JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

Furrow irrigation is the most common method of surface irrigation. However, the accurate estimation of the soil water infiltration equation is the most important challenge for evaluating this method of irrigation. In this study, a fast and simple method that is named soil intake families and presented by USDA-NRCS (RSIF), evaluated for estimation of the Kostiakove-lewis infiltration equation parameters based on soil information. Also, this method was developed based on irrigation condition and considering soil characteristics (D-RSIF). Two treatments including constant and variable inflow discharge were tested with 4 repetitions and different irrigation phases including advance, storage and recession were simulated by developed Zero-Inertia model using RSIF and D-RSIF methods. The results showed that using the zero- inertial model, the difference between simulated advance times and simulated runoff were significant at 5% level for D-RSIF and RSIF methods. For variable inflow discharge, the error of estimating runoff volume was 10%, 6%, 12% and 41% for RSIF, D-RSIF, multilevel calibration and two-point methods respectively. Also, the irrigation scheduling error, based on soil physics characteristics (RSIF) was 14% that means consuming water more than required.

Rainfall erosion is the first type of water erosion on the land which is affected by various factors such as land use change and previous rainfall. This study was carried out to investigate the influence of previous rainfalls on the process of rainfall erosion in two marl soils (pasture and that changed to agriculture) under the simulated rainfall. Toward this goal, aggregate samples with the diameters of 6 to 8 mm were randomly collected from the marl areas in the west of Zanjan. Soil aggregates were packed into 48 boxes with the dimension of 30×40 cm to examine the effects of eight rainfall durations with three replications. Eight simulated rainfalls with the duration of 0, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and 49 min and a constant intensity of 40 mm h^-1 were used in the experiment. The soils were exposed to another simulated rainfall with 40 mm h^-1 in terms of intensity for 15 min to study the rainfall erosion processes. The results showed that the aggregate breakdown was significantly affected by the previous rainfalls in the pasture soil (P<0.01), while there was no significant difference among the previous rainfalls in the case of agriculture soil.  Soil compaction and particles splash were significantly affected by previous rainfalls (P<0.05). Aggregate breakdown and particles splash were 1.41 and 1.31 times bigger than their values in the pasture soil. This study, therefore, revealed that the land use change in the mal areas increases the soil vulnerability to rainfall erosion processes. The rate of rainfall erosion processes in each rainfall event depends on the amount of previous rainfall. Increasing aggregate break down and soil water content by the previous rainfall could significantly influence the splash erosion rate in a marl soil.

One of the main reasons for bridge failure is the local scour around the pier. Pier groups are popular in the structural designs due to economical and geotechnical reasons. The mechanism of scouring at the pier groups is more complicated than the single one. In this study, the scour around group piers in the sandy soil and a mixture of sand and clay in some relative compaction equal to 90% and the optimum moisture was studied. The arrangement of the group piers was 1pier * 3pier and 3pier * 1pier along and transverse of the flow direction, respectively, at the interval space of D, 2D and 2.5D intervals. The effect of the Bentonite clay content was investigated. Finally, by using Kaolinite clay, the effect of the clay mineral was studied. The results showed that the scouring depth was different not only in cohesive and non- cohesive soils, but also according to the type of the clay mineral. The use of 10% bentonite clay mixed with sand reduced scour more than 90%, as compared to the sandy soil. On the other hand, using 15% of kaolin in the similar conditions reduced scour depth by only a 34%, in comparison to the sandy soil.

Soil erosion and its consequences are important factors in forest road network management. Cutslopes are the most important source of making sediment among different parts of the forest roads structure. For this research, a new and bare road in district No. 2, series No. 5 of NekaChoob forest, was selected; then the study data was measured. The study design was a completely randomized design in 10 plots with the size of 2 m² along 500 meters of road with the 8 natural rainfall events. The results of the Pearson correlation showed that among soil properties, the contents of the liquid limit at the 5% confidence level and the plastic limit at the 1% confidence level had positive correlations with runoff and soil loss. Also, organic matter at the 1% confidence level and the contents of the sand at the 5% confidence level had negative correlations with runoff and soil loss. With increasing the soil moisture and bulk density, runoff and soil loss were enhanced. The results of the multivariate model showed that soil loss could be estimated using the Plastic Limit and sand percentage variables with a the correlation coefficient of 0.948.

