نشریه علوم و تکنولوژی محیط زیست
سال هجدهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 71، پاییز 1395)

In recent years, production and use of petroleum products, such as gasoline, have been increasing. This increase is followed by numerous ecological consequences. Among them, the most important ecological effects of using gasoline is contamination of soils at refineries and gas stations. Hazards of gasoline leakage into the soil and its migration to groundwater could be attributed to the existence of BTEX compounds, which are the main constituents of gasoline with high toxicity and volatility values.
In this study, the removal of BTEX contaminants from soil samples contaminated with gasoline has been investigated using Soil Vapor Extraction technique. The treatment tests were conducted at 3 time intervals of 4, 8 and 12 hours and 3 different temperatures of 20, 40 and 60°C.
The results of tests indicate the high suitability of SEV technique showung %99 removal efficiency for BTEX compounds from soil samples. Moreover, the results of the analysis present that the removal of contaminants an inverse relation with their boiling points in this techniques. Also, raising the temperature of the samples from 20°C to 40°C and from 40°C to 60°C during 12 hours increased the removal efficiencies of BTEX compounds by %10 and %26, respectively.
The results of this study revealed that SVE technique for the removal of aromatic organic compound from soil is an efficient technique which can lead to high efficiency for the removal of such contaminats from soil, if implented properly.

Rainfall-runoff Simulation is very important in many hydrological studies, such as investigating the effects of climate change on river flow, flood prediction and planning of water resources. SWAT model was used to simulate stream flow transport, sediment and quality variables (nitrogen and phosphorus...) in the watershed areas. SWAT model is a distributed time series model with physical basis. This model has an ability to connect to GIS, in a way that vast volumes of data as information layers such as land use, soil map and the DEM using GIS capabilities are used by the model. The main purpose of this study is testing SWAT model performance as a simulator of flow at the catchment scale.
This study attempts to prepare a model for Gharesou catchment. Moreover, the parameters were optimized using SWAT-CUP optimizer.
Findings: The model was calibrated for the years 1992-1996 and validated for the years 1998-2000. The coefficient of determination (R2) for monthly flow was equal to 0.82 and Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient (Ens) was equal to 0.8 in the calibration period while in the validation period these coefficients were 0.77 and 0.73, respectively.
These results indicate the success of the SWAT model, using optimized parameters, for the stream flow simulation in Gharesou catchment.

SO2 and other pollutants have negative effects on the environment. Activity of Sarcheshme copper plant releases high amount of gases into the environment from reflective and converter furnaces per hour. These cases reflective and converter furnaces contain 2.6% and 4.8% SO2, respectively. This study was conducted to examine the impact of these gases on the lichen flora.
For this purpose, lichen samples from 35 stations on a 5 km radius around the furnaces and according to the pattern of SO2 dispersion in three main directions were collected and identified. Cover and density of lichens were also measured.
Identification of lichens showed that twenty five species and genera were new for Kerman and were reported for the first time. Results of measuring and comparing density and cover of lichens showed that in the north-east direction, where the highest SO2 pollution was measured, density and cover of lichens were less than other sites. The density and cover were affected in the west and south-east directions respectively. Density and cover in the control station with the similar ecological conditions but no pollution in the air were at higher level as compared to other stations.
According to the results, it was determined that density and cover of lichens were affected by environmental pollutants. Generally it can be concluded tha lichen species in areas with high SO2 levels will be lower, due to the mortality and destruction of sensitive species.

Environmental strategic assessments are appropriate solutions for reduction of unfavorable impacts caused by industrial activities. In this study, noise equal levels have been measured in Khojir national park. Since road construction activity is necessarily being rendered for building Parchin road, providing some solutions to decrease the consequent adverse impacts are considered in this study.
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are measurable through environmental strategic assessment. Therefore, a descriptive questionnaire was used for weighting each mentioned parameter, and a specific coefficient was allotted to each level for engendering SWOT matrix. Finally, the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) was quantified to determina the executive priorities.
The chart related to assessment of internal factors (strengths-weaknesses) expresses 3.03, which emphasizes the strengths. Assessment chart for external factors indicates 3.36, which illustrates opportunities domination in this region. Final analysis of strategic assessment shows five main objects which are preferred for executive program by weighting. St3, obtained to be about 5.83 for weight, has been preferred for executive program. St5, with a score of 0.68 for weight, has the least attraction and consequently remains at the last priority.
Knowing that strategic situation matrix for noise pollution measurement in Khojir national park is in a preservation situation, mitigation of threats and weaknesses in this area shall be placed at the first priority to achieve the opportunities and to decrease errors in noise measurement.

This study aims to investigate a Ground-Coupled Heat Pump system with vertical U-bend heat exchanger which can provide the energy needed from the depths of earth. Exergy of the system was analyzed and the performance efficiency and coefficient were obtained.
In Larijan village, due to hot springs in the area, exergy analyses of two Ground-Coupled Heat Pump systems with vertical U-bend and open loop heat exchangers were compared. Energy, exergy, entropy and enthalpy equations of both Ground-Coupled Heat Pump systems were applied and results were presented based on geographic and climatic conditions of Larijan region.
Moreover, it was found that the maximum exergy losses in both systems occurres in the fan condenser.
The results show that, due to higher temperatures (the temperature of the ground or the hot spring), the performance coefficient and the efficiency of geothermal heat pump system with the open loop heat exchangers are higher.

Particles are main pollutants from view point of general health and environmental issue. The aim of this research was to review the monthly, seasonal and annual trend of PM10 and to determine air quality using AQI and its relation with drop of water level in Uremia Lake during 2008-2011 in order to present a knowledge base plan to manage particles.
This study is a cross-sectional typr. The data on PM10 were collected from Departement of Environment in Tabriz and Meteorological Organization of West Azerbaijan Provence. Then, the obtained data were analyzed considering air quality index using SPSS ver.21 software.
During the four years (2008-2011), changes in concentration of PM10 were meaningful (P=0.001). The concentrations in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 were 86.13±70, 83.63±60.87, 87.40±42, and 92.69±73 microgram per cubic meter, respectively. Spring, winter, May and March had the highest amount of partcles as 103.18, 98.01, 88.81, 95.57 microgram per cubic meter, respectively.
Among the studied months, March and among the studied seasons, spring and winter possessed the worst air quality in terms of PM10. The reasons are intensity of particles entrance and environmental conditions during that period in one hand, and the worsen condition of Uremia Lake on the other hand. Therefore, several factors increase the amount of hazardous particles and salt particles effect. It can be condluded that there is a need for an integrated management to reduce these emissions

The control of gaseous emissions of vehicles is very important issue due to high rates of car production in Iran and their toxic emissions. In this study, in order to introduce a superior car compatible with environmental standards, the emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide by Peugeot 206, Samand and EL Samand during 2004-2008 were examined.
Preliminary data was collected from Vehicle Inspection Centers and statistical analysis of the experimental data. Moreover, the mean data comparison was carried out using Excel software and Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at a 5% (p The results showed that Samand and EL Samand significantly produce more hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide pollutants compared to Peugeot 206, while Peugeot 206 provides a greater amount of carbon dioxide. This could be attributed to the different mechanisms of combustion (complete or incomplete) in the vehicles. Moreover, the downward trend in emissions of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide was observed during 2004-2008 by Peugeot 206 unlike carbon dioxide. Although, the amount of pollutants produced by Samand and EL Samand was declined.
Therefore, Peugeot 206 is more appropriate vehicle in terms of environmental standards as compared to Samand and EL Samand cars. Furthermore, Samand in competition with EL Samand produces more pollutants. It is hoped that by systematic survey of the vehicles performance and improvement their quality the gray dust can be wipe out from sky.

