Dynamics of Metal Pollution in Sediment and Macrophytes of Varthur Lake, Bangalore.

Eutrophication and metal contamination are the principal pollution problem for almost all inland lakes in world. Phytoremediation is one of the viable solutions for this concern. The present study analysed the concentration and distribution of six metals (cadmium, chromium, copper, nickel, lead and zinc) in sediment and macrophyte samples of Varthur Lake, Bangalore. Higher concentrations of studied metals in sediment were observed at the inlet and north shoreline regions of the lake. Alternanthera philoxeroides and Eichhornia crassipes accumulated higher concentration of metals than other species. Accumulation of metals in the sediment were Cu > Zn > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd, whereas the order in macrophyte samples was Cu > Zn > Cr > Pb > Ni > Cd. Bioconcentration factor (BCF) and translocation factor (TF) of metals in macrophytes revealed metal pollution could be remediated through phytoextraction and phytostabilization.

Geo-visualization of landscape dynamics in the proposed mega industrial corridor.

Urbanization is associated with large-scale irreversible landscape changes in response to the demands of burgeoning population, etc. Lack of basic amenities, job, and infrastructures in rural areas often drives migration towards the urbanizing landscapes. Urbanization is resource centric, which involves, large-scale transformation of the landscape with the irreversible impacts on the regional ecology, hydrology, and environment, which is evident from large-scale land cover changes leading to deforestation, encroachment of lakes/water bodies, forest, and farmlands, conversion of agriculture landscapes, etc. damaging the environs. Visualization of urban growth based on the past spatial patterns would help in evolving appropriate policy framework towards the design of sustainable cites for the prudent management of natural resources. Current communication attempts to understand the landscape dynamics along the proposed Mumbai-Pune industrial corridor (with 10 km buffer) through (i) rule-based/non agent-based models (non-ABM) and (ii) agent-based models (ABM) with the evaluation of relative performance of ABM and non-ABM methods. Comparative assessment of the model performance through accuracy assessment and Kappa (relatively significant at p < 0.05) indicates the superior performance of the agent-based model approaches due to its interaction with factors and constraints that allow urban growth in the region. Non-ABM model predicted the growth of 49.69% by 2027 with the decline of vegetation to 9.63%. Compared to this, agent-based model predicted growth in urban landscape to 47.12% and the decline of vegetation to 11.10%. The current research was formulated based on the recommendations of the deliberation between academia and stakeholder industries that are likely to be benefitted by the implementation of the industrial corridor. The research outcome also helps local planning authorities in advance visualization of urban dynamics to design sustainable urban regions with the provision of appropriate infrastructure and basic amenities.

Micro level analyses of environmentally disastrous urbanization in Bangalore.

Indian metropolitan (tier I) cities have been undergoing rapid urbanization during the post-globalization era with the unprecedented market interventions, which have led to the rapid land cover changes affecting the ecology, climate, hydrology, and local environment. The unplanned urbanization has given way to the dispersed, haphazard growth at the city outskirts with the lack of basic amenities and infrastructure as the planners lack advance information of sprawl regions. This has necessitated understanding and visualization of urbanization patterns for planning towards sustainable cities. The analyses of urban dynamics during 1973-2017 using temporal remote sensing data reveal 1028% increase in urban area with the decline of 88% vegetation and 79% of water bodies. Consequences of the unplanned urbanization are the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, decline in vegetation cover, loss of groundwater table (from 28 to 300 m), contamination of water sources, increase in land surface temperature, increase in disease vectors, etc. An attempt is made to understand the implications of unplanned growth at the micro level by considering the prime growth poles such as Peenya Industrial Estate (PIE), Whitefield (WF), Bangalore South Region (BSR). The spatial analyses reveal the decline of vegetation and open spaces with intense urbanization of 86.35% (in BSR), 87.39% (PIE) and 81.61% (WF) in 2017. WF witnessed the drastic transformation from agrarian ecosystem to a concrete jungle during the past four decades. Spatial patterns of urbanization were assessed through the landscape metrics and rule-based modeling which confirms intense urbanization with single class dominance. Specifically, NP metrics depicts PIE region had sprawl growth till 2003 with numerous patches and is transformed by 2017 it has become to a single dense urban patch. This necessitates appropriate planning strategies to mitigate further erosion of environmental resources and ensure clean air, water, and environment to all residents.

