نشریه آب و خاک
سال بیست و نهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 40، خرداد و تیر 1394)

Accurate water demand modeling for the city is very important for forecasting and policies adoption related to water resources management. Thus, for future requirements of water estimation, forecasting and modeling, it is important to utilize models with little errors. Water has a special place among the basic human needs, because it not hampers human life. The importance of the issue of water management in the extraction and consumption, it is necessary as a basic need. Municipal water applications is include a variety of water demand for domestic, public, industrial and commercial. Predicting the impact of urban water demand in better planning of water resources in arid and semiarid regions are faced with water restrictions.

One of the most important factors affecting the changing technological advances in production and demand functions, we must pay special attention to the layout pattern. Technology development is concerned not only technically, but also other aspects such as personal, non-economic factors (population, geographical and social factors) can be analyzed. Model examined in this study, a regression model is composed of a series of structural components over time allows changed invisible accidentally. Explanatory variables technology (both crystalline and amorphous) in a model according to which the material is said to be better, but because of the lack of measured variables over time can not be entered in the template. Model examined in this study, a regression model is composed of a series of structural component invisible accidentally changed over time allows. In this study, structural time series (STSM) and ARMA time series models have been used to model and estimate the water demand in Isfahan. Moreover, in order to find the efficient procedure, both models have been compared to each other. The desired data in this research include water consumption in Isfahan, water price and the monthly pay costs of water subscribers between 1388 and 1390. In structural time series model, the model was generated by entering the invisibility part of the process and development of a state-space model, as well as using maximum likelihood method and the Kalman-Filter algorithm.

Given the value of the test statistic ADF, with the exception of changing water use variables with a time difference of the steady rest. Superpopulation different modes of behavior were assessed based on the demand for water. Due to the likelihood ratio statistic is most suitable for the parameters, was diagnosed the steady-state level of randomness and the slope. Price and income elasticities of demand for water, respectively -0.81 and 0.85 shows that water demand is inelastic with respect to price and income and a lot of water is essential. Identify the nature of the request of one of the most important results in estimated water demand in the urban part of the state space time series structure and patterning methods, as an Alternative for variable is Technology preferences use. The model is estimated for the city's water demand time series model, respectively ARMA (3,1). Model performance metrics to compare the structural time series and time series ARMA, the result represents a structural time series model based on the fact that all the performance criteria in this study outperformed the ARMA model to forecast water city demand in the Isfahan.

Of a time series model structure to model ARMA in this research is to estimate the model and predict the number the less time is required, and also can be used for modeling of other variables (such as income and price) to this is helping to improve the models. Also, in ARMA time series the best model for data was selected according to the Schwarz Bayesian and Akaike criterion. Results indicate that the estimation of water demand using structural time series method is more efficient than when ARMA time series model is applied. Therefore, structural time series model can be used as an efficient tool for managers and planners in the Management Departmentsin order to forecast water demand. Used was for compare the performance of these two models of standard root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE).

An appropriate water resources management and planning is necessary due to the scarcity of water resources and rapidly growing world population. In this regard, selecting appropriate methods for irrigation is one of the most important issues. Drip irrigation is a recent advanced irrigation method in which fertilizers can be efficiently applied along with irrigation water. Drip fertigation, however, can potentially cause clogging of emitters. Various factors such as clogging increase manufactures’ coefficient of variation and water temperature and pressure changes could alter emitter discharge and water distribution uniformity. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of fertigation on clogging of emitters and the performance of drip irrigation systems. This study was performed as a laboratory experiment at the University of Zabol. The experiment was done in the form of factorial in a completely randomized design with three replications in the hydraulics laboratory, the University of Zabol. The first factor was fertilizer type including: F0 (control), F1 (ammonium nitrate) and F2 (urea) and the second factor was the emitter types including one-nozzle on line (A), six-nozzles in line (B) and eight-nozzles on line (C). The tap water was used for irrigation. The system included 9 laterals, 3 m each with 18 emitters on each lateral. Fertilizer solution with known concentrations of 0.08 grams per liter was entered into the system from a plastic tank. Fertilizer tank was covered to avoid water evaporation even in a small amount. The experiment lasted for 60 days with 12 operating hours per day. The emitter discharge was measured every three days at the end of day. In order to evaluate the degree of emitter clogging, the percentages of discharge reduction (Qt), Christiansen’s coefficient of uniformity (CU), distribution uniformity (DU) and discharge coefficient of variations (Vm) were calculated as follows: where qa, qm and qt are the average, primary and secondary emitter discharges (L/hrs), respectively, qi is the individual emitter discharge (L/hrs), Sm is the standard deviation of discharge (L/hrs) and n is the number of measurements. The results indicated that both fertilizer and emitter type have significant effect on reduction of emitter discharge and distribution uniformity as well as on increase of emitter coefficient of variation. The Duncan test for comparing means showed that the A type emitters had the highest clogging while the B type emitters had the lowest clogging. The percentages of discharge reduction for emitters A, B and C were about 18, 24 and 22, respectively, for treatment F0 (control); 24, 39 and 30 for treatment F1; and 34, 44 and 32 for treatment F2. The results indicated that the emitter clogging increases with altering fertilizer from F0 to F2. F2 (urea fertilizer) had the worse effect on emitter clogging than F1 (ammonium nitrate fertilizer) which could be due to more nitrate produced by urea fertilizer. Also, the results showed that the emitter clogging and discharge coefficient of variation are increased by increasing the elapsed time. Urea and ammonium nitrate fertilizers are hydrolyzed in water and partly converted to nitrate, which is consumed by algae and other microorganisms causing slime accumulation. Bacterial slimes can be a direct cause of clogging for emitters. According to the results, both fertilizer and emitter types may significantly change the hydraulic properties of emitters. The smallest clogging belonged to emitter of type A when fertilizer F0 was applied as it results in discharge reduction of 18.44%. The largest clogging belonged to emitter of type B when fertilizer F2 was applied (discharge reduction was about 44%). In general, it could be said that fertigation may influence emitter discharge depending on fertilizer treatments (e.g. fertilizer type and concentration), water properties and emitter type. The clogging problems must be attended more specifically as it may reduce farmers’ willingness for drip irrigation implementation and makes them do surface irrigation which may result in more water losses. This study showed that the quality of water used in drip fertigation increases the clogging made by fertilizer application. So, the quality of irrigation water should be investigated every few days. The use of nitrogen fertilizer may cause biological clogging of emitters, so when such fertilizer are used, the type of emitter should be considered.

Rainfall is affected by changes in the global sea level change, especially changes in sea surface temperature SST Sea Surface Temperature and sea level pressure SLP Sea level Pressure. Climate anomalies being related to each other at large distance is called teleconnection. As physical relationships between rainfall and teleconnection patterns are not defined clearly, we used intelligent models for forecasting rainfall. The intelligent models used in this study included Fuzzy Inference Systems, neural network and Neuro-fuzzy. In this study, first the teleconnection indices that could affect rainfall in the study area were identified. Then intelligent models were trained for rainfall forecasting. Finally, the most capable model for forecasting rainfall was presented. The study area for this research is the Khorasan Razavi Province. In order to present a model for rainfall forecasting, rainfall data of seven synoptic stations including Mashhad, Golmakan, Nishapur, Sabzevar, Kashmar, Torbate and Sharks since 1991 to 2010 were used. Based on previous studies about Teleconnection Patterns in the study area, effective Teleconnection indexes were identified. After calculating the correlation between the identified teleconnection indices and rainfall in one, two and three months ahead for all stations, fourteen teleconnection indices were chosen as inputs for intelligent models. These indices include, SLP Adriatic, SLP northern Red Sea, SLP Mediterranean Sea, SLP Aral sea, SST Sea surface temperature Labrador sea, SST Oman Sea, SST Caspian Sea, SST Persian Gulf, North Pacific pattern, SST Tropical Pacific in NINO12 and NINO3 regions, North Pacific Oscillation, Trans-Nino Index, Multivariable Enso Index. Inputs of the intelligent models include fourteen teleconnection indices, latitude and altitude of each station and their outputs are the prediction of rainfall for one, two and three months ahead. For calibration of the models, eighty percent of the data belonged to six stations. Mashhad, Golmakan, Sabzevar, Kashmar, Torbate and Sarakhs were used. Verification of the model was carried out in two parts. The first part of verification was done with twenty percent of the remaining data which belonged to the mentioned six stations. The second part of verification was done with data from the Nishapur station. Nishapur geographically is located between other stations and did not participate in the calibration. So, it provides a ondition for assessing models in location except for the calibration stations. To assess and compare the accuracy of the models, the following statistical criteria have been used: correlation coefficient (R), normal root mean square error (NRMSE), mean bias error (MBE), Jacovides criteria (t), and ratio (R2/t). To evaluate models in different rainfall depths, rainfall data based on standard precipitation index (SPI) was divided into seven classes, and the accuracy of each class was calculated separately. By comparing the model's ability to predict rainfall according to the R2 /t criteria it can be concluded that the ranking of the models is Neuro-fuzzy model, Fuzzy Inference Systems, and Neural network, respectively. R2 /to criteria for prediction of rainfall one, two, and three month earlier in the Neuro-fuzzy model are 0.91, 0.4, 0.36, in Fuzzy Inference Systems are 0.76, 0.38, 0.31 and in the neural network model are 0.43,0.27, 0.2. The statistical criteria of Neuro-fuzzy model (R, MBE, NRMSE, t, R2/ t) for rainfall forecasting one month earlier are 0.8, -0.55,0.43, 0.7, 0.91; two months earlier are 0.79, -1.32, 0.48, 1.56, 0.4; and three months earlier are 0.73,-1.37, 0.54, 1.47, 0.36. Calculation of MBE criteria for Neuro-fuzzy models in all classes of SPI indicated that this model has a lower estimate in extremely wet and very wet classes. This is because of lack of data belonging to these classes for model training. The results of this research showed that teleconnection indices are suitable inputs for intelligent models for rainfall prediction. Computing the best structure of fuzzy, neural network and Neuro-fuzzy models showed that Neuro-fuzzy can predict rainfall the most accurately. But, the results of these models in very wet and extremely wet condition are not reliable. So, these models should be used with more caution in these conditions.

