Journal of Natural Environment
Year:2021 | Volume:74 | Issue:2|Papers Count:15

Among the various species of mammals, three guilds of the Bovidae and Cervidae family, including red deer – roe deer, goitered gazelle – chinkara, and wild goat – mouflon have always been considered as target species in conservation programs. However the impacts of climate change on the effectivness of the conservation areas (CAs) of Iran is poorly understood. The current research using Speceis Distribution Model (SDM) based on MaxEnt model aims at identifying suitable habitats and hotspot areas for these species in the current time and evaluate the impact of climate changes by 2050. Our results showed that all models obtained AUC > 0.8 revealing proper predictive performances. The comparison of the area of suitable habitats for the current time and 2050 showed that all species, except for chinkara and goitered gazelle, will face a reduction in the area of suitable habitats in the future. Among the speceis roe deer and red deer will experience the greatest habitat loss, 70% and 61%, respectively. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the CAs to cover hotspot areas, Class 4 and Class 5 of speceis richness, revealed that only 12% and 18% of hotspots will be covered by the conservation network in the current time and 2050, respectively. Therfore, the present study by identifying hotspots of these species could be considered as an operative tools for the conservation planning of in the current time and future.

During the past years, under the influence of various factors, the surrounding area of Urmia Lake has been subjected to significant changes followed by emerging saline cores leading to some damaging consequences making this study of importance. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the dryness scale resulting in the high levels of saltiness in Urmia Lake. To this purpose, Landsat satellite images were used during different periods of time, 1998 to 2019. The object-oriented approach has been used to process and identify the amount of wet salt mixed with soil and the degree of water receding. Accordingly, the segmentation was accomplished based on scale 15 for Landsat 5/7 images and Scale 150 for Landsat 8 images, having also different types of indices (salinity, brightness, and vegetation) applied to all the images.The results showed that annual changes in the water level of the Lake and wet salt mixed with soil have been considerable. During the years 1998 to 2015, the water bodies' coverage fell up to 32.74 percent shrinking from 5722.83 to 687.718 square kilometers while the wet salt mixed with soil has increased by 30.38 percent. From 2015 onward, due to increased rainfall and preventive measures set to revive the lake, this trend has been reversed resulting in water bodies' coverage increasing by 3502.267 square kilometers and salinity has simultaneously gone at 20.198 percent. The overall accuracy of 0.94 and kappa coefficient of 0.92 were obtained for classification results implying the capability of object-oriented processing in the classification of the surface features using the Landsat imagery.

Evaluating ecological capability is of at most importance in preventing significant damages to natural and environmental resources in addition to its pivotal roles in ecosystem sustainability and sustainable development as well. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the ecological capabilities of Khorasan Razavi Province for the conservation of key mammal species. Accordingly, eleven indices derived from nine general criteria including distance from roads, slope, elevation, vegetation density, geographical direction, distance from protected areas, distance from water sources, distance from residential and agricultural areas, were selected and evaluated. The relative importance of the indices was then determined using a hierarchical GIS environment. Based on the results, the slope was the most important driving force for the conservation of species such as the wild goat and wild sheep with the coefficients of 0.372 and 0.342, respectively while the elevation was detected as the most contributing factor for the species of the pallas’s cat, leopard, sand cat, and caracal with the coefficients of 0.227, 0.338, 0.228 and 0.332, respectively; The factors most determinant for the habitat suitability of the Asiatic cheetah, were the distance from agricultural and residential lands with a coefficient of 0.29 while for the goitered gazelle, the vegetation weighted the most with a coefficient of 0.311. In conclusion, the identified locations are recommendable to be included in the current conservation network

