HAMAYESHE MANTAGHEI KARBORD FANAVARIHAYE NOVIN DAR KESHAVARZI | Year:2008 | دوره:1 |Papers Count:36

HEAVY METALS AND TOXIC METALLOIDS SUCH AS CADMIUM, CADMIUM, LEAD, MERCURY, ARSENIC, SELENIUM, TRICHLORO ETHYLENE AND TRINITRO TOLUENE CONTINUAL HAVE RELEASE TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND BIOSPHERE HAS BEEN FURTHER POLLUTED TO THIS POLLUTANTS. NOWADAYS, NEED TO CHEAP, EFFECTIVE AND STABLE METHODS FOR REMEDIATION AND DETOXIFYING OF THESE TOXIC POLLUTANTS. PHYTOREMEDIATION-THE USE OF GREEN PLANTS TO REMOVE, CONTAIN OR RENDER HARMLESS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS-MAY OFFER AN EFFECTIVE AND CHEAP REMEDIATION METHOD AND DUE TO PLANT GROWTH IN STU, SOLAR-DRIVEN SYSTEM THAT COMPARED TO THE CONVENTIONAL TREATMENT METHODS, IS CHEAP AND ENVIRONMENTALLY NONDESTRUCTIVE. IN POLLUTED ECOSYSTEMS TO TOXIC METALS, SOME OF PLANTS CAN ABSORB, ACCUMULATE, DETOXIFYING AND RELEASE AS GASEOUS FORM INTO ENVIRONMENT. HOWEVER, THE REMEDIATION POTENTIAL OF MANY OF THESE PLANTS IS LIMITED BECAUSE OF THEIR SLOW GROWTH, LOW BIOMASS AND SUSCEPTIBLE TO SOME OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES. IN RECENT YEARS, GENETIC ENGINEERING USED TO MODIFY PLANTS FOR ENHANCEMENT METAL UPTAKE, TRANSPORT AND HIGHER BIOMASS PRODUCTION OF CANDIDATE PLANTS. ALTHOUGH PLANTS HAVE THE INHERENT ABILITY TO DETOXIFY SOME XENOBIOTIC POLLUTANTS, THEY GENERALLY LACK THE CATABOLIC PATHWAY FOR COMPLETE DEGRADATION/ MINERALIZATION OF THESE COMPOUNDS COMPARED TO MICROORGANISMS. HENCE, TRANSFER OF GENES INVOLVED IN XENOBIOTIC DEGRADATION FROM MICROBES/OTHER EUKARYOTES TO PLANTS WILL FURTHER ENHANCE THEIR POTENTIAL FOR REMEDIATION OF THESE DANGEROUS GROUPS OF COMPOUNDS.

A MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN DUE TO DISPERSAL OF INDUSTRIAL AND URBAN WASTES GENERATED BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES IS THE CONTAMINATION OF SOIL. HEAVY METALS ARE THE MOST PREVALENT POLLUTANTS. IN RECENT YEARS, CONTAMINATION OF SOILS BY HEAVY METALS HAS BEEN INCREASED. AS A RESULT, IT HAS CAUSED ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH PROBLEMS ALL AROUND THE WORLD. UNLIKE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, METALS CANNOT BE DEGRADED, AND CLEANUP USUALLY REQUIRES THEIR REMOVAL. A WIDE RANGE OF PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROCESSES IS AVAILABLE FOR THE REMOVAL OF HEAVY METALS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT. MOST OF THE CONVENTIONAL REMEDIAL TECHNOLOGIES ARE EXPENSIVE AND INHIBIT THE SOIL FERTILITY. THIS MAY CAUSE NEGATIVE IMPACTS ON THE ECOSYSTEM. PHYTOREMEDIATION IS A COST-EFFECTIVE, ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY AND AESTHETICALLY PLEASING APPROACH. DIFFERENT SPECIES OF PLANTS CAN BE USED FOR REMOVING OF HEAVY METALS AS BIOABSORBENTS. PLANTS HAVE DIFFERENT MECHANISMS FOR PHYTOREMEDIATION INCLUDING RHIZOFILTERATION, PHYTOFIXATION, PHYTOVOLATILIZATION AND PHYTOEXTRACTION. HOWEVER, A LOT OF BIOMASS IS PRODUCED DURING THIS PROCESS AND IT NEEDS PROPER DISPOSAL AND MANAGEMENT. HIGH BIOMASS WEEDS CAN BE SELECTED TO RESTRICT THE PASSAGE OF CONTAMINANTS INTO THE FOOD CHAIN BY SELECTING NON-EDIBLE, DISEASE RESISTANT AND TOLERANT PLANTS, WHICH CAN PROVIDE RENEWABLE ENERGY.

CONVENTIONAL METHOD FOR THE DETERMINATION OF CLOD SIZE DISTRIBUTION IS COLLECTING, HANDLING AND SIEVING OF THE SOIL SAMPLES. ACCORDING TO SELECT SAMPLE FROM SOIL TILTH IS HARD, TIME CONSUMING, AND EXPENSIVE. THEREFORE, THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO USE COMPUTER VISION AS A NON-CONTACT MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE FOR THE DETERMINATION OF CLOD/AGGREGATE SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE FIELD. DIGITAL IMAGES WERE ACQUIRED FROM THREE DIFFERENT SOIL TILTHES, NAMELY: COARSE, INTERMEDIATE AND FINE FOR SANDY LOAM SOILS.GEO-CORRECTION MODELS, DIGITAL FILTERS AND IMAGE-ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES WERE USED IN ORDER TO CORRECT THE GEOMETRIC AND QUALITY DISTORTIONS IN THE IMAGES. THREE DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES, NAMELY: CONTRAST DETECTION, EDGE DETECTION AND AGGREGATE FINDING AND CLASSIFICATION (AFC) ANALYSIS WERE INVESTIGATED AND PASSED THROUGH A ‘VIRTUAL SIEVE’ TO DETERMINE CLOD SIZE DISTRIBUTION. IMAGE-PROCESSING RESULTS WERE CORRELATED WITH THE RESULTS OF STANDARD SIEVING. THE CONTRAST DETECTION TECHNIQUE WAS FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY THE BEST AT DETECTING AND CLASSIFYING THE AGGREGATES/CLODS FOR SOIL TILTH SENSING WITH A SIZE DETECTION ROOT-MEAN-SQUARE ERROR (RMSE) OF 14MM.

RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS IN NATURAL FORM ARE ONE OF THE BIOSPHERE PARTICLES. SOME OF THEM (C14 AND TRITIOUM OR HYDROGEN 3) THAT ARE FIX PARTICLES OF ATMOSPHERE, COME FROM OUT OF BIOSPHERE. RADIATION OCCUR WHEN UNSTABLE ISOTOPES RELEASE ENERGY AS WAVES PARTICLES THAT ARE CALLED RADIATION. ENERGY OF THE RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL IS USE IN MEDICAL INDUSTRY, AGRICULTURE AND ETC.

FREEZING INJURY CAN BE A SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM IN PLANTS. UNDERSTANDING HOW FREEZING DEVELOPS AND RAMIFIES THROUGHOUT THE PLANT COULD ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OR SCREENING PROCESSES FOR CULTIVAR IMPROVEMENT. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FREEZING INJURY IS NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD DUE PARTLY TO LACK OF TECHNOLOGY TO VIEW FREEZING ORIGIN AND PROGRESSION OF WHOLE PLANTS IN REAL TIME. THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESSION OF FREEZING IN PLANTS IS UNKNOWN AND THE INFORMATION COULD BE USEFUL FOR DEVELOPING IMPROVED MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OR COLD-TOLERANT CULTIVARS. DIFFERENTIAL THERMAL ANALYSIS IS THE MOST WIDELY UTILIZED METHOD FOR TRACKING FREEZING PROCESSES IN PLANTS AND EMPLOYS AN ARRAY OF THERMOCOUPLES ATTACHED TO PLANT TISSUES. THERMAL IMAGING HAS RECENTLY BEEN USED TO OBSERVE ICE NUCLEATION AND RATES OF PROPAGATION OF ICE IN DIFFERENT TISSUES WERE ALSO EASILY MEASURED BY THERMAL IMAGING. THIS STUDY DEMONSTRATES THAT IR THERMOGRAPHY IS AN EXCELLENT METHOD FOR STUDYING ICE NUCLEATION AND PROPAGATION IN PLANTS.