Two of the main challenges in developing countries are food production and trying to get a high income for good nutrition and reduction of poverty. Cereals and legumes are the most important crops in the rainfed areas of the country occupying the majority of dry land areas. Irrigated production systems had a main role in food production in the past years; but unfortunately, in recent years, with high population and competition of industry and environment with agricultural sectors, getting adequate irrigation water is difficult. The main purpose of this study is to determine the best option of crop agronomic management. Rainfed agriculture is important in the world; because this production system establishes %80 of the agriculture area and prepares %70 of the food in the world. In the Lorestan province, production area for rainfed barley is 120,000 ha and the amount produced is 120000 ton (approximately 1009 kg per ha). The purposes of this study were to evaluate cost, benefit and profit of rainfed barley production, economical and non-economical substitution of treatments in different agronomic management, study of sale return, cost ratio, determining break-even of price and comparing it with the guaranteed price of barley and estimating the value of water irrigation. This research was carried out by sample farmers (12 farmers) on rainfed barley at the Honam selected site in the Lorestan province during 2005-07. At on-farm areas of the upper Karkheh River Basin (KRB) three irrigation levels were analyzed (rainfed, single irrigation at planting time and single irrigation at spring time) under two agronomic managements (advanced management (AM) and traditional management (TM). Data was analyzed by Partial Budgeting (PB) technique, Marginal Benefit-Cost Ratio (MBCR), and economical and non-economical test. For estimation of net benefit the following formula was used: (1) Where: N.B: Net income (Rials/ ha), B(w): Gross income, C (w): Cost of production, YG: Crop yield (kg/ ha), PG: Price of crop(Rials/kg), YS: straw yield (kg/ ha PS: Price of straw (Rials/kg), C1: Total fixed cost without cost of water and irrigation (Rials/ ha), Pw: Price of water and irrigation (Rials/ m3) and W: Amount of water and irrigation (m3/ ha). Changes of incomes and changes of costs for every treatment in different crop managements were used as follows: (2) (3) Where j and j+1 show existence and substitution crop managements. In order to determine the price of irrigation water, total cost including pump and electromotor, semi deep well, power instrument, maps, pipe transport and implementation network, other primary cost and operation cost were used. The analysis period for the instruments (pump and electromotor, maps, implementation network) was 20 years and for the semi deep well was 30 years. In this study, total cost was referred to the present value with %15 discount rate by uniform series formulas. Then, the water was used in the farm. The price of water was determined. Capital recovery formula is as follows: (4) Where: A: Annual value of primary investment costs, P: Primary investment costs for irrigation system, i: Discount rate and n: analysis period. According to the results, the price of water and irrigation at the research region based on its components and under 15% and 25% interest rates were obtained to be 213 and 338.1 Rials per cubic meters, respectively. The barley grain yield and its net benefit under advanced management were more than that obtained under traditional management. In traditional management, the mean barley grain yield for treatments including rainfed, Single irrigation (SI) - planting and SI spring were estimated to be 1572, 2487 and 2670 kgha-1, respectively. The mean profit for rainfed barley production for treatments including rainfed, SI-planting and SI spring were estimated to be 1270.2, 2314.2 and 2607 (Thousand Rial.ha-1), respectively. In advanced management, the mean barley grain yield for treatments including rainfed, Single irrigation (SI) -planting and SI spring were estimated to be 2270, 3444 and 2853 kgha-1, respectively. The mean profit for rainfed barley production for treatments including rainfed, SI-planting and SI spring were estimated to be 1987, 3465.4 and 2519.8 (Thousand Rial.ha-1), respectively. In the research site, the mean net benefit of rainfed barley under sowing and spring single irrigation and AM, increased by about 173% and 98.4%, respectively. The results showed that the substitution of AM-SI planting treatment instead of other treatments was non-economical. On the other hand, in this substitution, decreasing of profit is more than decreasing of cost. Finally, at Honam site, recommended management include: AM + planting SI, AM + spring SI, and rainfed AM, respectively.

Drought is a creeping natural phenomenon, which can occur in any region. Such phenomenon not only affects the region subjected to drought, but its adverse effects can also be extended to other adjacent regions. This phenomenon mainly starts with water deficiency (say less than long- term mean of variable under study such as rainfall, streamflow, groundwater level or soil moisture) and progress in time. This period can be ended by increasing the rainfall and reaching the mean level. Even after the ending of a drought period, its adverse effects can be continued for several months. Although, it is not possible (at least at this time) to prevent the occurrence of drought in a given region, it is not impossible to alleviate the drought consequences by scientific water management. Such a management should be employed before drought initiation as well as during it and continue on even after the end of the drought period. The frequency of the main drought characteristics is a major concern of this study. The Northwest of Iran recently encountered severe and prolonged droughts, such that a major portion of the Urmia Lake surface disappeared during the last drought in recent years. In order to study drought characteristics, we used the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI). This index is based on annual rainfall and potential reference crop evapotranspiration (abbreviated by PET here). This study employed the Monte Carlo simulation technique for synthetic data generation for analysis. The information from the 17 synoptic weather stations located in the North-west of Iran was used for drought analysis. Data was gathered from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Meteorological Organization (IRIMO). In the first stage of research, the ratio of long term mean annual precipitation to evapotranspiration was calculated for each of the stations. For this purpose, the Penman-Montheis (FAO 56) method was selected for PET estimation. In the second stage, the 64 candidate statistical distributions were fitted for the mentioned RDI’s of each station. The best statistical distribution was selected among the 64 candidate distributions. The best fitted distribution was identified by the chi-square criterion. The parameters of the distribution were estimated by the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) scheme. Then 500 synthetic time series (each of them have the same number of observed data) were generated employing the parent population parameters. The three main drought characteristics (namely duration, severity and magnitude) were obtained for each of the mentioned artificial time series. The maximum values for each of the mentioned drought characteristic were selected for each year. Then, a new time series having the 500 elements were obtained by collecting the chosen values for each station. Once again the best distribution was selected for each series. Drought characteristics for different return periods (2, 10, 25, 50, 100 and 200 years) were estimated for each station. Preliminary results indicated that a negative trend existed in annual rainfall time series for almost all of the stations. On the other hand, the pattern of monthly PET histograms were more or less similar for all of the selected stations. The peak of the PET was mainly observed in the hottest month of year, whereas the lowest value of the monthly PET belonged to the coldest month of year. The results showed that the amount of annual rainfall time series decreases sharply, after the year 1991. However, PET values significantly increase for all of the selected stations. After calculation of RDI values, the histogram of annual RDI’s was plotted against the year. This is repeated for all of the selected stations. Figure. 6 shows the mentioned diagram for Tabriz station as an example. In the mentioned Figure, negative values of RDI (shown by red bars) indicated the drought years. A critical prolonged drought with a sixteen years duration period (neglecting the 2001 in which RDI value was a small positive value) was experienced in Tabriz. The maximum drought severity in Tabriz was estimated to be about -7 in RDI units. Urmia station experienced the longest drought period, starting from 1995 and ending in 2005. It can be concluded that although few sparse wet years were observed in some of the selected stations in the studied period, they cannot compensate the water deficiency accumulated during several consecutive years. The results showed that the lowest value of the ratio of drought severity in a 100 year return period to the corresponding value for 2 year return period was about 2.13 (belonged to the Tabriz station), whereas the highest value was 3.17 (belonged to the Tekab station). On the other hand, the lowest value for the ratio of drought duration in 100 year return period to its corresponding value for 2 year return period was 1.95 (experienced in the Makoo station). The highest mentioned ratio was 9.18 (observed in the Sardasht station). The lowest and highest value of the ratio of drought magnitude in 100 year return period to its corresponding value for 2 year return period were 1.17 and 2.74, respectively. The mentioned drought magnitude ratios were observed in the Urmia and the Khalkhal stations, respectively. The isoplethes of the three main drought characteristics (severity, magnitude, duration) for a 10 year return period was illustrated for the study area (Northwest of Iran). In the present study RDI values were used to analyze drought characteristics of Northwest of Iran. The Penman-Montheis method was used to estimate PET (needed for RDI) values of the stations. The main three drought characteristics were calculated for each of the 500 synthetic time series. The results showed that nearly all of the areas under study experienced severe and prolonged droughts. It can be concluded that a sharp decrease in annual precipitation as well as the increase in PET (due to greenhouse effects of consuming fossil fuels as the main source of energy in the region) from 1995 to 2005 was observed in the study area. Scientific management of available water in the study area is extremely vital to alleviate the adverse consequences of drought. Several economic and social problems were anticipated in these arid and semi-arid regions of Iran.

