مقالات رزومه حمیدرضا پیروان

Floristic studies are one of the most effective methods for managing and Protection of biological reserves of vegetation, and it plays an important role in controlling erosion and rehabilitating destroyed areas. Destructive conditions have caused the reduction of valuable plant species in the flora of the region. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the floristic composition, geographical distribution, biological spectrum and and identifying endemic species in the Kordan watershed in the Kurdish watershed in Alborz province of Iran. The flora of the region was studied by field trip between 2019 and 2021 in different plant phenological stages. In total, 151 species of flora belonging to 28 families and 115 genera were surveyed and identified in several field trips during the study period from 201 to 2021. Based on the number of species, Asteraceae (35 species and 24 genera), Poaceae (17 species and 13 genera), and Lamiaceae (15 species and 13 genera) were the most important families. The largest genera were Astragalus, Centaurea, Bromus, Salsola, Cirsium and Alyssum. In this study, the life-form spectra were classified on the basis of Raunkiaer's system. Then, the 𝜒2 test was used to compare the biological spectrum with Raunkiaer's normal spectrum and with those in other floristic studies conducted in the near the study area.  The results showed that the life-form spectrum in the present study w::as char::acteristic of a cold dry and mountainous climate region with hot and dry summer and relatively cold winter and dominated by hemicryptophytes (46% of the recorded species), followed by therophytes (32% of the recorded species). Findings also indicated that the effects of climate, and human activities such as overgrazing caused a reduction in phanerophytes from around 46 to 5%, increases in therophytes from about 13 to 32% and hemicryptophytes from 26 to 46% in comparison with Raunkiaer's normal spectrum. It can be concluded that hemicryptophytes and phanerophytes usually comprise the highest and lowest percentages of life forms in studies conducted in the Irano-Turanian growth zone.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are introduced into the environment by human activities and are deposited in the river bed. These compounds are among environmental pollutants and are extremely harmful to human health and other living things even in very small amounts. For this reason, determining the concentration of these pollutants is very important to evaluate the quality of river water. About a hundred compounds of PAHs that have been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency. They have 16 major harmful and pathogenic compounds, and for this reason, they have been introduced as pioneering pollutants. For this purpose, in the present study, the concentrations of PAHs were determined in the Karun River.

In this study, 19 samples of PAHs were collected along the Karun River from Cham Golak in the north of Khuzestan to Choibedeh in the south of Khuzestan in 2022. The collected samples were immediately stored in glass bags at a temperature of -10°C and transported to the laboratory. Until the time of extraction, the samples were dried in a freeze dryer and then kept in a freezer at -50°C. Before the extraction operation, all the samples were powdered and passed through a sieve with mesh less than 0.63. After determining the amounts of each of the desired PAHs, using Dionex™ ASE™ 3, it was determined whether the PAHs has fuel or petroleum origin. Finally, the concentrations of the obtained PAHs were compared with the American Sediment quality guidelines. In this standard, two risk categories, ERL and ERM, are considered for sediment pollution.

Based on the average concentration of studied PAHs, Benzo (b) fluoranthene and phenanthrene were the most polluted in proportion to concentration among all studied PAHs. The concentration of Benzo (k) fluoranthene, Fluorene, Pyrene and Indeno (1,2,3-c,d) pyrene was also more than 1 μg.kg-1 of sediment, which was high compared to the average concentration of other PAHs. Other PAHs had an average concentration of less than 0.80 μg.kg-1. The minimum concentration of hydrocarbons varied between 0.01-2.15 μg.kg-1 and their maximum concentration between 0.05-8.97 μg.kg-1 of sediment. The results of skewness (-0.75<SKW<3.0) showed that there were many spatial variations for all pollutants, but Anthracene with a skewness of 0.3 has the most spatial changes, with the highest concentration in the south of the Karun River, and Benzo (b) fluoranthene has the skewness equal to -0.75, then, the highest pollutant concentration was in the north of Karun River. Except for the four hydrocarbons Benzo (b) fluoranthene, Benzo (k) fluoranthene, Indeno (1,2,3-c,d) pyrene and Benzo (g,h,i) perylene, the concentration of the other pollutants in the Karun River is lower than the Sediment Management Standard (SQS) limits (

The origin of the pollutant’s evaluation showed that in the north of the Karun River, there was more fuel pollution, but in the center and south of this river, both fuel and oil sources were observed. These results showed that air pollution had a greater effect on increasing the concentration of hydrocarbons in the sediments of this river. In addition, the fuel of boats in the Ahvaz to Abadan area can be an important factor in increasing PAHs pollution with fuel origin. Therefore, although PAHs pollution was observed in this river, it was not at a critical level in terms of concentration.