Nowadays, increase of energy consumption in agricultural section has lead to some environmental problems and increase of final costs. In this study, the non-parametric method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to estimate the energy efficiency and greenhose gas emission in the irrigated wheat farms in Silakhor plain of Lorestan province.
Data were collected through both questionnaire and interwiew surveys using 150 farmers. Results showed that the energy consumption for 0.1 up to 2, 2.1 up to 5 and over 5 hectares were 22134, 24128 and 25078 MJ/ha respectively, and the sum of grain, fertilizer and pesticides had the highest share of energy consumption in all levels. The results of DEA showed that technical, pure technical and scale efficiencies in the third level were 88, 93 and 94%and higher than the same amounts obtained in other levels.
Energy saving ratios in these levels were 6.83, 8.11 and 6.54 respectively. This indicates that 1512, 1957 and 1640 MJ/ha of total input energy can be saved, if the mentioned method is used. The results of greenhouse gas emission showed that diesel fuel has the highest share in the environmental pollutants. Optimization of energy consumption can totally decrease 6516.67 kg CO2 produced in wheat production.

Municipal solid waste treatment is one of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions sources. Waste management systems can affect GHG emissions from these sources. This study evaluates the current and other three patterns of integrated waste management systems (IWMSs) with respect to greenhouse gas emissions, using life cycle assessment (LCA), based on the Lavandevil case.
System 1 represents the current MSW management in Lavandevil, including collection, transport and landfilling. Other three IWMSs along with collection, transport, landfilling and incineration include recycling (system 2), anaerobic digestion (system 3) and recycling and anaerobic digestion (system 4).
The results show that global warming potential (GWP) from system 1 amounts to 840 Kg CO2 eq, whereas GWP from system 4 reduces to 474 Kg CO2 eq for each ton of Lavandevil’s MSW. Considering the results obtained from this study, in all management systems (system S1-S4), lanfilling has the highest share in GWP increasing. GWP from landfilling can be reduced by power generation from landfill gas (LFG). Therefore, in this study, all management systems (system S1-S4) are assumed under two different methods (landfilling with and without energy recovery). By assumption, 75% recovery of landfill gas results in a GWP reduction of nearly 36% by GWP of landfilling.
The results show that source separation and use of separate waste in recycling and anaerobic decomposition processes have the highest impact in GWP reducing. Therefore, this study suhhests that source separation of waste, recycling and anaerobic decomposition treatment should be increased in the country’s waste management systems. On condition that both treatment systems could not be founded together, recycling is favorable over anaerobic digestion.

Soil pollution by petroleum compounds is one of the most common environmental problems, which causes soil contamination during extracting, transferring and refining. Bioremediation is an economic technology that makes use of plants to reduce oil pollution in soil. The aim of this study was to evaluate growing ability of Lathyrus sativus, Lens culinaris, Trigonella foenum and Glycyrrhiza glabr of the Fabaceae family in the soil contaminated with light crude oil. Also potential oil removal from soil by these species through bioremediation was shown. In this study, after examining the developmental stage of 4 samples of Fabaceae plant family, potential of removing hydrocarbons from the soil contaminated by light crude oil with different concentrations (1, 2, 3, and 4%) at 40 days in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was investigated. The result shows that the maximum possibility of pollution reduction is in lathyrus sativus with 73.3% in sample (1%) and the minimum possibility of pollution reduction is in Trigonella foenum with 38.6 in sample (4%). Moreover, Person's correlation coefficient showed that by increasing dry weight of the plant, the amount of pollution reduction in the soil increases. Given the acceptable performance of oil pollution cleanup by these species and economic saving as compared to other methods, the use of this method is recommended for the contaminated areas in Iran.

Behavior of metals in soils, such as mobility and bioavailability based on the total concentration of heavy metals, is not predictable. Absorption and toxicity of metals are dependent on their chemical fraction. Therefore, investigation of mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals are very important in the environmental studies.
Using BCR modified sequential extraction procedure, different forms Cu in the soil of rice fields irriggated by Amol industrial wastewater were determined in this study. Samples were analyzed by the Atomic Absorption Sens AA model.
The results showed that the residual form and the acid soluble, exchangeable, carbonate form were at their maximuum and minimum amounts (77.17 and 2.7), respectively. Moreover, mobility factor and recovery percent were obtained to be 2.39 and 96.6, respectively.
Mobility and bioavailability of copper in soil of rice farms in this area are low. Therefore, the possibility of pollution by this metal is low.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the disadvantages of density in sedimentation tanks and suggest sollutions to eliminate those disadvantages.
In this study, a 1:20–scale rectangular sedimentation tank, with thickness of 10 mm, was used as a pilot. The pilot was made up of plexiglass according to the Frod model. Three draw_offs in the bottom of the tank, two withdraw baffles, one intermediate baffle, one inlet baffle and effluent weir configurations were used in the experiments. Turbulence was formed by density of current and then lighter suspended solids went toward effluent weir.
The turbulence cused by currents lead to increase of suspended solids at effluent and decrease of the sedimentation tank efficiency. The proposed sollution for prohibition of those disadvantages is the use of baffles in different positions.
The results indicated increases of 20% for using intermediate baffle and 23% for using withdrawal baffles within 2.2-6.8 °C temperature difference between entering current and sedimentation tank contests with suspended solid concentrations of 100- 300 mg/lit.

Minab Esteghlal dam, with a capacity of 350 million m2 and an efficient capacity of 270 million m2, is a stable-weight-concrete dam which is constructed on Minab river at the distance of 4 km from the east of Minab township with a geographic longitude of 57° and 4′ and a geographic latitude of 27° and 9′. This dam was established in 1993 to supply the drinking water for Bandar Abbas and to provide water for 14670 hectares of downstram lands in Minab and for industry, flood control and artificial nutrition purposes.
This study is carried out to analyze the environmental impacts caused by operation of the dam. After collecting the basic data and field survey of the site and the dam reservoir, a list of environmental resources being affected was prepared. The study area was also determined in the from of individual environment under the direct and indirect impacts. Then, the required maps for the site, stations, ground cover, etc, were provided in the GIS environment. Water sampling was accomplished in warm and dry and warm and humid seasons, and water samples were carefully examined. In order to predict the dam impacts, a special method of assessment called ICOLD was conducted. After determining all the impacts, since this method is a qualitative method, a modified method was used to mark and interprete the impacts.
The results of this study showed that Esteghlal dam had a positive impact on biologic and socio-economic environments and had the scores of �.5 and �.25, and had a negative impact of -242 on physico–chemical environment. At the end, some recommendations to eliminate the negative impacts caused by operation of the dam, including decrease of deposit input to the river via constructing som dams at the upperhills before Esteghlal dam, and propagation of biological methods instead of applying fertilizer to defeat the agricultural pests were suggested. The proper environmental management of Minab watershed is bound to careful implementation of these suggestions.

