problem and analysis such us the computational need of humans. Especially to business establishment or corporation processing enormous data and complex transaction. Payroll is an example of a complex transaction because it is a critical business operation dealing with numerous accounts and produce plenty and confidential files. Payroll is encompasses every employee of a company who receives a regular wages or other compensation due to each. In a company, payroll is the sum of all financial records of salaries for an employee, wages, bonuses and deductions. In accounting, payroll refers to the amount paid to employees for services they provided during a certain period of time. Payroll plays a major role in a company for several reasons. From an accounting perspective, payroll is crucial because payroll and payroll taxes considerably affect the net income of most companies and they are subject to laws and regulations (e.g. in the US payroll is subject to federal and state regulations). From an ethics in business viewpoint payroll is a critical department as employees are responsive to payroll errors and irregularities: good employee morale requires payroll to be paid timely and accurately. The primary mission of the payroll department is to ensure that all employees are paid accurately and timely with the correct withholdings and deductions, and to ensure the withholdings and deductions are remitted in a timely manner. This includes salary payments, tax withholdings, and deductions from a paycheck. Companies typically generate their payrolls at regular intervals, for the benefit of regular income to their employees. The regularity of the intervals varies from company to company, and sometimes between job grades within a given company. Common payroll frequencies include: daily, weekly, bi- weekly (once every two weeks), semi-monthly (twice per month), and to a somewhat lesser extent, monthly. Less common payroll frequencies include: 4-weekly (13 times per year), bi-monthly (once every two months), quarterly  (ones every 13 weeks), semi-annually (twice per year), and annually. Payroll Systems reduces employer costs, liability, and administrative burden through integrated solutions. Advantages include: Flexible and comprehensive solutions that organize, integrate, and simplify complex business processes Liability reduction through diligent compliance systems, support, and oversight Accurate and reliable processing and reporting Secure data management and transactions Applying manual procedure on a Payroll transaction involving the vast beat answer in that problem would be computer because computers can simulate enormous data and can process complex transaction in a fast and efficient way. It can generate numerous accounts and data accurately. A Computerized Payroll System will not only provide accurate calculation and fast process of Payroll transaction but it will secure data through security implementation and accordingly arrange files provided by a well-designed database that will produce a paperless environment. The municipality of Sta. Josefa was created on March 1, 1965 under Republic Act. No. 1515. The municipality, as a political and corporate body, is mandated to ensure and support the preservation and enrichment of culture, promote health and safety, enhance the right of the people to a balanced ecology, encourage and support the development of appropriate and self- reliant and technological capabilities, improve public morals, enhance economic prosperity and social justice, maintain peace and order, and preserve the comfort and convenience of its people. Sta. Josefa’s primary vision is to grow as a prosperous and progressive agri-industrial municipality wherein people live peacefully in a just-clean and ecologically balance and God-loving community. Her mission is to promote genuine and active peoples participation in local development and governance geared towards equitable and stable economic growth based on agri-industrialization, accessible service delivery and sustainable environmental management. The municipality maintained three types of fund, namely; General Fund, Special Education fund, and Trust Fund. The general fund includes the economic enterprises which the municipality runs, such as  the Farm Level Grain Center (FLGC), the Sta. Josefa Water Development System (SJWDS), the Motorpool Operations and the utilization of the 20% Municipal Development Fund. Presently, Local Government Unit (LGU) of Sta. Josefa, Agusan Del Sur is practicing the manual process on their Payroll System. It has separate manual process for the Regular Employees and J.O (Job-Order) employees. The total number of employees in the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Sta. Josefa, Agusan Del Sur is 90 regular employees and 50 job-order employees. Statement of the Problems 1. Time consuming process of payroll preparation The LGU of Sta. Joefa still using the manual method of payroll process. A lot of jobs are assigned to the payroll maker and accounting clerk, with cause’s inconvenience to their services. In this method, it will need more time and manpower to complete the payroll of each employee. 2. Laborious payroll process Nobody could admit the inescapable fact that what makes the manual procedure take a long time to finish the task is due to the many steps and processes to undergo. There is the collection of data such as DTR, REMITTANCES, and individual manual calculation of payroll. Individual data is transferred through sheets, encoding and double checking after calculating. All this process requires labor and effort to complete the task. 3. Misposting and understating of employee’s data The logical process of manual procedure result to too much time consumption. It often times result in misposting and understating of each employees data of plenty of files that is hard to accommodate. Review of Related Literature Payroll System Development and Integration. The client provides Employee Benefits Consulting, Human Resource Services, Benefits Administration, and Payroll, Property and Casualty and other services for client companies, enabling them to focus on their core businesses. The Challenge The client had payroll as part of their vast array of services, but wanted to provide clients with a single system of entry to manage and process payroll data.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"We needed to make a truly payroll integrated product from two separate systems with different programming, different databases and different technologies,† said the company’s Director of IT. â€Å"It was critical to have the solution developed for us in a timely manner in order to maximize the benefits for our valued clients.† The new solution would have to integrate a recently acquired nationally recognized payroll application — ExecuPay — with the client’s already already-established Web-based human resources and based a benefits system, AccessHR. The solution needed to share data between the two databases of each product as well as provide web based screens to expose all the payroll functionality to the web-based users. All of this needed to be accomplished behind behind-the-scenes, without any loss of existing thought information or any complications for legacy users of the legacy HR benefits system, during or after integration. â€Å"Our biggest challenge was that we specialize in HR benefits administration and consulting, not in software development,† the Director of IT said. â€Å"We chose Arris because the company had payment,† insurance industry experience with some of their other clients.† The Solution Arris identified the detailed requirements for the payroll functionality by analyzing the ExecuPay client application and then reverse engineering it to seamlessly integrate a single environment reverse-engineering that would give the client the desired single point of access.

Soil Analysis of the Himalayan Mountain System

