سیدعلی ابطحی

Urbanization has led to environmental challenges; one of these challenges is heavy metal contamination in which is a serious concern for the public health and health of watershed residents issues. One of the heavy metals that play a major role in soil pollution in urban ecosystems is Lead (Pb). Pb has been used by humans for a long time, and in recent decades, leaded gasoline is one of the main sources of this pollutant in urban watersheds. The use of digital soil mapping using the functions available in geostatistics has changed the zoning of soil pollution compared to the old methods and can lead to the optimal management of soil pollution while land use can also have a great impact on this management. The aim of this research is to determine the amount of Pb heavy metal in soil and its relationship with land use.

The study area was Shiraz urban watershed with an area of ​​41133 hectares, as a part of the Maharloo lake watershed, located in the central part of Shiraz township, Fars province in the south of Iran. Soil moisture and temperature regims of study area are xeric and thermic respectively. The studied land uses were bare lands, urban parks, gardens and mountain range lands In order to determine the physical and chemical properties of the soil, 30 soil samples were taken from the depth of 0 to 20 cm from each land use. Geographic information system (GIS) and spherical and exponential variogram geostatistical models were used to produce digital maps. Kriging method was also used to estimate the physical and chemical properties, and the amount of Pb.

Based on the results of this research, the difference in soil chemical properties such as reaction, equivalent calcium carbonate and the amount of organic matter in different uses was significant. Also, the amount of cation exchange capacity and lead pollution was significant at the level of 0.01. The results of this research showed that in urban watershed soils of Shiraz, the amount of Pb was influenced by some chemical characteristics of the soil such as organic matter and cation exchange capacity. In the studied area in different land uses, the trend of Pb contamination was as follows: mountain range lands < gardens < urban parks < bare lands.

Conclusions and suggestions:

The results of current research showed that different land uses can affect the amount of Pb. Considering the problem of soil pollution in urban watersheds and the important effect of land use on its amout, it is suggested to carry out research and urban development projects for detailed investigations of land use and its relationship with other environmental characteristics, including soil pollution. It is also suggested to carry out more local and thematic researches in urban ecosystems on the effect of various types of plant species on the amount of heavy metals in the examined soil, so that by planting that type of vegetation, soil decontamination can be helped.

Microbial urease has specific applications in biotechnology, agriculture, medicine, construction ‎and geotechnical engineering. MICP technology is an ecological process based on microbial ‎urease activity that has recently been used for soil stabilization. Due to its catabolic ability and ‎high survival, Bacillus is considered as a suitable candidate for use in the biocementation ‎process. The aim of this study was isolating and identifying Bacillus with MICP potential from ‎various ecosystems of Iran.200 environmental samples were collected from the ecosystems of ‎Iran and were analyzed by microbiological and molecular methods including PCR amplification ‎and sequence analysis of gyrA and 16S rRNA genes in order to isolate and identify bacilli. ‎Growth in presence of urea, salinity, pH and different temperatures, SEM, XRD and wind ‎tunnel analysis were used to determine the ability of isolates to produce biocement. A total of ‎‎12 isolates(6%) were identified as urease-positive bacilli belonging to 4 different species, ‎including 4 isolates of Bacillus paramycoides(33.33%), 3 isolates of Bacillus ‎paralicheniformis(25%), and 3 isolates of Bacillus velezensis. isolate(25%) and Bacillus ‎Pasteuri 2 were isolated(16.66%). The optimal conditions for MICP by isolates are 30°C, pH 9 ‎and salinity 6%. After MICP, the ratio of soil loss in the flow rate of 95 km/h showed a 100-‎fold decrease. In conclusion, the results showed that bacilli have the potential ability to adapt to ‎harsh environmental conditions. Also, by using MICP-producing bacilli on the soil surface, we ‎can have a significant effect in reducing soil losses due to erosion.‎

The number of environmental variables used in digital soil mapping has increased rapidly, which has made it a challenge to select and focus on the most important covariates. No environmental covariates have the same predictability in modeling, and some covariates may introduce noise that reduces the predictive power of the models used. On the other hand, it is beneficial to identify all environmental variables to obtain spatial information that can improve predictions. In this regard, the feature selection algorithms help reduce the dimensions of the predictive model by identifying the associated covariates. Therefore, this study aims to investigate different feature selection algorithms in the selection of auxiliary variables and evaluation their effect on the predictive model.

The area under study is a part of Darab city in the southeast of Fars province with an area of about 31000 hectares. In the study area 140 profiles were determined and excavated according to the diversity of geomorphological units and thus the type of soils. After excavating the profiles and checking the morphological characteristics of each soil profile, a sufficient amount of soil samples were collected from the genetic horizons and transported to the laboratory for further analysis. Some of the physical and chemical parameters of soils were tested using accepted techniques after air drying and passing through a 2 mm sieve. Finally, all profiles up to the great group level were classified using the U.S. Soil Taxonomy based on the data collected from field observations and the outcomes of laboratory analysis. Environmental variables include the parameters derived from the Digital Elevation Model, Landsat 8 images, geology and geomorphology maps of the study area. All parameters were derived using ArcGIS, SAGAGIS and ENVI softwares. In the present study, four different feature selection techniques including Variance Inflation Factor (VIF), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Boruta and Recursive Feature Elimination (RFE), were used to identify an optimal set of covariates for predicting spatial classification of soil classes at the great group level. In addition, a Random Forest model (RF) with 10-fold cross-validation and the 5-repeat method, was used to compare different feature selection strategies in soil class mapping. The comparison of different feature selection techniques in estimating soil classes, was based on the evaluation criteria of accuracy and Kappa coefficient between observed and predicted values.

