JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

---

The salt–affected lands in arid regions of central Iran are characterized by low rainfall, low fertility, high evaporation and salinity. The cultivation of salt–affected lands may have a major influence on soil quality. The aim of this study was to determine the response of soil quality indicators to reclamation and cultivation of salt–affected lands occurring in Abarkooh plain, central Iran. Soil quality indicators were evaluated in three land use systems including salt-affected land, wheat, and alfalfa fields. Composite soil samples were collected at 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, and 30–40 cm layers and analyzed for soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, carbohydrate, particulate organic carbon in macro-aggregates (POCmac) and micro-aggregates (POCmic), organic carbon mineralization and wet aggregate stability. The cultivation of salt–affected land caused a significant decrease in electrical conductivity at all layers and increased the amount of soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, carbohydrate, POCmac, POCmic, and organic carbon mineralization. At all layers, the POCmac/POCmic ratio in the alfalfa fields was higher than that in the wheat fields. The cultivation of salt-affected land caused a significant increase in soil aggregate stability (MWD) at all layers. In most cases, the amounts of soil organic matter and MWD were greater in alfalfa than in the wheat fields, reflecting a better soil quality and thus higher potential for increasing soil organic carbon sequestration in the alfalfa fields

---

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of water salinity and sodicity on pore size distribution and plant-available water of two clay and sandy clay loam calcareous soils. All combinations of water EC values of 0.5, 2, 4 and 8 dS m-1 and SAR values of 1, 5, 13 and 18 (in total 16 solutions) were used to wet and dry the soil samples for five cycles. Then, water retention of the soil cores was measured at matric suctions of 0 (θs), 10 (θ10) 100 or 300 cm (θFC) and 15000 cm (θPWP). The following quantities were calculated: the difference between θ100 or θ300 and θ15000 considered as available water contrent, the θs and θ10 as macrorosity, the θ10 and θ100 as mesoporosity, and the θ100 as microrosity. The initial porosity of both soils was similar, but the greater values of pore indices and θFC, θPWP and AWC were measured in the clay soil due to clay swelling. As water EC increased, mesopores were destructed and altered to macropores and micropores. Salinity altered the mesopores into macropores due to contraction of diffuse double layer and particle’s flocculation and consequently decreased the θFC, and created new micropores which were responsible for the higher value of θPWP. These trends ultimately diminished the AWC. As water SAR increased, mesopores were destructed and altered to micropores but it did not significantly affect the macropores. With increment of SAR, both θFC and θPWP increased due to structural distruption clay swelling and dispersion resulting in increased adsorptive and interlayer surfaces. The increasing effect of SAR on θPWP was greater and more distinct so that AWC was reduced. As a result, high values of SAR of irrigation water decreased the soil available water to plants besides its toxicity and hazardous effect on plants. With increment of irrigation water salinity, the destructive impacts of SAR diminished. The influence of water quality on water retention was pronounced for the clay soil.‎

---

In this research, the quality of the effluent from the City of Mashhad wastewater treatment plants was evaluated based on Ayers and Westcot irrigation water quality guideline, and the potential impacts of these effluents on soil and plants were assessed. For this purpose, the effluent from each of the three existing wastewater treatment plants was sampled on a regular basis, for a period of one year, and their parameters of importance in regard to the agricultural use such as pH, electrical conductivity (EC), concentrations of Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, Boron, Nitrate (NO3-N), bicarbonate and heavy metals were measured. Based on the obtained results, the agricultural use of the effluents from the wastewater treatment plants has severe restriction in regard to the bicarbonate concentrations (8-12.1 meq/L). Also, in view points of parameters such as EC (1250-1874 µS/cm), Sodium (5.8-8.7 as SAR), Chloride (3.2-6.5 meq/L) and adj RNa (7.8-11.7), the effluents were categorized in the class of waters with low to moderate restrictions. However, the measured values of pH (7.3-8), Boron (0.2-0.8 mg/L), Nitrate Nitrogen (0.5-4.2 mg/L) and heavy metals did not indicate any restrictions for agricultural use. From the results of this research, it can be concluded that the use of effluent as irrigation water requires careful planning, monitoring and management strategies.

