Irrigation
M. Koohani; J. Behmanesh; V.R. Verdinejad; M. Mohammadpour
Abstract
IntroductionLand-use changes and development of irrigated agricultural lands are very important factors that affect natural resources such as the quantity and quality of water resources and the environment. Land use change is attributed to two major processes. The first process is the change in land ...
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IntroductionLand-use changes and development of irrigated agricultural lands are very important factors that affect natural resources such as the quantity and quality of water resources and the environment. Land use change is attributed to two major processes. The first process is the change in land cover, which is related to the expansion or limitation of the area of land used (such as pasture, agricultural or urban land). The second process is a change in land cover management type (for example, changes in irrigation, fertilizer use, crop type, harvesting methods or surface impermeability). Recently the Urmia lake has been accompanied by a reduction in water resources and the continuation of this process can completely cause to dry Urmia Lake. One of the approvals of the Iranian government after the formation of the National Working Group for the Lake Urmia restoration program was to prevent the development of agricultural lands in this watershed since 2014. Unfortunately, no serious and effective action has been taken in this case yet, and this process has progressed to cause conflicts in this region. Game theory is one of the most important methods used in modeling and analyzing water and environmental resources conflicts.Materials and MethodsIn the present study, using GMCR + software, the water resources conflicts arising from agricultural land development has been analyzed. In this conflict, by accurately identifying the set of decision-makers and their strategies in the conflict process (Regional Water Company, Agriculture Organization, Justice, and Profiteering Farmers), the model was executed with 4 players, 6 options, and 64 states. Players' performance was assessed once as ideal behavior (importance to the environment, sustainable development, and preference of long-term over short-term interests) and then as the use of completing a questionnaire. Then 4 states in the ideal behavior as equilibrium states and 7 states in the condition of using the questionnaire results were extracted as equilibrium states. The conflict was also examined in the coalition state of 3 government organizations (Regional Water Company, Agriculture Organization, and Justice Organization). Finally, the most probable states of equilibrium in the game results were identified.Results and DiscussionIn the discussion concerning equilibrium points, it is crucial to consider that for resolving the dispute and the proposed solution, we need to examine not only the stability of these points but also the state's priority from the perspective of stakeholders. Based on the discussions and the output results of the conflict model using the GMCR+ model, the optimal response and conflict resolution can be found in scenario 12. This scenario holds a high priority for three key players: the Agricultural Organization, the Regional Water Company, and the Justice Department. However, it doesn't share the same level of priority with the Profiteering Farmers. The reason for this divergence lies in the preference for personal gain and profit pursuit over the broader interests of the entire catchment area.ConclusionIn recent years, despite the imposed restrictions, the Urmia Lake Basin has witnessed a notable increase in the cultivation of water-intensive crops. This shift has transformed arid lands into irrigated ones and altered agricultural areas into residential zones. According to the principles of the tax evasion game, when land development carries no moral or financial consequences for profit-driven farmers, and they are aware that regulatory institutions will not commit excessive resources to prevent and effectively combat the expansion of illegal farmlands, Profiteering Farmers will consistently engage in unauthorized development under any conflict scenario. In light of the revenue potential of this situation and the opportunity to enhance one's social standing, Profiteering Farmers will persist in unauthorized development regardless of the prevailing conflict circumstances. The findings underscore the critical role of the Regional Water Company and the Agricultural Organization. These entities must proactively employ their legal capacities to impede and deter the expansion of agricultural lands. Additionally, the Justice Organization assumes primary responsibility as a crime prevention factor, while its secondary role as a judicial enforcer within this conflict situation appears fitting. Therefore, all situations are stable for Profiteering Farmers. It seems that creating a platform and conditions in which Profiteering Farmers do not develop agricultural land themselves or do not develop land due to the protection of government institutions, can be very thoughtful and effective.
Irrigation
M. Babaei; M.T. Sattari
Abstract
IntroductionDevelopment of reservoirs helps to meet food and energy needs by supplying water for agriculture and hydropower plants. Efficient management of water resources is important and vital to overcome the problems of water leakage and meet agricultural, industrial and drinking needs. Each of these ...