The results showed that the prediction accuracy increased by using variables selected with different feature selection methods compared to using all variables in the model. In addition, the improvement in predictive performance is different between the four types of feature selection. The VIF and PCA methods had the highest and lowest accuracy index and Kappa coefficient, respectively. The Boruta method, with the lowest number of variables, improved the model's performance after the VIF method. However, the Kappa coefficient showed poor agreement between predicted and observed values for all approaches. The imbalance of soil classes could be a reason for decreasing the accuracy index and Kappa coefficient. However, the random forest model, with and without feature selection methods, identified all soil great groups in the study area. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Random Forest algorithm is a very powerful technique for spatial prediction of soil classes in the study area. Although the performance of the model varied using different feature selection algorithms, the predicted soil maps had similar spatial patterns. Based on the prediction of model with the variables selected by the VIF, the resulting map indicates that Ustorthents soils are mainly located in high altitude regions with steep slopes. Haplustepts, Calciustepts, and Calciusterts great groups have developed in places with low to medium slopes. Haplosalids have developed downstream of the salt dome. Great groups of Ustifluvents were discovered in fluvial sedimentary plains. Endoaquepts were found in the floodplains, which had the smallest area on the predicted map.

Overall, the findings indicate that the feature selection methods can utilize significant dependencies among relevant covariates to predict soil classes and to improve modeling accuracy. In the current study, the environmental factors, obtained from the Digital Elevation Model, were selected as key variables, showing the importance of topography and morphology in the classification of soil types in the area. Although the selected variables improved the performance of the model, the prediction of soil classes was random. This could be attributed to the imbalance of soil classes.

Water infiltration to soil play an important role in irrigation management, storage moisture in soil especially in dry and semi-dry area and increasing agronomy yield. Understanding water infiltration to soil is of important in designing and applying water conservation methods, flood and runoff control and soil erosion management. Additionally, accurately measuring water infiltration to soil in different times is more important for predicting water storage in root zone, irrigation designing and planning and agronomy management. In other hand, water infiltration to soil is a base for precision agriculture, therefore, producing accurate maps for water infiltration to soil play an important role in land management and applying precision agriculture. Modeling soil water infiltration at the field scale with ruler of calcareous, saline and sodic conditions is important for a better understanding of infiltration processes in these soils and future of infiltration modeling. The present study aimed for estimating water infiltration to soil at different times using soil spatial prediction functions and spatial estimators.

in present study, 72 soil samples were collected using a random sampling method in Marvdasht plain, Fars Province. In selected points, soil bulk density, sand silt, clay, pH, electrical conductivity, calcium carbonate, solution sodium, solution calcium and magnesium and organic carbon contents. For measuring water infiltration to soil, the double ring method were used. Multiple linear regression (MLR), artificial neural network (ANN) and spatial estimators were used for deriving soil spatial prediction functions models between water infiltration to soil in different times including 5, 10, 20, 45, 90, 150, 210 and 270 min. In this study, the readily available soil properties and auxiliary variables such as remote sensing and topography data were used in soil spatial prediction functions.

The results of evaluating regression and artificial neural networks models based on the mean error (ME), coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean square error (RMSE) criteria in testing phase were showed that the developed artificial neural network models in present study performed better than multiple linear regression models in water infiltration to soil prediction at different times. Moreover, the results showed that the combined estimators (artificial neural network - Kriging) performed better than ordinary kriging model for estimating water infiltration to soil.

In totally, the results of this study showed that the applying soil spatial prediction functions (using auxiliary variables such as remote sensing data and topography data with the readily available soil properties) had a great potential to predict spatial estimation of water infiltration to soil at most considered times.

The soil characteristics of each region are affected by the topography factor. This factor has direct and indirect effects on the physicochemical properties of soil and even nutrient concentrations. Potassium is one of the most important elements in plant nutrition and is the second major nutrient absorbed by plants. Potassium exists in the soil in four forms, including soluble, exchangeable, non-exchangeable and structural. Many studies conducted on different potassium forms in relation with mineralogy, soil characteristics and classification, climate, and especially topography, but investigating the effect of different physiographic units and different levels of classification had been neglected. Therefore, this study was aimed to investigate the effect of different levels of classification and topography (physiographic units) on the potassium status of Sepidan soils in Fars province.

In order to investigate the effect of topography on the potassium status of Sepidan soils in Fars province, toposequence was applied in Sepidan region of Fars province. After digging and describing the selected profiles in each identified physiographic unit, samples were taken and physical and chemical properties of soils were measured by conventional methods. The different forms of potassium were measured by summary method; and using SPSS16 statistical software and LSD statistical test, the significance of differences in the amount of different forms of potassium were determined at different classification levels and different physiographic units.

