نعمت الله خراسانی

This study examines the Tajan River wetlands and the potential of the International Friendship Wetland in reducing environmental migration through habitat restoration. It emphasizes the need for cross-border cooperation between Iran and Turkmenistan for effective wetland management.

, remote sensing, and GIS analysis to assess biodiversity, habitat integrity, and water quality in the Tajan River wetlands. Water samples were analyzed for pollutants, and semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders provided qualitative insights. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to ensure comprehensive.
 

This study identifies key environmental challenges in the Tajan River wetlands, including habitat fragmentation due to agriculture, deforestation, and infrastructure. Water quality analysis revealed high pollutant levels from runoff and industrial activities. Despite awareness of the wetlands' ecological importance, community participation in conservation is limited. Effective conservation requires better implementation of legal frameworks and strengthened cooperation between Iran and Turkmenistan, aligned with international agreements like the Ramsar Convention.

Nowadays different kinds of driving forces put pressure on environment. Change in land- use and land- cover is one pressure, which is caused by factors such as human population increase. Land-use change is a complex, dynamic process that links together natural and human systems. It has direct impacts on soil, water, and atmosphere and is thus directly related to many other environmental issues of global importance.

The case study has been investigated in the Kish Island in order to analyze land and landscape degradation using DPSIR conceptual model. DPSIR model has systemic approach and identifies cause and effect chains. In our study area change detection in the state of land and landscape has been monitored during two decades using remotely sensed data. In order to prepare land cover change detection data set the satellite images of SPOT2, 1992 (HRV sensor), IKONOS2001 (panchromatic), Land sat 2001, 2012 ETM+ and landscape metrics were applied.

The elements of DPSIR model and the casual chain were investigated and remodeled. The analysis of the model improves that the cycle is not complete and has weakness in response part and the adopted proceedings were not effective and have no positive feedback on the other parts of the model.

The findings of this research urge that proper attention should be paid to sustainable land utilization, alleviation of environmental destruction and adaptation of proper reponses on land management in study area.

Wetlands support several plant and animal species as an irreplaceable habitat, and these valuable ecosystems are suffering from a decline in habitat quality due to human activities. Eutrophication due to enrichment with organic matter is one of the most important in changes of landscape structure. This study aims to investigate the eutrophication process on the landscape of Anzali Wetland. In this study, physical and chemical factors of water including temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and chlorophyll a were measured at 5 stations seasonally and annually, and then the trophic level (TSI) was determined using the variables total phosphate TP, total nitrogen TN, depth of view SD, and chlorophyll a. Satellite data was used to examine land cover changes in the periods of 1994, 2002, 2014 and 2018, and  then landscape metrics were calculated, Next, the GMDH neural network method was used for modeling to predict the trend of TSI changes and its relationship with landscape changes. The research results show that the total TSI is in the eutrophic level in all four periods of the wetland. The results of the landscape metrics show that the lowest area of ​​the water area was 4183.92 hectares and the highest area of ​​vegetation cover was 11696.31 hectares in 2018. The mean patch shape index shows that the highest numerical value of this index in the water area it was 1.49 in 1994 and the highest value for vegetation cover was 1.35 in 1994 and 2014. The output of the indicators from modeling with the help of the GA-GMDH algorithm shows a decrease in the area of ​​the water area, Also the area of ​​the vegetation cover does not show a significant difference.

The main purpose of zoning natural environments under management is to describe and determine different levels of protection and to separate sensitive and vulnerable areas. In this study, an attempt has been made to zoning the mangrove protected area to provide the basis for the optimal management of the area in order to achieve the protection objectives emphasized by the Department of Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The Hara protected area, as a sensitive marine area with the largest area of ​​mangrove forests in Iran, with an area of ​​86258 hectares is located between the two cities of Bandar Khamir and Qeshm in Hormozgan province. In the zoning process, after identifying criteria with ecological and human nature for each of the eleven zones and screening them by Delphi method, the criteria were weighted using Shannon entropy decision method, then a linear model of combining spatial criteria was developed and in GIS environment. They were layered and combined, and zoning map was prepared as planning units in the region.

