University of Tehran Press Desert 2008-0875 29 1 2024 06 01 Assessing the aridity indices in Northeast Iran: Implications for climate change and agricultural water management. 1 20 97810 10.22059/jdesert.2024.97810 EN Z. Shirmohammadi Aliakbarkhani Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Science, University of Torbat-e Jam, Torbat-e Jam, Khorasan Razavi, Iran. F. Foroughi College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Shiraz, Darab, Shiraz, Iran. S.F. Saberali Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran H. Nastari Nasrabadi Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Science, University of Torbat-e Jam, Torbat-e Jam, Khorasan Razavi, Iran. M.N. Modoodi Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Science, University of Torbat-e Jam, Torbat-e Jam, Khorasan Razavi, Iran. Journal Article 2024 07 10 Aridity indices have been widely applied in dividing climate regimes and monitoring drought events. The knowledge of the aridity index and reference evapotranspiration is very important not only for understanding climate change and its effects on ecosystem stability but also for managing agricultural water resources. Therefore, in this work, we studied the spatial-temporal variation and trend of ETo, Tmean, and four aridity indices, such as the De Martonne aridity index, Pinna combinative index, FAO aridity index, and Thornthwaite aridity index, and its climatic attribution in Northeast Iran using the observed climate records from 10 synoptic meteorological stations from 1950 to 2021. The results showed that ETo for Northeast Iran as a whole exhibited an increase at a rate of +9.65 mmyr-1; Tmean showed an increasing trend at the rate of 0.03 ºC year−1 from the beginning of the statistical period of each station until 2021. Also, the AIT, AIDM, AIP, and AIF increased significantly by +0.001, -0.03, -0.01, and -0.001 year-1, respectively. Approximately 100% of stations showed an increasing trend in AIT and AIF, while 50% of stations reached up to a significant increasing level, and about 60% of stations showed an increasing trend in AIDM and AIP, while 70% of stations reached a significantly increasing level, which demonstrated that Northeast Iran was getting drier for the recent 40 years. This analysis of this study enhances the understanding of the relationship between climate change and drought in Northeast Iran, may be helpful for the agricultural irrigation system.

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_97810_636972ec405b332987ae4e01a9d3b2ff.pdf

University of Tehran Press Desert 2008-0875 29 1 2024 06 01 Quantitative study of spatiotemporal changes in ecology to monitor land degradation in Alborz Province. 21 36 97915 10.22059/jdesert.2024.97915 EN N. Mostafavi Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Gh. Zehtabian Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran H. Azarnivand Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran H. Keshtkar Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Hassan Khosravi Assistance Professors, Faculty of Natural Resources ,University of Tehran ,Karaj, Iran. Journal Article 2024 07 23 The expansion of human activities has caused widespread disturbances in ecosystems worldwide, necessitating the development of effective tools to monitor and quantify these changes. Remote sensing stands as a powerful tool for monitoring and quantifying ecological changes over time and space. In this study, a remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI) was used to investigate land degradation and desertification in Alborz province during the period 2000-2020. After examining land use changes, the trend of RSEI outputs was evaluated using the Mann-Kendall test and Theil-Sen estimator. The examination of land use changes during the period 2000-2020 showed that barren lands, rangelands, shrublands and forests decreased by 2.30%, 6.25%, 1.53%, and 0.18%, respectively, while crop lands, built-up lands, and dam increased by 8.23%, 1.85%, and 0.18%, respectively. The analysis of the trend of changes in the RSEI using the Mann-Kendall test showed that the changes in 16.27% of Alborz province was decreasing, of which about 0.5% was statistically significant. This decreasing trend was also shown by the Theil-Sen estimator in 13% of this region. The results of this study using the Mann-Kendall test also showed that the RSEI values increased in 80.73% of the study area, of which about 4% increased significantly. The analysis of changes in this index using the Theil-Sen estimator showed that this index increased in 87% of this region. This study suggests that the RSEI approach performs effectively in quantifying and detecting ecological changes and, as a result, land degradation at various scales.