Investigation of studied pedons showed that soils were classified as Entisols, Inceptisols and Alfisols based on 2014 taxonomy classification system. Three suborders, four great groups and subgroups were identified. In the study area, soluble, exchangeable, non-exchangeable, structural and total potassium had a mean of 0.96, 279, 510, 3792 and 4583 mg kg-1, respectively. The mean of soluble, exchangeable, non-exchangeable, structural forms and total potassium related to different physiographic units were reported 0.73, 421, 1360, 1405, 15833 mg kg-1 in the colluvial-alluvial fan, 1.21 , 236, 565, 2803 and 3603 in piedmont plain, 0.76, 352, 436, 2071, 2860 mg kg-1 in flood plain, 0.73, 270, 372, 2249, 2893 mg kg-1 in river terrace, 0.91, 321, 656, 2541, 3520 mg kg-1 in alluvial plain and 1.17, 172, 88, 2292, 2554 mg kg-1, respectively. Total potassium and also different forms of potassium except soluble potassium in different physiographic units were significantly different from each other (P<0.05). In relation to the effect of different classification levels, there were significant differences (P<0.05) between exchange and non-exchange forms in all the studied levels.

The present study showed that topography in the form of different physiographic units by controlling the amount of humidity, received sunlight and also the speed of weathering lead to differences in physicochemical properties and classification of soil. The set of these factors led to observe significant differences in the amount of different forms of potassium in different physiographic units. Due to the lack of application of very significant differences in different classification levels up to the subgroup level, it is suggested that for having better monitoring of the potassium element to obtain sustainable agriculture, at least the classification of soils at the family level should be performed so that the differences are better be understood. Also, it is worth mentioning that the type of parent material, climate, topography and other environmental conditions can affect the accuracy of the study in different areas, which should not be neglected when choosing the accuracy of the study.

Over the last three decades, there has been a general tendency to change methods in research on soil resource management from conventional and mainly qualitative methods to Quantitative ones based on spatial correlation models which are called digital soil mapping (DSM). The present study was carried out in Shabankareh plain with an area of ​​15,000 hectares with different physiographic units that are mainly used as agricultural farms in Bushehr province, Southern Iran. Target sites (172 points) were selected for soil sampling at depths of 0-30 and 30-60 based on hypothetical networking on satellite images and visual differences observed in the study area. Digital soil texture maps were drawn for both old soil texture triangle (include sand, silt and clay particles) and the new one (include Geometric mean particle diameter and geometric standard deviation of soil particle diameter). Soil texture is considered as one of the most important characteristics in determining the type and density of agricultural activities and types of land use. Two geostatistical programs include GS+ and ArcGIS and various methods of data estimators such as inverse distance weighting and ordinary Kriging method were used in this project. The results showed the strongest spatial structure class was observed in geometric standard deviation of the soil particle diameter (0.48) and the weakest in silt (0.73). The highest and lowest effective range among soil texture parameters were related to soil clay particles and geometric standard deviation of soil particle diameter with 684 and 336 meters, respectively. Number of drilled profiles (11 ones) was based on digital uniformity map. The generated digital maps can provide spatial information of important soil properties such as permeability and drainage, water holding capacity, fertility, soil erosion and salinity which increases the accuracy in the optimal management of agricultural lands.

Nowadays, heavy metal pollution has become a serious environmental problem. To protect the environment, one of the effective and low-cost methods is phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remove, reduce and stabilize pollutants. In this regard, the use of fungi that symbiosis with plants, can increase the efficiency of phytoremediation, reduce the time required to remove contamination, and develop its application.

This experiment was performed in order to investigate the traffic and symbiosis interaction’s effects on lead and cadmium accumulation in rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.). The experiment donen in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and three factors as factorial. The first factor includes mycorrhiza symbiosis (control and inoculation), the second factor was traffic (Control, 120, 300, 600, 950, 1200, 1800, 2400, 3000, 3600, and 4200 cars per hour) and the third factor was the type of pot (Controls and pots where the soil surface is covered except at the place of seedlings) with three replications in 2019-2020 in Shiraz metropolis. In the experiment some properties were investigated such as root weight, soil cadmium, shoot cadmium, root cadmium, stem length, main root length, plant dry weight, root lead, cadmium, and lead transfer factors.

The results of mean comparisons showed that inoculation of plants with mycorrhizal fungi )Glomus mossea (had higher lead content of root tissue than shoots and soil in 4200 cars per hour compared to the control. Symbiosis with mycorrhiza fungi increased root weight and plant dry weight, stem length, and main root length compared to the control by 23.93, 18.97, 0.82 and 30.87% in 4200 car traffic per hour, respectively. The results also showed that the treatment of closed pots and inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi increased the growth parameters and decreased cadmium and lead.

The reduction of cadmium and lead concentrations in the inoculated rosemary with Glomus mosses indicates that Rosmarinus officinalis L. can grow in soils contaminated with cadmium and lead. Also, the symbiosis of mycorrhizae increases th ability of rosemary.

Introduction:

Agriculture practices involve the extensive utilization of chemical fertilizers that lead to several impacts, namely groundwater pollution, eutrophication, and production of greenhouse gases. These ultimately lead to environmental pollution and pose several health risks. With this respect, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) consist of a diverse collection of rhizobacteria that occur in the rhizospheric zone and interact with plant roots. Moreover plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a heterogeneous group of bacteria found in the rhizosphere, associated with roots and root surfaces or living freely in the soil and influencing plant growth directly or indirectly. A large number of bacteria is reported to contribute to plant growth, including species of Pseudomonas, Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Arthrobacter, Burkholderia, Bacillus, and Serratia. Additionally, several reports indicate the application of ACC-deaminase-producing PGPR in facilitating plant growth and inducing tolerance in various abiotic stresses, namely (1) salt stress, (2) drought stress, (3) heat stress, (4) chilling stress, etc. The present study was performed to screen PGPR strains with different PGP traits in calcareous soils under salinity condition and to use such PGPR strains as biological inoculation.  