Increasing use of dyes and pollution with containing dyes is one of the major environmental problems and, various methods for the treatment of effluents containing dyes have been investigated. In this study, TiO2, CoFe2O4 and TiO2/CoFe2O4 nanofibers were prepared using electrospinning process and the effect of voltage and electrospinning distance on the diameter and morphology of nanofibers were investigated. Samples of prepared nanofiber were used as adsorbents for decolonization of effluents containing direct and red 80 dyes. The effect of various parameters such as the content of adsorbent, dye concentration and pH on the decolonization efficiency was investigated. Structural and optical properties of prepared nanofibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), specific surface determination test (BET) and, UV-Vis spectroscopy has been used to study the adsorption of dyes. The obtained SEM images showed that the average diameter of all three prepared nanofiber samples of TiO2, CoFe2O4 and TiO2 / CoFe2O4 is less than 100 nm. The results of XRD show that the nanostructures prepared after heat treatment have a structure with a crystalline dominant phase. BET results show that the dye degradation rate k in TiO2/CoFe2O4 nanofibers is 93.45 (ppm/h), which is much better than the other two nanofibers. The results show that the dye degradation efficiency of TiO2/CoFe2O4 nanofibers was much better than TiO2 and CoFe2O4.

Being at the top of the food pyramid, as a pioneer species, has led the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) to expose habitat degradation and prey reduction, in the recent years, in particular, necessitating the development of habitat conservation plans. In this study, habitat suitability modeling of the Persian Leopard was conducted using QGIS with only presence data as well as general linear model (GLM) with presence/absence data based on the binomial distribution, run in the R software. In QGIS, using topography, DEM, slope, and aspect maps as well as villages maps, the continuous population distribution map was delineated. The presence points, derived from field-working, were then inserted, and other mandatory layers were also collected and geo-rectified, where applicable. Afterward, each one of the layers was categorized and rasterized. Following the validation, the final suitability map of the Persian leopard was performed. In the GLM, simulations were generated using a full model with all variables and a leave-one-out procedure, gradually dropping the least contributing variable to form a minimal model. The results showed throughout the area, the most suitable habitats are scattered. Considering the substantial reduction in the preys population in Gisakan alongside the abundance of livestock, goats specifically, habitat suitability is largely increased near the rangelands and water resources. Furthermore, the habitats placed in northern aspects with > 1000 m height, slopes of 30-65%, 0 to 1000 meters distance to the roads, and 1000 to 2500 meters distance to the villages, showed higher suitability.

Tea is not only known as one of the most common beverages in the world but also as a quite favorable and frequently consumed drink in Iran. Accordingly, studying the fresh tea leaves’ heavy metal content is an area of attention considering the environment quality assessment in addition to the public health issues. The research aimed at determining the concentration of heavy metals including lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel, cobalt, and chromium in the fresh leaves of tea and topsoils of the tea fields in Fouman County, Guilan, Iran. To do so, tea fresh leaves and respective topsoils were sampled at 5 sampling sites. After initial preparation, digestion of the taken samples was performed using HCl, HNO3, and H2O2 reagents. The concentration of heavy elements in the samples was determined by inductively coupled plasma (ICP). There have also been statistical tests such as one-way analysis of variance, T-test, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) performed using the SPSS software. Based on the results, the average concentrations of lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel, cobalt, and chromium in soil samples were obtained 3.94, 1.06, 60.29, 22.79, 9.49, and 2.77, mg/kg, respectively. According to the metal pollution load index (0<1), the soil quality of the study area was identified at an acceptable level. The levels of lead, cadmium, zinc, nickel, cobalt, and chromium in fresh leaves were obtained 0.44, 0.08, 22.58, 9.93, 0.23, and 0.36 mg/kg, respectively. Compared to the international standards (WHO / FAO), the amount of lead in fresh leaves was higher than permissible levels. By contrast, the amounts of cadmium, zinc, nickel, cobalt, and chromium were at acceptable values. As for soil samples, only the concentration of cadmium was higher than admissible levels based on the given standards. As such, the leaching process and biological uptake (happened by the rest of the flora) should have a part to play justifying the former results.

