Introduction: The Zagros forests, which are one of Iran's most important forest ecosystems, contain a diversified vegetation that includes trees, shrubs, and herb-layer species. Identification and precise knowledge of their ecological role in this ecosystem can help in natural resources protection and sustainable development. In order to study the effects of physiographic factors (aspect, slope, and elevation) on the woody plants species diversity and also soil carbon stock in the central Zagros, the maple tree (Acer monspessulanum Var. cinerscens) forest in Hashtadpahlu region which is located in Lorestan was selected. Material and methods: Within the forest, 37 circular plots, each measuring 1000 m2, were placed systematic-randomly for this purpose. Richness and diversity indices were calculated for woody species within plots. Soil samples were taken from a depth of 0-30 cm to measure the quantity of carbon stock in the soil and the value of soil organic carbon and bulk density for soil samples were measured.Results and discussion: In this forest, 11 different woody plant species (trees and shrubs) from seven different families were investigated. The results showed that the highest diversity of shrub species was observed in the northern aspect and the lower slopes (class of 5-20%), while the elevation has no significant effect on the shrub diversity. Also, the physiographic factors had no significant effect on shrub species richness and tree species diversity and richness. The most soil carbon stock was measured in the eastern aspect while the other physiographic factors had no significant effect on the carbon stock. The reduced carbon supply on the northern slopes relative to the rest of the slopes could be a result of heavy grazing, low density and poor vegetative quality of woody species, reduction of tree litter and other plant species and climatic conditions in this slope. As a result, the most important factors impacting the number of species diversity indices in the Acer forest are the aspect and slope.Conclusion: The richness and diversity of woody species in the Acer sp. forest are appropriate and physiographic factors have played an important role in the values of their indices. Physiographic parameters have an impact on the carbon stock of the soil. As a result, environmental variables should be considered in the management of Zagros forests due to its extensive distribution.
Introduction: The transaction cost (TC) is rooted in institutional economics, and is related to the concept of efficiency. One of the tasks of planners is to promote the efficiency of the planning process. Thus, identification of effective factors for producing TC including searching for information, negotiation, creating and application of monitoring mechanisms is important. Because through this, planners can rely on the institutional design of governance structures to reduce TC. In this regard, since 1990, efforts have begun in urban planning in the world. Many key actors including citizens are engaged with detailed plans in Iran’s planning system. The aim of the present paper is to reduce the TC of Isfahan’s detailed plan for different actors by introducing the effective factors for creating TC in the plan, determining the key factors among them, and developing possible scenarios with high consistency for the governance structure of the plan in order to pave the way for redesigning this process.Material and methods: In this study, data collection and data analysis methods were qualitative and quantitative, thus it is a mixed-method research. Effective factors on TC were determined through thematic analysis of interviews conducted with key actors of detailed plan by using Atlas ti. The questionnaire of cross-impact matrix was filled by experts and their data were analyzed using structural analysis and the MicMac method in order to determine five key factors/descriptors among all. For each key factor, various variants were considered. Based on the experts’ opinions about the impact of these variants on each other as the input of ScenarioWizard, possible scenarios with high consistency were developed for the governance structure of the detailed plan.Results and discussion: As preparing detailed plan encompasses both searching and information costs and also bargaining and decision costs to reach an acceptable agreement with other parties about land development rights, the whole costs of preparing a detailed plan are TC. The costs of monitoring the plan such as costs related to article 100 of municipality law, are also TC. Affecting factors in creating TC in the process of Isfahan detailed plan is categorized into three broad themes of the institutional environment, quality of governance, and capital. These three categories include 23 effective factors among which five factors of rules and regulations, bureaucracy, trust between actors, level of participation and access to information are recognized as key factors/descriptors. Considering different variants devoted to these factors, three scenarios with high consistency were developed for governance structure of detailed plan. One of these scenarios is toward less concentration and the others is seeking more concentration in planning system.Conclusion: Comparing the effective factors of TC resulted from this research with that of theoretical background showed that although there are differences in categorizing and naming the factors, their nature is the same. The key effective factors were identified through the expert panel. The total effective factors are mostly related to the implementation, monitoring, and revision phases of the detailed plan, in contrary to producing phase. The scenario writing process for the governance structure of the detailed plan to reduce its TC and conducting institutional design systematically and understandably in this research, fill the present gap in the body of knowledge. In three developed scenarios the variants of each five variables/descriptors are in one direction, forming a completely concentrated or deconcentrated scenario. Such a situation emphasizes the fact that the governance of urban land use is possible through patterns or systems formed of consistent elements and follows a unified logic. These patterns are either toward more concentration or deconcentration in the planning system which has a historic background in the present era in different cities.
