Showing 330 results for Zad
S. Azadi, H. Nozari, S. Marofi, B. Ghanbarian,
Volume 27, Issue 3 (Fall 2023)
Abstract
One of the strategies for agricultural development is the optimal use of irrigation and drainage networks, which will lead to higher productivity and environmental protection. The present study used the system dynamics approach to develop a model for simulating the cultivated area of the Shahid Chamran irrigation and drainage network located in Khuzestan province by considering environmental issues. Limit test and sensitivity analysis were used for model validation. The results showed the proper performance of the model and the logical relationship between its parameters. Also, the cropping pattern of the network was determined in two modes of non-stepwise and stepwise changes to determine the optimal cultivated area of the Shahid Chamran network with environmental objectives and minimize the amount of salt from drains. The results showed that the amount of optimized output salt from the network has decreased in both non-stepwise and stepwise changes compared to the existing situation in the region. The total output salt in the current situation, from 2013 to 2017, was obtained at 2799, 2649, 2749, 2298, and 2004 tons.day-1, respectively, in the stepwise changes, are 2739, 2546, 2644, 2223, and 1952 tons.day-1, and finally, in the non-stepwise changes, are 2363, 2309, 2481, 2151, and 1912 tons.day-1. The results showed that the non-stepwise changes due to considered limitations have been more successful in reducing output salt than the stepwise changes. The analysis of the results showed the model's success in optimizing and achieving the desired goals. The results showed that the present model has good accuracy in simulating and optimizing the irrigation network, cropping pattern, and defining other scenarios.
A.r. Emadi, R. Fazloula, S. Zamanzad-Ghavidel, R. Sobhani4, S. Nosrat-Akhtar,
Volume 27, Issue 3 (Fall 2023)
Abstract
As one of the most necessary human needs, groundwater resources play a key role in the economic and political processes of societies. Climatic and land-use changes made serious challenges to the quantity and quality of groundwater resources in the Tehran-Karaj study area. The main objective of the present study is to develop a method based on individual intelligent models, including adaptive neural-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), gene expression programming (GEP), and combined-wavelet (WANFIS, WGEP) methods for temporal and spatial estimation of total hardness (TH), total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) variables in the groundwater resources of the Tehran-Karaj area for statistical period of 17 years (2004-2021). The results showed that
combined-wavelet models have higher performance than individual models in estimating three selected variables. So that the performance improvement percentage of the WANFIS model compared to ANFIS and WGEP model compared to GEP, taking into account the evaluation index of root mean square error (RMSE) were obtained (23.713%, 18.018%), (12.581%, 33.116%), and (6.433%, 12.995%) for TH, TDS, and EC variables, respectively. The results indicated a very high spatial and temporal compatibility of the estimated values of the WGEP model with the observed values for all three qualitative variables in the Tehran-Karaj area. The results showed that the concentration of qualitative variables of groundwater resources from the north to the south of the study area has an upward trend for all three qualitative variables. In urban areas, pollution caused by sewage and population increase, as well as in agricultural areas, the use of chemical fertilizers and their continued infiltration into groundwater resources and
over-extraction of groundwater resources aggravate their pollution. Therefore, in the study area, climatic changes and the type of land use are strongly related to the quality of groundwater resources.
S. Gholizadeh Tehrani, S. Soltani Koupai, R. Modarres, V. Chitsaz,
Volume 27, Issue 3 (Fall 2023)
Abstract
Drought is one of the most destructive and important climate phenomena, whose effect is usually more important on a regional scale. The importance of this phenomenon is more evident in the Karkheh basin due to its size and important role in providing the country's water resources. We aim to monitor hydrologic drought using the accurate calculation of standardizes streamflow index (SSI) in one month time scale based on fitting frequency distribution to monthly data and goodness of fit test for each station in Karkheh basin for 30 years (1986-2016). The findings of this research showed that the generalized Pareto distribution was selected as the most appropriate distribution in most months, unlike the previous research that fitted and used only the Gama distribution on the data. The time series of the standard flow index indicated the occurrence of super-drought in 2008 to 2015 years. Also, the significant impact of the construction of hydraulic structures upstream of the basin on the average flow rate was observed in some stations. The results of direct and annual monitoring of the drought situation showed that the Karkheh basin has experienced hydrological drought in recent years, and the drought trend is increasing.