Soil moisture is one of the most important factors that can affect productivity in ecosystems in arid and semiarid regions. The aim of this study was to investigate soil moisture and vegetation changes in the Isfahan province at the seasonal scale. For this purpose, MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) and NDVI data were used to calculate the TVDI index, and the rate of soil moisture content was also measured at several soil depths including 5, 10, 20, 30 cm. in the growing season. Seasonal changes of LST and NDVI indices were also studied in different climate regions ranging from humid to hyperarid. The results showed that the changes in NDVI and LST in this region were different, depending on the climate type and soil conditions; the LST and its changes mostly depended on the amount of vegetation cover NDVI changes based on the plant phenology in humid regions, which was were greater than that in arid and semi-arid climates. Soil moisture monitoring indicated that the relationships between TDVI and different soil depths varied based on the seasonal conditions. In the early growing season, the soil moisture at the depth of 0-5 cm had a higher correlation with TVDI, but in the middle of growing season, the deeper soil moisture (10-30 cm) showed the highest correlation. Therefore, the findings of this research indicated the importance of the growing season, soil conditions and vegetation percentage and types in the soil moisture studies by using satellite data.

Soil is one of the most important natural resources of countries in which erosion occurs. In this research, the effect of soil characteristics on the amount of erosion at the suborder level was studied. For this purpose, 77 soil samples (0-30 cm) were prepared and the parameters were determined in the laboratory. The semi-variograms of soil parameters and their spatial distribution maps were prepared with GS⁺ and GIS, respectively. The study area was divided into work units by combining land use and geology maps and water erosion was estimated at each unit by the EPM method. By drilling profiles in different parts of study area, soil suborders were determined by Soil Taxonomy and the average values of parameters in each suborder was estimated. The principle components analysis (PCA) was then used for data analysis. The results showed that three parameters of silt, organic carbon and electrical conductivity could account for 30.384% as the first main component; clay, sand and vegetation could explain 11.189% as the second main component; and slope and height covered 15.330% as the third main component; in total, 63.805% percent of erosion variation could be justified by three main components. The lowest and highest amounts of erosion (69.12 and 343.57 m³/km², respectively) were estimated in Xeralfs and Fluvents suborders. The erosion class of suborders at the study area was determined to be “few” and “medium”.

Sloping farmlands are the major sources of soil, water and nutrient losses in arid and semi-arid regions. Information about the impacts of different tillage practices on soil erosion, nutrient loss and crop nutrient uptake on the sloping farmland of semi- arid soil is, however, limited. This study was carried out to investigate the effects of tillage direction on soil, water, nitrogen and phosphorous losses and their uptake by plant in a rainfed wheat land. Field experiments were conducted in two tillage directions: downslope tillage and contour line tillage with four fertilization treatments: control, urea, triple superphosphate, and urea + triple superphosphate at the field plots with 1.75 m ´ 8 m in dimensions by using the randomized completely block design at three replications in Zanjan Township during 2014-2015. According to the results, Significant differences were found between the two tillage practices in soil loss (P < 0.001), water loss (P < 0.001), nitrogen loss soil loss (P < 0.001), and nitrogen uptake by wheat grain (P < 0.001), while phosphorous loss and its uptake did not show any statistically significant difference. Soil and water loss in the downslope tilled plots was 1.65 and 2.50 times higher than the contour line tillage, respectively. Nitrogen loss in the downslope tilled plots was 1.29 times more than that in the contour line tilled plots. Nitrogen loss in the plots was attributed to soil and water loss, so significant relationships were observed between nitrogen loss and soil loss (R² = 0.59)
and water loss (R² = 0.55). This study, therefore, revealed that the tillage direction is an important factor controlling runoff, soil loss, and nitrogen loss and its uptake by wheat in the rainfed lands of semi-arid regions. Application of the contour tillage is, therefore, the first step to conserve soil and water and to improve soil productivity in these regions.

