نشریه علوم محیطی
سال ششم شماره 4 (پیاپی 24، تابستان 1388)

This paper investigates basic and fundamental criteria concerning greenway planning in the mountainous regions in West of Iran to suggest a special reorganization pattern for the outskirts, suburban, and natural areas of nearby urban settlements based on the local context. The paper makes an effort to represent the most important factors in a special suburbanmountainous greenway which may be appropriate in relationship with local cultures, history, and people's essential needs. To introduce the related fundamental criteria, and local and regional factors, the author demonstrates the necessity of such research in Iran and presents a brief literature review about the greenway movement in the West. This indicates that there is a great gap between research on greenways in the West and Middle Eastern countries in general, and in Iran in particular. As a result, the research focuses on an Iranian context and identifies general characteristics of the geomorphological, physical, spatial, social, cultural, and ideological categories in the West of the country. In the present paper, the author will focus on mountainous and semi-mountainous regions in Iran to suggest the most important and essential greenway planning criteria for people's recreation in suburban areas at weekends. To present an appropriate answer, the author attempts to pose suitable environmental planning to prepare an active and pleasant time for families based on environmental awareness and, at the same time, to conserve natural resources and valuable landscapes by means of environmentally attractive approaches. To achieve the main research targets, the qualitative attitude and descriptive-analytic methods were the selected research strategy.

Comprehensive information and knowledge about the quality of water resources plays a very important role in preservation plans for water resource management. One of the engineering methods used to assess river water quality conditions without mathematical and statistical complexity is water quality indices. In this method, different water quality parameters are analyzed and interpreted in a river water quality assessment study. It is one of the most important parts of river quality monitoring plans in which the qualitative indices are converted to a single and dimensionless number. Water quality classification is undertaken on the basis of the value of the indices comparing with a predefined rated scale. In this study, a monitoring plan is achieved for the 18 stations located along with Gheshalgh River in Kurdistan province in Iran. Water quality assessment has been conducted using two NSF quality indices of general water use and the British Columbia index for drinking and agricultural consumption. Based on the results obtained from these indices, water of this river has the worst quality due to agricultural use downstream of the wastewater treatment plant of Sanandaj city. Its condition is degraded up to the discharge point of Morghe Par slaughterhouse due to the assimilation capacity of the river. In this location water quality is acceptable for drinking purposes and most of the stations have appropriate conditions except for Dare Kuleh and the downstream stationwhich are on the border. Results indicate that the degree of influence of urban pollutant sources such as entry of urban wastewater and also of a landfill leachate brook is high, especially in the Gheshlagh bridge area up to the tributaries.

In this paper, six methods of water pinch analysis are introduced to illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Although, these methods can be used in some industries which generate single contaminant during their processes, otherwise all contaminants can be considered as a single contaminant, but actually it is impossible. On the case of multiple contaminants, we can apply pinch analysis by using mathematical programming methods. While graphical methods are unusable in the most situations, some researchers such as Wang and Smith, Gomez and James G. Mann, have developed their methods to cover the multiple contaminant problems. However, more applicable results may be achieved by using mathematical methods as discussed in relation to the Tan and Yee methods. Among the methods considered, Gomes’ mass transferring network is the most satisfactory for use in most industries. This method can be used for both single and multiple contaminant problems.

This study focuses on the role of men and women in watershed management. It triec-to clarify of the priorities and needs of the rural population as well as how the rural population perceives the problems in development of their village. Five counties in Mazandaran Province were studied. These are located in the Bobol, Talar and Siah Rivers watershed. Six most populated villages were selected for survey, each representing a county. Close to 30% of the total rural population lives in these six villages. Some 100 questionnaires were filled for both male and female respondents in each selected village to yield a total of 600 questionnaires by a survey team who were native students of Mazandaran Province. The study has revealed that, despite being in a fairly developed part of the country, the rural population in the study area has a moderate income and a high rate of illiteracy. In this area, women play a significant role in watershed management. Income generating possibilities in this area are not fully exploited. For example, beekeeping is practiced but is notwidespread and forest products are seldom sold. On average most respondents would prefer a loan of less than Rls 5 million. Many respondents preferred monthly installments while others preferred annual or semi-annual installments, probably due to the agrarian economy. As a first priority for receivingfinancial assistance, most of the respondents mentioned ways to generating more income and creation of employment opportunities. Some 52% of priorities were related to living expenditure, About 31% mentioned expanding existing buildings as a priority. Asked about the problems they perceived to be challenges in development of their village, the villagers demonstrated a remarkable awareness of environmental concerns as well as social problems such as gender inequalities. Certain precautions can be accordingly made for a more effective intervention.

