مجله پژوهشهای راهبردی در علوم کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی
سال سوم شماره 1 (بهار و تابستان 1397)

A natural resource of each region is God-given gift and a vital capital that can pave the way for growth and pervasive sustainable development, provided that market and non-market values is correctly identified and suitable ecosystem services should be avalable. Functions such as production (including food, raw materials, genetic resources, sources of medicinal and decorative resources and cosmetics), regulatory functions (including atmospheric gas regulation, climate regulation, prevent disruptions, water regulation, supply water, soil preservation, soil formation, nutrient regulation, operation of waste disposal, pollination and biological control, habitat functions (including the sanctuary and the treasurer) and information functions (including aesthetic, ecotourism, cultural inspiration and artistic, religious, historical information and scientific and educational information) are the natural resource functions. Specific method for determining the economic value of each of these functions is proposed. According to studies, the forage production market value only includes 24% of of total value of the rangeland ecosystems and 76% of remaining economic value related to the water conservation, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, oxygen production, ecotourism, soil fertility and reduce the deposition.

Total renewable water resources in Iran is about 105 billion m3 that is about 0.3% of the world total fresh water; whereas, the land area and population of Iran is 1.1% of the world. Furthermore, the per capita water resources in Iran is about 1300 m3 that is lower than that in many other countries in the world. Therefore, shortage of water resources in Iran is higher than that for other countries. The total capacity of dam reservoirs in Iran is about 48 billion m3 from which about 34 billion m3 is regulated water and may be used for agriculture, industry and domestic. Due to dry air and high air temperature the evaporation water loss from the dam reservoirs is high; therefore, it should be reduced to save the stored water resources. In this study it is shown that the magnitude of evaporated water is important (4.2%-14.3% of total capacity of the stored water in dams). The amount of evaporated water, on average (10%) is 4, 8 billion m3 that should be reduced in drought and water crisis conditions and the saved water should be used in agriculture, industry and domestic. Different methods for reduction of water evaporation from reservoirs are used in the world, among which emulsion and powder chemicals and covering water surface are suitable ones that can be used in Iran. Application of emulsion and powder on the water surface produces monolayers that cover the water surface to reduce the evaporation losses. However, wind and water wave disrupt the monolayer and reduce its effects on the evaporation reduction; therefore, it should be applied continuously by 1-2 day intervals. One of the evaporation reduction chemicals in the world is “Watersaver” that its use is safe for environment. Application of this chemical can reduce the water evaporation by 40%. Covering materials that can be used are floating white Styrofoam or floating light hollow concrete blocks that reduce the evaporation loss by 80%. Economic analysis indicated that evaporation reduction and water conservation by these chemical and materials are compatible to fresh water production by desalinization of saline sea water and wastewater treatment.

Increasing water shortage has become a serious issue nowadays, especially in arid regions. One of the solutions to cope with water shortage in populated areas is interbasin water transfer (IBWT). Transferring water from an area to another may solve the water shortage problem, increase economic growth and improve social welfare. However, socio-economic, environmental and ecological impacts should also be taken into account. In this study, the impacts of interbasin water transfer projects on the water quantity of Iranian basins and provinces were investigated. After an overview on operated and under construction IBWT projects in Iran, the rate of change in total water storage (TWS) of basins and provinces was calculated using the remote sensing data. The analysis of water shortage in Iran’s provinces demonstrates that the western provinces of Iran will suffer a serious water depletion in the future. Then, the estimated starting date of water resource usage above the precipitation amount was calculated for each province. Finally, a comparison was made between two states of implementing and not implementing IBWT projects and without these project in Iran was done in order to assess the impact of IBWT projects on TWS of provinces. The results showed that IBWT projects will shift water supply problems from central and eastern provinces to western and northern provinces.

As part of a project on the evaluation of agricultural journals in the Iranian Academy of Sciences, the objective of this study was evaluation of quality of plant protection-related papers and management aspects of the journals publishing these papers in Iran. Ten indices were designed for evaluating the quality of published papers and another 10 indices for evaluation of the editorial quality of the journals. These indices were applied to 22 available journals published in 2014. The data were statistically analyzed using “normal distribution” procedure to rank the journals in 5 categories from “very good” to “very weak”. According to the results, 22.7% of the journals ranked “very good” or “good”, 54.6% were “intermediate”, and 22.7% ranked “weak” or “very weak”. The journals were also compared for five important indexes related to innovativeness, applicability and up-to-dateness of articles and practical usefulness and necessity of publication of the journal. Among the journals evaluated, Iranian Journal of Plant Pathology scored high in all 5 indices. Other journals were significant by 4 indices (Journal of Entomological Society of Iran), 3 indices (Rostaniha), 2 indices (JAST and Persian Journal of Acarology), or one index (Mycologia Iranica, Iranian Journal of Virology, Applied Entomology and Phytopathology, and Plant Protection of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz). Other journals did not rank high in any index. It is recommended that 1- journals put more emphasis on the quality of papers, 2- very weak journals discontinue publication, and 3- more support be given to the journals sponsored by the scientific societies.

