نشریه علوم آب و خاک (علوم و فنون کشاورزی و منابع طبیعی)
سال بیست و یکم شماره 2 (پیاپی 80، تابستان 1396)

Construction of a dam in the upstream of Tajan basin, as one of the human activities in order to provide drinking water, hydropower, agriculture, flood control or other purposes, can be effective on other sectors such as water resources. The purpose of this study is investigating the impact of Rajaei dam on groundwater resources in Sari-Neka plain during 26 years period (1985-2011) using geostatistical method, parametric and non-parametric tests. The results of statistical tests showed that groundwater table variation during 26 years has experienced insignificant upward trend. Quality factors such as EC, TDS, TH, Cl, SO4, Mg, Na and SAR had significant downward trend at 5% confidence level for Pearson and Kendall test. The Quality changes of groundwater resources in the region had good condition due to construction of dam. The results of spatial analysis for the study area using Kriging interpolation method in the three years for 1985, 1999, 2011 showed that in 1999 (the year of exploitation of the dam) most of the quality factors had reached the highest level from 1985 until the dam operation (1999) and then decreased to 2011. The results of this study showed that, agricultural activities after dam construction, operation of irrigation system and drainage network design of Rajaei dams, have raised the water table in northern part of the region and consequently had a significant impact on the quality of water resources.

Appropriate criteria and methods are required to assess desertification potential in various ecosystems. This paper aimed to assess desertification levels in Segzi plain located in east part of Isfahan, with a focus on soil quality criteria used in MEDALUS model. Bayesian Belief Networks (BBNs) were also used to convert MEDALUS model into a predictive, cause and effects model. Soil samples were collected from 17 soil profiles in all land units and some of their characteristics such as texture, soluble sodium and chlorine, organic material, Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR), Electrical Conductivity (EC) and CaSo4 of all soil samples were determined in soil laboratory. The effects of measured soil quality indicators on desertification intensity levels were assessed using sensitivity and scenario analysis in BBNs. Results showed that the used integrated method can appropriately accommodate uncertainty in the desertification assessments approaches created as a result of the influence of different soil characteristics on desertification. According to the results of MEDALUS model, 28.28 % and 71.72 % of the study area were classified as poor and moderate areas in terms of soil quality respectively. Sensitivity analysis by both models showed that soil organic matter, SAR and EC were identified as the most important edaphic variables responsible for desertification in the study area. Evaluating the effects of various management practices on these variables can assist managers to achieve sound management strategies for controlling desertification.

In this study, different indices of vegetation cover variations and different physicochemical properties of soil in three treatments of flood spreading, enclosure and grazing (control) were investigated and compared in in the region of Peshert in Mazandaran province. In order to measure different soil characteristics, 18 soil samples (six withdrawals at any treatment) from a depth of zero to 30 cm were taken from the desired treatments. In order to investigate different vegetation indices, a total of 90 plots (nine transects of 100 m) were run using systematic random sampling in the studied treatments and the necessary measurements were done (30 plots at any treatment). Then, in each of these plots, canopy coverage percentage was determined separately for each species and to evaluate and assess the diversity and richness in all three treatments, Shannon-Wiener and Simpson diversity indices and Menhink and Margalef richness indices were used. Finally, the data obtained from both sections of soil and vegetation in three studied treatments were compared and analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Duncan test. The results showed that floodwater spreading and enclosure significantly increased the percentage of sand and total Nitrogen, and significantly reduced the percentage of silt and potassium compared to control treatment. Also, percentage of clay and organic matter, soil pH levels, conductivity and soil phosphorus showed no significant differences in the treatments under study. The results of variance analysis of various indices of diversity, richness and species evenness showed that all indicators had significant responses in three treatments and the highest diversity and species richness were observed in flood spreading and enclosure treatments. Due to changes in soil properties and vegetation in flood spreading and enclosure treatments compared to the control treatment, it can be stated that operations of floodwater spreading and enclosure in the studied region has had positive effect on modification of soil texture, increasing the permeability of the soil and ultimately improvement of the vegetation.