R. Hosseinpour, H.r. Asgari, H. Nikanhad Qermakher, E. Malekzadeh, M.k. Kianian,
Volume 27, Issue 4 (Winter 2023)
Abstract
The soils of desert areas are mostly low in organic matter and may fluctuate greatly in terms of acidity. Biochars are one of the materials used to improve and modify some soil characteristics. This compound is very resistant to decomposition and remains in the soil for a longer period, reducing agricultural waste and turning it into a soil conditioner. This leads to keeping carbon in the soil, increasing food security, increasing biodiversity, and reducing deforestation. In this research, an attempt was made to investigate the biochar of fodder beet plant waste produced at different pyrolysis temperatures and its physical and chemical characteristics. For this purpose, fodder beet wastes were collected from settlements around Birjand and after being crushed and air-dried, they were pyrolyzed in an electric furnace under limited oxygen conditions at a temperature range of 300-700 degrees Celsius. Then, the characteristics of the produced biochars were performed with 3 repetitions of measurements and statistical analyses with SPSS software. The results of this research showed that the characteristics of biochars changed significantly with temperature change. The highest yield percentage (59%), organic carbon (56.33%), total nitrogen (0.53%), water retention (0.84g/g) at 300 and 400 degrees Celsius, and the highest amount of ash (% 76), acidity (8.21) and electrical conductivity (0.1ds/cm) was obtained at a temperature of 700 degrees Celsius. The percentage of carbon and the efficiency of biochar produced at temperatures of 300 and 400 degrees Celsius were higher than other biochar produced at other temperatures. Biochar produced at 300°C has better characteristics in terms of carbon percentage and acidity efficiency compared to biochar produced at 400°C. Although these differences were not statistically significant, due to biochar production being more economical in terms of energy consumption, it is recommended to produce biochar at a temperature of 300 degrees Celsius.
H. Azadbeygi, M. Najarchi, Dr H. Lajevardi,
Volume 27, Issue 4 (Winter 2023)
Abstract
The present research explores the experimental and numerical investigation of homogeneous earth dams in rapid drawdown conditions. The numerical model was evaluated and calibrated due to the saturation status using the experimental model. The calculated error between the piezometric pressure data and the seepage line in the numerical and experimental model indicated that the results of the Seep/W numerical model data had acceptable accuracy. Also, to determine the thickness of the filter adjusted in the upstream side slope of the homogeneous earth dam in rapid drawdown condition, input data to the numerical model including hydraulic conductivity, rate of the water level drop (depletion of the dam reservoir in three scenarios of 2, 3, and 4 days), the different side slopes of the body (m = 1, 2, and 3), and the thickness of the filter layers were determined. It is worth mentioning that the number of layers and the soil properties of the filter materials were determined based on the USBR which consisted of three types of soil structure (sand, gravel, and gravel with sand). The maximum hydraulic gradient of the dam materials was used to estimate the thickness of the filter layers. Finally, some dimensional fewer numbers were presented to estimate the filter layers by changing the input data through the numerical model to attain the safe conditions for the values of the hydraulic gradient at the upstream side slope. Results of the numerical model indicated that for the construction of the dam with the thickness of the presented filter, the values of the available hydraulic gradient at the point of water exit from the upstream side slope of the body of the earth dam were lower than the critical hydraulic gradient of the earth dam materials in rapid drawdown condition.
