نشریه علوم آب و خاک (علوم و فنون کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی)
سال بیست و هفتم شماره 3 (پیاپی 105، پاییز 1402)

Hydraulic jump is used for dissipation of kinetic energy downstream of hydraulic structures such as spillways, chutes, and gates. In the present study, the experimental measurements and numerical simulation of the free hydraulic jump by applying Flow-3D software in six different conditions of adverse slope, roughness, and positive step were compared. It should be noted that two turbulence models including k-ε and RNG were used for numerical simulation. Based on the results, simulation accuracy using the RNG model was more than the k-ε model. The statistical indices of NRMSE, ME, NS, and R2 for comparing the water surface profile were obtained at 34.3, 0.0052, 0.995, and 983 for the application of the RNG model, respectively. Also, using the RNG model, the values of these indices for the velocity profile were obtained at 14.92, 0.127, 0.9982, and 962, respectively. In general, the error of the simulated water surface and velocity profile were obtained at 5.31 and 12.4 percent, respectively. Moreover, the maximum error of the numerical simulation results of D2/D1, Lj/D2, and Lr/D1 was ±12, ±12, and 16%, respectively. Therefore, the use of Flow-3D software with the application of the RNG turbulence model is recommended for numerical simulation of the hydraulic jump in different situations.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the most important components of soil physical and chemical properties that have an important role in sustainable production in agriculture and preventing soil degradation and erosion. Data mining approaches and spatial modeling besides machine learning techniques to investigate the amount of soil organic carbon using remote sensing data have been widely considered. The objective of the present study was the evaluation of SOC using the remote sensing technique compared with field methods in some areas of the Gonbad Kavous and Neli forests of Azadshar. The soil samples were collected from the soil surface (0-10 cm depth) to estimate the SOC. Data were categorized into two categories: 70% for training and 30% for validation. Three machine learning algorithms including Random forest (RF), support vector machine, extra tree decision, and XGBoost were used to prepare the organic soil carbon map. In the present study, auxiliary variables for predicting SOC included bands related to Lands 8 OLI and sentinel 2 measurement images, topography, and climate. The results showed that the extraction of the components related to the bands along with the calculation of indicators such as normalized vegetation difference, wetness index, and the MrVBF index as auxiliary variables play an important role in more correct estimation of the amount of soil organic matter. Comparison of different estimation regressions showed that the Sentinel 2 random forest model and in Landsat8 with the values of coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MEA) of 0.64, 0.05, and 0.17, respectively, was the best performance ratio compared to other approaches used in the study to estimate the organic carbon content of surface soil in the study area. In general, the results of this study indicated the ability of remote sensing techniques and learning models in the spatial estimation of soil organic carbon. So, this method can be used as an alternative to laboratory methods in determining soil organic carbon.

One of the strategies for agricultural development is the optimal use of irrigation and drainage networks, which will lead to higher productivity and environmental protection. The present study used the system dynamics approach to develop a model for simulating the cultivated area of the Shahid Chamran irrigation and drainage network located in Khuzestan province by considering environmental issues. Limit test and sensitivity analysis were used for model validation. The results showed the proper performance of the model and the logical relationship between its parameters. Also, the cropping pattern of the network was determined in two modes of non-stepwise and stepwise changes to determine the optimal cultivated area of the Shahid Chamran network with environmental objectives and minimize the amount of salt from drains. The results showed that the amount of optimized output salt from the network has decreased in both non-stepwise and stepwise changes compared to the existing situation in the region. The total output salt in the current situation, from 2013 to 2017, was obtained at 2799, 2649, 2749, 2298, and 2004 tons.day-1, respectively, in the stepwise changes, are 2739, 2546, 2644, 2223, and 1952 tons.day-1, and finally, in the non-stepwise changes, are 2363, 2309, 2481, 2151, and 1912 tons.day-1. The results showed that the non-stepwise changes due to considered limitations have been more successful in reducing output salt than the stepwise changes. The analysis of the results showed the model's success in optimizing and achieving the desired goals. The results showed that the present model has good accuracy in simulating and optimizing the irrigation network, cropping pattern, and defining other scenarios.