Conventional methods for estimating evapotranspiration are based on point measurement and suitable for local areas, therefore, cannot be generalized for larger areas or watershed basins. The remote sensing technology is capable of using satellite images and meteorological data to estimate evapotranspiration in a wider area. In this study, estimates of evapotranspiration (ET) by SEBAL and METRIC models based on Landsat 7 ETM sensor were compared against ET measured by lysimeter on seven satellites passing time over Shahrekord plain located in Karun basin. The results showed that the lowest indices of NRMSE, MAE and MBE (respectively, 0.317, 1.503 and -0.973 mm per day) and the maximum of d index (0.768) belonged to SEBAL. These indices were 0.420, 2.120, 2.023 and 0.646 for METRIC, respectively. The results showed that the SEBAL was more accurate than METRIC model for estimating ET under Shahrekord plain conditions. As long as the possibility of getting complete hourly meteorological data be provided, or some modifications on METRIC model were done, SEBAL show closer results to reality, and therefore is recommended.

The basis of spatial planning is the geomorphological zoning of ground surface, in which the first phase is determining the homogeneous zones of the ground surface in terms of geomorphological characteristics. The current study aimed at determining the proper zones for artificial feeding in Gahar mountainous region and Garebayegan plains in Fars province by the use of zoning the ground by Evans-Chezy quantitative coefficients. The quantitative zoning of ground surface plays a vital role in more accurate determination of the land capabilities due to precise determination and division of the types, facies, and surface terrains. For this study, the elevation numeral data with 10m resolution obtained from the National Cartographic Center was used. By the use of surface fitting tools in MATLAB software, the equation for each form was fitted to limited fragments of the surface and the program was applied. Then, each of the quantitative coefficients was illustrated as some zones. For determination of fitting degree, the total squared difference between the rate parameter was used and by the use of fitness degree, the propriety degree of the surface for optimal positioning of flood spreading with surface morphological view was determined. The results indicate that the surface downstream the alluvial fans and plains located on the southern region of the studied land is the most appropriate zone for the Flood Spreading. This area constitutes a surface of 10% of the total area of the region.

Soil water repellency can affect several soil properties such as aggregate stability. Soil texture and organic matter are two main internal factors responsible for the variability of soil water repellency. Major sources of organic matter in soil include plant residues, and exudates of plant roots and soil microorganisms. Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) as an important cool-season perennial forage grass is usually infected by a fungal endophyte (Epichloë coenophiala) which often enhances resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses as well as altering the litter decomposition rate and soil properties. In this study, the effects of endophyte-infected (E) and endophyte-free (E−) tall fescue residues (in three different levels of 0, 1 and 2%) on soil organic carbon, basal microbial respiration, water-dispersible clay and water repellency index (determined by intrinsic sorptivity method) were investigated in four texturally-different soils in the laboratory. E and E− tall fescue residues were completely mixed with moist soil samples and then were incubated at 25 °C. During two months of incubation period, the amended soil samples were subjected to 10 wetting and drying cycles and then, the above-mentioned soil properties were measured. The results indicated that soil organic carbon and water-dispersible clay were greater, while basal soil respiration and repellency index were lower in fine-textured soils. Water repellency index was increased by production of hydrophobic substances (for the rate of 1%) and was reduced by induced greater soil porosity (for the rate of 2%). Presence of endophyte in plant residues had no significant effect on water sorptivity, ethanol sorptivity and water repellency index; nevertheless, E residues increased soil organic carbon and decreased water-dispersible clay significantly. Overall, it is concluded that tall fescue residues, especially those with E, can improve soil physical quality due to improving soil organic carbon storage and water repellency index and decreasing water-dispersible clay (as an index for aggregate instability). These E species and the residues have great potential to be used in sustainable soil conservational managements.

Obtaining information about relative importance of sediment sources and their contributions on sediment production and thus identification of on-site critical areas is required for implementing soil and water conservations and sediment control programs. For this reason, in this study 35 geochemical tracers and organic carbon were measured in 45 samples of sediment sources and in 11 watershed sediment samples to determine the sediment deposit contribution of each land use as sediment resources in Kond watershed of Tehran province. Based on the results of Kruskal-Wallis test, from among 35 measured traces, 10 tracers including Al, As, Be, Ca, Mo, P, Pb, S, Zn and OC had ability to discriminate sediment sources with less than 1% confidence level. Then, 5 tracers: OC, S, P, Zn and As were selected as optimum composite using Discriminant Function Analysis (DFA) with 0.000 confidence coefficient that had distinguishing capability of sediment sources by 97.8% correct assignation. Finally, the results of multivariate mixing model showed that contribution means of orchard, range and residential were 1.54, 14.27 and 84.18% in sediment production, respectively. Also, the sum of squares of the error was 0.33. The results of this study can be used in selecting an appropriate method for sediment control in studied area.