One of the serious problems in the further development of maize cultivation is increasing irrigation efficiency. Using conventional irrigation causes a shortage of water resources to increase the acreage of the crop. With regard to the development of maize cultivation, agronomic and executable methods must be studied to reduce water consumption. Using drip irrigation system is most suitable for row crops. Hamedi et al. (2005) compared drip (tape) and surface irrigation systems on yield of maize in different levels of water requirement and indicated that drip irrigation increases the amount of yield to 2015 kg/ha and water use efficiency to 3 time. Kohi et al. (2005) investigated the effects of deficit irrigation use of drip (tape) irrigation on water use efficiency on maize in planting of one and two rows. The results showed that maximum water use efficiency related to crop density, water requirement and planting pattern 85000, 125% and two rows, respectively with 1.46 kg/m3. Jafari and Ashrafi (2011) studied the effects of irrigation levels, plant density and planting pattern in drip irrigation (tape) on corn. The results showed that the amount of irrigation water and crop density on the level of 1% and their interactions and method of planting were significant at the 5 and 10% on water use efficiency, respectively. The yield was measured under different levels of irrigation, crop density and method of planting and the difference was significant on the level of 1%. Lamm et al. (1995) studied water requirement of maize in field with silt loam texture under sub drip irrigation and reported that water use reduced to 75%; but yield of maize remained at maximum amount of 12.5 t/ha. The objective of this study was to evaluate the drip (tape) irrigation method for corn production practices in the Qazvin province in Iran. In this study, yield and yield components of corn (SC 704) were investigated under different levels of irrigation water in drip tape systems in one and two rows planting patterns with different plant densities. The experiment was conducted on randomized complete blocks as a split plot (Split block) design with 3 replicates in the Qazvin region. Four levels of irrigation including: 80, 100 and 120 percent of water requirement with drip irrigation (tape) and 100% water requirement with furrow irrigation (control treatment) as main plots and method of planting (one and two rows) with three levels of crop density including: 75000, 90000 and 105000 as subplots were considered. After harvesting, grain yield, number of rows per ear, number of kernels per ear row, number of grains per ear and 1000-kernel weigh were measured. The results of simple variance analysis of attributes showed that the method of planting has a significant difference on the level of 5% for grain yield, but on the other the measured attributes did not have any significant effect. The respective effect of planting method and crop density showed a significant difference on the level of 5% for grain yield, number of kernels per ear and the 1000-grain weight, whereas it did not have any significant effect on the other measured attributes. The respective effects of irrigation method, planting method and crop density showed a significant difference on the level of 1% for the attributes of the number of kernels per ear. The planting in one row resulted in significantly higher grain yields than the other planting patterns. In mean comparisons of the interactions between irrigation methods, crop density and planting method, grain yield in drip irrigation at a level of 120% water requirement in the two rows planting pattern and crop density equal to 75000 plants was shown in the lead on the level of 10%. The results showed that the yields of the treatments were only affected by the method of planting and planting of one row lead the planting of two rows. According to means comparison and water use efficiency in each of the treatments and limitation of water resources, one row planting pattern with crop density equal to 90000 under drip irrigation at 80% and 120% (If there is no water restrictions) of water requirement were suitable. According to the table of variance analysis, it can be seen that the effect of irrigation on corn grain yield was not significant. Research results of Sorensen and Butts (2005) and Azari et al. (2007) have also confirmed this subject. The grain yield in one row planting method was superior compared to two rows planting method. The superiority of one ton per hectare was statistically significant and substantial. Grain yields varied from 5360 to 12873 kg/ha among the treatments: in drip irrigation at a level of 120% water requirement in the two rows planting pattern and crop density equal to 75000 plants per hectare was 12873 kg/ha and the lowest yield was found in drip irrigation at a level of 80% water requirement in the two-row planting pattern and crop density equal to 75000 plants per hectare as 5360 kg/ha. With regard to mean comparisons of grain yield under the effects of interaction, and water use efficiency for each treatments, I1R1D2, I3R1D2, I1R1D1 and I2R2D3 treatments seem better than others.

Water scarcity is an important challenge worldwide, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. In these areas, the excessive exploitation of groundwater for irrigation, inefficient irrigation methods, irrigation with low-quality water and uncontrolled utilization of fertilizers in agricultural lands in addition to contamination of water resources by domestic and industrial wastewater in urban as well as rural regions, have led to water pollution problems. Furthermore, pollution and transportation of pollutants through wastewater have been considered as an environmental issue. Wastewater is a term that is used to describe waste materials that includes liquid waste and sewage waste. Wastewaters from single houses in the countryside that are not connected to sewers are generally treated on-site by septic tank systems or individual domestic wastewater treatment systems. Study on wastewater quality derived from refining systems in rural areas has been rarely taken into account. This study investigates the efficiency of some refining systems in the reduction of wastewater pollution indices and heavy metal concentrations. This study was done in four rural areas including Dehmilan, Hotkan, Sarbagh and Sekukan which are located around the city of Zarand in the Kerman province. Recently, some refining systems have been established in these areas in order to mitigate the environmental issues. An experiment was done to assess the efficiency of these refining systems and to determine the pollution indices for such small communities. Wastewater sampling was done in 10 replicates each at one week interval from four refineries. Different variables including BOD, COD, TOC, EC, TSS, TDS, DO, TKN, TP, pH, temperature, turbidity (Turb), alkanity (Alk) and also the concentrations of Cd, Zn, Pb, Ni and Mo were measured using standard methods. To quantify the performance of each system, the amount of each variable at the outlet was compared to the value of the same variable at the inlet. Also, the percentage change of wastewater properties at the outlet ratio to the inlet values in the refining systems was calculated. Meanwhile, the efficiency was evaluated using permissible values reported by the Environmental Protection Organization of Iran. The results showed that after purification, the amounts of DO, Cd and Mo were not significantly different among the studied systems, while, the other parameters were found to be similar. In almost all the cases, the amounts of pollutants decreased at the outlets, nevertheless considering the permissible standards, just in few cases the pollution was reduced. Moreover, in comparison to the standard values, the amount of TP increased, while Turbidity decreased. Additionally, the amount of DO was higher than the threshold values. As a result of purification in all the studied systems, the concentrations of Cd and Pb were reduced, whereas the concentration of Ni increased. Also, the concentrations of heavy metals, except Mo were less than the standard values. It was concluded that the selected refining systems had limited performance in the purification of wastewater in the studied rural areas. However, the amounts of pollutants showed some reductions at the outlets, based on the permissible standards reported by the Environmental Protection Organization of Iran. In just a few cases the pollution indices were reduced. In fact, the septic tank systems could not remove the chemical pollutants from wastewaters, although the best performance was observed for TSS and Turbidity, which were reduced with respect to permissible levels. The amounts of BOD and COD were higher than the standard values, indicating low efficiency of the refining systems in removal of chemical and biological agents. Also, the concentration of TP was found to be higher than the permissible level. The entrance of phosphorous into the surface runoff and water bodies may lead to eutrophication. The results of assessment of heavy metals indicated that the refining system could reduce the concentrations of Cd and Pb, whereas, the concentration of Ni increased. Anyway, the concentrations of heavy metals, except Mo were less than the standard values. The source of Mo seems to be within the wastewater generated by the rural communities, which can lead to serious environmental problems. The main concern arises from the high concentration of Mo, which was 4000 percent greater than the permissible level. Therefore, more studies are needed on the possible source of Mo in the rural study region. Also, a modification in the current systems particularly in removal of chemical agents is necessary.