Localized irrigation methods can be used to manage low water holding capacity in the sandy soils. In this research, the effects of different irrigation systems including pot, tape and drip irrigation with gravity pressures of 0.5, 1.5 and 3 meters on the sandy soil moisture distribution under watermelon cultivation were compared with the furrow irrigation as the control treatment. The moisture content of the soil at different depths and at the distance of 5 and 20 cm from the plant was measured using the TDR device. Water distribution study showed that in the pot irrigation method, the moisture content of different depths of soil was kept constant by 16% during the irrigation interval, but the highest moisture content was observed in gravitional drip irrigation treatment at the depths of 40, 50 and 60 cm; in contrast, the lowest amount of moisture was observed in the pot irrigation treatment. In tape and gravitional drip irrigation system with gravity pressure, in addition to the adjustment soil moisture up to 15 to 22% within the wetting front, soil moisture can be kept almost constant by pulsed irrigation technique. Therefore, while providing the use of drip irrigation system with minimum water pressure available in most of the agricultural land (0.5 m), using pot irrigation can ensure sandy soil moisture retention and soil for the cultivation of fruits such as watermelon plants.

The conversion of forests to agricultural lands generally has damaging effects on soil qualitative indices. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of land use change on the physico- chemical and biological characteristics of the soils of Mokhtar Plain, Yasouj Region. Five soil samples (0- 30 cm) were taken from three land uses of dense forest, degraded forest, and dry farming. The physical, chemical and biological analyses were carried out in a completely randomized design. The results showed that by following the change in the forest land use to dry farming, the EC (56%), organic matter (67%), total nitrogen (71%), exchangeable potassium (48%), Basal respiration (42%), exhaled respiration (63%), fungi community (23%), acid phosphatase (59%), and alkaline phosphatase (79%) were decreased in the dry farming land use. However, the bacterial community (20%) and pH (5%) were increased in the dry farming land use and the amount of available phosphorus did not show any significant difference, as compared to the dense forest. In general, it can be concluded that by following forest degradation and change in land use, soil organic matter and its related indices, especially biological ones, are more affected. So, in order to maintain soil quality, appropriate management practices such as managed land use change, avoidance of tree cutting, especially on steep slopes, preventing of overgrazing, and addition of organic matter should be carried out in dry farming land use.

In this study, to evaluate the rain- fed land capability in the west of Gavkhooni basin and Plasjn sub- basin, a multi- criteria evaluation method was used. First, by reviewing the literature and expert knowledge, proper data were determined. Criteria and constraint were standardized by Fuzzy and Boolean methods repeatedly and the criteria weights were determined using the analytic hierarchy process. Calculated weights showed that soil and climate criteria with 0.27 and 0.26 had the highest weights among other criteria. Criteria and constraints were combined by considering criteria weights and using the weighted linear combination method; then the rain- fed land capability model was prepared. By re- classing the prepared model, the rain- fed land capability map was produced in 6 capability classes. The results showed that 178430 hectares of the study area was related to very high and high rain- fed capability classes. To determine the rain-fed agriculture sustainability, rain- fed agriculture locations were determined in each land rain- fed capability map. The results showed that 19686 hectares of rain- fed areas were located in high and very high capability and 5999 hectares were the in lower classes.

