آقای علی شهیدی

Yasna 38, which is the middle Yasn of the Haft (seven) Ha(t), is devoted to the praise of waters and women/goddesses. In the third and fifth paragraphs of this Yasna, some attributes are used for waters that are either unique or have a very low degree of repetition in the Avesta, and for this reason there is ambiguity about their meaning; Especially Ahurānῑ, which some have interpreted as "Ahura’s Wives". By comparing Zand of Yasna 38 and other Pahlavῑ religious texts, it seems that this text is the basis for dividing the types of water in that texts which increases the importance of its investigation. However, Zand's review does not help much to resolve the ambiguity in the meaning of this verse, because in most cases, they have repeated the Avestan word and only added a commentary to it. In some cases, the meaning or interpretation of Pahlavῑ, in terms of etymology and appearance, is not similar to the Avestan word, and it seems that there was no consensus about these words and their meaning at the time that Zand was compiled. The aim of this research was to compare the attributes and phrases expressed in the Avestan text and Zand. These words were translated and found their roots, and the extent of their adaptation was checked in two periods, and an attempt was made to answer these questions: to what extent were the interpretations of the author of Zand. How much were they loyal to the Avestan text, and to what extent has the trustworthiness of the translation been observed in their work, and to what extent have the thoughts and opinions of Sassanid Mobads in influenced this translation and interpretation.

Growth is a major component of fitness in all organisms an important mediator of competitive interactions in plant communities and a central determinant of yield in crops. Every year about 12 million hectares of productive land has become dry and barren due to human activities and climate. Quinoa has a very high genetic diversity and can be cultivated in a wide range of soils, climates and latitudes. It also is a plant responds to drought stress through escape, tolerance and avoidance of drought and has an extraordinary capacity for cultivation in dry and low-water soils because of its capabilities such as low inherent need for water, the maintenance of leaf surface and the ability to resume the speed of photosynthesis after drought stress.In order to evaluate the trend changes in the height and leaf greenness index of quinoa, four separate experiments were conducted in factorial layout based on randomized complete block design with three replications in two regions (Birjand and Sarbisheh) and two planting dates (March and July) in 2018-2019. The experimental factors included five moisture levels (25, 50, 75, 100 and 125% of crop water requirement) and three quinoa cultivars (Titicaca, Giza1 and Redcarina). Separate analysis of variance was also performed for each sampling time. At the end of the growing season, the plant height and the length of the main and sub inflorescences were analyzed as a compound analysis that the effects of time (planting date) and place were considered fixe.The results of variance analysis in four separate experiments showed that in both regions, in March cultivation, Redcarina and in August cultivation, Giza1 reached the maximum value of leaf greenness index later than other cultivars and decreased with a lower slope and they actually had a higher leaf greenness index. Also, the highest plant height in March and August cultivation was observed in Redcarina and Giza1 cultivars respectively. At the beginning of the growing season, the highest value of leaf greenness index was observed in the level of 125% of water requirement, which was not significantly different from other moisture levels. With the passage of time, the value of leaf greenness index increased in lower moisture levels so that its value was higher at 25% water requirement level and had a significant difference with other levels. The highest plant height was at the level of 125% water requirement no significant difference was observed between the levels of 125% and 100% plant's water requirement in both places and time studied. Based on the results of composite analysis at the end of the growing season, the highest and lowest plant height was observed in Redcarina and Titicaca cultivars respectively and the cultivar had no significant effect on the length of main and sub inflorescences. Planting date had no significant effect on plant height. however, the maximum main inflorescence length and the lowest sub inflorescence length were obtained from August cultivation. The maximum plant height and main inflorescence length (86.34 and 19.04 cm respectively) were observed in Sarbisheh, and the maximum sub inflorescence length (14.17 cm) was observed in Birjand. By reducing irrigation from the level of 125% to the levels of 100, 75, 50 and 25% of water requirement, the plant height decreased by 6.50, 15.11, 26.88 and 41.13%, respectively, the main inflorescence length decreased by 7.96, 16.52, 20.90 and 32.83%, respectively and the sub inflorescence length decreased by 9.29, 19.38, 40.76 and 47.51% respectively.In general, Redcarina at March cultivation date, and Giza1 at July cultivation date, had the best height plant, leave greenness index and length main and sub inflorescences compared to other cultivars. Applying.....

Due to the toxicity of metals, their side effects may cause serious damage to soil organisms, plants and living organisms. Many conventional methods for cleaning pollution from soil have problems and limitations. The electro kinetic method is a relatively new method for remediating soils contaminated with heavy metals, which has a high efficiency in removing heavy metals from the soil compared to other existing methods.

In this research, the removal of chromium (VI) from nitrate-containing soil has been investigated. At first, the soil was artificially contaminated with potassium dichromate at a concentration of 250 mg/kg, and then in order to investigate the effect of nitrate on the removal of chromium. The soil was also impregnated with calcium nitrate.

By conducting electrokinetic experiments, it was found that with the increase of the electric current introduced into the soil, the electric gradient passing between the electrodes increased, as a result of which the transfer of ions also increased under the influence of the phenomenon of ion migration and electroosmosis. The percentage gives 98.28%. Also, the use of EDTA complexing agent compared to distilled water increases the efficiency of the method from 95.57% to 97.80%. As a result, the use of EDTA electrolyte and increasing the voltage increases the removal efficiency.

Results revealed experiments showed that the use of the electrokinetic method has a negligible effect on the removal of chromium (VI) from soil containing nitrate.