Saccharification of macroalgal polysaccharides through prioritized cellulase producing bacteria.

Marine macroalgal cell wall is predominantly comprised of cellulose (polysaccharide) with the complex chain of glycosidic linkages. Bioethanol production from macroalgae entails breaking this complex chain into simple glucose molecule, which has been the major challenge faced by the industries. Cellulases have been preferred for hydrolysis of cellulose due to the absence of inhibitors affecting the subsequent fermentation process. Cellulose degrading bacteria were isolated from wide-ranging sources from marine habitats to herbivore residues and gastrointestinal region. The investigation reveals that Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria has higher hydrolytic capacity with salt tolerance up to 14% and 3.5% salinity is optimum for growth. Higher hydrolytic activity of 2.45 was recorded on carboxymethyl cellulose medium at 48 h and hydrolytic activity of 2.46 on Ulva intestinalis hydrolysate, 3.06 on Ulva lactuca hydrolysate at 72 h of incubation. Total activity of enzyme of 2.11 U/ml and specific activity of 6.05 U/mg were recorded at 24 h. Enzyme hydrolysis of macroalgal biomass; U. intestinalis and U. lactuca produced 135.9 mg/g and 107.6 mg/g of reducing sugar respectively. The study reveals that the enzyme extracted from salt tolerant Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria is suitable for optimal saccharification of seaweed polysaccharides towards biofuel production.

Eco-Hydrological Footprint of a River Basin in Western Ghats.

Eco-Hydrological footprint of a river basin refers to the hydrologic regime for sustaining vital ecological functions considering the appropriation of water by biotic components (including humans). It provides crucial information about the ecological status of a river, while addressing the divergence from natural conditions of the actual hydrological regime. Thus, this highlights the implicit relationship of hydrologic regime in meeting the demand of the biota. Unplanned developmental activities have altered the catchment integrity which has threatened the regional water security due to the conversion of perennial streams to seasonal ones. This has necessitated prudent catchment management strategies to maintain the ecological water requirements so as to maintain the aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity and to sustain water resources. The skewed strategies oriented mainly towards societal benefits have led to large-scale degradation of the landscape. Large-scale alterations of the landscape structure have led to erosion in the ecosystem supportive capacity that plays a major role in sustaining the hydrological regime. Insights of eco-hydrological footprint in the catchment would aid in formulating policies to sustain the hydrologic regime and natural resources. The current study focuses on the assessment of the eco-hydrological footprint in the Kali River of central Western Ghats, Karnataka. Land use dynamics assessment using the temporal remote sensing data of four decades reveal decline of evergreen forest cover from 61.8 percent to 37.5 percent in the Kali river basin between 1973-2016. Computation of eco-hydrological indices shows that the sub-catchments in the Ghats with higher proportion of forest cover with native species has a better eco-hydrological index as against the plain. This highlights the vital ecological function of a catchment in sustaining the hydrologic regime when covered with the vegetation of native species. The presence of perennial streams in sub-catchment dominated by native vegetation compared to the seasonal streams in the catchment dominated by anthropogenic activities with monoculture plantations. Eco-Hydrological Status/Hydrological footprint reflected similar results as that of the eco hydrological index demonstrating the role of forests in maintaining the hydrological regime. Inter annual water budgeting across sub basins showed that the Ghats and Coastal areas are sustainable with perennial waters in the river as against the plains in the east which showed deficit of resource indicating water stress.

Spatial patterns of heavy metal accumulation in sediments and macrophytes of Bellandur wetland, Bangalore.

Heavy metals are one among the toxic chemicals and accumulation in sediments and plants has been posing serious health impacts. Wetlands aid as kidneys of the landscape and help in remediation through uptake of nutrients, heavy metals and other contaminants. The analyses of macrophytes and sediment samples help in evaluating pollution status in aquatic environment. In this study concentration of six heavy metals (Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Lead (Pb) and Zinc (Zn)) were assessed in sediment and dominant macrophyte samples collected from Bellandur Lake, largest Lake of Bangalore, India. Sediment samples reveal of heavy metals in the inlet regions and shore samples. The accumulation of metals in sediments were in the order of Zn > Cu > Cr > Pb > Ni > Cd. All metals exceeded the critical limits of metals in the sediment. Concentration of different metals in the macrophyte samples ranked as: Cr > Cu > Zn > Pb > Ni > Cd. Chromium and Copper were found to be more than critical range. Typha angustata had the higher accumulation of all metals except chromium.

