نشریه محیط زیست طبیعی
سال هفتاد و هفتم شماره 1 (بهار 1403)

Since any activity to improve the quality of human life is done in the environment, the state of the environment and its resources will affect the development process in terms of sustainability or unsustainability. Environmental indicators as the first evaluators of pressure on the environment, determining the state of the environment and evaluating the considered approaches, play an important role in the environmental sustainability report. Tehran and Alborz provinces are facing limited resources, increasing population growth and changing material and energy consumption patterns due to overloading of population and activity; which has caused the pressure on the environment and natural resources in these provinces to increase everyday. Therefore, in this study, the environmental sustainability of Tehran and Alborz provinces was determined with the approach of indices and Shannon entropy method. For this purpose, 13 indicators were selected for Tehran and Alborz provinces in the period of 2004-2020, which factors such as measurability and scientific suitability played an important role in collecting information. The weighting of indicators using the Shannon entropy method showed the highest relative weight with the amount of 0.392 (that is, more than a third of the total weights obtained) belongs to the fires in forests and pastures. The watershed management programs with a weight of 0.292 have been assigned the second importance. The calculation of the composite sustainability index also indicates that Tehran and Alborz provinces have seen a decline in environmental sustainability during 2004-2020. The activities carried out in the field of desertification, sewer network, and distributing chemical fertilizers have also been other effective factors to a lesser extent in the composite index in these years, which in total accounted for 16.9% of the weight of the indicators. Sustainable and community-oriented management of natural resources; Resolving legal deficiencies; completeness of detailed and operational studies of the remaining watershed management activities; and encouraging and persuading the use of organic fertilizers are recommendations of present study.

This research was carried out with the general purpose of developing strategies for the development of friendly (green) businesses in the agricultural sector of Khuzestan province. In this research, the four points of SWOT, i.e. strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat, were investigated using analytical studies and literature, and they were prioritized using the AHP technique. The statistical population of the research was knowledgeable experts and subject specialists in relevant organizations who were purposefully selected for the study. SWOT-AHP technique was used to process information using Expert Choice software. The findings of the research showed that in evaluating the criteria, weaknesses, threats, opportunities, and strengths were assigned the first to fourth priorities, which indicates the predominance of the risky environment over the useful environment. In addition, in prioritizing strategic areas, the results showed that the first strategy WT means defensive strategy (minimum-minimum), the second strategy WO means adaptive strategy (minimum-maximum strategy), the third strategy ST strategy means contingent strategy (maximum-minimum). And finally, the last strategy in the subject under consideration is the SO strategy, that is, the offensive strategy (maximum-maximum).

Considering the numerous environmental risks of oil and gas industries, the environmental risk assessment of these activities is considered one of the most important aspects of identifying and providing management solutions to reduce these risks. The current research aims to identify environmental risk aspects and provide practical and preventive solutions to reduce or eliminate environmental effects in offshore drilling rigs located in South Pars region using the method of Environmental Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (EFMEA). In order to evaluate the aspects of environmental risk, the risk priority number was determined based on objective observations, interviews with management, supervisors and employees in drilling rigs, and the degree of risk was calculated using the frequency distribution method. The results of this research showed that the aspects of environmental risk at low, medium, high and very high-risk levels were equal to 3, 3, 13 and 80%, respectively, and after applying control measures, the percentage of risk was equal to 9, 19, 28 and 44 were evaluated. The increase in the percentage of medium to high level environmental risks was due to the significant reduction of very high risks and their placement in these classes. Based on the obtained results, well eruption, leakage, and spreading of chemical substances respectively had the highest risk number in the current study, and by applying control measures, the amount of environmental risk resulting from them was significantly reduced. Based on this, it can be said that the EFMEA method had a high potential to reduce environmental risks.

Consumption of energy has increased steadily over the past decades. One solution, towards reducing the consumption is to motivate people to decrease energy waste. This study was carried out with the aim of investigating the factors affecting agricultural students’ energy saving behavior. A survey approach was used in this research. The population of the study contained of M.Sc. and Ph.D. students in agriculture faculty of Tehran University (N=250), from which 126 students were selected by using simple random samplling. A questionnaire was developed to gather data. Validity of the research instrument were confirmed based on the evaluation of a panel of experts, convergent and discriminant validity, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient and component reliability were used to assess its relaibility. The results indicated that the attitude of students towards saving energy was strong, and their social norm, saving energy intention and saving energy behavior were intermediate. The results of the correlation analysis showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the social norm and the attitude towards saving energy with the students' energy saving intention, and the relationship between the attitude and the intention was higher than the relationship between the social norm and the intention. The findings also showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between the components of the theory of reasoned action and students’ energy saving behavior. The relationship between intention and social norm with energy saving behavior was intermediate, and the relationship between attitude and energy saving behavior was high. Based on the results of structural equation modeling, only attitude towards energy saving was effective in energy saving behavior and the research model was able to explain 24% of students' energy saving behavior changes.