Few studies have been done regarding the role of the raindrop in the hydrodinamic mechanism of soil erosion. In this study, rainfall simulation experiments were conducted to evaluate the role of raindrop in runoff discharge, sediment concentration and hydraulic properties of flow under four slope gradients (5, 10, 15 and 20%) in a clay soil using a 90 mm.h^-1 rainfall intensity to reach the steady state flow. Soil sample was packed into the erosion flume with 0.3m× 0.4m × 4 m in dimensions and tested under two soil surface conditions:  one with raindrop impact and one without raindrop impact. The results showed that runoff discharge, sediment concentration, flow depth, shear stress, stream power, Reynolds number and runoff velocity under without raindrop impact condition were significantly lower than those in the condition  with the raindrop impact with a factor of 0.62 to 3.54, 0.08 to 11.83, 0.91 to 0.96, 0.26 to 3.25, 0.52 to 4.45, and 0.36 to 3.27, 0.23 to 0.79 times, respectively; on the other hand, the Darcy Wysbach, Chezy and Manning coefficients were increased significantly under without raindrop impact (P<0.01). Flow velocity was the key hydraulic parameter strongly affecting the hydraulic properties. These findings indicated the importance of raindrop impact in the detachment rate of soil particles through the change of the hydraulic characteristics. This study also revealed the key role of raindrop impact on the runoff hydraulic characteristics, as well as particle detachments rate in rills. Information about the role of raindrop impact is a substantial step in modeling the rill erosion. Therefore, elimination of raindrops impact, especially in the steep slopes, with the conservation of natural vegetation cover can sufficiently prevent runoff production as well as the particle detachment rate.

Soil pollution by heavy metals is a serious environmental problem that threatens the human health. The present study was carried out to investigate and detect the contamination of heavy metals of arsenic, copper, lead, zinc and iron due to human and natural activities in the sediment of lake bed and the surface soils of the eastern part of Urmia Province, West Azarbaijan Province. A total of 20 soil samples and surface deposition from the depths of 0 to 30 cm were collected randomly from the studied areas. After preparing the samples, extraction was carried out to determine the concentration of the heavy metals in the soil by using hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, and the total concentration of metals was measured using ICP-OES. The results of the calculation of the contamination factor showed that copper, iron, zinc and lead in the class of low and medium pollution and arsenic in 65.5% of the samples were very high in the class. The high concentrations of copper, lead and zinc contamination in the margin of the city and the contamination of arsenic in the lake bed were observed. The analysis of the contamination factor maps and contamination index with land use and geological map showed that copper, lead and zinc were mostly affected by human activities and arsenic influenced by the maternal materials in the region.

Soils pollution with heavy metals is due to the presence of various metals such as copper, nickel, cadmium, zinc, chromium and lead. Heavy metals have a negative effect on the biological parameters of soil, including size, activity and diversity of soil microbial population, as well as the enzymes involved in the deformation of such elements as P, N, C, and S. Thus, the activity of soil enzymes as a bioavailable agent is reflected as a cheap and fast method for the natural and anthropogenic distribution of heavy metals contamination. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of lead, humidity and their interaction on urease and phosphatase enzyme activity during a 10 week incubation period. Different levels of acetate lead (50,100, 150 and 200 mg/kg soil) were added to the plots containing two different moisture regimes (field capacity and flooding). The activity of urease and phosphatase (alkaline and acidity) was measured after 2,4,6,8 and 10 weeks of incubation. The results indicated different levels of lead had no significant effect on the activity of urease and acidity phosphatase. In contrast, high levels of lead significantly reduced the activity of alkaline phosphatase. Moreover, moisture served a different role in the activity of these enzymes, and it was related to the lead concentration and incubation time. Additionally, the function and interaction of lead, moisture and time were very influential on urease and phosphatase activity. Therefore, the above three characteristics are very important to study soil contamination for the polluted soils.

For sustainable soil management, the effects of slope position and land use change on soil and water resources are essential. In this research, three land uses including degraded pasture, drought and apple gardens were selected to determine the effect of slope position and land use on some physical and chemical properties of soil in the Koohrang area of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. Each of the applications was divided according to the position of the slope, and from three applications and organic matter (OM), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), water repellency (RI), dispersible clay (DC) and weighted average aggregate diameter (MWD)  were studied as the  physical and chemical properties of soil. The results showed that Ks had the greatest coefficient of variation. Also, the results of the mean comparison revealed that all of the measured physical and chemical properties had a significant difference in different slope applications and positions at 5% level. In general, the garden and the base position of the slope had better qualitative conditions than other land uses and slope positions. Rangeland degradation and change in the use of pasture from dryland cultivation led to a decrease in soil quality, which could reduce soil utilization and exhaust some of the land from the production cycle. The results of the correlation between chemical and physical properties of soil showed that in general soil organic matter had the highest correlation with other parameters.

