JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

The present study was conducted to assess effect of dung beetles function in the soil water infiltration performance on the part of rangeland of university of Sharekord in the form of a completely randomized design within one year. Therefore, the meshes consisted of both large and small size were used and filled with cattle, sheep and goat dung in six treatments (presence of dwellers, tunellers and absence of roller beetles- presence of dwellers, tunellers and small rollers and absence of large rollers- present of dwellers, rollers and small tunellers and presence of large tunellers- presence of dwellers and small tunellers, absence of large tunellers and rollers- presence of dwellers, tunellers and small rollers, absence of tunellers and large rollers- absence of beetle) with four replications. The soil water infiltration was measured using double ring. The results illustrated that the maximum function of the dung beetles in the soil water infiltration of states with cattle and goat dung application was calculated at the investigated possible treatment of presence of dwellers, presence of large and small tunneler and absence of large roller beetles and, presence of small roller beetles (10.27 and 8.97 cm/hr respectively) and the state with sheep dung application was calculated at the investigated possible treatment of presence of dwellers, absence of large tunellers and presence of small tunellers and also presence of large and small rollers, respectively (7.97 cm/hr). The results of the effect of manure on the total amount of water infiltration in the soil by dung beetles from all treatments showed the greatest amount of water infiltration in the soil, dung beetles were related to performance of dung beetles by removing goat (40.47 cm/hr), cattle (39.77 cm/hr) and sheep (38.07 cm/hr) dung. Functional groups of dung beetles by removing and importing livestock dung to the soil influence the infiltration rates in pastures soils.

Rapid urbanization and the expansion of impervious surfaces in urban areas can cause a reduction in infiltration rate, which consequently increases the flash floods and surface runoff in cities. In recent years, the use of bio-infiltration systems has been considered as one of the most effective approaches based on low-impact development (LID) for sustainable urban runoff management. In this study, the performance of six types of biological infiltration basins was investigated to reduce the volume of runoff and improve surface water management in the eastern region of Qazvin city. First, 40 years of rainfall data (1983–2023) were collected from the Qazvin meteorological station, and Intensity–Duration–Frequency (IDF) relationships were developed for various return periods. Six design scenarios were modeled: bioretention basins with and without a drainage system; tree boxes with and without a drainage system; infiltration trenches; and permeable pavements. The dimensions of all systems were kept constant to focus solely on hydrological performance without the influence of size or shape. Overall, using HEC-GeoHMS, SWMM, and MIDS models together offered a detailed and accurate framework for analyzing the hydrological behavior of bioretention systems in urban runoff management. Results showed that the runoff coefficients for the sub-basins averaged 0.79, highlighting the dominance of impervious surfaces in the area. These values were used as inputs for the MIDS model to simulate the six different bioretention scenarios. The results indicated that the permeable pavement scenario had the greatest effect on annual runoff reduction (about 728,555 m ³), while the bioretention cell with a drainage system had the lowest performance. SWMM results, based on DEM-derived sub-catchment data, showed low soil infiltration and high impervious surface coverage. These conditions highlighted the importance of bioretention systems in reducing urban flooding. Overall, the study demonstrates that well-planned bio-retention and other green infrastructure can decrease peak flows, increase time of concentration, and improve urban hydrological and environmental conditions.