Materials and Methods:

In this study, 45 rhizospheric soil samples were collected from different crops in agricultural farms and placed in plastic bags, and transported to a laboratory, where it was refrigerated at 4 ° C until further use. To obtain a solution of 10-4 to 10-6 dilutions, one milliliter of suspension was serially diluted and 100 microliters of this suspension solution were spread onto the sterile nutrient agar medium. plates were incubated at 28±2°C for 48 hours in a BOD incubator. Rhizobacterial isolates with a different morphological appearance and fast growth on agar plates were randomly selected and purified by repetitive streaking on the fresh medium. After purification, these PGPR isolates were screened for PGP traits. Isolates with phosphate solubilization, siderophore production, IAA production and ACC-deaminase production were screened and finally three isolates were selected for molecular identification and pot experiments. 

Results and DiscussionIn:

 this research, a total of 45 rhizospheric soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of different plants. 181 isolates were purified and isolated. In the initial screening, some of them were characterized by phosphate solubilization, siderophore production and indole acetic acid (IAA) production. In the secondary screening, superior isolates were selected in these three growth-promoting traits, and in the ACC-deaminase production test, all three isolates were able to produce this enzyme. Molecular identification of the isolates was performed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing technique and the isolates belonged to Bacillus Cereus, Pseudomonas Syringae and Pseudomonas Alcaliphila which were registered in the NCBI database. In greenhouse experiments, inoculation of Pseudomonas Alcaliphila showed the best performance shoot length, shoot dry weight, chlorophyll production, crude protein production of alfalfa (medicago sativa L.) and lowest proline production under salinity stress, while inoculation of Pseudomonas Syringae had better yield at root length and root dry weight. 

Conclusion:

Extremely cost-effective methods such as applications of microorganisms with PGPR activities can enhance plant growth, speed up seed germination, improve seedling emergence, and protect plants. In conclusion, the applied plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) bacterial SF1050 strain (Pseudomonas Alcaliphila) proved to be a potential candidate for improving alfalfa crops in salinity conditions. Nevertheless, it is suggested to validate the current results by conducting field trials.

Soil classification in a standard system is usually defined based on information obtained from properties and their variations in different map units. The aim of this study was to compare soil genesis and morphological characteristics in different landforms with WRB and Soil Taxonomy (ST) Systems. From nine studied profiles, six profiles were selected as representative profiles and dug in Colluvial fans, Piedmont plain, and Alluvial plain physiographic units, respectively. Then, the soils were classified according to the pattern of the two systems. Also, variation analysis of variance (ANOVA) and comparing means were used to quantify interested soil properties. The results of soil physio-chemical properties at different landform positions were significant based on analysis of variance of the effect of physiographic units and soil depth at the level of 1 %. Soil classification results based on WRB indicated that WRB were recognized four reference soil groups (RSG) included Regosols, Cambisols, Calcisols, and Gleysols at the first level of WRB classification in comparison of ST with recognizing two order Entisols and Inceptisols could separate more soils. The soils were located on the alluvial plain with a high groundwater level in the WRB due to the creation of restrictive conditions for root development in contrast to the ST called “Aquepts” in the suborder level but in a WRB is classified as the “Gleysols” RSG. On the other hand, ST, unlike WRB, used the Shallow criteria at the family level to describe the shallowness of soils and the limitations of root development. Generally, the efficiency of each system varies despite the differences in their structure and depending on the purpose of using them.

Dracocephalum kotschyi is one of the most important medicinal plants of the family Lamiaceae which is endangered due to unfavorable environmental conditions. Therefore, in order to investigate the effect of biofertilizers at four levels (nitroxin, super nitroplus, biophosphorus and non-use of biofertilizer) on essential oil yield and nutrient uptake of D. kotschyi seedlings under drought stress at three levels (irrigation to completion 80, 60 and 40% of field capacity) a completely randomized design in 3 replication (each replication includes 25 pots containing one seedling) was performed in the greenhouse as a pot experiment containing cocopeat and perlite culture medium in a ratio of 1: 1. The highest amount of root nitrogen uptake (2.2 mg kg-1) and leaf nitrogen (57.5 mg kg-1) was observed in conventional irrigation treatment (irrigation treatment up to 80% of field capacity) and application of super nitroplus biofertilizer. The percentage of essential oil under mild stress increased by 77.53% compared to the control, while with the intensification of drought stress, the percentage of essential oil decreased by 94.49% compared to the control. The results of this study showed that the most increasing effect on essential oil percentage (1.1%) and essential oil yield (1.5 g plant-1) of D. kotschyi was related to inoculation with Super Nitroplus biofertilizer and mild drought stress, while cultivation of D. kotschyi under normal irrigation conditions and no biofertilizer resulted in the lowest production and yield of essential oil.