In semi-arid regions, soils are weakly aggregated and subjected to water erosion processes especially rill and interrill erosion. There is no information on the rate of these water erosion types in semi-arid soils located in the hillslopes. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the soils susceptibility to these erosion types in semi-arid region. A laboratory experiment was done in eight soil textures using in a 0.6 m × 1 m flume a simulated rainfall with 50 mm.h^-1 in intensity for 60 min. Rill and interrill erosion rate was measured using soil loss amount per flume area and rainfall duration. Based on the results, both rill and interrill erosion rate were significantly varied among the soils textures (P<0.001). Silt loam was the most susceptible soil to rill erosion (0.22 g m^-2 sec^-1) and interrill erosion (0.15 g m^-2 sec^-1), whereas sand didn’t appear any soil loss by these water erosion types. The compression of soil loss resulted by rill and interrill erosion among the soil tectures showed that rill erosion rate for sandy clay loam, silt loam, loam and sandy loam was 3.2, 1.4, 1.1 and 2.8 times higher than interrill erosion rate, respectively. These differences were statistically significant. Silt content was the major factor controlling soil loss difference in these soils. This study revealed that the study semi-arid soils having higher silt content appears also higher rill erosion rate than interrill erosion rate.

In the present study, six soil profiles belonging to five soil types were dug, described and sampled. Soil samples were analyzed for the determination of different physicochemical properties and total and DTPA-extractable iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd). Considering the variability of pH and calcium carbonate equivalent, the examined soils were alkaline and calcareous. A considerable change in the values of the DTPA fraction of Fe (1.4-25.8 mg/kg), Zn (0.01-3.3 mg/kg), Cu (0.32- 6.2 mg/kg), Mn (1-11.8 mg/kg), Cd (0.05- 0.12 mg/kg) and Pb (0.22- 2.56 mg/kg) as well as in the total fraction of Fe (10.6-20.6 g/kg), Zn (35- 67.5 mg/kg), Cu (9 to 26.40 mg/kg), Mn (262- 588.8 mg/kg), Cd (0.5- 1.75 mg/kg) and Pb (17- 31.3 mg/kg) was observed in  different soils. The content and pattern of both DTPA and total fraction of the metal were varied among the soil types, which could be related to several processes such as the diversity of weathering rate, geomorphologic condition, soil formation process, different physicochemical properties of soils, and the inputs of different agrochemical compounds. The concentration of both DTPA and total fraction of the metal were in the acceptable maximum level in the majority of the soil samples.

The use of additives to modify the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of soil and soil stabilization is one of the most common methods that have a history. By adding one or more additives to the soil and carrying out the required measures, the engineering properties of soils could be improved due to chemical reactions. Selecting the type and amount of additive depends on several factors such as: soil type, stabilization purpose, additives inherent characteristics, etc.; these are determined based on the technical and economic aspects of the projects. In this study, the effects of the simultaneous use of three types of additives including lime, stone powder and polypropylene fibers on the unconfined compressive strength of a clayey soil were investigated.  To do this, four different levels of lime (0, 2, 3 and 5 percent by weight of soil) and four different levels of stone powder waste (0, 2, 5 and 10 percent by weight of soil) and Polypropylene fibers with different percentages in five levels of 0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1 percent by weight of soil were added into a high plastic clay soil classified as CH. Then, some physical and mechanical characteristics of different mixtures including plasticity, compaction and unconfined compressive strength were determined. The results showed that the samples were stabilized with lime and stone powder waste and reinforcement them with polypropylene fibers modified Atterberg Limits, optimum moisture and maximum dry density of the mixtures. Also, it was found that a combination of waste stone powder, lime and polypropylene fibers containing 5, 5 and 1 percent by weight of soil increased the unconfined compressive strength 8-fold, as compared to the natural soil. The curing time also had a significant impact on the compressive strength of the treated samples in which the 28-day compressive strength of was found to be about 2 times of the 7-day samples.