GLOBAL WARMING, LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY, PEST AND DISEASES PROBLEMS AND SOIL DEGRADATION ARE THREATS TO SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRICULTURE IN 21ST CENTURY. IN MOST COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD INCLUDING OUR COUNTRY, EXTREME USE OF CHEMICALS FOR HIGH YIELD HAS LED TO INCREASING PRODUCTION COST ACCOMPANIED WITH DESTRUCTION OF SOIL, WATER AND BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES. AS A RESULT, SPECIALISTS ARE INTERESTED IN MOVING TOWARDS SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE AGROECOSYSTEMS.SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IS AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT OF THE OVERALL EFFORT TO MAKE HUMAN ACTIVITIES COMPATIBLE WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE EARTH'S ECO-SYSTEM. THUS, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE IS NECESSARY IF WE WANT TO UTILIZE THE PLANET'S RESOURCES WISELY. FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS FACING THE SUSTAINABLE CROP PRODUCTION AND REDUCING THE UNSUITABLE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF CONVENTIONAL AGRICULTURE, THERE IS A NEED FOR PRECISION PLANNING WITH A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH AND HOLISTIC COLLABORATION. IN THE LONG TERM, ALL OF THE PRESENT OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATIONS SHOULD BE ADOPTED TO THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE, USING NEW TECHNOLOGIES SUCH AS GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS).

THE SURFACE FLOWS ARE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WATER RESOURCES IN AGRICULTURE. USING THEM MAY BE DONE BY RIVERS DIRECT APPROACH, RESERVING IN WINTER AND SPRING SEASONS (GROUNDWATER AND SURFACE WATER RESERVOIRS) AND DIRECT UTILIZATION IN FLOOD REGIMES (BANDSARS AND …). HOWEVER IF USING THEM IS POSSIBLE, IT IS NECESSARY TO DETERMINE THEIR QUANTITIES. NOWADAYS ESTIMATING OF SURFACE FLOWS CAN BE FOUND BY USING REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES AND HYDROLOGIC MODELING. THESE TECHNIQUES HAVE BEEN USED FOR SAADI WATERSHED IN THIS PAPER. THE REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE DATA THAT HAVE BEEN USED ARE THE IRS-1C (2004-2005) IMAGES WHILST FLOOD PREDICTION IS BASED ON U.S SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE. THIS MODEL INVOLVES THE CALCULATION OF RUNOFF FROM CURVE NUMBERS (CN) THAT RELATES TO LAND USE, SOIL TYPE, HYDROLOGICAL CONDITION AND SOIL MOISTURE. THIS INFORMATION IS DERIVED FROM THE IRS-1C IMAGES, LAND USE MAPS AND FIELD RESEARCHES.THE RESULTS INDICATE THAT THE COMBINATION OF USING REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUES WITH HYDROLOGICAL MODELING CAN BE USEFUL FOR FLOOD PREDICTION WHILST IT HAS CONSIDERABLE POTENTIAL IN MONITORING AND ASSESSING.

ONE OF THE MOST IMPOTENT GOALS OF MAMAGNENT ON FARM IS BEING FAMILIAR WITH CONDITIONS OF FARM AND MANAGING THE QUANTITIES. GETTING A STABLE FARM WILL TAKE PLACE WHEN WE RECOGNIZE ENVIRONMENTAL QUANTITIES AND HUMAN QUANTITIES AND ECONOMICAL QUANTITIES OF FARM AND AFTER WE STUDY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUANTITIES, WE CAN MAKE DECISION THAT WE WANT TO DO. SEVERAL QUANTITIES AND COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM & A LITTLE TIME FOR MAKING DECISION CAUSE THE USE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO ANALYSES INFORMATION CORRECTLY & QUICKLY THAT ONE OF THEM IS THE USE OF GIS. GIS IS KIND OF SOFTWARE (GROUP OF EDITING ABILITIES) THAT IT UPDATES DATAS QUICKLY THAT WE HADN’T HAD BEFORE. THE MOST IMPORTANT ABILITY THAT GIS CAN PERFORM IS THAT IT CAN PERFORM COMPLEX ANALYSES ON SPATIAL & MODIFYING DATAS. THE MAIN DUTY OF INFORMATIVE SYSTEM IS KIND OF PERFORMANCES ON DATAS THAT WE CAN DECIDE BETTER, QUICKER & EXACTLIER ABOUT DATAS. THIS PROCESS INCLUDES: GATHER DATAS, CHANGING FORMAT, SAVING THEM, MANAGEMENT, ANALYZING, MODELING. WE CAN COMMUNICATE WITH IT FOR GETTING MORE INFORMATION BY CHANGING MAPS QUICKLY & CONVERTING & TRANSFERING DATAS TO DIFFERENT FORMATS, PRESENTATION RESULTS IN SEVERAL FORMATS. IN THIS ARTICLE WITH ENTERING DATAS OF AGRICULTURE STATION INTO IT THEN WE GOT RESULTS.

PRECISION AGRICULTURE IS A POPULAR NEW CONCEPT IN PRODUCTION. PRECISION AGRICULTURE CAN BE DEFINED AS A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM DESIGNED TO OPTIMIZE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF CROP INFORMATION, ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. COMPREHENSIVE PRECISION AGRICULTURE RELIES ON THREE KEY ELEMENTS I.E. INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT. INFORMATION IS PERHAPS THE MODERN FARMER'S MOST VALUABLE RESOURCE. TIMELY AND ACCURATE INFORMATION IS ESSENTIAL IN ALL PHASES OF PRODUCTION FROM PLANNING THROUGH POSTHARVEST. INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE FARMER INCLUDES CROP CHARACTERISTICS, SOIL PROPERTIES, FERTILITY REQUIREMENTS, WEED POPULATIONS, INSECT POPULATIONS, PLANT GROWTH RESPONSE, HARVEST DATA, AND POST HARVEST PROCESSING DATA. THE PRECISION FARMER MUST SEEK OUT AND USE THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT EACH STEP IN THE SYSTEM. MODERN TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE IS THE SECOND KEY TO SUCCESS. TECHNOLOGY IS RAPIDLY EVOLVING AND THE FARMER MUST KEEP UP WITH THE CHANGES THAT MAY BE OF BENEFIT IN HIS OR HER OPERATION. THE PERSONAL COMPUTER IS ONE EXAMPLE OF SUCH TECHNOLOGY. COMPUTER SOFTWARE, INCLUDING SPREADSHEETS, DATABASES, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS), AND OTHER TYPES OF APPLICATION SOFTWARE ARE READILY AVAILABLE. MANAGEMENT, THE THIRD KEY TO SUCCESS, COMBINES THE INFORMATION OBTAINED AND THE AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY INTO A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM. WITHOUT PROPER MANAGEMENT, PRECISION CROP PRODUCTION WOULD NOT BE EFFECTIVE. FARMERS MUST KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE, HOW TO UTILIZE THE TECHNOLOGY, AND HOW TO MAKE SOUND PRODUCTION DECISIONS.

COMPLEXITY, VARIETY AND A GREAT DEAL OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION FROM ONE SIDE AND THE COMPUTER ABILITIES IN THE INFORMATION FIELD IN ANOTHER SIDE DECLARES THE PHILOSOPHY EXISTENCE OF (G.I.S). AS IF A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT GEOLOGICAL SCIENCE IN INFORMATION SITES, AND IRANIAN SCIENTIFIC DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING SPATIAL AND DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION ARE SUITABLE FOR (G.I.S) AND CAN MAKE THE INFORMATION READY TO BE USED IN THESE SYSTEMS. THE RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE WITH THIS PURPOSE AND WITH THE AIM OF INSPECTING (G.I.S) APPLICATION IN PREPARING MAPS OF EROSION TYPES IN A WATERSHED. ON THE OTHER HAND PROCESSING OF EROSION IN WATERSHED OF IRAN IN DIFFERENT FORMS, ESTIMATE AND DEFINITION OF THE AMOUNT OF EROSION AND ALSO THE CAUSES OF ITS INCREASE AND AGGRAVATION IN WATERSHEDS HAS BEEN NECESSARY. THEREFORE BY (G.I.S), FIRST PREPARING 11 MAPS, LAND USE, LAND COMPONENTS, GEOLOGY, PERMEABILITY, HYPSOMETRIC, SLOPE, HYDROGRAPHIC, CONTOUR LINES, SENSITIVE TO EROSION, CLIMATOLOGY AND SUB-BASIN MAP WAS DONE, THEN BY USE OF THESE MAPS AND WITH FIELD VAST INSPECTION AND USE OF OTHER AVAILABLE INFORMATION SOURCES AND ALSO DOING THE NECESSARY TESTS, THE WHOLE MAP OF EROSION TYPES IN UNDERSTUDIES AREA, PREPARATION AND FORMS, INTENSITY AND PLAN OF EACH EROSION TYPE WERE DETERMINED. THE UNDER-STUDIES AREA WITH DUE ATTENTION TO FORMS AND INTENSITY OF EROSION WAS DIVIDED INTO 9 EROSION TYPES IN WHICH CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH TYPE WAS SEPARATELY PRESENTED.