Soil Analysis of the Himalayan Mountain System Chapter- 4 ABIOTIC ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES OF MORAINIC AND ALPINE ECOSYSTEMS Global warming/ enhanced greenhouse effect and the loss of biodiversity are the major environmental issues around the world. The greatest part of the worlds population lives in the tropical regions. Mountainous regions in many cases provide favourable conditions for water supply due to orographically enhanced convective precipitation. Earth scientists are examining ancient periods of extreme warmth, such as the Miocene climatic optimum of about 14.5-17 million years ago. Fossil floral and faunal evidences indicate that this was the warmest time of the past 35 million years; a mid-latitude temperature was as much as 60C higher than the present one. Many workers believe that high carbon dioxide levels, in combination with oceanographic changes, caused Miocene global warming by the green house effect. Pagani et al. (1999) present evidence for surprisingly low carbon dioxide levels of about 180-290ppm by volume throughout the early to late Miocene (9-25 million years). They concluded tha t green house warming by carbon dioxide couldnt explain Miocene warmth and other mechanism must have had a greater influence. Carbon dioxide is a trace gas in the Earths atmosphere, which exchanges between carbon reservoirs in particularly the oceans and the biosphere. Consequently atmospheric concentration shows temporal, local and regional fluctuations. Since the beginning of industrialization, its atmospheric concentration has increased. The 1974 mean concentration of atmospheric CO2 was about 330 ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 (Baes et. al., 1976), which is equivalent to 2574 x 1015 g CO2 702.4 x 1015 C assuming 5.14 x 1021 g as the mass of the atmosphere. This value is significantly higher than the amount of atmospheric CO2 in 1860 that was about 290 ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 (617.2 x 1015 g). Precise measurements of the atmospheric CO2 concentration started in 1957 at the South Pole, Antarctica (Brown and Keeling, 1965) and in 1958 at Mauna Loa, Hawaii (Pales and Keeling, 1965). Records from Mauna Loa show that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen since 1958, from 315 mmol mol-1 to approximately 360 315 mmol mol-1 in 1963 (Boden et al., 1994). From these records and other measurements that began more recently, it is clear that the present rate of CO2 increase ranges between 1.5 and 2.5 mmol mol-1 per annum. In the context of the Indian Himalayan region, the effect of warming is apparent on the recession of glaciers (Valdiya, 1988), which is one of the climatic sensitive environmental indicators, and serves as a measure of the natural variability of climate of mountains over long time scales (Beniston et al., 1997). However no comprehensive long-term data on CO2 levels are available. The consumption of CO2 by photosynthesis on land is about 120 x 1015 g dry organic matter/year, which is equivalent to about 54 x 1015gC/yr (Leith and Whittaker, 1975). Variations in the atmospheric CO2 content on land are mainly due to the exchange of CO2 between vegetation and the atmosphere (Leith, 1963; Baumgartner, 1969). The process in this exchange is photosynthesis and respiration. The consumption of CO2 by the living plant material is balanced by a corresponding production of CO2 during respiration of the plants themselves and from decay of organic material, which occurs mainly in the soil through the activity of bacteria (soil respiration). The release of CO2 from the soil depends on the type, structure, moisture and temperature of the soil. The CO2 concentration in soil can be 1000 times higher than in air (Enoch and Dasberg, 1971). Due to these processes, diurnal variations in the atmospheric CO2 contents on ground level are resulted. High mountain ecosystems are considered vulnerable to climate change (Beniston, 1994; Grabherr et al., 1995; Theurillat and Guisan, 2001). The European Alps experienced a 20 C increase in annual minimum temperatures during the twentieth century, with a marked rise since the early 1980s (Beniston et al., 1997). Upward moving of alpine plants has been noticed (Grabherr et al., 1994; Pauli et al., 2001), community composition has changed at high alpine sites (Keller et al., 2000), and treeline species have responded to climate warming by invasion of the alpine zone or increased growth rates during the last decades (Paulsen et al., 2000). Vegetation at glaciers fronts is commonly affected by glacial fluctuations (Coe, 1967; Spence, 1989; Mizumo, 1998). Coe (1967) described vegetation zonation, plant colonization and the distribution of individual plant species on the slopes below the Tyndall and Lewis glaciers. Spence (1989) analyzed the advance of plant communities in response to the re treat of the Tyndall and Lewis glaciers for the period 1958- 1984. Mizumo (1998) addressed plant communities in response to more recent glacial retreat by conducting field research in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1997. The studies illustrated the link between ice retreat and colonization near the Tyndall and Lewis glaciers. The concern about the future global climate warming and its geoecological consequences strongly urges development and analysis of climate sensitive biomonitoring systems. The natural elevational tree limit is often assumed to represent an ideal early warming line predicted to respond positionally, structurally and compositionally even to quite modest climate fluctuations. Several field studies in different parts of the world present that climate warming earlier in the 20th century (up to the 1950s 1960s) has caused tree limit advances (Kullman, 1998). Purohit (1991) also reported upward shifting of species in Garhwal Himalaya. The Himalayan mountain system is a conspicuous landmass characterised by its unique crescent shape, high orography, varied lithology and complex structure. The mountain system is rather of young geological age through the rock material it contains has a long history of sedimentation, metamorphism and magmatism from Proterozoic to Quaternary in age. Geologically, it occupies a vast terrain covering the northern boundary of India, entire Nepal, Bhutan and parts of China and Pakistan stretching from almost 720 E to 960 E meridians for about 2500 km in length. In terms of orography, the geographers have conceived four zones in the Himalaya across its long axis. From south to north, these are (i) the sub-Himalaya, comprising low hill ranges of Siwalik, not rising above 1,000 m in altitude; (ii) the Lesser Himalaya, comprising a series of mountain ranges not rising above 4000 m in altitude; (iii) the Great Himalaya, comprising very high mountain ranges with glaciers, rising above 6,000 m i n altitude and (iv) the Trans-Himalaya, Comprising very high mountain ranges with glaciers. The four orographic zones of the Himalaya are not strictly broad morpho-tectonic units though tectonism must have played a key role in varied orographic attainments of different zones. Their conceived boundaries do not also coincide with those of litho-stratigraphic or tectono-stratigraphic units. Because of the involvement of a large number of parameters of variable nature, the geomorphic units are expected to be diverse but cause specific, having close links with mechanism and crustal movements (Ghosh, et al., 1989). Soil is essential for the continued existence of life on the planet. Soil takes thousands of years to form and only few years to destroy their productivity as a result of erosion and other types of improper management. It is a three dimensional body consisting of solid, liquid and gaseous phase. It includes any part of earths crust, which through the process of weathering and incorporation of organic matter has become capable in securing and supporting plants. Living organisms and the transformation they perform have a profound effect on the ability of soils to provide food and fiber for expanding world population. Soils are used to produce crops, range and timber. Soil is basic to our survival and it is natures waste disposal medium and it serves as habitats for varied kinds of plants, birds, animals, and microorganisms. As a source of stores and transformers of plant nutrients, soil has a major influence on terrestrial ecosystems. Soil continuously recycles plant and animal remains , and they are major support systems for human life, determining the agricultural production capacity of the land (Anthwal, 2004). Soil is a natural product of the environment. Native soil forms from the parent material by action of climate (temperature, wind, and water), native vegetation and microbes. The shape of the land surface affects soil formation. It is also affected by the time it took for climate, vegetation, and microbes to create the soil. Soil varies greatly in time and space. Over time-scales relevant to geo-indicators, they have both stable characteristics (e.g. mineralogical composition and relative proportions of sand, silt and clay) and those that respond rapidly to changing environmental conditions (e.g. ground freezing). The latter characteristics include soil moisture and soil microbiota (e.g. nematodes, microbes), which are essential to fluxes of plant nutrients and greenhouse gases (Peirce, and Larson, 1996.). Most soils resist short-term climate change, but some may undergo irreversible change such as lateritic hardening and densification, podsolization, or large-scale erosion. Chemical degradation takes place because of depletion of soluble elements through rainwater leaching, over cropping and over grazing, or because of the accumulation of salts precipitated from rising ground water or irrigation schemes. It