Considering the serious challenges facing humanity, arising from the effective forces which shape the future (i.e., population, human needs, globalization and climate change), planning for the future in all areas of life is indispensable. Perhaps the most important human achievement to face the inevitable picture of the future is his increasing knowledge or technology, which is the fifth most effective force, man-made, inspired by Ispired by, and effective on, the nature, and has no boundaries. But the question isthat how far can this potential go without endangering the security? Which approaches are more appropriate and rational, “conservative” or “rceptive”? The proper and efficient use of biotechnology is necessary to examine possible future developments, because it will surely create a dramatic development in the major areas of human life from agriculture to therapeutic areas at national and international levels. Therefore, ethics and biosafety are in dire need of that time. In the flat world of the future, when the man and the machine are united and their boundary is abolished, universal rules will govern human society in the field of technology. So, do we still have to witness worthless controversy over the gene transfer? Do we still have to get trapped in the scientific routineness and fight with innovation? How will our grandchildren label our current planning for water, soil and life? This article discusses the status of ethics and biosafety in in relation to predicted future developments.

Milk production by native dairy animals in Iran does not suffice the national demands due to increased human population growth, awareness of the health benefits of milk and its by-products, and improved living standards. Since1933  that high-producing European and North American dairy cattle have been imported to Iran, this new enterprise, despite confronting many problems initially, has grown gradually. At present, although 30% of total milk in the country is provided by this industry, it still faces many challenges. There is evidence that the most important challenge is the lack of scientific approach in the management of high-producing herds, being developed through application of diverse scientific approaches over a long period of time. These dairy cattle can efficiently produce high amounts of milk and meat under the mild climatic condition of Europe and parts of North America, having access to high amount of high-quality feed, and with implementation of high sanitation programs. Therefore, producers of imported dairy cattle under different climatic conditions of Iran, must be familiar with proper management of dairy cattle and calves, such as providing proper housing, feeding and sanitation, as well as being able to implement appropriate new technologies such as breeding methods. Low attention to these important points resulted in problems in milk production and reproduction. The aim of this paper is to highlight the most important factors affecting the management and the methods of applying scientific procedures for optimal performance of dairy herds. Here, we have tried to review the current challenges of the dairy industry in Iran, and present practical suggestions for mitigating the related problems.

The feature of living organisms stem from their genetic potential which is called genome. By changing the sequence and number of the four nucleotides that form the genome, various organisms are created. In different cellular conditions, the three-dimensional structure of the genome is changed and the expression of the genes are also altered; therefore genome can be considered as an ecosystem. The processing of the genomic ecosystem, like any other ecosystems, is necessary in order to better understand the more appropriate productivity. On the other hand, breeding of plants and livestocks as a genome manipulation is essential due to rapid growth of the population. By modifying a specific trait or gene at the time of manipulation, other traits and genes may be changed, after which a long and costly process is required to reduce the impurities. In this process, ecosystem of the genome and the expression of different genes can be permuted, which cause different complications. Effort to increase the yields while disregarding the native and modified resistant plants, leads to the degradation of the ecosystem. Also, one of the main concerns in some communities is health problems, such as the deficiency of certain vitamins, which can be resolved through the use of modern biotechnology. With the progression of biotechnology, not only the limitations of genome modification will be eliminated, but it is also possible to edit specific genome section that minimized the adverse impact on genome ecosystem and maximized its benefits.

The careful selection of academic staff and graduate students, especially Ph.D. candidates, is one of the elements of achievement in higher education and research institutes, and other academic processes are directly rely on the quality of these selections. The most common way to select these individuals is based on academic interview. Field work based on written questioners in schools of agriculture revealed that academic staff and interviewees express some criticisms of the current interview process, and there are no standard protocols for the interview process. In order to understand the pathology of the current procedure of scientific interview in higher education and research institutes from the viewpoint of interviewers and interviewees, this review attempts to provide a practical approach as a step-by-step protocol to enhance the proficiency of the scientific interview for academic staff in fields of Agricultural Sciences.

In an investigation carried out at the Department of Agricultural Science, IR Academy of Sciences, totally, 200 Iranian scientific journals in the fields of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources were qualitatively evaluated. In this article, results of evaluation of 10 journals published in 2014 in the field of Horticultural Sciences are reported. Ten indices were designed for evaluating the quality of published articles in journals and another 10 indices for evaluation of the format of the journals. The journals were evaluated by these indices and the obtained data were statistically analyzed to rank the journals. Results showed that 10% of the Horticultural Sciences journals published in Iran ranked “very good” 20% “good”, 40% “intermediate”, and 30% “weak”. The journals were also compared by five indices in relation to the published articles. These were innovativeness, applicability and up-to-datedness of articles and practical usefulness and necessity of publication of the journal. According to the obtained data, International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology, Iranian Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology scored high for applicability; International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology, Iranian Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology and Journal of Nuts for necessity of publication; International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology and Journal of Nuts for up-to-datedness; International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology for article innovativeness; International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology and Journal of Nuts for article practical usefulness. In general, it is suggested that publication of one or more qualified journals sponsored by scientific societies being supported and the publication of others being discontinued.

Food security can be defined as “access of all people to sufficient and safe food at any time to have active and healthy life”. Indeed, focusing on sufficiency and the health of agricultural products as two major aspects of food security leading to the prevention of diseases incidence are important while changing the current therapeutic approach in the country. The food supply chain includes three successive sub-chains namely production of agricultural inputs commodities, production of agricultural goods and production of food. Biotechnology is mainly applicable in the first sub-chain for supplying healthy agricultural inputs commodities which affects the quality and health of the final products and environment preservation. The state government could help the improvement of the health level by supporting the internal capabilities through encouraging the use of modern biotechnology for production of safe and qualified agricultural products. Of course, establishing safe food chain encounters obstacles that are the subject of this study. Having reviewed the existing problems, suggestions are made to resolve them by implementing agricultural biotechnology warranted by the current laws and regulations.