نشریه علوم محیطی
سال بیستم شماره 1 (پیاپی 75، بهار 1401)

The pharmaceutical industry is occurred in the fourth wastewater production with significant amounts of drugs and precursors required in pharmacy that are toxic and are not removed by traditional methods, so have to be used advanced technology for treatment. The purpose of this study was synthesis of Fe3O4, anatase TiO2, loading of TiO2 on the Fe3O4 surface, synthesis of GQD based on maltose for the first time, loading of GQD on the Fe3O4/TiO2 and investigating the efficiency of as-synthesized photocatalyst Fe3O4/TiO2/GQDs for imipramine photodegradation from aquatic media.

Firstly, prepared photocatalyst Fe3O4/TiO2/GQDs included three components, which produced in four steps. Firstly, iron oxide was prepared in the form of magnetite by co-precipitation method. Then, Fe3O4/TiO2 was synthesized by sol-gel manner and titanium iso propoxide (IV) as a titanium source in anatase crystalline form. In the third step, maltose was used as procedure for GQD production in hydrothermal method. So, as-synthesized photocatalyst was obtained by loading GQD on the Fe3O4/TiO2. Then, the structural properties and quality of the nanocomposite were investigated using FT-IR, Nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm, FESEM and HRTEM technique. Finally, the efficiency of photocatalytic decomposition was examined affected by different independent variables.

FT-IR results of naopowders and prepared photocatalyst indicated absorbance peaks of C=C, C-H, C-O, Fe–O and Ti-O-Ti bonds. Also, new peaks were appeared in 1400 and 1170 cm-1 which is related to forming the Fe–O bond between Fe in Fe3O4 and the carboxyl group in GQDs, showing the successful preparation of Fe3O4/TiO2/GQD. The specific surface area was 38 m²/g in Nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherm. According to IUPAC classification, the isotherm curve of photocatalyst was the type IV and hysteresis loop of types due to mesoporous structure. FESEM images determined the almost spherical morphology of as-synthesized photocatalyst and homogenous distribution of TiO2 nanoparticles on the magnetite surface that was utilized without any changes in morphology but particle size changing after loading TiO2 on the magnetite particles. HRTEM results confirmed the spherical spherical shape with less than 50 nm diameter and the lattice spacing related to anatase (TiO2) and GQDs. Also, the photocatalytic efficiency of the as-synthesized nanocomposite were measured for achieving the maximum removal of imipramine related to different variables including photocatalyst dose, pH, ambient temperature, and irradiation time. The best yield gained exceed 90% in experimental sample and about 70% in real wastewater under the optimum condition comprising photocatalyst dose of 0.5 g/L, pH ≈3, temperature ≈40 °C for 120 minutes. The reusability of the synthesized photocatalytic material investigated which was stable and active similar to primary sample and suitable for many times.

The results showed, the dominant mechanism of imipramine degradation was oxidative decomposition via the photogenerated holes and followed by the first-order models under the UVA light irradiation. Therefore, results proved as-prepared photocatalyst Fe3O4/TiO2/GQDs could be developed for treatment of persistence organic pollutants in industrial wastewater under optimized conditions.

Arak is one of the eight most polluted cities in Iran, whose pollution is mainly due to the activities of various industries located in the city or its suburbs. Using air pollution modeling it would be possible to estimate the effect of emissions of suspended particles and gases from the activities of various industries on the local environment. This study is an attempt to investigate the impact of existing and under construction industries in Arak on the air quality of the city using the ADMS model as a widely used and trusted model of the Department of Environment (DoE).

Because the main sources of air pollution in Arak are of focal type, in modeling air pollution, 17 large industries (including 98 chimneys) located in the city were considered as pollution points. In addition to the emission data, the geometrical data of the chimneys including the height and diameter of their opening and the temperature of the exhaust air were also included in the model. To validate the model outputs, the measurement values of the environmental stations were compared with the values estimated by the modeling using Pearson linear correlation coefficient.