The result of zoning in the Hara protected area shows restricted nature zones 12.40%, protection Zone 14.83%, Extensive Use Zone 3.28%, Intensive Use Zone 0.65%, cultural and historical Zone 0.07%, Special Use Zone 0.11%, Buffer Zone 63. 90%, Scientific Zone 0.21% and Other Uses Zone 4.54% of the total area.

Summarizing the research results showed that using zoning models of spatial criteria, zoning of areas can be provided correctly and while preserving ecological and human values.

Examining the obligations of governments in supporting environmental migrants in the light of international documents As the effects of climate change and environmental degradation increase, the number of people forced to migrate due to environmental factors has increased significantly. Understanding the responsibilities of governments in addressing this issue is essential for effective policy and humanitarian efforts. International instruments currently do not provide explicit legal mechanisms to protect environmental migrants. The term "environmental refugee" or "climate refugee" is used in literature and international legal documents, but there is no binding law to regulate the legal status of such migrants. The lack of international legal protection for environmental migrants shows It is the resistance of the international community in creating a special category for them.

The present research is based on descriptive-analytical principles and library method, which has examined the obligations of governments in supporting such immigrants in accordance with the existing international documents, by looking at the aspects of this emerging phenomenon The aim of the research: By examining these international documents and legal mechanisms, this study aims to clarify the obligations of governments towards environmental migrants and support a stronger and more integrated approach to address their needs and face their challenges..

In this article, by reviewing international documents, it is revealed that governments have a common responsibility in protecting and supporting environmental migrants. By analyzing international documents, this research identifies the global commitment to address climate-related migration and provides a basis for understanding governments' commitments. Therefore, this study also highlights the need for increased cooperation and collaboration between countries to ensure a consistent and effective response to environmental migration.

The following result emphasizes the importance of examining the obligations of governments in supporting environmental migrants through the lens of international documents. By understanding these commitments, policy makers, researchers and humanitarian organizations can work towards developing inclusive and sustainable solutions that address the challenges faced by environmental migrants in a comprehensive manner.

Nowadays, unplanned exploitation has acclaimed to be behind the wetland destruction despite their remarkable hydrological values and precious functions. As per Ramsar Convention's guidelines, “wise use” and ecological approach are solutions. In this study, the foremost purpose is presenting sustainability strategies as in order to recover Boujagh Wetland as case study.

The process of assessing ecological risk was performed through Risk Quotient (RQ). Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to illustrate the spatial distribution of threat factors. Determining wetland strategies related to sustainable development indicators, the Working Wetland Potential (WWP) model has been utilized.

Solid waste and effluent discharge, agriculture drainage influence, fish farming, illegal fishery and haunting, boating, and unplanned recreation were distinguished as significant threats on Boujagh area mostly concentrated around on the shoreline and along the Sefidroud River. Ecological risk assessment was conducted for frogs and toads, which are at the beginning of the food chain and relatively high resistant against environmental stresses. Cadmium and cooper risk scores were estimated upper than 1 that means very high level in both dissolved and sedimentation statuses, amongst all substances. Considering wetland functional potentials, three key strategies of "conservation", "wisdom utilization", and "public participation" were eventually recognized to improve and rehabilitate the wetland.

Wetland enhancing interactions are in line with essential human needs, sustainable tourism, mitigation, and environmental conservation. Current activities could be possibly adapted via flexible management and creativity; moreover, incompatible factors might be gradually eliminated by public participation.

Various models have been developed to predict methane generation and emissions from landfills. Due to their simplicity, the minimum number of required data, and the accuracy of the outputs, First-order decay are the most common models to predict methane generation in landfill,. Three important parameters in modeling landfill gas generation using a first-order model are the total weight of waste buried in the landfill, the methane generation potential, and the methane generation rate constant. The purpose of this research was to accurately estimate the parameters of the first-order model and to optimize it for estimating methane generation in the landfill and also to develop the ILGAM software.