M. R. Taghizadeh, A. Motamedi, M. Galoie, F. Kilanehei,
Volume 27, Issue 4 (Winter 2023)
Abstract
Understanding flow behavior over bedforms is one of the most complex topics in sedimentary engineering. Despite numerous studies that have been conducted on river beds, the understanding of the interaction between flow and bed in turbid and clear waters is still impoverished. The present study mainly focused on simulating clear and turbid flows using SSIIM software. This study modeled the flow through a 12-meter channel with nine consecutive dunes of 1-meter length and 4 cm height. Nine simulations were performed to investigate the effects of flow velocity and flow separation zone in clear and turbid water. Finally, the results were compared with the experimental results of previous researchers using the PIV. The modeling results showed that the length of the flow separation zone increases with increasing velocity, and the highest probability of flow separation occurs at the highest velocity. In turbid flow, flow separation is less than the same flow condition in clear flow, and as fluid density increases, the length of the flow separation zone decreases. This study demonstrates the acceptable functionality of the SSIIM software and its accuracy in estimating flow behavior with and without sediment.
A. Barikloo, S. Rezapour, P. Alamdari, R. Taghizadeh Mehrjardi,
Volume 27, Issue 4 (Winter 2023)
Abstract
Soil quality is one of the most crucial factors determining crop productivity and production stability. The soil's physical, chemical, biological, and ecological characteristics affect its quality. Numerous researchers have concentrated the evaluation on a small number of soil quality indicators because measuring all soil quality indicators would be time-consuming and expensive. This study looked at the spatial autocorrelation of soil quality in the southwest areas of the Urmia Plain to establish the minimal data set for quantitative assessment. To accomplish this, 120 composite soil samples were collected from a depth of 0 to 60 cm, and the soil quality index was then calculated using the IQI method in 4 modes: Total-Linear (IQIwL-TDS), Total-Nonlinear (IQIwNL-TDS), Minimum-Linear (IQIwL-MDS), and Minimum nonlinearity (IQIwNL-MDS). 22 physical and chemical characteristics were used to choose the data set. The characteristics of sand percentage, sodium absorption ratio, cation exchange capacity, Available phosphorus, active calcium carbonate, and nickel concentration were chosen as the minimum data set (MDS) using the decomposition method into principal components. The linear IQIMDS mode produced the greatest soil quality index result, whereas the non-linear IQIMDS mode produced the lowest. The non-linear mode of the IQI index has a greater correlation coefficient (R2=0.85) than the linear mode of the IQI index (R2=0.73), according to an analysis of the linear and non-linear correlation coefficient between the soil quality index with the total category and minimum data. The findings of computing the global Moran's index for study sets of IQI soil quality index data revealed that the soil quality data are not independent of each other and are spatially autocorrelated, distributed in clusters, and have spatial autocorrelation. Getis-ord GI statistics indicated that the eastern and southeastern parts of the research region comprise clusters with poor soil quality, salt marshes produced by Lake Urmia's drying up, and surrounding arid plains.
Z. Naderizadeh, H. Khademi, A. Shamsollah,
Volume 28, Issue 1 (Spring 2024)
Abstract
Although several reports are available on the distribution of Palygorskite in the soils of arid regions of Iran, there is not much information about the presence and abundance of this important fibrous clay mineral in the soils of Bushehr Province. This research was carried out: (1) to investigate the distribution of Palygorskite and other major associated clay minerals, and (2) to evaluate the relationship between the relative quantity of Palygorskite in clay-sized fraction and the most important soil properties in Dashtestan County, Bushehr Province. Five geomorphic surfaces including eroded rock outcrop, rock outcrop, dissected hill, alluvial fan, and alluvial plain were identified in the study area using Google Earth images and field observations. After sampling representative pedons, the clay mineralogy of two horizons from each pedon was determined. X-ray diffractograms and SEM images showed that in the studied soils, which were classified as either Aridisols or Entisols, Palygorskite was present in different quantities on all geomorphic surfaces. Moreover, Illite, Chlorite, Smectite, irregularly interstratified Chlorite/Illite, and Kaolinite were the other clay minerals that existed in the soils studied. The relative quantity of Palygorskite and Smectite was variable on different geomorphic surfaces. Regardless of the type of geomorphic surface, petrogypsic and gypsic horizons showed the highest quantity of Palygorskite as compared to other horizons which seems to be due to the suitable geochemical conditions of these horizons for the formation and stability of Palygorskite mineral. The higher correlation of Palygorskite content with gypsum, as compared to that with the carbonates, indicates the importance of gypsum in Palygorskite distribution in the soils of the study area. The findings also indicated that the amount of Palygorskite was positively correlated with soluble Mg/Ca ratio, pH, gypsum, and soluble Mg. These parameters appear to control the genesis and distribution of Palygorskite in the soils studied. In general, it is necessary to pay special attention to their clay mineralogy, especially the significant amount of Palygorskite to manage the soils of the study area and to reasonably predict their behavior.