The results showed that the concentration of CO, SO2, and NO2 in all stations was within the permissible level announced by the DoE. The dispersion of suspended particles (contour lines) in the city was to the west and southwest and up to a radius of 3 km in the prevailing and semi-prevailing wind direction. This for Shazand was to the west up to a radius of 1 km in the prevailing wind direction and to the southwest up to 5 km in the direction of semi- prevailing wind until reaching the background concentration of 19.1 μg. Accumulation of SO2 contour lines in Shazand pollution center was observed up to a radius of 7 km in the west direction and up to a radius of 10 km in the southwest direction. The accumulation of NO2 contour lines was the same as NO2. The radius of impact of CO gas was extended from Arak to Shazand. Accumulation of CO contour lines in Arak was up to a radius of 5 km in the direction of west and southwest. The accumulation of H2S contour lines in Shazand was up to a radius of 5 km towards the directions of west, southeast, and southwest. In general, the difference between the sampling and modeling results indicated the pollution sources that were not observed in the model and were beyond those emitted from the factories. In most stations, the modeled and directly monitored SO2 concentrations were not much different and the correlation coefficient of the data was high, indicating the accuracy of the calculations and the prominent role of industries in the emission of this gaseous pollutant. Also, in most stations, the results of environmental measurement of NO2 were less than the modeled values, revealing that the industries had a greater share in the emission of this gas. The overestimate of this emission may probably be due to the inclusion of the under construction industries in the model. The environmental concentration of CO in all stations was higher than the modeled values. Industries have a small share in the pollution load of this pollutant while in urban areas, the concentration of CO depends on the mobile sources and traffic load.

In general, the pollution levels of the city showed that the center of pollution was in the southeast of Arak and in the complex of the refinery, petrochemical company, and thermal power plant. According to the overlaid contours of emissions, a number of points (14 points) that were closest to the pollution centers were proposed as critical stations, two points as control stations, and 4 points as the stations exposed to pollution in each period.

Oxidation of sulfide mineralized zones during the weathering processes is intensified by biological and chemical reactions and the resulting acid mine drainage (AMD) causes the release and mobility of toxic and heavy metals from the parent rock and their concentration in soil or water. In this study, soil samples taken from around the village of Doustbaglu (northwest of Meshginshahr), which is considered a typical mineralization and alteration area, were studied and chemical species, toxicity and origin of heavy elements such as As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Sb, Ni and Zn were determined.

In this study, total concentration and bioavailability of heavy elements (i.e. As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb, Sb, Ni and Zn) in five surface soil samples were evaluated by Tessier sequential extraction method in five phases (exchangeable, bound to carbonate, bound to iron and manganese oxides, bound to organic matter and residual phase) and using of the Visual Minteq thermodynamic software.

The results of the sequential extraction method show that the highest concentration of the total concentration of all 8 heavy elements studied were retained in the residual fraction (stabilized in the mineral structure). This indicates the geogenic origin of these elements and can be considered the result of erosion and weathering of rocks in the region. Compared to other elements, Sb has a higher concentration in potentially available fractions (e.g. exchangeable, carbonate-bound, bound to Fe-and Mn-oxides, and/or organic matter) and can be readily available to plants and toxic. The software output delineates that the predominant species in the examined samples were lead (Pb) as Pb (SO4)22-, Pb2+ and PbSO4(aq); copper as CuSO4 (aq) and Cu2+; nickel as NiSO4 (aq), Ni2+ and NiSO4; antimony as Sb(OH)3, Sb(OH)2+ and Sb(OH)61-; zinc as Zn(SO4)22-, ZnSO4(aq) and Zn2+; Arsenic as H3AsO3 and H2AsO4-; Cadmium as Cd(SO4)22-; and Cd2+ The predominant species of chromium were CrSO4+, CrOHSO4(aq) and HCrO4-. In general, the free water-soluble species of these elements are more mobile than other species; instead, the concentration of these species is very low in comparison, and most of these elements are more present in the form of complexes with low mobility.

 Based on sequential extraction results; all 8 studied elements show high ecological risk potential and significant pollution in the sediment of waterways and surface soil horizons of the Doustbaglu area. Analysis of the findings of Visual Minteq software indicates that the most active types of elements and related concentrations, among all possible types, include: Cd2+(1.49%), CrOHSO4(aq)(25.20%), Cu2+(10/38%), Pb2+(1/37%), ZnSO4(aq) (18.83%), respectively. Since more mobile species have low concentrations and on the other hand, according to the results of sequential extraction, most of the studied elements are present in the remaining phase, so the bioavailability and toxicity of these elements are estimated to be negligible. In general, it can be concluded that only a small percentage of elements are present in bioavailable fractions, and this can alleviate concerns about the possibility of element release by changing environmental conditions and thus accessibility to plants.