ILGAM model consists of two submodels: 1) the gas generation sub-model and 2) the methane oxidation sub-model. The methane oxidation sub-model is based on the MOT model. The gas generation sub-model is based on a first-order equation with an emphasis on the contribution of the aerobic process in the estimation of the ultimate methane potential of waste. The parameters of the equation were modeled using the latest available results in the literature. To evaluate the model, the actual methane emission and methane oxidation were measured in the Karaj landfill. The results of the model, along with a few common models, were compared with actual data obtained from the Karaj landfill.

The ILGAM model predicted the gas emission from the Karaj landfill with an error of 5.8%. In contrast, LandGem, IPCC and CLEEN models predicted the methane gas emission from the Karaj landfill with an error of 74.4%, 40.2%, and 27.1%, respectively.

When compared to other models, the ILGAM model estimated the closest values to actual measurements for methane emission and methane oxidation in the Karaj landfill.  Owing to its user-friend Graphical User Interface (GUI), the model can be easily executed in a wide range of landfills by entering a few easy-to-measure data in the field.

Wastewater of food industries contains large amounts of suspended solids and other chemicals which produced during cleaning and sanitary purposes. Therefore, removal of these pollutants from effluent is very important. The aim of this study was to removal of turbidity from the effluent of Hamedan Pegah Dairy Company using extracted natural coagulant from plane seed.

In this descriptive study, the effects of contact time, adsorbent dose, pH and turbidity values on efficiency of turbidity removal from food industries effluent were investigated. Also, adsorbent characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), moreover, the adsorption of turbidity studied from both kinetics and equilibrium points of view.

Based on the results obtained, the highest turbidity removal efficiency at optimum conditions (i.e. pH of 8, contact time of 60 min, initial turbidity of 1 NTU and adsorbent dose of 0.1 g/l) was found to be 98%. Also, the adsorption kinetic of turbidity via plane tree seed coagulant followed pseudo second-order (PSO) model (R2 = 0.991), while the adsorption isotherm obeyed Langmuir model (R2 = 0.994) with maximum adsorption capacities of 0.203 mg/g.

In conclusion, due to the natural coagulant from plane tree seed showed a high efficiency to removal of turbidity from wastewater, it could be used as a suitable alternative in comparing with common chemical coagulants for reduce the pollutants from the effluent of food industries in wastewater treatment plants.

As the only remnants of diverse and wide spread marine turtles from ancient time, modern marine turtles play important ecological, economical and cultural roles in our oceans and related human communities. Green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, referred as the most valuable reptile of the world, and have its popularity and famousness owing the name of the order Chelonian and one of the remaining sea turtle families, Cheloniidae. Totally 139 turtles in different life stages, from different sites and using the mentioned methods, captures and the collected data analyzed. Of all samples, the smallest and largest ones had a juvenile 26 cm and a male mature 96 cm length, respectively, the minimum and maximum weight also were 2.3 and 97 kg respectively. Considering the quality, totally 70 sequences with 694 bps were included in the final genetic analyses. Based on the phylogenetic trees, two main clades with 37 and 33 individuals were detected. In both clades, individuals from all sampling sites were present, indicating geographic distinction, convincing to suppose the all individuals as a one group. Total FST for two clades calculated 0.77 (p>0.05) which indicates high level of differentiation. As a whole population or as one group, 17 haplotypes were recognized with haplotype diversity (h) of 0.8977 and nucleotide diversity (π) of 0.0149. 13 haplotypes recorded as the new detected ones. Of all the 17 haplotypes, only four haplotypes have already been reported, sharing with six haplotypes including: two from Australia (KJ502589.1 and KJ502588.1), two haplotypes from Saudi Arabia (KP027611.1, KP027608.1), and one from Indonesia (KM357652.1) and one from south East Asia (KX057743.1). Haplotypes of 1 and 9 with 14 individuals had the highest frequency. Haplotype network was drawn to represent the relationship between the all haplotypes of data set which the results and contribution of each locality in the groups. The network shows that the haplotypes form two main groups have 16 mutation steps which indicate their genetic distance and divergence.