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, isolated trees significantly influence the soil properties and can have a great impact on the soil fertility as well as the conservation and improvement of soil quality. This investigation was conducted to examine the influence of wild almond (Amygdalus arabica Olive.) trees having different ages on the physical and chemical soil properties. Soil samples were taken from the depths of 0-20, 40-60, 80-100 and 120-140 cm at two distances from the tree crown including the basal area (referred to as the rhizosphere) and the canopy edge in 3 replications for the 30, 50, and 130 year-old stands and also, in a control site, all in the Anjarak area, southeast of Baft city, Kerman Province. Soil properties including pH, EC, organic matter, calcium carbonate equivalent, available and non-exchangeable potassium and soil texture were measured in all samples. The results indicated that the measured soil properties in different depths in the study area had been influenced by the age and the canopy size of the wild almond trees. The highest and the lowest amount of pH were found in the control soil and the soils covered by 130 year-old trees, respectively. Besides, the electrical conductivity of the soil under the tree crown was more than that of the soil in the canopy edge. The accumulation of C, N, and other nutrients under the tree canopies resulted in the creation of fertility islands surrounding the trees. Furthermore, the soil physical and chemical properties were greatly improved with the increase in the tree age of Amygdalus arabica Olive. As the conclusion, wild almond trees could have very positive effects on soil properties. Therefore, it is essential to protect the trees. Otherwise, the risk of soil quality reduction would be increased and soils might become more susceptible to soil erosion.

Understanding the abundance of clay minerals in soil and also, their spatial variability can provide more comprehensive information about soil properties, behavior and functions. The objectives of this research were: (i) to map the spatial distribution of  the dominant clay minerals in the soils of Isfahan Province and its relationship with climate and parent materials, and (ii) to determine the quantity of  the dominant clay minerals in different climatic classes of Isfahan Province. The amount of palygorskite, illite, expanded minerals and chlorite were semi-quantitatively determined for 100 soil samples collected from Isfahan Province. Maps of the dominant clay minerals were prepared by the Inverse Distance Weighting method. The results showed that palygorskite mostly occurred in the soils of dry areas with higher temperature throughout the province. This mineral was not present in the more humid areas of the province. Besides, palygoskite was found to be dominant in the soils derived from the Qom Formation, as well as Lower and Upper Red Formations belonging to Miocene and Pliocene. It seems, therefore, that the parent material plays a major role in entering palygoskite to the soil system, while the dry climate mostly guarantees the stability of this clay minerals and, to some extent, its limited neoformation in such soils. Both illite and chlorite occur in all soils throughout the province, regardless of their climate, following no particular trend. This may indicate that parent materials play a major role in the occurrence of these minerals. Both climate and parent material appear to have affected the distribution of expandable clays in the soils. In more humid areas of the province (west and southwest), climate plays a larger role in the distribution of this mineral. In other areas of the study region, especially in the eastern parts of the province with a much drier climate, the role of the parent material on the dominant soil clay minerals is more pronounced.

Digital soil mapping plays an important role in upgrading the knowledge of soil survey in line with the advances in the spatial data of infrastructure development. The main aim of this study was to provide a digital map of the soil family classes using the random forest (RF) models and boosting regression tree (BRT) in a semi-arid region of Ilam province. Environmental covariates were extracted from a digital elevation model with 30 m spatial resolution, using the SAGAGIS7.3 software. In this study area, 46 soil profiles were dug and sampled; after physico-chemical analysis, the soils were classified based on key to soil taxonomy (2014). In the studied area, three orders were recognized: Mollisols, Inceptisols, and Entisols. Based on the results of the environmental covariate data mining with variance inflation factor (VIF), some parameters including DEM, standard height and terrain ruggedness index were the most important variables. The best spatial prediction of soil classes belonged to Fine, carbonatic, thermic, Typic Haploxerolls. Also, the results showed that RF and BRT models had an overall accuracy and of 0.80, 0.64 and Kappa index 0.70, 0.55, respectively. Therefore, the RF method could serve as a reliable and accurate method to provide a reasonable prediction with a low sampling density.