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IntroductionDevelopment of reservoirs helps to meet food and energy needs by supplying water for agriculture and hydropower plants. Efficient management of water resources is important and vital to overcome the problems of water leakage and meet agricultural, industrial and drinking needs. Each of these requirements creates limitations in the way the reservoir is operated, which requires accurate information on the changes in the reservoir storage and other influential components during the operation period. In order to manage and plan water resources at country scale, using reservoir simulation models as a suitable tool in simulating processes related to dams, such as the operation of water reservoirs, will be very effective. Reservoir simulation models such as the HEC-ResSim model provide the opportunity to simulate the natural and hydrological processes related to the water resources system and the relationships between the supply and demand sectors by implementing a schematic structure of a real reservoir. Two scenarios of water savings of 20 and 30 percent were used in the current investigation. Additionally, using this method, the objectives of water resource management can be assessed.Materials and MethodsIn the present study, the use of the Latian reservoir in real conditions was simulated using the HEC-ResSim model. The simulation was carried out according to the river's inflow from 1968 to 2018, downstream water needs, energy production capacity by turbines, physical characteristics and reservoir building. The implementation of the HEC-ResSim model is summarized in three steps. The Watershed Setup module is used to introduce the general outline of the watershed. In this module, the shape and geographical location of the basin and related elements such as rivers, reservoirs, hydrometric stations and other projects in it should be specified. The Reservoir Network module is used to introduce the desired reservoir network and to enter the physical characteristics and how to use them. The Simulation module is designed to introduce the simulation period and display the model outputs. In this module, the simulation time and period and the operation pattern should be determined.Results and DiscussionAccording to the results obtained from the reservoir simulation model, the average storage capacity of Latian dam for the simulation period was estimated to be 41 million cubic meters, which shows a significant drop of 49% compared to the normal level (83 million cubic meters). Additionally, for the same period, it was estimated that the average discharge was equivalent to 5.4 cubic meters per second and the average inflow to the reservoir of the Latian dam was equal to 5.7 cubic meters per second. This is in contrast to the period's average demand, which for the area downstream of the Latian Dam is 12.1 cubic meters. The findings indicate that the reservoir of the dam frequently, and particularly at the conclusion of the simulation period, is unable to satisfy the needs of the downstream. Additionally, according to the findings of the current study, the Latian dam power plant's (Kalan) average annual hydro-electric energy production was projected to be 68,000 MWh, and the results show that in accordance with the policy of operating the Latian dam in the majority ofthe years, the Kalan power plant is able to supply the electricity required in the study area. According to the results, the average reservoir volume of Latian dam for the entire period in the first and second scenario was estimated to be 49 and 63 million cubic meters, respectively. Also, by applying the first and second water saving scenarios, the Latian dam reservoir will be able to generate 66,000 and 63,000 MWh of energy annually.ConclusionIn this study, the functioning and operation of the Latian dam reservoir was used by applying the Hec-ResSim reservoir simulation model. After entering data such as the elevation and length of the dam, surface-volume-elevation curve, evaporation from the surface of the reservoir, elevation and uncontrolled outlet coefficient, dam storage areas, rule curve, were simulated by the model. In the present study, the values of inactive volume and conservation volume of Latian Dam were estimated as 28 and 83 million cubic meters, respectively. The average water release of Latian dam for the first and second 25 years of operation was equal to 6.1 and 3.7 cubic meters per second, respectively, which met 50 and 32% of the downstream demand on average. The results indicate that the success rate of Latian dam in supplying drinking, industry and downstream environment for the period of operation is 42%. Also, 16 years out of 50 years of operation, Kalan hydropower plant has fully met 100% of the needs. On average, the large power plant is able to provide 80% of the energy needs of the study area for the entire simulation period.
Irrigation
M.S. Fakhar; A. Kaviani
Abstract
Introduction
Achieving food security in the future with sustainable use of water resources will be a big challenge for the current and future generations. Population increase, economic growth and climate change intensifythe pressure on existing resources. Agriculture is a key consumer of water, and ...
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Introduction
Achieving food security in the future with sustainable use of water resources will be a big challenge for the current and future generations. Population increase, economic growth and climate change intensifythe pressure on existing resources. Agriculture is a key consumer of water, and it is necessary to closely monitor water productivity for it and explore opportunities to increase its productivity. Systematic monitoring of water productivity through the use of remote sensing techniques can help identifying the gaps in water productivity and evaluate appropriate solutions to address these gaps.
Materials and Methods
Qazvin plain is known as a hub of modern agriculture by providing about 5% of the country's agricultural products. Therefore, estimating water demand and water productivity in agricultural management in the region is considered important and necessary. In order to monitor water productivity through access to various data across Africa and the Middle East, the WaPOR database provides the possibility to examine the rate of evapotranspiration, biomass and gross and net biomass volume productivity based on the land use map in the period of years 2009 to 2021. In this database, it is possible to check the mentioned items at three levels with different spatial resolution, which according to the scope of the study, it is possible to check values with a spatial resolution of 250(m). In order to determine the efficiency and accuracy of the land cover classification map of the WaPOR database, the results obtained are examined and compared with the Dynamic World model, which represents a global model with high accuracy. For this purpose, the latest land use map related to 2021 Using the WaPOR database and Dynamic World in the GEE system, it was prepared and based on the classification of the region in order to check the accuracy of the user map of the WaPOR database and to determine the percentage of each class compared to each other. Finally, all estimable indicators were calculated and checked by the WaPOR database during the years 2009 to 2022.
