Journal of Water and Soil Science

Selectivity of Particles through Rill Erosion in Different Soil Textures

N. Sadeghian

Sediment selectivity during transport may provide basic information for evaluating on-site and off-site impacts of the soil erosion. Limited information is, however, available on the selectivity of sediments in rill erosion, particularly in the rainfed furrows. Toward this, the sediment selectivity was investigated in three soil textures (loam, loamy sand sand clay loam) under 10% slope using 90 mm.h-1 rainfall intensity for 40 min. Soil samples were passed from a 10 mm sieve and packed in to the erosion flume with 0.4m × 4 m in dimensions. Particles size distribution (PSD) was determined in the sediments (PSDs) and compared with the original soil PSD (PSDo). The proportion of PSDs and PSDo was stated as PSDs/PSDo to show the selectivity of soil particles by rill erosion. Based on the results, all three soils appeared as the coarse particles (coarse sand and very coarse sand) in sediments with the PSDs/PSDo>1, indicating the higher selectivity of these particles by rill erosion. Loamy sand was the most susceptible soil to rill erosion among the studied soils, which generated a higher runoff (0.0035 m².s^-1) and sediment load (0.1 kg.m-1.s-1) during rainfall. The PSDs of this soil were similar to those of the original soil PSD. This study revealed that the stability of aggregates could be regarded as the major soil factor controlling rill erosion rate and the sediment selectivity in the semi-arid soils. With an increase in the water-stable aggregates, soil infiltration rate and as a consequence, shear stress of flow could be decreased in the rills.

Changes in Different Forms of Potassium and Clay Minerals in Soils as Influenced by Different Aged Orange Trees (Citrus sinensis) in Darab, Fars Province

H. Khademi

Despite the great importance of potassium applied as a fertilizer in the orange orchards, no information is currently available regarding the rate of potassium release from rhizosphere and the bulk soils of such trees. The objectives of this study were to investigate the weathering of micaceous minerals and their non-exchangeable K release and also, to examine the status of different forms of K in the rhizosphere and bulk soils of orange orchards with different ages in Darab, Fars Province. Samples were, accordingly, taken from the rhizosphere and bulk soils of orange orchards with the ages of 5, 10 and 20 years; also, virgin soils (control) were obtained from three soil depths including 0–30, 30–60, and 60–100 cm. Water soluble, exchangeable and nonexchangeable K, and the clay mineralogy of the soils were determined. The results demonstrated that the concentration of soluble and exchangeable K in the cultivated soils was less than that in the control soil and that the concentration of nonexchangeable K in the soils of 20-year-old orchards was less, than that in other soils. Soluble and exchangeable K values decreased with depth in all soils. Clay mineralogy investigation also showed that the quantity of illite decreased and that of smectite and illite-smectite increased as the age of orange trees was raised. With increasing the age of orange trees and root development, more potassium could be taken up from soil and more changes occurred in the soil minerals. In order to avoid a very high decline in the reserved K in the soils under orange trees, particularly in the orchards with older trees, K fertilization has to be taken more seriously based on the soil testing results.

Groundwater Potential Mapping Using the Integration of the Weight of Evidence and Logistic Regression Models (A Case Study: Nahavand)

K. Shirani

Today, supplying water to meet the sustainable development goals is one of the most important concerns and challenges in most countries. Therefore, identification of the areas with groundwater potential is an important tool for conservation, management and exploitation of water resources. The purpose of this research was to prepare the potential groundwater map in Nahavand, Hamedan Province, using the weight of evidence model and combining it with logistic regression. For this purpose, the information layers of slope angle, slope aspect, slope length, altitude, plan curvature, profile curvature, TWI, SPI, distance from fault, fault density, distance from river, drainage density, lithology and land use were identified as the factors affecting groundwater potential and digitized in the ArcGIS software. After designing the groundwater potential map with these three methods, ROCs were used to evaluate the results. Of 273 springs identified in this study, 191 (70%) were used to prepare the groundwater potential map and 82 springs (30%) were used to evaluate the model. The area under curve (AUC) obtained from the ROC curve showed an accuracy of 80.4% for the weight of evidence model and 82.5% for the weight of the evidence- regression combined model

Determination of the Suitable Location of Soil Moisture Sampling in Drip-Tape Irrigation Management in A Maize Field

M. Gheysari

Location of soil moisture sampling in irrigation management is of special importance due to the spatial variability of soil hydraulic characteristics and the development of root system. The objective of this study was determination of the suitable location for soil moisture sampling in drip-tape irrigation management, which is representative of the average moisture in the soil profile (θ_avg) as well. For this purpose, soil moisture distribution (θ_ij) at the tassel stage of maize and one irrigation interval (68-73 day after plant) were measured at the end of season. The results showed more than 70% length of the root of plant was located in 30 cm of the soil depth. By accepting ±10% error in relation to the averaged soil moisture, some region of soil profile was determined which was in the acceptable error range and also near the averaged soil moisture (0.9θ_avg<θ_Rec<1.1θ_avg). By overlapping θ_Rec in one irrigation interval, the appropriate location for soil moisture sampling was the horizontal distance from drip-tape line to 20 cm and the depth of 10-20 cm from the soil surface. To determine the appropriate place for soil moisture sampling, the development of root system and the maximum concentrated root length density in the soil profile extracting the maximal soil moisture should be taken in to account, parallel with the averaged soil moisture.

