Journal of Environmental Studies
Year:2022 | Volume:48 | Issue:1|Papers Count:6

This research was aimed to investigate the effects of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons contaminants in Isfahan Refinery and Mobarake Steel factory soils on diversity of Collembolan Arthropods. The concentration of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons were measured using atomic absorption and Soxhlet methods, respectively. Soil Collembola were collected using burl funnel, and finally, eleven species belonging to 6 families from 2 suborder of collembola were identified. In heavy metals contaminated soils, three species including Isotomiella minor, Ceratophysella stercoraria and Hypogastura sp. 1, have the highest percentages of frequency respectively. As well as, the highest frequency of collembola in contaminated soil with petroleum hydrocarbons were related to Hypogastura sp., Isotomiella minor and Ceratophysella stercoraria species respectively. In this research, the Folsomia candida showed highly susceptibility against soil pollutions, was not collected from heavy metals and oil hydrocarbons contaminated soils and can be used as a biomarker. This is the first report of collembolan fauna in soils containing environmental pollutants in Iran.

Assessing human comfort outdoors is one of the key criteria in the design of building. One of the effective factors in creating comfort conditions is wind flow. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of urban blocks on wind flow for creating the comfortable condition. The ratio of buildings height to distance (H/W) and the orientation of buildings as the most important factors affecting wind flow were examined. The ratios of 0. 5, 1, 1. 5, and 2 were selected and orientations of 135° to 200° were examined. A residential complex in Tabriz was selected as a case study and weather information of the last 19 years (2002-2021) of Tabriz was extracted from the Meteorological Organization. Months of the year that were unfavorable in terms of comfort conditions were identified by using the Penwarden standard. Accordingly, January 6, 2021, was selected as one of the coldest days of the year, and to simulate different scenarios, Envi-met (4. 4. 5) software was used. The results show that the H/W ratios of 0. 5 to 1 and the orientations of 200° to 185° and 135° are the most appropriate. In this research two important factors, H/W and their orientation were studied in a linear form. One of the limitations of the research is that only the comfort conditions in the outdoor environment of the buildings have been studied. Therefore, in future research, the arrangement of urban blocks to consume less energy inside buildings can be examined.

To express the role and importance of the environment and express its monetary values, these resources need to be valued using appropriate methods. Therefore, in the present study, the recreational value of Baharan Park in Meybod city has been evaluated using the contingent valuation method. Also, using the logit model, the effective factors on the willingness of visitors to pay have been investigated to improve the situation and protect this park. To do so, first, the sample size was determined based on the Cochran method, and then the data were collected by questionnaire and a face-to-face interview. Based on the results, that the variables "visit duration" and "education level" positively affected and on the other hand, the variables "transportation vehicles" and "maximum offer amount" negatively affected the willingness to pay. According to the results, the monthly willingness to pay of each visitor was 38, 350 Rials. Also, the monthly and annual willingness to pay of each household was evaluated at 161070 and 1932840 Rials, respectively, which indicates the high importance of this park.

Eutrophication is a serious water quality issue that occurs due to the excess nutrient loads entering the water bodies. Esteghlal Dam is the source of supplying 50% of the drinking water of Bandar Abbas, which has been affected by algal blooms due to the excess nutrient loads from the Minab basin. The purpose of this study is to identify Critical Source Areas (CSAs) and study and prioritize management scenarios to reduce pollution load to the reservoir. In this study, we used an integrated quantitative and qualitative simulation approach at the basin scale. We applied the SWAT model as a comprehensive process-oriented model to simulate the entire watershed. After identifying CSAs, we assessed the impact of each management scenario on reducing the nutrients. Finally, based on the nutrient load reduction and the investment and operating costs of each scenario, we select appropriate solutions using a multi-criteria decision-making approach. The results showed that agricultural and pastures (livestock) land uses in Jaghin and Minab sub-basins are CSAs. In addition, Filter Strip with a width of at least 10 meters and Fertilizer Reduction on Farms were recognized as the most effective strategies.

Urban green infrastructure (GI) development is a technique for reducing the consequences of urbanization on the hydrological cycle. This research aims to propose proper GI practices for urban areas of Tehran metropolitan using multi-criteria decision-making methods, including the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and TOPSIS. The framework of this research has seven main steps. Firstly, relevant criteria and sub-criteria were selected. Secondly, these criteria were weighted with a panel of nine experts with various fields related to the research from different viewpoints using AHP. A sensitivity analysis was conducted using PYSIS software to avoid possible bios. In the third step, all GI practices' suitability was evaluated and prioritized using the weight of selected criteria and subcriteria. Finally, different scenarios for combining practices were defined, assessed, and prioritized. The results indicate that the porous pavement is the most suitable GI practice for Tehran, while green swale received the weakest. The results also revealed that infiltration trench, bio-retention bed, rainwater harvesting, retention pond, bio-retention pond, and green roof held the rank of second to seven of GI suitability. In terms of GI combination, ten essential GI combinations for the city of Tehran were proposed, including conveyance-detention, conveyance-restoration, conveyanceirrigation, detention-conveyance, detention-absorption, detention-irrigation, and absorptionirrigation. Finally, for each of the combination scenarios, GI combinations were proposed.

Considering the necessity of achieving sustainability in cities, this research aims at assessing the practicality of the CASBEE-City tool for prioritizing development measures and strategies in Tehran Megalopolis, Iran. CASBEE is a method of assessing and rating the environmental performance of a built environment according to the Built Environment Efficiency (BEE) as an assessment index, which is based on the idea of eco-efficiency. This tool provides a composite index (BEE) which is calculated based on the city quality (Q) indices, including environmental, social, and economic aspects and the environmental load (L) covering the annual CO2-eq. emission per capita. The results of applying this tool to Tehran City show that this capital is ranked fairly poor (B-) in 2019, representing low quality and high load. According to the findings, recycling resources, social services, and public transportation, along with the decrease in carbon emissions are to be the priorities in the future city development plans. Presenting the results separated by each index, planners and decision-makers can accurately determine which aspect of the city’ s quality should be given precedence for realizing sustainability in the mid and long term. A Comprehensive city assessment from the perspective of environmental efficiency is important because it provides guidelines for deciding upon a preferable course of action. This type of assessment should benefit not only citizens and local governments but also national governments. This kind of assessment helps national governments to determine which area should be the focus of further efforts toward improvement.