The rapid growth of population, agriculture, urban and industries has led to increasing water demand and competition for its consumptions. The promotion of agricultural water productivity has the main effect on improving water consumption. Water delivery and scheduling methods are important to increase the flexibility of irrigation systems. Among different available methods, the on-request water delivery has higher flexibility than the rotational one and doesn’t need the high cost of automatic systems. The appropriate adjustment of the structures and their operational instructions between successive requests is a function of discharge variation, time interval between operations, coincidence of different request, physical condition of canal and structures and hydrodynamic behavior of the flow, which is a complex task. To obtain the performance of the recently utilized method, i.e., FSL (Fuzzy SARSA Learning), it is necessary to compare it to a traditional method like ANN (Artificial Neural Network). In this research, the data of the east Aghili canal was trained for programming water delivery and distribution using MLP (Multi-Layer Perceptron) and RBF (Radial Basis Function) networks of artificial neural networks with the on-request method. Finally, the results of the FSL and ANN models were compared.

In this research, the MLP (Multi-Layer Perceptron) and RBF (Radial Basis Function) networks of artificial neural networks were used to determine the procedure for exploiting the operational instructions of the on-request method in the east Aghili canal, in Khuzestan province, using its flow and gate opening data. In this research, 70%, 15%, and 15% of data were used to train, test, and validate the model, respectively. The correlation coefficient and root mean square error were used for determining the better method. Modeling of the canal was made using the ICSS (Irrigation Canal Conveyance System) hydrodynamic model. To evaluate the MLP, RBF, and FSL outputs, maximum and average errors of water depth, adequacy, efficiency, equity, and dependability were used.

The operational instructions were determined using the MLP for Mars 2017 in the east Aghili canal, and they were compared to the corresponding determined operational instructions using FSL. According to the obtained results, it can be observed that the MPA index in the neural network method in the first and second block of this channel, respectively are 0.952 and 0.919 and in the case of using the FSL method, these values are equal to 0.996 and 1. Also, the MPF index in the simulation using the neural network in both blocks are equal to 1 and in the case of FSL, these values are equal to 0.999 and 0.971. The maximum error of MAE of water level in the first and second block of the study, respectively are equal to 9.2 and 3.8 percent and in the case of using the FSL method, these are equal to 5.5 and 7.4 percent. The results showed that the MLP is better than the RBF to determine the operational instructions. The MAE and IAE indicators were minimum, and the water delivery indicators were close to their desired values according to the Molden and Gates (1990) criteria. Aldo, it was revealed that the FSL is better than the MLP; however, the MLP results are valid and can be used in practice.

In this research, the ANN model was used for determining operational instructions using MATLAB. The training was done using the MLP and RBF using the east Aghili canal data. The ICSS was used for simulating the canal. The results showed that the MLP was better than RBF, and the FSL model was better than the MLP as well. However, both of them can be used in practice.

Palynology as a multidisciplinary science can be provided data base for a wide range of sciences such as the Plant systematics, Quality control of honey (Melissopalynology), Aeropalynology, Stratigraphy palynology, Forensic palynology, Paleoclimate, prediction and simulation of past climatic events, Archaeology, phylogeny and etc. Because of several cultivated and ornamental species are classified as allergenic plants, so identification, classification, and preparation of their database has particular importance. So far, no comprehensive study has been carried out on palynology in Iran. Therefore, it seems that carrying out a palynological study and preparing its database in Tehran is the first step in allergy studies. The objectives of this study are to investigate the morphological and micro-morphological characteristics, classification and preparing palynological database in Tehran.

Tehran has an area of about 600 km2 due to its location on the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountainous Region, widely extended along north to south and east to west zones, so showing a variety of climatic conditions that include diverse species (e.g. ornamental and etc.). So, review the published flora and present information on green space data bases in area, target taxa were selected. The plant samples were collected by field samplings and were deposited on the basis of standard methods. Finally, the pollen grains were coated with gold material. Then, they were scanned with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Afterward, they identified by diverse pollen references on palynology.

The results of this study include the preparation of a native visual source about the pollen grains of 145 species of shrubs and Cultivated Herbaceous Plant Species in Tehran. These 145 plant species belong to 65 plant families, including 95 herbaceous species and 50 shrub species. Asteraceae (16 species) and Rosaceae (14 species) have the most species. Among 131 genera studied, 43 genera were reported to be allergic that Asteraceae with 5 genera and then Cupressaceae and Oleaceae with 3 genera have the highest frequency of allergenic species among the studied families. The results of this study show that allergenic shrubs are more abundant than allergenic herbaceous plants. However, trees and shrubs have more allergenic effects due to more pollen production and wind pollination. The pollen grains of these species are usually small and can be scattered over long distances and have a longer durability in the air. The results of this study show that allergic pollens also have a high morphological diversity, however, the significant effect of pollen grain micro-morphological characteristics on allergies requires more extensive studies.