Understanding the optimal habitat of species, especially closely related species, can help in their better management and protection. For this purpose, in the present study, the response of two sympatric species, Garra rufa and Garra gymnothorax, to some environmental variables and the differences between them were analyzed. In this regard, the effect of six habitat variables including the width (m) and depth (cm) of the river, water current velocity (ms-1), altitude (m), temperature (°C) and substrate index evaluated on the Habitat Suitability Criteria (HSC) pattern in 27 study reach, almost in the entire distribution range of these two species. The results showed that G. rufa lives in rivers with width <40 m, depth <45 cm, temperature >22 °C, substrate index 3.5 - 6.5, and depending on the conditions, water current velocity less than 0.45 or more than 1.2 ms-1, which are located at an altitude between 600 and 1000 m, while G. gymnothorax prefere habitats with width <10 m, depth <150 cm, temperature >24 °C, substrate index >4.5, water current velocity <1.05 ms-1 located at an altitude >400 m. The analysis shows that the G. gymnothorax has a smaller range of favorability than G. rufa for all six habitat variables studied, which it somehow indicates its narrower ecological niche and the greater vulnerability of this species to changing environmental conditions. The wider distribution of G. rufa may contribute to the ability to maintain larger populations of this species. This wider presence of the species not only helps to facilitate autecology processes but also increases the probability of survival in case of local environmental disturbances. The results of this study can help in determining the protection priorities for both species.

Wetlands are ecologically essential as a result of their hydrologic characteristics and their roles as an ecotone amongst terrestrials and aquatic ecosystems, which are exposed to stressors and risks by anthropogenic activities. Ecological risk assessment has been distinguished as a superior tool to categorize and prioritize risks caused by stressors and has globally developed a broadly acknowledged procedure for monitoring and managing wetlands. This study applied a hybridized and tiered method to assessing risks in combined with MIKE 21 computerized model and geographic information system for simulating and zoning risks on the Boujagh Wetland area that is located in the Southwest of the Caspian Sea shoreline and the north of Iran, as a case study. In the last step, mitigation measures have been presented by the pressure-Status-Response method, based on the ecosystem approach. As result, risk levels in the study area were 29% very high, 42% high, 20% moderate, and 9% low. Very high and high risks were distinguished on the sensitive areas involving aquatic species breeding site, immigrant birds, shoreline, Sefidrood River delta, and habitats near to landfill. So, landfill, waste disposal, and wastewater discharging should be eliminated. Besides, the establishment of an organized management office in the area is necessary.

Often the decision to choose an appropriate technology for landfill management is one of the main problems in multi-criteria decision analysis. Assessing and prioritizing risks in various projects is a logical way to quantify the quantitative and qualitative risks and to examine the potential consequences of potential accidents on people, materials, equipment and the environment. In fact, this determines the efficiency of multi-criteria decision-making models and provides valuable data for decision-making in risk management, risk identification, control, improvement and modification of control systems and planning to respond to them. In addition, there are significant internal relationships and feedback between different dimensions and criteria. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct environmental risk assessment studies in order to identify the destructive factors and their effects on the environment, and provide a solution for proper control and management. In the present study, using Delphi techniques, network analysis process (ANP) and using TOPSIS technique, the most important risks of landfill projects in the construction and operation phases have been identified. The obtained results show that in the construction and operation phases, the highest probability of risk is related to the environmental sector and the lowest probability of risk is related to the socio-economic and cultural sector. Adverse events have been reported. Also, the results showed that the proposed model is effective in risk assessment in urban waste landfill projects. The results of this study provide new and significant concepts in the design and engineering of municipal landfills.

The study of diversity and abundance of fish species in the study of aquatic ecosystems is of particular importance. The purpose of this study is to investigate the abundance and changes of heterogeneity and uniformity indices of fish species in the Shadegan International Wetland in different seasons from October 2015 to September 2016. In this study, a total of 3735 fish from 16 species and 6 families were caught from five stations. Among the families, the highest abundance belonged to the family of carp (Cyprinidae) and then the cichlids (Cichlidae), with 48% and 42%, respectively, and among the fish species, Coptodon zillii, Carasobarbus luteus and Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi with a large difference of relative abundance, 40.91, 10.25, and 12 respectively, had the highest presence abundance. The highest heterogeneity index of Shannon-Wiener (1.85) and the species richness of Margalef (2.32) were in the Sarrakhieh station and the highest uniformity of Hill was in the Hadbeh station (0.85). The study of biodiversity indices in the different seasons also showed that the highest species diversity of Shannon-Wiener (2.01) was obtained in spring and the results of the T-test revealed that these indices were significantly higher in spring than other seasons (P<0.05). In short, the results of this research showed that it seems that the best way to restore the wetland is its integrated management, taking into account the water needs of the wetland, controlling non-native species and managing fishing.