The economic importance of quinoa is not only due to the possibility of using the seeds as a food product characterized by a similar composition and use as consumer cereals but the species can also be managed as a leafy vegetable with high nutritional value and similar uses, such as, for example, spinach. Drought is another environmental stressor for plants subjected to severe water stress, especially in semi-arid and arid environments. Water scarcity poses a considerable challenge to crop production, leading to a notable reduction in crop yield. Quinoa, however, boasts low water requirements and demonstrates resilience in drought conditions. Even during dry periods, quinoa can effectively sustain leaf area and regulate photosynthetic activity. This resilience is facilitated by structural characteristics such as small, thin-walled cells, tissue flexibility, low osmotic potential, and controlled leaf area reduction through dehiscence. Other quinoa features for sustaining turgor pressure through osmotic adjustment during drought stress include inorganic ion buildup (e.g., Ca, K, and Na) and improved organic element synthesis (carotenoids and proline). Quinoa genotypes have several drought-resistance mechanisms, enabling this crop to grow and develop under severe drought conditions. 

To evaluate the effect of moisture levels on some quinoa cultivars biochemical traits, four separate experiments were conducted in a factorial layout based on randomized complete block design with three replications in two regions (Birjand and Sarbisheh) and two planting dates (March and July/August) in 2018-2019. The experimental factors included five moisture levels (25, 50, 75, 100, and 125% of crop water requirement) and three quinoa cultivars (Titicaca, Giza1, and Redcarina). Some quinoa physiological and biochemical traits were evaluated by composite analysis at the 50% flowering stage and the effects of planting date and location were considered fixed.

The results showed that in August/July cultivation, the characteristics of RWC, electrolyte leakage, sodium percentage, potassium percentage, chlorophyll a, carotenoids, proline content, and total soluble carbohydrate of leaves were increased by 17.10, 74.62, 95.51, 31.9, 3.53, 38.65, 94.19 and 9.30% respectively and chlorophyll b content decreased by 13.15% compared to March culture. Also, in Sarbisheh, RWC, electrolyte leakage, potassium percentage, and leaf carotenoids are respectively 3.53, 38.65, 94.19 and 9.30% more than Birjand, but sodium percentage, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, proline and total soluble carbohydrates of leaves were 4, 1.88, 15.67, 51.02 and 30.41% less than Birjand, respectively. In most of the studied traits, the Giza1 cultivar had higher quality traits. Severe water scarcity resulted in an elevation of certain biochemical traits in quinoa leaves. Specifically, as moisture levels decreased from 125% to 25% of the water requirement, there was a significant increase in electrolyte leakage, sodium and potassium percentages, chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids, proline, and total leaf soluble carbohydrates by 24.50%, 37.84%, 35.89%, 24.83%, 59.12%, 48.75%, 51.58%, and 36.71%, respectively. However, the relative water content (RWC) decreased by 17.70%. Notably, there were no significant differences observed between the 125% and 100% levels of water requirement for most of the analyzed traits.

In general, with the significance of the triple interaction of planting date × location × cultivar, as a result, the reaction of each variety depends on the planting date and location of its planting. But in general, most of the quinoa leaf physiological and biochemical traits increased in August/July cultivation. In Birjand, due to the higher average temperature and other climatic parameters compared to Sarbisheh, and probably understanding the heat stress, traits such as photosynthetic pigments, proline, and soluble carbohydrates had higher values. In this research, the Giza1 was superior to the other two cultivars, and moisture stress caused a significant decrease in the water content of the leaves and a significant increase in quinoa leaves quality traits.

Environmental disorders that significantly disturb the growth and yield of plants are considered as stress conditions and cause disturbances in biological. Drought stress is one of these environmental conditions which has been increased as a result of climate change and has been a negative effect on the yield of crops in the world. Every year about 12 million hectares of productive land has become dry and barren due to human activities and climate. More than 6000 varieties of quinoa are cultivated by farmers in the worlds. Quinoa is a plant responds to drought stress through escape, tolerance and avoidance of drought and has an extraordinary capacity for cultivation in dry and low-water soils because of its capabilities such as low inherent need for water, the maintenance of leaf surface and the ability to resume the speed of photosynthesis after drought stress. Titicaca, Redcarina and Giza-1 are three quinoa cultivars. Titicaca and Redcarina, were registered on December 14, 2009 and January 31, 2005, respectively, and are native to Denmark and Netherlands, respectively, and Giza1 is native to Egypt. Increasing yield in water deficit conditions requires the identification of genotypes resistant to drought stress. Different quantitative indicators have been provided to evaluate the reaction of genotypes in environmental conditions and also to determine their tolerance and sensitivity.

In order to evaluate the indicators of drought stress tolerance of quinoa cultivars, a factorial experiment with four stress levels (100, 75, 50 and 25% of water requirement) and three varieties of quinoa (Titicaca, Giza-1 and Redcarina) were conducted with three replications in two locations (Birjand and Sarbisheh region) and two planting dates, spring (March) and summer (July) in 2018 and 2019. Evaluation of cultivars in terms of drought tolerance was done using stress sensitivity indices, such as tolerance (TOL), mean productivity (MP), stress tolerance index (STI), geometric mean productivity (GMP) and harmonic mean (HM). Decomposition into main components on yield under stress and non-stress conditions and drought stress tolerance indices were displayed in the form of a biplot diagram using STATISTICA software.

The results showed that in both regions the highest amount of STI, MP, GMP and HM indices, were recorded for Redcarina variety in all three levels of drought stress at spring cultivation, but they were belonged to Giza-1 at summer cultivation. Due to the dispersion of the results, SSI and TOL indices had less diagnostic power to evaluate the drought tolerance of quinoa cultivars. Principal components analysis showed that Redcarina cultivar was collinear with yield vector in stress condition and MP, GMP, STI and HM indicators and was located in yield potential and tension tolerant area in bi-plot diagram in two regions (Birjand and Sarbisheh) at spring cultivation. In summer cultivation, Giza-1 variety was located at sensitive to stress area and yield potential in bi-plot diagram and was collinear with grain yield vectors in non-stress conditions and MP, GMP, STI and HM indices in two regions. This showed the more yield of this variety in non-stress condition. In most of the planting dates and places were studied, Titicaca cultivar had collinearity with SSI vector or located at the closest position to this vector, which indicated that this cultivar was sensitive to stress.