The Effect of Orthophosphate‚ Nitrate, and Chloride Anions on the Adsorption of Zinc in Some Calcareous Soils in Chaharmahal -va- Bakhtiari Province

H. R. Motaghian

Adsorption is one of the most important processes controlling the concentration of zinc (Zn) in the soil solution. The presence of nutrient anions in the solution can affect Zn²⁺ adsorption. In this study, the effect of orthophosphate, nitrate and chloride anions on the Zn²⁺ adsorption in five calcareous soil samples of Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province was investigated. In order to study the Zn adsorption isotherms, solutions containing 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 and 200 mg/L Zn of ZnSO₄ source were used in KH₂PO₄, KNO₃ and KCl electrolytes (electrolytes concentration equal to 50 mM). The Freundlich, Langmuir, and linear equations were used to investigate the ability to describe the Zn adsorption. Based on the results, the Freundlich and Langmuir equations could describe the Zn adsorption. The results of this study showed that Zn in the presence of orthophosphate anion had the maximum adsorption capacity and an adsorption intensity higher than that of chloride and nitrate anions; meanwhile, in comparison with nitrate and orthophosphate anions, adsorption energy (k), maximum buffering capacity (MBC), and distribution coefficient (kf) in the presence of chloride anion were higher (p< 0.05). The results of this study, therefore, showed that in the presence of anion orthophosphate, Zn adsorbed more intensity and strongly, while adsorption energy was less than the presence of the other two anions. Therefore, it could be concluded that Zn and phosphate fertilizers should not be applied together in the soil.

Investigation of the Effect of Cable on the Control of Scour around the Piles Group in the River

A. R. Masjedi

In this study, some experiments were carried out in a rectangular plexiglass flume to study the effect of the cable around a vertical tripod and two piles groups with different angles. In this research, a series of experiments were performed by placing a cylindrical vertical pileand two piles groups with different angles separately in two modes including with cable and without cable. The experiments were carried out using three types of cable with various diameters, number of threads and thread angles at a constant discharge in clear water. In each experiment, scour depth at the end of the test was measured; then, the scour depth was calculated in different conditions using the obtained data. The best configuration in the vertical pier and piers group was found for the cable-pier diameter ratio of 0.1, the thread angle of 15° and the triple threads. The result indicated that the scour reduction was enhanced as the cable diameter and threads were increased and the thread angle was decreased. So in the piers group of 28 and 38°, scour depth was reduced to about 43, 49 and 56%.

An Experimental Investigation into the Effect of Curve Radius on the Discharge Coefficient in Curved-Linear and Curved-Labyrinth Weirs with a Triangular Plan

M. Heidarnejad

Nonlinear weirs are regarded as important hydraulic structures for water level adjustment and flow control in channels, rivers and dam reservoirs. One example of non-linear weirs is shaped as curved-zigzag. The crest axis of these weirs is non-linear. At a given width, the crest length is greater than that of the conventional linear weirs. Thus, they achieve a higher flow rate for an identical hydraulic load. This research experimentally focused on the discharge coefficient and flow rate of curved weirs with three different curve radii in two triangular linear and zigzag shapes. The discharge coefficients of these weirs were comparatively explored in terms of the hydraulic performance as a function of the total hydraulic load to weir crest height ratio (hd/P) and curvature angle (θ) (or curve radius). The results indicated that for the same hydraulic load, the increase of θ (the decrease in curve radius) led to a lower discharge coefficient; this was first because of the increased topical rise of water level, and then the more indirect path with a greater curvature through which the flow had to transport. Both factors could negatively affect the water discharge coefficient. In practice, the runoff coefficient at a weir with a curve radius of R/w=1.25 was approximately 8.5% greater than that of a weir with a curve radius of R/w=0.75 under a hydraulic load of 0.2.

The Effect of Oil Meal as a Micronutrient Fertilizer in Saline and Non-Saline Soils

V. Dorostkar

A significant amount of the oil meal is produced annually in the oil industry. Oil meal addition into the soil can improve the soil organic matter and micronutrients concentration. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of olive, sesame and black cumin meal (0, 2 and 5 g 100g^-1 soil) on the soil Cu, Zn and Fe concentration in saline and non-saline soils by a greenhouse experiment. The soil basal respiration, organic carbon, carbohydrate and DTPA extractable Cu, Zn and Fe concentration were measured after 60 days of incubation. The results showed that the greatest organic carbon and carbohydrate content were observed in olive and black cumin treatments and the lowest was observed in the sesame treatment. Using oil meal in the soil improved the micronutrient concentration, as compared to the control treatment. Sesame meal had the greatest effect on the DTPA extractable Cu and Zn concentration increment. The DTPA extractable Fe concentration was the highest in the sesame treatment and the lowest in the black cumin one. In addition, salinity decreased the DTPA extractable Fe and Zn concentration, as compared to the non-saline soil. As the conclusion, oil meal incorporation in to the soil improved the soil organic carbon and micronutrient concentration. However, their effect depends on the meal quality and soil salinity.