Soil resources are important components of the ecosystem, and therefore, their quality should be considered. One of the important factors affecting the quality of soils is land use change. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of land use change and deforestation on some soil fertility and biological characteristics in the forest area of the Yasouj region. In this area, four land uses of dense forest, sparse forest, deforested (degraded) lands, and rainfed agriculture were randomly sampled from two slope classes. In each land use 10 soil surface samples were taken. Fifteen soil fertility and biological characteristics were measured using routine methods. The results showed that dense forest and deforested (degraded) lands had the best and worst conditions, respectively, in terms of the measured parameters. Among the measured characteristics, the values of alkaline phosphate, exhaled respiration, nitrogen, basal respiration, acid phosphatase, manganese, and zinc showed the greatest decrease respectively, and the values of phosphorus and potassium exhibited the least decrease, as a result of land use change from dense forest to degraded lands. The findings showed that the conversion of ecosystems such as forests to agricultural lands or deforestation has led to a severe decrease in the fertility and biological indicators of soil quality. Therefore, the protection programs of these areas should be more considered.

As one of the most necessary human needs, groundwater resources play a key role in the economic and political processes of societies. Climatic and land-use changes made serious challenges to the quantity and quality of groundwater resources in the Tehran-Karaj study area. The main objective of the present study is to develop a method based on individual intelligent models, including adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), gene expression programming (GEP), and combined-wavelet (WANFIS, WGEP) methods for temporal and spatial estimation of total hardness (TH), total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) variables in the groundwater resources of the Tehran-Karaj area for statistical period of 17 years (2004-2021). The results showed that 
combined-wavelet models have higher performance than individual models in estimating three selected variables. So that the performance improvement percentage of the WANFIS model compared to ANFIS and WGEP model compared to GEP, taking into account the evaluation index of root mean square error (RMSE) were obtained (23.713%, 18.018%), (12.581%, 33.116%), and (6.433%, 12.995%) for TH, TDS, and EC variables, respectively. The results indicated a very high spatial and temporal compatibility of the estimated values of the WGEP model with the observed values for all three qualitative variables in the Tehran-Karaj area. The results showed that the concentration of qualitative variables of groundwater resources from the north to the south of the study area has an upward trend for all three qualitative variables. In urban areas, pollution caused by sewage and population increase, as well as in agricultural areas, the use of chemical fertilizers and their continued infiltration into groundwater resources and 
over-extraction of groundwater resources aggravate their pollution. Therefore, in the study area, climatic changes and the type of land use are strongly related to the quality of groundwater resources.

A quantitative study of groundwater resources and accurate monitoring of changes over time, especially in areas facing limited water resources, is considered essential for proper management and sustainable exploitation of these resources. Golestan province, one of the semi-arid provinces of Iran has faced a drop in the groundwater level and an increase in the salinity of the groundwater due to the excessive withdrawals from the groundwater table and the reduction of atmospheric precipitation in the past few years. Gorgan Plain with an area of about 4727 square kilometers is one of the largest plains in Iran and the most important plain of Golestan province in terms of water supply for agricultural and drinking purposes. In this plain, there is a network of piezometers and observation wells that include continuous monthly measurements for more than 30 years. The objective of this research was to investigate the changes in the groundwater level of shallow (30 years (1989-2018)) and deep (22 years (1997-2018)) wells. The Man-Kendall method was used to reveal the trend and Pettitt, Normal Standard, and Buishand methods were used to identify sudden change points in a time series of groundwater levels in 49 shallow wells and 12 deep wells. The results of this research showed that the groundwater level in most of the studied wells had a significantly decreasing trend at a significant level of 5%. Also, the largest amount of groundwater loss was in the southern and southwestern parts of the plain, which can be attributed to a large amount of water taken from the wells due to their proximity to urban areas and some local conditions such as the proximity of the wells of this area are located in altitudes and at the entrance border of the aquifer. In the same way, as it rises, the fall decreases in the middle of the plain, and the amount of fall decreases in the northern areas and the edge of the Caspian Sea. It can be related to the proximity to the Caspian Sea and the high water table, and as a result, the inappropriate quality of water and land (high salinity and low fertility), which has caused the water withdrawal from this area to be less.