The achievements of this study will serve as a pilot for the study of palynological study, especially in asthma and allergy in the country. The results of this study show that in Tehran, several plant species have been planted without considering allergenic considerations, which should be considered as an important warning for ecological managers of the city.

The problem of noise pollution is the most severe problem that most people encounter in public with excessive amounts of it. The purpose of this study is to investigate the amount of noise pollution caused by Tehran metro train traffic at the time of arrival and departure at the underground stations of Darvazeh Doulat and Tajrish.

This study, which was conducted in the summer and autumn of 1398 on the Darvazeh Doulat and Tajrish stations of Tehran Metro Line 1, showed the maximum and minimum values at specific distances from the edge of the platform. And in the morning and evening at intervals. Once every three days, 48 stations were measured and analyzed. In the continuation of the research in Tajrish station, the distribution of noise pollution has been estimated by performing limited impressions using artificial neural network.

The values measured at specific distances from the edge of the platform show that the amount of noise pollution from the arrival of trains to the platform, the simultaneous entry of two trains to the platform, the arrival of non-stop trains, and crossing the platform in most times, is higher than standard. In some harvesting stations, it reached over 100 decibels, which indicates the critical situation of noise pollution in these subway platforms.

The methods used in the present study have effectively estimated the amount of noise pollution in subway platforms. So that by identifying critical areas, by providing measures to manage the damage caused by noise pollution on the health of citizens can be managed.

Species diversity is a combination of two interrelated components of species richness and evenness. The first component is the species richness, which is related to the number of species in the sampling unit; The second component is evenness, which refers to the distribution of species in the site. One of the important problems of these indicators is not determining the contribution of these two components in the diversity index value. An effective method that has been developed for this purpose is called SHE. The aim of the was to investigate the contribution of diversity of understory species in four natural stands, Acer velutinum Boiss, Alnus subcordata C. A. M. and Cupressus sempervirens. var horizontalis afforestation in Colet forest.

In this research, using 40 square plots with an area of 400 square meters, which were selectively sampled in the study area. Then, the list of all herbaceous species with its cover percentage were recorded by Vandermarel criteria. Woody species were counted in each sample plot. The grass and wood cover data were organized in Excel and PAST software for analyzing of richness (number of species, Margalf richness and Menhenick richness), evenness (Shannon-Wiener), diversity (Simpson and Shannon-Wiener). The normality and homogeneity of the data was evaluated using Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Leven test, respectively. SHE analysis was used to determine the contribution of each component of richness and evenness.

The results of comparing the mean of different diversity indices related to herbaceous species showed that the four studied stands (natural, Acer velutinum Boiss, Alnus subcordata C. A. M. and Cupressus sempervirens. var horizontalis) have significant differences in terms of richness (Margalf and Manhenic) (P <0/01). The results of classification of plants in terms of biological form by Raunkiaer method also showed that hemicryptophytes have the highest abundance in the study area. Also the SHE analysis of richness and evenness components for woody regeneration species in the Colet area showed that the evenness of the trend is constant between the four stands and the richness index in the Cupressus sempervirens and natural stands were fluctuating and its trend has an increase shape. In the Alnus subcordata stand, the evenness and richness index had the same contribution in determining the diversity of herbaceous species and woody regeneration in this region. In addition, SHE curve showed that the richness curve (LnS) and the uniformity (Ln E) do not change with each other, and the change in the richness curve is greater than the evenness. This indicates a greater contribution of richness than evenness in contribution of determining the diversity of data related to herbaceous species and woody regeneration. In fact, this showed that with the increase in the number of samples, only rare species were being added to the list of herbaceous and woody species.

In general, the results of the present study showed that the diversity of herbaceous species due to species composition in the natural stand had the highest value in this region. Also, richness and diversity of woody species in natural stand and broadleaves reforestation stands were higher than coniferous reforestation. Therefore, reforestation with broadleaves species has a positive effect on the diversity in the region. Also, the effective factor on the diversity indices in the four stands was the richness component (Ln S), which means that severe changes and fluctuations in plant species and their composition have been observed.

Natural and human activities lead to soil degradation and soil salinization. In the last two centuries, world metal pollution level has increased extremely. Presence of some heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems is a constant threat to the health of human societies. The decrease of farmlands threatens food security. There are approximately 1 billion ha salt-affected soils all over of world, which can be made available resources after chemical, physical and biological remediation. Existence of many mines in the world and also in Iran and as a result, soil erosion and dust release from waste dams is matter of concern. Bioremediation using biological agents to detoxify and degradation of environmental pollutants- provides a suitable alternative method for substitution of current heavy metals removal strategies.