Nowadays, urbanization is a common process which replaces vegetation cover with impervious areas. This process increases urban stormwater. A new tendency in urban stormwater management endorses ‘source control’, whereby distributed water sensitive urban design systems are built throughout the subdivisions to alleviate the effects of land use changes. Various costs and functions are considered for different urban stormwater treatment measures methods. The present study introduced a legal optimization approach, to minimize the costs of urban stormwater treatment measures. For this purpose, the MUSIC model and Genetic Algorithm were combined in the Matlab environment. The Results of application of MUSIC-GA model, to optimize urban stormwater treatment systems, at 2.8 hectares of industrial areas near Rowzehchay River in Lake Urmia basin, showed that the developed MUSIC-GA model has an efficient performance for finding the optimal urban stormwater control. The results also indicated that the optimized treatment measure in the post development scenario decreased at least 45 percent of pollutants from urban stormwater runoff. Moreover, very small values of coefficient of variation (0.00007) among different results of multiple runs indicated that there was a high convergence between result of MUSIC-GA and the global optimal solution.

Flood currents are considered threatening factors by creating local scour along bridge piers. One method for decreasing local scour is to strengthen the bed against imposed tensions. Among methods which can directly be appropriate in decreasing and controlling local scour of bridge piers is to employ geotextile around bridge piers. In the present study, the effect of geotextile layer in decreasing local scour of cylindrical single-pier was investigated with the purpose of proposing the best effective method of covering bridge pier. So, layers with circular and oval shapes were put around the pier, in proportion with pier diameter, and the performance of each was compared with the unprotected pier. Test results showed that with installing the oval geotextile layer, final scour depth around the pier reached to 1.25D. Also, comparing geotextile and collar with 2D diameter, the delay of scour process around geotextile was 40 times higher than the collar, but the collar decreased the ultimate scour depth further than geotextile.

Today, modern irrigation systems are constructed at a very high cost to operate for optimal use of water and soil. Lack of appropriate technical, social and economic studies, caused high maintenance costs of these facilities during operation. Water resources have been polluted due to industrial development, increasing human population and non-compliance with environmental standards. Most of hydraulic structures are built in areas with poor water quality. Furthermore, engineering properties of fine-grained soils, especially the clay soils, depend on factors such as salinity of solute in the pore water. So that any change in salinity of solute leads to change in the physical and mechanical properties of soils, and consequently make damage to hydraulic structure. This study investigated the effect of water salinity on engineering properties of fine-grained soils. For this purpose, NaCl, with 5 different levels (0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.41 and 0.72 mol/L) was added to the soil and the mechanical properties of soil including compaction, shear parameters, Atterberg limits and consolidation parameters were investigated. The results showed that the addition of NaCl had made no significant changes to the maximum dry unit weight and optimum moisture content of the soil, but it reduced cohesion of soil and increased the internal friction angle .Also, Limit Liquid (LL) are decreased, but it had little effect on the Plastic Limit(PL) of soil.

The aim of this study was to investigate the climate change impacts on some factors affecting rainfed wheat growth such as effective rainfall, planting date and length of growing season in four stations located in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Firstly, it is necessary to predict future (2046-2065) climatic conditions. For this purpose, the output of HADCM3 general circulation model was used under three scenarios of A1B, A2 and B1. The data were downscaled by LARS-WG model. After simulating the climatic parameters in mention period, the effective rainfall during the wheat growing season was calculated by Food and Agriculture Organization method. Also, the optimum planting date was defined according to the date of the first rain (at least 10 mm in case of continuing for next days). The wheat's growth stages were determined by Growing Degree Days method. The results indicated a rise in temperature for four stations. On average, it is expected that the annual temperature increase by 1.8°C compared with the baseline period (2010-1990). Total annual precipitation in Shahrekord, Koohrang and Borujen will decrease 2.2, 7.8 and 3.6 per cent respectively. About Lordegan it will increase by 2.7 per cent. Also, the results showed that in three stations of Shahrekord, Koohrang and Borujen, the amount of effective rainfall in November will increase compared to baseline, but in Lordegan it will reduce. So, in the first three stations, in most years, planting date was obtained earlier than baseline, but in Lordegan it was later than baseline. The Length of growing season will reduce in Shahrekord, Borujen and Lordegan stations, 12 days on average and in Koohrang about 13 days.