Introduction: Arak is one of the eight most polluted cities in Iran, whose pollution is mainly due to the activities of various industries located in the city or its suburbs. Using air pollution modeling it would be possible to estimate the effect of emissions of suspended particles and gases from the activities of various industries on the local environment. This study is an attempt to investigate the impact of existing and under construction industries in Arak on the air quality of the city using the ADMS model as a widely used and trusted model of the Department of Environment (DoE).Material and methods: Because the main sources of air pollution in Arak are of focal type, in modeling air pollution, 17 large industries (including 98 chimneys) located in the city were considered as pollution points. In addition to the emission data, the geometrical data of the chimneys including the height and diameter of their opening and the temperature of the exhaust air were also included in the model. To validate the model outputs, the measurement values of the environmental stations were compared with the values estimated by the modeling using Pearson linear correlation coefficient.Results and discussion: The results showed that the concentration of CO, SO2, and NO2 in all stations was within the permissible level announced by the DoE. The dispersion of suspended particles (contour lines) in the city was to the west and southwest and up to a radius of 3 km in the prevailing and semi-prevailing wind direction. This for Shazand was to the west up to a radius of 1 km in the prevailing wind direction and to the southwest up to 5 km in the direction of semi- prevailing wind until reaching the background concentration of 19.1 μg. Accumulation of SO2 contour lines in Shazand pollution center was observed up to a radius of 7 km in the west direction and up to a radius of 10 km in the southwest direction. The accumulation of NO2 contour lines was the same as NO2. The radius of impact of CO gas was extended from Arak to Shazand. Accumulation of CO contour lines in Arak was up to a radius of 5 km in the direction of west and southwest. The accumulation of H2S contour lines in Shazand was up to a radius of 5 km towards the directions of west, southeast, and southwest. In general, the difference between the sampling and modeling results indicated the pollution sources that were not observed in the model and were beyond those emitted from the factories. In most stations, the modeled and directly monitored SO2 concentrations were not much different and the correlation coefficient of the data was high, indicating the accuracy of the calculations and the prominent role of industries in the emission of this gaseous pollutant. Also, in most stations, the results of environmental measurement of NO2 were less than the modeled values, revealing that the industries had a greater share in the emission of this gas. The overestimate of this emission may probably be due to the inclusion of the under construction industries in the model. The environmental concentration of CO in all stations was higher than the modeled values. Industries have a small share in the pollution load of this pollutant while in urban areas, the concentration of CO depends on the mobile sources and traffic load.Conclusion: In general, the pollution levels of the city showed that the center of pollution was in the southeast of Arak and in the complex of the refinery, petrochemical company, and thermal power plant. According to the overlaid contours of emissions, a number of points (14 points) that were closest to the pollution centers were proposed as critical stations, two points as control stations, and 4 points as the stations exposed to pollution in each period.
Introduction: Water depletion in wetlands, due to both natural and unnatural reasons, leads to the extinction and death of living organisms. After successive droughts, if flooding and rehydration occur, their recovery is highly unlikely. According to the Ramsar Agreement, the area of Shadegan Wetland is 537731 hectares and includes freshwater area, tidal zone, Mousa creek, and marginal lands. The freshwater area of the wetland is about 164 thousand hectares based on the Landsat satellite image during flooding and is equivalent to 28% of the total area of the wetland. This wetland is extremely important due to various functions such as flood control, air conditioning, soil erosion control, plant and animal habitat, and providing livelihood. The purpose of this study is to monitor the trend of changes in the freshwater area of the wetland using satellite images and identify the factors affecting changes in its area.Material and methods: Landsat TM, ETM +, and OLI satellite data from 1998 to 2017 were used to monitor the water area of Shadegan Wetland. Various climatic, hydro-climatic, and water management factors were extracted for the study period in the whole watershed. The trend of changes and their relationship with changes in the wetland water area were investigated using the principal component analysis (PCA) method, and the factors that explained the highest variance of water changes were identified and analyzed.Results and discussion: The trend of changes in the water area of Shadegan Wetland was increasing. Data using KMO and Bartlett statistics showed that the studied elements were suitable for changes in water area based on factor analysis. The results of factor analysis showed that five factors played an important role in changing the water area of Shadegan Wetland. In total, five factors were able to explain 88.9% of the variance of the data; the first factor was the temperature, the area under cultivation, the number of earthen dams and drains entering the sugarcane, which explained approximately 36% of the variance. The second factor was the humidity of the basin which explained 15% of the variance. The third factor was the instant discharge’s drought that explained 14.9% of the total variance. The fourth factor was discharge and precipitation with 11.8%, and the fifth factor was wetland moisture, which explained 11.2% of the variance of water area changes.Conclusion: Wetlands that are situated at the foothills of watersheds are affected by the factors in the watershed. In total, five factors were able to explain 88.9% of the variance of the changes. In the first factor, apart from temperature, three factors that result from human activities were the most important: the area under cultivation due to the development of large irrigation projects, use of water sources of Jarahi River, which is the source of 90% of water input to the lagoon and numerous dams, dams upstream of the wetland that prevent the arrival of flood and seasonal runoff, and sugarcane drainage as inlet water to the wetland. In order to manage the wetland, reduction of human activities and utilization of water resources in order to provide the natural water of the wetland should be considered so that the wetland can continue as a living ecosystem.
Introduction: Considering the services that the environment provides for human society, environmental pollution related issues have great importance. Air pollution is one of the environmental pollutions had more attention in recent decades. According to the economic literature, one of the important factors affected the emission of air pollutants is the industrialization of economic activities and the structure of production in the industry sector. Accordingly, the current study investigated the direct and indirect effects (spillovers) of structural changes in the industrial sector on carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption. Material and methods: This research was carried out using the spatial econometric model for thirty provinces of Iran during 2006-2015. To calculate the index of structural change in production in this study, the index of structural change index presented by Lillian (2012) was used. Before estimating the model, , to check the stationarity of the variables, the Levin, Lin, Chou (LLC) unit root test was estimated, and finally, after performing the Hausman and multiple Wald test, , the spatial Durbin model was estimated with spatial random effects.Results and discussion: Based on the results of the Levin, Lin, Chou (LLC) unit root test, all variables of the model were I (0). Hausmann test also suggested the estimation by random effect method (RF). Based on the results of estimating the model, the effect of GDP per capita on carbon dioxide emissions was positive and significant; If GDP per capita increases by 1%, carbon dioxide emissions will increase by 0.22 %. The effect of energy intensity on carbon dioxide emissions was positive and significant; If the energy intensity increases by 1%, carbon dioxide emissions will increase by 0.06 %. The effect of population on carbon dioxide emissions was positive and significant; If the population increases by 1%; emissions of carbon dioxide will increase by 0.95%. The effect of changes in industrial structure on carbon dioxide emissions has been negative. This means that the industrial structure in different provinces has changed in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, although the contribution of these changes in reducing this pollutant was small. On the other hand, the spatial impact of industrial structure changes on carbon dioxide emissions was negative and significant. The coefficient related to the effects of industrial overflow showed that if the index of changes in the industrial structure increases by 1%, carbon dioxide emissions in adjacent areas will decrease by 0.03 %. Conclusion: Model estimation has shown that the restructuring of industry has a direct and negative effect on carbon emissions in the provinces. This indicates that the structure of the industry in different provinces has changed to industries with lower carbon dioxide emissions. One of the reasons for this could be the increase in the share of sub-sectors of the industry that have low energy consumption. Another reason for this could be the increase in the share of sectors that use fossil fuels with less pollution. Other results of the model have shown that the change in the structure of production in the industrial sector of the provinces has had indirect effects (spillovers) on the production of the provinces. Based on the results of the model, it is suggested that policies be adopted to transfer factors and resources from low-efficiency sectors to high-efficiency sectors. Also, energy efficiency policies in high-energy intensive industrial sectors and sub-sectors that use high-emission fossil fuels such as diesel and fuel oil should be considered.