Performance Review of Hybrid Subsurface Constructed Wetlands in Urban Wastewater Supplementary Treatment

M. Shayannejad

Today, the use of refined urban wastewater for agriculture is growing considerably. One of the methods for the natural treatment of wastewater is the constructed wetland. In this study, the effects of three and six days retention time on the vertical, horizontal and hybrid constructed wetland (first vertical and then horizontal) with perlite beds and Cyperus plants on the urban wastewater were investigated. In this study, horizontal wetlands were designed with 0.75 m width, 0.5 m depth and 6 m length; the vertical wetlands were designed as cylinders with a diameter of 0.7 m and the height of 1.2 m. On average, for the three days retention time, in the wetland with the vertical flow, 5the horizontal flow and the hybrid wetland, nitrate was 31.0, 36.7 and 56.3 percent, ammonium was 7.6, 32.7 and 37.8 percent, and the fecal coliform was decreased by 53.3, 93.4 and 96.9 percent, respectively. Also, during the six days retention time in the wetland with the vertical flow, the horizontal flow and the hybrid wetland, nitrate was 45.7, 58.5 and 77.5 percent, ammonium was 16.8, 75.2 and 79.4 percent, and fecal coliform was decreased by 58.0, 97.5 and 99.0 percent, respectively. Overall, the results showed that constructed wetland with perlite beds and Cyperus plants had a good function in removing pollutants, especially fecal coliform.

The Effect of Hydrated Lime Slurry on Stabilizing Sand Dunes Mobility

K. Shabani Goraji

Creating a mulch layer on the sand dunes surface has long been applied to reduce their mobility. However, application of oil mulch in some countries, in addition to high costs, has many environmental problems. In this research, the hydrated lime slurry was used as a protective cover on the sand dunes. The slurry was prepared in three treatments with 3, 5 and 7% lime and sprayed uniformly on 2×5 m plots on the sand dunes surface. The average thickness of different types of mulch was measured by a caliper and then their abrasions were calculated in two-month intervals for three calcareous and controlling treatments at three locations. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS and the Excel software. The results showed that the 3% lime slurry layer had no resistance to wind abrasion and was comparable to the controlling sites. The results obtained for the 5 and 7% lime slurry mulch layers indicated that the increase in lime percentage raised the mulch resistance against the wind abrasion. The 7% lime slurry layer with a 6.3 mm thickness showed the highest abrasion resistance in the natural conditions.

Study of the Phosphorus Sorption Behaviour in the Cultivated and Virgin Soils of Khoy Region

E. Sepehr

To study the behaviour of phosphorus (P) sorption in the agricultural soils of Khoy region and the effect of long-term cultural management with the application of poultry manure on the P sorption parameters, bath experiments were carried out with 16 soil samples (8 cultivated and 8 virgin soils) and 9 initial P concentrations from 0 to 30 mg L-1 in 0.01M CaCl₂ as a background solution. After equilibrium, the remaining amount of P in solution was measured and the experimental sorption data were fitted to the Langmuir (R²=0.93-0.99) and Freundlich (R²=0.87-0.99) models. The results showed that P sorption was increased with enhancing the initial P concentration, eventually reaching the steady-state plateau. Based on the coefficient of determination (R²) and the standard error of estimate (SE), both isotherms models, Langmuir and Freundlich, showed a relatively good fit to the experimental data. The maximum mono layer sorption of Langmuir (qmax) varied from 233 to 486 and from 340 to540 mg kg^-1, and the energy parameter of Langmuir (KL) ranged from 0.12 to 0.50 and from 0.22 to 0.71 for the cultivated and virgin soils, respectively. Freundlich sorption capacity (KF) and intensity (n) parameters showed the same trends and KF varied from 36.4 to 123 and 59.3 to 145.2; also n varied from 1.18 to 1.50 and 1.47 to 1.71 in the cultivated and virgin soils, respectively. Consequently, all sorption parameters and the buffering indices showed a decreasing trend in the cultivated soils, as compared to the corresponding virgin soils and the cultural and fertilization management; especially, the application of the poultry manure in this region reduced phosphorus sorption by soil and then increased phosphorus availability to plants. Hence, less fertilizer would be needed to maintain a favourable P concentration in the soil solution for the optimum plant growth.