Investigating changes in vegetation density and land use is one of the most important aspects of natural resource management and reviewing environmental changes. In this research, using remote sensing technique, the monitoring of changes in vegetation cover and its relationship with surface temperature and land use in Khoda Afarin and Kalibar cities were investigated using remote sensing technology during a period of 22 years (2000-2022). To perform statistical and visual analysis on satellite images, Envi 5.6 and Arc GIS 10.8 software were used. NDVI index was used to investigate changes in vegetation area and quality. Also, in order to investigate qualitative changes in vegetation, the numerical values of this index were classified into three classes: dense, semi-dense, weak or no vegetation, and the temperature changes of the earth's surface during the study period using It was calculated from Landsat satellite images and then the land use maps were extracted based on the supervised classification method and through the maximum similarity algorithm. Based on the analysis, it was determined that in the studied period, 58,196 hectares, about 15.6% of dense vegetation density, and 38,415 hectares, about 10.2% of semi-dense vegetation density, have been lost. In fact, 96,611 hectares, about 25.8% of the density of dense and semi-dense vegetation, have been converted to other uses in 22 years. The study of land use in the region showed that the changes in vegetation density are mostly related to the use of agricultural and garden lands and pastures, and during the study period, the most destruction is related to dense vegetation density. Finally, investigating the relationship between vegetation cover and land surface temperature (LST) showed that the vegetation cover index (NDVI) has a negative and inverse correlation with the land surface temperature and in most areas that have denser vegetation cover; shows a lower temperature. The results of the research show that the most important factor in the changes in vegetation density in the region is human activities such as agriculture, construction and road construction, which have caused many changes in the land surface, the analysis of the area of these land uses shows He said that the level of agricultural lands and pastures has increased significantly, which is mainly the result of the conversion of dense vegetation, especially forests, to agriculture. The results of this research can be used by the organizations of agricultural jihad, natural resources and the Ministry of Interior.

Marina, which is called a small harbor, recreational harbor, or harbor area, is a port space for mooring and settling small and recreational boats. Environmental features and considerations will be lost in the location of this category of ports, along with its environmental, service, and economic consequences. Kish Island is one of the active islands in the field of tourism in the country, in addition to the activities of many light and semi-light boats in the field of coastal-marine tourism, the activity of individual light boats is also growing on this island. Kish Island is vulnerable in terms of the habitat of coral reefs and sea turtle nesting sites, and the high density of constructions on the island makes it challenging to build a marina in terms of its support services. The purpose of this research is to choose the most suitable option for the construction of a marina on the coastal strip of Kish Island and to prioritize the possible options in order to identify a suitable place for the development of tourism in Kish in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. For this purpose, location criteria, consisting of 8 (4 features and 4 characteristics), characteristics, and potential areas have been determined. Then, from the analysis of the networks using the Super decision software, the identified zones have been prioritized. According to the results of the network analysis, the use options of the coastal areas, the access ways in the back bank, the distance from the promenades and entertainment centers, as well as the possibility of accessing the infrastructure network, are determined with the highest weight and criteria.Based on the findings of this research, 4 areas were identified and in total, 4.3 km (10.5%) of the 41 km long coastline of Kish Island was determined to be suitable for the construction of a marina, which is about 2 km (4% long line Coastal) has the highest merit for marina development.