Iran has an area of about 165 million hectares and is located in arid and semi-arid regions. According to the latest data provided by the Natural Resource and Watershed Management Organization, about 110 million hectares of the area of Iran is at risk of desertification. At present, more than 32 million hectares of the country's deserts are more than 32 million hectares, of which over 5.7 million hectares are highly exposed to wind erosion and are considered as dust storm sources. In general, desertification refers to the development in which natural resource areas are confronted with intensification of soil erosion, a reduction of fertility, and exit from the production area. Iran is one of the countries in the world where the desertification rate is high. In order to seriously deal with the phenomenon of desertification and implement desertification plans, desertification activities should be considered as economic activities, while creating a context for the return of investments, it follows the cooperation and participation of the people. A research project was defined and implemented in the Research Institute of Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute with the aim of applying and developing successful model/models of dealing with desertification and the economic development of desert areas in Iran and the world. In this plan, the most successful models implemented in the world were examined and finally, the economic desertification plan of the Kubuqi desert in Inner Mongolia, which has been successfully implemented in China, was chosen as a model to be examined in some desert of Iran. However, it is not possible to use a single method for all desert areas. Due to the diversity of deserts, including factors of desertification and resource capacity, the use of experience and executive components of successful plans should be customized for the target area. The success of the Kubuqi model, which has been carefully examined in the analysis of management processes, attracts private investors and people’s participation. On the basis of the analysis results, Reza Abad village in Biarjmand city, Shahroud district, Semnan Province was selected as a pilot region to conduct preliminary studies and provide a development model for desert reclamation, which will be discussed in this paper.

Marl lands are very sensitive to erosion in arid and semi-arid regions and are one of the most important sources of sediment production. Research has shown that there is a relationship between the geological characteristics of marls and different forms of erosion. In some marl formations, rangeland plant species have grown and stabilized which causes erosion control and soil stability. In order to better understand the status of these ecosystems, this study was conducted to identify the established plant species on marl lands and investigate the relationship between vegetation and physical and chemical properties of marl soil in three types of surface, rill and gully erosion in Semirom region.

Semirom is one of the marl regions that was selected for the current study in the classification and determination of marl erodibility indices of Isfahan province. In order to evaluate the erosion condition in three forms of surface, rill and gully erosion, BLM (Bureau of Land Management) form was completed in the same marl units and areas without vegetation cover. In the next step, three soil samples were collected from 0-20 cm depth in three repetitions in marl units including three forms of erosion. Physical and chemical soil properties including texture, EC, N, P, K, SAR, OC, CEC, CaSO4, pH, T.N.V and CaCO3 were measured. For vegetation studies in the study area, after preparing the floristic list of plant species, vegetation characteristics including canopy cover percentage and density per plant species, as well as the percentage of gravel and litter were measured and recorded. The statistical analysis of the data was done as a completely random design using SAS software and the averages of soil properties were compared according to the Least Significant Difference (LSD). Correlation analysis between soil and vegetation characteristics was also done by R statistical software.

Results and Discussion:
The results showed that in terms of erodibility, Marl lands with vegetation cover, had a better condition than without vegetation. The soil in the gully erosion was in better conditions in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus and organic matter and had better vegetation than the other two types of erosion. The results of correlation between physical and chemical soil properties and vegetation showed that the canopy cover factor was 95% and 86% correlated with the percentage of gypsum and the percentage of sand, respectively. The dominant species which showed the most protection capacity against erosion in surface, Rill and Gully erosions were Astragallus cephalantus, Cousinia cylindracea and Elymus gentry with 34.2, 33.3 and 22.05 percent of the highest combination of density and canopy cover, respectively. In terms of growth form, in all three types of erosion, forbs had the highest percentage of density and canopy cover.

The results of current research could be considered as a novel achievement in order to prevent soil erosion through establish appropriate species in marl lands with similar climatic conditions.

Nowadays, it is necessary to use new methods to resolve the issue of soil erosion instead of traditional methods in order to achieve more accurate knowledge and appropriate planning. The cheapest and most appropriate way to conserve the soil is to use vegetation. Therefore, considering the high costs and adverse environmental effects of mechanical methods compared to biological methods of soil conservation, the present study aims to investigate the effect of planting two varieties of fodder vetch as a biological, economic and environmentally friendly solution to reduce runoff, sediment and improve soil properties.

This research was carried out using standard experimental plots with dimensions of 22 × 1.8 meters and a slope of 9%, so that totally nine experimental plots including three treatments and three replications were applied and executed in the form of a randomized complete block design. The three treatments studied in this experiment included Maragheh vetch, Golshan vetch and native wheat of the study region (control treatment), and the studied vetch varieties were planted simultaneously with wheat cultivation in the fall in two consecutive years, 2020 and 2021. Finally, the mean data of runoff, sedimentation and stability of soil aggregates were compared and statistically analyzed.

In general, the studied fodder plants had a significant effect on reducing the runoff and sediment generated from the experimental plots, which shows the importance and role of these plants for the purposes of soil and water conservation. In particular, Maragheh fodder vetch showed excellent performance in reducing runoff and sediment in the study area, therefore planting the mentioned varieties in order to conserve soil and water is prioritized in the study area. The stability of soil aggregates also did not show any significant difference in the studied treatments during the experimental period. Therefore, it can be concluded that the stability of soil aggregates will not change within two years, and more time is needed to observe the change in this soil characteristic.

Conclusion and Suggestions :

The results of this research revealed the significant effect of using forage plants, especially Maragheh and Golshan forage plants, on reducing runoff and sediment in line with the goals of soil and water protection. The use of fodder legumes compatible with the climatic conditions of each region that have suitable plant characteristics such as a strong and dense root and stem system as well as a suitable canopy in order to conserve soil and water and improving the livelihood of the residents of the region and also carrying out early irrigation and supplementary irrigation is recommended in the important stages of the plant growth under drought and low rainfall conditions. Also, conducting researches that investigate the effect of rainfall intensity, amount of rainfall, soil moisture, soil texture and chemical properties of soil on the effectiveness of dry fodder plants in water and soil conservation, as well as the relationship between different climatic, morphological and hydrological conditions of upstream and the effectiveness of dry land fodder plants in the qualitative and quantitative control of runoff, is suggested.