Surface discharge of dense jet produced in coastal areas is considered as a common way for the disposal of brine in marine environment. Discharging flow patterns varies depending on the characteristic of discharge and receiving ambient water. Three flow patterns: free jet, shoreline attached jet and plume that have been reported in various field and laboratory studies are considered in this research. D-CORMIX is a computer simulation model that is used for the simulation of entrainment and mixing of negatively buoyant flow into water bodies. This model uses the principals of motion for bouyant flow to determin the flow patern in surface discharge. Thus, it seems that significant differences could be observed by comparing the experimental results of flow configurations for dense discharge using D-CORMIX.
D-CORMIX model was run for different discharge and ambient conditions. Same conditions simulated with a flume in a laboratory especially designed for the investigation of dense surface discharge from a rectangular channel.
The flow pattern predicted from running D-CORMIX model with laboratory observation was developed separately in non-dimensional diagrams in a way that vertical and horizontal cordinates showed the range of experimental conditions, to identify the area that each flow patern happens.
Finanly, the differences between two diagrams and the reasons are discussed.

Humic acids are main components of natural organic matters that have many negative effects, especially reaction with chlorine and production of disinfection by-products in water. Thus, the methods for the removal of these substances from water have been considered. Enhanced coagulation is a simple, suitable and efficient process for the removal of humic substances.
This study evaluates the enhanced coagulation effectiveness, as a suitable method for the removal of humic substance by polyaluminium chloride as a coagulant in a concentration between 1 to 20 mg/l in jar test.
Dissolved organic carbon, ultraviolet absorbance, specific ultraviolet absorbance and humic acid were determined as humic substances indexes in concentration between 0.1 to 5 mg/l. According to the obtained results, high level of specific ultraviolet absorbance index in the water source showed that enhanced coagulation was necessary for the removal of humic substance. Also, according to the obtained results, the average removal efficiency obtained by enhanced coagulation for humic acid was 52%, for dissolved organic carbon was 43% and for UV254 was 57%.
It was concluded that employing polyaluminium as a coagulant in enhanced coagulation process is inexpensive, suitable and efficient and can remove humic substance to optimum value without decreasing turbidity efficiency.

Environmental security, as one of the seven dimensions of human security, has a close connection with the way of using energy resources. Energy management has an important role in achieving the sustainable development by reducing environmental pollution. Sustainable development would be impossible without environmental security. In other words, energy has a direct connection with security and development. Energy specialists and planners in the world believe that renewable energies should play a much prominent role in providing human energy requirement and reducing environmental pollution. Discussing future problems and developing appropriate strategies and policies can have a key role in developing renewable energies to supply some parts of energy requirement in the country.
The aim of this study is to discuss the benefits and opportunities for developing renewable energies in Iran based on assessment of the factors involved in related organizations, through studying the importance and developed position of renewable energy resources in Iran and the world. Some benefits of developing renewable energies include: reliable and clean energy resource, power generation with a stable price, diversification of power resources in the country to be able to do more export, power supply of electricity generation with the less ancillary costs, reaching the aims of the 4th and the 5th National Development Plan and also the potential for economic development, with emphasis on technology development and new jobs creation. in this paper, by reviewing the existing laws and policies on new energies, the necessity of sound policies for development of renewable energies in national energy plans in line with ensuring human and environmental security, with emphasis on challenges to development of renewable energies in Iran have been investigated.
The results show that developing renewable energies in the world faces economical, technical, administrative and legal challenges which cause delay in development of these energies. Besides all these international barriers, development of renewable energies in Iran faces other national and local problems. Some of the major obstacles to the development of renewable energy resources in Iran includes: lack of plans and documented policies for development, lack of national and local laws concerning renewable energies, lack of knowledge about the function of these sources of energy among national planners and managers, weaknesses in human resources management as well as technology transfer barriers.

The main objective of this research was to study three heavy metals (nickel, cadmium and lead) in the shrimp’s muscle tissue and shell. This research was conducted in shrimp farms of Bushehr Province in 2009.
Muscle tissues and the shells of the collected samples were separated, dried in oven and after grinding were digested in acid until they reached the volume, and then flame atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to assess the level of metals in the tissues and shells.
Findings: The findings of this study show an average of 0.2 and 0.5 milligram per kilo (wet weight) of cadmium in tissue and shell; 1.92 and 4.82 milligram per kilogram (wet weight) of lead; and 1.4 and 5.5 milligram per kilogram (wet weight) of nickel in tissue and shell respectively. A comparison of the results with the international standards of the World Health Organization, British Ministry of Agriculture, Fishing and Food and Australian National Medical, Health and Research Association and that of the European Union shows that the concentration of these metals is below the permitted level. Meanwhile, the results show a reverse linear relationship between the accumulation of the three metals in shell texture and the passage of time. Also there is a reverse linear relationship between accumulation of cadmium in the muscle tissue and the passage of time. But a direct linear relationship was observed between accumulation of lead and nickel in the muscle tissue and the passage of time. Moreover, a significant relationship was found between accumulation of cadmium and lead in the muscle tissue and the passage of time. Also a significant relationship was found between accumulation of cadmium in the shell and the passage of time.

Nowadays, pollution of groundwater by heavy metals is encreasing. Heavy metals are one of the most widespread cause of pollution in water and the presence of increasing levels of these metals in the environment is causing serious concern in public opinion owing to their toxicity.
This study aims to assess the concentration and distribution pattern of heavy metals (Cadmium, Chrome, Nickel, Lead and Zink) in groundwater of an industrialized region in Eslamshahr which located in the southeastern of Tehran
Presently, groundwater is the predominant source of drinking water in this town. For this purpose, 92 samples were taken from 23 wells in 4 seasons.The concentration of heavy metals in the samples was measured by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. ARC GIS software was applied for preparing the distribution patterns.
The results showed that chrome and zinc concentrations were lower than the permissible level in the drinking water. However, the concentration of cadmium in 8.7% of samples taken in winter were higher than the permissible level determined in drinking water standard of Iran. Nickel concentration in winter was 8.7% higher than the permissible level. Lead concentration of samples in 47.8% and 4.35% of samples taken in summer and winter were higher than the permissible level, respectively. The high level of water pollution in southern part of Eslamshahr is attributed to the large number of industries, big farm lands, application of chemical fertilizers and the pesticides containing heavy metals, busy main and secondary roads , and most importantly, the hydraulic slope from northwest to southeast of this region.