may also be caused by sewage containing toxic metals, precipitation of acidic and other airborne contaminants, as well as by persistent use of fertilizers and pesticides (Page et al., 1986). Physical degradation results from land clearing, erosion and compaction by machinery (Klute, 1986). The key soil indicators are texture (especially clay content), bulk density, aggregate stability and size distribution, and water-holding capacity (Anthwal, 2004). Soil consists of 45% mineral, 25% water, 25% air and 5% organic matter (both living and dead organisms). There are thousands of different soils throughout the world. Soil are classified on the basis of their parent material, texture, structure, and profile There are five key factors in soil formation: i) type of parent material; ii) climate; iii) overlying vegetation; iv) topography or slope; and v) time. Climate controls the distribution of vegetation or soil organisms. Together climate and vegetation/soil organisms often are called the active factors of soil formation (genesis). This is because, on gently undulating topography within a certain climatic and vegetative zone a characteristic or typical soil will develop unless parent material differences are very great (Anthwal, 2004). Thus, the tall and mid-grass prairie soils have developed across a variety of parent materials. Soil structure comprises the physical constitution of soil material as expressed by size, shape, and arrangement of solid particles and voids (Jongmans et al., 2001). Soil structure is an important soil property in many clayey, agricultural soils. Physical and chemical properties and also the nutrient status of the soil vary spatially due to the changing nature of the climate, parent material, physiographic position and vegetation (Behari et al., 2004). Soil brings together many ecosystem processes, integrating mineral and organic processes; and biological, physical and chemical processes (Arnold et al., 1990, Yaalon 1990). Soil may respond slowly to environmental changes than other elements of the ecosystem such as, the plants and animal do. Changes in soil organic matter can also indicate vegetation change, which can occur quickly because of climatic change (Almendinger, 1990). In high altitudes, soils are formed by the process of solifluction. Soils on the slopes above 300 are generally shallow due to erosion and mass wasting processes and usually have very thin surface horizons. Such skeletal soils have median to coarse texture depending on the type of material from which they have been derived. Glacial plants require water, mineral resources and support from substrate, which differ from alpine and lower altitude in many aspects. The plant life gets support by deeply weathered profile in moraine soils, which develops thin and mosaic type of vegetation. Most of the parent material is derived by mechanical weathering and the soils are rather coarse textured and stony. Permafrost occurs in many of the high mountains and the soils are typically cold and wet. The soils of the moraine region remain moist during the summer because drainage is impeded by permafrost (Gaur, 2002). In general, the north facing slopes support deep, moist and fertile soils. The south facing slopes, on the other hand, are precipitous and well exposed to denudation. These soils are shallow, dry and poor and are often devoid of any kind of regolith (Pandey, 1997). Based on various samples, Nand et al., (1989) finds negative correlation between soil pH and altitude and argues that decrease in pH with the increase in elevation is possibly accounted by high rainfall which facilitated leaching out of Calcium and Magnesium from surface soils. The soils are invariably rich in Potash, medium in Phosphorus and poor in Nitrogen contents. However, information on geo-morphological aspects, soil composition and mineral contents of alpine and moraine in Garhwal Himalaya are still lacking. Present investigation was aimed to carry out detail observations on soil composition of the alpine and moraine region of Garhwal Himalaya. 4.1. OBSERVATIONS As far as the recordings of abiotic environmental variables of morainic and alpine ecosystems of Dokriani Bamak are concerned, the atmospheric carbon dioxide and the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil were recorded under the present study. As these are important for the present study. 4.1.1. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Diurnal variations in the atmospheric CO2 were recorded at Dokriani Bamak from May 2005- October 2005. Generally the concentration of CO2 was higher during night and early morning hours (0600-0800) and lower during daytime. However, there were fluctuations in the patterns of diurnal changes in CO2 concentration on daily basis. In the month of May 2005, carbon dioxide concentration ranged from a minimum of 375Â µmol mol-1 to a maximum of 395Â µmol mol-1. When the values were averaged for the measurement days the maximum and minimum values ranged from 378Â µmol mol-1 to 388Â µmol mol-1. A difference of 20Â µmol mol-1 was found between the maximum and minimum values recorded for the measurement days. When the values were averaged, a difference of 10Â µmol mol-1 was observed between maximum and minimum values. During the measurement period, CO2 concentrations varied from a minimum of 377ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 12 noon to a maximum of 400ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 0800 hrs in the month of June, 2005. When the CO2 values were averaged for 6 days, the difference between the minimum and maximum values was about 23ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. In the month of July, levels of carbon dioxide concentrations ranged from a minimum of 369ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to a maximum of 390ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. When the values of the carbon dioxide concentrations for the measuring period were averaged, the difference between the minimum and maximum values was about 21ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. Carbon dioxide concentration ranged from a minimum of 367ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to a maximum of 409ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 during the month of August. When the values of carbon dioxide were averaged for the measurement days, the difference in the minimum and maximum values was about 42ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. During the measurement period (September), CO2 concentrations varied from a minimum of 371ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 12 noon to a maximum of 389ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 0600 hrs indicating a difference of 18ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 between the maximum and minimum values. When the values of the measurement days were averaged the minimum and maximum values ranged from 375ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to 387ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 and a difference of 12ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 was recorded. During the month of October, carbon dioxide levels ranged from a minimum of 372ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 1400 hrs to a maximum of 403ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 2000 hrs indicating a difference of 31ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. When the values were averaged, the carbon dioxide levels ranged from a minimum of 376ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to a maximum of 415ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1.A difference in the minimum and maximum values was found to be 39Â µmol mol-1 when the values were averaged for the measurements days. In the growing season (May-October) overall carbon dioxide concentration was recorded to be highest in the month of June and seasonally it was recorded highest during the month of October 4.1.2. A. Soil Physical Characteristics of Soil Soil Colour and Texture Soils of the study area tend to have distinct variations in colour both horizontally and vertically (Table 4.1). The colour of the soil varied with soil depth. It was dark yellowish brown at the depth of 10-20cm, 30-40cm of AS1 and AS2, brown at the depth of 0-10cm of AS1 and AS2 and yellowish brown at the depths of 20-30cm, 40-50cm, 50-60cm of AS1 and AS2). Whereas the soil colour was grayish brown at the depths of 0-10cm, 30-40cm, 50-60cm of MS1 and MS2, dark grayish brown at the depths of 10-20cm, 20-30cm of MS1 and MS2 and brown at the depth of 40-50cm of both the moraine sites (MS1 and MS2). Soil texture is the relative volume of sand, silt and clay particles in a soil. Soils of the study area had high proportion of silt followed by sand and clay (Table 4.2). Soil of the alpine sites was