In general, in July, Giza-1 variety and in March Redcarina variety were the most tolerance varieties and Titicaca was most sensitive cultivar to drought stress.
Keywords

The soil water curve is one of the most critical soil hydraulic characteristics. This characteristic is used to determine soil water in the field capacity point and the permanent wilting point (PWP) beside it has a vital role in the application of soil water models in the study of soil-plant-water relationships. This curve is known as the quality soil index which has an effective role in the explanation of agricultural, ecological, and environmental problems. Impressive and efficient management of soil and water resources, water flow and solute transport survey, soil pollution, and contaminant leakage into water sources are dependent upon the accurate estimation of soil water curve parameters. Moreover, this index has a functional role in applying numerical and hydrological models. On the other hand, to better identify and understand its role, different models were provided to describe this curve mathematically. The efficiency of these models depended on the accuracy of estimated parameters in the model structure that was defined. Soil water curve is known as a non-linear relationship that is used to describe the relation between soil and water content or degree of soil saturation. The soil water curve provides essential information for using irrigation methods and about soil resistance and soil mechanical properties. In this research, the performance trend of two meta-heuristic algorithms, including the differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), was studied to estimate hydraulic parameters of soil water curves based on the van Genuchten and the Brooks and Cory models in four soil texture classes; loam, silt loam, sandy loam, and sandy clay loam. Besides, this study evaluated the performance of the meta-heuristic algorithm to RETC software. This software has a non-linear square local algorithm. This study can evaluate the ability of the meta-heuristic algorithms to estimate parameters for exponential relationships and nonlinear models.

At the agricultural farm of the University of Birjand, a study was conducted to analyze soil water content in different texture classes. The research involved the random selection of four soil texture classes and the random sampling of 20 points from each class. The soil water content was measured using a sandbox and pressure plate device, covering a broad suction range of 0-15000 cm. In the first phase, soil water curve parameters were estimated for each soil texture using the van Genuchten model and the Brooks and Cory model in the RETC software. Subsequently, the Matlab desktop environment was utilized to apply meta-heuristic algorithms (DE and PSO) to estimate the soil water curve parameters based on the two models. An objective function was defined to minimize the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of the meta-heuristic algorithms' performance. Finally, the study compared the performance of the meta-heuristic algorithms (DE and PSO) with the RETC software in estimating soil water curve parameters based on the van Genuchten and Brooks and Cory models, using statistical indices such as RMSE and R2. The soil texture classes play a crucial role in influencing soil water content and nutrient retention, making them an essential factor in agricultural management and crop suitability. The study's findings can contribute to a better understanding of soil water dynamics and the development of improved agricultural practices.

The obtained results of the statistical indices (RMSE and R2) showed that the least value of RMSE was acquired by the differential evolution algorithm (DE) performance. The values of RMSE during the application of the DE algorithm as an estimated method based on the van Genuchten model were 0.0008, 0.0005,0.0004, and 0.0006 also based on the Brooks and Cory were 0.006, 0.006, 0.005, and 0.0005 in sandy clay loam, sandy loam, loam, and silt loam respectively. Also, the highest value of the R2 index was obtained equal to 0.995, 0.996, 0.994, and 0.994 by the utilization of the DE algorithm based on the van Genuchten model in the sandy clay loam, sandy loam, loam, and silt loam respectively. The values of RMSE by the utilization of the PSO algorithm based on the van Genuchten model were 0.0021, 0.006, 0.0057, and 0.006 in the sandy clay loam, sandy loam, loam, and silt loam classes respectively. The highest and lowest values of the RMSE and R2 indices by the application of RETC software were obtained equal to 0.017 and 0.912 (sandy clay loam), 0.01and 0.963 (sandy loam), 0.085 and 0.972 (loam), and 0.01 and 0.924 (silt loam) based on the van Genuchten model.

It could be concluded that RETC software has poor performance in the estimation of soil water curve parameters in all soil texture classes studied based on the van Genuchten and Brooks and Cory models. This trend represents the weakness of the local algorithms to solve multivariable problems where an exponential relationship exists between the variables and they are influenced by each other. On the other hand, the results show the meta-heuristic algorithms have sufficient ability to estimate parameters in multivariable problems. It could be concluded that the meta-heuristic algorithms have better performance in estimating the parameters of soil hydraulic models. The DE algorithm is the best method to estimate soil hydraulic parameters. The PSO algorithm has the nearest performance to the DE algorithm but the best performance to RETC. Finally, meta-heuristic algorithms are suitable options for estimating soil water curve parameters based on various hydraulic models.

reenhouse conditions, the use of biochar on yield and yield components of cucumber and to determine the effect of water stress and biochar on cucumber yield components in Birjand region. Application of biochar in soil increases the yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) of Storm cultivar and the combined effect of water stress and biochar modulates the effect of water stress on reducing crop yield.

Due to the conditions in the greenhouse and the type of cultivation (stacks), this study was selected as a factorial in a randomized complete block design with three dehydration treatments and four biochar treatments. Drought stress has three levels of 100, 75, 50% water requirement. And biochar levels of zero, 2, 4, 6 grams per kilogram of soil are selected The type of cultivation is in the form of a stack or a stack in which a stack is selected and divided into equal plots. Based on the number of treatments and replications selected, 36 plots are required, each plot being 80 cm long and 40 cm wide. After preparing a suitable culture medium, two seeds were planted in each plot with a distance of 2 cm because if the seed did not germinate or was destroyed, another one could be used as an alternative. Then, all plots were irrigated automatically until the plants became four-leafed, and pest control operations were carried out equally and equally among all plots.

The results show that biochar had a significant effect on cucumber height, cucumber diameter, cucumber weight, plant height, number of leaves and stem diameter at 1% level. It can be seen that water stress at the level of 1% had a significant effect on cucumber height, cucumber weight, number of leaves and stem diameter. But its effect on cucumber diameter index and plant height was not significant. In this experiment, the interaction effect of biochar and water stress at 1% level had a significant effect on cucumber height and cucumber weight and at 5% level on cucumber diameter and stem diameter, but its effect on plant height and number of leaves was not significant.