Insights to bioprocess and treatment competence of urban wetlands.

Wetlands play a major role in the recharge of groundwater resources, maintenance of water quality (remediation), moderate microclimate while supporting local livelihood through provision of fish, fodder, etc. The present study aims to investigate algal-bacterial consortium as a function of residence time with the water quality dynamics in two major wetlands in Bangalore city, India. Over thirty-two genera of algae were recorded with more than 40 species in the lakes and two dominant bacterial assemblages. The higher Ammonium-N content favoured the growth of these members. Significant correlation was observed between the nutrient concentrations and the community structure at the inflows and the outflows. The algal community showed negative correlation to filterable COD and high nutrients levels while bacterial abundance was observed under high loadings. The green algae Chlorophyceae (Chlorella blooms), which are indicators of nutrient enrichment were observed predominantly, that needs an immediate attention. Higher overall treatment efficiency was observed in terms of CNP removal during the Pre-monsoon season attributed to absence of macrophytes cover and rapid growth of algal assemblage's due to higher temperature regimes with adequate solar insolation.

Quantification of annual sediment deposits for sustainable sand management in Aghanashini river estuary.

Sedimentation involving the process of silt transport also carries nutrients from upstream to downstream of a river/stream. Sand being one of the important fraction of these sediments is extracted in order to cater infrastructural/housing needs in the region. This communication is based on field research in the Aghanshini river basin, west coast of India. Silt yield in the river basin and the sedimentation rate assessed using empirical techniques supplemented with field quantifications using soundings (SONAR), show the sediment yield of 1105-1367 kilo cum per year and deposition of sediment of 61 (2016) to 71 (2015) cm. Quantifications of extractions at five locations, reveal of over exploitation of sand to an extent of 30% with damages to the breeding ground of fishes, reduced productivity of bivalves, etc., which has affected dependent people's livelihood. This study provides vital insights towards sustainable sand harvesting through stringent management practices.

Modelling landscape dynamics with LST in protected areas of Western Ghats, Karnataka.

Forest ecosystems sustain biota on the earth as they are habitat to diverse biotic species, arrests soil erosion, play a crucial role in water cycle, sequester carbon, and helps in mitigating the impacts of global warming. Large scale land use land cover (LULC) change leading to deforestation is one of the drivers of global climate changes and alteration of biogeochemical cycles with significant consequences in ecosystem services and biodiversity. This has necessitated the investigation of LULC by mapping, monitoring and modelling spatio-temporal patterns and evaluating these in the context of human-environment interactions. The current work investigates LULC changes with temperature dynamics of select protected areas in Western Ghats. The land use analyses reveal changes in the forest cover across Kudremukh National Park (KNP), Rajiv Gandhi Tiger Reserve (RTR), Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR). KNP region has lost evergreen forest cover during 1973-2016 from 33.46 to 27.22%, while BTR lost deciduous cover from 61.69 to 47.3% due to mining, horticulture plantations, human habitations, etc. The LST increase has impacted regeneration of species with the induced water stress, etc. CA-Markov modelling was used for forecasting the likely land uses in 2026 and validation was done through Kappa indices. Results highlight decline of evergreen cover in KNP (9%) and deciduous cover in RTR (2%) followed by BTR (3%) with further expansion of plantations, which will impact biodiversity, hydrology and ecology. Insights of LULC dynamics help natural resource managers in evolving appropriate strategies to ensure conservation of threatened biota in Western Ghats.

Green to gray: Silicon Valley of India.

Rapid growth, population concentration and the expansion of urban areas towards peri-urban regions have led to changes in urban structure and composition, and consequently changes in urban ecology. The purpose of this study is to estimate trees in the urban environment through quantification of vegetation cover using multi resolution spatial data supplemented with tree data acquired from field using pre-calibrated GPS. Optimal resolution for extracting trees was attained through fusion of multi resolution (spectral and spatial) data. Results highlight region with spatial extent of 741 sq. km with 9.5 million human population has about 1.48 million trees. Further, urban growth increment is expected to cover 95% of the landscape with paved surfaces by 2020 decreasing vegetation cover while severely affecting the local ecology and environment in addition to human survival.