Seyab River, which crosses Southwest of Tehran to Islam Shahr (10km), is an extremely important river that is in contact with a population of about one million. Freshly deposited seasonal sediments were collected from depths of 0–20 cm at 4 locations (1 to 4) along the 10-km long channel length, in the spring season of the year 2008. There is no water during the summer to the autumn seasons, with the lowest content in winter and the highest content in spring. Hence, the sampling was carried out during spring. In this research, 12 sediment samples, 9 plant samples and 8 water samples were collected from Seyab River and its periphery. The samples were analyzed by AAS for Co, Ni, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mg, Na, K, Ca, Cd, Se and HCO3-, CO3-2, Cl-, SO4-2. The concentrations of Ag, Hg, As, were less than the detection limit for all samples. Data processing shows the average concentrations of Cu, Cr, Zn, Mg and Ca were higher than the upper continental crust background levels. Se was at 174 times and Cd at 220 times the said level. Islam Shahr has been newly developed during the past 15 years, thus such high contaminations during such a short period are a cause for concern. Anthropogenic impacts, industrialization, farming activities, transport, urbanization, animal and human excrement and domestic wastes have affected the river, contaminating it and its sediments with heavy metals especially Se and Cd.

Water is a valuable and scarce production factor in the agricultural sector of Iran. At present, water resources are allocated by the government agencies, based mostly on socio-political criteria instead of economic measurements. Administrative water resource management has resulted in an inappropriate water allocation and water use, as water use efficiency is reported about 36% in the agriculture sector now. Recently, the water market has been introduced as an alternative mechanism to an administrative manner for increasing water use efficiency in several developed and developing countries. Water is transferred from low to highest marginal return use and consequently water use efficiency increases in the water market. This paper estimates potential gains of implementing agricultural water market in Saveh region by using a mathematical programming model. Results show that water trade among 24 villages in this region can increase farmers’ profits, particularly during a water scarcity period. Also, a water market can increase labour demand and mitigate negative impacts of water scarcity on employment. Additionally, results show that the transaction costs must be declined to broaden the water markets.

The management of ecotourism sites is a very important issue not only for environmental organisations, but also for many governments around the world. This concern is based on the need to balance the notion of sustainability of the environment with economic sustainability. Since successful management of ecotourism will create the conditions for sustainable development of the environment and the economy, both at local and regional and at micro and at macro levels. This paper considers some management issues and approaches associated to tourism and ecotourism development to single out the best practice available for developing countries such as Iran. It is also the starting point to make comparisons with other developed and developing countries.

According to Gibson's ‘ecological perception’ theory, the physical universe is made up of various areas each of which covers and hides the other one and it is only possible to perceive these areas at the time when one is obliged to move around in the environment. The author calls these areas “spatial areas” of the environment. Since no human movement is possible without the passing of time and, given the close relationship between time and place conceptions in modern science whereby time is regarded as the fourth dimension of 3- dimensional space, it is conceived that if one is still (i.e. not moving) but observes the passing of time one will understand different areas of environment that we call the “chronological areas” of an environment. A close relationship is perceivedbetween the Jung unconscious and ‘chronological areas’ that have given great simulation to spatial areas. This research indicates that the unconscious has the ability of free movement in spatial and chronological areas. In this article, the author aims to explain the conceptions of spatial areas, ‘chronological areas’ and a combination of these using an experimental approach.