In this research, a series of discontinuous experiments were carried out in the direction of sonophotocatalytic degradation of phenol using Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 magnetic nanocomposite from aqueous solution by using Design of Experiments (DOE) software based response surface method (RSM) in central composite design (CCD). The variables studied in the mentioned process included pH, catalyst dose, H2O2 concentration, and contact time with UV light, and the combined effect of all 4 variables were investigated simultaneously in order to optimize the maximum removal of phenol. Also, the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the produced photocatalyst has nano dimensions and that the core-shell structure has been successfully formed. According to the results obtained in this study, the highest efficiency of the sonophotocatalytic process was obtained at pH = 4, H2O2 concentration 8 ml/liter, catalyst dose 2.3 g/liter and time 93 minutes with a removal rate of 83%. Among the investigated parameters, pH and time had the greatest effect on the phenol removal rate. The reusability of the catalyst reached 66% during 5 stages of the recovery cycle process. Experimental findings showed that the use of Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 catalyst in the presence of ultrasound waves has an increasing effect in the photocatalytic decomposition of phenol. Therefore hybrid systems can be used as a promising technology in water and wastewater treatment processes.

The negative effects of soil salinity on natural and human environments have turned such phenomenon into one of the serious threats to the sustainable management of arid and semi-arid areas. The present study aims to evaluate the spatial-temporal variations in land use/land cover and soil salinity in a part of Sistan basin located in the arid regions of southeastern Iran, which has been exposed to the phenomenon of soil salinity during the recent years. To this aim, land use/land cover and soil salinity maps were prepared for 1989 and 2019 using the measurements obtained from ground sampling and instruments such as remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS). Based on the results, the normalized average soil salinity was 0.322 during 1989, reaching 0.52 during 2019 with a growth of 0.188. In addition, comparing the trend of salinity increase and land use/land cover variations in the region indicates that such factors affect each other significantly. Further, the conversion of land use/land cover from irrigated agricultural uses and water bodies to bare lands, rainfed agriculture, and man-made areas has decreased the vegetation cover and water areas, leading to an increase in soil salinity due to the erosion created by the 120- day wind of Sistan and sedimentation of salt particles in the whole region. Chah-nimehs have not been able to fully compensate for the adverse effects generated by the destruction of habitats and drying up of a part of Hamun Lake and Hirmand River, despite their slight success in reducing the environmental obstacles.

Regarding the importance of climate change on agriculture sector, in this study, the economic impacts of climate change on irrigated baley land rent are investigated by using the panel data technique and random effect model (2001-2018 agricultural year). The needed data were collected using secondary data and referring to the relevant organizations and institutions such as Iran Meteorological Organization and the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad. Based on the result, after determination of futer value of rent, the trend of irrigated barley land rent in some provine is positive and in the some province is negative.  The land rent of East Azarbayejan, Ardebil, Razavi Khorasan, South Khorasan, North Khorasan, Qom, Kerman, and Khuzestan provinces is decreased. The land rent of Tehran, Esfahan, Qazvin, Hamedan, and Markazi provinces is increased. In addition, With one percent increase in the precipitation, barley rent increases by 28351 (10 Rial). there is a positive relation between pericipitation and agricultural land rent. Also, labor and fertilizer has positive effect on irrigated barley land rent.

Soil is one of the important components of the forest ecosystem and can be affected by vegetation. Knowing the quality of the soil can be used as a guide to analyze the health of the forest ecosystem. Since soil characteristics are influenced by different forest types. The purpose of this study was to investigate the soil quality in four types of (Pure Quercus infectoria), (Quercus brantii-Quercus libani and other species) (Pure Quercus libani), and (Quercus infectoria-Quercus libani) in the forests of north Zagros. For this purpose, 15 physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil from a horizon were selected as the Total Data Set. Then, using principal components analysis, 4 characteristics including nitrogen, phosphorus, soil absorbable potassium and the metabolic quotient were selected as the minimum data set. Soil Quality Index was evaluated in these two datasets. The results showed that the average soil quality index of four forest types was calculated from 0.23 (Pure Quercus infectoria) to 0.44 (Quercus brantii-Quercus libani and other species). The soil quality index was 0.25 and 0.24 for the pure Quercuslibani and Quercus libani- Quercus infectoria types, respectively. The coefficient of explanation between the Minimum Data Set and the Total Data Set is equal to 0.80, which indicates the reliability of using the Minimum Data Set instead of the Total Data Set Therefore, the use of the most effective soil characteristics in soil quality assessment studies, while reducing the time of soil science studies, provides the basis for economic savings in the discussion of forestry studies.