Introduction: Concerns about food security, food health, community health, as well as preventing the destruction of natural resources, led to the formation of the concept of sustainable agriculture. One of the important ways to implement sustainable agriculture is to implement integrated pest management projects. Rice integrated pest management as a management and ecological approach can be an effective step in preserving the environment by reducing the consumption of inputs such as pesticides and chemical pests. Implementing integrated pest management operations, unlike chemical control methods, is associated with many complexities and requires the full cooperation and participation of farmers. So present research was aimed effect of paddy farmers' participation in rice integrated pest management projects with an emphasis on environmental protection indicators in Fooman Countyf Guilan Province. Material and methods: The method of the present research was quantitative-qualitative in terms of the general approach and applied in terms of purpose. The research was conducted in two stages. In the qualitative stage, a group of 30 experts and farmers (experts in sustainable agriculture and integrated pest management) were selected with snowball sampling and were then interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis using Maxqda software and the validity of the findings was confirmed using the triangulation method. In a quantitative stage, from 16 cities of Guilan Province, Fooman County was randomly selected. The researcher-made questionnaire was then distributed among 323 farmers participating in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) project. The participation rate was assessed in the form of five items with a Likert scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Frequency and percentage were used in the descriptive part and Spearman correlation coefficient was used in the inferential part.Results and discussion: The results showed that the level of rice farmers' participation in the project was moderate to good from their point of view. As a result, most participants had a moderate level of participation (58.82%). The participation of paddy farmers in integrated pest management projects has a significant correlation at the level of one percent except for a few cases with other effects presented by the interviewees (IPM team of experts and informants). But in terms of economic effects, paddy farmers had different views from the experts. According to the rice farmers of Fooman, their participation did not show a significant relationship with economic effects such as reducing rice production costs, increasing rice production and increasing income, as well as increasing the possibility of co-cultivation with the environmental effect.Conclusion: Complex IPM projects require the full involvement of farmers in order to be implemented. This study showed the role of the participation of paddy farmers in Fooman in the implementation of such projects and the evaluation of their positive effects by farmers on the continuity and strengthening of these projects with adequate funding and appropriate training by farmers and city officials.
Introduction: Industrialization, urbanization, and population growth are considered as the main causes of urban air pollution that is responsible for millions of deaths per year worldwide. Besides, the impact of urban air pollution on health is considerable. Respiratory and lung diseases, and heart attacks are largely due to urban air pollution. However, there is a lack of air pollution monitoring stations (hereafter stations) in most cities worldwide because of their high expenses, and, thus, access to high spatial and temporal coverage of air pollutants and their distribution is limited. To address this issue, the main purpose of this study was to estimate CO concentration in Isfahan, Iran, based on air pollution monitoring stations and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data from 2018 to 2019. Material and methods: In the present work, we used adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system )ANFIS( and Random Forest (RF) algorithms to estimate CO concentrations. To implement the ANFIS algorithm, based on collected air pollution data from the stations and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data from MODIS imagery, the basic fuzzy rules were extracted. Further, with the integration of fuzzy rules and artificial neural network algorithm, ANFIS algorithm was implemented to model the dispersion of CO level in Isfahan city. To model the dispersion of CO using the RF algorithm, air pollution data and AOD data were used. Since the number of trees and the number of variables in each node are two basic parameters in the success of the RF algorithm, a 10-fold cross-validation method was used to identify value for these two variables.Results and discussion: Our findings indicated that the RF algorithm was more efficient and accurate in spatial modeling the dispersion of CO because it achieved better RMSE and MAE results than the ANFIS algorithm. The RMSE error value of the RF and ANFIS algorithms were 0.724 and 0.809 ppm, respectively. Furthermore, the MAE error value of the RF and ANFIS algorithms were 0.636 and 0.792 ppm, respectively. In the case of spatial dispersion of CO pollutants, the ANFIS algorithm showed that the amount of this pollutant varies in the city. For example, the central and northern regions of Isfahan had the most pollution and the eastern and western regions of Isfahan had the least pollution based on the ANFIS algorithm. Regarding the RF algorithm, it was observed that by moving from the southeast to the northwest of Isfahan, the amount of CO pollutant increases, and the northwestern regions of Isfahan had the highest CO pollution. The examination of numerical values obtained from the ANFIS algorithm showed that the lowest amount of CO pollution in Isfahan city was equal to 1.43 ppm and the highest amount was 2.13 ppm. In contrast, obtained results from the RF algorithm showed that the lowest amount of CO pollution in the city was equal to 0.57 ppm and the highest amount was 2.27 ppm.Conclusion: Overall, it can be concluded that since ANFIS and RF algorithms are appropriate and accurate methods in modeling environmental problems due to their nonlinear modeling, the ability to reduce the negative effects of outgoing data, and less sensitivity to the local minimum problem. It should be noted that a significant part of the error observed in the results of ANFIS and RF methods was related to the intrinsic properties of MODIS imagery (i.e., cloud cover and mixed pixel problem due to the coarse resolution of MODIS imagery), point measurements of air pollution data collected from the stations, and recorded data error at the stations.