Drought stress was significant on cucumber height, cucumber weight, number of leaves and stem diameter at 1% level and had no effect on cucumber diameter and plant height indices. • The best performance in plant height, cucumber weight, number of leaves and stem diameter at I100 level. Consumption of 6 grams of biochar per kilogram of soil at the level of water stress, 100% water requirement had the highest yield on growth indices (cucumber height, cucumber weight) and at the level of 5% on stem diameter and cucumber diameter indices. The use of biochar on the indices of stem diameter, cucumber diameter, cucumber weight, cucumber height, number of leaves and plant height was positive and significant and the use of 6 g of biochar per kg of soil in all indicators has the highest yield for cucumber plant. The interaction effect of water stress and biochar was significant on cucumber height and cucumber weight indices at 1% level and on cucumber diameter and stem diameter indices at 5% level, but the interaction effect of stress and biochar on plant height and leaf area indices was not significant.

Deficit irrigation offers a solution for optimizing crop production under water stress conditions, albeit with an initial reduction in yield per unit area. Employing deficit irrigation aids in farm management in scenarios where land availability isn’t constrained, enabling the determination of optimal cultivation patterns while conserving water consumption. However, deficit irrigation may influence plant growth and development by inducing drought stress. Due to several capabilities, quinoa shows resistance to solar radiation, temperature, water availability, and atmospheric CO2 concentration, which makes it possible to cultivate it in different agricultural areas. Quinoa also has a great capacity for cultivation in dry and low-water soils. Although growth analysis sometimes provides valuable clues, it does not provide any physicochemical information related to the environmental reactions of plants; in other words, the main benefit of many quantities involved in growth analysis is to provide an accurate estimate of the ability and efficiency of the plant in the community at certain time intervals. In general, growth analysis evaluates the system based on the results of physiological manifestations. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the physiological growth analyses of three quinoa cultivars under different moisture levels in summer and spring planting dates in the South Khorasan region.

To evaluate the physiological traits of three quinoa cultivars under deficit irrigation conditions, four separate experiments were conducted using a factorial layout based on a randomized complete block design. These experiments included three replications and were carried out in two regions (Birjand and Sarbisheh) during two planting dates (March and July) in 2018-2019. The experimental factors consisted of five moisture levels (ranging from 25% to 125% of crop water requirement) and three quinoa cultivars (Titicaca, Giza1, and Redcarina). To compare the cultivars and assess the impact of humidity levels, several physiological indices—such as leaf area index (LAI), crop growth rate (CGR), relative growth rate (RGR), and net assimilation rate (NAR)—were studied. Regression curves were fitted to the data from all four experiments separately, and separate analyses of variance were also performed for each sampling time.

The trend of changes in the leaf area index (LAI) showed that the time needed to reach the maximum LAI was observed between 106 to 107 days after emergence in March and between 73 to 76 days after emergence in July in Birjand, respectively. In Sarbisheh, the maximum LAI was observed on day 104 after emergence in March and between 65 to 72 days after emergence in July. In March, in both studied areas, Redcarina had the highest LAI values (4.5 in Birjand and 6.7 in Sarbisheh), along with the maximum crop growth rate (CGR) of 17.93 g m-2 day-1 in Birjand and 20.63 g m-2 day-1 in Sarbisheh. Conversely, in July, Giza1 exhibited the highest LAI (6.4 in Birjand and 6 in Sarbisheh), along with the maximum CGR of 19.32 g m-2 day-1 in Birjand and 18.11 g m-2 day-1 in Sarbisheh. Additionally, the highest relative growth rate (RGR) and net assimilation rate (NAR) at the beginning of the growing season in March were observed for Redcarina, while in July, Giza1 demonstrated the highest RGR and NAR in both studied areas. Considering the effect of humidity levels, the highest levels of LAI, CGR, RGR, and NAR indices were observed at the 125% water requirement level. Specifically, the maximum LAI values in March (in Sarbisheh and Birjand) and August (in Sarbisheh and Birjand) were 8.2, 5.3, 6.5, and 7.2, respectively. The maximum CGR values were 28.78, 23.56, 22.96, and 26.18 g m-2 day-1, respectively. Furthermore, the highest RGR at the beginning of the growing season ranged from 0.189 to 0.214 g g-1 day-1, and the highest NAR at the beginning of the growing season ranged from 6.16 to 10.22 g m-2 day-1. Conversely, the lowest values of these indices were observed at the 25% water requirement level.

Overall, Redcarina, cultivated in March, and Giza1, cultivated in July, exhibited the most favorable growth analysis indices and grain yield compared to other cultivars. Additionally, deficit irrigation resulted in a decrease in all of these indices and grain yield.

The management of water resources, especially groundwater, is of particular importance in arid and semi-arid regions. Improper understanding and unsustainable exploitation in these areas will result in irreparable damage, such as severe and irreversible groundwater level decline, reduction in well and aqueduct discharge, and changes in the pattern of groundwater flow. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate the decline in the groundwater levels of Mashhad Plain, which is selected as one of the most important and largest plains in Khorasan Razavi province. In order to conduct this study, the data from 62 observation wells were examined over a period of five years (2011-2016, 2016-2021). Initially, the statistical data was collected and organized using Excel 2017 software, and the hydrograph representing the aquifer of Mashhad Plain was plotted. Subsequently, using ArcMap 10.8 software and the Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) method, maps of the groundwater level and water table for an 11-year period and two consecutive five-year periods were generated. The results obtained in this study indicate that the groundwater level in this aquifer has, on average, increased by 0.36 meters in the first five years and 0.32 meters in the second five years for the specified time period. The central, southeast, and northwest parts show the highest increase in reaching the groundwater level. Additionally, the hydrograph representing the Mashhad aquifer shows an average annual decrease of 0.33 meters in groundwater level over the 11-year period.