Sheath blight disease, caused by Rhizoctonia solani, is a major fungal disease of rice, occurring mostly in Asian rice. The present study was performed to identify the chitinase polymorphism in 19 Iranian rice cultivars by using RFLP-PBR, with Rsa I, Taq I, Sac I and Ava I restriction enzymes. Digestion of the chitinase gene RICCH- 3 by its specific digesting enzymes, i.e. RsaI and TaqI, produced a uniform banding pattern in all the rice cultivars studied. However RICCH-1 digestion showed banding pattern polymorphism in the two cultivars 1205 and 1206 and digestion of RICCH-2 showed banding pattern polymorphism in the cultivars 665 and 667. The cultivars studied showed no polymorphism for the sites of the AvaI and SacI enzymes. In total, 13 bands were obtained by the digesting action of RsaI and TaqI enzymes among 19 rice cultivars studied, 4 bands were common in all the cultivarswhile one unique band was observed in the cultivar 326. There were 4 other bands present in all other cultivars but missing in the cultivar 326, making this cultivar significantly different from the other rice cultivars studied. Data obtained suggested the possible occurrence of intra-geneic deletion in the RICCH-1 site and intra-genic duplication in RICCH-2 site. Grouping of the rice cultivars on the basis of the RFLP bands obtained did not correlate with their geographical regions of cultivation. This is the first report on chitinase polymorphism in Iranian rice cultivars.

This research presents a perspective that extends the traditional design framework and proposes to a Sustainable Process of Design, SPD. This view in design and management of the environment is an interdisciplinary approach. The concept of overall sustainability goes beyond novelty, politics, and quick fixes and depends on the nature of the ecosystem and multidisciplinary decision-making. SPD involves many processes and nourishes a wholesome meaning of community and participation in the course of decision-making. Emphasis is given to the conflicting objectives of short-term goals in light of a progression towards sustainability. SPD is connecting, multifaceted, and healing in nature. A long-term approach to development is a fundamental principle of any SPD. Long-term views will cultivate long-term goals and objectives in a design procedure. Examining Tehran’s major recent projects reveals the need for an ecological and healing vision in a Sustainable Process of Design. SPD is set with long-term as well as the short-term goals of a community which provides the designer the wisdom to propose settings and designs filled with abundance and opportunities of quality of life for the present and the future generations.

In recent years the increases in the popularity of applying environmental criteria in national planning and management has provided a wide range of scientific approaches to determine the best location of hazardous wastes to be land filled. In the present study, concern to the hydro-geological and socialeconomical considerations as well as national environmental legislations, an efficient method to determine suitable sites for land filling of hazardous wastes is presented. Site screening study based on GIS database in two scales, and priority processing are utilized. This approach demonstrates how the criteria such as geology, topography, land use, climate, surface and ground water chrematistics, accessibility, applicability and other related factors can be used into the over layer technique to determine some appropriate sites in a vast region. For priority processing between candidate sites also a new approach based on DRASTIC and MPCA methods and zonal feature of the study area is given. The introduced method was used to find a disposal site for hazardous wastes of Shahid Rajaee power plant in Qazvin province, located in west central part of Iran. Results showed that site named 1 in Abyeck zone next to Shahid Rajaee power plant has highest score between 17 primarily selected sites.

To evaluate the resistance of wild oat (Avena ludoviciana), annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum) and littleseed canarygrass (Phalaris spp.) in wheat fields of Fars, Khouzestan, Golestan and Ilam Provinces of Iran to clodinafop-propargyl herbicide from ACCase inhibitors of aryloxyphenoxy propionate classes, 6 separate indoor experiments were conducted in the greenhouses of the Department of Weed Research in the Iranian Research Institute for Plant Protection. The experiments were conducted by using 19 populations of wild oat (including 15 questionably resistant populations and 4 susceptible populations), 14 littleseed canarygrass populations (including 10 suspected-resistant populations and 4 susceptible populations) and 9 annual ryegrass populations (including 8 questionably resistant populations and 1 susceptible mass) from Fars Province, 4 populations of wild oat (including 3 questionably resistant populations and 1 susceptible mass)from Lorestan Province, 17 littleseed canarygrass populations (including 16 probably resistant populations and 1 susceptible mass) from Khouzestan Province, and 12 littleseed canarygrass populations (including 11 questionably resistant populations and 1 susceptible mass) from Golestan Province. All the experiments were conducted separately in the form of a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). A pot under no-herbicide application was also included as control. The remaining weeds number and dry weight percentage were calculated 30 days after herbicide application, and were then compared with their relative figures before herbicide application. A mass was recognized resistant only if it retained80% of its number and 50% of its dry weight, in comparisonto the control. On this basis, 4 resistant and 2 questionably resistant littleseed canarygrass populations, 6 resistant and 3 questionably resistant wild oat populations and 5 resistant and 3 questionably resistant Annual Ryegrass populations were identified in Fars Province. In Ilam Province, 2 resistant wild oat populations were identified. Overall, in this experiment 75 populations including 63 questionably resistant and 12 susceptible populations were evaluated. Amongst the 63 questionably resistant populations (including 37 littleseed canarygrass, 18 wild oat and 8 annual ryegrass populations), 28 totally resistant populations (including 12 littleseed canarygrass, 11 wild oat and 8 annual ryegrass populations) and 10 probably resistant (consisting of 4 littleseed canarygrass populations, 3 wild oat populations and 3 annual ryegrass populations) were detected. In other words, approximately 60% (44% resistant and 16% probably resistant) of all evaluated questionably resistant populations were identified as resistant and probably resistant.