Daily as a result of extraction operations by cyanidation in Mouteh gold mining complex, waste water and waste soil sediment widely achieved. In this study soil samples were collected from Mouteh Goldmine tailing damp soil in September 2018. The collected soil samples were cultured in BG11 medium and incubated for microalgae identification and biomass production. Also 5 gr soil inoculated with 0.5 gr biomass and the physico-chemical characteristics of the soil including pH, Na+ and K+, Pb and Cd, before and after the inoculation of soil with Cyanobacteria were determined.

in this study, cyanobacteria Phormidium tenue Gomont, Osillatoria tenuis C.Agardh ex Gomont, Lyngbya aestuarii Liebman ex Gomont and green Algae, Scenedesmus obliquus (Turpin) Kützing were identified. Culture results of filamentous cyanobacteria on goldmine tailing damp soil showed that cyanobacteria can grow easily and produced a surface crust significantly. The results of the Physical analysis of the soil samples showed that O. tenuis decreased Na as a salinity element, and P. tenue absorbed high amounts of Pb as a heavy metal pollution element. Probably by using Mouteh Goldmine soil cyanobacteria, Osillatoria tenuis and Phormidium tenue for mine tailingdamp soil bioremediation, could play mine recovery from salinity and heavy metals and also preventing soil erosion and dust release from waste dams.

Generally, it can be concluded thatdue to the existence of many goldmines in the word and Iran, daily as a result of extraction operations by cyanidation and high toxicity of cyanide, environmental adverse effects are observed. Dust release from waste dams can be affected health of living organisms like mining workers, plants and even soil microalgae which are close to the mine. By soil goldmine bioremediation can be processed biological resuscitation faster. The research results of African goldmine researchers on soil samples showed that cyanobacteria produced a surface crust significantly, that with the results of this research based on the growth of Phormidium tenue in the mine and producing a surface crust is consistent.

In recent years, the use of medicinal plants and herbal medicines has found its special place among the general public, which has led to the recognition and introduction of medicinal plants for use in the pharmaceutical industry. Iran's natural habitats are valuable genetic resources for a large number of useful medicinal plants, including the growth of the Zolang vehicle in the north of the country. Zolang is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Umbelliferae family that grows in abundance in the northern parts of the country. This valuable plant contains medicinal compounds such as acetylene, flavonoids, triterpene saponins.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of altitude on antioxidant compounds and constituents of essential oil of Zolang plant at three altitudes (30, 100 and 300 meters above sea level) in Savadkuh section of Mazandaran province, which was the natural habitat of this plant. After collection and drying, the plants were extracted with methanol solvent to measure traits such as antioxidants, phenol, flavonoids and the measurement was performed. Also, in order to identify the essential oil compounds, and the percentage yield of essential oil, the essential oil was extracted by distillation with water and Clevenger apparatus and the extracted essential oil compounds were identified by gas chromatography (GC / MS).

According to the results of this study, the traits of antioxidants, phenol, flavonoids and essential oil content were significant at the level of one percent (p <0.01). These results indicate that altitudes can be effective on phenolic and antioxidant compounds of Zolang plant. Research has shown that firstly, the chemical properties of the soil and secondly, altitude is the most important factor in changes in the amount of essential oil. These results show that antioxidant and phenolic compounds are affected by altitude and factors such as: amount and intensity of light, ultraviolet rays, temperature and precipitation are among the factors affecting plants grown in these areas that cause differences. An altitude of 300 meters above sea level had the best effect on the percentage of free radicals in DPPH and doubled the percentage of salinity compared to 30 meters above sea level. However, in flavonoids, they did not show any difference between 30 and 100 meters above sea level, but they differed from plants harvested from 300 meters above sea level and included a larger amount. Also, with increasing height, the percentage of essential oil decreases. The results of correlation of traits show that flavonoids and phenol have a significant relationship with increasing the percentage of essential oil yield. Antioxidants are also inversely related to the percentage of essential oils and flavonoids. The results of gas chromatography showed that compounds such as: D-Limonene and beta.-Sesquiphellandrene decreased with increasing altitude in essential oil and cis-.alpha.-Bisabolene increased with increasing altitude, in essential oil of Zolng plant. The results of analysis of the essential oil of Zolang medicinal plant by chromatography (GC / MS) show that the amount of identified compounds is not necessarily dependent on height and can be a function of other factors.