identified as silty loam category, whereas, the soil of the moraine was of silty clayey loam category. Soil Temperature The soil temperature depends on the amount of heat reaching the soil surface and dissipation of heat in soil. Figure 4.2 depicts soil temperature at all the sites in the active growth period. A maximum (13.440C) soil temperature was recorded during the month of July and minimum (4.770C) during the month of October at AS1. The soil temperature varied between 5.10C being the lowest during the month of October to 12.710C as maximum during the month of August at AS2. Soil temperature ranged from 3.240C (October) to 11.210C (July) at MS1. However, the soil temperature ranged from 3.40C (October) to 12.330C (July) at MS2. Soil Moisture (%) Moisture has a big influence on soils ability to compact. Some soils wont compact well until moisture is 7-8%. Â  Likewise, wet soil also doesnt compact well. The mean soil water percentage (Fig. 4.3) in study area fluctuated between a maximum of 83% (AS1) to a minimum of 15% (AS2). The values of soil water percentage ranged from a minimum of 8% (MS2) to a maximum of 80% (MS1). Soil water percentage was higher in the month of July at AS1 and during August at MS1 (. During the month of June, soil water percentage was recorded minimum in the lower depth (50-60cm) at both the sites. Water Holding Capacity (WHC) The mean water holding capacity of the soil varied from alpine sites to moraine sites (Table 4.4). It ranged from a maximum of 89.66% (August) to a minimum of 79.15% (May) at AS1. The minimum and maximum values at AS2 were 78.88% (May) to 89.66% (August), respectively. The maximum WHC was recorded to be 84.61 % during the month of September on upper layer (0-10 cm) at MS1 and minimum 60.36% during the month of May in the lower layer (50-60cm) at MS1. At MS2, WHC ranged from 60.66% (May) to 84.61% (September). However, maximum WHC was recorded in upper layers at both the sites of alpine and moraine. Soil pH The soil pH varied from site to site during the course of the present study (Table 4.5). Mean pH values of all the sites are presented in Figure 4.4 The soil of the study area was acidic. Soil of the moraine sites was more acidic than that of the alpine sites. Soil pH ranged from 4.4 to 5.3 (AS1), 4.5 to 5.2 (AS2), 4.9 to 6.1 (MS1) and 4.8 to 5.7 (MS2). 4.1.2 B. Chemical Characteristics of Soil Organic Carbon (%): Soil organic carbon (SOC) varied with depths and months at both the alpine and moraine sites (Table 4.6). High percentage of organic carbon was observed in the upper layer of all sites during the entire period of study. Soil organic C decreased with depth and it was lowest in lower layers at all the sites. Soil organic carbon was maximum (5.1%) during July at AS1 because of high decomposition of litter, while it was minimum (4.2%) during October due to high uptake by plants in the uppermost layer (0-10 cm). A maximum (5.0%) SOC was found during the month of July and minimum (4.1%) during October at AS2. At the moraine sites, maximum (3.58%, 3.73%) SOC was found during June and minimum (1.5% and 1.9%) during August at MS1 and MS2 respectively. Phosphorus (%): A low amount of phosphorus was observed from May to August which increased during September and October. The mean phosphorus percentage ranged from 0.02 Â ± 0.01 to 0.07 Â ± 0.03 at AS1 and AS2. It was 0.03Â ±0.01 to 0.03Â ±0.02 at MS1 and MS2. Maximum percentage of phosphorus was estimated to be 0.09 in the uppermost layer (0-10 cm) during October at AS1. The lower layer (40-50 cm) of soil horizon contained a minimum of 0.01% phosphorus during September at AS1 and AS2. In the moraine sites (MS1 and MS2), maximum phosphorus percentage of 0.03 Â ±0.01 was estimated in the upper layers (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 cm) while it was found to be minimum (0.02Â ±0.01) in the lower layers (30-40 cm). Overall, a decreasing trend in amount of phosphorus was found with depth in alpine as well as moraine sites Potassium (%): A decline in potassium contents was also observed with declining depth during the active growing season. Maximum value of potassium was found in the uppermost layer (0-10 cm) at all the sites. The mean values ranged from 0.71Â ±0.02 to 46Â ±0.06 at AS1 while it was 0.71Â ±0.02 to 0.47Â ±0.05 at AS2. In the moraine sites the values ranged from a minimum of 0.33 Â ±0.06 to a maximum of 0.59Â ±0.05 in the MS1 and from 0.59Â ±0.05 to 0.32Â ±0.06 at MS2. In the upper layer of soil horizon (0-10 cm), maximum value of 0.74 %, 0.75% of potassium was observed during the month of July at AS1 and AS2. While the values were maximum in the month of October at moraine sites MS1 and MS2 having 0.66% and 0.65% respectively Nitrogen (%): Highest percentage of nitrogen was found in the upper layers at all the sites. Maximum percentage of nitrogen were found during the month of July-August (0.25%, 0.25 and 0.26%, 0.25%) at AS1 and AS2, respectively. Maximum values of 0.18% and 0.15% respectively were found during the month of June at the moraine sites MS1 and MS2. The nitrogen percentage ranged from 0.23Â ±0.02 to 0.04Â ±0.01% at AS1. However, it ranged from a minimum of 0.05Â ±0.01 to 0.24Â ±0.02% at AS2. The nitrogen percentage ranged from a minimum of 0.03Â ±0.01, 0.02Â ±0.04% to a maximum of 12Â ±0.03, 13Â ±0.01%, respectively at MS1 and MS2 Overall, a decreasing trend was noticed in the nitrogen percentage with depth at both the alpine and moraine sites. 4.2. DISCUSSION Soil has a close relationship with geomorphology and vegetation type of the area (Gaur, 2002). Any change in the geomorphological process and vegetational pattern influences the pedogenic processes. However, variability in soil is a characteristic even within same geomorphic position (Gaur, 2002). Jenney (1941) in his discussion on organisms as a soil forming factors treated vegetation both as an independent and as dependent variable. In order to examine the role of vegetation as an independent variable, it would be possible to study the properties of soil as influenced by vegetation while all other soil forming factors such as climate, parent material, topography and time are maintaining at a particular constellation. Many soil properties may be related to a climatic situation revealing thousand years ago (e.g. humid period during late glacial or the Holocene in the Alps and Andes (Korner, 1999). The soil forming processes are reflected in the colour of the surface soil (Pandey, 1997). The combination of iron oxides and organic content gives many soil types a brown colour (Anthwal, 2004). Many darker soils are not warmer than adjacent lighter coloured soils because of the temperature modifying effect of the moisture, in fact they may be cooler (Pandey, 1997). The alpine sites of the resent study has soil colour varying from dark yellowish brown/yellowish brown to brown at different depths. Likewise, at the moraine sites, the soil colour was dark grayish brown/grayish brown to brown. The dark coloured soils of the moraine and alpine sites having high humus contents absorb more heat than light coloured soils. Therefore, the dark soils hold more water. Water requires relatively large amount of heat than the soil minerals to raise its temperature and it also absorbs considerable heat for evaporation. At all sites, dark colour of soil was found due to high organic contents by the addition of litter. Soil texture is an important modifying factor in relation to the proportion of precipitation that enters the soil and is available to plants (Pandey, 1997). Texture refers to the proportion of sand, silt, and clay in the soil. Sandy soil is light or coarse-textured, whereas, the clay soils are heavy or fine-textured. Sand holds less moisture per unit volume, but permits more rapid percolation of precipitated water than silt and clay. Clay tends to increase the water-holding capacity of the soil. Loamy soils have a balanced sand, silt, and clay composition and are thus superior for plant growth (Pidwirny, 2004). Soil of the alpine zone of Dokriani Bamak was silty predominated by clay and loam, whereas the soil of moraine zone was silty predominated by sand and clay. There is a close relationship between atmospheric temperature and soil temperature. The high organic matter (humus) help in retaining more soil water. During summers, high radiations with greater insulation period enhance the atmospheric temperature resulted in the greater evaporation of soil water. In the monsoon months (July-August) the high rainfall increased soil moisture under relative atmospheric and soil temperature due to cloud-filter radiations (Pandey, 1997). Owing to September rainfall, atmospheric and soil temperatures decreased. The soil moisture is controlled by atmospheric temperature coupled with absorption of water by plants. During October, occasional rainfall and strong cold