In this study, the levels of heavy metals (mercury, zinc, copper, cadmium and lead) were measured in the liver and muscle tissues of Bamboo Shark in Khor Musa.
To do the process, after drying and digestion of samples, the concentration of mercury samples was measured and it was found that the level of whole metals in liver was higher than in muscle. The metal concentrations in liver and muscle tissue were obtained according to the following order Zn> Cu> Hg> Pb> Cd and Zn> Hg> Cu, respectively. The concentration of two nonessential metals, cadmium and lead, was not detected in muscle. There was a significant difference between the level of metals in liver and muscle. Also, level of mercury in liver and muscle showed a direct correlation with shark’s weight and length.
Comparison of metal concentrations in liver and muscle with various world standards indicated that only the level of mercury is higher than standard limits. High accumulation of mercury in the animal’s body is likely originated from mercury sources such as petrochemical plants. Hence, considering all the obtained data, it is highly advised to have a constant monitoring over the aquatic animals, certainly edible ones, existing in the area.

Heavy metals are considered the serious pollution source for the environment because of their stability, atomic and biological accessibility problems. The sediments of Sarcheshmeh copper mine in Iran contain high concentrations of these pollutants. Thus, environmental evaluation and ranking them based on emission levels are important for timely environmental measures with the lowest operating costs. The first aim of this study is to evaluate the environmental risk of these sediments by determining the contamination factor, pollution load index, enrichment factor and Geoaccumulation index. The second aim is ranking these metals based on the level of risk critical using the Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) method.
In this study, first, by determining risk evaluation indices, heavy metals contamination (Co , Cu , Mo , Zn , Cr , Mn , Ni , Pb , Ti and Fe ) in the sediments of Sarcheshmeh copper mine which conduce to the tailings dam was assessed. Then, by collecting expert opinions on the relative importance of each indicator mentioned in the environmental contamination risk of heavy metals, through final weighting of the indices using Fuzzy Delphi Analytic Hierarchy Process (FDAHP), ranking and clustering of heavy metals in the sediments of the study area were performed using ELECTR method.
Based on the results measuring the risk evalution indices, the intensity of contamination related to these metals was in order of Zn> Cu> Fe> Mo> Pb > Mn > Cr, and all the metals except for copper, zinc and iron were almost cited to be in the unpollutant limit. Also based on ranking results, the ten risks were clustered in seven categories with copper, iron and zinc having the highest pollution and critical risk amongst the heavy metals in the studied sediments, respectively.
Considering the boilers with high energy consumption and low efficiency in this factory, the replacement of old boiler with the new one through CDM project is cost effective.

This study aimed to investigate the concentration of three heavy metals of Cd, Pb and Hg in tissue of Liza saliens in the southern Caspian Sea (Mazandaran Province) in 2013. It also attemts ro estimate the risks associated with its use by human.
The samples (32 specimens) were prepared under standard conditions; and after preparation process, the measurements were done using atomic absorption.
The results revealed that the mean ± SD of Pb and Hg in muscle tissue of grey mullet were 5.72903 ± 2.9606 and 79.01561 ± 44.9456 mg/kg of dry weight, respectively. The Daily Intake (DI) for Pb, Cd and Hg were 100.46, 0.06 and 1525.26 mg/day per person, respectively and Hazard Quotients (HQs) were measured to be 0.1607, 1.000, and 6.4200.
After comparing the standards, it was observed that the amount of lead in muscle of mullet narrow snout at central coast of the Caspian Sea was above the standard suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, UK (UKMAFF). However, this amount was permissible according to the standards of the United Sate’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The amount of mercury in this study was much higher than the three standard indexes mentioned. As a result, the acceptable level of Pb and Cd intake for good health is recommended to be 0/591 and 38/889 g per day and 4/179 and 272/223 g per week. The allowable level of Hg consumption for maintaining health is zero and, therefore, it is not recommended for consumption.

High energy consumption in residential and commercial sectors resulting from the lack of optimized management of the mentioned sectors imposes adverse effects in terms of economics, health and environment on a community. One of the ways to optimize energy consumption is proper management. In order to prevent uncontrolled growth of energy consumption and maintain national energy resources is energy management in residential and commercial sectors in metropolises. Therefore, the development of implementation mechanisms in this sectors requires special attention.
After analyzing the results of energy consumption in Tehran and in the country, a total number of 96 questionnaires were prepared and distributed among the relevant experts to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated eith energy consumption in the household and commercial sectors. Subsequently, all the strategic factors were evaluated. The IFE and EFE matrices were used to evaluate the internal and external strategic factors. The total values of the IFE and EFE matrices were obtained to be 2.85 and 2.88, respectively. The mentioned matrices suggest that the metropolitan cities of Iran suffer from some internal weaknesses. This indicates that the weaknesses are more than the strength points. In terms of the external factors, the metropolitan cities in Iran are involved in managerial weaknesses so that the opportunities are less than the threats.
Codification of energy consumption strategies and patterns in metropolitan cities are considered as key factors in reducing energy consumption in the country. Given the high potential for savings, the household and commercial sectors should always be considered in terms of energy consumption management and optimization. In the next steps, the executive instructions concerning the five key strategies were presented to achieve the pattern of energy consumption in household and commercial sectors of metropolitan cities (Tehran) in Iran. Afterwards, a checklist was prepared to investigate the status of management execution and the strategy of energy consumption modification pattern in the household and commercial sectors of the metropolitan cities.

Planning for optimal use of soil and water, in addition to preserving these resources, results in production and income growth for farmers and enhancement of rural economy as a whole. Due to limited resources, optimization of cropping pattern in each region should be done properly and efficiently.
Goal programming approach is used to determine the optimal cropping pattern in Amol Township at Mazandaran province. In this study, the objectives were oriented to the on 5 year plan of the 5th Development Plan of Islamic Republic of Iran to make 7% reduction in chemical fertilizers usage, 1% reduction in pesticides usage to preserve the environment, and 0.93% reduction in water usage to preserve water resources in order to achieve sustainable agricultural development. Also, a 10% increase in gross margin was considered according to the view of the local farmers.
High yielding high quality Paddy, rainfed Barley, Clover, irrigated Lentils, rainfed Rapeseed and irrigated Alfalfa were eliminated in optimal cropping model, and the area under cultivation of Parsley, and irrigated Potato was increased. The results showed that applying the optimal model could lead to an increase of nearly 240 billion Rials as compared to present model.
Application of goal programming method in optimization. The objectives and resource allocation has a relative superiority to the current cropping pattern and linear pattern.

Limitation of undesirable effects of construction industry is one of the most important environmental concerns in recent decades. Expansion of construction activities is an inevitable issue and like any other industrial product, buildings can be considered as a result of raw materials and renewable and non-renewable types of energy use. At the final step of a building life cycle, there is no other way except demolition or recycling. Previous studies in this field have emphasized the building assessment during its use phase. Whereas large aspect of energy usage and pollutants production can be found in construction and demolition phases.
Current paper reviewed the researches yet have been done and studied appropriate methods, tools and criterion to assess environmental sustainability of construction systems, especially on production and demolition phases.
The main goal of this study is to find a way for parametric assessment of environmental sustainability in construction systems, with emphasis on production and end phase of a building life cycle.
Finally, this study presents a six-parameter numerical model that can help to evaluate environmental compatibility of any building by which environmental sustainability of a construction system can be assessed with emphasis on production and end phase of its life cycle.

