Journal of Environmental Resources Research
Volume:11 Issue: 2, Summer-Autumn 2023

Infiltration is defined as the flow of water from above ground into the subsurface. It is not equal between soils, so the infiltration of diverse soils is distinct. Acid rain has a significant impact on infiltration with the effect on physical and chemical soil. In this study, in order to determine most important factors affecting soil Infiltration, compared to acid rainfall in the slope main aspects of Aghajari marl formation, a part of Margha watershed of Izeh City with an area of 1609 hectares was selected. In order to determine the association between the infiltration rate produced rainfall simulator with some soil physical and chemical properties including a percentage of gravel, clay, silt, sand, acidity, electrical conductivity, moisture, calcium carbonate, and organic matter and sodium were performed in different slopes of Aghajari marl formation. Subsequently, 8 points were sampled for infiltration rate with 3 replications on the northern, southern, eastern, and western slopes of the Aghajari marl formation under varying levels of rainfall at 1 and 1.25 mm per minute as well as in a simulated rainfall environment with pH 4 and 5. In order to study the effectiveness factors on infiltration rate, soil samples were taken in the 20-0 cm layer as well as the number of infiltrating. regression. Generally, in the Aghajari marl formation in precipitations with distilled water, pH= 4 and pH = 5, soil chemical characteristics play an essential role in increasing and decreasing the infiltration.

Drought poses a significant challenge to pastoralists in arid and semi-arid regions, necessitating a reassessment of drought management strategies on rangelands. This study aimed to identify optimal strategies for drought management on rangelands based on the perceptions of nomadic and rural pastoralists in Jiroft County, Kerman Province. Data were collected through the administration of questionnaires. The findings, determined through multiple regression analysis, underscore the utmost significance of specific management strategies for pastoralists during drought conditions. Notably, water management (P<0.0001), forage management (P<0.001), and income diversification (P<0.05) emerged as crucial elements in effective drought management. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) further revealed that employing suitable irrigation techniques, engaging in recreational activities, purchasing forage, and efficiently storing water are critical sub-criteria for enhancing drought management strategies. Nomadic pastoralists identified moving livestock to rangelands with better conditions and changing livestock types as important drought management strategies. Given the reluctance of rural and nomadic pastoralists to reduce their livestock numbers during drought periods, the implementation of such strategies requires governmental arrangements and financial support. The findings emphasize pastoralists' preference for reactive drought management methods over preventive strategies, underscoring the need to raise awareness among pastoral communities about the risks associated with drought. Overall, the indigenous knowledge held by pastoralists has the potential to enhance existing management plans aimed at mitigating the consequences of drought.

Nature, mainly the wetland ecosystem services, is the predominant tourist attraction worldwide. This study conducted a choice modeling method based on environmental attributes contributing to nature-based tourism for preserving the quality of the wetland ecosystem in Govater Bay and Hur-e-Bahu international wetland (GIW) in southeastern Iran. Besides inclusion in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the GIW is particularly interesting because it hosts various valuable aquatic species, such as mangrove forests (Avicennia marina), migratory birds, dolphins, and turtles. According to the results, if the current condition of the GIW ecosystem continues, public participation will decrease as unwillingness to pay for environmental conservation purposes. It was also found that educated visitors are willing to pay more for GIW conservation policy options compared to less-educated ones. Consequently, concerning the visitors’ perception, the “Dolphin Observability (DO)” has the highest conservation (existence) value, followed by the natural landscape of Mangrove forest coverage (NW) in the second rank. Finally, some suggestions and development strategies are provided based on the empirical findings to improve the sustainability and conservation of the GIW ecosystem.

In order to improve almond and walnut production, a study was conducted in Shahrekord city, Iran, focusing on the rural agricultural lands. Shahrekord city exhibits a diverse climate, which facilitates the cultivation of various agricultural and horticultural products across different areas. The study aimed to enhance the production of almond and walnut crops in this region. Selecting similar gardeners with comparable characteristics and production histories ensured a reliable research sample. One of the main production challenges encountered was the labor-intensive manual harvesting process prevalent in the region. To gather data for the study, questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were employed. Additionally, energy consumption was assessed by calculating the inputs utilized. The study determined that the total energy consumption for almonds and walnuts amounted to 29,430.56 MJ ha-1 and 15,309.28 MJ ha-1, respectively. According to the LCA results, the resource category had the highest environmental impact, whereas human health had the lowest. Previous research on almond and walnut production indicated that almond production had higher greenhouse gas emissions than walnut production. Additionally, the resources category had a greater impact on almond production than on walnut production in terms of pollutants. These findings highlight the importance of carefully evaluating the environmental impact of different agricultural practices and identifying ways to reduce their impact to promote sustainable agriculture.