winds lower down the atmospheric temperature further. The soil temperature remains more or less intact from the outer influence due to a slight frost layer as well as vegetation cover. Soil temperature was recorded low at the moraine sites than the alpine sites. During May, insulation period in creases with increase in the atmospheric and soil temperature and it decreases during rainfall. The increasing temperature influences soil moisture adversely and an equilibrium is attained only after the first monsoon showers in the month of June which continued till August. Donahue et al. (1987) stated that no levelled land with a slope at right angle to the Sun would receive more heat per soil area and will warm faster than the flat surface. The soil layer impermeable to moisture have been cited as the reason for treelessness in part of the tropics, wherein its absence savanna develops (Beard, 1953). The resulting water logging of soil during the rainy season creates conditions not suitable for the growth of trees capable of surviving the dry season. The water holding capacity of the soil is determined by several factors. Most important among these are soil texture or size of particles, porosity and the amount of expansible organic matter and colloidal clay (Pandey, 1997). Water is held as thin film upon the surface of the particles and runs together forming drops in saturated soils, the amount necessarily increases with an increase in the water holding surface. Organic matter affects water contents directly by retaining water in large amount on the extensive surfaces of its colloidal constituents and also by holding it like a sponge in its less decayed portion. It also had an indirect effect through soil structure. Sand particles loosely cemented together by it, hence, percolation is decreased and water-holding capacity increased. Although fine textured soil can hold more water and thus more total water holding capacity but maximum available water is held in moderate textured soil. Porosity in soil consists of that portion of the soil volume not occupied by solids, either mineral or organic material. Under natural conditions, the pore spaces are occupied at all times by air and water. Pore spaces are irregular in shape in sand than the clay. The most rapid water and air movement is observed in sands than strongly aggregated soils. The pH of alpine sites ranged from 4.4 to 5.3 and it ranged from 4.8 to 6.1 in moraine sites of Dokriani Bamak. It indicated the acidic nature of the soil. The moraine sites were more acidic than the alpine sites. Acidity of soil is exhibited due to the presence of different acids. The organic matter and nitrogen contents inhibit the acidity of soil. The present observations pertaining to the soil pH (4.4 to 5.3 and 4.8 to 6.1) were more or less in the same range as reported for other meadows and moraine zones. Ram (1988) reported pH from 4.0-6.0 in Rudranath and Gaur (2002) on Chorabari. These pH ranges are lower than the oak and pine forests of lower altitudes of Himalayan region as observed by Singh and Singh, 1987 (pH:6.0-6.3). Furthermore, pH increased with depth. Bliss (1963) analyzed that in all types of soil, pH was low in upper layers (4.0-4.30) and it increased (4.6-4.9) in lower layer at New Hampshire due to reduction in organic matter. Das et al. (1988) reported the simil ar results in the sub alpine areas of Eastern Himalayas. All these reports support the present findings on Dokriani Bamak strongly. A potent acidic soil is intensively eroded and it has lower exchangeable cation, and possesses least microbial activity (Donahue et al., 1987). Misra et al., 1970 also observed higher acidity in the soil in the region where high precipitation results leaching. Koslowska (1934) demonstrated that when plants were grown under conditions of known pH, they make the culture medium either more acidic or alkaline and that this property differed according to the species. Soil properties may ch Soil Analysis of the Himalayan Mountain System Soil Analysis of the Himalayan Mountain System Chapter- 4 ABIOTIC ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES OF MORAINIC AND ALPINE ECOSYSTEMS Global warming/ enhanced greenhouse effect and the loss of biodiversity are the major environmental issues around the world. The greatest part of the worlds population lives in the tropical regions. Mountainous regions in many cases provide favourable conditions for water supply due to orographically enhanced convective precipitation. Earth scientists are examining ancient periods of extreme warmth, such as the Miocene climatic optimum of about 14.5-17 million years ago. Fossil floral and faunal evidences indicate that this was the warmest time of the past 35 million years; a mid-latitude temperature was as much as 60C higher than the present one. Many workers believe that high carbon dioxide levels, in combination with oceanographic changes, caused Miocene global warming by the green house effect. Pagani et al. (1999) present evidence for surprisingly low carbon dioxide levels of about 180-290ppm by volume throughout the early to late Miocene (9-25 million years). They concluded tha t green house warming by carbon dioxide couldnt explain Miocene warmth and other mechanism must have had a greater influence. Carbon dioxide is a trace gas in the Earths atmosphere, which exchanges between carbon reservoirs in particularly the oceans and the biosphere. Consequently atmospheric concentration shows temporal, local and regional fluctuations. Since the beginning of industrialization, its atmospheric concentration has increased. The 1974 mean concentration of atmospheric CO2 was about 330 ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 (Baes et. al., 1976), which is equivalent to 2574 x 1015 g CO2 702.4 x 1015 C assuming 5.14 x 1021 g as the mass of the atmosphere. This value is significantly higher than the amount of atmospheric CO2 in 1860 that was about 290 ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 (617.2 x 1015 g). Precise measurements of the atmospheric CO2 concentration started in 1957 at the South Pole, Antarctica (Brown and Keeling, 1965) and in 1958 at Mauna Loa, Hawaii (Pales and Keeling, 1965). Records from Mauna Loa show that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen since 1958, from 315 mmol mol-1 to approximately 360 315 mmol mol-1 in 1963 (Boden et al., 1994). From these records and other measurements that began more recently, it is clear that the present rate of CO2 increase ranges between 1.5 and 2.5 mmol mol-1 per annum. In the context of the Indian Himalayan region, the effect of warming is apparent on the recession of glaciers (Valdiya, 1988), which is one of the climatic sensitive environmental indicators, and serves as a measure of the natural variability of climate of mountains over long time scales (Beniston et al., 1997). However no comprehensive long-term data on CO2 levels are available. The consumption of CO2 by photosynthesis on land is about 120 x 1015 g dry organic matter/year, which is equivalent to about 54 x 1015gC/yr (Leith and Whittaker, 1975). Variations in the atmospheric CO2 content on land are mainly due to the exchange of CO2 between vegetation and the atmosphere (Leith, 1963; Baumgartner, 1969). The process in this exchange is photosynthesis and respiration. The consumption of CO2 by the living plant material is balanced by a corresponding production of CO2 during respiration of the plants themselves and from decay of organic material, which occurs mainly in the soil through the activity of bacteria (soil respiration). The release of CO2 from the soil depends on the type, structure, moisture and temperature of the soil. The CO2 concentration in soil can be 1000 times higher than in air (Enoch and Dasberg, 1971). Due to these processes, diurnal variations in the atmospheric CO2 contents on ground level are resulted. High mountain ecosystems are considered vulnerable to climate change (Beniston, 1994; Grabherr et al., 1995; Theurillat and Guisan, 2001). The European Alps experienced a 20 C increase in annual minimum temperatures during the twentieth century, with a marked rise since the early 1980s (Beniston et al., 1997). Upward moving of alpine plants has been noticed (Grabherr et al., 1994; Pauli et al., 2001), community composition has changed at high alpine sites (Keller et al., 2000), and treeline species have responded to climate warming by invasion of the alpine zone or increased growth rates during the last decades (Paulsen et al., 2000). Vegetation at glaciers fronts is commonly affected by glacial fluctuations (Coe, 1967; Spence, 1989; Mizumo, 1998). Coe (1967) described vegetation zonation, plant colonization and the distribution of individual plant species on the slopes below the Tyndall and Lewis glaciers. Spence (1989) analyzed the advance of plant communities in