Soil erosion and related problems i.e. sedimentation are associated with significant issues and problems on the environment and agriculture, including economic losses, reduction of water quality, storage capacity of reservoirs and agricultural production, among which watershed activities play a prominent role in reducing the amount of soil erosion and sediment yield. For this purpose, in the present research, the watershed management activities were evaluated on the amount of sediment yield, using the Connectivity Index in the Gonbad paired catchment of Hamadan province. In this regard, firstly, the estimation of the continuity index was conducted in the erosion plots installed in the control and impacted watersheds during the events that led to sediment production. Then, a regression relationship was established between the data of the Connectivity Index and the erosion plots sediment yield using the Connectivity Index in order to estimate the rate of sediment yield of control and impacted watersheds. Finally, the impact of watershed practices on the degree of sediment yield was measured by comparing the estimated sediment in control and impacted areas using the Connectivity Index. The results showed that the average amount of sediment produced in the sample and control sub-basins is 0.003 and 0.005 tons per hectare, respectively, that is, the amount of sediment in the sample sub-basin is 45% less than the control sub-basin, and this difference is due to the effect of watershed management operations in the sample sub-basin.

Soil erosion and sedimentation is one of the main problems in most of watersheds in Iran and a fundamental limitation against sustainable development. The usage of vegetation cover is the cheapest and most suitable approach for soil conservation. In the present study, the height, vegetation cover and density of Vicia Dasicarpa and Villosa Vicia investigated on reducing runoff and sediment. The experiments conducted using standard plots with dimensions of 22×1.8 m, slope of nine percent and east direction; so that, nine experimental plots including three treatments and three replications installed and performed in the form of randomized complete block design. Runoff sampling was conducted from the tanks installed at the end of each plot, and the parameters of vegetation surface cover, vegetation density and plant height were measured at each sampling time. Then, the means of measured parameters were statistically analyzed and compared using Duncan Test. According to the results, the maximum runoff  (97%) and sediment (94%) reduction were observed for Vicia Dasicarpa during the experiment. Also, it was detected that plant properties such as vegetation cover and density have a great correlation with runoff and sediment reduction which means soil and water conservation. Therefore, selecting the cultivar and plant species is an important step to increase the efficiency of this biological method. Based on the findings, in order to conserve soil and water as well as assisting the livelihood of the watershed residents, the use of legumes compatible with rainfed conditions having appropriate properties such as strong root, stem system and coverage along with initial irrigation at important growth stages of the plant in drought conditions is recommended.

Hendijan wind erosion center is located in Khuzestan Province and southwest of Iran. In the last decade, with the increase of erosion rate and concentration of important dust centers in this area, the study of heavy metal concentration and pollution in this area has become very important. For this purpose, 33 soil samples of this zone were collected based on land use change and with the aim of uniform distribution and analyzed by ICP-MSS. The obtained data show that the highest average concentrations of metals belong to Cd <As <Cu <Pb <Zn <Ni <Cr, respectively. Enrichment indices, geo-accumulation index and contaminant factor showed that the highest pollution in Hindijan area belongs to nickel, chromium, arsenic, cadmium and plumbum, respectively. On the other hand, ecological risk assessment in the mentioned area has shown that this region has a low ecological risk that among the studied metals, the highest ecological risk belongs to the two metals arsenic and cadmium. The results of PCA test showed that the metals nickel, zinc, copper and lead have both non-anthropogenic and anthropogenic sources and the source of arsenic and cadmium metals is human activities. According to the pattern of metal distribution, it can be stated that the activities related to Bahrkan fishing pier on the one hand and oil rigs off the coast of Hindijan oil field on the other hand have caused the concentration of nickel, lead, zinc and copper in the south of the study area. Agricultural activities have also controlled the concentration of cadmium and arsenic metals in this area, and the source of chromium concentration was determined as agricultural effluents, traffic pollution and residual pollution from the 8-year Iraq-Iran war.

The purpose of this study is to identify, evaluate and introduce ecotourism-prone tourism areas in the "Abyaneh-Barzrood" catchment area due to its unique natural, cultural, historical and human potentials. Factors influencing the location of susceptible areas in this study include 9 environmental variables that after digitizing the baseline maps and preparing an AHP questionnaire from an expert on the relative importance of criteria and sub-criteria compared to each other. In this study, the criteria of road, river, vegetation and accommodation services had the greatest impact on choosing a suitable place for ecotourism, followed by the criteria of restaurant, spring, aqueduct and the area of ​​the village, respectively. In GIS environment, using Expert Choice software based on the weights obtained from the mentioned model and its processing, a ranking map of fitness scores for ecotourism was prepared in 3 categories: weak, medium and good. This map was validated with 59 control locations in field visits. All potential tourist destinations are in a good range, which confirms the accuracy of this map. The most attractive areas of the basin, which covers about 25% of the basin area, with a good rank, are located in the central parts of the basin and along the transportation route between the villages of the region. Areas of medium attractiveness, which cover about 46% of the basin area, are mainly located in the southern part of the basin and within the environmental protected area. Low attractiveness areas with a spread rate of about 29% of the area are mainly in the northwest and southwest of the basin and are seen as spots in other areas of the basin.