Introduction: The problem of noise pollution is the most severe problem that most people encounter with in public. The purpose of this study was to investigate the amount of noise pollution caused by Tehran metro train traffic at the time of arrival and departure at the underground stations of Darvazeh Doulat and Tajrish.Material and methods: This study was conducted in the summer and autumn of 1398 in Darvazeh Doulat and Tajrish stations of Tehran Metro Line 1. The maximum and minimum values of noise pollution Intensity were recorded at specific distances from the edge of the platforms in the morning and evenings. Once every three days, 48 stations were measured and analyzed. In the continuation of the research in Tajrish Station, the distribution of noise pollution has been estimated by performing limited impressions using artificial neural network.Results and discussion: The values measured at specific distances from the edge of the platform show that the amount of noise pollution from the arrival of trains to the platform, the simultaneous entry of two trains to the platform, the arrival of non-stop trains, and crossing the platform in most times, was higher than standard. In some harvesting stations, it reached over 100 decibels, which indicates the critical situation of noise pollution in these subway platforms.Conclusion: The methods used in the present study have effectively estimated the amount of noise pollution in subway platforms. By identifying critical areas and providing measures to manage noise pollution, the damage on the health of citizens caused by noise pollution can be managed.
Introduction: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive assessment method that allows the estimation of cumulative environmental impacts from all life cycle stages of an activity. The destructive effects of agricultural development on the environment are of great importance. Insufficient attention to the pattern of consumption of production inputs in the agricultural sector as the primary consumer of water in Iran can exacerbate environmental challenges. Inputs misuse such as chemical fertilizers to increase agricultural productivity pollutes water and soil resources. On the other hand, in environmental impact assessment studies, crops have received much more attention than horticultural crops, while horticultural crops generally have more water requirements.Material and methods: As Iran, a semi-arid country, is facing a water shortage crisis, in this study, the evaluation of agricultural activities and apple and grape crops is considered. The ecological footprint and life cycle assessment (LCA) are used as suitable solutions for plans to reduce environmental pressures and meet needs to achieve sustainable development goals. Input generation information of Simapro 9.0.0.49 software was used to analyze the environmental impact. Calculations were performed for a functional unit of 1 kg. Life cycle impact was assessed and categorized into six impact groups: cumulative energy demand, ecological footprint, water footprint, global warming potential, greenhouse gas protocol, and eco-indicator (including greenhouse gases, ozone layer, acidification, eutrophication, heavy metals, pesticide, and energy resources).Results and discussion: According to the results, the water scarcity index based on the water footprint for apples was about 1.7 times that of grapes. The ecological footprint of carbon dioxide and surface occupation for apples was 1.3 and 4.65 times that of the grapes. Based on the accumulation of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides, the potential for global warming was not significantly different between the two crops. Its value for apples was 1.3 times that of grapes. Greenhouse gas emissions and pesticide damages were 1.29 and 4.24 times higher for apples, respectively than for grapes. Consumption of energy sources for one functional unit of two apple and grape crops was 10.1 and 9.13 MJ LHV, respectively.Conclusion: Generally, the evaluation of the environmental impacts of apple and grapes production showed that in most of the studied indicators, apple causes more damage to the environment. However, the reduction of carbon dioxide per kilogram of apple is 44 times the same amount of grapes. Depending on the environmental situation of the study area, it is possible to decide on the cultivation preference of these two crops. Due to the limited water resources in Iran, changing and improving the cultivation pattern on micro and macro scales can significantly affect the environment. Crop management methods such as organic inputs, nitrogen-fixing plants, and tillage management can reduce environmental impacts. The use of biological pest control methods can prevent the improper use of pesticides and toxins, causing minor damage to the environment.