Estimation of Soil Hydraulic Properties Curve through Beerkan Infiltration Experiment Algorithms

M. Delbari

Nowadays, the Beerkan computational algorithms (BESTslope and BESTsteday) are known as the suitable indirect methods for estimating soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and sorptivity (S), as well as the scale parameter (hg) in van Genuchten soil water retention equation through the data collected in the Beerkan infiltration experiment and other required data. The purpose of this study was to compare these algorithms in estimating Ks and S, as well as the soil water content corresponding to the suctions of 33 kPa, 100 kPa, 200 kPa, 300 kPa and 1500 kPa. For this purpose, a total of 40 Beerkan infiltration experiments were carried out in Sistan dam research field. From all Beerkan experiments, 30 tests in loam and sandy loam textures having a relative error less than 5.5% (Er <5.5%) were selected for further analysis. The statistical criteria RMSE, ME and ωr2 were used to compare the measured and estimated water content values at each suction. The results showed that the BESTsteday algorithm, which had a more simple calculating process than the main algorithm (i.e. BESTslope), could provide the Ks and S values and the soil water content of the near field capacity with an acceptable accuracy. The model performance in estimating water content corresponding to the 1500 kpa suction head (i.e. _θfc) was not acceptable for both algorithms. Moreover, the relative error of estimating soil water content (Er(_h,θ)) was decreased gradually by an increase in clay %.

Determination of the Land Suitability of Sugarcane Fields Based on Soil Quality Index Using a Geographic Information System

A. R. Zahirnia

Determination of land suitability is one of the land evaluation methods that can determine the best use of land in each area. The purpose of this research was to determine the land suitability of Mirza Kuchak Khan's cultivation and industry fields based on the soil quality indicators and a geographic information system (GIS), and compare the results with those obtained by methods of land evaluation and root strategies. For this purpose, information on soil profiles and the amount of organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, zinc, drainage, texture, depth, topography, surface rocks and gravel, impervious layer depth, hydraulic conductivity, water holding capacity, electrical conductivity, reaction PH), calcium carbonate, and exchangeable sodium percent of the study area were collected. Land suitability classes based on the quality indices of fertility, chemical quality, and physical quality of soil were defined. The results showed that 27.4% of the land belonged to the very good class (S1), 62.83% of the land could be assigned to the suitable class (S2), 11.7% of the land was put in the low proportion class (S3), and 2.66% the land was in the inappropriate class (N). Also, based on the comparison of the results of the method based on the soil quality with the square root method, Kappa coefficient was 0.82, while it was equal to 0.38 for the Storie method.

Comparison of Linear and Nonlinear Kinetic Models and Adsorption Isotherms of Zinc from an Aqueous Solution by Biochar

R. Torki Harchegani

Fruits and citrus wastes are generated in the food industry in large quantities. Their management in Iran, as one of the major hubs of fruits and citrus production, is of great importance. In this study, the biochar samples were prepared from pomegranate, orange and lemon peel waste produced in a juice factory using the pyrolysis process in the range of 400-500 °C; then their efficiency for zinc adsorption from an aqueous solution was investigated. The kinetic and isotherm data of zinc adsorption were fitted by the linear and nonlinear forms of the Langmuir and Frendlich isotherm models and the first-order and second-order pseudo-kinetics models. The results showed that under the experimental conditions applied, the maximum amount of zinc absorption by biochars derived from pomegranate, orange and lemon peel was 2.42, 1.83 and 3.17 mg/g, respectively. The results of adsorption isotherm models also showed that the use of the linear form could lead to a completely different interpretation, as compared to the original form of the model. Based on the linear forms, the Langmuir isotherm was the best; meanwhile, according to the non-linear forms, the Freundlich isotherm was the best model to describe the adsorption data. In addition, the reaction kinetics indicated that both original and linear models had the same results, and the data were better fitted by the pseudo-second order model.

The Effect of Using a Combination of Municipal Solid Waste Compost and Chemical Fertilizer on Some of the Soil Properties in Agricultural Lands, Iran (A Case Study: Miandorod City)

M Rezaei Pasha

One of the management practices to reduce the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers and to protect soil and water resources is applying a combination of organic and chemical fertilizers that can better than using them separately. Therefore, in order to understand and identify the effectiveness of this management practice, it is necessary to examine runoff and sediment production. This study was carried out in an agricultural sloping land located in the North of Iran, near Sari city. For this purpose, runoff measurement plots of 1 × 5 m were set up under natural rainfall based on a randomized block experimental design. Soil samples were measured at 0-10 and 10-20 cm depths. In this study, parameters such as runoff (volume, nitrate content, sediment yields), soil physical features (porosity and infiltration coefficient), and soil chemical properties (EC, OC, N, CEC, pH) were measured. The results showed that among soil chemical and physical properties, just N, EC and pH significantly influenced the Municipal Solid Waste Compost. A PCA was carried out, showing that these treatments explained 74.35% of the total variance of the results. Accordingly, it could be stated that using soil and water conservation management practices can rapidly significantly improve the soil properties in the sloping lands.