Marls form the weakest part of geological formations that are highly erosive. Sustainable action in soil stabilization is biological operations. The dense cover of Pasture rangeland species in some areas of Marl has caused soil stability in these areas. It seems that some of the physical and chemical properties of marls play role in creating such a cover in areas covered by marl formations. This research was conducted with the aim of carefully and systematically study of plant species and determining their site needs and protective role in three eastern, southern and western regions in Ilam city. For this, 30 marl deposit samples were collected from three ranges and physical and chemical tests were performed on its. Botanical studies were also performed using repeated field visits and plot establishing at 180 locations, and plant samples were identified after transfer to herbarium. Results showed that, giving the stratigraphy of Marl Gorpi, Pabdeh, Gachsaran and Aghajari formations, sediments of these three regions in terms of salinity (EC), specific gravity (BD), sodium (Na +) and Soil saturation percentage (SP) and some physical parameters such as gravel, sand and silt particles have significant differences which R2 has shown significant statistical effect of soil physical and chemical properties on plant cover type. This difference could be as one of the effective factors in the diversity and difference of vegetation grown in three areas. In this research, the site need of plant species compatible with marl type and soil protection role of each of them in eastern, western and southern regions of Ilam city has been introduced.

Arid and semi-arid regions with highly variable rainfall and periods of drought or unpredictable floods have severely affected residents' water shortages and they are often living in insecure areas. Rainwater catchment systems are one of the available solutions to overcome water shortage and runoff management in these areas. Surface runoff is a potential source of water that, with proper management and rainwater extraction methods, can be used to meet demand in various sectors, including agriculture and drinking. This study was conducted with the aim of introducing suitable places for establishing rainwater catchment systems in Latyan Watershed. Essential maps of the watershed for this study included land cover coefficient, permeability of formations and soil, average long-term rainfall, slope, land use, and drainage network were prepared. The mentioned maps were each divided into five categories and by overlaying in ARC/GIS 10.7.2 environment, finally suitable places for runoff production of the watershed were obtained to create catchment levels. The results showed that slope percentage, type of land use, NDVI and climate in this watershed were effective factors for runoff production. In addition, the map of runoff production potential classes showed that the frequency percentages related to runoff production potential classes were very high, high, medium, and low, respectively 3.2, 22, 33.6 and 23.5%. For the construction of these systems, priority is given to areas that have the potential and frequency of upper class in terms of runoff production, which areas with medium runoff production potential have this feature. Introducing suitable places to establish rainwater catchment systems can maximize the probability of success of rainwater harvesting projects.

Marni Formations have little vegetation in most arid and semi-arid regions due to special physical and chemical properties. The establishment of coverage on them faced several limitations. To properly understand the state of ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions, it is necessary to understand the dynamic relationship between vegetation and soil. The aim of this study is to identify the established plant species and to investigate the interactive effects of physical-chemical characteristics of erosion-sensitive marl and rangeland vegetation in marl formations in three regions (Taroud Roads, Bakran and Riabad) of Shahroud city; so that after delimiting the marl lands on topographic maps and using geological maps, soil sampling was performed to determine the characteristics and to measure the vegetation canopy. Moderate erodibility in Marni formations in three areas, Taroud Roads, Bakran and Riabad, was done using BLM model. The results show that in general, the erosion status by BLM method in Bakran region with the highest percentage of vegetation is in the lower class and in the area of Taroud Roads and Riabad is in the middle class. The results of correlation between physicochemical indices of soil and vegetation showed that the canopy factor was related to soil factors including gypsum percentage (CaSo4) and clay percentage at 99% and 95% confidence levels, respectively affecting each other. Clay in marl soil of Shahroud city is one of the most important factors that play an important role in the establishment of vegetation. The important point is that in all three regions, there is an abundance and predominant species of Artemisia plain and, without a doubt, this rangeland species can be considered as the most compatible plant species in the areas covered by marl formations.

Marly units cover about 4438 square kilometers (20% of the total area) of Zanjan Province territory. The research shows that various scholars, although sporadically, have considered a relationship between physicochemical factors and the classification of Marl. In this paper, the classification of Marls in Zanjan Province has been investigated based on physicochemical properties and cluster analysis.

To conduct this research, 18 studied units have been defined by grouping and combining the slope, climate and Marl units of geological formations in ArcGIS9.3 software environment. In addition, 120 samples were taken from two depths of 0-10 and 0-30 cm. The data obtained from physicochemical analyzes were analyzed using SPSS statistical program.

According to the results, Marl units of Zanjan province, are divided into two groups based on their physicochemical characteristics: evaporative or non-marine such as Pliocene, upper red, lower red, and Eocene Marl, and non-evaporative or marine such as Qom and Cretaceous Marl.These marl units are part of normal formations in the surface layers while in the deep layers the situation is different, the salinity and alkalinity of some of these units such as Pliocene and Qom marl units increases. But other units, despite the increase in depth according to the chemical analysis performed at a depth of 0-30 cm, are still in normal category in terms of salinity and alkalinity. According to cluster analysis, 6 variables including clay, sand, PI, cation exchange capacity (CEC), the amount of dissolved sodium (Nasol) and sulfate (So4) were situated in the center of the classification. This shows their importance in the separation and grouping of marl units. Therefore, it can be concluded that these 6 variables can be effective and useful in classification of marl units in Zanjan province.