Understanding the rangeland ecosystem is the first step in managing these resources and determining land management and sustainable development programs.The aim of this study is to investigate the qualitative changes in the percentage of vegetation in the area of international wetlands of Golestan province. The study used Landstat satellite bands measuring TM and OLI during statistical years (1988-2018). In ENVI5.3 software, geometric correction and preliminary processing and FLASH algorithm were used for atmospheric corrections. To increase the accuracy of rangeland classification, NDVI map was prepared with TERSET software and And 4 classes of covered land (excellent, very good, good and poor) were obtained. The CROSSTAB technique also calculated changes during the years of study. Land area showed results The highest increase with very good vegetation is from 1540/93 to 2849.99 square kilometers And the largest reduction in area with well-covered lands was from 1369/46 to 68.94 square kilometers. During this time, the study area underwent changes The biggest reductions include the destruction of a well-covered class from 31.94 to 1.66 percent and its conversion to other users.Also, 13.46 square kilometers of good coverage has become poor coverage Which included the surrounding wetlands, rocky areas and rural areas.Good coverage that minimized area reduction There were pasture lands in use Class changes with good coverage indicated a reduction in area and vegetation And the temperature will rise The results showed that NDVI is a good measure for evaluating and monitoring vegetation changes and proper rangeland management.

Recently, aerosols as one of the air pollutants (with natural or anthropogenic sources) have received increasing attention. In this study, the purpose is investigation of soil potential in production of dust (aerosol) storms using wind rose and storm rose.

Meteorological data and WRPLOT view software were used to draw the wind rose and hurricanes. Also, in order to study the wind direction on dusty days, the data of the Meteorological Organization and also to investigate the effect of meteorological parameters such as gentle wind percentage and prevailing wind percentage, statistical methods such as regression relationship, Pearson coefficient have been used. Also, the trend of annual and seasonal changes in the concentration of suspended particles (dust) has been studied in order to determine the seasons with the highest frequency of dust occurrence.

The results indicated that winds blow from northwestern and west in all seasons. The highest frequency of winds is western. The wind roses of spring and summer indicated that the most frequent direction of prevailing winds are western to northwestern. Southeastern direction comes in next level. These storms are more frequent in winter and autumn seasons. Also, investigation of storm roses demonstrated that dominant winds have speed of less than 4.5 meter per second (80%). This research shows that in study area, winds cannot erode the soil and product the aerosols.

Therefore, the main source of recent dust must be searched in the neighboring countries.

Nowadays, ecotourism is very important for managing economic growth as well as preserving the environment and biodiversity in many countries. Ecotourism is one of the most comprehensive aspects of tourism that has a high impact on biodiversity. Evaluation of biodiversity as an indicator is essential for better conservation of vegetation and species diversity. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of ecotourism on species diversity of Khojir National Park.

We selected a low-ecotourism pressure zone (100 to 150 m distance from the road) and a medium-ecotourism pressure zone (50 to 100 meters from the road). All plant species were recorded at 36 random plots (1 × 1 m, 1 m2). Biodiversity indicates determine by using PAST and Ecological Methodology software.

According to the results, there was a significant negative relation between statements of questionnaire and age. Relation between willing to certificated products and educational levels was positive significantly. There was not a significant relation between income levels and their wellness to these products.

knowledge and willing to participate in forest management via certificated forest products purchasing are affected by social other than economic factors.