MAJOR CHANGES IN PRODUCTION SYSTEMS, CAUSED BY THE WORLD’S GROWING POPULATION AND DEMAND FOR ANIMAL PRODUCTS, ARE TO BE EXPECTED. MAINTAINING ANIMAL GENETIC DIVERSITY IN SYSTEMS WHERE INTENSIFICATION OF PRODUCTION IS TO OCCUR FOR INCREASED FOOD PRODUCTION IS A TREMENDOUS CHALLENGE. ACCURATE DETERMINATION OF THE GENETIC VARIATIONS WITHIN ANIMAL SPECIES IS A FUNDAMENTAL STEP TOWARDS CONSERVATION OF THE ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES. DURING THE LAST FIVE DECADES, THE APPLICATION OF METHODS BASED ON POPULATION GENETICS AND STATISTICS ALLOWED THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANIMALS WITH A HIGH PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY. IMPORTANT ADVANCES TO SOME OF THE ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT CHARACTERS IN SEVERAL SPECIES OF LIVESTOCK HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BASED ON PHENOTYPIC PERFORMANCE, HOWEVER, SEVERAL LIMITATIONS OF THESE METHODS OF IMPROVEMENT BASED ON POPULATION GENETICS ALONE ARE BECOMING EVIDENT WITH TIME. ADVANCES IN BIOTECHNOLOGY ARE TRYING TO TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE. THEREFORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY HAVE OPENED THE POSSIBILITY OF IDENTIFYING AND USING GENETIC VARIATION FOR THE GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF LIVESTOCK. THIS ARTICLE WAS SURVEYED THE APPLICATION OF BIOTECHNOLOGY ON CONSERVATION GENETIC RESOURCES.

BENTHIC MACRO INVERTEBRATE SPECIES ARE DIFFERENTIALLY SENSITIVE TO MANY BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT. THE FIELD BIOTIC INDEX (HILSENHOFF, 1988) IS BASED ON FAMILY LEVEL IDENTIFICATION OF WATER ARTHROPODS, AMPHIPODS AND ISOPODS. AN INTRERSET IN ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IS ONE OF THE MAJOR REASONS FOR THE STUDY OF AQUATIC INSECTS. THE IDEA OF USING THE AQUATIC INSECT COMMUNITY TO “INDICATE” THE DEGREE OF PURITY OR POLLUTION OF A BODY OF WATER IS OVER HALF A CENTURY OLD. IT IS BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF INDICATOR ORGANISMS AND TOLERANCE LEVELS. USING HILSENHOFF FORMULA FOR BIOTIC INDEX (BI):, BI= SNIAI/N WHERE NI IS THE NUMBER OF SPECIMENS IN EACH TAXONOMIC GROUP (FAMILY), AI IS THE POLLUTION TOLERANCE SCORE FOR THAT TAXONOMIC GROUP, AND N IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF AQUATIC INSECTS IN SAMPLE. AQUATIC INSECTS ARE GIVEN A NUMERICAL POLLUTION TOLERANCE SCORE (AI) RANGING FROM 0 TO 10 (HILSENHOFF, 1987). THE VALUE IS BASED ON FIELD AND LABORATORY RESPONSES OF THESE ORGANISMS TOWARD ORGANIC POLLUTION. ZERO TAXA ARE EXTREMELY INTOLERANT OF LOW DISSOLVED OXYGEN; TAXA WITH SCORE OF 2 THROUGH 9 ARE TOLERANT TO VARYING DEGREES; TAXA WICH CAN SURVIVE GREAT AMOUNTS OF POLLUTION ARE SCORED 10. TABLE (1) GIVES AN EVALUATION OF THE WATER QUALITY BASED ON THE BIOTIC INDEX THUS CALCULATED.

IN THIS SYSTEM, MEASURING AMBIENT PARAMETERS IS DONE BY RELATED MICROCONTROLLER AND SENSOR. FOR PROCESSING, SAMPLING QUANTITIES OF MICROCONTROLLER IS TRANSFERRED SIMULTANEOUSLY TO A COMPUTER. ON THE OTHER HAND, SOUND RELATED DATA IS TRANSFERRED TO A COMPUTER BY USING A MICROPHONE AND A CAMERA. DATA IS PROCESSED BY A COMPUTER, THEN THE RESULT OF WHICH, 2 AND 3 DIMENSIONAL GRAPHS IS SHOWN. THE DATA IS SAVED IN THE MEMORY AND LISTED FOR STATISTICAL PROCESSING. THIS ELECTRONIC SYSTEM IS IN FACT AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR INSECTS’ BEHAVIOR STUDY AND EXACT SAMPLING, AND IT GIVES AN OPPORTUNITY TO RELATED SPECIALISTS TO RECORD AND STUDY REMOTELY, BY WIRELESS INSTRUMENTS, THE EFFECTS OF AMBIENT PARAMETERS ON THE INSECTS. THIS SYSTEM CAN SIMULTANEOUSLY GET INSECT’S SOUND, TEMPERATURE AND AMBIENT HUMIDITY AND ANALYZE THEM WITH RESPECT TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS. THERE IS NO NEED TO MEASURE THESE PARAMETERS CLOSELY, BUT BY USING THE SYSTEM WE CAN EXACTLY PERFORM SAMPLING AT LONGER PERIODS.

CADMIUM (CD) IS A HEAVY METAL NATURALLY PRESENT IN SOIL AT CONCENTRATIONS OF SLIGHTLY MORE THAN 1 MG KG-1. NOT ONLY IS IT NON-ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE, IT IS HIGHLY TOXIC TO MOST ORGANISMS, HAVING A TOXICITY 2-20 TIMES HIGHER THAN MANY OTHER HEAVY METALS. IT IS THEREFORE CONSIDERED A VERY SERIOUS POLLUTANT. CD CONTENT IN SOIL HAS BEEN DRAMATICALLY INCREASED FROM ANTHROPOGENIC SOURCES INCLUDING SMELTERS AND AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS OF FERTILIZER AND SEWAGE SLUDGE. SINCE CD IN SOIL IS AVAILABLE FOR PLANT UPTAKE AND SUBSEQUENT HUMAN UPTAKE, CD IN THE ENVIRONMENT POSES A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH RISK. SINCE CD POSES A SERIOUS HEALTH RISK TO LIVING ORGANISMS, AND SINCE IT CAN BE EASILY INCORPORATED INTO THE HUMAN FOOD CHAIN THROUGH UPTAKE BY AGRONOMIC CROPS OR THROUGH GRAZING OF CONTAMINATED PLANTS BY HERBIVORES, MUCH RESEARCH HAS CENTERED ON HOW TO EITHER CLEAN UP CD IN SOIL TO ELIMINATE THE THREAT, OR TO REDUCE THE AVAILABILITY OF CD IN SOIL SO THAT THE RISK OF IT BEING INCORPORATED INTO THE FOOD CHAIN IS REDUCED. TRADITIONAL METHODS OF CLEANING, OR REMEDIATING, AREAS CONTAMINATED WITH HEAVY METALS SUCH AS CD MOST OFTEN INCLUDE SOME KIND OF EXCAVATION AND RELOCATION OF THE CONTAMINATED SOIL TO A HAZARDOUS WASTE LANDFILL. ANOTHER TRADITIONAL APPROACH IS TO CAP THE POLLUTED AREA WITH AN IMPERMEABLE SOIL AND/OR CONCRETE LAYER TO PREVENT LEACHING OF THE CONTAMINANT INTO GROUNDWATER BY RAINFALL MIGRATING THROUGH THE SOIL, AND TO PREVENT ANY LIVING THING FROM COMING INTO CONTACT WITH THE POLLUTANT. A MORE RECENT APPROACH TO REMEDIATING CONTAMINATED SITES IS CALLED PHYTOREMEDIATION, A TERM WHICH DESCRIBES THE USE OF PLANTS TO CLEAN UP CONTAMINANTS FROM A SUBSTRATE, WHETHER IT BE SOIL, AIR OR WATER. THE EFFICACY OF PHYTOREMEDIATION AS A VIABLE REMEDIATION TECHNOLOGY IS STILL BEING EXPLORED, YET SO FAR THE RESULTS ARE POSITIVE. IN PHYTOREMEDIATION, PLANTS EXTRACTS CD FROM THE SOIL AND TRANSPORT IT VIA THE XYLEM INTO SHOOTS AND LEAVES WHERE IT CAN ACCUMULATE. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT POLLUTANTS CAN BE REMOVED FROM A CONTAMINATED SITE BY HARVESTING THE PLANT BIOMASS CONTAINING THE POLLUTANT. THERE ARE MANY SOIL FACTORS THAT EFFECT ON PHYTOREMEDIATION AND IMPROVE IT. THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE FACTORS ARE SOIL PH, CEC, NATURAL AND SYNTHSISED CHELATING MATERIALS AND FERTILIZERS. IN THIS PAPER WE TRIED TO EXPLAIN SOME OF THESE FACTORS.