During periods of high economic growth, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions increase sharply and governments inevitably increase health care costs. The aim of the present study is to investigate the bidirectional relationship between health care costs, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and human development index (HDI) in a member country of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization for the period 2000-2020, using a panel vector autoregression model. The results showed that the largest share is due to the impulse of health care costs related to itself, and the largest share is due to the impulse of CO2 emissions and human development index related to research and development costs. The results of the causal relationships showed that there is a one-way causal relationship between health care costs and CO2 emissions, indicating that CO2 emissions significantly increase health care costs for SCO countries. In addition, health care expenditures and HDI also show a positive two-way relationship, as these two variables reinforce each other. There is a two-way causal relationship between CO2 emissions and HDI, which indicates that high CO2 emissions significantly affect the human development of Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries. In this regard, it is suggested that measures such as adopting sustainable development policies, developing clean technologies, educating and improving people's awareness, developing human capital and international cooperation in the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should be adopted to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Mineral dust particles play an important role in the formation of ice and ultimately the amount of precipitation, especially in the middle latitudes. Therefore, understanding the role of each component of dust and their contribution in ice nucleation activity in clouds is of particular importance. Therefore, the objectives of the present research were 1. to compare the ice nucleation activity of sand-sized particles with silt-clay and 2. to determine the role of carbonates in soils in the cloud formation temperature (Thet) and in the percentage of heterogeneous nucleation (Fhet). For this purpose, sixteen soil and dust samples were collected from highly sensitive playa surfaces which are exposed to wind erosion as a consequence of Lake Urmia (LU) recession. The sand particles were separated from the silt-clay section by a 50 μm sieve. Then, carbonates and soluble solutes were removed in each sample and each particle size, and the nucleation activity of the samples was determined by immersion freezing method. Fourier transform infrared spectrum (FTIR) was used to determine both the type of carbonates in natural samples and to confirm the removal of the corresponding bands in carbonate-removed samples. The results showed that in most samples, silt-clay particles have stronger nucleation activity than sand particles. This could be due to their smaller size with higher specific surface area which lead to the presence of more active sites in ice nucleation. The comparison of carbonate removal samples with soluble solute removal samples showed that although solute washing from the samples alone increases the ice nucleation activity, this change is more significant in the carbonate removal samples. Thet and Fhet parameters increased in carbonate removal samples, except for the sample with low carbonate and salt content. The average increase of Thet and Fhet in the sand component was 0.7 Kelvin and 9%, and in the silt-clay component was 1 Kelvin and 15%, respectively. The highest increase in Thet after carbonate removal in both particle sizes was observed in D4 and S5 samples with carbonate content of 0.43% and aragonite as dominant mineral in D4 and 0.41% and the dominant mineral of calcite in S5. The increase in Thet in comparison to the natural samples was 3.2 Kelvin in D4 and 3.3 Kelvin in S5. However, the highest increase in Fhet was related to samples D1 to D4, which were rich in aragonite mineral. Therefore, it seems that the abundance of aragonite mineral in the studied samples is one of the important factors in reducing the ice nucleation activity of dust samples originated from the LU playa surfaces.

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of Corona on people's willingness to pay to protect the environment during Corona and after. Conditional valuation method was used to calculate the average willingness of people to pay to protect the environment during the corona era and after. Also, the logistic regression method was used to obtain factors affecting willingness to pay. 228 questionnaires have been prepared and analyzed an accessible and online. According to the results, 10.53% of people were not willing to pay for environmental protection. But 35.96% of people had a high desire to pay higher amounts in order to protect the environment during the corona era and after. Also The results showed that the value of protecting the environment during the Corona era and after it was estimated at 398,866.9 Rials per month for a person who was infected with Corona and 278,641.1 Rials per month for a person who did not experience Corona. From the increase of 14.43 percent, the average expected value is the willingness to pay for the protection of the environment for a person infected with Corona. This issue indicates that when people are under threat from the environment, they can show a greater desire to protect it. And therefore, environmental values ​​based on environmental payments are more than what people usually provide. And therefore, environmental values based on environmental payments are more than what people usually provide. Other variables that have influenced people's willingness to pay include age variables, the number of masks used per month, and the hand disinfection variable, which are significant at the 1% level with a negative sign. Finally, it can be said that the era of Corona has been an era that has drawn people's attention to the importance of the effects of the environment on human life and vice versa. Therefore, it is suggested to use the results of this study to state that the value of protecting the environment under threat conditions can increase by nearly 50% and the importance of this issue should be stated through education and advertising for the people of the society. To increase their awareness.