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_97915_6844293600caf6173cd36b038fabf2a4.pdf

University of Tehran Press Desert 2008-0875 29 1 2024 06 01 Forecasting the Impact of Climatic Factors on Sand Dune Mobility in the Salt Lake Basin using Sensitivity Analysis. 37 52 97954 10.22059/jdesert.2024.97954 EN Leila Biabani Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Hassan Khosravi Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Gholamreza Zehtabian Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Esmaeil Haydari Alamdarloo Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran Behzad Rayegani Research Center of Environment and Sustainable Development (RCESD), Department of Environment, Tehran, Iran. Journal Article 2024 07 27 Due to its location in in the arid and semi-arid region of central Iran, The Salt Lake basin is constantly affected by erosive winds leading to the transportation and deposition of sediments. The annual transfer of fine sand causes significant damage to residential areas, transportation routes, and agricultural land. Over a 20-year period, the level of sand dune activity was investigated in the Salt Lake basin using the data of 15 synoptic stations. The climatic factors including hourly wind speed, dust storm phenomenon codes, rainfall, temperature, evaporation, and transpiration were analyzed to determine the Lancaster index. The results of this index indicated that sand dune activity is dormant sand dunes in 67% of stations, 27% active only in sand dune canopy areas, and 7% active. The stabilization of sand dunes resulted from management measures such as arboriculture, afforestation, grazing management, rangeland exclusion, and mulch. Also, the highest and lowest frequency of days with dust is Arak station with 5460 days and Abali station with 148 days respectively. Based on the aridity index, the region is considered semi-arid to arid. It is at high risk for desertification. According to the sensitivity analysis test, it was determined that a 30% increase in erosive winds would result in a corresponding 30% increase in sand dune activity and movement. Conversely, a 30% rise in rainfall would lead to a 43% decline in sand dune activity. Finally, the mobility of sand dunes is more sensitive to changes in rainfall than wind speed.

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_97954_90b77d7af8c45fe0bfb9776c29f9052c.pdf

University of Tehran Press Desert 2008-0875 29 1 2024 06 01 The effect of vinasse as a carbon source on the activity of urease-producing bacteria in the microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) approach. 53 70 97959 10.22059/jdesert.2024.97959 EN Negin Pirhadi Department of Soil Science, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources university of Khuzestan, Iran Habib Nadian Department of Soil Science, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources university of Khuzestan, Iran Bijan Khalilimoghadam Department of Soil Science, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources university of Khuzestan, Iran Hossein Motamedi Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Center, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran Journal Article 2024 07 27 One of the most important causes of soil desertification is wind erosion. Deserts are known for their poor physical, chemical, and biological properties. In order to solve the problem of loose sand, many solutions have been thought and used so far. Today, scientists have greatly benefited from the capabilities of MICP in the field of sand dune stabilization, which seems to be an environmentally friendly solution. In Khuzestan, a lot of "vinasse" enter the environment every year, which is considered a pollutant. Combining it with beneficial native microorganisms can turn it into a valuable ingredient. The objectives of this study were to investigate the microbial activity of bacteria isolated from the sand dunes of Khuzestan in Iran using vinasse as a carbon source for growth. In order to eliminate the effect of competition and investigate the activity of the studied bacterial isolates (Bacillus licheniformis MZ057843, MZ057842, OP329211, and Sporosarcina pasteurii), the samples of sand dunes collected from Khuzestan were first sterilized. Then, inoculated vinasses were added to them, and the prepared samples were incubated for five weeks. The experiments (counting bacteria by plate count technique, Soil catalase by the method of titration with KMnO4, and Soil microbial respiration by measuring the amount of CO2) were measured after the first, third and fifth weeks of incubation time. Then, the data were analyzed by split plot in time design. The current study showed significant effects of vinasse, bacteria, time and their interaction in all three tests (p < 0.0001). Isolate B1 was able to cause the highest amount of microbial population and microbial respiration, and isolate B3 produced the highest amount of catalase enzyme in the soil. Among the three types of vinasse, V3 had the highest amount of catalase and microbial population, and V2 had the highest soil microbial respiration rate. The best incubation time for the microbial respiration and population tests was the first week, and third week of incubation for the catalase test. Generally, native Bacillus bacteria grew in vinasse as a carbon source and perhaps the potential of vinasse as a mulch can be explored. However, more research is needed to use it in soil stabilization operations.