Awareness of the types of vegetation changes and human activities in different parts has particular importance as basic information for different planning. It is very difficult and expensive to collect information about the continuous changes in vegetation cover by conventional methods. Therefore, the use of new technologies such as remote sensing is very beneficial. The objective of the present research was to introduce the appropriate vegetation index and determine the vegetation cover of the Abshar network. NDVI, EVI, SAVI, and MSAVI vegetation indices were calculated from 2000 to 2021 every year and monthly in the Google Earth Engine system using Landsat 7 satellite images of the ETM+ sensor. Also, the SPI drought index was calculated using the precipitation statistics of Kohrang station in Excel software. The results of the comparison of four indices showed the superiority and higher performance of NDVI compared to the other three indices for detecting vegetation changes. Then, vegetation changes were calculated. The results showed that the trend of agricultural development in the Abshar network is downward and has a direct relationship with precipitation and the SPI drought index. Also, the results indicated that the SPI drought index was equal to -1.73in 2008, which showed a severe drought in the region. Comparing these results with the vegetation area showed that the vegetation area was 35721 hectares in this year and the year after the drought (2009), the vegetation area was 22950 hectares. Therefore, there was a decrease in precipitation and a sharp decrease in the SPI index in 2008, which led to a sharp decrease of 35% in the vegetation area in 2009.

Industrial development is necessary to create employment and achieve welfare. Nevertheless, due to the important environmental effects of these uses, it is necessary to consider the environmental issues in industrial area land allocation. The current research used the multi-criteria evaluation method and the combination with fuzzy concepts to investigate the land capability for industrial development in the Plasjan sub-basin in the Zayandeh-rood river basin. Evaluation criteria were determined by literature reviewing and using experts' knowledge, and standard applying fuzzy method via proportional functions and weighted using the hierarchical method. The combined classification of satellite images prepared the land use and land cover map. Then, the standardized criteria were combined in the form of a weighted linear combination and the industrial development capability model was prepared for this area and classified into five land capability classes. The results showed that environmental considerations have the most weight with 0.23, and geological and soil texture criteria have the least weight with 0.06. According to the results, only 213 hectares of the region were allocated for industrial and mining use at the time of the study. In comparison, 2325 hectares of the region have very high industrial potential which shows the capability for increasing industrial areas. Also, the highest class of land capability was related to areas without the capability for industrial development with an area of 246375 ha, equivalent to 60% of the entire region, which shows the importance of conservation of the important functions of this region in water supply and ecological resources.

One of the most common approaches for farm irrigation management is using soil readily available water and allowable depletion coefficient. The objective of this study was to determine wheat crop response coefficients, critical moisture content, and soil allowable depletion coefficient using a physically based method in three dominant soils under wheat cultivation in Khuzestan province. Treatments included full irrigation and water stress at three levels low, moderate, and high. The highest and lowest values of wheat crop response coefficient were related to silty clay loam (Ky=1.26) and clay loam (Ky=0.96), respectively. Critical soil moisture content was observed in loam soil (0.25 cm3cm-3)> silty clay loam (0.23 cm3cm-3)> clay loam (0.22 cm3cm-3), respectively. Despite the higher critical moisture content in loam, the most soil allowable depletion coefficient was also calculated in loam (0.54). Soil allowable depletion coefficient in silty clay loam and clay loam were 0.44 and 0.42, respectively. The results confirmed the simultaneous effects of soil and plant properties on the availability of soil water for the plants.