ONE OF THE IMPORTANT CHALLENGES AT PRESENT AND IN THE COMING CENTURY RELATED TO AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PRODUCTION IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. IT DEPENDS ON INTEGRATED NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AND OPTIMIZATION OF PRODUCTION SYSTEMS SIMULTANEOUSLY BASED ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL TERMS. THE MANAGEMENT AND OPTIMIZATION ACHIEVEMENT AND APPLYING THEM IN MAKING DECISION PROCEDURE USUALLY NEED COMPUTER SIMULATION SYSTEMS. AN INSTANCE OF THESE SYSTEMS, TECHNICAL APPROACH, VARIOUS ASPECTS AND RELATED SOFTWARE HAS BEEN INTRODUCED IN THIS PAPER. THIS SYSTEM IS HYDRAULIC, HYDROLOGIC AND ECOLOGIC MODELING PACKAGE, WITH THE MOST UTILIZATION IN AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT WHICH CAN HELP IN THE ASSESSMENT, ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF AGRO PRODUCTION SYSTEMS. IT MEANS THIS SYSTEMS COULD INCREASE EFFICIENCY WHILST DECREASE ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD. AT PRESENT, THE SYSTEM IS AVAILABLE ON WEB AND HAS BEEN UNDER CONTINUOUS DEVELOPMENT BY A RESEARCH GROUP AT DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE IN PURDUE UNIVERSITY, U.S.A.

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) TECHNOLOGY IS A TOOL FOR COLLECTION, MANAGEMENT, ANALYSIS AND REPRESENTATION OF LAND INFORMATION. GIS HAS A SUITABLE ABILITY FOR MODELING, ALGEBRA AND BOOLEAN OPERATION THAT NEEDED FOR LAND SUITABILITY EVALUATION. IN RECENTLY YEARS, THIS TECHNOLOGY MADE REVOLUTION IN ANALYSIS, DECISION AND RESOURCES MANAGEMENT. FOR A SPECIAL PURPOSE, LAND EVALUATION IS NEEDED TO INVESTIGATION OF SEVERAL CRITERIA THAT NAMED MULTI-CRITERIA EVALUATION (MCE). FOR MANY YEARS THIS METHOD IS USED WITHOUT GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY IN SOIL SCIENCE FOR LAND SUITABILITY EVALUATION. INFACTLY, THE MAIN PURPOSE OF LAND EVALUATION IS INVESTIGATION OF SUITABILITY OF SEVERAL SOIL UNITS WITH CONCENTRATION PHYSICAL, ECONOMICAL AND ECOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF RESOURCES FOR SELECTION OF SUITABLE ALTERNATIVES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS APPLYING LAND INFORMATION FOR EFFECTIVE CRITERIA ON LAND SUITABILITY ALMOND PLANTATION IN CHAHARMAHAL VA BAKHTIARI PROVINCE. THE RESULTS OF THE MULTI-CRITERIA EVALUATION METHOD REVEALED THAT PARTS OF THE LANDS ARE HIGHLY SUITABLE AND THE PERCENTAGE OF THE SURFACE AREA WITH MODERATE SUITABILITY CLASS IS HIGHER WITH RESPECT TO THE RESULTS OF THE OTHER USED METHODS. THE MULTI-CRITERIA EVALUATION METHOD IS MORE FLEXIBLE COMPARED WITH THE OTHER USED METHODS. THE REASONS FOR THIS DIFFERENCE ARE WEIGHTING THE CRITERIA AND PIXEL BY PIXEL EVALUATION DONE IN THE GIS. MULTI-CRITERIA EVALUATION METHODS ARE NOT COMPLICATED AS FAR AS CALCULATIONS ARE CONCERNED AND CAN BE USED EASILY IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM. BECAUSE OF USING EVALUATION MATRICES, MULTI-CRITERIA EVALUATION METHODS ARE EFFECTIVE IN ACCELERATION OF THE OPERATIONS, REDUCTION IN EXPENSES AND FACILITATING OF THE EVALUATION.

IN ORDER TO STUDY THE CHEMICAL BEHAVIOR OF NICKEL AND CADMIUM DURING THE INCUBATION TIME, A FACTORIAL EXPERIMENT AS A COMPLETELY RANDOMIZED DESIGN WITH THREE REPLICATIONS WAS CARRIED OUT. FACTORS INCLUDED TWO DIFFERENT SOILS (4 AND 30 PERCENT CACO3), TWO LEVELS OF NICKEL (0 AND 100 MG.KG-1), TWO LEVELS OF CADMIUM (0 AND 25 MG.KG-1) AND ORGANIC MATTER IN THE FORM OF SEWAGE SLUDGE IN TWO LEVELS (0 AND 100 TONE.HA-1), AND THREE INCUBATION TIMES (0, 30, 60 DAYS). CONCENTRATION OF CATIONS, ANIONS, DISSOLVED ORGANIC CARBON AND PH WERE MEASURED IN SOIL EXTRACTS. SOIL SOLUTIONS WERE SPECIATED FOR CHEMICAL FORMS OF NICKEL AND CADMIUM BY MINTEQA2 MODEL. THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SHOWED THAT, AVAILABLE NICKEL AND CADMIUM DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH TIME. IN BEGGING OF THE EXPERIMENT A MAJOR PORTION OF THE APPLIED CADMIUM TO BE PRESENT IN THE FREE DIVALENT FORMS (37% OF DISSOLVED CADMIUM) AND GRADUALLY BE CONVERTED TO OTHER FORMS SUCH AS CARBONATE, BICARBONATE, SULFATE AND CHLORATE FORMS. NICKEL WAS PRESENT MAINLY IN THE CARBONATED FORMS WITH AN AVERAGE OF 90.6%. ORGANO-METAL COMPLEXES ACCOUNTED FOR ONLY A MINOR PROPORTION OF COMPLEXED METALS; HOWEVER SIMILAR TRENDS SHOWED BETWEEN DOM AND M-DOM. IT SEEMS THAT IN THE STUDY SOILS CALCIUM CARBONATE PLAYS A KEY ROLE IN CHEMICAL BEHAVIOR OF NICKEL AND CADMIUM IN SOLUTION PHASE.

NANOTECHNOLOGY AND NANO SCIENCE ARE DEFIENED AS THE ABILITY TO TAKE CONTROL OF SUBSTANCES IN THE NANO SCALE (MOLECULAR) AND TAKING ADVANTAGE OF PROPERTIES AND PHENOMENA OF THIS SCALE IN SUBSTANCES, DEVICES AND MODERN SYSTEMS. THIS SIMPLE DEFINITION COVERS MANY DIFFERENT FACTS. FOR INSTANCE, NANOTECHNOLOGY WITH ITS IMPER DISCIPLINARY NATURE WILL IN NEAR FUTURE EMBODY ALL TODAYS TECHNOLOGIES AND INSTEAD OF COMPETING WITH THEM IT WILL TAKE A LEADING ROLE IN THE PROCESS OF THEIR GROWTH, AND WILL INTEGRALE THEM AS ((A LETTER OF SCIENCE)). THE APPLICATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN THE FIELD OF AGRICULTURE AUGURS AN UP COMING GREAT AND FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE WHICH IN TURN BRINGS ABOUT MANY SCIENTIFIC AND ECONOMIC CHANGES. SOME OF THE MAIN APPLICATIONS OF THIS TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE AND THE DEPENDENT INDUSTRIES CAN BE ENUMERATED AS; PRODUCING NANO PARTICLES, DNA COPNIG, PRODUCING NEW PACKAGES IN ACCORDANCE WITH FOOD CHANGES, PRODUCING NEW BIOSENSORS TO REVEAL PATOGENS, PRODUCING NANO FOOD, CELLULAR TRANSFERENCE, PRODUCING ENZYMES WITH SPECIFIC NANO PROPERTIES, NANO CRYSTALS, NANO CATALYSTS, APPLYING NANO TUBES IN FOOD, PRODUCING HEALTHY FOOD AND ISOLATING HIGHLY NEW HERBS, PRODUCING MORE EFFECTIVE AND RESISTANT FERTILIZERS AND POISONS, CONVERTING AGRICULTURAL WASTE TO NANO SCALE PARTICLES FOR BEING USED BY HIGHLY SENSITIVE MICRO SCALE INDUSTRIES AND IN NANO COMPOSITES. NANOTECHNOLOGY IS A MODERN ENGINEERING WHICH WOULD EXPEDITE OUR TRANSFERENCE FROM THE PRESENT SITUATION TO THE STABLE INDUSTRIES IN THE FUTURE. IN THIS ARTICLE SOME OF THE DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE APPLICATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES AND THE DEPENDENT INDUSTRIES, WITH DUE REGARD TO DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, ARE DICUSSED AND PRESENTED.