The results showed that the amount of free radical inhibition of DPPH increases with increasing altitude, but the trend of percentage of essential oil yield decreased inversely with increasing altitude. Also, there was no significant difference between 30 and 100 meters above sea level in flavonoids. The number of compounds identified by gas chromatography was the highest at an altitude of 300 m above sea level. Also, the three compounds D-Limonene, beta.-Sesquiphellandrene and cis-.alpha.-Bisabolene were a function of altitude.

Mining activities causes substantial damage to the environment worldwide. Abandoned mine wastes from mining activities limit the growth of plants due to unfavorable conditions and the concentration of a wide range of heavy metals. Identifying plant species growing on mine waste and assessing their seed germinations are important for vegetation restoration on mining areas. This study aimed at assessing the germination characteristics of Artemisia absinthium, Lepidium draba, and Silybum marianum naturally growing on coal mine wastes in Mazandaran province under different concentrations of copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd).

Seeds were collected from plants growing in coal wastes during 2 years. Completely randomized design was conducted with three replicates. Treatments were CuSO4 and Pb(NO3)2 at 0 (control), 50, 100, 200, and 300 mg/L, and Cd(NO3)2 at 0 (control), 5, 10, 20, and 30 mg/L. In each replicate 20 seeds were placed in a Petri dish containing a layer of filter paper. Then treatments were applied and Petri dishes were taken to a germinator under controlled temperature, moisture, and light. Germinated seeds were counted daily and then germination percentage, germination rate, allometric coefficient, seed vigor index, phytotoxicity percentage and seed tolerance index were calculated.

The results showed that increasing the concentration of lead, copper, and cadmium significantly affected the seed germination of studied plants. S. marianum had better germination percentage and rate in lead, and copper while germination of A. absinthium, L. draba, was better in cadmium, and copper, respectively. The greatest reduction in germination percentage was found for A. absinthium in 20, and 30 mg/L Cd. As the concentration of metals increased, significant reduction in germination percentage and rate for A. absinthium started in lower concentrations than the other species. Root and shoot length of all species significantly reduced even in low concentration of metals and S. marianum had greater root and shoot length under all treatments. Reduction in seed vigor index was greater under Cu than that in Pb and Cd. High tolerance index was found for L. draba in response to cadmium and for S. marianum under the stress of lead and copper. In all treatments increase in metal concentration significantly increased phytotoxicity index. Under Cu and Pb S. marianum showed least phytotoxicity index while the lowest phytotoxicity index was found for L. draba under Cd stress. Copper and cadmium in high concentration were more toxic for A. absinthium than that for the other two species. Under similar concentrations of copper and lead, all species showed reduced germination in copper stress. Cadmium in lower concentrations were tolerable for plants but generally it had the greatest inhibitory especially on A. absinthium.

Overall the responses were different regarding to the plant species, metal and concentrations. All three species were able to germinate at high concentrations of heavy metals. The presence of these species in coal wastes and their ability to germinate in high concentrations of heavy metals makes it possible to use these plants in future restoration and phytoremediation programs.

Concerns about food security, food health, community health, as well as preventing the destruction of natural resources, led to the formation of the concept of sustainable agriculture. One of the important ways to implement sustainable agriculture is to implement integrated pest management projects. Rice integrated pest management as a management and ecological approach can be an effective step in preserving the environment by reducing the consumption of inputs such as pesticides and chemical pests. Implementing integrated pest management operations, unlike chemical control methods, is associated with many complexities and requires the full cooperation and participation of farmers. So present research was aimed effect of paddy farmers' participation in rice integrated pest management projects with emphasis on environmental protection indicators in Fooman township of Guilan province.

The method of the present research is mixed research (quantitative-qualitative) in terms of general approach and applied in terms of purpose. The research was conducted in two stages. In the qualitative stage, a group of 30 experts and farmers (experts in sustainable agriculture and integrated pest management) were selected as snowballs and interviewed. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis using Maxqda software and the validity of the findings was confirmed using the triangulation method. In a quantitative stage, from 16 cities of Guilan province, Fooman township was randomly selected. The researcher-made questionnaire was then distributed among 323 farmers participating in the IPM (Integrated Pest Management) project. The participation rate was assessed in the form of five items with a Likert scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Frequency and percentage were used in the descriptive part and Spearman correlation coefficient was used in the inferential part.