Soil pollution by heavy metals is a significant issue that threatens human health directly and indirectly. The objectives of this research were to map the extension of some heavy metals in soils of a part of Sirjan Plain, Kerman province, to study the role of natural agents on the distribution of heavy metals, and to assess the risk of soil heavy metal concentration for human health. 120 surficial (0-15 cm) compound soil samples were collected during fieldwork. Soil characteristics like soil texture components, pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, and total soil heavy metal (Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) concentrations were measured using standard protocols. The mapping of soil texture components and heavy metals was done by the usual Kriging method. Results indicated significant correlation coefficients between soil texture components (silt and clay) and total soil Fe and Cu concentrations. Dominant wind direction and spatial distribution of Fe, Cu, and Zn strongly induced the possible dust-born origin of such elements. Results revealed that the sources of Fe, Cu, and Zn were different from those of Cd and Pb. Maximum soil Fe, Cu, and Zn concentrations were in the southern part of the study area, increasing in an upwind direction while for Cd and Pb, maximum soil concentrations were in the northern part of the study area. The Nemerow integrated pollution index revealed that soils were clean for Cd, lowly polluted for Fe, Pb, and Cu, and moderately polluted for Zn.

Non-linear weirs meanwhile economic advantages, have more passing flow capacity than linear weirs. These weirs have higher discharge efficiency with less free height upstream compared to linear weirs by increasing the length of the crown at a certain width. Intelligent algorithms have found a valuable place among researchers due to their great ability to discover complex and hidden relationships between effective independent parameters and dependent parameters, as well as saving money and time. In this research, the performance of support vector machine (SVM) and gene expression programming algorithm (GEP) in predicting the discharge coefficient of arched non-linear weirs was investigated using 243 laboratory data series for the first scenario and 247 laboratory data series for the second scenario. The geometric and hydraulic parameters were used in this research including the water load (HT), weir height (P), total water load ratio (HT/p), arc cycle angle (Ɵ), cycle wall angle (α), and discharge coefficient (Cd). The results of artificial intelligence showed that the combination of parameters (Cd, H_T/p, α, Ɵ) respectively in GEP and SVM algorithms in the training phase related to the first scenario (Labyrinth weir with cycle wall angle 6 degrees) were respectively equal to (R2=0.9811), (RMSE=0.02120), (DC=0.9807), and (R2=0.9896), (RMSE=0.0189), (DC=0.9871) in the second scenario (Labyrinth weir with a cycle wall angle of 12 degrees) it was equal to (R2=0.9770), (RMSE=0.0193), (RMSE=0.9768), and (R2 = 0.9908), (RMSE = 0.0128), (DC = 0.9905), which compared to other combinations has led to the most optimal output that shows the very favorable accuracy of both algorithms in predicting the coefficient the Weir discharge is arched non-linear. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicated that the effective parameter in determining the discharge coefficient of the arched non-linear Weir in GEP and in SVM is the total water load ratio parameter (HT/p). Comparing the results of this research with other researchers revealed that the evaluation indices for GEP and SVM algorithms of this research had better estimates than other researchers.

Improving soil physical properties and increasing water retention in the soil are management strategies in soil and water conservation and enhancing crop yield in rainfed lands. This study was conducted to investigate the role of tillage direction and wheat stubble mulch level in improving soil physical properties in rainfed land in Zanjan province. A field experiment was done at two tillage directions: up to the downslope and contour line, and five stubble mulch levels: zero, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of land cover equal to 6 tons per hectare. A total of 30 plots (2 m×5 m) were created. The results indicated that water infiltration and water content were considerably affected by tillage direction, whereas its effect on water holding capacity was not significant. This physical property of the soil was influenced by the inherent properties of the soil, including particle size distribution. The change of up to down tillage direction to the contour line increased soil infiltration to 11% and water content to 6%. The physical soil properties were wholly influenced by mulch consumption. Soil water content increased in mulch treatments along with water holding capacity and infiltration rate. The highest volumetric water content was at 100% mulch level (10.62%) which was 11% more than the control treatment. However, there was no significant difference between 100% and 75% mulch treatment. This revealed that the application of 75% stubble mulch in contouring tillage is a substantial strategy for improving soil physical properties and controlling water loss in rainfed lands of semi-arid regions.

The formation of vortices behind the gates of diversion dams is an operational challenge. Such vortices lead to vibration and corrosion in the gate, reducing the lifetime and raising the operational cost of the dam. This study investigated these vortices and their formation. It was found that the gate or cutoff wall was not the only explanation for the vortices; the closed side gates also contribute to vortex formation. Furthermore, an increase in the gate width reduced vorticity; the vortex size experienced a 200% reduction as the gate size increased by 200%. The cutoff wall diameter was another determinant. An increase in the cutoff wall diameter raised vorticity. The vortices increased by 50% as the wall diameter increased by 150%.