response to the re treat of the Tyndall and Lewis glaciers for the period 1958- 1984. Mizumo (1998) addressed plant communities in response to more recent glacial retreat by conducting field research in 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1997. The studies illustrated the link between ice retreat and colonization near the Tyndall and Lewis glaciers. The concern about the future global climate warming and its geoecological consequences strongly urges development and analysis of climate sensitive biomonitoring systems. The natural elevational tree limit is often assumed to represent an ideal early warming line predicted to respond positionally, structurally and compositionally even to quite modest climate fluctuations. Several field studies in different parts of the world present that climate warming earlier in the 20th century (up to the 1950s 1960s) has caused tree limit advances (Kullman, 1998). Purohit (1991) also reported upward shifting of species in Garhwal Himalaya. The Himalayan mountain system is a conspicuous landmass characterised by its unique crescent shape, high orography, varied lithology and complex structure. The mountain system is rather of young geological age through the rock material it contains has a long history of sedimentation, metamorphism and magmatism from Proterozoic to Quaternary in age. Geologically, it occupies a vast terrain covering the northern boundary of India, entire Nepal, Bhutan and parts of China and Pakistan stretching from almost 720 E to 960 E meridians for about 2500 km in length. In terms of orography, the geographers have conceived four zones in the Himalaya across its long axis. From south to north, these are (i) the sub-Himalaya, comprising low hill ranges of Siwalik, not rising above 1,000 m in altitude; (ii) the Lesser Himalaya, comprising a series of mountain ranges not rising above 4000 m in altitude; (iii) the Great Himalaya, comprising very high mountain ranges with glaciers, rising above 6,000 m i n altitude and (iv) the Trans-Himalaya, Comprising very high mountain ranges with glaciers. The four orographic zones of the Himalaya are not strictly broad morpho-tectonic units though tectonism must have played a key role in varied orographic attainments of different zones. Their conceived boundaries do not also coincide with those of litho-stratigraphic or tectono-stratigraphic units. Because of the involvement of a large number of parameters of variable nature, the geomorphic units are expected to be diverse but cause specific, having close links with mechanism and crustal movements (Ghosh, et al., 1989). Soil is essential for the continued existence of life on the planet. Soil takes thousands of years to form and only few years to destroy their productivity as a result of erosion and other types of improper management. It is a three dimensional body consisting of solid, liquid and gaseous phase. It includes any part of earths crust, which through the process of weathering and incorporation of organic matter has become capable in securing and supporting plants. Living organisms and the transformation they perform have a profound effect on the ability of soils to provide food and fiber for expanding world population. Soils are used to produce crops, range and timber. Soil is basic to our survival and it is natures waste disposal medium and it serves as habitats for varied kinds of plants, birds, animals, and microorganisms. As a source of stores and transformers of plant nutrients, soil has a major influence on terrestrial ecosystems. Soil continuously recycles plant and animal remains , and they are major support systems for human life, determining the agricultural production capacity of the land (Anthwal, 2004). Soil is a natural product of the environment. Native soil forms from the parent material by action of climate (temperature, wind, and water), native vegetation and microbes. The shape of the land surface affects soil formation. It is also affected by the time it took for climate, vegetation, and microbes to create the soil. Soil varies greatly in time and space. Over time-scales relevant to geo-indicators, they have both stable characteristics (e.g. mineralogical composition and relative proportions of sand, silt and clay) and those that respond rapidly to changing environmental conditions (e.g. ground freezing). The latter characteristics include soil moisture and soil microbiota (e.g. nematodes, microbes), which are essential to fluxes of plant nutrients and greenhouse gases (Peirce, and Larson, 1996.). Most soils resist short-term climate change, but some may undergo irreversible change such as lateritic hardening and densification, podsolization, or large-scale erosion. Chemical degradation takes place because of depletion of soluble elements through rainwater leaching, over cropping and over grazing, or because of the accumulation of salts precipitated from rising ground water or irrigation schemes. It may also be caused by sewage containing toxic metals, precipitation of acidic and other airborne contaminants, as well as by persistent use of fertilizers and pesticides (Page et al., 1986). Physical degradation results from land clearing, erosion and compaction by machinery (Klute, 1986). The key soil indicators are texture (especially clay content), bulk density, aggregate stability and size distribution, and water-holding capacity (Anthwal, 2004). Soil consists of 45% mineral, 25% water, 25% air and 5% organic matter (both living and dead organisms). There are thousands of different soils throughout the world. Soil are classified on the basis of their parent material, texture, structure, and profile There are five key factors in soil formation: i) type of parent material; ii) climate; iii) overlying vegetation; iv) topography or slope; and v) time. Climate controls the distribution of vegetation or soil organisms. Together climate and vegetation/soil organisms often are called the active factors of soil formation (genesis). This is because, on gently undulating topography within a certain climatic and vegetative zone a characteristic or typical soil will develop unless parent material differences are very great (Anthwal, 2004). Thus, the tall and mid-grass prairie soils have developed across a variety of parent materials. Soil structure comprises the physical constitution of soil material as expressed by size, shape, and arrangement of solid particles and voids (Jongmans et al., 2001). Soil structure is an important soil property in many clayey, agricultural soils. Physical and chemical properties and also the nutrient status of the soil vary spatially due to the changing nature of the climate, parent material, physiographic position and vegetation (Behari et al., 2004). Soil brings together many ecosystem processes, integrating mineral and organic processes; and biological, physical and chemical processes (Arnold et al., 1990, Yaalon 1990). Soil may respond slowly to environmental changes than other elements of the ecosystem such as, the plants and animal do. Changes in soil organic matter can also indicate vegetation change, which can occur quickly because of climatic change (Almendinger, 1990). In high altitudes, soils are formed by the process of solifluction. Soils on the slopes above 300 are generally shallow due to erosion and mass wasting processes and usually have very thin surface horizons. Such skeletal soils have median to coarse texture depending on the type of material from which they have been derived. Glacial plants require water, mineral resources and support from substrate, which differ from alpine and lower altitude in many aspects. The plant life gets support by deeply weathered profile in moraine soils, which develops thin and mosaic type of vegetation. Most of the parent material is derived by mechanical weathering and the soils are rather coarse textured and stony. Permafrost occurs in many of the high mountains and the soils are typically cold and wet. The soils of the moraine region remain moist during the summer because drainage is impeded by permafrost (Gaur, 2002). In general, the north facing slopes support deep, moist and fertile soils. The south facing slopes, on the other hand, are precipitous and well exposed to denudation. These soils are shallow, dry and poor and are often devoid of any kind of regolith (Pandey, 1997). Based on various samples, Nand et al., (1989) finds negative correlation between soil pH and altitude and argues that decrease in pH with the increase in elevation is possibly accounted by high rainfall which facilitated leaching out of Calcium and Magnesium from surface soils. The soils are invariably rich in Potash, medium in Phosphorus and poor in Nitrogen contents. However, information on geo-morphological aspects, soil composition and mineral contents of alpine and moraine in Garhwal Himalaya are still lacking. Present investigation was aimed to carry out detail observations on soil composition of the alpine and moraine region of Garhwal Himalaya. 