Wildfires in Australia: a bibliometric analysis and a glimpse on 'Black Summer' (2019/2020) disaster.

A wildfire, an unplanned fire that is mainly uncontrolled and originates in combustible vegetation in rural or urban settings, is one of the most pervasive natural catastrophes in some areas, such as Siberia, California and Australia. Many studies, such as standard reviews, have been undertaken to look into the works of literature on wildfires or forest fires and their effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Regrettably, conventional literature reviews failed to identify the important researchers, evolving complexities, emerging research hotspots, trends and opportunities for further research on the ground of wildfire study. The present study employs bibliometric analysis to investigate this study area qualitatively and quantitatively. The Scopus database systems and Web of Science Core Collection yielded 78 qualifying papers, which were then evaluated using Biblioshiny (A bibliometrix tool of R-studio). According to the statistics, the discipline is expanding at a pace that is 13.68% faster than average. So far, three key periods of transformation have been documented: preliminary evolution (8 articles; 1999-2005), gentle evolution (14 articles; 2006-2013) and quick evolution (56 articles; 2014 to 2021). Forest Ecology and Management and Science journals have the highest number of publications, accounting for 7.70% of total wildfire-related articles published from 1999 to 2021. However, recent data indicate that investigators are shifting their focus to wildfires, with the term 'Australia' having the highest frequency (91) and 'wildfire' having the second highest (58) as the most appeared keywords. The present study will provide a foundation for future research on wildfire incidence and management by receiving information by synthesising previously published literature in Australia and around the world.

Potassium in plants: Growth regulation, signaling, and environmental stress tolerance.

Potassium (K) is an essential element for the growth and development of plants; however, its scarcity or excessive level leads to distortion of numerous functions in plants. It takes part in the control of various significant functions in plant advancement. Because of the importance index, K is regarded second after nitrogen for whole plant growth. Approximately, higher than 60 enzymes are reliant on K for activation within the plant system, in which K plays a vital function as a regulator. Potassium provides assistance in plants against abiotic stress conditions in the environment. With this background, the present paper reviews the physiological functions of K in plants like stomatal regulation, photosynthesis and water uptake. The article also focuses upon the uptake and transport mechanisms of K along with its role in detoxification of reactive oxygen species and in conferring tolerance to plants against abiotic stresses. It also highlights the research progress made in the direction of K mediated signaling cascades.

Regulation of ROS Metabolism in Plants under Environmental Stress: A Review of Recent Experimental Evidence.

Various environmental stresses singly or in combination generate excess amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative stress and impaired redox homeostasis. Generation of ROS is the obvious outcome of abiotic stresses and is gaining importance not only for their ubiquitous generation and subsequent damaging effects in plants but also for their diversified roles in signaling cascade, affecting other biomolecules, hormones concerning growth, development, or regulation of stress tolerance. Therefore, a good balance between ROS generation and the antioxidant defense system protects photosynthetic machinery, maintains membrane integrity, and prevents damage to nucleic acids and proteins. Notably, the antioxidant defense system not only scavenges ROS but also regulates the ROS titer for signaling. A glut of studies have been executed over the last few decades to discover the pattern of ROS generation and ROS scavenging. Reports suggested a sharp threshold level of ROS for being beneficial or toxic, depending on the plant species, their growth stages, types of abiotic stresses, stress intensity, and duration. Approaches towards enhancing the antioxidant defense in plants is one of the vital areas of research for plant biologists. Therefore, in this review, we accumulated and discussed the physicochemical basis of ROS production, cellular compartment-specific ROS generation pathways, and their possible distressing effects. Moreover, the function of the antioxidant defense system for detoxification and homeostasis of ROS for maximizing defense is also discussed in light of the latest research endeavors and experimental evidence.