Investigation of differences and changes in physicochemical properties of marl units at depths of 0-10 and 0-30 cm by t-test show that the units at the two mentioned depths have a high correlation coefficient in most physical, mechanical and chemical variables. Also, they show significant differences in some variables as silt, cation exchange capacity (CEC), percentage of organic carbon, the total neutralizing value (TNV) of the limestone, the amount of dissolved sodium (NaSol), sodium absorption ratio (SAR), Chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4) and the liquid limit (LL). Therefore, according to these physicochemical properties, it is possible to classify and group Marls in Zanjan Province.Investigation of the effect of physicochemical variables on the separation of marl units using F-test and comparison of means for different units by Duncan test confirmed the feasibility of separation and grouping of marl units based on physicochemical variables. They can be classified at least in one group based on the electrical conductivity or at most in three groups according to effective variables such as silt, sand, lime percentage, sodium absorption ratio and liquid limit and plasticity index.Based on the cluster analysis, 6 variables of the amount of clay, sand, and the plasticity index (PI), cation exchange capacity (CEC), dissolved sodium (NaSol) and sulfate (So4) are vital in the classification and indicate importance in separation and grouping of Marl units. Therefore, it can be said that these 6 variables can be effective and useful in providing a classification of marl units in Zanjan Province.

Due to the time consuming and uneconomical use of dynamic models, the use of downscaling climatic exponential methods has increased. In this study, the results of HadGEM2-ES, MIROC and NoerESM1-M climatic models that were calibrated by CCT toolbox after simulating daily climatic parameters of daily precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature in the Karganrood basin in Gilan province, Iran. The meteorological data of Bandar Anzali synoptic station during 1975-2018 was used as the observation period. Daily parameters of precipitation, maximum and minimum temperature of Karganrood watershed were simulated under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios in the next three periods of 2050-2025, 2051-2075 and 2100-2076, respectively, and compared with the observation period. NS, R2 and RMSE evaluation indices were used to evaluate the climate models HadGEM2-ES, MIROC and NoerESM1-M. The results of this study showed that the comparison of changes in future temperature data of the region using climatic models used with the observation period according to Mann-Kendall test is not random and under the influence of factors, in addition to correlation, a significant trend showed that the highest levels of significance were related to maximum temperature (Z = 4.04) and minimum temperature (Z = 4.6) at 95% confidence level in NoerESM1-M climate model and in the next period of 2051- 2075, respectively is under RCP8.5 scenario and its rate is increasing.

In some areas, it is surprisingly possible to see a dense cover of rangeland species that has sustained soils and controlled the sedimentation rate of marl lands. It seems that some of the physical and chemical properties of marl are the main reasons for such a cover in the areas covered by Marlene formations. This research was carried out with the aim of thorough and systematic examination of plant species and determining the need for habitat and their protective role in the eastern, southern and western regions of Ilam. For this purpose, 48 specimens of Marne deposit were harvested from three areas and 33 physical and chemical tests were carried out. Botanical investigations were carried out using recurrent field observations and plots at 180 points, and plant specimens were identified after transfer to the plant museum According to the results of experiments on marl samples in these three regions, according to the stratigraphy of marl formations Gurpi, Pabdeh, Gachsaran and Aghajari, the sediments of these three areas were evaluated for the salinity (EC), bulk density (BD), sodium (Na +) and Soil saturation percentage (SP) and some physical parameters such as sand, sand and silt particles have significant differences. This difference can be one of the factors affecting the diversity and diversity of vegetation grown in three areas. The most important point is that in both eastern and western regions of Ilam, the species of Quercus brantii is abundant and dominant, and it can undoubtedly be considered as the most adapted plant species in the areas covered by Marlene formations of Gurpi and Pabdeh in these zones. . The second dominant species is No mu, Ha sa and Zi nu, which is compatible with the southern marl zone of the city of Ilam.

Land cover change is one of the most effective factors of environmental change. So, understanding and predicting the causes, processes and consequences of land cover has become a major challenge. The remote sensing and satellite data technologies can be used effectively to detect and quantify land cover changes and its effects on the environment. This research used the MODIS MCD12Q1 yearly data at 500 m resolution to evaluate the spatio-temporal changes in the national land cover of Iran from 2001 to 2015 in five years periods. Land cover maps of Iran were generated based on 12 classes for years of 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2015 and then evaluated using “Landcover Change Matrix”. Areal distribution analysis showed that the most parts of Iran covered by barren areas (more than 60%). The area of forests, croplands and grasslands were reduced from 0.8, 4.8 and 21.4 percent respectively in the year of 2001 to 0.6, 4.5 and 20.9 percent of Iran’s area in 2015. Furthermore, to evaluate land cover changes in five years’ period, the land cover map of the first and last years of each period were compared using “Landcover Change Matrix”. Results showed that in the five years periods of 2001-2005, 2005-2010 and 2010-2015 land cover of Iran changed increasingly as 2.13, 3.25 and 3.30 percent respectively of Iran’s area. And the overall changes of land cover in Iran from 2001 to 2015 is 6.08 percent of Iran’s area.