Identifying the number of wells in groundwater level estimation is an important step in terms of reducing the maintenance cost and saving the cost of harvesting information. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is one of the techniques that reduces data that plays a significant role in identifying low data. In this research, the average annual groundwater level of 51 wells in Neyshabour plain with a statistical period of 10 years (2010-2019) was studied using statistical analysis of the main components of the wells to determine the level of groundwater level in this plain. Using PCA, the relative importance of each well was calculated between 0 (for completely ineffective well) to 1 (for the very effective wells). The results showed that among the 51 wells in the studied area, 27 wells are considered as wells, and the remaining wells are considered as low-level wells. By eliminating 24 less wells, the estimated ground water level error in the studied area is 26% higher than that used for all wells. Also, to take into account the factor of time, changes in this method were done in two 5-year periods. The results showed that 42 wells were selected as important well during the first 5 years period (2010-2014), which was reduced to 35 wells during the next 5 years (2015-2019).

Considering the limited water resources and the high rate of evaporation, water crisis is one of the most important issues in the country. Due to the importance of Flixweed as a medicinal plant, its water requirement and its single and dual plant coefficients were investigated in the lysimeter laboratory of University of Birjand. For this purpose, six lysimeters (of the water balance type) with a diameter of 60 cm and a height of 100 cm were used. Inside all six lysimeters, Flixweed plants were planted with a density of 20 plants/m2, then, evaporation and transpiration were calculated using the water balance equation. Evaporation and transpiration of grass reference was measured directly by three lysimeters and its average was 322 mm. Then, plant coefficients were calculated for four stages of growth (initial, development, middle, and end). In this research, the average values of evaporation and transpiration, evaporation from the soil surface, and transpiration from the target plant were obtained as 202, 23, and 179 mm, respectively. Finally, the individual plant coefficients for the four initial, development, middle and final stages were 0.52, 0.68, 0.96 and 0.57, respectively, and the basic plant coefficients were 0.38, 0.59, 0.94 and 0.52 mm. In general, considering the climate of South Khorasan Province, Flixweed plant is recommended for cultivation due to its low water requirement.

Groundwater resources are the second largest freshwater source in the world after polar glaciers. Due to the importance of this resource in arid and semiarid regions, investigating changes in groundwater levels has an important role in planning and sustainable water resources management. The steady decline in groundwater levels has been observed in many parts of the world. For optimal use of available water resources comprehensive planning is necessary to make informed and accurate understanding of this important component of water resources. Neyshabour plain is one of the most plains of Khorasan Razavi province, which has an important role in agricultural production. Due to the reduction of the Groundwater recharge factors and Unallowable discharges of the resources, annually 74 cm decline in groundwater table in Neyshabour plain were observed. Hence the objective current study was forecasting the monthy groundwater changes in Neyshabour aquifer using fuzzy regression model. For this propose, the parameters affecting aquifer level including monthly precipitation and discharge detected and fuzzy linear regression approach is employed for to estimate groundwater level of Neyshabour Aquifer. The results represent that the most accuracy predicts was in august with R2, RMSE and MAE of applied model was 0.93, 6.05 and 6.01 respectively. In conclusion the results obtained from this study, based on R2, MAE and RMSE measures, showed the efficiency of newly developed formulas based on fuzzy regression method in estimate the groundwater table with proper accuracy.

Water is one of the most common and at the same time the most important substance on the planet. All kinds of plants in different parts of the earth need more water than any other environmental factor. The main purpose of direct measurements or evapotranspiration calculations is the amount of water required by plants. Knowledge of the water need of plants in each region and its use in agricultural planning plays an important role in water usage. Due to the reduction of fresh water reserves in the world, accurate estimation of evaporation and transpiration and water requirement of plants seems to be important. Therefore, developing an irrigation plan and applying proper irrigation management can reduce the losses caused by water resources. The aim of the current research is to determine the evapotranspiration and plant coefficients of saffron plant and the evapotranspiration of the grass reference plant by two methods, lysimeter and FAO-Penman-Mantith, in Birjand city.
 
The research was carried out in the agricultural year of 2018-2019 in the lysimetry laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture, Birjand city, for this purpose. The saffron plant was grown in six lysimeters and the grass reference plant in three lysimeters, in the collection of lysimetry laboratories of the Faculty of Agriculture, Birjand University. The growth period of saffron plant was divided into four initial (27 days), development (54 days), middle (40 days) and final (54 days) stages. Irrigation was done daily until the soil moisture reached the agricultural capacity. The irrigation volume was adjusted based on the soil moisture level, the reason for which was mentioned above. The start time of irrigation was determined based on soil moisture and Fc. The end of irrigation was done according to the condition and moisture content of the soil.
The average of evapotranspiration of the grass reference plant by lysimetric and FAO-Penman-Monteith methods was obtained equal to 4.32 and 4.19 mm/day, respectively, and the average of evapotranspiration of the saffron plant during the 175-day growth period was obtained equal to 2.34 mm/day. During different stages of growth, the amount of the average of single crop coefficient was estimated 0.36, 0.66, 0.86 and 0.42, respectively, and the average of dual crop coefficient was estimated 0.37, 0.67, 0.87 and 0.42, respectively. With the passage of time, the amount of evaporation-transpiration of the reference plant has increased, which can be attributed to the long day length and the increase in net solar radiation, with the increase in temperature, the amount of evaporation-transpiration also has increased, so the demand of the plant to receive water increases.
 
Observations indicated that at the beginning of the period, due to high evaporation, this coefficient was clearly obtained from their sum, but in the middle stage, due to the decrease in evaporation and the predominance of transpiration, the coefficient of vegetation in most cases was Sweating has approached and this trend of changes has been the same in all lysimeters. The value of the basic vegetation coefficient (transpiration component) gradually increased after passing through the initial stage and reached the maximum value in the middle stage. The value of the evaporation coefficient from the soil surface (Ke) is the highest after the surface soil layer is wetted by rain or irrigation. As this layer dries, the evaporation coefficient will increase. In the condition that there is no water left in the surface layer of the surface soil, the evaporation coefficient reaches zero. The two-component vegetation coefficient, which is the sum of the transpiration and evaporation components, also decreases gradually. The fluctuations seen in the graph are due to the short irrigation period.