This research investigated the effects of super absorbentpolymers on root characteristics of Avena fatua under two soil textures and three irrigation regimes. The study was arranged according to a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications. Hydrogel compositions included three types of super absorbents (Aquasorb, Boloorab A and Stockosorb) with two levels of 5 and 10 g/kg of soil, plus a control level. The studied traits were shoot height, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, ratio of root/shoot, root length, root perimeter and root volume of Avena fatua. ANOVA showed that the effect of soil texture was significant (p

During last century, waste water of gold mine has accumulated heavy metals such as lead, zinc and cadmium in Zarshuran region soil, and thus has increased epidemic disease in this region drastically. The purpose of this research was to reduce the mobility and bioavailability of zinc, lead and cadmium in rhizosphere of sunflower grown in soil around the mine by inorganic sorbents. A pot experiments was carried out with three levels of raw zeolites (1, 6, 12 wt%), three levels of raw bentonite (1, 6, 12 wt%) and control (without sorbent) in a completely randomized block design with three replications. After cultivation, soil and plant samples were taken and the concentration of lead, cadmium and zinc in their samples were measured. Different levels of bentonite reduced the absorbable concentration of lead and zinc; and also reduced their absorbable concentrations in plant tissue, but had no significant effect on reducing absorbable concentration of cadmium. Transfer factor for all three metals in the roots was more than shoot and reducing the concentration of heavy metals in the plant had no impact on plant growth. According to the study, level of 12 wt% of the raw bentonite was the most suitable sorbent for the stabilization of lead and zinc; and level of 12 wt% for raw zeolite was the best sorbent for stabilization of cadmium.

A limited number of agricultural weather stations measure moisture in the soil surface. Furthermore, soil moisture information may be required in areas where there is no weather station. The aim of the present study was to use Landsat 8 satellite images to estimate soil surface moisture in an area without agricultural meteorological stations. Gravimetric soil moisture for a total of 14 samples was calculated in the cold season in depths of 0-10 cm when Landsat 8 satellite was overpassing poor rangeland of North of Sabzevar. Furthermore, the first four principal components were extracted from seven Landsat-derived vegetation indices and bio-physical factors affecting soil moisture. Afterwards, the first four components were used to estimate soil surface moisture at the moment of the satellite passing the region using a multivariate linear regression and neural networks. The obtained results of instantaneous soil surface moisture showed that the neural networks had mean absolute percentage error of while classical regression analysis had mean absolute percentage error of 40%. The results also showed the benefits of using both in-situ soil moisture data and Landsat 8 satellite images to model instantaneous soil surface moisture content for areas lacking meteorological networks.

To deal with the destructive effects of swelling soils, different methods have been proposed by researchers. Chemical stabilization of expansive soils is one of the effective methods that are low-cost and efficient economically and technically. Recently, with the improvements of nano science in nanomaterials production and application, using this type of materials has been considered in different sciences especially geotechnical engineering. In this research, the effect of adding different amounts of nanoclay on swelling behavior modification of two types of clayey soils with low plasticity and high plasticity has been studied. For this purpose, first, identification tests were implemented on two types of clayey soils and nanoclay. Then, swelling potential tests were conducted on samples of soils with different amounts of nanoclay including (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 weight percent) considering curing ages of 3 and 10 days. The results showed that the effect of adding nanoclay to the high plastic soils swelling potential is more than adding it to that of low plastic soils. So, adding 0.25 to 0.5 weight percent of nanoclay reduces the swelling potential of high plastic soils about 67 percent, and that of low plastic solis about 3 percent. Furtheremore, the maximum reduction in swelling potential increases by adding up to 0.5 percent nanoclay; and decreases for adding amounts more than 0.5 percent.

Hydraulic jump is the most common method of dissipating water’s kinetic energy in downstream of spillways, shoots and valve. In this paper, Support Vector Machine (SVM) method, as a machine learning method, have been used to estimate hydraulic characteristics such as the sequent depth ratio, jump length and energy loss in three different sudden expansions stilling basins, and the rate of influence of input parameters in each jump has been analyzed. In order to evaluate the performance of proposed method, 936 sets of the observed data have been used for training and testing process of three kinds of expanding channel models. Furthermore, a comparison between semi-theoretical approaches and the data obtained from the best SVM models have been carried out. The results confirmed the efficiency of SVM method for estimating the hydraulic jump characteristics and proved that this method performed well in comparison to the semi-theoretical relationships. The obtained results revealed that the superior model for the sequent depth ratio and relative energy dissipation was the model with (Fr1,h1/B) parameters and the superior model for the length of hydraulic jump prediction was the model with (Fr1, h2/h1) parameters.