Emerging role of Geographical Information System (GIS), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and spatial LCA (GIS-LCA) in sustainable bioenergy planning.

Sustainability of a bioenergy project depends on precise assessment of biomass resource, planning of cost-effective logistics and evaluation of possible environmental implications. In this context, this paper reviews the role and applications of geo-spatial tool such as Geographical Information System (GIS) for precise agro-residue resource assessment, biomass logistic and power plant design. Further, application of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in understanding the potential impact of agro-residue bioenergy generation on different ecosystem services has also been reviewed and limitations associated with LCA variability and uncertainty were discussed. Usefulness of integration of GIS into LCA (i.e. spatial LCA) to overcome the limitations of conventional LCA and to produce a holistic evaluation of the environmental benefits and concerns of bioenergy is also reviewed. Application of GIS, LCA and spatial LCA can help alleviate the challenges faced by ambitious bioenergy projects by addressing both economics and environmental goals.

Physico-chemical and biological characterization of urban municipal landfill leachate.

Unscientific management and ad-hoc approaches in municipal solid waste management have led to a generation of voluminous leachate in urban conglomerates. Quantification, quality assessment, following treatment and management of leachate has become a serious problem worldwide. In this context, the present study investigates the physico-chemical and biological characterization of landfill leachate and nearby water sources and attempts to identify relationships between the key parameters together with understanding the various processes for chemical transformations. The analysis shows an intermediate leachate age (5-10 years) with higher nutrient levels of 10,000-12,000 mg/l and ∼2000-3000 mg/l of carbon (COD) and nitrogen (TKN) respectively. Elemental analysis and underlying mechanisms reveal chemical precipitation and co-precipitation as the vital processes in leachate pond systems resulting in accumulation of trace metals. Based on the above criteria the samples were clustered into major groups that showed a clear distinction between leachate and water bodies. The microbial analysis showed bacterial communities correlating with specific factors relevant to redox environments indicating a gradient in nature and abundance of biotic diversity with a change in leachate environment. Finally, the quality and the contamination potential of the samples were evaluated with the help of leachate pollution index (LPI) and water quality index (WQI) analysis. The study helps in understanding the contamination potential of landfill leachate and establishes linkages between microbial communities and physico-chemical parameters for effective management of landfill leachate.

Monitoring urbanization and its implications in a mega city from space: spatiotemporal patterns and its indicators.

Rapid and invasive urbanization has been associated with depletion of natural resources (vegetation and water resources), which in turn deteriorates the landscape structure and conditions in the local environment. Rapid increase in population due to the migration from rural areas is one of the critical issues of the urban growth. Urbanisation in India is drastically changing the land cover and often resulting in the sprawl. The sprawl regions often lack basic amenities such as treated water supply, sanitation, etc. This necessitates regular monitoring and understanding of the rate of urban development in order to ensure the sustenance of natural resources .Urban sprawl is the extent of urbanization which leads to the development of urban forms with the destruction of ecology and natural landforms. The rate of change of land use and extent of urban sprawl can be efficiently visualized and modelled with the help of geoinformatics. The knowledge of urban area, especially the growth magnitude, shape geometry, and spatial pattern is essential to understand the growth and characteristics of urbanization process. Urban pattern, shape and growth can be quantified using spatial metrics. This communication quantifies the urbanisation and associated growth pattern in Delhi. Spatial data of four decades were analysed to understand land over and land use dynamics. Further the region was divided into 4 zones and into circles of 1 km incrementing radius to understand and quantify the local spatial changes. Results of the landscape metrics indicate that the urban center was highly aggregated and the outskirts and the buffer regions were in the verge of aggregating urban patches. Shannon's Entropy index clearly depicted the outgrowth of sprawl areas in different zones of Delhi.

Bioremediation and lipid synthesis through mixotrophic algal consortia in municipal wastewater.

Algae grown in outdoor reactors (volume: 10 L and depth: 20 cm) were fed directly with filtered and sterilised municipal wastewater. The nutrient removal efficiencies were 86%, 90%, 89%, 70% and 76% for TOC, TN, NH4-N, TP and OP, respectively, and lipid content varied from 18% to 28.5% of dry algal biomass. Biomass productivity of ∼122 mg/l/d (surface productivity 24.4 g/m(2)/d) and lipid productivity of ∼32 mg/l/d were recorded. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses of the fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) showed a higher content of desirable fatty acids (bearing biofuel properties) with major contributions from saturates such as palmitic acid [C16:0; ∼40%] and stearic acid [C18:0; ∼34%], followed by unsaturates such as oleic acid [C18:1(9); ∼10%] and linoleic acid [C18:2(9,12); ∼5%]. The decomposition of algal biomass and reactor residues with an exothermic heat content of 123.4 J/g provides the scope for further energy derivation.