Results and Discussion
The amount of evapotranspiration of the plants covered by the irrigation network in the period of 2009 to 2016 has been associated with a relatively stable trend, but this trend has decreased in 2017 onwards, which is one of the reasons for the decrease in the amount of evapotranspiration in this the period of time and can refer to the lack of water available to the plant due to the limited water resources in recent years. The investigation of the total amount of biomass in different lands shows that during the years 2009 to 2022, this index has been accompanied by a gradual increase in all uses, so that the amount of TBP index in 2020 was 17% more than in 2009. It shows the amount of biomass in different lands. The amount of biomass in the lands covered by the water network is 5 to 6 times higher than that of the rainfed lands. Among the influential parameters in estimating the TBP index, we can mention the amount of evaporation, transpiration, and transpiration, the increase or decrease of each of these parameters will have a significant impact on the estimated amount of biomass. The results showed that the amount of biomass production in the areas covered by the irrigation network largely depends on the high transpiration rate in these areas. From the beginning of 2009 to 2016, the gross amount of biomass water in the lands covered by the irrigation network has been accompanied by an increase, but in 2017, drastic changes in the process of underground changes will decrease the area of the lands covered by the network and many of these lands. It has been turned into fallow and rainfed lands. The analysis of NBWP index also showed that the amount of net productivity in rainfed lands is strongly dependent on the annual increase rate, and much of the crop yield in rainfed lands is dependent on the amount received. Among the influential parameters in estimating the total amount of biomass, we can mention the amount of evaporation, transpiration and transpiration, the increase or decrease of each of these parameters will have a significant impact on the amount of estimated biomass.
Conclusion
WaPOR database data can play an important role in estimating the rate of delayed transpiration and parameters related to water productivity in the region due to its ten-day spatial resolution and the absence of data gaps. In general, the WaPOR database can be used as a guide in the reliable determination of evapotranspiration values and planning related to water resources in the agricultural sector.
Irrigation
H. Ojaghlou; F. Ojaghlou; Mohammad Mahdi Jafari; Farhad Misaghi; Bijan Nazari; Esmaeil Karami Dehkordi
Abstract
Introduction
Over the last years, long-term average rainfall has experienced a meaningful decrease (from 250 to 206 mm per year) leading to continuous drought in Iran. In addition, population growth and increasing demand for food put more pressure on the limited available water resources. Thus, the ...
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Introduction
Over the last years, long-term average rainfall has experienced a meaningful decrease (from 250 to 206 mm per year) leading to continuous drought in Iran. In addition, population growth and increasing demand for food put more pressure on the limited available water resources. Thus, the quantitative and qualitative improvement of agricultural products become a necessity. There is 640,000 hectares of alfalfa cultivated land, standing for 5.4% of the total cultivated area. One of the most basic obstacles in these farms is the unsuitable model of water consumption management. Previous studies were conducted with the aim of evaluating the mutual effects of different treatments in controlled plots. Nonetheless, there is a need for large-scale investigations to monitor and improve water productivity in agricultural systems. In this research, the focus was on irrigation management and optimizing irrigation timing as a potential solution to enhance water productivity, considering the fixed irrigation cycles and traditional use of available water resources. The study began by assessing the current water productivity in 11 alfalfa farms located across four regions in Zanjan province, ensuring a suitable spatial distribution. Subsequently, the impact of irrigation management, particularly the adjustment of irrigation timing, was evaluated to determine its effectiveness in improving water productivity in these farms.
Materials and Methods
Eleven alfalfa farms, covering a total area of 28 hectares, were initially selected in the agricultural lands of Zanjan province. The majority of these farms were equipped with sprinkler irrigation systems. From these 11 farms, two specific farms were chosen to implement the proposed methods aimed at improving water productivity. These selected farms served as experimental sites where the irrigation management techniques were applied and evaluated. Improvement solutions were mainly focused on irrigation management. Each farm was divided into two parts; one part with real conditions (farmers' management) and the second one with controlled conditions. In the controlled treatments, irrigation management was implemented through optimization of irrigation time. A nutritional program was also prepared according to the soil quality of the fields and applied in the controlled treatments. In each farm, basic information such as area, physical and chemical properties of soil and water quality were determined. Irrigation information (such as inflow discharge and irrigation schedule) was measured and determined at least three times during the cropping season. Soil moisture were measured before and after irrigation in order to calculate the water application efficiency. The amount of harvested product and production costs were obtained at the end of the cropping season through measurements and interviews with farmers. In this research, the indicators including the volume of irrigation water, the water use efficiency, and the physical and economic efficiency of water have been calculated to analyze the water productivity.