Estimation of Reference Evapotranspiration Using Artificial Neural Network Models and the Hybrid Wavelet Neural Network

N. Ganji khorramdel

Estimation of evapotranspiration is essential for planning, designing and managing irrigation and drainage schemes, as well as water resources management. In this research, artificial neural networks, neural network wavelet model, multivariate regression and Hargreaves' empirical method were used to estimate reference evapotranspiration in order to determine the best model in terms of efficiency with respect to the existing data. The daily data of two meteorological stations of Shahrekord and Farrokhshahr airport in the dry and cold zones of Shahrekord during the period 2013-2004 was used; these included the minimum and maximum temperature, the average nominal humidity, wind speed at 2 meters height and sunshine hours. %75 of the data were validated, and %25 of the data was used for testing the models. Designed network is a predictive neural network with an active sigmoid tangent function hidden in the layer. In the next step, different wavelets including Haar, db and Sym were applied on the data and the neural network-wavelet was designed. To evaluate the models, the method was used by the Penman-Montith Fao and for all four methods, RMSE, MAE and R statistical indices were calculated and ranked. The results showed that the wave-let- neural network with the db5 wavelet had a better performance than other wavelets, as well as the artificial neural network, multivariate regression and the Hargreaves method. The results of wavelet network modelling with the db5 wavelet in the Farrokhshahr station were calculated to be 0.2668, 0.2067 and 0.998, respectively; at the airport station, these were equal to 0.2138, 0.14 and 0.9989, respectively. The results, therefore, showed that the neural network-wavelet performance was more accurate than the other models studied in this study.

Jointed Rock Mass Effects on the Seismic Waves Scattering from the Canyon Sites in the Dam's Support

F. Daneshvar Vousoughi

Seismic study of canyon sites has always been one of the important fields of seismic studies because of massive structures such as dams that are built in such sites. Jointed rock mass in rock canyon sites is one of the main site effects that can change the seismic waves. In this research, we studied the influence of this factor on the scattering of seismic waves. To fulfil this goal, we employed a coupled method combining the finite element method in the near field with boundary elements in the far field. To simulate the behaviour of jointed rock mass, we used the linear elastic model. Based on the results of the numerical analyses, jointed rock mass could have significant effects on the seismic waves in some special conditions. These conditions are the angle of incident wave, the thickness of layers and the material properties of the jointed rock mass. So it is necessary to consider this factor in the seismic structure design in the canyon sites.

Evaluation of the Ecological Risk Indicators of Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn and Ni in the Irrigated Areas with the Treated Wastewater

S. Rezapour

The present study was conducted to evaluate the ecological risk indices of Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb and Ni in the soils from Urmia region (Ghahramanloo village), as irrigated with treated wastewater. Accordingly, six different soil sites (five soil sites under wastewater irrigation and one soil site under well water irrigation as the control) were selected and sampled (AP horizon, 0-30 cm depth). Soil samples were air dried, passed through a 2-mm sieve, and analysed to determine the chemical properties and the studied heavy metals. The results showed that irrigation with the treated wastewater significantly increased the total elements in the order of Cd (228%)> Zn (118.5%)> Ni (81.5%)> Pb (54.2%)> Cu (23.5%). Nevertheless, with the exception of cadmium, other elements were within the admissible range based on the national and international standards. Ecological risk index (min = 125, max = 152, mean = 140) showed a considerable risk in all studied soils and Cd could be regarded as the major metal affecting the index yield.

Optimal Crop Production Pattern with Emphasis on Improving Water Use Efficiency (A Case Study of Varamin Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Complex)

S. H. Mosavi

Increasing the productivity and conservation of limited water resources in the agricultural sector, especially in the agricultural sub-sectors, is closely related to the revision of the traditional approaches of production system in the agricultural sector of developing countries. The aim of this study was to develop the optimal combination of crop production in Varamin Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Complex as one of the leading agricultural units in the agricultural sector of Varamin County with the emphasis on increasing water use efficiency. For this purpose, the statistical data and information of the 2015-2016 crop year of the complex were used in the framework of the multi-criteria decision making model. The results showed that in the optimum crop pattern in this unit, the priorities of maximizing net energy production and the annual profit as the economic goals would be significantly aggregated with the goal of increasing water use efficiency. Accordingly, in the optimum condition, net energy production was increased by 10%, gross profit was improved by 4%, and water use efficiency was promoted by 15%. Therefore, according to the results, it is suggested that, in order to achieve the economic aspirations and increase water use efficiency in Varamin Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Complex, wheat, alfalfa, silage and maize corn, based on the values calculated in this study, constitute the main combination of the crop production pattern.

Determination of Agricultural Sulfur Effects on the Soil Structure Using Fractal Geometery and Aggregate Stability Indices

A. Karami

Due to unsuitable soil physical conditions, calcareous soils, and the existence of a huge amount of sulfur in the country, the study of sulfur effects on the soil structure and other soil properties is necessary. Therefore, the effects of different rates of sulfur including: 0, 750, 1500 and 3000 kg/ha, when accompanied by Halothiobacillus neapolitanus bacteria, on the soil properties in the corn-wheat rotation in two years were investigated. Parameters of soil pH, EC, sulphate, organic carbon, soil structure and wheat yield were measured. For the quantification of soil structure and quantity evaluation of sulfur effect on the soil structure, with measuring the aggregate size distribution, the mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) of the aggregate indices, and the amounts of fractal dimension were determined. The r results indicated that with the progress of the experiment and further application of sulfur along with thiobacillus bacteria, aggregation and aggregate stability were increased. The effect of sulfur treatments on MWD and GMD was significant; based on quantification indices, it had 28 percent positive effect on the soil structure. Sulfur with 3 percent reduction of fractal dimension had a significantly positive effect on the soil structure. Application of sulfur decreased a small amount of soil pH and increased 12 percent of the soil EC and 40 percent of the soil sulphate. So soil structure improvement and reclamation of soil physical condition can be very effective on the soil conservation and sustainability of the production resources and the conservation of environment.