This study tried to analyze the relationship between tourism and the destruction of Hormuz Island as one of the important tourism destinations in Iran by analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of tourism through a questionnaire and SWOT matrix, and finally, management strategies were presented. The results showed that the progress of the Island requires serious management actions promptly to prevent the destruction of the environment and attractions of Hormoz Island. Based on the analysis of the matrix of internal and external factors, the evaluation of the internal and external environment was equal to 2.37 and 2.07, respectively, which led to the selection of defensive strategies (WT) as the best strategies. Among the defensive strategies, the strategy of setting rules for buying and selling and preventing of launching tourism-related businesses by non-indigenous people to support the local community and preventing capital outflow from Hormoz Island was selected as the first management priority and the second strategy of regional management for tourism was to establish an electronic system to record the entry and exit of ecotourists to the pristine beaches to reduce damages to the ecosystems and encouraging tourists to use ecotourism resorts to support the local community.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the composition and biodiversity of herbaceous cover and regeneration in natural forest (dominated by hornbeam-iron tree), plantations (pure and mixed alder and maple) and degraded forest areas (without tree cover) in the Kelarabad of Chalus. A total of 16 large sample plots (20 × 20 m2) to record the vegetative characteristics of the trees and 144 small sample plots (1 × 1 m2) to record the number of regenerated woody species, type and percentage of herbaceous species. The variety of indices were used to compare biodiversity. The highest percentage of herbaceous species belonged to the Brachypodim pinnatum L., while in the degraded area the percentage of Rubus caesius L. was dominant. Among the understory herbaceous plants, hemicryptophytes and cryptophytes were the most abundant biological form. Also, according to the results, the highest percentage of regeneration species was related to the dominant tree species in each forest stands, and among regeneration species, Phanerophytes were the most abundant biological form. Investigation of biodiversity indices in both herbaceous and regeneration layers indicates the negative effects of forest degradation as well as the positive role of natural forest in the study area. As a general conclusion, the present study demonstrates the protective role of temperate broadleaf mixed forest stands for the richness and diversity of herbaceous plant species and the sustainable regeneration and conservation of understory communities.

In this study, the characteristics of particles deposited on the surface of the leaves of species of Platanus orientalis, Ulmus carpinifolia, Robinia pseudacasia, Morus alba, and Fraxinus excelsior in the sideline of one of the crowded streets of Tehran (around Azadi Square) were investigated using scanning electron microscopy(SEM)and energy dispersive X-ray analysis.

A base was selected from each tree species. The tree bases were safe and next to each other on the sideline of a high-traffic street. The canopy of the trees was separated from each other. Healthy leaves were placed from a height of 2 to 2.5 meters above the ground surface from the outermost part of the canopy of trees on the street side. Samples were prepared in the laboratory for imaging with electron microscopy of the surfaces of leaves. More than 50 particles were investigated by elemental detector analysis. The mass percentage of the elements of each particle was recorded. The equivalent diameter for each particle that its image had been prepared by SEM-EDX was measured manually in ImageJ software. The leaves were prepared using an image scanner in Jpg format and the area of ​​the leaves was determined by Image J software. The weight of the particles sequestrated on the leaves of each tree was also weighed.

the weight of deposited particles was measured and the leaves' capability of different species of tress to deposit particles was compared. This study is one of the few ones on elemental analysis of individual particles in Iran and it is the first time that the deposited particles on the leaves of trees are studied through this method. Twenty-one elements were detected in particles. Carbon, Oxygen, Iron, and Silica had the highest mass frequency and Carbon, Calcium, Silica, Oxygen, Iron and Potassium had the highest percentage of presence in particles. Particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter were the most abundant ones. Metal particles with a diameter between 2.5 to10 micrometers were the most abundant metal particles that were observed. The mean comparison of the diameter of deposited particles on the leaves of tress showed no significant difference between them. Particles' diameter was higher in Platanus orientalis, Morus alba, Fraxinus excelsior, Robinia pseudacasia and Ulmus carpinifolia, respectively. The highest rate of deposited particles on the leaf surface belonged to Platanus orientalis, Ulmus carpinifolia, Fraxinus excelsior, Robinia pseudacasia and Morus alba, respectively.

Leaf area, cracks, leaf surface roughness, wax, veins, and leaf shape have an effective role in changing the properties of deposited particles on the surface of the trees' leaves.