In groundwater management, one of the crucial and fundamental aspects is estimating the groundwater level, which is typically done based on data obtained from monitoring well networks. In this research, the main objective was to investigate the groundwater salinity in the Mashhad Plain during the period of 1st to 31st of April, 2019. For this purpose, two statistical models, IBK and M5, were used, and their results were compared with geostatistical methods. Point sampling with geographic coordinates X and Y was employed to examine the groundwater salinity. Additionally, chloride was considered as an important variable and indicator of groundwater salinity due to its significant correlation with electrical conductivity, which is indirectly related to groundwater salinity. The results showed that the IBK model outperformed the M5 model and geostatistical methods. By using the IBK model, the accuracy in predicting groundwater salinity significantly improved. Based on the obtained statistical values, it can be concluded that the IBK model, with an R-squared value of 0.98, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 85.200, and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 48.97, performed the best in predicting groundwater salinity in the Mashhad Plain. Thus, the IBK model serves as an effective tool for accurate estimation of groundwater salinity and quantitative groundwater management. Its high performance enables better decision-making and implementation of appropriate measures for preserving and optimizing groundwater resources. These findings can be valuable for managers.

Ensemble modelling is expanding in several areas of engineering, especially different aspects of water engineering. Accurate estimation of saffron water requirement (SWR), an essential strategic production of the agriculture sector, is a crucial and influencing act in local water planning of this region. Hence, this study aimed to check the applicability of ensemble modelling in enhancing SWR at Birjand, Southern Khorasan, Iran. The actual water requirement of saffron was recorded in the field lysimetric laboratory at the University of Birjand. The simulation of water requirement was conducted utilizing Decision Tree Regression (DTR) with input climate features. Additionally, Boosting and Bagging methods were employed to establish and enhance the ensemble process of soil water requirement (SWR) simulations. To track the effectiveness of any method, some comparative tests were designed, such as statistical criteria (RMSE and MAE) detection, Violin plot analysis, over/underestimation, times series comparison, and error improvement test. Results indicated that although the acceptable performance of DTR in simulating SWR, the probable improvement was potentially felt. Derived results confirmed that supervised ensemble modelling (Boosting) could enhance the accuracy of DTR by more than 30 percent (reducing absolute error from 36 mm to 23.65 mm), resulting in declining RMSE from 0.44 mm to 0.07 mm. Further, different experiment outcomes revealed that the Boosting algorithm quality is more appealing than DTR and Bagging outputs.

Drought is a phenomenon that in addition to the lack of water resources, causes decrease in the quality of surface water. The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of drought on the water quality of Kashfroud river. In order to, precipitation, temperature and quality data of six meteorological and hydrometry stations were used during the 30-year statistical period (1989-2019). Calculated SPI and SPEI index, drought and wet were selected among all stations. The changes of water quality parameters were investigated in the statistical period and the drought and wet period. The results showed that the average quality parameters of water have changed significantly during drought. In all stations, the concentration of TDS, EC, Ca, Mg, Na, SO4-, HCo3-, and Cl- have increased in the drought period compared to the long-term average. Its maximum for Cl-parameter is 7.66 mg/l at Olang Asadi station. On the other hand, during the period when drought indicators increased and drought occurred, the value of this parameter decreased by 32.73%.Due to the increase in temperature in drought period and the increase in EC value, the highest percentage of changes is in Olang Asadi station with 70.73% and the lowest in Golmakan station is 1.75%. Based on the results, the average concentration of cations and anions in Olang Asadi station shows an increase of about 5 times compared to Golmkan station.Finally, it can conclude that the decrease in rainfall, increase in temperature and drought, the water quality has decreased, especially in the downstream stations.

In the present age, the issues and challenges of water crisis are at the center of attention of human life. To solve these crises, recent environmental policies have focused on encouraging pro-environmental behaviors and the determining factors of this behavior. Considering that one of the reasons for this crisis is the lack of human knowledge in the sustainable management of resources, therefore, the present research aims to contribute in the explanation and prediction of cooperative use behavior of water resources by Investigating the rich experiences of a successful case study in the field of water consumption local management by focusing on the knowledge component.

The theoretical framework of the research is the modify theory of planned behavior (MTPB) with an emphasis on the local knowledge component. This descriptive research was conducted using a survey method and a questionnaire among two groups of drinking and agricultural users in Toshan and Galand villages in Golestan province. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires have been confirmed using the Content Validity Ratio and Cronbach's alpha test. According to the research objectives, SPSS software was used for the statistical analysis of the questionnaires. In the following, structural equation modeling using Smart PLS software has been used for the simultaneous analysis of causal relationships between variables and the degree of conformity of the conceptual model with experimental observations.

The results of the statistical analysis show that the environmental knowledge of the users about water issues in the region is higher than the expected average, and this means that the level of cooperative behavior in the study area is high. Also, according to the Stone-Geisser scale, the structural model has a good structural quality in all cases. Investigating the structural part of the model by Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and Composite Reliability (CR) shows the appropriate reliability and convergent validity of the MTPB model. Also, the value of the R2 coefficient shows that in total, the variables of the modify model explain 92, 93, 74 and 79% of the behavior of the users of Toshan drinking, Galand drinking, Toshan agriculture and Galand agriculture, respectively, in relation to local participation in the use of water resources. Regarding the structural paths of the model, the results indicate that all components have a positive and significant effect on the variable of behavioral intention. Also, according to the obtained path coefficients, a positive and significant relationship has been observed between knowledge and attitude with the behavior of cooperative use of water resources, which confirms the hypothesis of the research and shows that the users have a positive attitude towards the cooperative behavior of water conservation in all cases.