Environmental challenges are increasing day by day which this is a result of the increasing human population and demand for natural resources. Mismanagement of natural resources causes instability in environmental indicators. Degradation of watersheds with soil erosion and sediment yield is one of the most important environmental issues in Iran. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare and complete the spatial information of the natural characteristics of the watersheds and their prioritization. Because it is used in comprehensive watershed management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the status of some indicators and prioritize sub- catchments in Karkheh watershed. So indices of sensitivity of rock units to erosion, modified fournier erosivity index, erosion intensity from EPM experimental model and sedimentation through logarithmic sediment delivery ratio and discharge data were extracted and analyzed. After calculating mentioned indices in the sub-cachtments of Karkheh watershed, the values of each indicator in the basin and sub basins were examined, standardized and compared and then sub- cachtments prioritization were performed. The clustering method was also used to group the sub- cachtments and the above mentioned indices and topographic indices. Investigation of the susceptibility of formations to erosion of Karkheh watershed showed that sensitive class to erosion is the most frequent in this basin (60 %). The largest similar category in sub- cachtments includes nine ones with codes2213, 2214, 2221, 2222, 2223, 2225, 2226, 2227 and 2228 and the coefficients of area and length of flow had the most similarity. The results of rainfall erosivity and average erosion also indicate that very high erosivity class and high erosion class have the largest area (49% and 52% respectively) in this basin which the average erosivity and erosion of the basin were 60.6 mm and 727 m3 / km, respectively. The results of the average ranking of the indicators of geological formation sensitivity, rainfall erosivity and erosion of each sub basin show that sub basins such as 2215 (Karkheh Bala) and 2224 (Khoramabad) are prioritized in terms of planning and practical measurments at the level of the basin at managerial levels and sub- cachtments such as 2211 (Karkheh Payab) and 2227 (Ab Aleshtar) are less priority than other sub- cachtments in the Karkheh watershed.

In some marl outcrops, certain rangeland species grow dramatically, stabilizing soil and controlling erosion and erosion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of rangeland species on marine erosion control of desert regions of Ardakan city of Yazd. For this purpose, after separation of marl zones on geological map and field visits, marl boundaries were finalized on the map. Then, a map of percentage of vegetation species and type was prepared. Field visits were conducted to determine the percentage of vegetation and to prepare a list of plant species. To investigate the physical and chemical properties of the soil, sampling from 12 sites and dividing it into four homogeneous groups was performed by means of ANOVA and Duncan test. The results showed that different marl formations in Ardakan desert areas include marl with gypsum, sandstone and conglomerate and lime. Most marl lands are vegetation-free and sometimes rocky. But in some parts of the marl, especially in the waterways, low density rangeland bushes play an effective role in controlling groove erosion and groove fixation. The most consistent species (83% in vegetated plots) is the marshy land of Salsola tomentosa. Comparison of soil chemical properties of marl groups showed that alkalinity, gypsum, salinity, calcium and magnesium and lime variables had significant differences at 1 and 5% probability level. Therefore, it has caused differences in the establishment of vegetation and species.

Analyses of surface and groundwater samples in Sareskand region in east Azarbayjan showed some heavy metal concentrations several time higher than standard ones.Due to irrigation of the agricultural lands with these waters, heavy metal pollution of the soils and relationship between pollutant concentrations and the soil properties were goals of this research.

Particle size distribution, EC, CEC, pH, OC, and Al, As, Ba, Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Sn, Va, and Zn analyses of 21 soil samples were done. SPSS software were used to correlation coefficients between the metal concentrations and the soil properties to cluster analysis.

Mean concentrations of Al, As, Ba, Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Sn, Va, and Zn of the soil samples were 67190.48, 127.95, 487.24, 1.80, 20.52, 85.05, 49.19, 40523.81, 726.67, 60.00, 34.81, 5.76, 116.38, and 110.52 mg/Kg soil respectively.  Ba, Co, Fe, Sb, and Ni showed negative correlation with soil EC. Cobalt, Cr, and Ni high positive and Zn negative correlation with CEC were shown. Aluminum negative and Cu had positive correlation with organic carbon.

The high Al concentrations showed abundant aluminosilicates in the soils. Existence of Fe and Mn mines in around of the region, emphasis high concentrations of theses two metals. Negative correlations between clay and OC of the soil samples with some metals related to heterogeneity of soil samples. Other researches are necessary to determine geologic and anthropogenic sources of these metals.

Land use/cover change at the geological marl formations, especially the conversion of forest and rangeland areas to rain-fed lands and subsequent improper tillage practice has led to severe soil erosion and sedimentation, soil moisture lost, dust-blown, global warming, and water pollution. The current study aims to prepare the spatial distribution of marl formation in Kermanshah province in Iran and to assess dominant land-use, plant cover, slope, and erosion features using satellite image (SPOT 2000) and field survey. The field data have been analyzed through ArcGIS software. The results of this study reveal that there are eight major marls formations in Kermanshah province including Amiran, Aghajari, Gachsaran, Gurpi, Talezangh, Kashkan, Pabdeh, and Mishan occupying about 24.21 % of province areas. Among these formations, three formations including Amiran, Kashkan, and Aghajari are the most vulnerable to degradation due to topographic conditions, high solubility, and improper land-use practices. The sensitive facies of Amiran and Kashkan Formations are more prominent in the forest and rain-fed areas with hill slope conditions. In these areas, deforestation, illegal charcoal extraction, improper agricultural and non-agricultural activities resulted in the dissolution of sensitive layered and consequently landslide incidents. Thus during each effective rainfall occurrence, there is severe erosion and siltation deliver fresh sediment in lower drainage systems affecting road, brigs, and farmlands. In gentle slope, this process causes head-cut and gully development. Aghajari formation, which covers a wide range of winter pastures in Kermanshah province, has a high potential of dissolution due to its mineralogical and soil properties increasing soil erosion and sediment yield. It is concluded that severe land use/cover change at marl formation of Zagros areas are the factors sensitive to soil erosion, sedimentation and flood hazard as well as the solution of serous crises such water deficiency and desertification.