Treatment efficacy of algae-based sewage treatment plants.

Lagoons have been traditionally used in India for decentralized treatment of domestic sewage. These are cost effective as they depend mainly on natural processes without any external energy inputs. This study focuses on the treatment efficiency of algae-based sewage treatment plant (STP) of 67.65 million liters per day (MLD) capacity considering the characteristics of domestic wastewater (sewage) and functioning of the treatment plant, while attempting to understand the role of algae in the treatment. STP performance was assessed by diurnal as well as periodic investigations of key water quality parameters and algal biota. STP with a residence time of 14.3 days perform moderately, which is evident from the removal of total chemical oxygen demand (COD) (60 %), filterable COD (50 %), total biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (82 %), and filterable BOD (70 %) as sewage travels from the inlet to the outlet. Furthermore, nitrogen content showed sharp variations with total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) removal of 36 %; ammonium N (NH4-N) removal efficiency of 18 %, nitrate (NO3-N) removal efficiency of 22 %, and nitrite (NO2-N) removal efficiency of 57.8 %. The predominant algae are euglenoides (in facultative lagoons) and chlorophycean members (maturation ponds). The drastic decrease of particulates and suspended matter highlights heterotrophy of euglenoides in removing particulates.

Ecological and socio-economic assessment of Varthur wetland, Bengaluru (India).

Wetlands are the most productive ecosystems, recognized globally for their vital role in sustaining a wide array of biodiversity and provide goods and services. But presently increased anthropogenic activities such as intense agriculture practices, indiscriminate disposal of industrial effluents and sewage wastes have altered the physical, chemical as well as biological processes of wetlands, which is evident from the present study carried out to assessVarthur wetland in India. Coastal wetland ecosystem in the world has 14,785/ha US$ annual economic value. An earlier study of relatively pristine wetland in Bengaluru revealed the value of ? 10,435/ha/day while the polluted wetland showed the value of ? 20/ha/day. On the contrary Varthur, a sewage fed wetland has a value of ? 118.9/ha/day. The pollutants and subsequent contamination of the wetland-Varthur has telling effects such as disappearance of native species, dominance of invasive exotic species (such as African catfish), in addition to profuse breeding of disease vectors and pathogens. Water quality analysis revealed high phosphate (4.22-5.76 ppm) level in addition to the enhanced BOD (119-140 ppm) and decreased DO (0-1.06 ppm). The amplified decline of ecosystem goods and services with degradation of water quality necessitates the implementation of sustainable management strategies to recover the lost wetland benefits of Varthur.

Micro-scale anaerobic digestion of point source components of organic fraction of municipal solid waste.

The fermentation characteristics of six specific types of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) were examined, with an emphasis on properties that are needed when designing plug-flow type anaerobic bioreactors. More specifically, the decomposition patterns of a vegetable (cabbage), fruits (banana and citrus peels), fresh leaf litter of bamboo and teak leaves, and paper (newsprint) waste streams as feedstocks were studied. Individual OFMSW components were placed into nylon mesh bags and subjected to various fermentation periods (solids retention time, SRT) within the inlet of a functioning plug-flow biogas fermentor. These were removed at periodic intervals, and their composition was analyzed to monitor decomposition rates and changes in chemical composition. Components like cabbage waste, banana peels, and orange peels fermented rapidly both in a plug-flow biogas reactor (PFBR) as well as under a biological methane potential (BMP) assay, while other OFMSW components (leaf litter from bamboo and teak leaves and newsprint) fermented slowly with poor process stability and moderate biodegradation. For fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW), a rapid and efficient removal of pectins is the main cause of rapid disintegration of these feedstocks, which left behind very little compost forming residues (2-5%). Teak and bamboo leaves and newsprint decomposed only to 25-50% in 30d. These results confirm the potential for volatile fatty acids accumulation in a PFBR's inlet and suggest a modification of the inlet zone or operation of a PFBR with the above feedstocks.