Introduction: Soil health as one of the main components to achieve sustainable agricultural systems is being adversely affected by agricultural operations such as tillage. Soil health can be quantified using the specific physical, chemical, and biological parameters of the soil via specific quantitative soil quality methods. As a result, studying soil quality and fertility in different land management systems is essential to establish appropriate crop operations to achieve optimal production and sustainable cropping systems. Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) is used as a powerful and reliable tool to assess the effect of different crop management on soil quality and health. This study aims to evaluate and quantify the effect of different tillage methods on soil quality using the SMAF algorithm.Material and methods: The present study was conducted as a field experiment based on a randomized complete block design during two cropping years in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, in four replications. Experimental treatments included tillage methods (no-tillage, reduced tillage, and no-tillage), and the areas were considered replication. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was planted in the first year, followed by winter chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) in the second year of crop rotation in farmers' fields. Soil sampling from a soil depth of 0-30 cm was taken in two stages, before planting wheat at the beginning and after harvesting chickpeas in the second year. Important soil parameters were measured, including bulk density, phosphorus, potassium, acidity, electrical conductivity, soil organic carbon, carbon, microbial biomass, and microbial biomass nitrogen.Results and discussion: The results showed that implementing the conservation tillage methods improved some of the important soil parameters and soil quality index, indicating the positive effect of minimum soil disturbance and crop residue maintenance on soil quality. Although the physical and chemical properties of soil at the end of the second year did not change significantly compared to pre-treatment conditions, soil biological properties such as microbial biomass carbon and soil organic matter were positively affected by tillage systems. The laboratory-measured data of soil properties were well reflected in the SMAF algorithm. The results showed that at the end of the experiment, the soil quality index in the conventional plowing system was lower compared to conservation tillage methods. No-tillage had the highest value of soil quality index (0.65) at the end of the experiment. As stated in the quantitative description of soil properties, the higher quality index in the no-tillage method is mainly due to the improvement of soil biological conditions. Soil degradation due to excessive plowing, lack of residue preservation, and improper use of chemical fertilizers not only reduces soil organic matter but also degrades the physical properties of soil.Conclusion: In general, the results showed that conservation tillage methods could improve soil quality and efficiency in dryland areas, and the SMAF algorithm can be a useful tool to assess and monitor the soil quality of various cropping systems in dryland areas. However, citing the data of this study requires long-term results, and in order to evaluate the efficiency of the soil ecosystem to provide ecosystem services, it is necessary to compare crop systems with more sustainable systems such as forests and pastures
Introduction: plant remediation is cost-effective and environmentally friendly, in which the plant uses its natural abilities to restore the environment. Plants used for phytoremediation must have the ability to accumulate large amounts of metal pollutants without causing toxicity in them. Today, with the increase in the world's population and the development of industries and factories, the amount of wastewater entering the environment, which often contains heavy metals and various pollutants, increases. Heavy metals have destructive effects on the health of plants and animals in different ecosystems. Considering the ability of heavy metals to accumulate and cause toxicity in living organisms, this type of pollution is considered a serious and fundamental problem. The use of plants as an effective and cost-effective technology to remove metal pollutants from contaminated soils and waters has been recommended as a new method instead of other costly measures. Therefore, the removal of pollutants from soil and polluted waters with the help of plants through absorption and accumulation in roots, stems and leaves is considered as one of the purification methods to remove metal pollutants. In this process, choosing the right plant with high absorption capacity and compatible with the environment, without negative environmental effects, plays a very effective role in the amount of pollutant purification.Material and methods: In this regard, in order to investigate the uptake and accumulation of heavy metals by plants, an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications using vetiver plant. Plants treated with industrial effluent and control plants were irrigated with municipal water. Also, pots containing soil without plants were considered to measure the amount of elements in the soil during the six-month experiment period, they were regularly irrigated with other pots with industrial effluent. In order to investigate the effect of irrigation with effluent on the yield of vetiver plant, after a six-month period of experiment, heavy element analysis and anatomical and physiological studies were performed on plants treated with industrial effluent and control plants. Transfer and accumulation factors, which are two important factors in measuring plant ability for phytoremediation, were also examined.Results and discussion: The results of this study showed that among the most heavy metals in industrial effluents, which included zinc and chromium, most of the mentioned elements were stored in the roots of vetiver and less were collected in the aerial parts. Also, the results of physiological traits experiments showed that the factors of soluble sugars and proline in the treated plants increased compared to the control and the concentration of malondialdehyde in the treated plants decreased compared to the control. The results of root studies in control and treated plants showed that root diameter, central cylinder diameter and number of vascular clusters in treated plants increased compared to control.Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study showed that in the process of absorption of heavy metals, changes were made in some anatomical and physiological traits of treated plants. Examination of transfer and bioaccumulation factors also showed that vetiver has the ability to absorb zinc and chromium through plant stabilization.
Introduction: Climate identification and classification have long been of interest to meteorologists. Researchers have classified the earth into homogeneous climatic zones using different methods and climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature. They have used the results of climate zoning to assess water scarcity and water resources on a small and large scale to anticipate practical measures to control drought in vulnerable areas. The purpose of this study is to update and analyze the Spatio-temporal analysis of Iran's climatic classification based on the Domarten index and the Mann-Kendall test. Because in studies based on climate classification maps, up-to-date maps can better help understand the study area.Material and methods: For this study, data related to temperature and precipitation variables were extracted monthly from 153 synoptic stations from 1995-2019 from the Meteorological Organization of Iran. First, the data of average annual temperature and total annual precipitation were obtained from monthly data and then, using isothermal maps, they were obtained using the kriging model. The final climate zoning map was prepared using the De-Martonne index based on rainfall and temperature. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall test was also used to evaluate the significance or non-significance of the De-Martonne climate index and determine the trend.Results and discussion: The results showed that based on the Kriging model, R2 and RMSE for precipitation data were 0.58 and 167.51 mm, respectively, and for the temperature data were 0.83 and 2.23 °C, respectively. This indicates better performance of the model for temperature data. This is related to the high variance of precipitation data in the country. Iran's climatic zoning based on the De-Martonne index showed six main climatic types in Iran. Most of Iran's area has an arid climate and then a semi-arid climate. The study results showed that arid climate is 76.40%, the semi-arid climate is 19.65%, and other climates make up less than 4% of the area of Iran. Also, the area of arid and semi-arid climates with an area of 96.05% of the area of Iran has increased compared to previous research, which may be due to reduced rainfall and increased temperature. Also, the results of the Mann-Kendall test showed that Khorramdareh, Miyaneh, Ramsar, Boroujerd, Piranshahr, Tabriz, and Bijar stations have a significant upward trend (wetting trend), and Dezful, Malayer, Sabzevar, Bandar Anzali, Tehran (Mehrabad), Tehran (Shemiran), Qazvin and Dushan Tappeh stations have a significant downward trend (drying trend) at the significance level of 5%.Conclusion: This study showed that Iran has six climatic regions, including arid, semi-arid, Mediterranean, semi-humid, humid, and very humid. Also, comparing the results with the results of research done by other researchers in the past showed that the area of arid and semi-arid climates in the study period has increased compared to previous periods. Also, 14% of stations with a downtrend (8 stations) have a significant downtrend, and 7% of stations with an uptrend (7 stations) have a significant uptrend at the significance level of 5%.