The present article emphasizes the use of phosphorus solubilizing bacteria to support sustainable agriculture. Energy and environmental indicators were significantly affected by the management method of triticale production. The operational plots in Agricultural Institute of Golestan Province, Iran, include the plot without the use of basic fertilizer and the use of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (A1) and the plot with the use of triple superphosphate fertilizer at the rate of 50 kg per hectare (A2). Analysis of energy consumption provided significant comparisons. Energy ratio, energy productivity, energy intensity and net energy gain were calculated using standard equations. The lower input energy (7586.11 MJ ha–1) and the higher output energy (10265.06 MJ ha–1) of A1 indicated the appropriate energy ratio of A1 (1.35). Environmental impact management in the agricultural sector is a key factor for the food production chain. Life cycle assessment of triticale product was done by ReCiPe2016 method. The environmental emissions of A1 in the categories of damage to human health, ecosystem quality and resources were lower than A2. Diesel fuel and chemical fertilizer consumption are managed by cultivation conditions by phosphorus solubilizing bacteria. The adverse effects of inputs in A1 conditions on energy consumption and environmental emissions are less visible.

Glasswort (Salicornia herbacea) is an annual succulent plant that grows widely around intertidal zone of Gomishan Lagoon in eastern boarders of the Caspian Sea in Iran. Due to its medicinal, industrial, and economic values, tendency of its plantation is growing in recent years. One of the challenges to manage a glasswort farm is to know the appropriate date to harvest since glasswort seeds ripe quickly and seed fall happens considerably by little shake. One way of defining appropriate harvesting date can be found through correlating the amount of visible greenness of the plant, and it's ripening stage with NDVI values derived from remote sensing imageries . This experimental research was conducted to answer this problem by relating the changes in Glasswort visually estimated color classes and its amount of seedfall to the amount of Normalized difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values that were obtained from Sentinel-2 remotely sensed imagery during the seedfall period of Glasswort community either in the field or in its natural habitat. The maximum NDVI values of 41 Sentinel-2 images during 2018-2020 within Glasswort phenological period were extracted and were correlated with the color class of the plant and the weight of seedfall in sample plots. Results showed a strong correlation between NDVI and brownness color class of the plant (R2=0.80) and a strong negative correlation with amount of its seed fall (R2=-0.83).

Iran is of the species-rich areas of the diversity of plants, especially medicinal plants, being renowned worldwide as crucial for people’s health. This present study aims to identify medicinal plants being used widely by Qizilbash tribe in the north of Iran, document indigenous knowledge concerning medicinal plants used by local people, and collect information about diseases to be treated by such plants. An ethnobotanical survey was conducted to document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants of local people in the north of Iran within 2 years (2018-2020). The data were collected by using field observation, participation, and semi-structured interviews with 41 people (11 male, 30 female). A snowball sampling technique was used to select the interviewees. The collected information was categorized based on local names, and parts consumed, medicinal properties, consumption habits, and other uses of wild edible plants, WEPs. Eighty-four plant species belonging to 27 families were identified in the study area. Most plant species in the region were respectively Lamiaceae (20 species), Compositae (12 species), and Legominaceae (6 species). The results showed that the most frequent medicinal plants were used for gastrointestinal problems (34%), cough and colds (18%), and respiratory disease (13%). The presence of various species of medicinal plants and vast indigenous knowledge in Khoshyilagh rangelands indicates the richness of this area. Research on these plants can pave the way for discovering new medicine in the field of treatment and preserving these valuable reserves as well as preventing the disappearance and destruction of herbs.

Regional study of any geographic or geomorphic phenomena is essential in different aspects such as understanding the region, resource management, and application of the knowledge for the regional development. Understanding the physical set up of these regions is the basis of such regional assessment. In the same context, identification of morphogenetic region(s) is of interest to the geoscientists, geotechnical experts, and planners. This study was performed based on Lewis Peltier models in the Paveh Rood watershed basin using two variables of average temperature and annual rainfall. In order to study and zoning the weathering and geomorphological areas of the studied region, climatic data including average annual rainfall and temperature, which had appropriate statistical period were received from five synoptic stations of the General Meteorological Department of Kermanshah then, the data were recorded in GIS software. The regimes for each station were determined from Peltier models and the weight value was also determined; then, they were recorded in the database and, finally, the relevant maps were generated using Arc map software. The results showed that out of 9 morphogenetic conditions in the Peltier model, five conditions occur in the region's climatic conditions. In weathering processes, it has been shown that the oceanic, temperate, and Selva regions are affected by strong chemical weathering. These areas are also characterized by a strong washing environment. While the savannah and semi-arid regions, ie the northwestern region and the center of the basin, have moderate and weak weathering.