THE USE OF GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) AND REMOTE SENSING (RS) TO FACILITATE THE ESTIMATION OF RUNOFF FROM WATERSHED AND AGRICULTURAL FIELDS HAS GAINED INCREASING ATTENTION IN RECENT YEARS. THIS IS MAINLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT RAINFALL-RUNOFF MODELS INCLUDE BOTH SPATIAL AND GEOMORPHOLOGIC VARIATIONS. THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE CURVE NUMBER (USDA-NRCS-CN) METHOD WAS USED IN THIS STUDY FOR DETERMINING THE RUNOFF DEPTH. RUNOFF CURVE NUMBER WAS DETERMINED BASED ON THE FACTORS OF HYDROLOGIC SOIL GROUP, LAND USE AND HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS. GIS AND RS WERE USED TO PROVIDE QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF DRAINAGE BASIN MORPHOLOGY FOR INPUT INTO RUNOFF MODELS SO AS TO ESTIMATE RUNOFF RESPONSE. THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED ON THE TANGE SHOUL SUB-BASIN OF THE DOROUDZAN DAM IN FARS PROVINCE. INCREASE OF WATER SURFACE (TANGE SHOUL RIVER) CAUSE TO FLOOD LARGE PARTS OF AGRICULTURAL FIELDS IN FLOODPLAINS THAT LEAD TO LOSS OF PROPERTY TO FARMERS. THE PROCESS OF DETERMINING SPATIALLY DISTRIBUTED RUNOFF CURVE NUMBERS FROM LANDSAT IMAGES IS PRESENTED IN THIS STUDY USING GIS AND IMAGE PROCESSING SOFTWARE. SPATIALLY DISTRIBUTED RUNOFF CURVE NUMBERS AND RUNOFF DEPTH WERE DETERMINED FOR THE WATERSHED FOR DIFFERENT LAND USE CLASSES. OUR DESTINATION IS INSPECTING OF THE EFFECT OF RUNOFF FROM EACH SUB-BASINS ON THE TANGE SHOUL RIVER FLOOD, THUS, SUB-BASINS PREFERRED IN ORDER TO PREVENT AGRICULTURAL FIELDS FROM DAMAGING.

WE NEED TO INCREASE PRODUCTION, TO DETECT IMPORTANT RESOURCES AND TO DETERMINE QUALITY OF PROTEIN FEED BECAUSE OF GREAT CONSUMPTION OF PROTEIN MATERIALS IN THE WORLD. WITHIN NUTRIENTS, MILK IS THE MOST COMPLETE NATURAL FOOD, BECAUSE MILK INCLUDES THE HIGHEST QUALITY PROTEINS. CASEIN, GLOBULIN AND ALBUMIN ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT OF MILK PROTEINS. BECAUSE IN IRAN, ESPECIALLY IN IRAN VILLAGES THE MOST COMPLETE FOOD IS MILK AND PEOPLE TAKE MINERALS AND VITAMINS FROM THIS FOOD, IN ADDITION UNTIL NOW HAD NOT DONE ANY MOLECULAR STUDY ON THESE ANIMALS, THE AIM OF THIS STUDY IS TO INTRODUCE ONE OF GENES AFFECTING QUALITY OF MILK AND CHEESE, KAPPA-CASEIN AND MOLECULAR METHOD FOR STUDYING THIS GENE.

MYOSTATIN (GDF-8) IS INTRODUCED AS FACTOR AFFECTING DOUBLE MUSCLING. IF OCCURS MUTATION IN CODING REGION OF THIS GENE, THIS CHANGES REGULATING ROLE OF GENE AND INCREASES MUSCLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. IN CATTLE, THIS INCREASES PROTEIN SYNTHESIS. INVESTIGATIONS HAVE SHOWN 9 MUTATIONS IN EXONS OF THIS GENE THAT LEAD TO DIFFERENT EFFECTS. FROM THESE 9 MUTATIONS, 3 ARE INCENSE THAT 2 OCCUR IN EXON 1 AND ONE IN EXON 2. OTHER 6 MUTATIONS OCCUR IN EXONS 2 AND 3 CAUSING EARLY STOP CODON AND DOUBLE MUSCLE PHENOTYPE. UNFORTUNATELY ANIMALS WITH DOUBLE MUSCLES HAVE PREGNANCY AND CALVING PROBLEMS DOMINATING ON CONTROLLING AND BREEDING PROGRAMS. THE AIM OF STUDY IS DETERMINATION OF MYOSTATIN PERFORMANCE AND ITS ADVANTAGES AND DAMAGES IN ANIMAL BREEDING. BECAUSE OF ENORMOUS NUMBER OF ANIMAL IN IRAN, INSUFFICIENT MEAT AND INADEQUATE ANIMAL FEED, WE NEED TO INCREASE ANIMALS WITH DOUBLE MUSCLES.

CHEMICAL WEED CONTROL IS A MAIN PROBLEM IN AGRICULTURE. BESIDE IT REDUCTION OF APPLYING CHEMICAL IS ESSENTIAL BY ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMICAL FACTOR. ONE WAY IS PRECISION SPRAYING ON WEED AND OPTICAL SENSOR CAN HELP US TO FIND THE TENDER POSITION OF WEED, SOIL, RESIDUE. SYSTEM RECOGNIZING THE PLANT AND SOIL BY DIFFERENT REFLEX BEAM. PRIMARY TEST ARE REPEATABLE AND CONSTANT CIRCUMSTANT FOR PLANT AND SOIL UNDER AMBIENT LIGHT. FOR REACH THIS GOAL A REAL TIME SYSTEM FOR RECOGNIZING AND MAPPING WEED WITH MACHINE VISION, RECOGNITION PATTERN TECHNIQUE AND SCIENCE PREDICATE BY DECISION USED. UNDER SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANT LIKE BETWEEN OF WIDE ROW, TOP OF THE ROW AND BEFORE GERMINATION ALL OF THE GROWED GRASS ARE WEED. THEREFORE PRIMARY FIELD TEST DO ON THE ROW, BETWEEN CORN ROW AND ON THE CONVENTIONAL PLANTED FIELD. AMOUNT OF SAVED PESTICIDES BY THIS WAY IS ABOUT 30 TO 70% WITH THE 100% EFFICIENCY IN WEED CONTROL. OPTICAL SENSOR THAT APPLYING FOR RECOGNIZE PLANT, SOIL AND RESIDUE HAVE ENOUGH SPEED FOR DOING THIS JOB.

PLANT SECONDARY METABOLISM IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR TRAITS SUCH AS COLOR AND FLAVOR OF FOOD, AND RESISTANCE AGAINST PESTS AND DISEASES. MOREOVER, IT IS THE SOURCE OF MANY CHEMICAL PRODUCTS SUCH AS DRUGS, FLAVORS AND FRAGRANCES. POSSIBILITY OF ENGINEERING THE SECONDARY METABOLITE PATHWAYS OF THE PLANT CELL FACTORY IN ORDER TO PRODUCE MORE OF A FINE CHEMICAL, PRODUCE LESS OF A TOXIC COMPOUND, OR EVEN TO MAKE NEW COMPOUNDS, IS FEASIBLE NOWADAYS, BUT IT REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE OF THE BIOSYNTHETIC PATHWAYS INVOLVED. TO INCREASE SECONDARY METABOLITE PRODUCTION DIFFERENT STRATEGIES CAN BE FOLLOWED, SUCH AS OVERCOMING RATE LIMITING STEPS, REDUCING FLUX THROUGH COMPETITIVE PATHWAYS, REDUCING CATABOLISM AND OVER EXPRESSION OF REGULATORY GENES. FOR THIS PURPOSE NOT ONLY GENES OF PLANT ORIGIN CAN BE OVER EXPRESSED, BUT ALSO MICROBIAL GENES HAVE BEEN USED SUCCESSFULLY. OVER EXPRESSION OF PLANT GENES IN MICROORGANISMS IS ANOTHER APPROACH; WHICH MIGHT BE OF INTEREST FOR BIOCONVERSION OF READILY AVAILABLE PRECURSORS INTO VALUABLE FINE CHEMICALS.

IRAN IS LOCATED IN AN ARID AND SEMI-ARID REGION OF THE WORLD WITH AVERAGE ANNUAL PRECIPITATION OF ABOUT 250 MM. NOWADAYS WATER SHORTAGE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEMS IN IRAN. DUE TO LACK OF SUITABLE WATER RESOURCES, MANY FARMERS ARE USING SALINE RIVER OR GROUNDWATER FOR IRRIGATION WHICH CAUSES GRADUAL ACCUMULATION OF SALTS IN THE SOIL. BECAUSE OF RELATION BETWEEN SOIL AND WATER IS ONE OF THE MAJOR FACTORS IN AGRICULTURE, IN THIS STUDY WE EVALUATE THE USE OF TWO SIMULATION MODELS SWAP AND DRAINMODE IN RUDASHT REGION (CENTRAL PART OF IRAN) WITH THREE IRRIGATION WATER SALINITY LEVELS OF 2, 8 AND 12 DS/M WITH/WITHOUT LEACHING LEVELS OF 4, 19 AND 32 PERCENT WITH TWO DIFFERENT IRRIGATION WATER MANAGEMENTS, USING FACTORIAL DESIGN WITH FOUR REPLICATIONS. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE SWAP MODEL IS APPLICABLE IN THIS ARID REGION FOR ESTIMATE YIELD, SOIL SALINITY, INFILTRATION AND SOIL MOISTURE. THE DRAINMODE MODEL SIMULATE WATER TABLE AND THE MODEL PREDICTIONS ARE IN CLOSE AGREEMENT WITH THE FIELD DATA. BUT THE SWAP MODEL WAS NOT APPLICABLE FOR WATER TABLE SIMULATION IN THIS REGION.

