Applied Ecology and Environmental Research Laboratory (AEER- Lab)

The Laboratory of Applied Ecology and Environmental Research was established in 2013. The Laboratory includes an Ecological Monitoring Group.

The laboratory research areas include:

• studying the process of soil salinization and identifying innovative ways to improve it,

• investigation, assessment and improvement of soils contaminated with heavy metals,

• study of the biological effects of nanoparticles (green synthesis),

• study of biodiversity,

• biological effects of nanoparticles,

• traditional winemaking technology,

• the impact of microplastics on aquatic ecosystems,

• study of predatory aquatic fungi,

• testing the antifungal and antibacterial activities of substances,

• bioleaching with strains isolated from mine water.

The main scientific directions operating in the laboratory are։

1. Assessment of the degree of soil salinization in the most risky regions of the Republic of Armenia and study of the soil degradation process based on the various indicators of soil biological activity.

2. Studying the salt tolerance of crops and identifying the most effective ways to mitigate salt stress.

3. Study of the quality of groundwater in the Ararat Valley and assessment of its irrigable properties.

4. Assessment of the degree of heavy metal contamination and ecological risks of soils in the mining regions of the Republic of Armenia and study of the phytoremediation potential of various plant species.

5. Testing the antifungal and antibacterial activities of selected substances.

6. Isolation of strains from copper-molybdenum and polymetallic mine waters. Testing the efficiency of bioleaching using isolated strains.

7. Study of the physicochemical and biochemical mechanisms of traditional winemaking.

8. Study of the antifungal and antibacterial properties of wine waste.

9. Study of the species diversity of wine grape sugar fungi.

10. The impact of microplastics on phytoplankton, the key part of aquatic ecosystems, quantitative and qualitative dynamics, toxic manifestations of HABs.

Collaborations

The laboratory collaborates with the following institutions:

• Department of Soil Science and Land Resources Assessment, Southern Federal University (Russia),

• Research Center for Crop Research and Soil Science of the Department of Agriculture in Gorizia (Italy),

• Department of Plant Physiology and Biotechnology, University of Lublin (Poland),

• Scientific Center for Zoology and Hydroecology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia,

• Scientific and Production Center of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia,

• Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine" CJSC,

• Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Food and Wine, Agricultural Institute of Dijon (France),

• Armenia Wine company,

• Gevorgyan Winery․

Staff

1. Karen Ghazaryan

2. Lusine Hambaryan

3. Syuzanna Esoyan

4. Abhishek R. Singh

5. Ani Hayrapetyan

6. Anna Harutyunyan

7. Gohar Margaryan

8. Armine Chaxmaxchyan

9. Sakshi Singh

Web of Science (Scopus, Web of Science 2019-2024)

1. Ghazaryan, K. A., Movsesyan, H. S., Minkina, T. M., Nevidomskaya, D. G., & Rajput, V. D. (2022). Phytoremediation of copper-contaminated soil by Artemisia absinthium: Comparative effect of chelating agents. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 44(4), 1203–1215. Q1.

2. Ghazaryan, K., Movsesyan, H., Gevorgyan, A., Minkina, T., Sushkova, S., Rajput, V., & Mandzhieva, S. (2020). Comparative hydrochemical assessment of groundwater quality from different aquifers for irrigation purposes using IWQI: A case-study from Masis province in Armenia. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 11, 100459.,Q1.

3. Khosrovyan, A., Avalyan, R., Atoyants, A., Aghajanyan, E., Hambaryan, L., Aroutiounian, R., & Gabrielyan, B. (2023). Tradescantia-Based Test Systems Can Be Used for the Evaluation of the Toxic Potential of Harmful Algal Blooms. Water, 15(13), 2500. , Q1.

4. Singh, A., Rajput, V. D., Sharma, R., Ghazaryan, K., & Minkina, T. (2023). Salinity stress and nanoparticles: Insights into antioxidative enzymatic resistance, signaling, and defense mechanisms. Environmental Research, 235, 116585. , Q1.

5. Gohar Margaryan, Abhishek Singh, Hrant Khachatryan, Vishnu D Rajput, Tatiana Minkina, Dimitrios Petropoulos, Athanasios Kriemadis, Athanasios Alexiou, Mohamed S. Elshikh, Abd El-Zaher M.A. Mustafa, Karen Ghazaryan. Unveiling the Salinity Tolerance Potential of Armenian Dandur (Portulaca oleracea L.) Genotypes: Towards Sustainable Agriculture.  King Saud University- Science. 2024, 36 (8), 1-33., Q1.