The removal of toxic metals from wastewater is of great interest in the field of water pollution, which is a serious cause of water degradation. Numerous metals such as chromium, mercury, lead, copper, cadmium, manganese, etc. are known to be significantly toxic. The purpose of this study is to investigate the Ni2 and Zn2 adsorption by using orange peel as a cheap adsorbent.
The orange peel was pretreated separately with 0.4 mol/L NaOH, 0.4 mol/L HNO3 and distilled water and the obtained adsorption abilities were compared. Adsorption experiments were performed at different initial concentrations of adsorbent, Ni2 and Zn2 ions and different pHs. Adsorption isotherms of metal ions on adsorbents were correlated with common isotherm equations such as Longmuir and Freundlich models.
The maximum adsorption capacities were achieved for Ni2 (34 mg/g) by alkali modified orange peel and for Zn2 (47 mg/g) by acid modified orange peel. The experiments showed that optimum pH was 6 and the adsorption value was reduced with decrease of pH. Morover, adsorption was decreased with rise of primary concentration of metal ions.
Results showed that isotherm models were best fit to Longmuir model for the modified orange peel. Comparison of the parameters of models revealed that the capacity of orange peel for adsorption of cooper was higher than for adsorption of lead.

nowadays, modern life of humans has lead people to need more to visit natural recreation sites. Therefore, evaluating recreation value of natural promenades could show that how important role they have in our new lifestyle. This caused to be our first priority in our modern life to protect from these recreation sites.
Analyzed factors that affect on the recreation value in travel cost method is the first aim of this study, and second aim is to estimate the recreation value by using the travel cost method. According to these factors, twenty circles with equal distances of two Km were drawn.
The Finally, the primary recreation value of Sorkheh Hesar national park based on the accessibility cost, which had been calculated 2,625,249,000 Rial in each month, by estimating the surface area under the demand curve. In order to find out which factors could affect on recreation value, a model had been developed by using 25 parameters. According to this model, visitor’s marital status, the distance between the habitat to the promenade, number of visitors, the brightness and the quality of cleaning were the most affecting factors in the recreation value model.
The results show that, there is a direct relationship between the improvement of the quality of lightning and the recreational value. This direct relationship also exists between the number of visitors and recreation value. On the other hand, if the lightning quality improves and the amount of visitors increase the recreation value of Sorkheh Hesar national park will increase too. But, increasing the rate of single visitors and reducing the quality of cleaning would cause recreation value to decrease in this national park.

Nowadays, one of the most important subjects concerning environmental quality is urban renewal and air pollution. Therefore, governments should strive to take various policies and programs to overcome the environmental problems including air pollution or negative effects of human functions on environment. This study uses an input-output table of the Khorasan-Razavi province in 2001 and amount of pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions to survey the welfare and environmental effects on decline of subsidy on fossil fuels. For this purpose, using MCP and GAMS software, welfare changes with and without environmental impact, changes in demand for fossil fuels and changes in pollutants for 4 scenarios have been studied. Results showed that the elimination of subsidy on fossil fuels would reduce the demand for fossil fuels as an intermediate input and final good. If the environmental effects are considered, in the all scenarios, the welfare changes will be positive and the welfare will increase with the omitting rate increase. The highest growth rate of welfare is obtained to be15%.

For protection of biodiversity and because of fast destruction of revocable national source which is becoming more challengeable every day, strengthening and expansion of protected area is the only proper way. In Iran, in addition to existence of fourfold conservative area, there are no hunting areas as an example of natural areas. These areas are valuable and prepared for conservation of nature ecological balance and preventing the extinction of plant generation and animal species. This area "with an area of about of 81373 hectare" is located in the West of Meybod and North-East of Sadouq in Yazd Province. In this study, for the first time, the ecological land capability of Marvar, with perception of conservation according to IUCN criteria, was evaluated to be designated as a protected.
Systematic Analysis method, Makhdoum (2001) ecological models and GIS were used for evaluation of Marvar no-hunting area. In this study, at first regional resources (socio-economic & ecological) were found. Digital data along with attribute data were insetted to the ArcGIS system to make the data base. Therefore, by overlaying information layers in the mentioned system, the ecological details were mapped for the area and the table of characteristic unit was presented. The evaluation of capability and zoning were done and fertilized area for suitable uses was selected. Finally, baised on the obtained result for the protected area classification system, the area was introduced as a conservative area according to national and international criteria.
According to the obtained results for ecological and economical-social resource, six zones were identified in this area as wilderness/ecological zone:(4.25%), protected zone:(41.62%), extensive use zone:(26.3%), intensive use zone:(9.4%), spatial use zone:(1.25%) and land use zone:(17.18%), and nearly half of the area was allocate to protection use. The, small extent of this area with high vulnerability shows its capability to be placed in higher conservative class. Hence, evaluation of obtained results under the condition of protected area according to available criteria explain shows that Marvar no-hunting area with approximately broad extent, has a high ecosystem diversity (mountain, plain and hill), considerable species diversity (52 plant and 82 animal species) and also high wildlife values such as economical, biological, and science-training values. Moreower, tourism attractions have high conservative value and can introduce a protected area in classification of fourfold areas of Iran, as well as in fifth class of IUCN, including areas under management of protected landscape or Seascape.

Khoshkedaran national natural monument with an area of 254 hectare is a woodland in Nashtarood Township in Mazandaran province. This area is one of the 22 national natural monuments in Iran. This aim of this study is to develope sustainable ecotourism management in this area using AHP (Analitical Hierarchy Process) and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) methods.
for AHP, analysis of a hierarchy is made as including 4 levels, object (development of sustainable ecotourism management), factors (climate, geomorfology, nature and environment, culture and society, and economy), sub-factors and alternatives (independent ecotourism, ecotourism in small groups, ecotourism in unlimited groups).
After final analysis of the experts opinions using Expert Choice software, the results showd that ecotourism in small groups is the best alternative for ecotourism in this area, since it had not very negative effect on the area and had economical advantages.
Moreover, using SWOT analysis, the main Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats for performing sustainable ecotourism management in Khoshkedaran national natural monument were identified and some strategies were proposed for performing sustainable management.

The high percentage of putrescible materials in generated waste in Iran, in one hand, and lack of proper lands for sanitary landfilling of waste (specially in the northern parts of the country), in the other hand, along with problems of collection, transportation and disposal of waste all make it necessary to think about vermicompost method as an efficient technique for disposal of organic waste.
The present study aims to investigate the degradation of domestic waste using specific earthworm ‘Eisenia foetida’. For this purpose, a wooden pilot including three floors was designed. Length, width and height of the pilot were 45, 25 and 65 cm respectively. Then 500 earthworms were collected manually and put on created media in the pilot. The domestic waste was added every week to the pilot, and after 60 days the compost was taken out. Finally, the important parameters in the produced compost were analyzed in the laboratory.
The result shows that providing proper situations like temperature range of 20-30 °C and moisture range of 60-75% and also appropriate aeration can lead to creation of a suitable place for the growth of earthworms and consequently conversion of organic wastes to rich compost. The ratio of C/N in the produced vermicompost was 14.53 (range of C/N is 10-20).
One of the other advantages of this method is that it can also be used for increasing the earthworms as a food resource for domesticated animals and aquatic creatures.