GENERALLY SEVERAL EXPERIMENTAL METHODS AVAILABLE TO DETERMINE DISSOLVED METAL SPECIES, MOST OF THESE METHODS ARE TEDIOUS, TIME-CONSUMING, AND NOT PRACTICAL FOR ROUTINE ANALYSES. ALTERNATIVE TO THESE CHEMICAL TECHNIQUE ARE COMPUTER SPECIATION MODELS THAT OFTEN ARE SIMPLE AND INEXPENSIVE. THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS MODEL (CALLED MINTEQ) WAS DEVELOPED IN THE EARLY 1980S AT BATTELLE PACIFIC NORTHWEST LABORATORY. THE MINTEQ PACKAGE WAS DELIVERED TO EPA IN 1985 AND RENAMED MINTEQA1, WHICH WAS DISTRIBUTED WITH A PREPROCESSOR PROGRAM, PRODEFA1, FOR THE PREPARATION OF MINTEQA1 INPUT FILES. AFTER MORE SIGNIFICANT REVISIONS WERE MADE IN THE LATE 1980S, THE NAME WAS CHANGED TO MINTEQA2. SINCE 1990 UNTIL NOW VARIOUS INVESTIGATION WERE CARRIED OUT IN ORDER TO MINTEQA2 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION. IN THE MOST STUDIES, MODEL PREDICTION AGREED WELL WITH MEASURED VALUE IN REAL CORRESPONDING SYSTEM. THE AIM OF THIS PAPER IS TO DESCRIBE THE VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF MINTEQA2 MODEL.

BIOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY IS TECHNOLOGY BASED ON BIOLOGY, ESPECIALLY WHEN USED IN AGRICULTURE, FOOD SCIENCE, AND MEDICINE. ONE OF MANY DEFINITIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: "BIOTECHNOLOGY MEANS ANY TECHNOLOGICAL APPLICATION THAT USES BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, LIVING ORGANISMS, OR DERIVATIVES THEREOF, TO MAKE OR MODIFY PRODUCTS OR PROCESSES FOR SPECIFIC USE." THIS DEFINITION IS AT ODDS WITH COMMON USAGE. AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY IS BIOTECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO AGRICULTURAL PROCESSES. AN EXAMPLE IS THE DESIGNING OF TRANSGENIC PLANTS TO GROW UNDER SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS. THERE ARE MANY APPLICATIONS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE. IMPROVED YIELD FROM CROPS. USING THE TECHNIQUES OF MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY, ONE OR TWO GENES MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO A HIGHLY DEVELOPED CROP VARIETY TO IMPART A NEW CHARACTER THAT WOULD INCREASE ITS YIELD. REDUCED VULNERABILITY OF CROPS TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSES. CROPS CONTAINING GENES THAT WILL ENABLE THEM TO WITHSTAND BIOTIC AND A BIOTIC STRESSES MAY BE DEVELOPED FOR EXAMPLE, DROUGHT AND EXCESSIVELY SALTY SOIL ARE THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT LIMITING FACTORS IN CROP PRODUCTIVITY. BIOTECHNOLOGISTS ARE STUDYING PLANTS THAT CAN COPE WITH THESE EXTREME CONDITIONS IN THE HOPE OF FINDING THE GENES THAT ENABLE THEM TO DO SO AND EVENTUALLY TRANSFERRING THESE GENES TO THE MORE DESIRABLE CROPS. INCREASED NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES OF FOOD CROPS. PROTEINS IN FOODS MAY BE MODIFIED TO INCREASE THEIR NUTRITIONAL QUALITIES. PROTEINS IN LEGUMES AND CEREALS MAY BE TRANSFORMED TO PROVIDE THE AMINO ACIDS NEEDED BY HUMAN BEINGS FOR A BALANCED DIET. REDUCED DEPENDENCE ON FERTILIZERS, PESTICIDES AND OTHER AGROCHEMICALS. MOST OF THE CURRENT COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS OF MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE ARE ON REDUCING THE DEPENDENCE OF FARMERS ON AGROCHEMICALS. PRODUCTION OF NOVEL SUBSTANCES IN CROP PLANTS. MODERN BIOTECHNOLOGY IS INCREASINGLY BEING APPLIED FOR NOVEL USES OTHER THAN FOOD. BANANA TREES AND TOMATO PLANTS HAVE ALSO BEEN GENETICALLY ENGINEERED TO PRODUCE VACCINES IN THEIR FRUIT.

INCREASING OF POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF CITIES CAUSED LIMITATION IN PLANTATION SURFACE AREA AND LED TO LAND USE PLANNING. INFACTLY, SOILS HAVE A ROLE OF BASIC SOURCE FOR AGRICULTURE. THEREFORE, IDENTIFICATION OF SOIL CAPABILITY IN EACH REGION IS THE MOST BASICALLY METHODS FOR SUITABLE USING OF THIS RESOURCES, SELECTION OF SUITABLE CULTIVATION PROGRAM AND INCREASING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. LAND SUITABILITY EVALUATION INCLUDES BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE TYPES. LAND USE PLANNING CAUSED USAGE OF EACH LAND IN APPROPRIATE ABILITY. GIS, NOW, USE EXTENSIVELY AS EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR LAND EVALUATION IN WORLD. ALMOND IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT HORTICULTURAL CROPS IN CHAHARMAHAL VA BAKHTIARY PROVINCE AS FAR AS PLANTATION SURFACE AREA AND ECONOMICAL VALUE ARE CONCERNED. ALTHOUGH PRESENCE OF LONG AND COLD WINTERS IN THE AREA PROVIDES THE APPROPRIATE COLDNESS REQUIREMENT OF THE ALMOND, REQUIRED FOR PASSING THE DORMANCY, BUT FROM THE OTHER POINT OF VIEW, A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF THE ALMOND YIELD IS REDUCED EVERY YEAR DUE TO OCCURRENCE OF SPRING LATE CHILL. CONSIDERING THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ALMOND PLANTATION AND THE PRESENCE OF LIMITATIONS FOR ITS PRODUCTION IN THE PROVINCE, THE AIMS OF THE PRESENT RESEARCH HAVE BEEN COMPILING OF THE FROST PROBABILITY MAP, LAND SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT AND COMPARING DIFFERENT METHODS OF THE ASSESSMENT FOR MAMAEE AND SHAHROOD 12 ALMOND VARIETIES IN THE STUDY AREA. CLIMATIC SUITABILITY DETERMINATION BY SIMPLE LIMITATION METHOD SHOWED THAT RESPECTIVELY FOR MAMAEE AND SHAHROOD 12 VARIETIES, 48.3 AND 48.6 PERCENT OF THE PROVINCE ARE HIGHLY SUITABLE, 0.0 AND 25.8 PERCENT ARE MODERATELY SUITABLE, 51.36 AND 25.58 PERCENT ARE MARGINALLY SUITABLE AND 0.34 AND 0.0 PERCENT ARE NONSUITABLE. DAMAGE OF THE SPRING FROSTING IS LESS FOR SHAHROOD 12 VARIETY COMPARED WITH THE MAMAEE ONE. THE MOST IMPORTANT CLIMATIC LIMITATION FACTORS, IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, ARE FROSTING (AT THE GREEN BUDS AND SMALL NUT STAGES) AND SLOPE ASPECT FOR THE MAMAEE AND THE SLOPE ASPECT FOR THE SHAHROOD 12 VARIETIES. LAND SUITABILITY ASSESSMENT BY THE SIMPLE LIMITATION METHOD SHOWED THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF THE SURFACE AREA SUITABLE MODERATELY FOR THE SHAHROOD 12 VARIETY IS HIGHER AND SUITABLE MARGINALLY AND NONSUITABLE FOR THIS VARIETY IS LOWER THAN FOR THE MAMAEE. THE CAUSE OF THIS DIFFERENCE IN SUITABILITY IS THE LIMITATION OF SLOPE ASPECT. IN GENERAL, THE MOST IMPORTANT LIMITING FACTORS FOR THE GROWTH OF THE MENTIONED VARIETIES ARE: TEXTURE, DEPTH, AND ORGANIC MATTER, CALCIUM CARBONATE CONTENT OF THE SOIL AND SLOPE PERCENTAGE AND ASPECT. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE RESULTS OF THE LIMITATION AND THE PARAMETRIC METHODS WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT.