Introduction: As a result of human development and population growth, there is a corresponding need for essential resources for humans. Industrial and agricultural activities have greatly polluted most agricultural lands. Petroleum compounds and heavy metals, both are common pollutants of soils that have been irrigated by untreated wastewater, which pose a potential threat to the environment. Soil pollution of the agricultural lands will lead to a decline in cultivation and finally decrease food production. Agricultural lands in the southern part of Tehran are being irrigated with untreated wastewater for more than 30 years to produce a variety of vegetables, legumes, and cereals.Material and methods: In this study, the concentration of heavy metals and petroleum compounds were determined in 83 sampling points at two depths (0 to 30 and 30 to 60 cm). The study area was divided into two separate zones, in which 44 points were located in zone 2 and 39 points were located in zone 1. Petroleum hydrocarbons and heavy metals, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn, were measured at the top and subsoil by MOOPAM and ICP-AES methods, respectively. ArcGIS and R software were applied to create distribution maps of the pollutants and some statistical analyses.Results and discussion: The results showed that the soil of agricultural land in the area is highly polluted, as the concentration of Cr, Pb, Co, and Ni has exceeded the standard level e.g. 0.22 mg/kg for Cd and 620 mg/kg for Pb. The concentration of petroleum compounds in wastewater irrigated lands in both top and subsoil was higher than that of groundwater irrigated lands. High levels of As, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn were observed in groundwater irrigated lands compared with wastewater irrigated lands. Cr and Pb were almost 89 and 8 times higher than the standard limit of agricultural lands in Iran, respectively. The spatial distribution map of petroleum compounds showed that only the southeast of the area falls into the heavily contaminated class. The distribution map of heavy metals also revealed that most parts of the studied area fall into the heavily contaminated class. Soil organic matter has more concentration in the topsoil.Conclusion: Overall, the south of the studied area has been more affected by wastewater irrigation, agrochemicals and groundwater pollution in terms of heavy metals and petroleum compounds. Our study revealed various anthropogenic pollution sources, which are mostly from wastewater irrigation and the application of agrochemicals. Therefore, a management plan should be applied to the agricultural lands of this region to control and reduce the level of contamination.
Introduction: In recent years, the increased water, soil, and environmental degradation, due to the excessive use of chemicals, has encouraged researchers into organic farming. Despite all the positive effects associated with the consumption of sewage sludge and municipal compost on the soil physical and chemical properties, there is still a great concern in terms of the environment, agriculture and health. Depending on the source, composts often contain relatively large amounts of heavy metals, and thus accurate measurement of heavy metal contents in these compounds is important.Material and methods: In this study, 20 compost samples from different sources, including manure, municipal waste and sewage sludge sources were selected. Five methods of digestion in three replicates were used to extract the heavy metals of the compost samples, including nitric acid, dry ashing, nitric–perchloric acid, sulfuric acid and sulfosalicylic acid methods. The elements were Cd, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe.Results and discussion: Analytical results indicated that the nitric–perchloric acid procedure was the most efficient for recovering Cd, Pb and Cr from the organic samples. After that, dry ashing method extracted the highest amount of Cd, Pb and Cr from all compost samples (on average). Since perchloric acid is potentially hazardous during digestion procedure, dry ashing was recommended as an alternative method. The recovery of Cd and Pb in the organic compounds is affected not only by the digestion method, but also by the type of compost. For example, the nitric–perchloric acid procedure recovered more Cd and Pb from municipal waste and sewage sludge than manure and Poultry fertilizers. In the case of other elements including Ni, Co, Cu, Mn, Zn and Fe, sulfosalicylic acid has the highest efficiency in extracting these elements from compost samples. Extraction of these elements was only affected by the type of extraction method and the type of organic composition had no effect on it.Conclusion: Different digestion methods and also different compost sources that were tested had a very significant effect on the extraction of all heavy metals. Despite the fact that the organic compounds used in this experiment had a relatively wide range in terms of various structural and chemical properties, the digestion methods used for the heavy and micronutrient elements in these compounds had a relatively specific trend in terms of the extraction potential of these elements. In general, in the case of heavy metals, Cd, Pb and Cr, nitric acid + perchloric acid and then dry digestion method, had the best efficiency in extracting these elements. For the other elements including Ni, Co, Cu, Mn, Zn and Fe, sulfosalicylic acid was the most effective in extracting these elements from compost samples.