Effective soil conservation requires a framework modelling that can evaluate erosion for different land-use scenarios. The USLE model was used to predict the reaction of appropriate land-cover/land-use scenarios in reducing sediment yield at the upland watershed of Yamchi Dam (474 km2), West Ardabil Province, Iran. Beside existing scenario, seven other land-use management scenarios were determined considering pattern of land-use through study area within a GIS-framework. Then, data inputs were prepared using terrain data, land-use map and direct observations. According to the model results, the generated erosion amount was 3.92 t/ha/yr for the current land-use (baseline scenario). For this purpose, conservation practices in dry farming slopes and implementing the scenario 5 (contour farming and remaining crop residuals) can reduce the sediment to 2.02 t/ha/yr. The lowest and highest decreases in sediment yield are projected to be through implementation of scenario 6 (irrigated farming protection with plant residuals) and 7 (biological soil conservation in dry and irrigated farming). The results indicated that, implementing scenario frameworks and evaluating appropriate land-use management scenarios can lead to the reduction of sediment entering the reservoir, and prioritizing soil conservations in the studied area.

In order to investigate the persistence of organic amendments, nitrogen and zinc effects on soil characteristics in rapeseed-wheat rotation, a factor analysis was conducted in a complete random design with three replications in two consecutive years in a greenhouse. Treatments in the first year consisted of N fertilizer, municipal waste compost, vermicompost, sheep manure. The control consisted of zinc and two rapeseed cultivars. In the second year of the experiment, two cultivars of durum wheat were sown in the same pots as the first year of the experiment. Results showed that two years after application of cattle manure, a significant increase in soil electrical conductivity (41.81 %), available K (59.45 %) and available Mn (79.82 %) compared to the control were found. Saturated soil moisture (48.57%), total N (94.66 %), available Fe (46.49 %) and available Cu (47.51 %) significantly increased by municipal waste compost compared to the control. Also, Zinc had a significant effect on soil total N (0.28 %), available K (218.4 mg/kg) and available Mn (12.89 mg/kg). Generally, the results showed that application of organic amendments can change many soil characteristics which some of their impacts might last for next upcoming years. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the soil characteristics and nutrients availability of the fields that were treated with organic amendments in the years after application.

The adaptability of Haloxylon appilium to adverse environmental conditions and especially its capability for an appropriate establishment in saline and desert soils has introduced this plant as a suitable means for biological methods to stabilize sand dunes, control erosion and prevent desertification in arid regions. In order to evaluate the ecophysiological characteristics of Haloxylon appilium some characteristics of soils under the long term establishment, survival and development of this plant and ion composition of this plant growing in Yazd province in thirty two growing trees of similar ages and traits within 8 locations of Chah Afzal and Ashkezar were investigated and their height (H), crown diameter (CD) and the above ground biomass index (Yi) were measured. Also, after cutting the trees from their collars, soil profiles were dug underneath the tree locations and soil samples were taken at depths of 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120cm from four sides of each profile. The samples were then analyzed for Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH and Cl, Na, Ca, Mg, K concentrations in 1:5 soil to water extracts. The results showed statistically significant differences in soil parameters between the two regions, except for pH and Mg concentrations. The ion concentration of the plants in the two regions showed statistically significant differences for only Cl in shoots and Ca in roots. Based on the plant growth indices the Chah Afzal and Eshkezar regions were respectively evaluated as suitable and unsuitable for Haloxylon appilium growth. In spite of a higher salinity, the higher Ca and K concentration and lower Na/K ratio of Chah Afzal soils may explain the better plant performance in this region against Eshkezar, however, comprehensive researches on application of Ca and K fertilizer are needed to confirm this hypothesis

Rill erosion is the first step in soil erosion process in the hillslopes, particularly in arid and semiarid regions. This study was conducted to investigate the role of rainfall intensity and raindrop impact on the physical properties of soils and particle detachment capacity (Dc) in a marl soil. Marl soil samples were filled into the flumes with 4 m long and 0.9 m wide and exposed to simulated rainfalls with different intensity varying from 10 mm h-1 to 100 mm h-1. Particle Size Distribution (PSD), aggregate size, porosity, crust thickness, and Dc were determined in each rainfall simulation. The results found that the physical soil properties i.e. PSD, aggregate size, porosity and crust thickness (P