The study of rice farmers 'participation in rice integrated pest management projects in Fooman township showed that the level of rice farmers' participation in the project was moderate to good from their point of view. As a result, most participants had a moderate level of participation (58.82%). The results showed that the participation of paddy farmers in integrated pest management projects has a significant correlation at the level of one percent with the exception of a few cases with other effects presented by the interviewees (IPM team of experts and informants). But in terms of economic effects, paddy farmers had different views from the experts studied. According to the rice farmers of Fooman township, their participation did not show a significant relationship with economic effects such as reducing rice production costs, increasing rice production and increasing income, as well as increasing the possibility of co-cultivation with the environmental effect.

Complex IPM projects to be implemented require the full involvement of farmers. The study of the impact of the participation of paddy farmers in Fooman township in the implementation of such projects and the evaluation of their positive effects by farmers on the continuity and strengthening of these projects with adequate funding and appropriate training by farmers and city officials.

Considering the functions of the environment for human society, environmental pollution related issues have great importance. Air pollution is one of the environmental pollutions had more attention in recent decades. According to the economic literature, one of the important factors affected the emission of air pollutants is the industrialization of economic activities and the structure of production in industry sector. Accordingly, the current study amid to investigate the direct and indirect effects (spillovers) of structural changes in the industrial sector on carbon dioxide emissions from energy consumption.

This research have been carried out using spatial econometric model for thirty provinces of Iran during 2006-2015. To calculate the index of structural change in production in this study, the index of structural change index presented by Lillian (2012) has been used. Before estimating the model, at first, to check the stationarity of the variables, the Levin, Lin, Chou (LLC) unit root test was estimated, and finally, after performing the Hausman and multiple Wald test, according to the results obtained from the tests, the spatial Durbin model is estimated with spatial random effects.

Based on the results of the Levin, Lin, Chou (LLC) unit root test, all variables of the model are I (0). Hausmann test also suggests the estimation by random effect method (RF). Based on the results of estimating the model, the effect of GDP per capita on carbon dioxide emissions is positive and significant; If GDP per capita increases by one percent, carbon dioxide emissions will increase by 0.22 percent. The effect of energy intensity on carbon dioxide emissions is positive and significant; If the energy intensity increases by one percent, carbon dioxide emissions increase by 0.06 percent. The effect of population on carbon dioxide emissions is positive and significant; If the population increases by one percent; Emissions of carbon dioxide increase by 0.95%. The effect of changes in industrial structure on carbon dioxide emissions has been negative. This means that the industrial structure in different provinces has changed in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, although the contribution of these changes in reducing this pollutant was small. On the other hand, the spatial impact of industrial structure changes on carbon dioxide emissions is negative and significant. The coefficient related to the effects of industrial overflow shows that if the index of changes in the industrial structure increases by one percent, carbon dioxide emissions in adjacent areas will decrease by 0.03 percent.

Model estimation has shown that the restructuring of industry has a direct and negative effect on carbon emissions in the provinces. This indicates that the structure of industry in different provinces has changed to industries with lower carbon dioxide emissions. One of the reasons for this could be the increase in the share of sub-sectors of the industry that have low energy consumption. Another reason for this could be the increase in the share of sectors that use fossil fuels with less pollution. Other results of the model have shown that the change in the structure of production in the industrial sector of the provinces has had indirect effects (spillovers) on the production of the provinces. Based on the results of the model, it is suggested that policies be adopted to transfer factors and resources from low-efficiency sectors to high-efficiency sectors. Also, energy efficiency policies in high-energy intensive industrial sectors and sub-sectors that use high-emission fossil fuels such as diesel and fuel oil should be considered.

Wetlands are living ecosystems whose water depletion for natural and unnatural reasons leads to the extinction and death of living organisms. After successive droughts, if flooding and rehydration occur, it is largely impossible for them to return to life. According to the Ramsar agreement, the area of Shadegan wetland is 537731 hectares and includes fresh water area, tidal zone, Khormousi, other areas and marginal lands. In this study, the area of freshwater area of the wetland based on the Landsat satellite image during flooding is about 164 thousand hectares and is equivalent to 28% of the total area of the wetland. This wetland is extremely important due to various functions such as flood control, air conditioning, soil erosion control, plant and animal habitat and livelihood provider. The preservation of complex wetland systems and the sustainable use of their myriad resources depend on their careful study and knowledge. The purpose of this study is to monitor the trend of changes in the freshwater area of the wetland using satellite images and identify the factors affecting changes in its area. Materials and methods Landsat TM, ETM + and OLI satellite data from 1998 to 2017 were used to monitor the water area of Shadegan Wetland. Various climatic, hydro-climatic and water management factors were extracted for the study period in the whole watershed leading to the wetland and in the wetland itself due to its large area and the trend of changes and their relationship with changes the wetland water area were investigated.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a comprehensive assessment method that allows the estimation of cumulative environmental impacts from all life cycle stages of an activity. The destructive effects of agricultural development on the environment,environment are of a great importance. Insufficient attention to the pattern of consumption of production inputs in the agricultural sector as the main consumer of water in Iran can exacerbate environmental challenges. Misuse of inputs such as chemical fertilizers in order to increase agricultural productivity, pollutes water and soil resources. On the other hand, in environmental impact assessment studies, crops have received much more attention than horticultural crops, while horticultural crops have generally more water requirements.