Agriculture is the main source of water withdrawals which accounts for about 70% of the total freshwater withdrawals in the Hirmand catchment. In recent years, water shortages have subjected agriculture and environment sectors to difficulties in the Hirmand catchment. In this study, the aim is to present a system dynamics model (SDM) to evaluate the delivered water demand and the unmet water demand. Therefore, first, the water resources system of the Hirmand catchment was modeled in the software of Vensim, and water supply and demand were afterwar simulated. Having considered the ongoing legislation and policies, as well as regional plans, the current and future status of the system were delineated using varied scenarios. The results showed that the implementation of the 46.000-hectare Agricultural Project causes an annual water shortage of 415.930 million m3 in the agricultural lands outside the project scope. Besides, the implementation of the second line of the Water Transfer Project - aimed to deliver water to Zahedan - will intensify the water shortage in the agricultural sector specifically to the peripheral lands outside the plan by 9.324 million m3/year. The plan will also exacerbate the water shortage in the environmental sector by 6 million m3/year. Based on the results, saving up to 20% water in the drinking sector will increase water supply in the agricultural and environment sectors respectively by 3.215 and 2 million m3/year. If the current water allocation policy continues, spreading the particulate matter is inevitable, as a result. To protect the environment of the Hirmand catchment, giving the agriculture and environment sectors the same priority in the upper hand policies is emphatically recommended.

This study was performed to explore the 2020 agricultural sustainability through studying the environmental indicators in Golestan Province, Iran, using data and information acquired from the Agricultural Jihad Organization, Golestan Provincial Water and Wastewater Organization, Iran Meteorological Organization, and the Governorate of Golestan Province. According to the results, chemical pesticide and fertilizer usages, as well as nitrate concentration in groundwater, showed a negative effect whereas the cropping area, rainfall, conservation tillage practices, and cropping diversity showed a positive effect on the environmental indicators. Meanwhile, the highest and lowest weights were obtained respectively for conservation tillage practices (0.16) and cropping area (0.11) based on the application of analytical hierarchical analysis (AHP). Having prioritized the study area, Gonbad Kavus (89%) and Bandar-e-Turkmen (56%) were respectively the best and worst counties in terms of environmental indicators. In addition, conducting a sensitivity analysis with a shifting range of 1-5% showed the indicators have constancy with no priority changes. Finally, the counties of Golestan province were classified into stable, relatively stable, and unstable categories. Taking the findings into account, the sustainability of agriculture in Golestan province can be enhanced by implementing the proposed environmental indicators into the planning process.

Nowadays, corals are exposed to bleaching due to climate change and rising water temperatures. On the other hand, the physical parameters of seawater are per-se affected by climate fluctuations. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of physical water parameters such as water temperature, salinity, acidity, electrical conductivity as well as climatic parameters such as air temperature and maximum wind speed on the health of massive corals in the Chabahar Bay. For this purpose, the data recorded at Chabahar Bay Hydrographic Field Station, the ECMWF Center Database, and Chabahar Meteorological Station were used. Ten-year monthly color data of the algae coexisting with massive corals have been extracted as a coral health indicator during diving operations using the Coral Watch method. The relationship between variables was also investigated through the Pearson correlation test, multivariate linear regression, and Mann-Kendall trend analysis using SPSS and Minitab software. According to the results, salinity and electrical conductivity showed a significant decreasing trend, while water acidity and air temperature showed a significant increasing trend. Meanwhile, water temperature and wind speed maximum showed insignificant increasing and decreasing trends, respectively. As for the health status of massive corals, there was a significant decreasing trend ending in 2019 (with a color score of 3.54 out of 6) set is in the category of "moderate". In addition, the health of mass corals showed the highest positive correlation with salinity and EC while indicating a negative correlation with maximum wind speed with a level of 0.01. On the contrary, there was no significant correlation between bulk corals' health and water temperature.