Compost is extracted from the Latin word “Compositus”, meaning compound or mixture and sometimes it is known as mixed fertilizer in Persian language. Regarding the economic values of spoilable substances, producing fertilizer from waste not only will help to ues this value, but also in this way, the waste and its recycling can be controlled. Thus, construction of compost factories for hygienic repulsion and production of valuable fertilizer, are the main preferences of urban waste management in the country. Objective of this study is evaluation of physical and chemical quality of compost fertilizer, produced in Zahedan Factory, and its comparison with the standards in Iran and the world.
In this study, the compost fertilizer produced in Zahedan Factory was investigated during 9 months. To determine the physical and chemical characteristics of the compost produced in this factory, the factors such as pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon, azoth, phosphor, lead, cadmium, zinc and copper were evaluated. Microbial specifications of the produced compost are also specified by determination of culiferoum, Salmonellae, and parasite zygote.
Evaluated factors are: average percentage of carbon (4.2 ppm), percentage of azoth (1.98 ppm), percentage of lead (89.98 ppm), percentage of cadmium (2.695 ppm). The microbial quality of the produced compost was in B level of Environmental Protection Organization of America.
Results demonstrated that the produced compost, in terms of heavy metals, was in the range of UN, America and Canada standards (AAFC, CCME, and BNQ) and was reasonable according to the National Standards of Iran. Carbon and azoth percentages meet the compost standards in most cases. However, considering that the ratio of carbon is higher than the ratio of azoth, it is necessary to add vegetable and fruit wastes - that contain higher nitrogen - to the compost ingredients. Amount of phosphor is placed in rank 2 of National Standards of Iran. pH is almost higher than standard levels; in this case adding a little sulfur will solve the problem. Compost fertilizer samples are applicable as soil reclamation factor. Waste segregation at source and establishment of thermophilic conditions in mass are two effective strategies that should be concentrated to improve the quality of compost fertilizer.

Attention to land capability for establishment of industries and also wise and sustainable use of land to prevent environmental crises have been considerd by planners in recent years. Regarding the necessity of ecological capability evaluation for different uses before any development plan, land capability for development of Semnan industrial town has been studied in this paper.
In this regard, Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) was used accoding to Makhdoom industrial development model. In the first stage, environmental resources were identified. Next, land capability was determined by overlaying the different layers in GIS.
Considering all ecological parameters, the results show that about 75% of the total area is relatively suitable (level 2) for industrial development and the rest is unsuitable. All the area can be considered as relatively suitable, if elevation parameter (the last priority in the model) is deleted.

Flood risk assessment and zoning in human settlements is an important activity in line with sustainable development of human settlements. The reason is that these settlements are developed alongside the rivers, and bed and margins of torrential plains ignoring the hydrological and dynamical conditions of rivers and upstraem river basins that can increase flood risk and life, financial, and sub-structural damages. This study aims to identify the flood reasons and predict the range of subsequent damages within Abali area.
The conceptual model of DPSIR has been used to analyze the elements effective on the flood in the area. In DPSIR analysis of the area for its vulnerability against flood risk, societal, economic, spatial and environmental factors are considered asdriving forces. Then, the flood risk levele in the study area is determined by making plots for the driving forces and zoning the area. For this reason, Fuzzy AHP was used for calculation of layers weight and programming in MATLAB software was done to run it. Finally, risk zoning was carried out based on the weights extracted by Fuzzy AHP method in GIS environment.
The results show that from the total area of the case study, about 1788 hectare has a very high risk, 5098 hectare has a high risk, 6190.75 hectare has an average risk, and 3038.75 hectare has a low risk of flood.
The results from integration of Decision Support Systems (DSS) models and GIS, as approved in previuos studies, indicate their high efficiency in identifying the areas with high flood risk. Therefore, it is essential to consider the zoning layers in planinig proceses, particularly rsik assessment.

Anaerobic digestion of slaughterhouse solid wastes, such as rumen contents, is an appropriate treatment option for managing such residues, because of their significant role in reducing the environmental impacts as well as the potential for biogas production. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of retention time and substrate type on the biogas and alkalinity productions during anaerobic digestion of rumen contents.
This study aimed to investigate the effects of retention time and substrate type on biogas and alkalinity productions of slaughterhouse wastes using one liter anaerobic digester with batch flow. Experiments were performed at temperature of 35°C and retention time of 30 days with three types of substrate: cattle rumen contents, sheep rumen contents and their mixture (mixing ratio 1:1) with total solids of 6.5, 9.1 and 8.0%, respectively.
Maximum alkalinity was found in the digester containing cattle rumen contents as it increased pH. Thus, the highest cumulative biogas and methane yields obtained for these digesters were 286.1 and 80.7 mL/g VSdegraded respectively.
In general, it can be concluded that in the process of anaerobic digestion of rumen contents (regardless of substrate type and retention time), pH of the reactors can play a major role in biogas and methane productions. Thus, to prevent pH drop and to provide a suitable environment for the growth and activity of microorganisms, addition of an alkaline substance is required.

In recent years,biological and chemical processes have been widely used in industrial and municipal wastewater treatment. Electrochemical process is a chemical process used for wastewater treatment. In recent years, this process has been increasingly employed for treatment of many wastewaters, especially for industrial wastewaters with high COD.
The wastewater from raisin-finishing units in Sahand Industrial Town in Malayer with the COD of 26850 mg/L and TSS of 2325 mg/L was collected. Electrolysis process consisted of a reactor with 9 L volume containing two different types of electrodes (Al and stainless steel). The process was conducted without any additives for wastewater treatment enhancing, in three different retention times (10-20 and 30 min) and applied voltages (10, 20 and 30 V). After each experiment, the output wastewater was investigated and the COD removal efficiency was calculated.
Results showed that in retention time of 30 min and applied voltage of 30V, removal efficiencies of COD and TSS using Al electrode were 88.28% and 95.05%, respectively. Moreover, the best removal efficiencies for COD and TSS were found to be 76.54% and 67.53%, which were obtained using stainless steel electrode in retention time of 30 min and applied voltage of 30V in 30 and 10 min respectively.
According to the results, electrochemical treatment along with other processes, such as adding electrolytes, can be used as a tool for reduction of industrial wastewater pollution.

Energy crisis is the most important crisis threatening mankind. Recently, using biogas has been put under focus due to the problems caused by widespread dependence to oil and scarcity of energy resources. In addition, using biogas as a fuel supply can saliently reduce greenhouse gases and consequently reduce global warming. Also, other advantages of biogas generation from biomass resources are waste minimization and sanitary manure generation. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential of biogas and energy production from biomass resources in the villages of Iran with anapproach to supply energy at the consumption place and to reduce transportation costs.
In this study, potential of biogas production from cattle refuse is evaluated according to the numbers of cattle existing in Iran villages and determination of cattle refuse quantity.
Results show that 11.195 million m3 biogas can be produced from 63 million cattle in villages of Iran. The extractable biogas from rustic biodegradable wastes was also determined. It was found that, annually, 487 million m3 biogas can be produced from 1249000 tons of waste per.
Generally, this study revealed that biogas and energy generation from biomass resources in villages of Iran with an approach to supply energy at the consumption place and to reduce transportation costs has economical efficiency and can be as a national strategy for achieving sustainable development.