As Iran as a semi-arid country is facing a water shortage crisis, in this study the evaluation of agricultural activities and grape and apple crops using ecological footprint method and life cycle assessment (LCA) as suitable solution for future plans are considered to reduce environmental pressures and meet consumption needs in order to achieve sustainable development goals. Input generation information of Simapro 9.0.0.49 software is used to analyze the environmental impact. Calculations were performed for a functional unit if 1 kg. Life cycle impact was assessed and categorized into 6 impact groups: cumulative energy demand, ecological footprint, water footprint, global warming potential, greenhouse gas protocol and Eco-indicator (including greenhouse gases, ozone layer, acidification, eutrophication, heavy metals, pesticide and energy resources).

According to the results, the water scarcity index based on water footprint for apples is about 1.7 times that of grapes. The ecological footprint of carbon in oxide and surface occupation for apple crop is 1.3 and 4.65 times that of grape crop, respectively. The potential for global warming, based on the accumulation of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrogen oxides, is not significantly different between the two crops, and its value for apples is 1.3 times that of grapes. Greenhouse gas emissions and pesticide damages are 1.29 and 4.24 higher for apples, respectively, than for grapes. Consumption of energy sources for one functional unit of two apple and grape crops is 10.1 and 9.13 MJ LHV, respectively.

Organic farming is one of the sustainable agricultural strategies that relies on natural methods to control pests and diseases and has been prevented from using artificial pesticides and herbicides, chemical fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics. Given the importance of food security and the irreparable damage caused by overuse of chemical chemicals in agriculture and human health, the main purpose of this study was to identify and explain the barriers to the development of organic farming. Due to its special geographical location and variety of agricultural products, West Azerbaijan Province has a high capacity in the production of organic products such as grapes, white berries, pomegranates and apples. Although the history of organic farming has long been common in West Azarbaijan province, unfortunately, this type of agriculture is currently facing many obstacles and problems, so it is important to identify and explain the factors that prevent the use of organic agriculture and should be addressed to solve these problems.

The present study was a quantitative-qualitative research in terms of practical purpose and research paradigm. In the first stage, barriers the development of organic agriculture were identified by Delphi method. The statistical population of this stage was 25 university professors, experts and specialists who used purposeful sampling method to collect information. In the second stage, the data obtained from the agreement of the experts were provided to the experts as a closed questionnaire. The statistical population of the study at this stage included 101 experts from the Agricultural Jihad Organization of Urmia, which due to the limited statistical population was used to collect information from the census method. In order to analyze the data, the exploratory factor analysis technique was used based on the method of analysis to the main components.

The value of KMO for the set of barriers to organic farming development was 0.79. Therefore, the number of samples was suitable for factor analysis. Because the KMO range is between zero and one, and the closer it is to one, the higher the sample validity. Bartlett's test score was 3072.307, which was significant at the 1% level. Therefore, it can be concluded that the separation of factors is done correctly and the variables of each factor have a high root correlation with each other. According to the research results, the most important barriers the development of organic agriculture, respectively, include: barriers to information and agricultural knowledge (lack of sufficient knowledge in the production of organic products), motivational and attitude barriers (lack of interest and resistance of farmers in accepting cultivation of organic products) , Economic barriers (lack of financial support to withstand the damages of the past), technical-managerial and supportive barriers (unfamiliarity with the techniques and methods of cultivation of organic products and lack of a single and specific trustee for organic products), barriers to use (excessive consumption of chemical fertilizers), extension barriers (farmers' limited participation in extension and educational programs.

Agricultural planners should be guided by solutions in the field of facilitating the export of organic agricultural products, supporting leading farmers in organic farming, informing and carrying out extensional activities to use the existing capacities in the country. Agricultural research from the use of chemical fertilizers to the use of organic and biological fertilizers, special attention to organic agriculture in developing strategic plans for agricultural research and appropriate and separate pricing system for organic products. Providing training and extension courses in organic farming for farmers and encouraging them to participate in these classes.