Application of a Self-Organizing Map for Clustering the Groundwater Quality in Kerman Province and Assessment its Suitability for Drinking and Irrigation Purposes

F. Soroush

Evaluation of groundwater hydro chemical characteristics is necessary for planning and water resources management in terms of quality. In the present study, a self-organizing map (SOM) clustering technique was used to recognize the homogeneous clusters of hydro chemical parameters in water resources (including well, spring and qanat) of Kerman province; then, the quality classification of groundwater samples was investigated for drinking and irrigation uses by employing SOM clusters. Patterns of water quality parameters were visualized by SOM planes, and similar patterns were observed for those parameters that were correlated with each other, indicating a same source. Based on the SOM results, the 729-groundwater samples in the study area were grouped into 4 clusters, such that the clusters 1, 2, 3, and 4 contained 73%, 6.2%, 6.7%, and 14.1% of groundwater samples, respectively. The increase order of electrical conductivity parameter in the clusters was as 1, 4, 3 and 2. The results of water quality index based on the entropy weighting (EWQI) showed that all of the samples with excellent and good quality (36.3% of samples) for drinking belonged to the cluster 1. According to the Wilcox diagram, 435-groundwater samples (81.7%) in the cluster 1 had the permitted quality for irrigation activities, and the other 285-groundwater samples were placed in all four clusters, indicating the unsuitable quality for irrigation. The Piper diagram also revealed that the dominant hydro chemical faces of cluster 1 were Na-Cl, Mixed Ca-Mg-Cl and Ca-HCO₃, whereas the clusters 2, 3, and 4 had the Na-Cl face. This study, therefore, shows that the SOM approach can be successfully used to classify and characterize the groundwater in terms of hydrochemistry and water quality for drinking and irrigation purposes on a provincial scale.

Evaluation of Spatial Variations of Soil Infiltration and its Models Parameters Using Geostatistics (A case study: Mansour Abad Plain)

R. Azadikhah

The aim of this study was to evaluate the spatial distribution of soil infiltration using geostatistics methods in a regional scale on 400 hectares of Mansour Abad Plain, in Larestan region, Fars Province. Sampling and parameters measurement were done for 78 points in a regular grid with a distance of 100*100 meters; for these variables, the best variogram model between linear, exponential, Gaussian and spherical models with the highest R2 and the lowest error was determined using GS+ and ArcGIS software. In this study, soil infiltration (cm/min) using the double ring method and some other soil properties including soil electrical conductivity (dS/m), pH, saturation percentage (%SP), particle size percentage (sand, silt and clay), and calcium (meq/lit), magnesium (meq/lit), sodium (meq/lit) were measured and determined. The spatial distribution of Kostiakov and Philip models parameters and theri zoning were determined using the geostatistic method. The results showed that, among different soil properties, the final infiltration rate had a high degree of variability in the study area, and the decision was based on the usual averaging methods, which could have a lot of error. Among applied infiltration models, Kostiakov model and Philip model were the best empirical and physical infiltratin models, respectively, in the studied area. The best semivariogram model for the steady state infiltration rate was Philip model, with the coeficients of S and A, and a coefficient of Kostiakove model was gaussian; for the b coefficient, Kostiakove model was exponential. Spatial structure of the final infiltration rate, a and b coefficients of Kostiakove model, and S and A coefficients of the Philip model, was strong. The best interpolation method for the final infiltration rate was cokriging with the cofactor of silt percentage, for the S coefficient of Philip model was inverse distance weighting (IDW); for a and b coefficients of Kostiakove model, kriging and IDW were suitable, respectively.

Application of MCAT in Optimizing and Prioritizing Dryland Allocation Based on the Amount of Chemical Fertilizer and Pesticides (A Case Study: Gonbadkavoos County)

S. Mortazavi

Agriculture production with high quality and adequate income for farmers and the least harmful effects in environment are the main objectives of agriculture optimization. The main objective of this study was ranking, optimization and land allocation of Gonbadkavoos’s Drylands for strategic products such as wheat, barley, oilseed rape‎ and soybean under environment and socio-economic scenarios. Because the available information on fertilizer and pesticide consumption was not sufficient and reliable, this data was collected through face-to-face interviews with farmers. The results showed that some slightly and moderately hazardous pesticides were consumed in study area. In this study, the optimized combination of agriculture products was applied by using the modeling approach and considering environmental and socio-economic aspects in Gonbadkavoos County.‎ This approach uses MCAT software, which is based on multi-criteria techniques and metaheuristic algorithms. The results of the environmental scenario‎ show‎ ed that barley, oilseed rape‎ and soybean, with little difference,‎ had the highest benefit-to-cost ratio and profitability, respectively. The slight difference could be related to the use of fertilizers and pesticides. In the socio-economic scenario, oilseed rape, wheat and barley had the highest benefit-to-cost ratio and land allocation, respectively. The represented approach using the decision support system (MCAT) can help planners to design optimal cropping systems and aid good management of fertilizers and water consumption.

