Newsletter - May 2018
Nitrogen and Phosphorus Loading
By
Dr.Sanjay Banerji
Founder Director/Dean of Amrita School of Business
Dear Friends,
This month, we shall talk about Nitrogen and Phosphorus Loading. This is the third boundary that we humans have crossed, so far as Nitrogen is concerned. We shall try to understand why this qualifies to be a planetary boundary, what are its causes, and the possible remedial measures. This note is based upon a lecture by Sarah Cornell, Coordinator of the International Planetary Boundaries Research Network at Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Rasi Vanam
Mesha (Meshan)
Red Sandal Wood Tree
Botanical Name: Pterocarpus santalinus L.f.
Tamil Name: Semmaram
Sanskrit Name: Raktha chandanam
English Name: Red sandal wood
Chennai
A small to medium-sized, deciduous tree up to 11-meter tall with a dense, rounded crown; bark blackish-brown, deeply cut into rectangular plates, yielding a deep red latex when cut; heartwood extremely hard, dark purple. Leaves usually imparipinnate, 10-18 cm long; leaflets 3, rarely 4-5, 3.8-7.6 cm long, broadly ovate or orbicular, coriaceous, apex obtuse, slightly emarginate, undersurface pale and clothed with fine grey hairs. Flowers yellow, borne a few together in simple or sparingly branched racemes; pedicels c. 5 mm long; calyx 5-6 mm long, teeth minute, deltoid. Fruits (pods) obliquely orbicular, 3.8-5 cm in dia including the wing, base narrowed into a short, concavely curved stipe 8 mm long, woolly. Seeds 1-2, reddish-brown, smooth, leathery, 1-1.5 cm long (India Biodiversity Portal.com).