A study was conducted using a modified model to assess the level of threat and effective factors in villages with two ecologies, in Basht County, Gachsaran in Southwest Iran, including a protected area with a dominant mountainous topology and another with a plain-hilly situation. The results showed that level of threat increased with the decreasing distance of villages from the urban region and mountain villages had a lower level of risk than plainhilly areas. Trends of agrochemical application, weed management techniques and acreage of fields receiving agrochemicals had the highest frequency of flooding and incidental fires and the acreage of agricultural land in the area made the least contribution to the threat of agrobiodiversity erosion. The results of cluster analysis divided villages into two clusters in which all mountainous villages, along with two plainhilly villages were placed in one cluster and the others were located in the second cluster. Estimating the role of divergence factors in the clusters revealed that five factors including the distance to the main urban centers, distance to industrial developmental projects, ratio of irrigated to rain-fed lands, extent of use ofmodern varieties and exploitation rate of habitat species had the highest effects on divergence of the biodiversity threat in the model. Results showed that human activities are the main factors in genetic erosion threats, whereas natural factors as well as traditional agricultural and social practices and the availability of agricultural territories in the area resulted in the least risk to biodiversity.

In this study, we have analyzed how to update large scale maps with the help of IKONOS images. To do this, a complete frame IKONOS image from aerial photos (1:5000 scale) and 1:2000 scale digital maps of the city of Urumia have been used as test data. Here, our objective is to exploit the spatial precision of a panchromatic band, the spectral richness of a multispectralimage and the spatial and spectral capabilities of a pansharpened product at the same time. Meanwhile, geometric correction, image fusion, image information extraction, change detection and incorporation of the changes into the old maps are the main subjects of discussion in the current research. At first, geometric correction of IKONOS image has been analyzed with the help of polynomial, rational and RPC functions, with tables and charts used to compare statistical results of these three models. Overall, the rational model with a third coefficient gave the best result. Geometric correction with the RPC model without any control points gave an RMS error of 15 meters, which decreased to 70 cm. when only one control point was applied. The model with the best results was used to produce ortho-images of IKONOS pan-chromatic and multispectral images. To extract different object classes from the IKONOS image, visual interpretation, pixel-based and fuzzy object extraction methods havebeen used. Aerial photographs and old maps were used for editing and accuracy assessment of the results. Image analysis methods for visual interpretation,training samples for supervised and fuzzy classification and interpretation of the output classes of unsupervised classification all proved to be very helpful. Further, to detect occurrences of changes occurred relative to the old maps, comparison of the old maps with new extracted maps and comparison of the old maps with the IKONOS image were carried out. Finally, the information content of the IKONOS image was compared with object classes of 1:5000 and 1:2000 scale maps. For 1:5000 scale maps, most of object classes were detectable and recognizable, however, only a limited number of classes in 1:2000 scale maps were detectable and recognizable. In sum, it was found that IKONOS images are capable for the revision of 1:5000 scale maps but has some deficiencies in 1:2000 scale maps.