The phylogenetic relationships of the Caspian cobra (Naja oxiana), the easternmost species of the subgenus Naja, have remained contentious for long. The present study aims at investigating the genetic diversity and structure, as well as phylogenetic relationships of the Caspian cobra populations from northeastern Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. We sequenced 1107 base pairs of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b for 54 samples to assess the genetic diversity, genetic structure and phylogenetic relationships of the Caspian cobra. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted under Bayesian and Maximum likelihood inferences using the best-fitting evolutionary model. Haplotype relationships were inferred using maximum parsimony. Reconstruction of the phylogenetic trees confirmed that the Caspian cobra is the sister taxon of Naja kaouthia. The estimated haplotype and nucleotide diversity were 0.42 and 0.00058, respectively, indicating low genetic variation among Caspian cobra populations. Our findings suggest that populations of the species have experienced a recent radiation and sudden range expansion from the northeast toward Golestan province. The results, based on a single mitochondrial marker, revealed no significant genetic differentiation between the populations and recommend that all populations of the Caspian cobra be considered as a significant evolutionary unit in future conservation plans.

Sulfide ions (S-2 ) derived from Na2S remaining in black liqueur are the source of H2S gas production along the black liquor recovery cycle in the Kraft pulp and paper industry. In this study, we tried to prevent the production of H2S by removing the mentioned ions from black liquor by using of synthesized adsorbents (Cu-PAC and Cu-BWP100). The adsorbents were produced by immersing powdered activated carbon (PAC) and beech powder with 100 mesh (BWP100) in 0.1 M solution of CuCl2. The adsorbent properties were obtained before and after copper ion loading by FTIR, BET and SEM-FEI analyses. Finally, the performance of these adsorbents in the removal of S-2 from black liquor with three levels of sulfide (22%, 20, 18) was investigated. The results of FTIR, BET and SEM-FEI analysis showed that Cu+ 2 was located on the surfaces of raw organic material without any change in the structure of them. Experimental data for the Cu-PAC adsorbent showed that it was more agreement with the Freundlich equation and more follow to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, whereas for Cu-BWP100 adsorbent it was the more consistent with the Langmuir equation and adherence to the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The Cu-PAC adsorbent has the ability to remove 79.93% and Cu-BWP100 60.03% of S-2 from black liquor. The Cu-PAC, with its higher specific surface area, has a higher ability to remove S-2 from the black liquor than the Cu-BWP100. In general, the mentioned adsorbents will have a high ability to reduce H2S production by eliminating S-2.

 As a metropolitan area in Iran, Tehran is exposed to damage from air pollution due to its large population and pollutants from various sources. Accordingly, research on damage induced by air pollution in this city seems necessary. The main purpose of this study was to forecast ozone in the city of Tehran. Considering the hazards of ozone (O3) gas on human health and the environment and its ascending trend over the past decades, it is also essential to study and predict its quantities in the air. Forecasting ozone in the air can be further used to prevent and control pollution by authorities.

 Using an analytical-applied research method, this study was to predict ozone gas in this metropolitan area via daily ozone data of air quality measurement stations, traffic variables, green space, as well as time factors such as one-day time delay. In this regard, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was employed to forecast ozone concentration using the MATLAB software.

 The results of the ANN model were compared with a linear regression one. Correlation coefficient and root-mean-square error (RMSE) of the ANN model were subsequently compared with R2=0.734 and RMSE=0.56 as well as R2=0.608 and RMSE=11.69 regression equations.

 It was concluded that the error in the ANN model was smaller than that in the regression one. According to the results of the sensitivity analysis of the season parameters, the length of sunshine hours had the most significant effect on the amount of ozone gas in Tehran air.