The present study aims to assess the spatial distribution of heavy metals in sediment of the western bed of Urmia Lake and around Soil by using pollution Indicators. For this aim, Twenty soil and surface sediment samples (0-20 cm) were collected, and metals concentration was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy. The average total concentration of nickel, manganese, cadmium, chromium, boron, and bismuth are 19.97, 163.56, 0.39, 14.68, 68.38, and 0.76 mg kg-1 respectively. The Geo accumulation Index for nickel, manganese, chromium, cadmium, and boron are in the non-polluted category and bismuth is in the non-polluted category for moderate pollution. Investigation of the enrichment factor shows that the manganese is moderate to severe; nickel, chromium, and boron are severe, and cadmium and bismuth, are at an enormous enrichment level. Calculation of Contamination Factors in the region indicates that cadmium, boron, and bismuth are in the middle pollution category. The result of Pearson correlation coefficient analysis shows that the calcium carbonate content of the soil with all metals has a negative correlation, and would reduce mobility and decrease the pollution of metals. The results of this study indicate that the total concentration of the boron in the sediments of the Urmia lake bed is significantly higher than the average of the crust. Also, cadmium concentration in agricultural land is higher than the average in the earth's crust, and controlling actions should be implemented to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers as a factor in increasing the concentration of cadmium.

Heavy metals are one of the most important environmental stresses, which can lead to reduced growth and production of reactive oxygen. In this study, the effect of two heavy metals (cadmium and copper sulfate) on germination of two canola cultivars were considered. This experiment was conducted a factorial based on completely randomized design with three replications. Treatments included cadmium and copper sulfate at concentrations of 0, 10, 20 and 30 ml/l and two canola cultivars (Hayola 50 and Homolious). Each petri dish was contained 25 seeds and different treatments were applied. Distilled water was used for control treatment. Seed germination percentage was measured daily at a specific time and the growth rate was determined by measuring radicle length and plumule length at the last day of the experiment. The results showed the effect of different levels of cadmium on germination and seedling growth was not significant. Different levels of copper sulfate had a significant effect on plumule length (PL), radicle length (RL), seedling length (SL) and seed vigor index (SVI) at 1 % level, so that with increasing cupper concentration, PL, RL, SL and SVI decreased. On all measured germination indices, two canola cultivars were significant at 1% level, so that Hayola 50 was better and had higher than Homolious for all traits except daily germination speed. Interaction effects between all treatments did not have a significant on any of the traits. Therefore, it is recommended to use Hyola 50 as a suitable plant for phytoremediation with higher germination characteristics.

Urmia Lake has been suffered from continuous water withdrawal for more than 2 decades. It is the largest habitat of a unique brine shrimp species, Artemia urmiana, first reported by Gϋnther. This study was performed to determine if harsh environmental conditions has eliminated the A. urmiana from the lake. Six sampling sites were selected in northern and southern parts of the lake. Two stations were not accessible through the sampling campaign due to drastic water withdrawal and marshy path. Samplings were performed monthly from March 2022 to February 2023. Electeric Conductivity (EC) and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) were determined by EC-meter WTW model LF 320 and multi-meter WTW model 3410, respectively. The water salinity was measured by refracto-meter ATAGO (Japan) model S-28E. Water level, surface area and volume were extracted from East Azarbaijan water resources management company web site. The brine shrimp samples were collected by pulling a net (25×100cm - 100 μ mesh size) in definite distance. The Artemia samples were studied under stereomicroscope Nikon. In this study, we did not observe any types of Artemia biomass (Nauplii, Meta-nauplii, young and adult Artemia). Only Artemia cysts was observed in Lake Urmia. In summer and autumn (dry season) cyst density were 0.00216 ± 0.0017 No/l and zero, respectively, whereas in spring and winter (wet season) were 0.364 ± 0.259 and 0.149 ± 0.084 No/l. In general, the results of this study show that the surface area, volume and level of the lake had the highest effects on the cyst density.

This research explores the energy usage and environmental effects of raising ostriches for meat and chickens for eggs. The findings from the energy analysis show that ostrich meat and egg production provide a more comprehensive comparison of energy consumption and production. The total energy consumption for meat and eggs is 1086825.54 and 1197794.25 MJ per 1000 pieces, respectively. In essence, egg production can be justified in terms of protein supply relative to total energy consumption for comparison with meat. This study also evaluates the impact of egg and meat production on human health. With a difference of 0.23 DALY, it is clear that egg production may have slightly greater negative effects on human health than meat production. These results indicate that egg production may be a more sustainable option compared to ostrich meat production in terms of energy use and environmental impacts. Further research is needed to investigate potential strategies for reducing the energy use and environmental impacts of ostrich meat production.