Designing and management of sprinkler irrigation systems depend on the situation and location of its implementation and often rely on professional and long-term tests (9). Having a good irrigation system depends on knowledge of the relationship between soil, water, plants, irrigation scheduling, the required amount of irrigation water to the water-holding capacity of soil, climate and plant growth (6).The less use of sprinkler irrigation systems and less performed research projects in the Guilan province, lack of correct design parameters due to shortage of the required parameters for local and regional planning, has led to reliance on charts and tables. Therefore, planning water resources cannot be performed well and with accurate details. According to many researchers (8), the technical evaluation should be a regular and short-term process to review the problems and possible performance of irrigation systems. Merriam and Keller (10) defined the assessment of an irrigation system analysis, based on field measurements in real terms during the normal work of the system. Therefore, to develop these systems over the next few years, it is essential to evaluate the use of irrigation systems and review the performance of existing problems and utilizing the results to improve it. The aim of this study was to assess the current status of implemented irrigation systems in the tea plantations of Guilan and evaluate their performance. In this study, six classic sprinkler irrigation systems in tea fields of Guilan province were evaluated during two years. Sprinkler irrigation systems of semi-portable, solid-set and solid-set (hand-move sprinkler) were selected randomly. To evaluate this irrigation systems, Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient (CU), distribution uniformity (DU), potential application efficiency of low-quarter (PELQ) and application efficiency of low-quarter (AELQ) in the form of trial blocks were estimated by measuring pressure fluctuations which were applied to the entire system. Using irrigated area and irrigation water depth, adequacy of irrigation curve, deep percolation losses and spray losses were determined on the basis of existing relationships. Average values of CU, DU, PELQ and AELQ for 6 tea fields were 65, 52, 44 and 44 percent, respectively. Application efficiency in all irrigation systems, Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient and distribution uniformity were lower than recommended values in the references. Merriam and Keller (11) reported the allowable range for potential application efficiency of low-quarter between 65 to 85 percent. With respect to irrigation less than the actual water requirement of the plant in tea fields, AELQ was equal with PELQ. Untechnical design and implementation of irrigation systems, particularly poor operating pressure and economic problems were detected as the main reasons for the low PELQ. Simultaneous use of sprinklers with different specifications and models, old irrigation systems, water leakage from valves and other equipment, practically change the pressure and flow rate, which were the main reasons for the decrease in uniformity of water distribution and application efficiency of low-quarter. According to Cobban (4) uniformity coefficient of sprinkler irrigation systems were reported between 31 to 55 percent in Tanzania tea fields and in other reports were between 58 to 72 percent (7), which was due to poor design, long spacing of sprinklers and high speed wind. Christiansen’s uniformity coefficient and distribution uniformity of low-quarter in ED, WB & EP systems were lower than recommended values by Merriam and Keller (%81≥CU≥87% & %67≥DU≥80%)(10). In spite of the little losses in deep percolation, irrigation adequacy of these systems was relatively low and unacceptable. In such circumstances, only about 20 to 38% of irrigated area in WA and CK systems, respectively received the required water or more, according to lack of soil moisture (required irrigation depth). The main reason was low uniformity of water distribution in irrigation systems which was described previously. Evaluated spray losses in irrigation systems was variable between 4.8 to 13 percent. The losses obtained in irrigation systems in tea fields in comparison with the values 2.6 to 42.4 which were obtained in other regions of the country were less by (1, 3, 5 and 12) due to low wind speed and high relative humidity (2) as the main reasons. Average values of CU, DU, PELQ and AELQ for 6 tea fields were 65, 52, 44 and 44 percent, respectively that were lower than recommended values in the references. The results showed that old irrigation systems in tea fields are not in good functional status due to untechnical design and implementation, operation, exploitation and inappropriate maintenance (due to economic problems and lack of farmer’s knowledge on irrigation). To improve the performance and efficiency of irrigation systems in the tea fields, detailed information are recommended, to design and implement with detailed information accomplished by regional companies. Moreover, the use of solid-set (hand-move sprinkler) sprinkler irrigation instead of semi-portable with manual handling (aluminum pipes), operation of irrigation groups and promoting farmer's knowledge about the principles of proper the scheduling and management, operation and maintenance of irrigation systems are very effective to improve the performance indices.

Water when harvested is commonly stored in dams, but approximately up to half of it may be lost due to evaporation leading to a huge waste of our resources. Estimating evaporation from lakes and reservoirs is not a simple task as there are a number of factors that can affect the evaporation rate, notably the climate and physiography of the water body and its surroundings. Several methods are currently used to predict evaporation from meteorological data in open water reservoirs. Based on the accuracy and simplicity of the application, each of these methods has advantages and disadvantages. Although evaporation pan method is well known to have significant uncertainties both in magnitude and timing, it is extensively used in Iran because of its simplicity. Evaporation pan provides a measurement of the combined effect of temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation on the evaporation. However, they may not be adequate for the reservoir operations/development and water accounting strategies for managing drinking water in arid and semi-arid conditions which require accurate evaporation estimates. However, there has not been a consensus on which methods were better to employ due to the lack of important long-term measured data such as temperature profile, radiation and heat fluxes in most lakes and reservoirs in Iran. Consequently, we initiated this research to find the best cost−effective evaporation method with possibly fewer data requirements in our study area, i.e. the Doosti dam reservoir which is located in a semi-arid region of Iran. Our study site was the Doosti dam reservoir located between Iran and Turkmenistan borders, which was constructed by the Ministry of Water and Land Reclamation of the Republic of Turkmenistan and the Khorasan Razavi Regional Water Board of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Meteorological data including maximum and minimum air temperature and evaporation from class A pan were acquired from the Doosti Dam weather station. Relative humidity, wind speed, atmospheric pressure and precipitation were acquired from the Pol−Khatoon weather station. Dew point temperature and sunshine data were collected from the Sarakhs weather station. Lake area was estimated from hypsometric curve in relation to lake level data. Temperature measurements were often performed in 16−day periods or biweekly from September 2011 to September 2012. Temperature profile of the lake (required for lake evaporation estimation) was measured at different points of the reservoir using a portable multi−meter. The eighteen existing methods were compared and ranked based on Bowen ratio energy balance method (BREB). The estimated annual evaporation values by all of the applied methods in this study, ranged from 21 to 113mcm (million cubic meters). BREB annual evaporation obtained value was equal to 69.86mcm and evaporation rate averaged 5.47mm d-1 during the study period. According to the results, there is a relatively large difference between the obtained evaporation values from the adopted methods. The sensitivity analysis of evaporation methods for some input parameters indicated that the Hamon method (Eq. 16) was the most sensitive to the input parameters followed by the Brutsaert−Stricker and BREB, and radiation−temperature methods (Makkink, Jensen−Haise and Stephen−Stewart) had the least sensitivity to input data. Besides, the air temperature, solar radiation (sunshine data), water surface temperature and wind speed data had the most effect on lake evaporation estimations, respectively. Finally, all evaporation estimation methods in this study have been ranked based on RMSD values. On a daily basis, the Jensen−Haise and the Makkink (solar radiation, temperature group), Penman (Combination group) and Hamon (temperature, day length group) methods had a relatively reasonable performance. As the results on a monthly scale, the Jensen−Haise and Makkink produced the most accurate evaporation estimations even by the limited measurements of the input data. This study was carried out with the objective of estimating evaporation from the Doosti dam reservoir, and comparison and evaluation of conventional method to find the most accurate method(s) for limited data conditions. These examinations recognized the Jensen−Haise, Makkink, Hamon (Eq. 17), Penman and deBruin methods as the most consistent methods with the monthly rate of BREB evaporation estimates. The results showed that radiation−temperature methods (Jensen−Haise and Makkink) have appropriate accuracy especially on a monthly basis. Also deBruin, Penman (combination group), Hamon and Papadakis (temperature group) methods produced relatively accurate results. The results revealed that it is necessary to calibrate and adjust some evaporation estimation methods for the Doosti dam reservoir. According to the required input data, sensitivity and accuracy of these methods, it can be concluded that Jensen−Haise and Makkink were the most appropriate methods for estimating the lake evaporation in this region especially when measured data were not available.

Drought is a natural and recurrent feature of climate. The characterizations of it may change under the effect of climate change in future periods. During the last few decades a number of different indices have been developed to quantify drought probabilities. Droughts are caused by disruptions to an expected precipitation pattern and can be intensified by unusually high temperature values. Precipitation-based drought indices, including the Standardized precipitation index (SPI), cannot identify the role of temperature increase in drought condition and in addressing the consequences of climate change. Recently, two new standardized drought indices have been proposed for drought variability analysis on multiple time scales, the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI, Tsakiris et al., 2007) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI, Vicente-Serrano et al., 2010). The objective of this study is to evaluate the characterization of wet and dry periods under the effect of climate change according to SPEI index in synoptic station of Hamedan for the next thirty years (2011-2040). In this study, the indices of SPEI, SPI and RDI were investigated and the SPEI index as a multiscalar and suitable index was used to detect, monitor, and explore the consequences of global warming on drought conditions in synoptic station of Hamedan (airport). For this purpose, the period of 1981-2010 was chosen as the base period and the simulation of the future climate variables were done based on A1B, A2 and B2 emissions scenarios and performance of multi model ensemble via LARS-WG5 model for the period of 2011-2040. The performance of the multi model ensemble was done by using five global climate models including IPCM4, MPEH5, HADCM3, GFCM21, and NCCCS in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Semenov and Stratonovitch, 2010). By simulating the values of precipitation, and the values of temperature and the values of estimated evapotranspiration, the values of SPEI, RDI and SPI indices were calculated annually and 1, 3 and 6 months (short- term period) and 12, 18 and 24 months (long- term period) time scales for the base period and the three next decades. Then, the relation among them was computed and investigated via correlation coefficient. Then, by monitoring the humidity condition via SPEI index, the characterization of wet and dry periods including period numbers, longest period, total deficit or surplus, and maximum deficit or surplus were derived based on Run theory and were comprised for the base period and three future decades. Evaluation of LARS-WG5 model for base period showed that the model was able to simulate minimum and maximum temperatures and precipitation data with high accuracy based on statistic error and can be used to generate data for future years according to emission scenario. According to the simulated results of performance of multi model ensemble, the average values of mean temperature and precipitation will increase by 0.820C and 2.5 % for A2 scenario, respectively. In addition, the minimum and maximum temperatures have increased in all of the months according to the three scenarios in comparison with the base period. The correlation results between the investigated indices showed that the maximum and minimum of correlation can be observed between SPI & RDI and SPEI & SPI indices in the base period and future decade for each scenario, respectively. Drought assessment based on the SPEI index in the base period shows that the main drought episodes occurred in the 1999 to 2001 that were consistent with FAO report (2006). Comparison of wet and dry periods in relation to the base period showed that the number of dry periods will increase in time scales of 1 and 3 months and will decrease in other long-term time scales. Climate change and its effects are among the main challenges of water resources management in the present century. In this study, the effects of this phenomenon on drought monitoring and change of characterizations were investigated. For this purposes, we used daily meteorological variables during thirty years (1981-2010) from Hamedan Synoptic station. The results of drought monitoring were based on SPEI index, and it revealed the high variability of humidity condition in the first decade of simulation in comparison with the second and third decades. This issue indicated that this decade requires more attention and management measurements. Also, according to the results of the derived characterization via Run theory, the number of dry periods will decrease and persistence of the longest dry period and consequently the volume of deficit will increase in the next three decades. In addition, the total volume surplus of wet periods will decrease in relation to the base period that can be interpreted as the increasing of moisture deficit in future decades The SPEI is based on precipitation and temperature data, and it has the advantage of combining multiscalar character with the capacity to include the effects of temperature variability on drought assessment. Thus, we recommend SPEI, as a suitable index for studying and identifying the effect of climate change on drought conditions.