Water pollution caused by antibiotics is a serious problem worldwide and particularly in Iran. Therefore, it is necessary to employ an effective method to eliminate antibiotic pollutions. In this research, the degradation of amoxicillin and levofloxacin antibiotics in aqueous solutions was studied using Ag/ZnO photocatalysis under the A-type ultraviolet irradiation (UV-A 365 nm). Having conducted the experiments, the Ag/ZnO composite was first synthesized by dispersing zinc oxide in silver nitrate. Afterward, the structure and properties of Ag/ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, FESEM, and EDX techniques. In the meant time, the concentration of antibiotics and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined by UV-VIS spectrophotometer and TOC analyzers, respectively. The process efficiency has also been investigated under the influence of the following treatments: the effects of solution pH (3-11), initial concentration of amoxicillin and levofloxacin (5-30 mg/l), catalyst dosage (0.075-0.3 g/l), and reaction time (15-120 min). Based on the results, the highest efficiency in amoxicillin removal was determined (93.7%) in optimal conditions of Ag/ZnO at 0.15 g/l, pH 5, amoxicillin concentration 5 mg/l, and 120 min contact time. while the optimum condition for levofloxacin removal was achieved at 0.15 g/l catalyst dosage, pH 9.0, 120 min reaction time, and levofloxacin concentration of 5 mg/l. Under these conditions, the levofloxacin and TOC removal efficiency was 88.4% and 84.56%, respectively. The results showed that Ag/ZnO nanoparticles in the presence of the UV-A can efficiently remove amoxicillin and levofloxacin from aqueous solutions.

This study aimed to evaluate and zoning the status of metal contamination using the Nemro integrated pollution index (NIPI) in the vineyards of Malayer county. For the study, 286 geolocated soil samples were excerpted based on a random systematic method; each with a weight of 1 kg collected both from a depth of 0-20 cm and a surface of 20 × 20 cm, and then stored in the polyethylene bags to be transferred to the laboratory getting further analyzed. The concentrations of Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, As, and Hg were measured using a spectrophotometer; the average concentrations of the sampled metals were respectively 597, 109, 87.86, 84.32, 67.12, 47.1, and 0.344 mg/kg. Based on the results, the measured values were below the NIPI index thresholds for each element remarking the relatively unpolluted condition of the study area. Having evaluated the NIPI-based map in line with low concentrations of the heavy metals in the soil of the study area and a semi-homogeneous distribution of the heavy metals concentration, unfold that the geological processes are the governing factors in controlling the concentration of measured metals. By contrast, human-made changes are mostly responsible for the heterogeneous distribution of metal concentrations in small parts of the region.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a suitable biological model for studying ecotoxicology in heavy metals among all the water birds. When it comes to choosing an appropriate organ, using feathers is a common biological indicator and non-lethal (non-destructive) technique in the evaluation of heavy metals pollution. Having considered the contradictory results about the variation of heavy metals concentration due to body indices, age, and gender conditions, the present study was designed. Accordingly, the sampling was accomplished in autumn and winter 2019-2020, capturing 30 mallards based on applying the Duma method in the Fereydunkenar region. The individuals were first identified regarding the beak and plumage into male/female as well as adult/immature species and then the body indexes of tarsus length, wing length, tail length, head length, body length, and body weight were measured. The digestion was conducted (putting a weight of 0.5 gr of the breast feathers into nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide) and heavy metals concentrations were afterward measured using atomic spectroscopy, MP-AES 4100 model. The results indicated there were no significant differences in heavy metals concentration referring to gender status (Cd: P= 0.558, Pb: P=0.215) and maturity (Cd: P= 0.673, Pb: P=0.214). Likewise, the body condition parameters including tail length, body length and body weight had also no significant effect on Cd (P=0.385; P= 0.299; P= 0.547) and Pb (P=0.554; P= 0.185; P= 0.337) concentrations, respectively. Concluding the results, the current study indicates Pb and Cd concentrations in Mallard’s breast feathers are not dependent on gender, age groups, and body condition indices. However, long-term studies can better clarify these effects and mechanisms in bird species feathers.