 Geological Marl formations and their deposits are more sensitive to degradation and soil erosion factors. The considerable areas of Zagros regions in Iran comprise marl formations dominated by forest and rangeland land uses. These marls are different condition of topography and land use/cover, while they are characterized by high level of clay and slit contents and dominant swell-shrink clay minerals. Thus, the soils originated from these marl formations are vulnerable to plant cover degradation causing severe erosion, sediment and flood hazards. Landus in marly areas are forest and rangeland, hence; converting them to rain-fed areas and subsequently improper human practices such as heavy tillage and civil activities cause gully erosion and other soil erosion features, landslide occurrences, soil moisture lost and organic carbon emission. However, survey on marl formations in terms of land use/cove and dominant soil erosion at local scale are necessary steps to control environmental hazards, especially erosion, sediment, flood as well as drought, dust and water shortage managements in watersheds of west and east west of Iran. The present study aims to determinate the marl formation areas and to make a map for their distribution recognizing, some important local features like erosion in Kermanshah province (a part of upper Karkheh catchment) in Iran which were carried out during 2017-2020.  

 This research conducted in Kermanshah province comprising verity of geological formations mainly marl deposits which are the hilly and plain topography. In other to achieve this research, the border of each marl formation was mapped using basal geological map and field verification. Next the dominant erosion feature was determined using satellite image (SPOT), but the land use was mapped through Landsat 8 (2015). Finally, field survey carried out for exploring details of land use and erosion features using GPS. The soil erosion features were inter-rill, rill, gully and landslide. Furthermore, land use was forest, rangeland and agricultural areas.  The spatial distribution and area of main erosion feature and land use within each marl formation was mapped using ArcGIS.

The findings reveal that there are eight major marl formations in Kermanshah province including Amiran, Aghajari, Gachsaran, Gurpi, Talezangh, Kashkan, Pabdeh, and Mishan occupying approximately 603 million ha (24.21 % of province areas).Among these formations, three formations of Amiran, Kashkan, and Aghajari are the most vulnerable to degradation due to higher area, topographic conditions, high solubility, and improper land-use practices. Field verification showed that solubility phenomenon in both Kaskan and Amiran formations is considerable where, forest and rangeland are degraded or rain-fed areas is subjected to up-down the slope tillage practice. They are more sensitive to land use change and field survey showed severe inter-rill, rill and landslide incidence where subjected to converting forest, tillage practice, charcoal extraction and improper civil activities. In some areas, that forest is wholly cleared, after each effective rainfall occurrence, fresh sediment from hill slope of Amiran and Kashkan damage the road, bridge, riverside and lowland agricultural areas. Moreover, in plane areas, dissolve phenomenon contributes to head-cut activity developing of gully erosion. For instance, in Bujan area (SW Kermanshah city), sever tunneling erosion and landslide are delivered the fresh sediment comprising greenish clay and slits fractions during rainfall. This sediment moves down through runoff in parallel to slope furrow of tillage at the rain-fed lands. Consequently, this sediment contaminates surface water, accelerates local flood hazard and covers farmlands in lower parts. It can be said that the deforestation rate is less visible in this province. Therefore, as one of the upstream branches of Karkheh basin, it has a key origin of flood occurrence and sediment yield and its accelerating damages in Lorestan (Pol-e Dokhtar) and Khuzestan provinces. This destruction continues in an astonishing way, away from improper management and monitoring. Aghajari formation, which covers a wide range of winter pastures in Ghasr-e-shirin, has a high potential of dissolution phenomenon due to its mineralogical and soil properties increasing soil erosion and sediment yield. It is more vulnerable, where subjected to land use change, particularly converting rangeland to irrigation lands.

According to findings, most of the marl formations in Kermanshah province have more outcrops in the upper and middle parts of watersheds and continue in Lorestan, Ilam and Khuzestan provinces which induces same conditions for environmental hazards such as floods, soil erosion and dust phenomena. The reason for the destruction of these marl formations is the change in land use, especially the conversion of forests and rangeland to rain-fed areas causing various forms of erosion, including dissolution, rill, gully and landslides. Field studies reveal that most facies of these marl formations contain clay, silt and shale with thin to medium sandstone layers. Due to mineralogical property and high amounts of clay and silt fractions as well as topographic factors, they are prone to dissolution, erosion and landslides hazard, which are increased by land use change in forest and rangeland areas, vegetation destruction and improper tillage practice. In this condition, fine-grained sediments reach the drainage system during rainfall time. The consequencs of this process, in addition to sediment, are the flood hazard, water shortages impacting proper management of such crises in the Zagros regions. In Qasr-e-shirin areas, extensive land use change at Aghajari formation not only causes soil erosion, sediment and flood problems, but also potentially is the dust blown origin due to the prevailing wind direction (from east to west), that can affect Kermanshah, Lorestan, Hemedan and Markazi province of Iran.

Marls are one of the main causes of sediment production and subsequent soil erosion in watersheds. Researchs shows that there is a close relationship between the rate of marls sediment yield and their physical and chemical characteristics. With the aim of determining the expansion of marly formations and a quantitative assessment of  the mentioned indices role on the sediment yield of marls in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, a comprehensive study was conducted and its outstanding results are presented in this study. After identifying and separating the marly formations in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province and performing systematic sampling, necessary physical and chemical experiments were performed and the results were analyzed using statistical methods. Then, using a rainfall simulator, the sediment production rate of each marly stratigraphic units was measured in the field. Results showed that about 1073.95 Km2 (equal to 6.5%) of province rocks has devoted to marly lithological units. On the basis of analyses, Razak, Pabdeh, Hormoz, Mishan and Gurpi formations with mean of 96.34, 94.41, 87.1, 76.17 and 33 grm-2 are the most sensitive marly formations, respectively. Sediment yield is directly related to silt amounts, total lime, active lime, exchangable sodium and reverse related to clay amounts. The presence of Kaolinite and Illite clay minerals is one of the intensifying factors in sedimen yeild in marly formations.