Dam ¬failure and its flooding is one of the destructive phenomena today. Therefore, estimating the peak outflow (QP) with reasonable accuracy and determining the related flood zone can reduce risks. Qp of dam failure depends on important factors such as: depth above breach (Hw), volume of water above breach bottom at failure (Vw), reservoir surface area (A), storage (S) and dam height (Hd). Various researchers have proposed equations to estimate QP. They used the regression method to obtain an appropriate equation. Regression is a mathematical technique that requires initial test and diagnosis. These researchers present a new regression model for a better estimation of Qp.

The data used in this study are related to 140 broken dams in the world for 34 of which sufficient data are available for analysis. Dam failure phenomenon is a rapidly varied unsteady flow that is explained by shallow waters equations. The equations in the one-dimensional form are known as Saint-Venant equations and are based on hydrostatic pressure distribution and uniform flow under rectangular steep assumption. Although hydraulic methods to predict the dam failure flood have been developed by different software, due to the complex nature of the problem and the impossibility of considering all parameters in hydraulic analysis, statistical methods have been developed in this field. Statistical methods determine the equations that can approximate the required factors from the observed parameters. Multiple regression is a useful technique to model effective parameters in Qp, which can examine the statistical aspects of the model. This work is done by different tests, such as the model coefficients necessity test, analysis of variance table and it creates confidence intervals. Data analysis in this paper is done by SPSS 16 software. This software can provide fit model, various characteristics and related tests in the Tables.

This paper proposes a new relationship with better estimation of discharge peak (Qp) based on Hw and Vw factors. Results showed how to choose the appropriate model (fitting the model) and the initial required tests, according to the diagnostic model. And it compares the estimated error (relative efficiency) of the researchers’ models with the proposed models. The number of models can be classified to three convenient linear, multiplicative and transformed bases on Vw, Hw and Qp (nonlinear terms Qp). The best models for each of the three models were selected. Their corrected determination coefficients (Adj R2) are close together and are between 0.86 until 0.864. The relative efficiency criteria based on the root mean square error (RMSE) was used to determine the best model. This standard was also used for other researchers’ models. RMSE of the three models presented in this article is lower than that of other models (from 745 to 759). Diagnostics analysis of the three models is not possible due to the large volume, so some statistical analysis for the model 2 are presented in detail. The results are given in the following Tables. Test level has been assumed to be 5%. From the point view of hydraulics, it can be said that the final equation for Qp should be proportional to Hw 1.5. So although the model (2) has the lowest RMSE, but the model (3) of the hydraulics viewpoint seems more logical and its RMSE is not very different from the model (2), so this model can be selected as the best model. Figure 1 show diagnostics diagrams of model (3). The right Figure shows the homogeneity of residuals (follow the normal law) as a histogram. This homogeneity is confirmed by the crouch graph (center Figure). The left graph shows the stabilization of residual variance. According to the preliminary and diagnostics tests results, the model (3) has been selected. Its determination coefficient (0.864) also shows good strength.

In this study, data from 140 broken dams were used to provide an appropriate model for estimating the peak outflow of dam failure. Standard statistical principles including preliminary tests, diagnostic and the efficiency of the models are the innovations of this paper. Analysis showed that the three models are competitive, and that the best of them was selected. The determined coefficient of these models was from 0.86 to 0.864 ranges. Relative efficiency was calculated by the RMSE index. The results showed that these models are more accurate than the models presented by other researchers. The model (3) was presented in this research, the best result was estimated for Qp and its error was less than the other models.

Soil aggregate stability is a key factor in soil resistivity to mechanical stresses, including the impacts of rainfall and surface runoff, and thus to water erosion (Canasveras et al., 2010). Various indicators have been proposed to characterize and quantify soil aggregate stability, for example percentage of water-stable aggregates (WSA), mean weight diameter (MWD), geometric mean diameter (GMD) of aggregates, and water-dispersible clay (WDC) content (Calero et al., 2008). Unfortunately, the experimental methods available to determine these indicators are laborious, time-consuming and difficult to standardize (Canasveras et al., 2010). Therefore, it would be advantageous if aggregate stability could be predicted indirectly from more easily available data (Besalatpour et al., 2014). The main objective of this study is to investigate the potential use of support vector machines (SVMs) method for estimating soil aggregate stability (as quantified by GMD) as compared to multiple linear regression approach. The study area was part of the Bazoft watershed (31° 37′ to 32° 39′ N and 49° 34′ to 50° 32′ E), which is located in the Northern part of the Karun river basin in central Iran. A total of 160 soil samples were collected from the top 5 cm of soil surface. Some easily available characteristics including topographic, vegetation, and soil properties were used as inputs. Soil organic matter (SOM) content was determined by the Walkley-Black method (Nelson & Sommers, 1986). Particle size distribution in the soil samples (clay, silt, sand, fine sand, and very fine sand) were measured using the procedure described by Gee & Bauder (1986) and calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) content was determined by the back-titration method (Nelson, 1982). The modified Kemper & Rosenau (1986) method was used to determine wet-aggregate stability (GMD). The topographic attributes of elevation, slope, and aspect were characterized using a 20-m by 20-m digital elevation model (DEM). The data set was divided into two subsets of training and testing. The training subset was randomly chosen from 70% of the total set of the data and the remaining samples (30% of the data) were used as the testing set. The correlation coefficient (r), mean square error (MSE), and error percentage (ERROR%) between the measured and the predicted GMD values were used to evaluate the performance of the models. The description statistics showed that there was little variability in the sample distributions of the variables used in this study to develop the GMD prediction models, indicating that their values were all normally distributed. The constructed SVM model had better performance in predicting GMD compared to the traditional multiple linear regression model. The obtained MSE and r values for the developed SVM model for soil aggregate stability prediction were 0.005 and 0.86, respectively. The obtained ERROR% value for soil aggregate stability prediction using the SVM model was 10.7% while it was 15.7% for the regression model. The scatter plot figures also showed that the SVM model was more accurate in GMD estimation than the MLR model, since the predicted GMD values were closer in agreement with the measured values for most of the samples. The worse performance of the MLR model might be due to the larger amount of data that is required for developing a sustainable regression model compared to intelligent systems. Furthermore, only the linear effects of the predictors on the dependent variable can be extracted by linear models while in many cases the effects may not be linear in nature. Meanwhile, the SVM model is suitable for modelling nonlinear relationships and its major advantage is that the method can be developed without knowing the exact form of the analytical function on which the model should be built. All these indicate that the SVM approach would be a better choice for predicting soil aggregate stability. The pixel-scale soil aggregate stability predicted that using the developed SVM and MLR models demonstrates the usefulness of incorporating topographic and vegetation information along with the soil properties as predictors. However, the SVM model achieved more accuracy in predicting soil aggregate stability compared to the MLR model. Therefore, it appears that support vector machines can be used for prediction of some soil physical properties such as geometric mean diameter of soil aggregates in the study area. Furthermore, despite the high predictive accuracy of the SVM method compared to the MLR technique which was confirmed by the obtained results in the current study, the advantages of the SVM method such as its intrinsic effectiveness with respect to traditional prediction methods, less effort in setting up the control parameters for architecture design, the possibility of solving the learning problem according to constrained quadratic programming methods, etc., should motivate soil scientists to work on it further in the future.