Dracocephalum kotschyi Boiss. is one of the most important medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae family, which is endangered due to unfavorable environmental conditions. in order to evaluate the effectiveness of biofertilizers on changes in some physiological and biochemical traits, the effect of biofertilizers at four levels on Dracocephalum kotschyi growth under drought stress at three levels (irrigation until the completion of 80%, 60 and 40% of field capacity), an experiment was carried out in 2019. The study of changes in photosynthetic pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence and leaf relative water content in D. kotschyi in response to various biofertilizers and different irrigation regimes showed that with increasing drought stress, chlorophyll a, b and total chlorophyll along with chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) had a significant decrease. While the use of supernitroplus and biophosphorus biofertilizers in irrigation conditions up to 60 and 40% of field capacity significantly increased the above-mentioned traits in the D. kotschyi leaves in comparison with the plants treated with nitroxin fertilizer and control plants. Increased drought intensity also caused a significant increase in carbohydrates, soluble proteins, anthocyanins and flavonoids, although the use of biofertilizers containing growth-promoting bacteria, further enhanced the amount of these compounds compared to the control. The highest levels of anthocyanins (37.82 mg g-1 fresh weight) and flavonoid compounds (16.62 mg g-1 fresh weight) were found in plants grown under severe drought stress (irrigation up to 40% of field capacity) and Biophosphorus application. Based on the results, the use of biofertilizers supernitroplus and biophosphorus improved the physiological and biochemical properties of D. kotschyi under both drought and non-water stress conditions. The increase in traits indicates a kind of adaptation to drought stress conditions.

Background & Calcite precipitation by microbial stimulation (MICP) is the new method which used for soil stabilization and solidity. Biocementation is an ecological process based on microbial urease enzyme activity. The present study aimed to isolation and identification of Bacillus spp. with MICP potential from various ecosystems of Iran.Materials & This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 soil samples collected from arid and desert ecosystems of Iran. Bacillus were isolated and characterized by conventional microbiology tests and molecular methods include the amplification and sequences analysis of gyrA and 16S rRNA genes. Growth in presence of urea, different salinity, pH and temperature, also SEM, XRD and wind tunnel analysis were used to determine biocementation ability. A total of 5 Bacillus isolate with strong urease activity belonging to 4 different species include B. amyloliquefaciens, B. thuringiensis, B. carboniphilus and B. oleos were identified. Optimum conditions for MICP by isolates are 35°C, pH 8.8 and 6% salinity. Moreover, the results of wind tunnel after MICP showed a 100-fold reduction in soil loss at a flow rate of 100 km/h. The results showed that indigenous Bacillus spp. have a significant potential to produce bio-cement. Therefore, its suggest the MICP process have been used to reduce soil losses due to wind erosion, stabilization of loose sands and ground consolidation in the desert soils of the country.

Surveying of soils along a toposequence is a primary key for identification of the spatial variability and development of soils that have been performed continuously at a certain direction. The main objective of this study is to assess both clay mineralogy and Sorensen similarity index to describe the genesis and development of soils in Fasarood region. In this context, three major physiographical units were recognized in this area (i.e., Colluvial fan, Piedmont plain and Flood plain). Moreover, nine presentative pedons were digged according to physiographical map units in the direction of NW to SE. Typic Endoaquepts and Oxyaquic Haplustepts are identified as dominant soils in the flood plain in which the redoximorphic and gleyzation processes have been occurred. Fluventic Haplustepts and Typic Calciustepts were recognized in the piedmont plain along with an irregular decrease in organic-carbon content as well as calcic horizon, caused by erosion and sedimentation, respectively. Typic Ustorthents is the major soil of Colluvial fan that have more than 60% coarse fragment in subsurface horizon. The results revealed that smectite, illite, cholorite, palygorskite and kaolinite were dominating minerals in colluvial fan, piedmont plain and flood plain. According to the similarity index, 0.5, 0.54, 0.55, 0.74 and 0.74 were achieved for order, suborder, great group, sub group, and family levels, respectively. Generally, similarity index could better describe soil variation in different slope position than clay mineralogy due to its quantity approach.

In Iran, there are many investigations about landuse change which usually mention negative side. In this research landuse/land cover change trend investigate with use of landsat image and Markov chain in IDRISI Andes V15 software at the period of 1990, 2004 and 2018, and predicted changes for 2032 in Marvdasht region. There are about 196000 ha, equal to 91%, that used for cultivation, while range land, bare land and urban area are about 20000 ha, respectively 4.9, 2.7 and 1.6 percent of region area. In 28 years, from 1990 to 2018, agricultural and range lands decrease about 9%, while bare lands and urban area increased. At this period bare lands increased from 2.7% to 11.29% of the total region area. In general, the results of this study indicate that in the long-term, agricultural lands are declining and bare land is increasing, Hence immediate management plans are necessary to prevent the destruction of agricultural land.