DROUGHT IS AN INSEPARABLE PART OF THE CLIMATE CHANGES WHICH MAY OCCUR IN ANY AREA AND HAS MAJOR EFFECTS. THE DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSES OF DROUGHT ARE USUALLY PRESENTED. IN THIS RESPECT CHANGING THE QUALITATIVE AND DESCRIPTIVE, MANNER OF THIS PHENOMENON INTO QUANTITATIVE AND NUMERICAL IS USED. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, THE STANDARDIZED PRECIPITATION INDEX (SPI) WAS USED TO ANALYZE THE FARS PROVINCE DROUGHT DUE TO ITS ADVANTAGES IN MONITORING THE CONDITION IN ASSOCIATION WITH CLIMATE, HYDROLOGIC AND AGRICULTURAL ASPECTS. THE SUM OF 125 STATIONS IN FARS PROVINCE AND NEIGHBORING PROVINCES WERE SELECTED REGARDING AVAILABLE LONG TERM STATISTICS, LOW STATISTICAL EFFICIENCIES AND DESIRABLE PREVALENCE WITH SHARED 30 YEARS STATISTICAL PERIOD (1972-1973 TO 2001-2002). SPI INDEX WAS CALCULATED CONSIDERING 6, 12 AND 24 MONTH TIME SCALE FOR APPOINTED STATIONS IN THIS STUDY. TO MAPPING OF SEVERE DROUGHTS GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM WAS USED. IN THIS RESPECT, KRIGING MODEL WAS SELECTED AFTER EVALUATION OF INVERSE DISTANCE WEIGHTED (IDW), SPLINE AND KRIGING. DIFFERENT TESTS WERE CARRIED OUT USING KRIGING METHOD AND GEOSTATISTICS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (GS+) SOFTWARE BASED ON THE EQUATIONS RELATED TO SEMI VARIOGRAM MODELS TO SELECT THE BEST MODEL WITH REGARD TO THE LOWEST VARIANCE ERROR AND THE BEST EFFECT DOMAIN. FINALLY, THE MAP OF DROUGHT MAPPING IN DIFFERENT TIME SCALES IN GIS WAS PROVIDED USING THE SEMI VARIOGRAM OF OPTIMUM VIEW IN KRIGING. THE RESULT OF STUDY REVEALS THE MANNER OF TIME FACTOR EFFECT AMONG TYPES DROUGHT, AS THE PROLONG OF DROUGHT DURATION AND ITS CONTINUATION, THE TWO VARIABLES OF SEVERITY AND LOCAL DOMAIN OF DROUGHT INCREASE. THE OTHER RESULTS OF THE STUDY DETERMINE THE RISKS OF DROUGHT IN VARIOUS POINTS OF FARS PROVINCE AND DIFFERENT PROVIDING AND CONSUMPTIVE WATER RESOURCES AS WELL. ALSO, THE PROCESS OF DIFFERENT SEVERE DROUGHT WAS DETERMINED IN FARS PROVINCE.

SOIL QUALITY MAPS SERVE AS BASE MAPS FOR THE VARIOUS USES IN AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT. HAVE SPECIAL IMPOTENT. ONE OF THE SOIL CHARACTERISTICS THAT CAN IMPROVE QUALITY OF SOIL MAPS IS CATION EXCHANGE CAPACITY (CEC). AS MEASURING CEC IS TIME CONSUMING AND COSTLY, IT IS USEFUL TO A FIND AN INDIRECT, SIMPLE AND CHEAP METHOD TO ESTIMATE CEC. PEDOTRANSFER FUNCTIONS ARE USED FOR ESTIMATION OF SOIL PROPERTIES. THESE FUNCTIONS ARE DEVELOPED BY DIFFERENT METHODS INCLUDING REGRESSION AND ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS. WHEN SOILS ARE GROUPED BY TAXONOMIC ORDER, HORIZON OR LAYER, ACCURACY OF PREDICTIVE MODELS, IN GENERAL, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE. THE PURPOSES OF THIS RESEARCH ARE (1) UPGRADING THE SOIL MAPS BY DETERMINING THE CEC IN TWO DOMINANT SOIL FAMILIES IN CHAHARMAHAL-VA-BAKHTIARI PROVINCE; (2) DEVELOPING OF PTFS FOR CEC USING METHOD OF NEURAL NETWORKS, (3) ASSESSING THE EFFECT OF SOIL PARTITIONING INTO FAMILIES AND LAYERS ON THE QUALITY OF MODELS. THE STUDIED AREA CONSISTED OF THREE DELINATIONS OF TWO CONSOCIATION MAP UNITS OF SHAHRAK AND CHARMAHAL SERIES. SOIL SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FROM EACH SOIL FAMILY FROM TWO DEPTHS OF 0-20 AND 30-50 CM. THE MEASURED SOIL PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES ARE: SOIL TEXURE, ORGANIC MATTER, EQUIVALENT CACO3, WATER CONTENT AT -1500 KPA (PWP), PH AND CEC. NEURAL NETWORK MODELS WERE DEVELOPED BY JMP 5.0 SOFTWARE R2 AND RMSE WERE USED TO EVALUATE AND SELECT BEST MODELS FOR ALL SAMPLES, FOR TOP- AND SUBSOIL LAYERS AND BOTH SOIL FAMILIES. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT CEC PEDOTRANSFER FUNCTIONS MAY BE CONSTRUCTED WITH THE USE OF NEUARAL NETWORK METHOD. IN GENERAL, PARTITIONING OF SOILS INTO LAYERS AND FAMILIES INCREASED THE ACCURACY OF MODELS. AMONGST THE MEASURED PROPERTIES, OM%, CLAY% AND PWP% WERE BEST PARAMETERS FOR ESTIMATING CEC. AS EVIDENT FROM R2 AND RMSE, AT ALL LEVELS OF PARTITIONING, NEURAL NETWORK DERIVED MODELS ESTIMATE CEC RELATIVELY ACCURATELY AND WITH HIGH PRECISION.

DROUGHT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT NATURAL DISASTERS WHICH AFFECT SECTORS WITH ITS VERY MUCH FREQUENCY PARTICULARLY IN DRY AND SEMIDRY AREAS OF IRAN. LACK OF RAINING WILL HAVE VARIOUS EFFECTS ON AGRICULTURE, SURFACE WATER AND UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES, HUMIDITY OF SOIL AND RIVERS. REGARDING THE LOCATION OF FARS PROVINCE ON DRY AND SEMIDRY CLIMATE AREA AND THE INCIDENCE OF REPEATED DROUGHT, ESPECIALLY IN RECENT YEARS, PAYING ATTENTION TO DROUGHT SIMULATION AND FORECASTING SEEM NECESSARY. QUANTITATIVE AND DESCRIPTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS AND THE ANTICIPATION AND ESTIMATION OF ITS BEHAVIOR AT THE TIME AND SITUATIONS WITHOUT OBSERVATION AND SAMPLE REQUIRES HAVING A PATTERN AND MODEL OF THAT PROCESS. ONE OF THE METHODS TO ACCESS THE GOAL OF MODELALIZATION IN DROUGHT INCIDENCE IS THE USE OF TIME SERIES MODEL. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, THE RAINING STATISTIC OF 90 STATIONS OF PLUVIOMETRY AND SYNOPTIC IN FARS PROVINCE WERE USED WITH REGARD TO 30 YEARS OF STATISTIC PERIOD. TO DETERMINE THE GRADE OF DROUGHT SEVERITY, THE STANDARD PRECIPITATION INDEX WAS ALSO USED DUE TO ITS ADVANTAGES IN LOCAL ANALYSIS AND ESTABLISHING TIME RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DROUGHT INCIDENCES. DETERMINATION OF DESIRABLE LOCAL MODEL ACCORDING TO DROUGHT CONDITION OF FARS PROVINCE WAS CONDUCTED AFTER DROUGHT SEVERITY MONITORING AND EVALUATION. THE SUITABLE MODEL FOR EACH AREA WAS PROVIDED USING TIME SERIES ANALYSIS AND BASED ON PROVIDED LOCAL PATTERN IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF FARS PROVINCE. THE ARIMA METHOD WAS SELECTED IN DROUGHT INCIDENCE SIMULATION USING TIME SERIES MODELS BASED ON THE AUTOCORRELATION AND PARTIAL-AUTOCORRELATION, ALL PROBABLE MODELS DUE TO STABILITY AND PARAMETERS AND DIFFERENT METHOD EVALUATION AND THE MOST SUITABLE MODEL WAS DETERMINED AND PRESENTED FOR DROUGHT SIMULATION IN EACH AREA.

USING NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY HAVE MANY EFFECTS IN DECREASING POSTHARVEST DAMAGING. ONE OF THE IMPORTANT OF PHYSICAL TREATMENTS POSTHARVEST DAMAGING CONTROL IS IONIZATION LIKE ELECTRON, ALFA AND BETA RAY, X RAY AND GAMMA RAY. APPLICATION GAMMA RAY IS CAUSED: INCREASING KEEPING PERIOD PRODUCTION LIKE STRAWBERRY, DECREASING RIPENING IN FRUIT, PREVENTION SPROUTING BULBS AND TUBERS, DECREASING MICROBIAL INFECTION (FOODS WHICH USE FRESH) AND DECREASING (MICROBIAL INFECTION IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR HUMAN WHO HAS WEAK DEFENSIVES SYSTEM), VIRUS DESTROYED, DEFENDING STORAGE PESTS IN FRUIT LIKE MANGO AND PAPAYA. DURING USE THE IONIZATION MUST PAY ATTENTION TO: BE ECONOMIC IN RELATION TO OTHER TREATMENT, BE ASSURED AND HEALTHY AND HOST SHOULD BE MORE RESISTANCE THAN MICROORGANISM.