Intensified agriculture over a long-term is an important factor in soil change phenomena that can cause some unwanted effects on soil properties. To examine this hypothesis, chemical properties of the soils under sunflower cultivation over five decades and adjoining virgin lands were investigated in order to monitor changes caused by long-term cropping. The studied soils are influenced by continuous sunflower cultivation along with flooding irrigation and using chemical fertilizers for over five decades This research was undertaken at Khoy area (38o 10′ to 38o 40′ N latitude and 44o 15′ to 45o 10′ E latitude) as the northern part of western-Azarbaijan province in the north-west Iran. The Khoy area is characterized by a semi-arid climate (mean annual rainfall of 300 mm) linked with soil moisture and temperature regimes of xeric and mesic, respectively. Agriculturally, the studied area is cropped continuously by sunflower-wheat or barley rotations for over five decades and has received irrigation water from rainfall, groundwater, or seasonal river water. Forty soil surface samples (0-30 cm) belonging to 10 soil series from the cultivated soils and the adjoining uncultivated soils were samplied and analyzed for the different chemical properties. In each soil serie, the samples (cultivated soil and adjacent virgin land) were selected in similar slope, aspect, drainage condition, and parent materials. Soil analyses were involved soil pH and electrical conductivity (EC), soil organic carbon (SOC), Calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE), cation exchange capacity (CEC), total N, soluble K, exchangeable K, and available K. Potassium absorption ration (PAR) was calculated by the concentration of solution K, Ca, Mg and exchangeable potassium percentage (EPP) was calculated by exchangeable Na and CEC values This study illustrate that long-term continuous sunflower cropping had considerable effects on some soil chemical attributes. Over five decades of cultivation, a depletion face was observed in soil organic carbon, CCE, and some K forms (solution, exchangeable, available K) for most of the studied soils. In contrast, an enrichment aspect was occurred in the values of EC. The results showed that soil pH and calcium carbonate equivalent were increased by 0.09 – 0.39 units and 16 – 26 g.kg-1, respectively, in most of the examined soils after intensive agricultural practice. Increase in the CCE value may be caused by tillage operation because of the calcareous parent material is tilled periodically by farmers to cultivate a certain depth of soil in the studied soils. Compared to the uncultivated soils, the cultivated soils showed a relative enrichment in electrical conductivity (20 – 80%) which could be attributed to the chemistry of the irrigation water used and the interaction between the irrigation water and its receiving soils. A slight decline was observed in soil CEC values (1 – 9%) probably due to destruction of soil organic matter. There was a decreasing pattern in the content of soil organic carbon with cultivation ranging 17 to 39% which could be associated with the environmental conditions and management practices, i.e. (a) in the cultivated soils much of plant residues is removed or burned after harvest, (b) the present of livestock after harvest which can result in a substantial loss of SOC, (c) breaks up, decomposition, and mineralization of organic matter is accelerated by tillage practices, (d) the relatively high temperature in the cultivated soils compared to the uncultivated soils which might enhance oxidation of organic matter and destroying of organic C. A relative depletion was observed in the mean value of soluble K (10 – 330%), exchangeable K (25 -40%), available K (16 – 41%), potassium absorption ratio (16 – 61%), and exchangeable potassium percentage (26 – 40%) following continuous sunflower cropping mainly as removal of most sunflower residues after harvest and high uptake of K by sunflower as a high –K- requiring crop. In spite of the fact that exchangeable and available K declined by cropping for most of the studied soils, the soils were grouped as optimal to high category based on two the K forms. This means that intensive rotation cropping not be able to deplete soil exchangeable and available K below a certain level manly due to the presence of the high levels of K-bearing minerals. Overall, the chemical properties of different soil series reflected different responses to (both increasing and decreasing pattern) long-term sunflower cultivation. Organic carbon, soluble and exchangeable K along with EC was known to be the most sensitive indicators following long-term continuous sunflower cropping and irrigation practices. In this cause, it seems hat monitoring the chemical characteristics of both the irrigation water and the soil must be considered in order to establish the water –soil-plant management strategies that will help to prevent environmental degradation and to maintain the overall heath of the studied soils.

Changes caused by grazing on range ecosystem are generally assessed based on the soil conditions and vegetation. Livestock as one of the major elements in range land ecosystems has different effects on different parts of this ecosystem. One of these impacts is excessive livestock grazing capacity which can have different effects on soils and plants in various intensities. Gardaneh ZanbooriRangelandis located in Arsanjan in Fars province. This isanareaof mountains, hillsandplains with the maximum height of 2280 meters and minimum height of 1640 meters above sea level. Related areas were separated under three different management methods of enclosure, moderate grazing and heavy grazing. These three areas are considered as symbolic areas of grazing intensity including the reference area where no grazing intensity was observed, the key area where medium to heavy grazing was applied and critical area where heavy grazing was used. These areas were similar in all characteristics such as topography, soil type and rainfall and differed only in their grazing intensity factor. Then, soil samples were collected. Random systematic soil sampling was conducted at two horizons of 0 -15 and 15 -30 cm. Therefore, five profiles in each area (enclosure, moderate grazing and heavy grazing), a total of 15 soil profiles, were excavated and two samples were taken in each profile (one sample from each horizon). Finally, the thirty soil samples were transported to the laboratory. Samples were dried in the air laboratory and passed a two millimeter sieve after smashing. Factors such as N, P, K, OM, EC and PH were measured in each sample In the laboratory, the percentage of P was determined by the Olsen method while the percentage of K was determined using the flamephotometry method. Moreover, N was measured using the Kjeldhal method. C was measured by the Walkley and Black method. The percentage of OM was found by carbon multiplying percentage at 1.72 numbers. PH was determined with measuring the PH of saturated soil by PH meter machine. Measurement of soil EC was performed by the electrical conductivity meter. Data analysis was conducted by SPSS software. Comparing of mean values for each factor and between areas with different grazing intensity was done by the Tukey test. Two-way analysis of variance and Tukey test showed no significant differences in term of N, OM and PH between critical and reference areas. But the amount of N and OM in the key area is lower than that of the reference and critical areas. While value of PH is higher than the other regions. Also values of P and K decreased within creasing grazing intensity but the EC factor increased. Since vegetation removal and its exclusion from the ecosystem followed by considerable effect on the cycle of nutrient elements and their absorbability, it seems that in the studied ranges, the P and K elements decrease through the use and leaving of vegetation in the area. The results of N and OM showed that moderate grazing causes further decomposition of plant residues and organic nitrogen mineralization but there was no difference between the two treatments of heavy grazing and enclosure areas. In heavy grazing intensity, the amount of OM and N increases by several mechanisms. First, with soil bulk density and increased soil compaction, the oxygen supply and degradation rate decreases. In the second mechanism, intensive grazing changes the vegetation composition and root to shoot ratio. In the third mechanism, animal urine and feces can speed up the nitrogen cycle in grassland ecosystems. It seems that the simultaneous effect of the above factors studied in the related range causes no significant difference between heavy grazing and enclosure areas in the percentage of total nitrogen. EC is the lowest in the enclosure area. This is due to the absence of livestock and therefore no stepping on the soil and also more vegetation. The PH level of enclosure area is less than that of the moderate grazing area. This may be caused by more presence of organic matter in the soil of enclosure. When organic matter decomposes, organic acid and mineral acids are produced. Permanent production of acids in the soil in places where the root density is high causes dissolution of limestone and the soil is washed and so it reduces the PH.

Due to mining, considerable amounts of heavy metal bearing mineralsare scattered in the atmosphere in the form of dust and make the surrounding air, water and soils polluted.Runoff water movingfrom the mountainstowardsplains may also transport heavy metals from mines to the soils.One type ofpollutions is contamination withheavy metals.The purpose of the present research has been to investigate the effect of heavy metals of mine on soil, water, plant and dust pollution.

Gushfil mine is located 3 kilometers southwest of Sepahanshahr, Isfahan. Soil profiles were dug 500 meters apart along three parallel transects, between east of Sepahanshahr and Gushfil mine. The profiles were described and samples were collected from their horizons. Ore, wells, plant and dust were sampled as well. Total concentrations of lead, zinc and cadmium were measured in the samples. To find the origin of polluted dust and soil, lead isotopes contents in the samples were measured and regressional relationships between the ratios of these contents were investigated.

Sepahanshahr soils are not contaminated by zinc, lead and cadmium, but within a distance of one to two kilometers from the Gushfil mine, the soils are polluted by zinc and lead. Cadmium contamination was not observed in the studied soils. In all of the soils, the heavy metals content varies downwards irregularly. The reason for this variation trend is that the studied soils are alluvial. In different periods of time, alluvium parent materials have been transported by runoff water from the lead and zinc mines towards the alluvial piedmont plain. The studied heavy metals have been distributed irregularly in different horizons of the soils that have been formed in these parent materials. Lead and cadmium concentrations of drinking water in the studied area are much higher than the maximum amount allowed by the World Health Organization. Cadmium content in all trees of the Sepahanshahr urban park and in alfalfa, lead content in olive trees and lead and cadmium concentrations in Holly hock (Althaea officinalis), Spurge (Euphorbiarigida) and Rhizome (Acanthe phylum bracteatum)are higher than dietaryallowance. Significant correlation between heavy metal concentrations reduction in dust samples and increase of distance from the mine expresses that contaminant heavy metals enter the atmosphere due to mine explosions. In dolomitic sandstone rich in sphalerite mineral, the total amounts of lead and zinc are maximum. The maximum amount of cadmium and too much lead and zinc were observed in a shale fragment, sampled from a location of a fault in the mine. Contents of the three metals were less in black and green shales, compared with the other samples. In dolomitic sandstone rich in gallon mineral, the amounts of the three metals are high and its lead content is maximum with respect to other rocks excluding dolomitic sandstone rich in sphalerite mineral. Significant correlation between ratios of lead isotopes contents of the rocks, soil and dust showed that the soils of the alluvial piedmont plain located at the footslope of the western mountains of the studied area have formed in alluvium parent materials originated from western mountains. The studied heavy metals have been transported together with these alluviums from the mine towards the alluvial piedmont plain. The other origin of these metals is the dust which is produced during the Gushfil mine explosions. This dust is translocated towards the Sepahanshahr and makes the surrounding environment of the mine polluted.