Agriculture, as an economic activity in nature, has had a major impact on biodiversity and natural landscapes. In this context, environmental awareness is a broad concept that includes not only knowledge about the environment, but also refers to the attitudes, values and skills required to solve the environmental problems. Biological information of farmers involves their awareness about the environmental problems, the factors contributing to development of these problems and the measures that theycan do to improve the situation which determines their biological performance.
This descriptive-analytical study attempts to investigate the farmer's knowledge and biological performance in the southern Barandouz Chai village located at the central part of Orumiyeh Township. One-sample-t-test and correlation were used to analyze the data.
The biological knowledge of the studied farmers was at a level higher than average, and their biological performance was at a level lower than average, showing a strong correlation between their knowledge and biological performance.
The lower level of biological performance compared to biological awareness in the studied farmers is due to the fact that they have to use fertilizers and pestidides to fight with pests though they are aware of the problems created by them. Moreover, despite having the knowledge of some aspects of modern irrigation methods, the farmers were not able to use them because of the existing difficulties and financial constraints.

Increase of municipal waste which mainly consists of domestic waste and, in other words, environmentaly biodegradable materilas, pose serious challenges to the selection of efficient disposal methods every year. Lack of comprehensive data set as well as uncertainty in some cases make decision making on waste disposal method selection more complicated and requires a more efficient waste treatment system.
In this study, the hierarchical analysis process was used to assess and prioritize waste disposal methods. Considered methods were: composting, incineration, segregation and sanitary landfilling of urban waste. The criteria for evaluation of options included: waste synthesis, environmental issues and costs.
According to the results obtained from analysis of collected information, environmental issues with the relative value of 0.778 were the most important criterion to be considered. Finally, the waste segregation and sanitary landfilling with the absolute value of 0.444 proved to be the best option. Compost production and incineration methods were ranked next, respectively. The inconsistency rate for all comparisons was 0.1 which is considered acceptable.
Considering the small difference between the final values obtained for sanitary landfill and compost production methods, both should be studied more closely. The studies on waste synthesis in different parts of the country confirm the findings of this study.

The main purpose of natural resources management is protecting the biological variety and continuance of regeneration in the natural ecosystems. Natural regeneration is one of the most important factors in the survival and resistance of natural forests.
This study investigates the effects of forest roads on the changes of natural regeneration variety of wooden species from edges of forest roads towards their inner parts in three areas and two different paved and un-paved roads. Randomly, the similar conditions were identified according to topography, slope and direction. On the two sides of road, 2m×2m microplots were used for measuring differences and plants structures.
This study indicates that characters of different climates do not have significant difference in the up and down of road and in these three ereas. The only effective factor is condition which decreases when distance from road increases. Some light demanding spices, such as Quercus castaneifolia C.A.M.Browics Alnus subcordata (L), Gaertn & Menitsky and Diospyros lotus L., grow at the side of the roads.
Generally, the rate of regeneration diversity and richness were higher at the sides of paved roads than at sides of un-paved roads.

Wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) is a threatened (VU10) species living in mountainous areas of Iran. Very little is known about habitat associations of wild sheep as a prerequisite for conservation planning. We studied habitat associations and seasonal pattern of habitat use by wild sheep over a complete year in Ghemashlou National Park.
The existing vegetation types within the park were considered as different habitats for wild sheep and their structure were quantified. Wild sheep pellet group density as well as habitat variables including vegetation types, percentage cover of dominant bush species, and EC, SP and pH of the soil were quantified within the permanent strip transects. General Linear Models (GLMs) were used to relate habitat variables to pellet group density.
Use of habitats was not significantly different in none of the studied periods except in spring. In this season, wild sheep had significantly used Astragalus-Scariola more than Artemisia vegetation type.
In addition, wild sheep had used areas with steeper slopes in spring and areas with higher EC in autumn.

The natural rangeland changing into dryland is one of the important agents for destruction of rangelands in Iran. The destruction and landuse conversion can impress various constituents of rangeland ecosystems. This research mainly attempts to investigate the vegetation transitions in species diversity in the years following destruction.
The natural rangelands (key area) and the converted adjacent lands into drylands (critical area) were selected for sampling by using random-systematic plan in Dehgolan of Kurdistan Province. Three transects along a slope with 100 m length for each and 50 m distance between them were set at two herbal mentioned areas. Based on minimal area method, five quadrats of one square meter area were set along each transect. The species list with their self-relative frequency was registered in quadrats. The species evenness based on four numerical indices including Simpson's evenness, Camargo, Smith-Wilson and Modified Nee, the species richness according to two indices including Jackknife estimate and Rarefraction method and the species diversity by four indices including Shannon-Wiener, Brillouin, McIntosh and Simpson were analyzed and compared together.
26 herbal species at the natural rangeland and 18 species at the land converted into dryland were gathered. The results obtained from data analysis showed that species diversity and richnessof plants have had degradation and species evenness has dad enhancement at the land converted into dryland. However, statistical T-Test did not show a significant difference between the two mentioned fields. Generally, it was concluded that rangeland changing into dryland reduced the species diversity of range plants and its statistical non-significance was of multiple reasons.

In the present study, trophic state of Valasht Lake was investigated monthly at 3 stations, from December 2008 to December 2009. The purpose of this study is investigating the trophic state of the lake and introducing the basic solutions to maintain this valuable ecological resource.
Trophic state index (TSI) was used in this study. Also, the effective parameters on primary production and trophic state determined in this study include: total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), a-chlorophyll, Secchi depth (SD), and TN/TP ratio.The results from all mentioned parameters were compared with different trophic levels of fresh water lakes published by U.S Environmental Protection Agency and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
According to trophic state index and based on nutrient levels (phosphor and nitrogen), Valasht lake is classified in Mesotrophic to Eutrophic state and based on the other mentioned parameters, it is classified in mesotrophic state.
Mean rate of trophic state index reveals the mesotrophic state in this lake. According to the results of Red Field ratio and TSI, nitrogen and turbidity, especially in wet (rainy) seasons, are the main determinative parameters in primary production in Valasht Lake.

Expired pesticides are a major problem in many countries. Thus, we need to know the effective factors in pesticides degradation to prevent environmental damage of them. In many cases restructuring or demolition costs of the expired pesticides are more than their primary production.
This study investigated the possibility of applying the expired pesticides stockpiles of agricultural supportive services company. Quality control tests were performed according to the FAO, CIPAC and pesticide manufacturer's guidelines.
The results were classified based on the different groups of pesticides, physical state of herbicides formulation, producing companies, date of production and location of warehouses. Data were analyzed by Chi-Square test, in case of significance. The risk test was performed to determine the relative risk for the variables using SPSS-18 software.
Result showed a significant correlation between the time lagged after production of herbicides and degradation percentage of herbicides. The degradation percent of expired insecticides was highest and that of expiered herbicides and fungicides was at the second and third rank, respectively. The degradation percent of the expired herbicides formulated in the country was 52% and that of the expired herbicides formulated in India/China was 67%. The results show that 55% of the herbicides with liquid formulation and 26% of the herbicides with solid formulation were degraded. Considering the degradation rate of herbicides, there is no statistically significant difference between the warehouses at 4 climatic regions.