---

Hardsetting phenomenon is an indicator of poor soil physical quality. Hardsetting soils are soils with high rate of mechanical strength increase upon drying and are hardened and/or compacted when dry out. It is difficult to till such soils. Hardsetting soils have additional limitations such as poor aeration at wet conditions, low infiltrability and high runoff and erosion. Most of Iran soils have low organic matter content and it is expected that hardsetting phenomenon occurs in some of these soils. This study was conducted to investigate the hardsetting phenomenon on 9 soil series collected from Hamadan province. Three types of mechanical strength consisting tensile strength (ITS), unconfined compressive strength (UCS), and penetration resistance (PR) were measured on the repacked soil samples prepared in the lab. The ITS, UCS and PR tests were done on the soil cores which had been prepared at bulk density (BD) equal to 90% of critical BD for root growth (0.9BDcritical). The effects of intrinsic properties on the hardsetting phenomenon were studied, too. Based on the suggested definition in “International Symposium on Sealing, Crusting and Hardsetting Soils” to International :::union::: of Soil Science, in which a hardsetting soil has air-dry tensile strength ≥ 90 kPa, one soil (medium-textured) out of the studied soils showed the hardsetting phenomenon at 0.9BDcritical. It might be concluded that medium-textured soils are more susceptible to hardsetting. For all of the studied soils, the ITS increased with the increase in clay content. The increasing impacts of clay and carbonate contents were also observed for the UCS and PR, respectively. Calcium carbonate could act as a cementing agent in between the soil particles and brings about the soil susceptibility to hardsetting. Moreover, the decreasing trend of all soil mechanical strengths was observed with water content increase. Slope (b) of the exponential model (fitted to the soil mechanical strength characteristic curve), as an index of hardsetting, had positive correlation with the sand content and negative correlation with the silt content. Overall, texture and calcium carbonate content are major and effective properties in terms of hardsetting phenomenon in Hamadan soils.

---

Expansive soils swell and shrink periodically when subjected to seasonal water content changes. As a result, they are a constant source of problem in the design and construction of foundations. In this study, the behaviour of an expansive soil was studied through a number of experiments involving cycles of wetting and drying using three different water qualities. Laboratory tests were performed on statically-compacted samples of an expansive soil in a modified Oedometer under constant surcharge pressure of 10 kPa. Vertical deformation of the soil sample was recorded continuously, and during the test, void ratio and water content of the sample were determined at different stages. The results indicated that the equilibrium condition was reached after about six wetting-drying cycles. It is shown that the swelling potential changes with changes in water quality the saline water reduced the swelling potential of the soil compared to the distilled water during wetting and drying cycles. Furthermore, the results showed that the variations of water content-void ratio paths during wetting-drying were the same (no hysteresis) when the equilibrium condition was achieved

---

Study of land use effects on soil quality indicators leads to sustainable management and preventing progressive land degradation. The TM (1987) and ETM+ (2000 and 2005) data were used to study land use change effects in Mahan-Joopar area on soil quality indicators. Fifty random soil samples from 0-30 cm depth of each land use were taken using provided maps. Organic matter, microbial respiration potential, bulk density, pH, EC, and soil texture were investigated as soil quality indicators. Eight land uses including fruit orchards, woodlands, pistachio orchards, cultivated, barren, bare land, fallowed, and haloxylone land were detected. Results showed overall accuracies of 89.4, 95.2, and 91.7 % with kappa coefficients of 85, 92, and 88% for maps provided in 1987, 2000, and 2005, respectively. Generally, the investigated quality indicators showed that woodlands, fruit orchards, cultivated land, and pistachio orchards enhanced soil quality better than other land uses.