According to the field experiences in the study area, the participation of stakeholders in the use of water resources facilitates the work by sharing environmental knowledge in cases where there are conflicts regarding the use of water. Adding the knowledge component, has not shown significant differences in improving behavior prediction between different cases of consumption. Of course, the results show that knowledge can be effective as a prerequisite for engaging in cooperative behavior. It should be noted that the results show that drinking water users, with a slight difference compared to agricultural users, have a greater behavioral intention to accept cooperative management of water resources.

Due to the pollution of water resources by various pollutants such as nitrate, the use of amendments such as biochar can be considered as an approach to solve this environmental problem. To investigate the effect of barberry stem biochar on nitrate leaching, a research was conducted using a factorial and completely randomized design in 2021, in the soil laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran. Experimental factors were particle size of biochar at two levels (less than 1 mm, more than 2.8 mm) and biochar volume in three rates (1, 2, and 3 mm on weight basis). Biochar was produced during the thermal decomposition process under limited oxygen conditions (400 0C for 6 h). The pots were subjected to wet cycles (field capacity plus 20%) and drying (permanent wilting moisture) and the nitrate concentration in the drained water from irrigation was measured in two stages with an interval of six weeks. The highest and lowest nitrate leaching rates in the samples were observed in the control treatment without biochar and biochar with particle size less than 1 mm at the rate of 1% by weight, respectively. The results of this study showed that addition of the biochar to the soil significantly reduced nitrate leaching compared to the control without biochar. At the two measuring times, biochar treatments with particle size of less than 1 mm and 1%, 2% and 3%, biochar with natural particle sizes of 1%, 2%, and 3% showed decrease in nitrate leaching by, respectively, 83.6%, 82.4%, 76.8%, 81.7%, 64.2%, and 60.2 % compared to the treatment without biochar. Moreover, the results showed that biochar particles less than 1 mm had more effects on reducing nitrate leaching than biochar particles more than 2.8 mm. According to the results of this study, it seems that application of barberry branch waste biochar left after harvesting can reduce nitrate leaching and the risk of transmitting contamination to other soil.

The effective and timely monitoring of drought can help to develop drought systems and optimal management of water resources. Therefore, in this research, the drought situation in the synoptic stations of Fars province (Abadeh, Shiraz, Fasa and Lar) was investigated in different time scales (3, 6, 9 and 12 months) using precipitation-evaporation and transpiration (SPEI) and Multivariate standardized precipitation (MSPI) indices. The Mann-Kendall test was used in order to check the trend of the investigated indicators. Based on the results, the frequency of dry and wet periods is high in short-term time scales. But with the increase of time scales, the frequency of dry and wet periods decreases and their duration increases. In terms of the SPEI index, in the 3-month time scale, the most severe drought is at Abadeh station (-5.20) and the most severe drought is at Shiraz station (5.21). In the time scale of 6 months, the most severe drought and drought were observed in Abadeh (-3.45) and Shiraz (3.10) stations, respectively. In the time scale of 9 months, the most severe drought and drought are in Lar station with values of -3.63 and 2.48, respectively. Also, on a 12-month scale, the most severe drought is in Shiraz station (-3.37) and the most severe drought is in Abadeh station (2.37). Principal component analysis of SPI time series showed that the first principal component (PC1) can account for a large percentage of changes in the original SPI time series in all regions studied in this research. Also, the results showed that MSPIs follow the fluctuations of the SPI time series, especially in long-term dry and wet periods. So, partial wet and dry periods in severe and prolonged dry or wet periods may be excluded by MSPI.

Quinoa is a dicotyledonous plant from the Amaranthaceae family, with favorable nutritional value and a high potential for growth and production in adverse environmental conditions. Despite being three carbon, it has high water consumption efficiency and as a new crop, due to its wide adaptation to different environment conditions such as salinity and drought, as well as being premature, it is suitable for planting in arid and desert areas and has many factors. Genetic and environmental factors such as genotype, density, arrangement and planting date, soil salinity, and drought stress affect yield. Among these, drought is one of the most important non-living stresses that cause great damage to crops and horticulture in the world every year. And especially Iran, which is considered an arid and semi-arid country. The effect of moisture stress on plants varies depending on which stage of plant growth occurs and plants can work through various mechanisms such as reducing growth parameters, closing pores, reducing photosynthesis, changing regulatory mechanisms of ion transport, and increasing activity. Antioxidant enzymes cope with drought stress to some extent, although such mechanisms are energy-intensive and cause a decline in performance.

order to investigate the optimal density of quinoa at different levels of irrigation, a factorial experiment was conducted based on completely randomized design with three replications at the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Birjand University. The first factor was irrigation levels (based on 50, 75, and 100% water requirement) and the second factor was plant density at 5 levels (40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 plants m-2). Measurement traits included relative leaf water content, stomatal conductance, electrolyte leakage, number of branches, number of grains per branch, branch weight, 1000-grain weight, grain yield, water use efficiency, and grain protein.

The results showed that the yield components in response to low irrigation conditions were significantly reduced, so that the highest 1000-seed weight, number of branches, number of seeds per branch, branch weight and yield at the level of 100% water requirement were, respectively, 0.1 (g), 1368.4 (branching per square meter), 132.64 (grains per branching), 2377.8 (grams per square meter) and 3265.25 (kg ha-1) have been obtained. The maximum orifice conductivity measured at 35.66 (mol CO2 per square meter) was obtained at the beginning of flowering at 100% water requirement. Also, with decreasing irrigation level, physiological traits including relative leaf water content decreased significantly and traits such as electrolyte leakage and grain protein increased. The optimal density at the irrigation level of 100, 75, and 50% of water requirement were 113, 105, and 80 plants per square meter, respectively. The interaction of irrigation levels and density also showed that the highest yield was 100% of water requirement and density of 100 plants with 4226.52 kg ha-1. The results showed that at the irrigation levels of 100 and 75% of the water requirement, the highest yield was obtained at a density of 100 plants and with a decrease in density at these levels by 61.2 and 73.2%, respectively, was associated with a decrease in yield, but at the level of 50%. The highest yield was obtained at a density of 80 plants, which was accompanied by a decrease in yield to 40 plants with a yield of 73.5%. The results also show an increase in optimal density with increasing irrigation level, so that the most optimal density at the irrigation level of 100% of the water requirement is 113 plants per square meter and with increasing the stress to 75 and 50% of the water requirement, respectively, density Optimal yields of 105 and 80 plants per square meter have been achieved.

general, the results show that lack of moisture has an adverse effect on quinoa yield such as 1000-seed weight, branch weight, number of seeds per branch, and number of branches in the main inflorescence and reduces the optimal plant density.