Origin of zinc, lead and cadmium in soil, water, plant and dust in the studied area is rocks of Gushfil mine. Transportation of these metals from the mine towards the environment can be explained by two mechanisms: 1) together with runoff water flowing from the western mountains towards the alluvial piedmont plain and 2) in the form of dust which originates from the mine and moves eastwards. The soils are not contaminated with cadmium. With increase of distance from the mine, contamination of lead and zinc decreases in soil and dust in such a way that in the Sepahanshahr soils, pollution of these metals is not observed. The soils located within a distance of 1 to 2 kilometers from the Gushfil mine are contaminated with lead and zinc. Water is polluted with lead and cadmium and the cadmium content of the plants is higher than dietaryallowance.

P in soils exists in many complex chemical forms, which differ markedly in their behavior, mobility and resistance to bioavailability in the soils. The total P content of a soil provides little information regarding the behavior of P in the environment. The various forms of P present to a large degree, determine the fate and transport of P in soils. Fractionation schemes using different chemical sequential extractions have been used in order to describe the many different forms in which P can be found in the soil. The reason for fractionating and studying P forms in the soil is usually to allow a more precise description of the potentials for P release from the soil. The forms and dynamics of soil P can be greatly affected by agricultural management practices. Since inorganic P is the preferred source for plant uptake, knowledge of the inorganic form within soils is fundamental to understanding bioavailability of P and sustainability of agricultural practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of land use change on the form and distribution of inorganic P using a sequential extraction procedure. In order to study the impact of land-use change from forestland to cultivated land, composite samples in four replicates from the upper 10 cm of the different land use systems (natural forest, pasture, bower olive, farmland) were collected. We collected five subsamples from each land use in a radial sampling scheme. The five subsamples were then bulked into one sample. The spacing between the subsamples on the radii ranged from 5 to 10 m. The soil samples were transferred to polyethylene bags and transported to the laboratory where they were slightly crushed, passed through a 2 mm sieve prior to fractionation and chemical analysis. Soil texture, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon (OC), electrical conductivity, pH and calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) were measured with standard methods. Total P and total inorganic P (Pi) contents were measured by the ignition method, for which P in the ignited (550 °C) and unignited soil samples were extracted by 0.5 M H2SO4. A modified version of the sequential extraction of Olsen and Sommers (1982) was used to fractionate inorganic P. Phosphorus was measured in the extracted supernatants by the molybdate–ascorbic acid method. The results showed that clear-cutting of the indigenous forests and their conversion into agricultural fields significantly decreased total P and total organic P levels. Land-use changes from natural forest to farmland decreased the total P by 23% (from 644 to 495 mg per kg). Clearing and subsequent cultivation of the native woodland resulted in a marked depletion of total organic P. In addition, the land-use conversion from the natural forestland to an agroecosystem (cultivated land) led to increases in total inorganic P and inorganic P forms levels (labile P, P non-occluded, occluded in oxides of iron and aluminum, soluble calcium phosphate and sparingly soluble calcium phosphate). Labile inorganic P (NaHCO-Pi) showed the greatest changes, such as labile inorganic P in the amount of change from 1.75 in the forest land to 13.01 mg per kg of cultivated land, which represent an increase of approximately 8-fold compared to control (natural forest). The results also revealed that the refractory inorganic P fractions (HCl-Pi) were the major inorganic P pool, comprising 50-70% of the total inorganic P pool, indicating CaCO3 control over phosphorus availability in the studied soils. This study indicated that forestland degradation and cultivation caused chemical changes of P dynamics. Large-scale conversion of indigenous forests to cultivated land, driven by long-term agricultural development in the Toshan region, has greatly impacted the forms and content of P in the soils. Generally, the conversion of natural ecosystem to agroecosystems, decreased the proportion of organic P (Po) in the top-soils at depth of 0 to 10 cm. The depletion in organic P from the cropped fields could be attributed to the enhanced mineralization of soil organic P caused by cultivation and removal of P in the crops. However, the conversion of natural forest to farmland led to increases in inorganic P (Pi). About 50% to 70% of the TP was bound to CaCO3, and thus this solid phase is critical to P fate in the soils and ecosystem of the Toshan Region, Golestan province.

Soil contaminations with heavy metals represent a potential risk to the biosphere and leads to increased concentration in ground and surface water. Therefore metals mobility in soil has been extensively studied in the last decades. Use of agrochemicals such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides has resulted in soil and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Cadmium is a heavy metal with a strong effect on crop quality. Moreover, it is a very mobile element in the environment. Plants can easily uptake cadmium and transfer it to other organs. Experiments on the effects of cadmium on the contents of macro elements in plants are scarce and therefore the mechanism of its effect has not yet been fully explained. Contaminated soil can be remediated by chemical, physical or biological techniques. Mycorrhiza is the mutualistic symbiosis (non-pathogenic association) between soil-borne fungi with the roots of higher plants. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are obligate biotrophs, which can form mutualistic symbioses with the roots of around 80% of plant species. Arbuscular mycorrhiza have been observed to play a vital role in metal tolerance and accumulation. Many workers have reported enhancement of phosphate uptake and growth of leguminous plants by vesicular arbuscular mycorhizal fungi (AMF). One study performed the factorial experiment based on completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications in the greenhouse of Agriculture Faculty of Zanjan University. The examined factors include different levels of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation (Glomus mosseae) (with and without inoculation), and different levels of soil contamination by cadmium (0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 ppm). In this study, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Glomus mosseae species were used. These fungi were prepared by the Plant Protection Clinic in Iran – Hamedan. The soil was prepared of arable land of depth of 0-20 cm at the University of Zanjan, after the complete analysis of soil and obtaining the chemical and physical properties in the laboratory. 6 kg of soil was weighed for each pot and then the soil was contaminated. Cadmium sulfate was used in this experiment. The mycorrhizal fungi weighed 150 grams and was mixed with the soil. After mixing the soil with mycorrhizal fungi, the soil was put in pots and then it was cultivated with clover. In this study, clover seeds weighed 0/5 grams and were disinfected with 10% hydrogen peroxide solution and were added to each pot. Distilled water was used for irrigation. After the completion of growth of plants (about 70 day), plant aerial parts and roots were harvested and before measuring, they were washed with distilled water and then were dried in the oven for 72 hours. Plant aerial parts were harvested. Data were analyzed by SAS (version 9) and MSTATC (version 2.10) software, and obtained variance analysis tables. Mean comparison of different treatments was conducted by Duncan test. Charts were obtained by excel software. The results showed that the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were significant on all traits measured (P< 0.01). With increasing cadmium concentration in soil, dry matter of 37% and 39%, nitrogen concentration of 35% and 28%, Potassium 9/27% and 37%, and phosphorus concentration of 37% and 39%, reduced in root and aerial, respectively. Also the results showed that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi increased dry matter amount by 42% and 26%, nitrogen concentration by 40.3% and 30%, phosphorus concentration by 6% and 15.4%, potassium concentrations by 54% and 91.2% in root and aerial, respectively. Interaction between cadmium levels and mycorrhizal fungi in statistics was significant on dry matter aerial, nitrogen concentration in aerial and root, and potassium concentrations in plant root (P< 0.01). The results showed that mycorrhizal fungi were significant on all traits measured in one percent level. Cadmium reduced the concentration of nutrients in the plant; but mycorrhizal fungi increased nutrient concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the plant. Previous studies have shown that external hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi are able to provide their symbiotic plant potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. Ghazala reported that nutrient uptake of mycorrhizal plants was higher when compared with non-mycorrhizal. It seems that the ability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in concentration of nutrients depends on fungal species, soil condition, and host plant.