Introduction: The introduction of invasive fish species into aquatic ecosystems causes various adverse ecological and socio-economic impacts. The first step in analyzing the effects of these species is to identify the risk. Then, different tools have been developed to identify potential invasive species and evaluate the potential degree of their invasiveness to support decision-makers in analyzing the invasive risk of these species. This study aimed to assess the invasive potential of the non-native species redbelly tilapia (Coptodon zillii, Gervais 1848) in the Shadegan Wetland basin (the Karun and Jarahi catchments) using some of these tools.Material and methods: The level of risk for C. zillii in the trinational risk assessment protocol was determined based on the results of the two components "Probability of Establishment" and "Consequences of Establishment". In the German-Austrian Blacklist Information System (GABLIS), the invasive potential of the species was evaluated according to the distribution in the study area. The non-native species were screened by the Aquatic Species Invasiveness Screening Kit (AS-ISK) model according to the threshold of the assessment area; and the rank of species invasion was calculated based on the probability of species establishment, expansion, and environmental effects, using the Harmonia+ method. Also, the climate matching between the introduced and native range of the species was carried out with the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system.Results and discussion: The results of trinational risk assessment indicated that the species posed a high potential rank of placing at each step of introduction, establishment, and expansion potential and the possibility of economic and environmental impacts in the study area. The results of the GABLIS protocol showed that the non-native species C. zillii has been widely distributed in the risk assessment area and was placed on the blacklist and the subset management list (b3). In the AS-ISK risk assessment, the risk score of the species was 44, which was higher than the tool threshold (22.5) for the study area. This score indicates that this species has a high invasive risk in the wetland. The overall risk score in the Harmonia+ method, which is a function of invasiveness and species impacts, was assessed as high for the redbelly tilapia. Based on the results, the risk of establishment and dispersal of this species in the study area is high, and its environmental impacts are significant. Also, there was a high climate match between the risk assessment area and the native range of the species in the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. Conclusions: The trinational risk assessment methods, GABLIS, AS-ISK, and Harmonia+ models were able to show the invasiveness of the non-native C. zillii in Shadegan Wetland basin as literature and field evidence demonstrate that the species has exerted strong and adverse impacts on native fishes and local people livelihood in the risk assessment area. Given the results of risk assessment methods and the risks posed by this species, it is highly recommended that large-scale control and management measures should be seriously implemented.
Introduction: In Iran, out of 88.5 billion water resources, about 83 billion cubic meters or 93.5% is allocated to the agricultural sector and therefore agriculture is the largest consumer of water. Increasing population, increasing cultivation areas, and agricultural productions have increased the consumption of these resources. Eventually, increased consumption leads to a decrease in the water table and drainage of aquifers. Statistics show that many of the plains are currently in crisis. Romeshkan plain is one of the plains which has faced a significant reduction of resources in the recent decades. The purpose of this study was to develop the strategies for the sustainable management of water resources in this plain. Romeshkan plain is a forbidden plain, but there are still many exploitations in it. Crops are planted in this plain that need a lot of water. This research hasinvestigated the strategies of sustainable management of groundwater resources in Romeshkan plain using theFuzzy Delphi technique.Material and methods: The present study is an applied and descriptive research (non-experimental). The statistical population included 28 faculty members, experts, and farmers in Khorramabad and Romeshkan. The sample size was estimated using the purposeful snowball sampling method. Secondary data were also obtained from government departments to identify and describe the Romeshkan plain. Data on water resources of Romeshkan plain were required. These data show how much water resources have dwindled over the last three decades.Results and discussion: The results showed that despite the criticality of the Romeshkan plain, the livelihood of rural communities is mainly dependent on the agricultural sector. Also, hydrophilic crops are widely cultivated. In this plain, the structure of supply and exploitation of water resources is traditional. The agricultural lands of this plain do not have a new irrigation system. The results of this research show five types of strategies (economic, technological, environmental, policy-oriented, and social). The priority of the strategies was "develop sustainable rural employment". This will certainly require "human development of water-related actors and empowerment of rural communities". "Developing the right technologies", which was another strategy, could also help reform the traditional structure of supply and consumption of these resources.Conclusion: Now the conditions of Romeshkan plain are critical. The results of this study showed that sustainable management of groundwater resources in this plain will not be achieved solely based on technological strategies. Also, economic, social, policy-oriented and environmental strategies must also be considered. Reform of the water consumption structure should be considered in parallel with the development of non-agricultural employment. Because the development of employment reduces the pressure on these resources.
Introduction: Today, with the expansion of the activity of industrial units, the concentration of pollutants in the air has increased and humans are exposed to them through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption. Among all pollutants, heavy metals have received a great deal of attention from environmentalists due to their toxic nature. High concentrations of heavy metals in the environment can increase the risk of adverse effects on human health. Activity of copper casting units and its alloys made Naji Industrial Town of Zanjan as a main source of heavy metals in the atmosphere; therefore, evaluating the concentration and health effects of heavy metals emitted from the town is of particular importance.Material and methods: To evaluate the concentration and health effects of heavy metals emission from the industrial units of Naji Industrial Town, sampling of total suspended particles in the town and its adjacent areas (10 stations) was performed in January and May 2021. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to identify heavy metals. The risk of cancer and non-cancerous diseases due to respiration, ingestion and skin absorption of heavy metals in total suspended particles was also evaluated for both age groups of children and adults.Results and discussion: In this analysis heavy metals e.g. silver, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, antimony, vanadium and zinc were identified. The concentrations of detected heavy metals were compared with national ambient air quality standards. The concentration of chromium and iron in all stations within Naji Industrial Town was higher than the standard level. Also, the concentrations of silver, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, antimony, vanadium, and zinc in all stations adjacent to the Industrial Town was higher than the standard. The results of assessing the risk of non-cancerous diseases by exposure to heavy metals in total suspended particles, both in winter and spring, showed that exposure to heavy metals in all stations does not pose a risk to public health. The highest risk of cancer in winter and spring was due to exposure to the arsenic (at station 2, inside the industrial town) and cadmium (at station 4, inside the industrial town), respectively. In spring, the risk of cancer due to exposure to arsenic and cadmium was higher in all stations except station 2 than in winter. However, in the spring, the risk of cancer in all stations was lower than in the winter. The risk index values for the age group of children were higher than the age group of adults; therefore, children are more at risk for various types of cancer and non-cancerous diseases while exposing to heavy metals in the air.Conclusion: The results of the assessment of exposure to heavy metals released from Naji Industrial Town on human health show that the risk of non-cancerous diseases does not threaten the people of the study area; but the risk of cancer caused by the arsenic and cadmium is high at most of the surveyed stations.