---

Groundwater is the most important source of water supply for agricultural purposes in arid and semi-arid areas. In many areas, excessive use of high quality water resources leads to reducing the available water resources and turning to the use of low quality water resources. Thus, knowing the temporal and spatial variation of groundwater quality is a necessary factor for implementation of sound water resource management and establishment of the suitability between water quality and its usage. In order to investigate water quality changes, this study was divided into two phases. In the first phase, for evaluation of the quality of groundwater for irrigation 76 wells were sampled in Bahadoran plain, in the year 2006. The SAR, EC, ions B3+ and Cl- were analyzed as the evaluation indexes. Then, using geostatistical methods the maps of each parameter were prepared. Finally, considering FAO criteria, these maps were overlaid and separate water quality maps were derived. The EC map indicated that in 48 and 52 percent of the groundwater lies in severe and slight to moderate restriction class for irrigation purposes. Moreover, the thematic map of infiltration restrictions indicates that the groundwater has no restriction in 66 percent of the area while 11% of groundwater causes low to moderate and 23 percent causes severe limitation. In the next phase, to examine changes in groundwater salinity during a 5-year period, 38 wells were sampled and the groundwater salinity map for the year 2011 was prepared. Finally, using subtraction of the salinity maps of given years, the salinity changes map was derived. The results of thematic map showed that groundwater salinity increased in 26.47 percent of the study area. In contrast, there was a decrease of about 31.14 percent in groundwater salinity over the 5-year period while 42.39 percent of the region’s groundwater remained unchanged. Since the study area is under cultivation of pistachios and salt threshold of this tree is 8 ds/m so the area of about 8 percent of the area was added to the previous limited areas. Therefore, irrigation management and planting development plan in Eastern and Southeastern areas should be revised.

---

Change in land use and tillage practices has great influence on soil physical and chemical properties. The present study has focused on the effects of converting undisturbed soil to agricultural lands. Chemical and physical soil properties, infiltration, cation exchange capacity (CEC), electrical conductivity, pH, bulk density, porosity, sodium, potassium, total Ca + Mg, organic matter percentage, sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and lime percentage were measured using standard frequently used methods. Fifty soil samples from agriculture land and other 50 soil samples from undisturbed land were collected from 0 – 30 cm depth and different statistical analysis were performed. Agriculture land is Cultivated for more than 20 years. The results showed that change in land use from undisturbed to disturbed soil did not significantly changed soil organic matter content. Also, soil electrical conductivity showed a huge increase whereas pH showed non-significant changes due to land use change. Unlike pH, SAR, organic matter percentage and lime percentage, some other soil parameters showed significant decrease in quality through land use change. Correlation coefficients of the effective factors were calculated to explain the main reason for lowering soil quality. The results showed that sodium in EC bulk density in porosity and CEC sodium and Ca+Mg in SAR EC in soil infiltration and Ca+Mg in organic matter showed the most correlation.

---

Continuous decline of groundwater quality for agricultural purposes has become a major concern in extensive arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore, mapping the quality of groundwater on a broad scale is an essential step in land management. This study aimed to map spatial distribution of two important groundwater quality indices including EC and SAR in Isfahan province, Iran, using geostatistical techniques. Different techniques such as Kriging, IDW and RBF were applied to water quality data of 540 groundwater wells to map continuous variations of the EC and SAR indices in Arc GIS 9.3 environment. Among the interpolation methods, the Kriging by circular variogram model performed best and had the lowest RMSe error. Therefore, the produced maps from this technique were classified based on Wilcox method. Results showed that EC varies across the province from 392.2 in the west to about 17917.6 µmmhos/ cm in the northwest and eastern parts of the study area. The highest and lowest SAR values were estimated in the towns of Khour va Biabanak and Semirom, ranging from 38.9 to 0.13, respectively. According to the map of irrigation water quality based on Wilcox method, about 12.13 % of the region was classified as good, 16% as moderate, 17.5% as unsuitable and 54.35% as unusable category. In general, the quality of groundwater in Isfahan province decreases from west to east and also from south to north, especially in playas (non-agricultural lands) where the unusable class is dominant.