Trend Analysis of Groundwater Level, Using Mann-Kendall Non Parametric Method (Case Study: Tabriz Plain)

F. Negahban khajeh

Studying the trends of water table in any region especially in arid and semi-arid regions is an important issue. This study focuses on assessing groundwater table changes in Tabriz plain. For this purpose, non-parametric Mann-Kendall test is used. In studing groundwater level the information of 14 pizometric wells in the period of 1991-2013 was used. Significant levels of 1, 5 and 10% were used for the trend test. Slope of trend lines is estimated using the sen's estimator method. The homogeneity of trends were tested using the Van Belle and Hughes method. The results showed that groundwater level in the most of pizometric wells have decreasing trend, That was significante in 1% sifnificance level. According to the research, trend of groundwater level was negative in all of the stations in April and maximum negative trend was belong to Dizaj Leily Khany station (Z= -6/47) that was significante in 1% sifnificance level. Also the minimum negative trend was belong to Ana Khaton station (Z= -0/322). The minimum groundwater level was -1.45 in Said-Abad station.

Determining the Optimum Applied Water for Sugar Beet in the Case of Crop Price as a Function of Applied Irrigation Water

A. Shabani

Shortage of irrigation water is a major problem constraining in agricultural production in arid and semi-arid regions. Deficit irrigation is one way to cope with water scarcity and increase water use efficiency. Determining the optimum applied water based on economic analysis is a major key to the deficit irrigation strategy. In this study, the required equations were derived to determine the optimum applied water for sugar beet when crop price is a function of the applied water. The results showed that the optimum applied water under land limiting conditions (144.98 cm) resulted in the maximum net benefit per unit area (2089741 Rials ha^-1). Applying the optimum water depth under land limiting resulted in 17.48% decrease in the applied water and 15.05% increase in the total net benefit, in comparison with the maximum yield condition. In water limiting conditions (land is not limiting), the total net benefit was maximized by applying the saved water to put larger areas of land under irrigation. Applying the optimum water depth under water limit condition resulted in 31.2% decrease in applied water and 45 and 52.36% increase in the planting area and the total net benefit, in comparison with the maximum yield condition, respectively. Sugar beet planting can be, therefore, profitable if the applied water depth is greater than 67.53 cm in this study area.

Interactive Effects of Salinity and Cadmium Pollution on Enzyme Activity in a Calcareous Soil Treated With Plant Residues

E. Sadeghi

Abiotic stresses such as salinity and contamination individually have a negative effect on the soil enzyme activities, whereas addition of organic matter to soil can alleviate the negative impacts of stresses on the enzyme activity. However, the combined effects of these stresses (multiple stresses) on soil biochemical conditions and the role of organic matter addition in these interactions are largely unknown. The objective of this research was to explore the interaction effect of NaCl salinity and cadmium (Cd)-pollution on the activities of catalase, alkaline phosphatase, arylsulfatase and fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis in a Cd-contaminated calcareous soil treated with alfalfa residue over 3 months of incubation. A factorial experiment with 2 levels of Cd, 3 levels of salinity and 2 plant residue treatments was conducted using a completely randomized design with 4 replications. The results indicated that salinity increased the Cd availability in both uncontaminated and contaminated soils and reduced the soil enzymatic activity. Nevertheless, addition of alfalfa residue reduced the detrimental effects of salinity and Cd-pollution on the soil enzyme activities. This indicated that in saline Cd-contaminated soils with low organic matter, adding plant residues could lower the concentration of available Cd and the effect of soil salinity with a concomitant increase of enzyme activities. So, this study showed that the joint effect of NaCl salt and Cd on enzyme activity was mostly synergistic in plant residue-untreated soils, but it was antagonistic in the plant residue-treated soils.

An Integrated Analysis of the Effect of Irrigation Efficiency Improvement on the Reliability and Vulnerability of Water Resources System with Regard to Discharge Fluctuations (A Case Study: Dez Basin)