Herring is one of the very good detectors for assessing the health and condition of coral reefs and shores in marine waters. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diversity and distribution of Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea in the lower and middle tidal zones of the Persian Gulf coastlines in the area of Bushehr province (Air Force stations, Bandar Rostami, North and South Utah). Sampling from April to March 2017 was performed quarterly in 4 turns and by Quadrat (one meter per meter) and in two transects perpendicular to the sea (width 30 meters) and with an approximate distance of 100 meters. A total of 184 individuals, 7 species including 4 species of starfish, 3 species of fragile star belonging to Astropectinidae (Astropecten polyacanthus phragmorus and Astropecten monacanthus), Asterinidae (Aquilonastra iranica species), Ophidiasteridae (species Linckia multiflora) ,Ophiotrichidae (Ophiothrix sp.) and Ophiocomidae (Ophiocoma  scolopendrina and Ophiocoma sp.) collected. The most frequent species of Ophiothrix sp .Lowercase the least frequent was the Linckia multiflora . Species habitat werer as Astropecten polyacanthus phragmorus tropical sandy beaches, Astropecten monacanthus tidal sandy beaches, Aquilonastra iranica, tidal cliffs and Linckia multiflora, Ophiothrix sp., Ophiocoma scolopendrina species, and Ophiocoma sp. The rocky-coral beds. 90.54% of species had cluster distribution while, while other species had a uniform distribution. The results of Shannon species diversity indices H chr(chr('39')39chr('39'))= 1.7672 and Oz = 0.8754 = Jchr(chr('39')39chr('39')) indicated the relative uniformity and uniformity of stars and fragile stars on the coasts of the Persian Gulf in Bushehr province.

Monitoring the magnetic properties of suspended particles in the air deposited on the leaves of trees provides useful information on the spatial distribution of the suspended particles in urban and industrial areas. This study was carried out to extend and develop the application of peripheral magnometry method to investigate environmental pollution and metal contaminants resulted from vehicle traffic in some areas of Tehran with heavy traffic. The leaves of Platanus Orientalis in the inland areas of Chitgar Park as a clean area and Azadi Square and Geisha Bridge as crowded areas were collected. Magnetic components such as natural magnetic residual, mass magnetic susceptibility, isothermal magnetic residual and saturated induction magnetic residual were measured in the samples. The concentration of copper, iron, lead and cadmium was measured by mass spectrometry and the relationship between magnetic components and metals was investigated. The results showed that the highest value of susceptibility and magnetic residual of leaf saturation was associated with heavier traffic of vehicles in Azadi and Geisha. The study of the composition of particles in the Chitgar showed a combination of hard ferromagnetic minerals such as hematite with high concentration and soft ferromagnetic minerals with low concentration, which are the result of the activities of the peripheral industries and traffic in Tehran-Karaj highway. The presence of soft magnetic minerals in both Azadi and Geisha regions was higher than Chitgar. In Azadi, the size of particles was larger and the mineral behavior indicated a combination of the presence of soft and hard minerals, while the size of particle was smaller in Geisha.

In this study, the shape, structure and elemental composition of the deposited particles on the leaves of Ulmus Carpinifolia, Platanus Orientalis, and Robinia Pseudacasia in Azadi and Chitgar areas in Tehran was investigated through individual particles analysis with SEM-EDX. The properties of 128 particles were analyzed through SEM-EDX. Thirty-four elements were identified in all the samples. The diameter of particles in Azadi was greater than Chitgar. The average diameter of particles was 7.26 microns. The average diameter of particles was 7.51 microns in Platanus Orientalis, 6.88 microns in Ulmus Carpinifolia, and 4.42 microns in Robinia Pseudacasia, respectively. The diameter of 45% of the particles was smaller than 2.5, 31% of the particles between 2.5 to 10, and 23% of the particles bigger than 10 microns. The distribution of metal particle size in all samples showed that the average diameter of the metal particles was 14.05 microns and the diameter of 14.28% of the particles was below 2.5, 42.85% between 2.5 to 10, and 42.85% was above 10 microns. Various structures of the elements were observed in the areas. Particles morphology showed that the origin of particles production is natural resources and they are man-made. In general, the average diameter of deposited particles on Platanus Orientalis and Ulmus Carpinifolia was more than those on Robinia Pseudacasia. Moreover, the particles diameter distribution showed that in Platanus Orientalis and Ulmus Carpinifolia particles are deposited with different sizes while in Robinia Pseudacasia there is less variation in particles size.