This research was carried out to assess the origin and clay minerals characteristics and their relationship with potassium forms in the calcareous soil of this region, with the humid climate conditions. Based on aerial photos and topographic maps, physiographic units were separated and soil sampling was done in each diagnostic horizon. The results showed that smectite was the main and dominant clay mineral in the study area. In well-drained pedons, the convincing process for smectite abundance seemed to be mainly the transformation of palygorskite and mica. According to the results, the exchangeable potassium in the surface horizon was higher than that of the subsurface horizons. The main reason for the higher level of exchangeable K in the soil surface, was more smectite and organic carbon. The results revealed that unlike exchangeable and non-exchangeable K, because of the suitable conditions like temperature and humidity in surface horizons, the relative mean of structural K in the surface soils was less than that in the subsurface. Also, since an increase in calcium carbonate resulted in a decrease in amount of clay and the amount of relative clay minerals (dilution effect), the amounts of exchangeable, non- exchangeable and structural K were decreased.

The optimum and sustainable use of soil is possible only with correct and complete understanding of its properties. The objectives of the this study were to enhance understanding of soils available in an area located on 35 km of Chelgerd region in Chaharmahal –va- Bakhtiari province through the study of the Soil morphological, physico-chemical, mineralogical and micromorphological characteristics to check the formation and classification of these soils according to USDA Soil Taxonomy (2014) and WRB (2014) systems.
Mean annual rainfall and soil temperature of the selected location are 1389.6 mm and 9.5 ℃ respectively and Soil temperature and moisture regimes of this region are mesic and xeric, respectively. Eight pedons located on one transect along slope direction were excavated and sampled. Routine physico-chemical analysis such as soil reaction, texture, COLE content, electrical conductivity, calcium carbonate equivalent, cation exchange capacity, organic carbon and clay mineralogy and micromorphology investigations were performed on selected soil samples. Then, based on description card of each profile and laboratory results, soils were classified to phamily level and to second level based on Taxonomy and WRB systems, respectively.
the results showed that the category of the soils of the area according Taxonomy system, are Inceptisols and Vertisols, while in WRB system, named Calcisols, Cambisols and Vertisols. The results showed that, because of higher organic matter content and finer texture of soils of lower slope positions, cation exchange capacity was maximum in this position. The results also revealed that, with increasing soil depth, organic carbon content and cation exchange capacity decreased, whereas clay and lime content had a reverse trend and increased with increasing the soil depth. Coefficient of linear extensibility (COLE) values as well as clay content increased from back slope to foot slope and with increasing soil depth. They are constituted mainly by smectites associated to some amount of illite, chlorite, kaolinite, quartz and illite- smectite as mixed minerals. According to this results, the origin of the clay minerals in different slope positions are mostly inheritance from parent material. Study of thin section revealed the presence of clay coating in the Bt and Btk horizons, that, this clay coatings in the soil are evidence of transmission clay from upper horizons to lower horizons as a result of water penetration. Also, calcite accumulation with various forms such as calcite coating, calcite infilling and calcite needle and calcite nodule in the Bk and Btk were observed, which, confirms the secondary nature of lime and causing calcitic crystalitic b-fabric. Also, the cause is the accumulation of calcite needle in the top of the slope due to highlands area, presence of enough moisture in the soil, the low salinity of soil and presence of biodegradable organic matter.
the result of this study showed the role of topography on variability of soil properties and soil classification in the studied area.

Due to the large surface area and high cation exchange capacity zeolite as an amendment of physicochemical soil characteristics can be secondary effects on the ability to use nutrients such as potassium and changing different forms of the element and thus the cycle. However, the addition of this compound to Vertisols mainly with high amounts in clay mineral with high capacity for k fixation such as smectite can affect the distribution of potassium. To investigate this, the effects of adding different amounts of the zeolite and wetting and drying treatment were studied on 6 Vertisols that were collected from different regions of Fars province.
Based on previous soil maps, aerial photos and topographic maps of Fars province`s Vertisols were selected and some soil profiles were dug in different climatic conditions. After description, six pedons were chosen as representative that almost all Vertisols studied in xeric moisture regimes in the northern and central parts of the province and all of them are in great groups Haploxererts and Calcixererts. Soils were located in the piedmont plain, plateau and lowland physiography. Experiment was a completely randomized 3×2×4×6 factorial arrangement on surface horizons after treatment of soils with zeolite (0, 1, 2.5 and 5%) and wetting and drying treatment. After 8 days, different forms of potassium consisting of soluble, exchangeable and non-exchangeable forms) were determined in the samples. Statistical analysis was done by using the software SPSS, Excel, SAS and comparison of means was carried out using the Duncan’s test.
The studied soils comprise ustic and xeric moisture regimes and mesic, thermic and hyperthemic temperature regimes. Although the mineralogical composition of the various soils were more or less the same, due to the different amounts of various clay minerals in different soils the amounts of different kinds of K was very different in soils. The results showed that zeolite application can increase the amounts of soluble and exchangeable potassium while it has no effect on non exchangeable potassium, which could be due to the high amount of potassium in zeolite and great tendency of zeolite to absorb potassium. Zeolite application with and without wetting and drying treatment has increased the amounts of soluble potassium in different soils. Maximum increase was observed in soil which has the lower amounts of smectites. Wetting and drying treatment caused significant reduction of soluble potassium in all samples. Exchangeable K has significantly increased by the addition of zeolite. Highest concentrations of exchangeable potassium were observed in soils with less amounts of smectite. Zeolite application has reduced non-exchangeable potassium in soils but had different effect on soil no. 4 and has increased the non-exchangeable potassium. This indicates potassium fixation in the soils which could be due to the high amounts of minerals capable to fix potassium. Wetting and drying treatment caused the reduction of soluble and non-exchangeable K and increase of exchangeable K.
The increase of soluble K as a result of zeolite application can enhance possibility of potassium leaching but on the other hand it is also able to prevent the leaching and fixation of K by retention of potassium in exchangeable sites. Considering the very low amount of available potassium in highly calcareous soils of Fars, which is the results of intensive agriculture and little or no K fertilization, zeolite application, may be able to improve the status of potassium in these soils.