---

The aim of this study was to assess the drinking quality of Shahrekord aquifer based on a GWQI (groundwater quality index) within a GIS framework. To do this, samples from 97 wells were analyzed for pH, Electrical Conductance (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Turbidity, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-, HCO3- and SO42-, and total hardness was also calculated. These water quality parameters were geostatistically mapped. Maps showed that maximum quality of water occurs in the northwest while the lowest quality occurs in the south of aquifer. To calculate GWQI index, each map was difference-normalized and converted to a rank map. Assuming the mean value of each rank map to be the weight of corresponding parameter, a GWQI map was created with values varying from 0 (lowest) to 99 (highest quality). Mean GWQI of 84 indicates a relatively good drinking quality of water in the aquifer. However, based on the GWQI map the quality of water declines from very good (GWQI=87) in northwest to a lower quality (GWQI= 80) in southern part of the aquifer. The lower quality of water in the southern part may have been caused by industrial activities, intensive animal husbandry, presence of wastewater plant, irrigation with treated municipal effluent and also by the inward hydraulic gradient. Map removal sensitivity analysis indicated that TSS and to some extent Na+ were important water parameters in this aquifer, which must be monitored with greater accuracy and frequency.

---

Management of organic and inorganic treatments may have positive or negative effects on soil quality, plant growth and human nutrition. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of organic and inorganic zinc fertilizer application on soil quality indicators and wheat yield. This research was conducted at Agricultural Research Station Roudasht, Isfahan, Iran. Sewage sludge and cow manure (5 and 10 t/ha), ash rubber (1 t/ha), powder rubber (200 kg/ha), ZnSO4 (40 kg/ha) were applied and wheat was cultivated. Soil samples were collected at tilling and harvest stages. After taking samples and measurements of the soil parameters, we determined the critical limits for each category and class rating for the each soil parameters, and the soil quality index was calculated. The results showed sewage sludge and rubber ash were significantly effective in increasing soil bioavailable Zn compared to other treatments. Application of sewage sludge and cow manure at 10 ton/ha improved soil quality. The expanded soil quality index can help better understand the effect of fertilizers on soil. A positive and significant relationship between soil quality indicators and Zn uptake and wheat yields was also observed. Our results indicate that addition of 10 t/ha sewage sludge as fertilizer can significantly improve soil quality, supplying the necessary amount of Zn for wheat growth.

---

The effects of water quality, installation depth and space of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) laterals on yield and visual quality of turfgrass were investigated. A field experiment was conducted at the experimental farm of Shahrekord University. The experimental design was a Split-Split Plot with experimental arrangement of completely randomized block design with 16 treatments and three replications. Treatments included two types of water quality: well water (W) and treated wastewater (WW), two installation spaces of SDI laterals (45 and 60 cm) and four depths of placement of SDI laterals (15, 20, 25 and 30 cm). Turfgrass indices recorded during the experiment included height, dry mass, color, visual density and growth uniformity. The ANOVA results showed that interaction of irrigation water quality × lateral spacing × installation depth of SDI laterals is significant on the height, dry mass and growth uniformity of turfgrass. Irrigation with wastewater as compared to well water produced grass with significantly higher height and more dry weight. Treatments irrigated with well water had a better growth uniformity than those treatments irrigated with wastewater. Results indicated that there was no significant effect of experimental factors on turfgrass color. The interactional effect of lateral spacing and installation depth on the turfgrass density was significant. Increasing installation depth and laterals spacing caused a decrease in turf’s yield and visual quality.

---

Mobarakeh Steel Complex has been using treated industrial wastewater for irrigation of green space to combat water shortage and prevent environmental pollution. This study was performed to assess the impact of short-, middle-, and long-term wastewater irrigation on soil quality attributes in green space of this complex. Soils were sampled from the wet bulb produced by under-tree trickles in three depths of forested lands irrigated with treated wastewater (for 2, 6 and 18 years) or groundwater. Several chemical, physical and biological characteristics of the soil samples were determined in the laboratory and compared to those of the native unirrigated soils as the controls. The results showed that pH was significantly reduced in the wastewater-irrigated soils as compared to the control. Organic matter content and cation exchange capacity significantly increased in the irrigated soils due to the incorporation of tree leaves into soil. Soil salinity also increased as the irrigation period increased because of the relatively high salinity of water and wastewater used for irrigation. Microbial basal respiration and arginine ammonification were greater in the irrigated soils in comparison to the control. In general, forestation and irrigation management have improved most of the soil quality indexes in the Mobarakeh Steel Complex green space, but some soil characteristics, such as salinity, need to be monitored and improved in future.