The desertification process, by reducing the biological production potential, leads to the destruction of ecosystems. In this research, to assess the role of edaphic factors on desertification in rangelands surrounding Eshtehard, Halgh-e-Darreh highlands, first, the map of units was created by crossing maps of slope classes, land uses, and geology using ArcGIS 10.3 software. Three indices of erodibility, salinity and permeability for each land unit were considered and classified. 185 and 179 samples were taken during 2018 and 2019 for indices of salinity and permeability for zoning of  the study area, respectively. Then, weights of indices and consistency ratio were calculated by the AHP method. Method of multicriteria optimization and compromise solution, VIKOR method was used to prioritize the alternatives. After calculating the weighted normalized values, priority was given to desertification potential of the units. Also, the results of AHP showed that from the experts' point of view, salinity is the most important factor in desertification. Other factors such as susceptibility to erosion and permeability coefficient are in the next rank order, respectively. The AHP-VIKOR model has very high degree of adaptation to the corresponding classes in the control map. The percentage of compliance and non-compliance of the classes of the potential of desertification risk were 92.91% and 7.09%, respectively. The range of changes of Vikor index based on AHP-VIKOR method varies from 0.443 to 0.967. Accordingly, the study area has three classes of potential or severity of desertification areally 0.5% moderate, 7.06% high and 92.43% very high class respectively.

Tectonic activity affects the formation, deployment and evolution of  landforms as well as erosion processes. The existence of several faults and anticline in the west of Khuzestan Plain has also led to changes in morphology and the establishment of landforms such as sand dunes. Therefore, the research is aimed to determine the effect of tectonic activities on the morphology and behavior of sandy hills in west of Khuzestan Plain. To achieve the above goal, the following information layers were provided. The layers included Ahwaz geological map with a scale of 1: 100,000 and a topography of 1: 25000, field observations, as well as results from the processing of Landsat satellite images and IRS from 1991, 1998, 2002 and 2006. In addition, other GIS layers was used such as faults, anticlines and units, geomorphic units, sedimentary environments and drainage networks. Data analysis was also conducted based on field observations and geomorphic techniques and a comparison method. The results of geomorphologic indices such as coefficient of sinousity and integral hypersometry showed that the study area was strongly influenced by tectonic activity and morphotectonic units such as Hamidyeh-Ahwaz, Zeynol Abbas and Abol Gharib anticlines. However, other secondary factors such as the wind direction and the pattern of the flow of the Karkheh River, change the overall trend of sand dunes. It also causes sediment transfer from sand dunes to flood plains and dust production centers in the west of Khuzestan Plain. Therefore, the findings of this research can lead to the provision of necessary information for soil protection against wind erosion in the province, especially in the center of number one dust (Hooralazim), erosion and sediment sources along the Karkheh River Basin.

Soil erosion management requires providing appropriate solutions that can be achieved with knowing soil erosion situation. The aim of this study, modeling rill erosion potentially by using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and investigation of its robustness to knowing about rill erosion susceptibility in the Golgol watershed, Ilam province. To this purpose, different geo-environmental factors were selected to be employed in the modeling process. In addition, 157 rill erosion events were recorded by a global positioning system (GPS). These events were then classified into two classes of training and validation with a ratio of 70:30. To evaluate model robustness, these classifications were repeated three times, and therefore, three sample datasets (D1, D2, and D3), were prepared. The area under receiver operating characteristics (AUC) curve was used for evaluating the performance of the model. Regarding the robustness results, all of the datasets obtained good AUC values and all of them were robust for both the goodness-of-fit (RAUC =1.3) and prediction performance (RAUC =3.1). In other words, the results demonstrated that the model remained quite stable when the calibration and validation data were changed. In addition, we found that the MaxEnt model is capable to produce rill erosion susceptibility map. Furthermore, based on the sensitivity analysis, it found that the most important components in rill erosion susceptibility modeling are lithology and distance from stream. The adopted methodology can be useful as an efficient approach for land use planning and erosion risk management.

Land degradation in different climates drastically disturbs natural ecosystems and reduces the biological production potential of the resources. To investigate the role of geological criteria on land degradation in rangelands surrounding Eshtehard, the map of units was prepared by overlaying and crossing maps of slope classes, land uses, and geological formations using the ArcGIS 10.3 software. Three indices of erodibility, salinity and permeability for each unit were considered and classified. The weights of criteria and consistency ratios were calculated by the AHP method. The TOPSIS method was used to prioritize the alternatives. The weighted normalized values, Euclidean distances, and the relative closeness to the ideal solution were calculated and top priority was given to the land degradation potential (DP) of the units. The results indicated that the relative closeness to the ideal solution obtained from the AHP-TOPSIS technique ranged from 0.002 to 0.991. Accordingly, the study area contains four categories of potential or severity of land degradation, namely: 20872.709 ha (37.97%) of the area with low DP, 1470.297 ha (2.67%) of the area with moderate DP, 1844.861 ha (3.36%) of the area with high DP, and 30788.02 ha (56.00%) of the area with high DP.