4.1. OBSERVATIONS As far as the recordings of abiotic environmental variables of morainic and alpine ecosystems of Dokriani Bamak are concerned, the atmospheric carbon dioxide and the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil were recorded under the present study. As these are important for the present study. 4.1.1. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Diurnal variations in the atmospheric CO2 were recorded at Dokriani Bamak from May 2005- October 2005. Generally the concentration of CO2 was higher during night and early morning hours (0600-0800) and lower during daytime. However, there were fluctuations in the patterns of diurnal changes in CO2 concentration on daily basis. In the month of May 2005, carbon dioxide concentration ranged from a minimum of 375Â µmol mol-1 to a maximum of 395Â µmol mol-1. When the values were averaged for the measurement days the maximum and minimum values ranged from 378Â µmol mol-1 to 388Â µmol mol-1. A difference of 20Â µmol mol-1 was found between the maximum and minimum values recorded for the measurement days. When the values were averaged, a difference of 10Â µmol mol-1 was observed between maximum and minimum values. During the measurement period, CO2 concentrations varied from a minimum of 377ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 12 noon to a maximum of 400ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 0800 hrs in the month of June, 2005. When the CO2 values were averaged for 6 days, the difference between the minimum and maximum values was about 23ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. In the month of July, levels of carbon dioxide concentrations ranged from a minimum of 369ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to a maximum of 390ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. When the values of the carbon dioxide concentrations for the measuring period were averaged, the difference between the minimum and maximum values was about 21ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. Carbon dioxide concentration ranged from a minimum of 367ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to a maximum of 409ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 during the month of August. When the values of carbon dioxide were averaged for the measurement days, the difference in the minimum and maximum values was about 42ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. During the measurement period (September), CO2 concentrations varied from a minimum of 371ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 12 noon to a maximum of 389ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 0600 hrs indicating a difference of 18ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 between the maximum and minimum values. When the values of the measurement days were averaged the minimum and maximum values ranged from 375ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to 387ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 and a difference of 12ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 was recorded. During the month of October, carbon dioxide levels ranged from a minimum of 372ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 1400 hrs to a maximum of 403ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 at 2000 hrs indicating a difference of 31ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1. When the values were averaged, the carbon dioxide levels ranged from a minimum of 376ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1 to a maximum of 415ÃŽ ¼mol mol-1.A difference in the minimum and maximum values was found to be 39Â µmol mol-1 when the values were averaged for the measurements days. In the growing season (May-October) overall carbon dioxide concentration was recorded to be highest in the month of June and seasonally it was recorded highest during the month of October 4.1.2. A. Soil Physical Characteristics of Soil Soil Colour and Texture Soils of the study area tend to have distinct variations in colour both horizontally and vertically (Table 4.1). The colour of the soil varied with soil depth. It was dark yellowish brown at the depth of 10-20cm, 30-40cm of AS1 and AS2, brown at the depth of 0-10cm of AS1 and AS2 and yellowish brown at the depths of 20-30cm, 40-50cm, 50-60cm of AS1 and AS2). Whereas the soil colour was grayish brown at the depths of 0-10cm, 30-40cm, 50-60cm of MS1 and MS2, dark grayish brown at the depths of 10-20cm, 20-30cm of MS1 and MS2 and brown at the depth of 40-50cm of both the moraine sites (MS1 and MS2). Soil texture is the relative volume of sand, silt and clay particles in a soil. Soils of the study area had high proportion of silt followed by sand and clay (Table 4.2). Soil of the alpine sites was identified as silty loam category, whereas, the soil of the moraine was of silty clayey loam category. Soil Temperature The soil temperature depends on the amount of heat reaching the soil surface and dissipation of heat in soil. Figure 4.2 depicts soil temperature at all the sites in the active growth period. A maximum (13.440C) soil temperature was recorded during the month of July and minimum (4.770C) during the month of October at AS1. The soil temperature varied between 5.10C being the lowest during the month of October to 12.710C as maximum during the month of August at AS2. Soil temperature ranged from 3.240C (October) to 11.210C (July) at MS1. However, the soil temperature ranged from 3.40C (October) to 12.330C (July) at MS2. Soil Moisture (%) Moisture has a big influence on soils ability to compact. Some soils wont compact well until moisture is 7-8%. Â  Likewise, wet soil also doesnt compact well. The mean soil water percentage (Fig. 4.3) in study area fluctuated between a maximum of 83% (AS1) to a minimum of 15% (AS2). The values of soil water percentage ranged from a minimum of 8% (MS2) to a maximum of 80% (MS1). Soil water percentage was higher in the month of July at AS1 and during August at MS1 (. During the month of June, soil water percentage was recorded minimum in the lower depth (50-60cm) at both the sites. Water Holding Capacity (WHC) The mean water holding capacity of the soil varied from alpine sites to moraine sites (Table 4.4). It ranged from a maximum of 89.66% (August) to a minimum of 79.15% (May) at AS1. The minimum and maximum values at AS2 were 78.88% (May) to 89.66% (August), respectively. The maximum WHC was recorded to be 84.61 % during the month of September on upper layer (0-10 cm) at MS1 and minimum 60.36% during the month of May in the lower layer (50-60cm) at MS1. At MS2, WHC ranged from 60.66% (May) to 84.61% (September). However, maximum WHC was recorded in upper layers at both the sites of alpine and moraine. Soil pH The soil pH varied from site to site during the course of the present study (Table 4.5). Mean pH values of all the sites are presented in Figure 4.4 The soil of the study area was acidic. Soil of the moraine sites was more acidic than that of the alpine sites. Soil pH ranged from 4.4 to 5.3 (AS1), 4.5 to 5.2 (AS2), 4.9 to 6.1 (MS1) and 4.8 to 5.7 (MS2). 4.1.2 B. Chemical Characteristics of Soil Organic Carbon (%): Soil organic carbon (SOC) varied with depths and months at both the alpine and moraine sites (Table 4.6). High percentage of organic carbon was observed in the upper layer of all sites during the entire period of study. Soil organic C decreased with depth and it was lowest in lower layers at all the sites. Soil organic carbon was maximum (5.1%) during July at AS1 because of high decomposition of litter, while it was minimum (4.2%) during October due to high uptake by plants in the uppermost layer (0-10 cm). A maximum (5.0%) SOC was found during the month of July and minimum (4.1%) during October at AS2. At the moraine sites, maximum (3.58%, 3.73%) SOC was found during June and minimum (1.5% and 1.9%) during August at MS1 and MS2 respectively. Phosphorus (%): A low amount of phosphorus was observed from May to August which increased during September and October. The mean phosphorus percentage ranged from 0.02 Â ± 0.01 to 0.07 Â ± 0.03 at AS1 and AS2. It was 0.03Â ±0.01 to 0.03Â ±0.02 at MS1 and MS2. Maximum percentage of phosphorus was estimated to be 0.09 in the uppermost layer (0-10 cm) during October at AS1. The lower layer (40-50 cm) of soil horizon contained a minimum of 0.01% phosphorus during September at AS1 and AS2. In the moraine sites (MS1 and MS2), maximum phosphorus percentage of 0.03 Â ±0.01 was estimated in the upper layers (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 cm) while it was found to be minimum (0.02Â ±0.01) in the lower layers (30-40 cm). Overall, a decreasing trend in amount of phosphorus was found with depth in alpine