Introduction: Urbanization is increasing in the world and the world's urban population is becoming denser in cities. One of the effects of urbanization is the increase in the percentage of impervious surfaces in these areas. Today, many important cities in the world pay attention to the concept of sustainable development in order to reduce the effects of their city development on the quality and quantity of runoff and use modern green management technologies, including the best management methods and development methods with minimal side effects. A green roof is a multi-layered system that covers the roof and balcony of a building with vegetation and by absorbing and keeping part of the rain, and by influencing the processes of evaporation and transpiration, purification, the volume and intensity of the peak flow of runoff, the dimensions The drainage system reduces the downstream and improves the quality of air and water, preserves the beauty of the city and prevents the wastage of building energy.Material and methods: This research was conducted as a field experiment in the Faculty of Agriculture of Zanjan University. The test period was from April to August of 2017. In this research, the effect of the use of super absorbent (zeolite) on the amount of water absorption and retention, the maximum and minimum volume of runoff, the volume of runoff, sediment and the start time of the runoff resulting from rainfall in the rain intensity of 35, 45, 55, 65 and 75 mm/h has been investigated on a green roof with a slope of 5%, in a cold dry climate.Results and discussion: Based on this, with the increase in the intensity of rainfall, the volume of runoff also increases, and the volume of runoff in barren soil is more than the rest of the treatments, and its downward trend is soil containing 1% zeolite, soil containing 3% zeolite, and cultivated soil. Be Also, the volume of runoff increased with the increase in rainfall intensity and the highest value of runoff volume belongs to barren soil. The sediment measured in the runoff also increases with the increase in the intensity of precipitation in the treatments, except for the grass treatment.Conclusion: Barren soil has a very high volume of runoff due to the sealing of its surface layers and clogging of pores. Adding zeolite to the soil significantly reduced the volume of runoff and retained more water than barren soil. The rate of erosion in soil with 1% zeolite was high and the rate of erosion was the lowest in grass. In barren soil, because the penetration of water is low, after a short period of time after the rain, the water flows as runoff, but zeolite has the property and characteristic that when added to the soil, the time for the start of runoff is lengthened by 3%.
Introduction: All people are responsible for environmental protection. This means that any person obliges to compensate for any damages which is called legal responsibility. In this paper, the relation between civil liability and social responsibility in the context of environmental responsibility is explored.Material and methods: This research is conducted qualitatively by context analysis approach. National as well as international documents related to civil liability, corporate social responsibility and environmental responsibility of people and their interconnections were defined and evaluated by library studies. To explore the relationship between environmental civil liability and social responsibility, their parameters were analyzed separately, and their districts, objectives and principals were analyzed comparatively. To understand the relationship between environmental civil liability and social responsibility, first they were analyzed separately; then, in terms of territory, goals, customary practice and pillars, an analytical comparison was made between these two responsibilities and in each section, it is stated which of the logical relations is established between them.Results and discussion: Results showed that there is a logical relation between civil liability and social responsibility in which there are some common features between them in term of considering social values. However, there are differences between these two responsibilities in which civil liability is merely considering present needs and values, while social responsibility considers present and future generations simultaneously.Conclusion: There is a structural difference between civil liability and social responsibility in the context of environmental protection in which civil liability as a branch of legal responsibility is going to improve social life, while social responsibility is seeking to upgrade human-environment relation to protect the environment. In civil liability, the main objective is to compensate damages to people and assets, while social responsibility emphasizes to prevent environmental damage.
Introduction: With uncontrolled population growth, the safe disposal of waste is a major problem for metropolises. The issue of landfills and their location is at the end of the waste disposal life cycle. Waste burial is the most common method of disposal in urban communities of Iran and other countries of the world. Consequently, its environmental impact assessment is very important to reduce the negative environmental impact. Therefore, in this study, the environmental effects of the Urmia landfill utilizing the RIAM method were evaluated.Material and methods: In this study, to assess the environmental impact, field information was collected from the landfill of Urmia city. Then, the effect of different activities in the project was evaluated by the RIAM method. Also, important and influential factors have been classified by a group of environmental experts into four sections: physico-chemical, biological-ecological, cultural-social, and economic-operational. Each factor is scored based on the importance of the situation and the time value. The scoring method is such that by multiplying the criteria related to the importance of the situation, the total value of these criteria is determined. Also, for the provisional value criteria, its sub-criteria are summed. After obtaining these criteria, by multiplying these two criteria, the environmental score (ES) of the project is calculated.Results and discussion: Based on the study, it was observed that the highest negative score for biological-ecological components was -402 if the disposal continued in this way. Also, the lowest negative score amongst other available components for economic-operational components was equal to -109. The only positive point was related to the socio-cultural components which are part of subsistence. Also, the score for physico-chemical components and socio-cultural components were -351 and -114, respectively. The reasons for these negative scores are the lack of proper attention to the volume of waste produced by the people, the lack of a leachate treatment system, the lack of vegetation in the municipal waste landfill, unprincipled, and unsanitary waste burial, transportation distance, etc. Disposal operations with the current method, in addition to creating environmental pollution, are also very costly. Most of the cost of this method is spent on transportation, manpower and excavation, and earthmoving operations. In addition to these financial costs, unfortunately, in recent years, with the disappearance of agricultural lands around the municipal landfill, people have migrated from the surrounding villages. This causes a lot of pollution and prevents the conversion and recycling of waste.Conclusion: The results of this study showed that if waste disposal operations continue in the same trend, irreparable environmental damage will be inflicted on the region's ecosystem. To prevent these damages, it is necessary to provide practical solutions and in the management, the department should review the continuation of this method. Also, due to the landfill and waste disposal operations reaching their limit, it is suggested that if a new place for waste disposal is selected, it should be based on studies in the fields of geology, botany, geotechnics, etc. It also seems that the establishment of a waste recycling plant can be a great help in reducing the volume of waste.