Parent materials as one of the main soil formation factors have a great impact on the concentration of heavy metals in the soil. Heavy metals are released to the soil during weathering and pedogenic processes. Ultrabasic rocks are known as the potential natural source of heavy metals, especially Ni, Cr and Mn in the soil. Average concentrations of Ni and Cr in the soils are 84 and 34 mg kg-1, respectively; while, in soil derived from ultrabasic parent material, the concentration of these elements may reach up to 100000 mg kg-1. Binaloud zone in northeastern composed of different geological materials. There is a narrow band of ophiolitic rocks in this zone that located along Mashhad city. The geochemical behavior of ultrabsic rocks and the associated soil have been frequently studied mostly in humid regions. But, there are a few research works done in arid environments. The objective of this study was to investigate the physical and chemical properties and concentrations of Ni, Cr and Mn in soils formed along a toposequence of ultrabasic rocks in western Mashhad. The study area is located in the hilly land landscape of Binaloud zone in the Western part of Mashhad. Mean annual precipitation and temperature is 260 mm and 13.7 oC, respectively. Soil temperature and moisture regimes are thermic and aridic boarder on mesic, respectively. Studied soils developed on hornblendite rocks that are ultrabasic rocks with SiO2 less than 45% and contain ferromagnesian minerals. A toposequence was selected and, three soil profiles on shoulder, backslope and footslope geomorphic positions were described acoording to key to soil taxonmy 2014 and the soil horizons were sampled. Air-dried samples were passed through 2 mm sieve and were used for laboratory analysis. Pseudo-total concentrations of Ni, Cr and Mn were extracted by aqua regia digestion procedure. Free iron oxides (Fed) and amorphous iron oxides (Feo) were extracted by citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite (CBD) and oxalic acid methods, respectively and were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The soil was extracted by ammonium acetar 1N and concentration of Ca and Mg were measured by EDTA titrimetric method. Calcium carbonate equivalent, gypsum, pH, Sand, silt and clay fractions and soil organic materials were measured using custom laboratory methods. Solum thickness of the studied soils is less than 45 cm. Calcification and gypsification are the two main soil formation processes leading to formation of calcic (Bk) and gypsic (By) horizons. Calcium carbonate equivalent and gypsum contents in the studied soils varied from 5.1 to 30 and 5.9 to 40.1 %, respectively. Regarding the type of parent material, presence of large amounts of gypsum and carbonates can be attributed to aeolian addition to the soil system. The presence of discontinuous and thin loess deposits in the study area confirms the dustfall deposition. High amount of these minerals cause Ca/Mg ratio is up to 33.3. Concentration of Fed and Feo were less than 6.8 and 0.2 g kg-1 reflecting weak wethering state of the soils. Morphological characteristics are the indications of weak soil development and weathering. Concentrations of Ni, Cr and Mn varied from 52.6 to 312.5, 35.2 to 135.3 and 375.3 to 628.9 mg kg-1 that are low values in comparison to soils in humid regions due to weak soil weathering and eolian addition of materials containing gypsum and carbonates. The Ni and Cr contents increase from shoulder to foot slope. Direct and concordant variations of Ni with Cr and Mn with Fed indicate the similar mineralogy and trend of weathering of these elements. Regarding the high concentration of Ni and Cr in the studied soils, the bioaccessibility of these elements should be investigated. Results of this study indicated the weak development of soil formed on ultabasic rocks in the western Mashhad that was expected regarding the arid climate of the study area. Because of the low weathering status of the soil, the concentration of Ni, Cr and Mn were less than that of similar soils in humid areas. Also aeolian addition of carbonates and gypsum to the soil system dilutes the concentration of these elements. To evaluate risk assessment of Ni, Cr and Mn in the studied soils, successive extraction and pot experiments are suggested.

The latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that future emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) will continue to increase and cause climatic change (16). These conditions are also true for Iran. The three greenhouse gases associated with agriculture are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The three GHGs associated with agriculture CO2, CH4, and N2O differ in their effectiveness in trapping heat and in their turnover rates in the atmosphere. This environmental change will have serious impacts on different growth and development processes of crops. Increasing temperature could affect physiological processes such as photosynthesis, respiration and partitioning of photoassimilates. Farmers are not able to change or manage the climatic conditions, but some factors such as soil, water, seed and agricultural practices can be managed to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change (32). Mitigation and adaptation are two known ways for reducing the negative impacts of climate change. Mitigation strategies are associated with decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through management practices such as reducing chemical fertilizer application, mechanization, increasing carbon storage in agroecosystems, planting biofuel crops and moving towards organic farming (42), etc. This study was carried out at the experimental field of the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2011 and was repeated in 2012. The Research Station (36°16´N, 59°36´E) is located at about 985 m a.s.l. Average temperature and precipitation rate of the research station in two years are shown in Figure. 1. The three-factor experiment was set up in a strip-split-plot arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The experimental treatments were tillage systems (conventional and reduced tillage) and residual management (remaining and leaving of maize residual) assigned to main plots and different levels of N fertilizer (0, 150, 300 and 450 kg urea ha-1) was randomized as a subplot in tillage treatment. The seedbed preparation was made based on common practices at the location. Plot size under the trial was 4 m × 3 m so as to get 70 cm inter row spacing. Maize seeds (single-cross 704 cultivar) were hand sown in May for two years. The ideal density of the crops was considered as spacing 20 cm inter plant. As soon as the seeds were sown, irrigation continued every 10 days. No herbicides or chemical fertilizers were applied during the course of the trials and weeding was done manually when necessary. Measurement of CO2 emissions was performed by the closed chamber method. For this purpose, PVC plastic rings (20 cm in diameter and 30 cm height) were scattered on each of the plots. The chambers were placed in soil for two hours and the gathered air was collected by 10 ml vacuum syringe. Then, the samples were transferred to the laboratory and CO2 was measured using GC-mass. The results showed that CO2 emissions for conventional tillage was about 15 and 10% higher than the reduced tillage in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The CO2 emissions can be taken as indicators of soil tillage effects on the soil ecosystem, because CO2 emissions are closely connected to the microbial turnover and the physical accessibility of organic matter to microbes. These parameters were more available in the conventional tillage than the reduced tillage. CO2 emissions were strongly higher in the remaining residual condition rather than leaving condition in two years. CO2 emissions in the remaining residual condition was about 4.36 and 5.37 times higher than that of the leaving residual condition in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The microbial respiration and humidity of soil in the remaining residual condition is higher than that of the leaving residual condition. CO2 emission was elevated with increasing the rate of N fertilizer. The N fertilizer can increase the microbial activity of the soil. Cover cropping and N fertilization can increase CO2 emissions in full and reduced tilled soils by increasing the amount of crop residue returned to the soil. The results showed that CO2 emissions in 2011 were higher than 2012 in all treatments. The residual treatment had more effect on daily CO2 emission in comparison with tillage and N fertilizer treatments in both years. The trait was higher under conventional tillage, residue remaining and higher N fertilizer levels compared to reduced tillage, residue leaving and lower N fertilizer application. Linear regression for air temperature and mean CO2 emission illustrated that there was a positive correlation between air temperature and CO2 emission. In essence, the results showed that CO2 emissions for conventional tillage were higher than that of reduced tillage in two years. Remaining residual condition had strongly higher CO2 emission rather than leaving condition. CO2 emission was elevated with increasing the rate of N fertilizer.

As the statistical time series are in short period and the meteorological station are not distributed well in mountainous area determining of climatic criteria are complex. Therefore, in recent years interpolation methods for establishment of continuous climatic data have been considered. Continuous daily maximum temperature data are a key factor for climate-crop modeling which is fundamental for water resources management, drought, and optimal use from climatic potentials of different regions. The main objective of this study is to evaluate different interpolation methods for estimation of regional maximum temperature in the Isfahan province. Isfahan province has about 937,105 square kilometers, between 30 degree and 43 minutes to 34 degree and 27 minutes North latitude equator line and 49 degree and 36 minutes to 55 degree and 31 minutes east longitude Greenwich. It is located in the center of Iran and it's western part extend to eastern footage of the Zagros mountain range. It should be mentioned that elevation range of meteorological stations are between 845 to 2490 in the study area. This study was done using daily maximum temperature data of 1992 and 2007 years of synoptic and climatology stations of I.R. of Iran meteorological organization (IRIMO). In order to interpolate temperature data, two years including 1992 and 2007 with different number of meteorological stations have been selected the temperature data of thirty meteorological stations (17 synoptic and 13 climatologically stations) for 1992 year and fifty four meteorological stations (31 synoptic and 23 climatologically stations) for 2007 year were used from Isfahan province and neighboring provinces. In order to regionalize the point data of daily maximum temperature, the interpolation methods, including inverse distance weighted (IDW), Kriging, Co-Kriging, Kriging-Regression, multiple regression and Spline were used. Therefore, for this allocated data (24 days for each year and 2 days for each month) were used for different interpolation methods. Using difference measures viz. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Bias Error (MBE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Correlation Coefficient (r), the performance and accuracy of each model were tested to select the best method. The assessment of normalizing condition of data was done using Kolmogrov-Smirnov test at ninety five percent (95%) level of significance in Mini Tab software. The results show that distribution of daily maximum temperature data had no significant difference with normal distribution for both years. Weighed inverse distance method used for estimation daily maximum temperature, for this purpose, root mean square error (RMSE) for different status of power (1 to 5) and number of station (5,10,15 and20) was calculated. According to the minimum RMSE, power for 2 and number of station for 15 in 2007 and power for 1 and number of station for 5 in 1992 were obtained as optimum power and number of station. The results also show that in regression equation the correlation coefficient were more than 0.8 for the most of the days. The regression coefficient of elevation (h) and latitude (y) were almost negative for all the month and the regression coefficient of longitude (x) was positive, showing that decreasing temperature with increasing elevation and increasing temperature with increasing longitude. The results revealed that for Kriging method the Gussian model had the best semivariogram and after that spherical and exponential were in the next order, respectively for 2007 year. In the year 1992, spherical and Gussian models had better semivariogram among others. Elevation was the best variable to improve Co-kriging method as auxiliary data. such that The correlation coefficient between temperature and elevation was more than 0.5 for all days. The results also show that for Co-Kriging method the spherical model had the best semivariogram and after that the exponential and Gussian were in the next order, respectively for 2007 year. In the year 1992, the best model of semivariogram was the linear model and after that the spherical and Gussian models had better semivariogram in the next order. The results revealed that the application of multiple regression method for interpolation produced less errors between observed and estimated maximum temperature in 1992 (RMSE ranges from 1.41 to 4.03, MAE ranges from 0.98 to 2.55, and r ranges from 0.61 to 0.95). For 2007 year, the best estimation was performed by multiple regression and Kriging-Regression (RMSE=ranges from 0.99 to 3.98, MAE ranges from0.77 to 2.92, and r ranges from 0.32 to 0.97). Kriging, Co-Kriging, IDW, Spline methods were also reasonably performed well and could be used as the second order of priority. In addition, with increasing number of stations in 2007 as compared to 1992, the overall accuracy of model performance in estimation of daily maximum temperature have been improved.