F. Gholamzadeh, H. Asgarzadeh, H. Khodaverdiloo, M.r. Mosaddeghi,
Volume 28, Issue 1 (Spring 2024)
Abstract
This study was conducted in the summer of 2021 to evaluate and validate the gravimetric soil water content measurements using a field oven. Ten soil types with a salinity of saturated paste (ECe) less than 4 dS m-1 and three saline soils were studied around Urmia Lake. Plots with dimensions of 1 m × 2 m were prepared for the selected soils to measure gravimetric soil water content and soil physical and chemical properties. The gravimetric water content (θm) values measured using the field oven (i.e., θmFO), were compared with those measured by a standard lab oven (i.e., θmLO). The soil water content values measured in the lab, regarded as a benchmark, were measured at 105 °C for 24 h. Temperatures of 120, 140, and 160 °C with three durations of 10, 15, and 20 min were used to dry the soil samples in the field oven. There was very good compatibility between the values of θmFO and θmLO when the soil samples were dried in the field oven for 15 or 20 min at all three temperatures. Significant linear relations were obtained between the θmFO and θmLO values as the slopes of linear relations were close to 1, the intercepts of relations were negligible and the distributions of measured data around the line 1 to 1 were unbiased. The minimal effects of soil organic matter content, clay content, salinity, and bulk density on water content measurements by the field oven indicate an important advantage of this method. These results confirm the high efficiency of the field oven for fast and reliable measurements of water content in different soils.
M. Kashi, S. Alizadeh Ajirlo, N. Najafi,
Volume 28, Issue 1 (Spring 2024)
Abstract
The reduction of water resources due to the issue of global climate change and population growth is one of the most critical issues facing the designers and planners of the development of green spaces in cities. Against these challenges, there is an urgent need to improve the efficiency of water consumption and chain use of water resources with suitable options. Due to the significant volume of urban wastewater Effluent, its reuse in green space irrigation is important from the point of view of water resource management from an ecological and economic point of view. The effect of the Parand city wastewater treatment plant on the chemical properties of soil under the cultivation of three types of cover crops (Frankinia (FR), Festuca (FE), Dichondra (DI)) in a bed with sandy loam soil is investigated. This study was conducted as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design using mixing of water and Effluent at 4 levels with irrigation treatments of zero (control), 50, 75, and 100% compared to fresh water and 3 replications, and then the soil chemistry characteristics such as pH, EC, OC, Na, Cl, Ca, and Mg were evaluated. The results obtained from the soil chemical analysis parameters showed that the pH value decreased in all the treatments with effluent compared to the control, and this decrease was not significant in any treatment. The values of EC and Cl have increased in all plants, and these values were significant in the FR100 treatments with an increase of about 195 and 561% compared to the control, and in the FE100 treatment with an increase of about 54 and 162%, respectively, at the 5% probability level. The amount of OC in the FR100 treatment was significant with an increase of about 41% compared to the control treatment, but in other plants, this ratio was not significant in any treatment. The maximum amount of Mg in the FR50 treatment was 30.27, which has a significant effect compared to other treatments. The amount of Na and Ca in the FR100 treatment was significant with an increase of about 343% and 130%, respectively, compared to the control treatment, while in FE and DI plants, this ratio was not significant in any treatment.