The increasing need for water resources and controlling the discharge of wastewater into the environment shows the necessity of wastewater treatment. Green methods such as constructed wetlands and phytoremediation use biological processes in the environment for wastewater treatment. Considering the effect of cultivated constructed wetland performance from wastewater quality and climatic factors, the objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of hybrid and subsurface vertical and horizontal wetlands to improve the biological and chemical oxygen demand of the wastewater treatment plant in Rasht City. The effect of Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia plants on the treatment performance was investigated. Wastewater retention time in wetlands varies from monthly in winter and weekly in spring and summer. The results showed that the performance of wetlands in reducing biological oxygen demand (BOD) was more than chemical oxygen demand (COD). Plants improved the performance of the wetland by more than 50%, but no significant difference was observed between the performances of the two plants. The arrangement of the plant's cultivation was not effective in the amount of biological and chemical oxygen removal. The hybrid wetland was able to improve the wastewater quality twice as much as the vertical wetland. Comparing the concentration of the effluents from the wetlands with the standards showed that the effluents from the hybrid wetlands could only be used for agricultural consumption.

A hydrological parameter affecting the management of water resource systems is changes in the amount and occurrence time of extreme precipitation (OTEP). In this research, the seasonality of precipitation in the Lake Urmia (LU) basin was analyzed using the daily extreme precipitation data of 30 rain gauges in the statistical period of 1991-2018. The uniformity of OTEP was tested by Rayleigh and Kuiper’s tests at 0.1, 0.05, and 0.01 levels. The slope of the trend line for OTEP was estimated using the modified Sen slope estimator. The uniformity of OTEP was rejected at each level. The results revealed two strong seasons: late winter and early spring (S1) and autumn (S2) for OTEP. The results showed a general median seasonality index of 0.3, which changed to 0.82 and 0.9 for S1 and S2, respectively, after dividing the whole year into two seasons. The seasonal strength of S1 was similar in both the western and eastern parts of LU, but the west of the lake was stronger than the eastern part in S2. In S1, negative and positive trends in the OTEP were observed on average in 40% and 60% of the stations, respectively, with corresponding values of 77% and 27% for S2, respectively.

In addition to the distribution of elements in the soil solid phase, element species in the solution are also very important due to their importance of providing elements for root uptake. For a deeper study of the chemical cycle of elements in saline soils treated with biochar, the study of speciation is very useful and provides a method to reduce or transform the toxicity caused by toxic elements in saline soils. Therefore, to investigate the effect of biochar on Cd speciation in two saline calcareous soils, 15 mg kg-1 Cd as cadmium chloride was added to the soil sample (200 g), and the soils were incubated for three weeks at 25±2 °C at 80% field capacity. After the incubation period, salinity levels of 20 and 40 mmol kg-1 as sodium chloride (equal to 3.65 and 7.30 dS m-1) were added to the soils. Then, the 1% (w/w) of the sugarcane bagasse and biochars produced at 400 and 600 °C were added to the soils, and then incubated for three months at 25±2 °C at 80% field capacity. At the end of the incubation period, for the speciation of Cd in the soil solution (in a 1 to 2 ratio), the concentration of dissolved cations and anions in the soil samples was measured. The results showed that the interaction between salinity, biochar, and soil on Cd2+, CdCl+, CdCl20, and Cd(SO4)22- was significant. The application of biochar in sandy soil reduced (p <0.05) the concentration of CdCl+, CdCl20, CdSO40, and CdOH+ species compared to the control soil, while it did not affect clay soil. Also, salinity caused by sodium chloride in sandy soil increased the concentration of CdCl+ and CdCl20 species and decreased CdSO40 and CdOH+ species compared to the control soil (p <0.05). The results showed that biochar in saline sandy soil was more effective than clay soil in reducing Cd toxicity.