---

Nowadays, the increasing population and water demand in various sectors of agriculture, industry, drinking and sanitation has brought about tremendous pressure on groundwater resources. Changes in groundwater quality and salinity of the water resources are currently major threats to development, especially in the dry and too dry lands. The aim of this study is evaluation of the trend of changes in groundwater quality, both temporally and spatially, in Kashan plain over a period of 12 years (2002-2013) using geostatistical methods and classification methods namely Shouler and Wilcox. Thereby, Export Choice has been used and each parameter has been weighted according to its effect on water quality changes. Then, the weighted average of water quality parameters was used for zoning the drinking and agriculture water. The results showed that among the geostatistical methods, circular Kriging based on the correlation coefficient has more acceptable performance. Moreover, the results of spatial and temporal changes in water quality based on Shouler and Wilcox indicate a decrease of drink and agriculture water quality in the study area. Besides, 1.75 km² of high quality drinkable water was annually decreased between 2002 and 2013 and replaced with moderate or poor quality water. Also, the same but more remarkable decline happened in agriculture water so that 11.06 km² of high quality agriculture water annually diminished from 2002 to 2009 and plunged zero by 2009.

---

---

The main purpose of this study is investigation of hydraulic properties in drip irrigation tape. In this study, 10 types of drip irrigation tape were tested, and the effect of 4 temperatures of water, 13, 23, 33 and 43 °C, was investigated according to the standard ISO 9261 and ISO IRISI. Initially all experiments were performed in standard temperature (23°C) in order to obtain qualitative evaluation indexes of tapes. The results obtained were as follows: According to the Cv, 8 models of tapes were ranked as good and 2 models as medium. According to the difference between the actual and nominal flow rates, 3 models were ranked as good, 3 models as medium, 3 models were acceptable and 2 models were unacceptable. According to the EU, 9 models were ranked as excellent and T3 was ranked as good. According to the UC, UC of all models was more than 70% and their flow rate variation follows normal distribution. According to q_var, flow rate changes in 3 models were acceptable, 2 models were ranked as good and 5 models were unacceptable.
 

---

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.
 

---

This paper aimed to assess the severity of desertification in Segzi plain located in the eastern part of Isfahan city, focusing on groundwater quality criteria used in MEDALUS model. Bayesian Belief networks (BBNs) were also used to convert MEDALUS model into a predictive, cause and effects model. Different techniques such as Kriging and IDW were applied to water quality data of 12 groundwater wells to map continuous variations of the CL, SAR, EC, TDS, pH and decline in water table indices in GIS environment. The effects of measured water quality indicators on desertification severity levels were assessed using sensitivity and scenario analysis in BBNs model. According to the results of the MEDALUS, the desertification of the study area was classified as severe class due to its low quality of groundwater. Sensitivity analysis by the both models showed that decline in waater table, water chloride content and electrical conductivity were the most important parameters responsible for desertification in the region from ground water condition standpoint. The determination coefficient between the outputs of the MEDALUS and BBNs models (R2>0.63) indicated that the results of both models were significantly correlated (α=5 %). These results indicate that the application of BBNs model in desertification assessment can appropriately accommodate the uncertainty of desertification methods and can help managers to make better decision for upcoming land management projects.
 

---

The soil pollution especially in urban soils is projected to increase drastically and its effects on chemical cycles are yet to be known. Approaches to measure air and water quality are well established, but urban soil quality assessment has received little attention. Soil quality assessment can help as a way to better understand the pollution increase outcomes in urban environments and to establish approaches and integrated soil quality assessment protocols in urban planning and landscape management. Considering lack of information in urban soil quality of Iran, the objective of this study was to assess soil quality under urban land use effect using minimum data set in western part of Tehran. In view of this, 56 soil samples were collected in three land use types of agricultural, parks and urban landscapes, and vacant urban lots and 12 physicochemical properties were measured. The results of analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) showed that under influence of the land use types, organic carbon, total nitrogen, lime, bulk density and sodium have significant differences. The factor analysis was used to select minimum data set and the results showed that two factors with eigenvalues more than one, explaining more than 68% of total variance, have the most loading factors on organic carbon and sodium. Finally, soil quality indicator (SQI) was determined and compared in different land use types. The results showed that SQI has significant difference in urban land use types and the least soil quality is related to vacant urban lots.
 

---