Study on release rate of nonexchangeable potassium (NEK) is necessary for management and optimum use of soil resources and determination of availability and supplying power of potassium in soils containing potassium minerals. Information about NEK release rate in Fars Province calcareous soils is limited. The objective of this study included an investigation of the dynamics of NEK in some soils from Fars Province by successive extraction with 0.01M Oxalic acid and determination of the relation between kinetics of NEK release with soil properties and clay mineralogy. The results of this experiment showed that the initial NEK release rate was rapid, but slowed down later on. Results showed that cumulative K release ranged from 91 to 233 mg kg-1(average 144.3 mg kg-1). The amount of NEK released after 1028 h was significantly correlated with CEC, NEK, and CCE. Elovich, power function and First order equations described well the NEK release kinetics based on their highest determination coefficient and their lowest value of the standard error of the estimate. Maximum of potassium release was observed in Vertisols, probably because of high amount of clay content and the clay mineral of smectite and mica. Also, the amount of K release was in the following order: Vertisols>Alfisols> Inceptisols> Entisols>Aridisols. In the correlation test, the rate constants in the kinetic equations were correlated with some chemical properties and particle size distribution.

Phosphorus (P) is the second limiting nutrient in soils for crop production after nitrogen. Phosphorus is an essential nutrient in crop production. Determination of forms of soil phosphorus is important in the evaluation of soil phosphorus status. Various sequential P fractionation procedures have been used to identify the forms of P and to determine the distribution of P fractions in soils (Chang and Jackson, 1957, Williams et al., 1967; Hedley et al., 1982), but are not particularly sensitive to the various P compounds that may exist in calcareous soils. A Sequential fractionation scheme has been suggested for calcareous soils by which three types of Ca-phosphates i.e. dicalcium phosphate, octacalcium phosphate, and apatite could be identified (Jiang and Gu, 1989). These types of Ca-phosphates were described as Ca2-P (NaHCO3-extractable P), Ca8-P (NH4AC-extractable P) and Ca10-P (apatite type), respectively. In this study, the amount and distribution of soil inorganic phosphorus fractions were examined in 49 soil samples of Fars province according to the method described by Jiang and Gu (1989).
Based on the previous soil survey maps of Fars province and According to Soil Moisture and Temperature Regime Map of Iran (Banaei, 1998), three regions (abadeh, eghlid and noorabad) with different Soil Moisture and Temperature Regimes were selected. The soils were comprised Aridic, xeric, and ustic moisture regimes along with mesic, and hyperthemic temperature regimes. 49 representative samples were selected. The soil samples were air-dried and were passed through a 2-mm sieve before analysis. Particle size distribution was determined by hydrometer method (Gee and Bauder 1996). Also, Cation exchange capacity (CEC; Sumner and Miller 1996), calcium carbonate equivalent (Loeppert and Suarez 1996), organic matter content (Nelson and Sommers 1996), and pH by saturated paste method (Thomas 1996) were determined . Inorganic phosphorus sequential fractionation scheme was preformed according to the method described by Jiang and Gu (1989). Olsen-P fraction that was extracted by NaHCO3 (Olsen and Sommers 1982) was regarded as P-availability index. Also, Total-P by perchloric acid (HClO4) digestion (Sparks; 1996) and organic P were determined.. All of the extraction procedures were performed in duplicate and the amounts of P were colorimetrically measured in the supernatants by the ascorbic acid method of Murphy and Riley (1962).The relationships between forms of P and some of the soil properties were established using correlation method.
The chemical data of the soils showed that soils were calcareous with CCE range between 9.94 to 74.27 % ( average 51.10%) and pH range between 7.02 to 8.36 (average 7.85). Also, the amounts of CEC were between 5.35 to 29.39 cmol () kg-1(average 16.68 cmol () kg-1). The results showed a wide range in content of Phosphorus fractions. The amount of total Phosphate ranged from 301.87 to 1458.68 mg kg-1 with an average of 626.63 mg kg-1 . Calcium Phosphate ranged from 147.83 to 666.90 mg kg-1 with an average of 324.79 mg kg-1, that comprised 85 and 52 percent of inorganic and total Phosphorus, respectively. The amount of Fe-P ranged from 0.38 to 59.18 mg kg-1 with an average of 7.56 mg kg-1 that comprised 13.64 and 8.34 percent of inorganic and total Phosphorus, respectively. Also, the amount of Al-P ranged from 20.49 to 123.09 mg kg-1 with an average of 52.28 mg kg-1that comprised 1.97 and 1.21 percent of inorganic and total Phosphorus, respectively. The results of correlation study showed that available Phosphorus was significantly correlated with Ca2-P, Ca8-P, Al-P, Ca10-P, and Pt (total phosphorus). So, in calcareous soils, awareness of soil properties and phosphorus fractions and their relationships are important for evaluation of phosphorous status in soil and understanding of soil chemistry that influence soil fertility.
The relative abundance of inorganic P forms were in order of Ca10 – P > Ca8- P > Al –P> Ca2-P> Fe-P. Among the inorganic P fractions, Ca-P had the highest value and varied from 147.83 to 666.90 mg kg-1, which accounted for 53 percent of the sum of P fractions, occurred in H2SO4 extractable P fraction, which is attributed to primary Ca–P minerals, indicating their weak weathering nature. Also, correlation study showed that available Phosphorus was significantly correlated with Ca2-P, Ca8-P, Al-P, Ca10-P, and Pt. This result indicate that these fractions probably can be used by plant.