Piano key overflows have a high discharge capacity. Proper design of these overflows requires sufficient accuracy in predicting the type of overflows. In this study, experiments were performed in a rectangular laboratory flume made of Plexiglas to investigate the effect of the relative length and width of the two-cycle piano switch overflow crest on the discharge coefficient. In present research, the flow intensity coefficient was investigated by installing a rectangular piano switch overflow with relative crest lengths of 0.8, 1, and 1.2 and relative crest widths of 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 in 10 flow intensities in the channel. The results of this study showed that by increasing hydraulic load, the flow intensity coefficient first increases and then decreases. Also, by increasing the relative length of the crest by 50%, the current intensity coefficient increases by 43% in the overflow. Increasing the relative width of the overflow crest by 50% increases the current intensity coefficient by 25% in the overflows. Also, an equation was presented to determine the maximum relative scour depth, and the correlation coefficient of the results of this equation with the laboratory results is about 0.90.

Awareness of the number of changes in runoff and sediment on different slopes can be useful in modeling the production of runoff and sediment. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the production of surface and tunnel runoff and sediment in saline and sodic soils on different slopes. Saline-sodic soil was collected and transported to the laboratory. Laboratory experiments were performed on a soil bed in a rectangular flume at three different slopes (5%, 10%, and 15%) under simulated rain (30 mm/h) for one hour. An analysis of variance was used to investigate the effect of slope on runoff and sediment production, and the means were compared using Duncan's test at the five percent level using SPSS version 26 software. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the slopes of the runoff (P<0.001) and sediment (P<0.001). In the first minute of the experiments, due to the lack of moisture in the soil, the amount of runoff was low, but over time, the amount of runoff increased. It is because the pores are blocked by the dispersion of soil particles owing to the presence of sodium ions, which ultimately leads to a decrease in permeability. Similarly, in the last few minutes, outflow from the tunnel was observed, and this flow occurred only on slopes of 10% and 15%. The amount of sediment was also low in the first few minutes, which could be related to the low amount of runoff and the lack of sediment particle removal. Nonetheless, after the lapse of time, its amount increased, and the primary reasons were reduced permeability, increased runoff, and removal of fine particles from the soil surface.

Drought is one of the most destructive and important climate phenomena, whose effect is usually more important on a regional scale. The importance of this phenomenon is more evident in the Karkheh basin due to its size and important role in providing the country's water resources. We aim to monitor hydrologic drought using the accurate calculation of standardizes streamflow index (SSI) in one month time scale based on fitting frequency distribution to monthly data and goodness of fit test for each station in Karkheh basin for 30 years (1986-2016). The findings of this research showed that the generalized Pareto distribution was selected as the most appropriate distribution in most months, unlike the previous research that fitted and used only the Gama distribution on the data. The time series of the standard flow index indicated the occurrence of super-drought in 2008 to 2015 years. Also, the significant impact of the construction of hydraulic structures upstream of the basin on the average flow rate was observed in some stations. The results of direct and annual monitoring of the drought situation showed that the Karkheh basin has experienced hydrological drought in recent years, and the drought trend is increasing.

Rapid urbanization is responsible for impervious area increases and more runoff generation in urbanized catchments. Higher runoff volume in urbanized catchments leads to higher flood risk. One of the methods of runoff management is low impact development (LID). Bio-retention cell (BRC) is one of the infiltration-based LID practices that allows restoring the pre-development hydrologic cycle. However, the overall hydrologic performance of BRCs can vary depending on different urban environments. In this study, the hydrologic performance of BRC in terms of runoff and flood reduction was investigated in a highly urbanized area in the east of Tehran, Iran. The SWMM model was used to evaluate the performance of BRC. The results showed that BRC for rainfall with a return period of 2 to 50 years reduced the total runoff volume by 76.2% to 70.2% and the peak discharge by 65.9% to 36.4%, respectively. Also, for rainfall with a return period of 2 to 50 years, BRC resulted in 15.2% to 27.5% infiltration of rainfall in the study area, respectively. This study demonstrates that BRC can help restore the natural hydrologic cycle of urbanized catchments by reducing runoff and increasing infiltration.