as well as moraine sites Potassium (%): A decline in potassium contents was also observed with declining depth during the active growing season. Maximum value of potassium was found in the uppermost layer (0-10 cm) at all the sites. The mean values ranged from 0.71Â ±0.02 to 46Â ±0.06 at AS1 while it was 0.71Â ±0.02 to 0.47Â ±0.05 at AS2. In the moraine sites the values ranged from a minimum of 0.33 Â ±0.06 to a maximum of 0.59Â ±0.05 in the MS1 and from 0.59Â ±0.05 to 0.32Â ±0.06 at MS2. In the upper layer of soil horizon (0-10 cm), maximum value of 0.74 %, 0.75% of potassium was observed during the month of July at AS1 and AS2. While the values were maximum in the month of October at moraine sites MS1 and MS2 having 0.66% and 0.65% respectively Nitrogen (%): Highest percentage of nitrogen was found in the upper layers at all the sites. Maximum percentage of nitrogen were found during the month of July-August (0.25%, 0.25 and 0.26%, 0.25%) at AS1 and AS2, respectively. Maximum values of 0.18% and 0.15% respectively were found during the month of June at the moraine sites MS1 and MS2. The nitrogen percentage ranged from 0.23Â ±0.02 to 0.04Â ±0.01% at AS1. However, it ranged from a minimum of 0.05Â ±0.01 to 0.24Â ±0.02% at AS2. The nitrogen percentage ranged from a minimum of 0.03Â ±0.01, 0.02Â ±0.04% to a maximum of 12Â ±0.03, 13Â ±0.01%, respectively at MS1 and MS2 Overall, a decreasing trend was noticed in the nitrogen percentage with depth at both the alpine and moraine sites. 4.2. DISCUSSION Soil has a close relationship with geomorphology and vegetation type of the area (Gaur, 2002). Any change in the geomorphological process and vegetational pattern influences the pedogenic processes. However, variability in soil is a characteristic even within same geomorphic position (Gaur, 2002). Jenney (1941) in his discussion on organisms as a soil forming factors treated vegetation both as an independent and as dependent variable. In order to examine the role of vegetation as an independent variable, it would be possible to study the properties of soil as influenced by vegetation while all other soil forming factors such as climate, parent material, topography and time are maintaining at a particular constellation. Many soil properties may be related to a climatic situation revealing thousand years ago (e.g. humid period during late glacial or the Holocene in the Alps and Andes (Korner, 1999). The soil forming processes are reflected in the colour of the surface soil (Pandey, 1997). The combination of iron oxides and organic content gives many soil types a brown colour (Anthwal, 2004). Many darker soils are not warmer than adjacent lighter coloured soils because of the temperature modifying effect of the moisture, in fact they may be cooler (Pandey, 1997). The alpine sites of the resent study has soil colour varying from dark yellowish brown/yellowish brown to brown at different depths. Likewise, at the moraine sites, the soil colour was dark grayish brown/grayish brown to brown. The dark coloured soils of the moraine and alpine sites having high humus contents absorb more heat than light coloured soils. Therefore, the dark soils hold more water. Water requires relatively large amount of heat than the soil minerals to raise its temperature and it also absorbs considerable heat for evaporation. At all sites, dark colour of soil was found due to high organic contents by the addition of litter. Soil texture is an important modifying factor in relation to the proportion of precipitation that enters the soil and is available to plants (Pandey, 1997). Texture refers to the proportion of sand, silt, and clay in the soil. Sandy soil is light or coarse-textured, whereas, the clay soils are heavy or fine-textured. Sand holds less moisture per unit volume, but permits more rapid percolation of precipitated water than silt and clay. Clay tends to increase the water-holding capacity of the soil. Loamy soils have a balanced sand, silt, and clay composition and are thus superior for plant growth (Pidwirny, 2004). Soil of the alpine zone of Dokriani Bamak was silty predominated by clay and loam, whereas the soil of moraine zone was silty predominated by sand and clay. There is a close relationship between atmospheric temperature and soil temperature. The high organic matter (humus) help in retaining more soil water. During summers, high radiations with greater insulation period enhance the atmospheric temperature resulted in the greater evaporation of soil water. In the monsoon months (July-August) the high rainfall increased soil moisture under relative atmospheric and soil temperature due to cloud-filter radiations (Pandey, 1997). Owing to September rainfall, atmospheric and soil temperatures decreased. The soil moisture is controlled by atmospheric temperature coupled with absorption of water by plants. During October, occasional rainfall and strong cold winds lower down the atmospheric temperature further. The soil temperature remains more or less intact from the outer influence due to a slight frost layer as well as vegetation cover. Soil temperature was recorded low at the moraine sites than the alpine sites. During May, insulation period in creases with increase in the atmospheric and soil temperature and it decreases during rainfall. The increasing temperature influences soil moisture adversely and an equilibrium is attained only after the first monsoon showers in the month of June which continued till August. Donahue et al. (1987) stated that no levelled land with a slope at right angle to the Sun would receive more heat per soil area and will warm faster than the flat surface. The soil layer impermeable to moisture have been cited as the reason for treelessness in part of the tropics, wherein its absence savanna develops (Beard, 1953). The resulting water logging of soil during the rainy season creates conditions not suitable for the growth of trees capable of surviving the dry season. The water holding capacity of the soil is determined by several factors. Most important among these are soil texture or size of particles, porosity and the amount of expansible organic matter and colloidal clay (Pandey, 1997). Water is held as thin film upon the surface of the particles and runs together forming drops in saturated soils, the amount necessarily increases with an increase in the water holding surface. Organic matter affects water contents directly by retaining water in large amount on the extensive surfaces of its colloidal constituents and also by holding it like a sponge in its less decayed portion. It also had an indirect effect through soil structure. Sand particles loosely cemented together by it, hence, percolation is decreased and water-holding capacity increased. Although fine textured soil can hold more water and thus more total water holding capacity but maximum available water is held in moderate textured soil. Porosity in soil consists of that portion of the soil volume not occupied by solids, either mineral or organic material. Under natural conditions, the pore spaces are occupied at all times by air and water. Pore spaces are irregular in shape in sand than the clay. The most rapid water and air movement is observed in sands than strongly aggregated soils. The pH of alpine sites ranged from 4.4 to 5.3 and it ranged from 4.8 to 6.1 in moraine sites of Dokriani Bamak. It indicated the acidic nature of the soil. The moraine sites were more acidic than the alpine sites. Acidity of soil is exhibited due to the presence of different acids. The organic matter and nitrogen contents inhibit the acidity of soil. The present observations pertaining to the soil pH (4.4 to 5.3 and 4.8 to 6.1) were more or less in the same range as reported for other meadows and moraine zones. Ram (1988) reported pH from 4.0-6.0 in Rudranath and Gaur (2002) on Chorabari. These pH ranges are lower than the oak and pine forests of lower altitudes of Himalayan region as observed by Singh and Singh, 1987 (pH:6.0-6.3). Furthermore, pH increased with depth. Bliss (1963) analyzed that in all types of soil, pH was low in upper layers (4.0-4.30) and it increased (4.6-4.9) in lower layer at New Hampshire due to reduction in organic matter. Das et al. (1988) reported the simil ar results in the sub alpine areas of Eastern Himalayas. All these reports support the present findings on Dokriani Bamak strongly. A potent acidic soil is intensively eroded and it has lower exchangeable cation, and possesses least microbial activity (Donahue et al., 1987). Misra et al., 1970 also observed higher acidity in the soil in the region where high precipitation results leaching. Koslowska (1934) demonstrated that when plants were grown under conditions of known pH, they make the culture medium either more acidic or alkaline and that this property differed according to the species. Soil properties may ch