Major urban areas are being largely affected by population growth and immigration which eventually lead to unplanned constructions and unrestrained urban expansion. In the meantime, industrial areas as one of the most important sectors with great impact on the concentration of population and activities, accelerate the growth of cities and create a plethora of changes in the landscape. Ignoring regional planning during the decision-making process usually leads industrial areas to expand inappropriately and impose instability on the environment, interacting with the parent cities. In this study, the What if? decision support tool was used to assess the ecological potential, optimizing urban growth and industrial development in Gonbad Kavus Township, Golestan Province, Iran, simulating the future under different scenarios by 2041. The mapped criteria include land-use, multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) layers, population density, infrastructures, growth patterns as well as ecological and socio-economic driving factors. The results showed that 24107 hectares can best be allocated to urban development and 5362.6 hectares can best be allocated to industrial development. Furthermore, the findings remarked water resources, land use, and morphology as well as natural and anthropogenic hazards are as key driving forces in site-selecting the cities and industries. Most of the land-use changes were seen in the transition from agricultural to built-up and industrial areas. Accordingly, Fajr, Aghabad, and Baghli Marma districts were best found capable in terms of urban and industrial development criteria and infrastructures as well.

Today, the technology advancements and industrial developments have led large amounts of pollutants to make their way to aquatic environments. Cyanide compounds are a pollutant, found mainly in the gold and silver mines sewage, which should be refined due to high toxicity for human beings and the environment before discharging. In this study, silica magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized in the main accordance with the Stober method with a slight synthetic change and modified with bitter olive leaves ash; the aim was to assess the capability of the proposed method in the removal of the cyanide compounds from aqueous solutions. To determine the synthesized nanocomposite specifications, the following methods were used: X-ray diffraction pattern, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, scanning electron microscopy, and parametric magnetometer. The experimental design in this study was one factor at a time and the effect of pH, the duration of contact, the amount of adsorbent, and the initial concentration of cyanide were investigated. Based on the results, up to 81.41% of the cyanide was excluded under the optimal conditions of PH at 5, absorbent amount of 750 mg /L, contact duration of 30 minutes, and initial concentration of 50 mg /L cyanide.  The results also revealed that the iso-thermic absorption models basically follow the Langmuir model with a correlation coefficient of 0.981. Conducting a traditional absorption study showed the speed of the absorption of the cyanide ions on Fe3O4/SiO2 adsorbent is better matched with a second-order kinetic model. Correspondingly, the study findings showed silica magnetic nanoparticles modified with bitter olive leaves ash are good in absorbing cyanide contaminants in aqueous solutions.

Human activities such as land-use changes have a significant effect on the Earth’s surface temperature and the creation of heat islands. This study aimed to investigate the impact of land-use changes on the temporal-spatial pattern of the surface temperatures and heat islands in Shooshtar township between 2002 to 2020. First, the Landsat 2002, 2013, and 2020 images were classified using object-oriented processing methods, and then the Earth surface temperature was extracted by the split-window algorithm. Having measured the temporal-spatial changes in the surface temperature and the heat islands, the indices NDVI, UHII, and UHIII were implemented. The results showed an increase in Built-up areas as well as Barrenlands by 21895.40 and 26761.04 hectares, individually. By contrast, the Vegetation cover and Waterbodies decreased down to 43790.79 and 4865.64 hectares, respectively. According to the results, the maximum temperatures index revealed an uptrend in the temperature of all the landuses; there has been a constant increase with an amount of 7.40, 7.42, 6.82, and 6.87 degrees Celsius in the temperatures of the landuses the Vegetation cover, Barrenlands, Built-ups, and Waterbodies, respectively, during the 2002-2020 study period. The UHII and UHIII indices showed that the low land-cover class had a higher temperature than the classes with medium and large land-covers. Furthermore, the heat islands were distinguishably formed by 2013 and 2020 most in the northern, southeastern, and northeastern areas of Shooshtar township.