IN RECENT TIMES, ENGINEERING OF PLANT GENOMES IN ORDER TO SIMPLE AND COMPLEX BIOPRODUCTS FOR THERAPEUTIC PURPOSES HAD A SALIENT INCREASE. THE CHLOROPLAST GENETIC ENGINEERING OFFERS A NUMBER OF UNIQUE ADVANTAGES INCLUDING HIGH LEVEL OF TRANSGENE EXPRESSION, MULTI-GENE EXPRESSION IN SINGLE TRANSFORMATION EVENT AND TRANSGENE CONTAINMENT DUE TO MATERNAL INHERITANCE. HYPER EXPRESSION OF DRUGS OR THERAPEUTIC PROTEINS IN TRANSGENIC CHLOROPLASTS OR CHROMOPLASTS FACILITATES EFFICIENT THERAPEUTIC PROCESS. ABILITY OF CHLOROPLASTS TO CORRECTLY FOLD HUMAN BLOOD PROTEINS WITH PROPER DISULFIDE BRIDGES (HUMAN SERUM ALBUMIN) OR PRESENCE OF CHAPERONES IN CHLOROPLASTS TO FACILITATE ASSEMBLY OF COMPLEX MULTI-SUBUNIT PROTEINS OR THEIR PROKARYOTIC NATURE TO EXPRESS NATIVE BACTERIAL GENES ARE ATTRACTIVE FEATURES FOR THERAPEUTIC PROTEIN PRODUCTION. PURIFICATION OF THERAPEUTIC PROTEINS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED USING NOVEL PURIFICATION STRATEGIES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE EXPENSIVE COLUMN CHROMATOGRAPHY.

USE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY IN AMINO ACIDS PRODUCTION INDUSTRY STARTED SINCE ABOUT 50 YEARS AGO. MARKET DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY DYNAMIC FOR THE ANIMAL FEED AMINO ACIDS L-LYSINE, L-THREONINE, AND L-TRYPTOPHAN, WHICH ARE PRODUCED BY FERMENTATION PROCESSES USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE STRAINS OF CORYNEBACTERIUM GLUTAMICUM AND ESCHERICHIA COLI FROM SUGAR SOURCES SUCH AS MOLASSES, SUCROSE, OR GLUCOSE. NOWADAYS THE MARKET FOR AMINO ACIDS IN SYNTHESIS IS ALSO BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT, WITH ANNUAL GROWTH RATES OF 5–7%. THE USE OF ENZYMES AND WHOLE CELL BIOCATALYSTS HAS PROVEN PARTICULARLY VALUABLE IN PRODUCTION OF BOTH PROTEINOGENIC AND NONPROTEINOGENIC L-AMINO ACIDS, D-AMINO ACIDS, AND PURED AMINO ACID DERIVATIVES, WHICH ARE OF GREAT INTEREST AS BUILDING BLOCKS FOR ACTIVE INGREDIENTS THAT ARE APPLIED AS PHARMACEUTICALS, COSMETICS, AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. NUTRITION AND HEALTH OF NATIONS WOULD BE BETTER WITH SUITABLE USE OF THE POTENTIAL OF MICROORGANISMS FOR AMINO ACIDS PRODUCTION.

MOLECULAR FARMING INVOLVES THE PRODUCTION OF NOVEL, USUALLY NON-PLANT PRODUCTS IN GENETICALLY MODIFIED PLANTS. BIOPHARMING REFERS TO THE PRODUCTION OF PLANT-MADE PHARMACEUTICALS (PMPS) BY CONSTRUCTING TRANSGENIC PLANTS THAT CAN CHEAPLY PRODUCE PHARMACEUTICAL PROTEINS (E.G. VACCINES). THE PROTEINS CAN THEN BE HARVESTED AND USED TO PRODUCE PHARMACEUTICALS. PLANT SYSTEMS PROVIDE SEVERAL KEY ADVANTAGES TO ANIMAL-CELL-BASED SYSTEMS FOR THE EXPRESSION OF RECOMBINANT PROTEINS. FIRST, ANIMAL PATHOGENS ARE ABSENT, AND THEREFORE OF NO SAFETY CONCERN. SECONDLY, THE YIELD OF PROTEIN PER WET TISSUE WEIGHT CAN BE ANY TIMES LARGER THAN THAT OBTAINED IN ANIMAL-CELL-BASED SYSTEMS. FINALLY, PLANT SYSTEMS CAN PERFORM MOST OF THE POST-TRANSLATIONAL AND CO-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATIONS OBSERVED WITH ANIMAL-CELL SYSTEMS. FOURTHLY, AND POSSIBLY MOST IMPORTANTLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE PRESENT PROPOSAL, PLANT SYSTEMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE FAR CHEAPER PLATFORMS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MEDICINAL PROTEINS. FINALLY, AND POSSIBLY MOST IMPORTANTLY, PLANT SYSTEMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE FAR CHEAPER PLATFORMS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF MEDICINAL PROTEINS. RECOMBINANT PROTEIN DRUGS ARE ONE OF THE FASTEST GROWING SEGMENTS OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY GENERATING $20 BILLION IN ANNUAL REVENUES.

DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE SALT STRESS EFFECTS ON PLANT GROWTH PARAMETERS SUCH AS GROWTH RATE AND TOTAL BIOMASS PRODUCTION, MINERAL UPTAKE,  ION COMPETITION AND THE RATE OF SALINITY TOLERANCE IN ONE-YEAR1386 OLD SEEDLINGS OF TEHRAN PINE (PINUS ELDARICA M.) GROWN IN GREENHOUSE, WERE INVESTIGATED BY THE USE OF NACL IN DIFFERENT CONCENTRATIONS. EXPERIMENTS WERE COMPLETELY RANDOMLY DESIGNED AND SIX DIFFERENT TREATMENTS WERE CONSIDERED BY THE ADDITION OF 0, 25, 50, 100, 150 AND 200 MILL MOLARS NACL TO THE NUTRIENT BASAL SOLUTION (ELECTRO CONDUCTIVITY OF THE SOLUTION WAS 1, 3.1, 6, 10.4, 14.5 AND 19.6 MSCM-1 RESPECTIVELY). THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY SHOWED THAT THE INCREASE OF THE CONCENTRATION OF NACL OVER 50 MILL MOLARS DECREASES THE RATE OF GROWTH. THIS CONCLUSION CORRELATED WITH THE COMPARISON OF THE MEAN TOTAL BIOMASS BY DUNCAN TEST. THE RESULTS OF THE RECENT ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT REGARDING THE TOTAL BIOMASS REDUCTION THE LEAVES ARE MORE SENSITIVE TO THE INCREASE OF NACL CONCENTRATION THAN THE ROOTS AND STEMS. THE RAISED LEVEL OF SODIUM AND LOWERED LEVEL OF POTASSIUM AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE INCREASED LEVEL OF THE SALT STRESS UP TO 150 MILL MOLARS IN THE ALL THREE ORGANS -ROOTS, STEMS AND LEAVES- WERE OBSERVED BUT IN REVERSE BY THE RAISE OF NACL LEVEL UP TO 200 MILL MOLARS THE NET ACCUMULATION OF SODIUM DECREASED. THE INCREASE CONCENTRATION OF NACL ACCOMPANIED BY SOME CHANGES IN THE ACCUMULATION OF OTHER MINERAL ELEMENTS SUCH AS THE INCREASED LEVEL OF NET ACCUMULATION OF MG IN ROOTS AND STEMS, THE RAISED LEVEL OF CA AND P IN LEAVES AND RELATIVELY HIGH LEVEL OF NITROGEN IN THE ALL THREE PLANT ORGANS.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS HAVE PROVIDED US WITH TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES THAT ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE WAY WE PRACTICE AND COMMUNICATE CONSERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT. THROUGH THE INNOVATIVE USE OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL TOOLS, INCLUDING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, WHOLE NEW LINES OF INVESTIGATION HAVE OPENED. FOR EXAMPLE, GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS, ACCOMPANIED WITH REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY, ALLOW US TO TRACK HABITAT AND LANDSCAPE CHANGES ACROSS SPACE AND TIME. TOOLS TO ANALYZE DNA IN POPULATIONS OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS HAVE CHANGED THE WAY WE MANAGE ENDANGERED SPECIES. MODERN SUPERCOMPUTING TOOLS ALLOW CONSTRUCTION OF SOPHISTICATED MODELS FOR ECOLOGICAL FORECASTING OR PREDICTIONS OF THE INFLUENCES OF GLOBAL CHANGE. WE ALSO CAN COMMUNICATE NEW QUESTIONS, RESULTS, PROPOSALS, AND MANUSCRIPTS TO COLLEAGUES DOWN THE HALL OR ACROSS OCEANS IN SECONDS VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL. CLEARLY, OUR PROFESSIONAL CULTURES AND LIVES ARE RICH WITH TOOLS AND HAVE BEEN PROFOUNDLY AFFECTED BY THESE TECHNOLOGIES. AS A RESULT, THESE TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES CAN BE USED FOR THE EDUCATION OF CONSERVATION ALL AROUND THE WORLD.