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_97959_2bc6eadd7e7d3b9944578612eaf9ccf9.pdf

University of Tehran Press Desert 2008-0875 29 1 2024 06 01 Determination of erodible areas using MCDM models in the east of Iran 71 88 97964 10.22059/jdesert.2024.97964 EN Javad Chezgi Department of Range and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran Journal Article 2024 07 27 In order to achieve sustainable land management, there is a need to comprehensively investigate the factors affecting soil erosion. If there are critical areas in terms of SE in a watershed, by accurately identifying them, it will be possible and reasonable to control and fight against erosion. This research, used Multi-Criteria Decision Making models include AHP, ANP, and BWM in the GIS environment to determine the erosion prone areas. First, the effective factors on erosion were determined based on the opinions and case studies conducted in the area. In the following, the desired data were obtained from relevant organizations, field observations, and previous datasets. In the next step, questionnaires on the impact of criteria on erosion were sent to experts, and after completing the questionnaires, the relative importance of criteria was obtained in Expert Choses and Supper Decision software's. Next, maps were prepared and combined. Finally, the erosion-susceptibility map of the region was obtained. The results showed that the geological formation factor had the significant effect on the erodibility with a relative importance of 0.23. In the following, the area was classified into five classes in terms of sensitivity to erosion, and the areas with high sensitivity have the largest area. The results of the MADM models used in this research were evaluated using the MPASIC experimental method, which all were suitable, so they are capable of determining erosion-prone areas.

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_97964_7ae8e9d8275463a84754afbb39a727ad.pdf

University of Tehran Press Desert 2008-0875 29 1 2024 06 01 Introduction of dry yield-related traits to screen low-irrigation tolerant ecotypes in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L) 89 100 98234 10.22059/jdesert.2024.98234 EN Sayyed Saeed Moosavi Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran 0000-0002-3214-2703 Leyla Ahmadi Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran Mohammad Souri Seed and Plant Research Department, Hamedan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Hamedan, Iran. Mohammad Reza Abdollahi Department of Plant Production and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran Journal Article 2024 08 26 Alfalfa is one of the most important forage crops in the world and Iran. Due to the adverse effect of drought on alfalfa yield, screening drought- tolerant genotypes is essential in breeding efforts. In the present study, 11 alfalfa ecotypes were evaluated during two years under the low-irrigation stress condition. The statistical analyzes were done on the average of two-years data. The first and second factors, respectively as "forage- quantity factor" and "forage-quality factor", explained 70.40% of the data total variance. Factor analysis showed that, the traits of fresh-forage yield, plant height, stem fresh weight and regrowth rate, had the most positive effect on dry-forage yield, respectively. Qharaghezlou ecotype with the highest dry-forage yield, and Sedghiyan ecotype, with the highest forage quality, were the most drought-tolerant and high-quality ecotypes, respectively. Ecotypes of Mohajeran and Famenein showed the lowest dry-forage yield. Ecotypes were grouped in three separate clusters. The first and third clusters were identified as "dry-forage quality" and "dry-forage quantity" cluster, respectively. These two clusters had the highest genetic distance. Correctness of cluster grouping was confirmed by the discriminant function analysis. Fresh-forage yield, dry to fresh-forage yield ratio, plant height and regrowth rate were entered into the regression model respectively, as the most important traits affecting on dry-forage yield. The traits of fresh-forage yield and dry to fresh-forage yield ratio showed the most positive direct effect on dry-forage yield. Also, plant height, through increasing fresh-forage yield, and regrowth rate, through decreasing the dry to fresh forage yield ratio, had the largest positive and negative indirect effects on dry-forage yield, respectively. According to the results, the ecotypes showed a high diversity, which suggests the use of desirable traits and superior genotypes identified for use in future alfalfa breeding programs.

https://jdesert.ut.ac.ir/article_98234_9aec8fced41310d9b5d8453f99b728e8.pdf