Soil surface water and ground water contamination with arsenic (As), due to its high potential for food cycle entrance, has high risk for human safety. Evidences of as pollution in Hashtrood, in East Azerbayjan, in the form dermal disorders have been reported. Also, this pollution can lead to decrease of agricultural products in terms of both quality and quantity or some lesions in farm animals. Due to lack of knowledge the reason for this remains unknown, but it may be related to as pollution. This study was conducted to investigate the level of soil and water contamination with As in Hashtrood city.
Based on the obtained information, the surface and ground waters, soil, river sediments, and rock were sampled and analyzed for physico-chemical and as in the laboratory.
There are significant differences for mean as contents in the samples and crust. The maximum level of as was observed in fly ash samples. Consequently, as pollution was related to geogenic and volcanic eruptions in this region. According to the results, the mechanisms for As pollution in the region are known to be: As release from rock units, As sorption by oxide minerals in aerobic and acidic to neutral conditions, desorption from oxide surfaces with increase of pH, increase of As concentration in solution, and causing pollution.

Presence of heavy metals in different parts of the environment (such as, soil) has adverse effects on organisms’ health. The main sources releasing these pollutants to the environment are industries and mines. Therefore, in this study, the effect of Jajarm Alumina plant (located in North Khorasan province) on contamination of topsoil with Lead (Pb) around the factory, has been proceed.
Sampling of topsoil (depth Comparison of mean concentration of Pb in main geological directions of the factory, showed a significant difference between them (p Overall, results showed that Jajarm Alumina plant has not a significant effect on topsoil contamination with Pb.

Air pollution issue is one of the most important environmental challenges in any country. In Zahedan, moderately, the air in 70 days of the year is polluted by dust.The goal of this study was assessment of air pollutants’ concentrations and determination of AQI in the city of Zahedan.
In this study, after performing the primary studies concerning the climatic and geographical conditions of Zahedan, four stations were selected for air pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, SO2, O3, NO2, CO, NO) monitoring. The measurement process was performed monthly during one year (three days per month) and the monthly wind rose in the city was prepared by Word Lop and Saba Wind software. Then considering the Air Quality Index (AQI), and by using GIS software, 96 maps were prepared and the health quality of air pollutants was determined.
Considering the AQI in Zahedan City, the responsible pollutant was PM2.5 for all season in 2009. Its value in spring was 185, in summer was 201, in fall was 168 and in winter was 208
The results of this research showed that the main responsible pollutant during the year 2009 in Zahedan was PM2.5. Also during this year, air quality for 208 days was unhealthy for all people, 95 days was unhealthy for the sensitive people, 33 days was in hazardous condition, 16 days was unhealthy and 4 days was moderate for all citizens of Zahedan city.

In recent years, good governance has been considered by the political and economic decision-makers as one of the factors affecting the environmental variables. This study aims to assess the environmental variables affecting middle-income countries.
In this study, using the method panel data, the effect of good governance on Co2 gas emissions (which is considered as an indicator of environmental quality) has been tested in middle-income countries between the years 2000-2011.
According to the results, estimate of governance indicator (governance indicators) which shows the quality of public institutions and power of nations in fulfilling their duties, can affect the amount of co2 emissions which represent the state of the environment.
The reslults represent a 1% improvement in good governance and 0.03% reduction in weight of carbon dioxide emissions.

The best solution to energy saving can be taught in schools. The educational activities change the awareness and attitudes of people and consumers towards energy use in the environment. Thus, education of efficient energy consumption in schools is important. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of efficient energy consumption education in primary schools in Tehran.
The random systematic and statistical sample of a school for girls (a large school class with 30 studends) in Tehran was selected. Using SPSS and Excel software, the paired t test was applied to measure the impact of training on students and analyze the data collected from educational activities of students concerning energy efficiency in the primary school.
The hypotheses are considered as follows:1-There is relationship between education of students in schools and their attitude towards energy consumption saving. 2-There is a relationship between parents education level and effectiveness of educational activities in schools.
A short questionnaire was given to the students before training in order to measure their attitude. Experimental pre-test and post-test were used to develop the hypothesis. To implement the pre-test and post-test, two groups of students as a control group were selected from Azadi school located in Region 4 of Tehran, Iran. Pearson coleralation was also applied in this regard.The findings in this study show that there are a strong relationship between variables and hypotheses.
Also, the results show a significant correlation between student's knowledge and energy consumption. The hypotheses were approved at the end.

This paper investigates the changes in the thermal conditions of residential buildings in the 3rd and 4th quarters of Ghajarid Era. This study specifically aims to address the answers for the following questions:1) Is there a meaningful difference in the thermal conditions of residential buildings in the last 80 years of Ghajarid Era?
2) Do the possible changes of thermal conditions depend on the period in which the buildings are constructed? And is there a correlative connection between the above factors?
3) Does the apparent architectural agitation of the second half of Ghajarid Era affect the thermal conditions of residential constructions as well?
In order to achieve the answers, thermal conditions of 60 residential buildings, picked equally from the Kashan, Esfehan and Yazd provinces, were examined. Distribution of the buildings in the 3rd and 4th quarters of Ghajarid Era was considered for each province as well. The research method for calculating the thermal conditions of the buildings was the "performance approach". The outputs considering P Results show a meaningful decrease in the amount of the following thermal quantities: (H/A, G, H/H^) in the last 40 years of Ghajarid Era. These results suggest that the thermal condition of residential buildings in the 3rd quarter of Ghajarid Era was worse than the last quarter.

Green roof is one of the new approaches of the architecture and urban planning and derived from the concepts of sustainable development which can be used to increase the green space per capita, environmental quality and urban sustainable development. Applied usage of roofs could be considered as an optimized utilization of urban lands. The main objective of this paper is to study the role of green roofs as a strategy to improve urban environmental quality from the sustainable architecture perspective.
Initially, a questionnaire was designed on the base of experts’ opinions, including 22 questions. Then 30 experts in the field of urban planning and architecture were selected as the study sample. Considering architectural issues and urban sustainable development, questions were categorized according to three main scopes: 1. The effects of green roofs on the ecological, continental, environmental, and economic-cultural aspects, 2. The differences between intensive and extensive green roofs, and 3. The differences between the green roofs and common roofs. The Alpha method was used for the evaluation of the reliability, and 3 hypotheses were presented for analyzing the questionnaire.
The alpha factor was gained to be 0.727, showing that the questionnaire had a proper reliability. After analyzing the hypotheses, they were confirmed. This implied the great effect of green roofs on improvement of urban environmental quality from the sustainable architecture perspective. The results showed that totally 70-80% of experts declared that the green roofs had high importance in the improving the environmental quality and sustainable urban development. Indeed, green roofs are our connector with nature in designing and planning and can reduce the negative effects of buildings in local ecosystem and consequently reduce the energy consumption. Moreover, green roofs can have a determinative role in fluctuation of energy circulation in buildings and may play an aesthetical role for the residents of cities.