A new frog species from the central western Ghats of India, and its phylogenetic position.

Tropical evergreen forests of Indian subcontinent, especially of the Western Ghats, are known hot spots of amphibian diversity, where many new anuran species await to be identified. Here we describe from the Sharavathi River basin of central Western Ghats a new shrub-frog taxon related to the anuran family Rhacophoridae. The new frog possesses the characteristic features of rhacophorids (dilated digit tips with differentiated pads circumscribed by a complete groove, intercalary cartilages on digits, T-shaped terminal phalanges and granular belly, the adaptive characters for arboreal life forms), but also a suite of unique features that distinguish it from all known congeners in the region. Morphogenetic analysis based on morphological characteristics and diversity in the mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA genes revealed it to be a new Philautus species that we named Philautus neelanethrus sp. nov. The phylogenetic analysis suggests the new frog to represent a relatively early Philautus species lineage recorded from the region. The distribution pattern of the species suggests its importance as a bioindicator of habitat health. In general, this relatively widespread species was found distributed only in non-overlapping small stretches, which indirectly indicates the fragmentation of the evergreen to moist deciduous forests that characterize the Western Ghats. Thus the discovery of the new rhacophorid species described here not only further reinforces the significance of the Western Ghats as a major hotspot of amphibian biodiversity, but also brings into focus the deterioration of forest habitats in the region and the need for prioritization of their conservation.

Resource recovery potential from secondary components of segregated municipal solid wastes.

Fermentable components of municipal solid wastes (MSW) such as fruit and vegetable wastes (FVW), leaf litter, paddy straw, cane bagasse, cane trash and paper are generated in large quantities at various pockets of the city. These form potential feedstocks for decentralized biogas plants to be operated in the vicinity. We characterized the fermentation potential of six of the above MSW fractions for their suitability to be converted to biogas and anaerobic compost using the solid-state stratified bed (SSB) process in a laboratory study. FVW and leaf litter (paper mulberry leaves) decomposed almost completely while paddy straw, sugarcane trash, sugarcane bagasse and photocopying paper decomposed to a lower extent. In the SSB process between 50-60% of the biological methane potential (BMP) could be realized. Observations revealed that the SSB process needs to be adapted differently for each of the feedstocks to obtain a higher gas recovery. Bagasse produced the largest fraction of anaerobic compost (fermentation residue) and has the potential for reuse in many ways.

Micro-treatment options for components of organic fraction of MSW in residential areas.

There is a growing interest in management of MSW through micro-treatment of organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) in many cities of India. The OFMSW fraction is high (>80%) in many pockets within South Indian cities like Bangalore, Chikkamagalur, etc. and is largely represented by vegetable, fruit, packing and garden wastes. Among these, the last three have shown problems for easy decomposition. Fruit wastes are characterized by a large pectin supported fraction that decomposes quickly to organic acids (becomes pulpy) that eventually slow down anaerobic and aerobic decomposition processes. Paper fraction (newsprint and photocopying paper) as well as paddy straw (packing), bagasse (from cane juice stalls) and tree leaf litter (typical garden waste and street sweepings) are found in reasonably large proportions in MSW. These decompose slowly due to poor nutrients or physical state. We have examined the suitability of these substrates for micro-composting in plastic bins by tracking decomposition pattern and physical changes. It was found that fruit wastes decompose rapidly to produce organic acids and large leachate fraction such that it may need to be mixed with leachate absorbing materials (dry wastes) for good composting. Leaf litter, paddy straw and bagasse decompose to the tune of 90, 68 and 60% VS and are suitable for composting micro-treatment. Paper fractions even when augmented with 10% leaf compost failed to show appreciable decomposition in 50 days. All these feedstocks were found to have good biological methane potential (BMP) and showed promise for conversion to biogas under a mixed feed operation. Suitability of this approach was verified by operating a plug-flow type anaerobic digester where only leaf litter gathered nearby (as street sweepings) was used as feedstock. Here only a third of the BMP was realized at this scale (0.18 m(3 )biogas/kg VS 0.55 m(3)/kg in BMP). We conclude that anaerobic digestion in plug-flow like digesters appear a more suitable micro-treatment option (2-10 kg VS/day) because in addition to compost it also produces biogas for domestic use nearby.