Lack of water resources and rainfall are among the problems facing agriculture in hot and dry regions. The experimental factors included irrigation level (100, 70, and 50% of water requirement) and water type (separate, mixed, and mixed irrigation with treated wastewater and saline well water) in three replicates. Land preparation and cultivation of barley seeds were done in the agricultural lands of Birjand wastewater treatment plant , and after the harvest, the barley seeds were separated and digested, and the concentration of manganese, aluminum and arsenic was measured. The results showed that the concentration of arsenic in barley was insignificant in all treatments and the range of changes of manganese was between 68.4 and 96.5 and aluminum was between 39 and 115.2 mg/kg, which is in accordance with the animal feed standard. In this regard, the concentration of manganese and aluminum in the irrigation treatment was 79.4 and 53.7, respectively, and in the mixed irrigation treatment it was 78.3 and 52.1 mg/kg, and no significant difference was observed between them at the statistical level of 5%. Lack of irrigation in all treatments caused an increase in manganese accumulation and in all treatments except irrigation with treated wastewater and intercropping irrigation caused an increase in aluminum absorption in seeds. By changing the irrigation regime from 50% of water requirement to 100%, the role of water salinity in the accumulation of metals decreased and the role of treated wastewater organic matter increased. The results of this study in terms of the effect of irrigation water level and the punitiveness of one-in-one irrigation and mixing with purified wastewater and salt water in reducing the accumulation of heavy metals in barley grain, as two low-cost management solutions, are a good guide in the safe use of these unconventional waters. is in agriculture."

Effective and timely drought monitoring can contribute to the development of drought systems and the optimal management of water resources using these systems in turn can minimize the costs of drought. The purpose of this study is to investigate the drought using Landsat satellite data and meteorological and agricultural drought indices in three regions with different climatic conditions (Birjand, Shiraz and Rasht). For this purpose, drought indices based on satellite data including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjustment Vegetation Index (SAVI) and Simple Ratio (SR) were extracted from Landsat images for the period 2002, 2014 to 2020. Then the results of these indices were compared with the values of standard precipitation index (SPI) and Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI). The study of indicators shows that the amount of indicators is high in all studied years in Rasht region. In Shiraz region, a significant decrease in the average value of indicators occurred in August and September from 2015 to 2020. Also, this decrease was seen in the average value of indicators in Birjand region from September 2002 to 2020. On the other hand, among the studied months, September 2015 in Rasht and Shiraz regions and 2014 (September) Birjand had the most drought in terms of remote sensing indicators. The results showed that in all three regions, remote sensing indices including NDVI and SAVI have a high correlation with SPI and RDI indices. The RDI index is superior to the SPI index for drought monitoring and prediction. As a result, the RDI index takes into account evapotranspiration in addition to rainfall and is more sensitive especially in dry areas such as Shiraz and Birjand where evapotranspiration is higher than rainfall.

In order to investigate the effect of changes in irrigation cycle on yield and its components, water use efficiency, economic index of water use efficiency and net income of Zataria multiflora medicinal plant, an experiment in 2016-17 crop year, in randomized complete blocks with four levels of irrigation cycle (4, 8, 12 and 16 days), in three replications, using T-TAPE Irrigation system and was performed in Aliabad Fars region. The results showed that the effect of 8-day irrigation period was significant at 1% level on fresh weight and dry weight of plant, number of lateral branches, amount of active ingredient and harvest index and had no significant effect on plant height. The value of the final production index in relation to the depth of irrigation water for minimum irrigation (17.46 cm) was equal to 180.33 kg per centimeter of water and for maximum irrigation (75.66 cm) was 41.61 kg per cm Water came in handy. Also, in the 8-day treatment (with maximum water consumption efficiency), the values of water consumption economic index and net income were 3 and 1.5 times the executive treatment in the region (4-day cycle), respectively, and according to Stuart model, the amount The sensitivity coefficient of the plant was calculated to be 0.69. Therefore, considering the resistance and yield and capacity of thyme plant to increase the irrigation cycle in the region, the use of 8-day irrigation cycle is recommended in terms of quantity, quality and economy.

New approaches to urban runoff management seek to reduce the volume and discharge of rainfall peaks as well as the amount of pollutants in urban areas to a level that is reminiscent of rainfall runoff in the decades before urban development. SWMM software is one of the best models to help in this field and it can be used to study the effects of using water harvesting methods on the volume of runoff and peak flow and thus reduce flooding of roads. Simulation of the drainage network in the north of Birjand city showed that the sewerage network of Birjand city does not have the necessary efficiency to pass floods with different return periods and is flooded in different parts. If the problem is not solved by the relevant organizations, in the not too distant future, it will witness a large flood and as a result, irreparable damage will be undeniable. For this purpose, using two methods of holding ponds and collecting water from the roofs, which can be used at a lower cost than other methods of water extraction; , in this study was examined. Considering that the use of water extraction systems in the whole basin is economically unfeasible and justified. In most studies, this system is used only in a part of the field. As a result, by applying rainwater extraction methods in Birjand urban watershed, we can see an 80% reduction in runoff volume in Birjand. On the other hand, the use of ponds in the green space of the city can help irrigate the green space and in addition to saving urban water consumption, is also effective in reducing the peak discharge of floods.