The aim of this study was to assess the kinetics of nonexcheangable potassium release in surface and subsurface soil horizons, using organic and inorganic extractions, in Kohgilouye-va-Boyerahmad Province. Kinetics of K+ release was studied by successive extractions of K from 64 selective surface and subsurface soil samples, using 0.01 M CaCl2 and 0.01 M oxalic acid, for 1948 h, with two replicates. Nonexchangeable K+ release was fitted by Elovich, Pseudo-first order, Power function and Parabolic equations. Result showed that the average nonexchangeable K+ released (extracted by 1M HNO3) was 356 mg/kg, while those extracted by CaCl2 and oxalic acid after 1948 h were only 58% and 52% of the total amount of nonexchangeable K+ of the soils, respectively. In all soil samples, nonexchangeable K+ released by oxalic acid was less than that released by CaCl2, due to the high buffering capacity resulting from high carbonates in the soils. Potassium release rate in Elovich and Parabolic equations were significantly correlated with non-exchangeable potassium and some physical and chemical characteristics. Based on high Coefficients of determination (r2) and low Standard errors (SE), Elovich, Power function, First order and Parabolic equations were selected as the best equations for prediction of K+ release from the soils.

An elevation in the mean percentages of the gamma delta T lymphocytes per total T cells in the epithelium of the small intestine has a diagnostic value for celiac disease. This study aimed to measure the percentages of the peripheral blood gamma delta T lymphocytes in the adults'' celiac disease and healthy controls.

In this case-control study the absolute numbers of the peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from the controls (n = 21) and celiac patients (n = 15) were studied، Using a cell counter. The proportions of the gamma-delta T lymphocytes were evaluated by the flow cytometer method.

The results showed that there was not significant I difference in the percentages of the gamma-delta T lymphocytes between celiac patients and healthy individuals (P value= 0. 84).

Collectively، the data show that the percentages of the peripheral blood gamma delta T lymphocytes could not be helpful for celiac disease diagnosis.

Genesis، classification and study of physicochemical، mineralogical and morphological properties of soils of kaftar region in the north of Fars province (Eghlid)، was conducted. This region has xeric soil moisture regime and mesic soil temperature regime and its area is about 10،000 hectares. The mean annual rainfall and temperature were 508 mm and 12 degrees of Celsius، respectively. The main objectives of this investigation were study of physical، chemical and mineralogical properties of soils of the region، study of effective factors of formation and genesis of soils of the region and their classification and land suitability evaluation of land under cultivation of irrigated wheat، study of soil clay minerals and their effects on formation and genesis of soils of the region. Five physiographic units consist of five physiographic units، namely gravelly colluvial fans، Piedmont plains، Low lands، Mountains and Hills were identified. Topography and the underground water table changes were known as the most important factors of soil formation of this region. Entisols، Inceptisols،vertisols and Alfisols are four soil orders that have been found. Clay mineralogy studies showed the presence of chlorite، illite، smectite، interstratified minerals، and quartz (in clay size). Illite and chlorite have inheritance origin and are generally considered to be weatherable minerals and could be changed because of transformation reactions into interstratified minerals and smectite. The result for qualitative land suitabilities have been shown critical، unfit and fairly suitable for wheat cultivation Keywords Illite; Clay Minerals; Physiographic Units; Land Suitability; Irrigated Wheatn

This study was carried out to determine different forms of potassium in relation to chemical and mineralogical properties of soils of Eskan Ashaier region, Nour-Abad Mammasani of Fars Province. For this study after field studies and preparing soil maps, four soil profiles have been selected. Some physical, chemical, different forms of potassium (soluble, exchangeable, non-exchangeable and total) and types and relative amounts of clay minerals of selected soils were determined. The results showed that the soils of hills and alluvial-colluvial fans are Entisols, while in piedmont plains they are Inceptisols and Mollisols. The results of mineralogy of clay showed that the dominant mineralogy of soils of hill physiographic unit are illite, chlorite, smectite and quartz. The dominant minerals of alluvial-colluvial fans are illite, chlorite, smectite and kaolinite and finally the dominant minerals of piedmont plains physiographic unit are smectite, illite, chlorite, kaolinite and vermiculite minerals. The Mollisols order located on piedmont plains by having a high clay content, high cation enchange capacity and dominant smectite mineral, have also higher amounts of structural and total potassium than in any other orders. The Entisols order located on piedmont plains have a greater relative amounts of illite and chlorite, exchangeable and nonexchangeable potassium than in the other other orders. The Entisols located on hill have higher soluble potassium content than the other order and Inceptisols located on the piedmont plains, by having more than 55 percent carbonates and less than 25 percent clay content, have the lowest amounts of different potassium forms.