N. Zohrabi

Integrated simulation of water resources systems is an efficient tool to evaluate and adopt various options in macro-policies and decision-making procedures that are in line with the sustainable development of drainage basins. One of the drainage basin management policies is to enhance the efficiency of agricultural land use. Considering the complicated function of the drainage basin elements and their interaction with each other due to water discharge fluctuations caused by various factors such as climate change, the evaluation of these policies is of great importance. Given the low irrigation efficiency in Iran, the present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of management scenarios (including long-term irrigation efficiency increased up to 20% with 5% intervals) and discharge fluctuation scenarios (including 5% and 10% decrease in the average basin inflows) on the reliability and vulnerability of water resources system in Dez Basin. The integrated scenarios were simulated in the WEAP model. The scenarios were separately simulated for the Dez irrigation network and all farmlands across Dez Basin. According to the results, reliability was decreased by 5.69 and 18.89% in the scenarios with 5% and 10% decrease in the average basin inflows, respectively. Furthermore, the irrigation efficiency of 20% in the scenario considering the current inflows ended up with the reliability of 73.58%. Moreover, in the scenario involving 5% decrease in the average basin inflows, the reliability was increased by 3.8% with an increasing efficiency of 20%; with 3.8% and 5.7%, there was an increasing efficiency of 15% and 20% in all farmlands, respectively. In the scenario consisting of 10% decrease in average basin inflows, the reliability was increased by 1.91%, 3.8%, and 5.7% with the increasing efficiency of 10%, 15%, and 20%; on the other hand, with, these were 3.8% 9.46%, and 13.2% with increasing efficiency in all farmlands, respectively. In all scenarios, the vulnerability was found to fluctuate between 25% and 31%, which was systematically analyzed.

Regionalization Analysis of SPI and SPEI Drought Indices for Karoon Basin

F. Radmanesh

The current study was conducted to compute SPI and SPET drought indices due to their multi-scale concept and their ability to analyze different time-scales for selected meteorological stations in Karoon Basin. Regionalization of SPI and SPEI Drought indices based on clustering analysis was another aim of this study for hydrological homogenizing. Accordingly, to run test through data and determine similar statistical periods, 18 stations were selected. SPI and SPEI values were plotted in the sequence periods graphs and their relationships were analyzed using the correlation coefficient. The results were compared by Pearson correlation coefficient at the significance level of 0.01. The results showed that correlation coefficients (0.5-0.95) were positive and meaningful for all stations and the correlation coefficient between the two indices were increased by enhancing the time-scales. Also, time-scales enhancement decreased the frequency of dry and wet periods and increased their duration. Through regionalization of basin stations based on clustering analysis, the stations were classified into 7 classes. The results of SPEI regionalization showed that the frequency percentage of the normal class was more than those of dry and wet classes.

Evaluating the Effect of Cadmium on the Decline of Arizona Cypress Seedlings and the Enhancement Role of Mycorrhizal Fungus and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

H. Aalipour

Trees decline is a complex physiological disease that results from the interactions between several factors, one of which is heavy metal stress that ultimately leads to the death of trees. This experiment, which was conducted during 2016-2017 at the campus facility of the Department of Horticulture at Isfahan University of Technology, was conducted to investigate the effects of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) (Rhizophagus intraradices and Funneliformis mosseae inoculated, and the combination of both species) and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), Pseudomonas Flourescens, on the growth responses of Arizona cypress (Cupressus arizonica G) to different concentrations of cadmium (0, 5, 10, 15, 20); this was done as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design, with three replications. The interactions between AMF, PGPR, and cadmium on potassium and iron concentration, height, and dry weight of Arizona cypress seedlings were significant. By increasing the concentration of cadmium in most of the treatments, the colonization, phosphorus, potassium and iron concentrations, height and dry weight of the shoot Arizona cypress seedlings were decreased, while the percentage of electrolyte leakage and proline content were increased. The AMF-inoculated plants increased phosphorus, potassium and iron concentrations, Height, shoot dry weight, proline content and reduced electrolyte leakage percentage, as compared to non-mycorrhizal (control) plants. In plants inoculated with both microorganism (mycorrhizal fungi and Pseudomonas), there was a positive effect regarding the concentration of nutrients such as potassium and iron; there was also the improvement of growth characteristics such as height and dry weight of the seedlings, as well as the appearance and freshness of the plant. The results, therefore, showed that inoculation of Arizona cypress seedlings with the combination of mycorrhizal fungi and Pseudomonas fluorescens bacteria could have a positive effect on the growth and survival of this tree under Cadmium stress condition.

Comparing Univariate and Multivariate Indices in Drought Monitoring

S. Ekhtiary Khajeh

In this study, drought characteristics of Arak, Bandar Anzali, Tabriz, Tehran, Rasht, Zahedan, Shiraz and Kerman stations during the statistical period of 1956 to 2015 were studied by Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) and Standardized Precipitation Index. Precipitation and temperature data were needed to calculate RDI. Precipitation data was also required to estimate SPI. In this study, Drinc software was used to calculate RDI, SPI and potential evapotranspiration (PET). The software calculated PET by the Thornthwaite method. One of the main challenges in drought monitoring is to determine the indicator that has a high reliability based on its monitoring purpose. Therefore, in this research, two methods used for selecting the appropriate index based on the minimum rainfall and normal distribution were evaluated. The results of the evaluation of the minimum rainfall method for selecting the appropriate index showed that most drought indices with the occurrence of minimum rainfall level indicated severe or very severe drought situations; in most cases, it could not lead to selecting an exact and unique index. Based on the results of the normal distribution method for the stations of Arak, Tabriz, Rasht, Zahedan, Shiraz and Kerman, SPI index, and for the stations of Bandar Anzali and Tehran, RDI index were selected as the most appropriate ones.