Results and Discussion
The volume of irrigation water in alfalfa farms was measured as 14250 m3/ha on average (with the lowest and highest consumption values of 9849 and 20576 m3/ha, respectively). The average of irrigation water in farms with surface irrigation systems equals to 17,806 and in farms equipped with sprinkle irrigation systems is about 13,460 m3/ha. While the net water requirement of alfalfa in study area was 7160 to 7290 m3/ha. The minimum and maximum values of water application efficiency were 38.3 and 82%, respectively, with average of 64%. The average of application efficiency in surface and sprinkle irrigation systems were obtained 50 and 67%, respectively. The measured alfalfa yield ranged from a minimum of 6.5 ton/ha to a maximum of 14.1 ton/ha, with an average yield of 10.4 ton/ha. After implementing the revised irrigation program in the controlled plots, the harvested water decreased by an average of 49.5%. It was observed that the irrigation schedule in most farms followed a traditional and estimated pattern, with the depth of irrigation water in the middle of the growing season exceeding the net irrigation requirement. The water use efficiency (WUE) values varied between 0.42 and 1.28 kg/m3, with a minimum value of 0.42 kg/m3 and a maximum value of 1.28 kg/m3. The average WUE was calculated as 0.79 kg/m3. Analyzing the correlation between water consumption and the water use efficiency index revealed a decreasing trend. As the volume of irrigation water increased, the water use efficiency index experienced a decline. Specifically, an increase of 1000 m3 in irrigation water resulted in a decrease of 0.04 kg/m3 in the water use efficiency index. The implementation of the corrected irrigation program and appropriate to the water demand led to an increase of the mentioned index by 72%.
Conclusion
The lack of proper irrigation programs that consider climatic conditions and the actual needs of the alfalfa plant was identified as a key factor contributing to high water consumption in the farms. Additionally, the inefficient selection and design of the irrigation system led to lower irrigation efficiency than expected. Despite the majority of farms being equipped with sprinkle irrigation systems, the harvested water did not decrease significantly due to inadequate water management practices. These factors ultimately resulted in a decline in both physical and economic productivity indicators in the alfalfa farms. However, the results of the study highlighted that implementing corrected irrigation management, particularly through modifications to the irrigation timing, can lead to a significant decrease in volume of irrigation water and an improvement in both physical and economic productivity.
Irrigation
M. Goodarzi; J. Ghadbeiklou; A. Ghadiry; M.A. Khodshenas
Abstract
Introduction
Water is one of the most important factors of development in human societies, water scarcity, specially fresh water which is one of the main limitation for agricultural, economic and social development in most developing countries. Providing and implementing an optimal cropping pattern, ...
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Introduction
Water is one of the most important factors of development in human societies, water scarcity, specially fresh water which is one of the main limitation for agricultural, economic and social development in most developing countries. Providing and implementing an optimal cropping pattern, in addition to better management of water and soil resources, can lead to reducing production risk, increasing the ability to deal with crises, improving employment, better management of providing services to farmers, and providing the possibility of expanding agro-based industries. In many regions of the world, including in Iran, many studies have been done to improve the cropping pattern in different regions. Despite the existing problems in designing and implementing the appropriate cropping pattern in the plains, modifying the cropping pattern based on scientific principles and emphasizing the reduction of water consumption while reducing water consumption provides the possibility of sustainable agriculture and in terms of economic and social aspects. Implementing an optimized cropping pattern in the Farahan Plain is an undeniable necessity to preserve national resources. This study was conducted with the objective of optimizing the cropping pattern in the area, taking into account multiple criteria.
Methodology
In this research, considering the importance of determining the cropping pattern based on the multiple objectives of the decision makers, it was tried to determine the optimal cropping pattern by using mathematical programming and fuzzy logic by establishing a compromise between the objectives of the cropping pattern. The model considered for this study was in the framework of the goal of the maximum ideal distance (Fuzzy Composite Distance). Also, in order to use water resources sustainably, scenarios of cropping patterns are presented based on different conditions of water resources uses. Based on the basin's water resource stability, an optimal cropping pattern was developed to address the conditions of normal water resource exploitation, as well as sustainable and unsustainable scenarios. Each scenario corresponds to a specific period. To achieve this, a multi-objective planning approach was utilized, integrating water, food, energy, and economic profit indicators. The resulting optimal cropping pattern considers stable water resource utilization during normal, drought, and wet periods, ensuring sustainable conditions.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that the amount of water consumed by the optimal cropping pattern compared to the existing cropping pattern under normal, drought and wet conditions is reduced by 23.2, 29.2 and 18.1%, respectively. On the other hand, compared to the existing cropping pattern, the amount of calories produced by the optimal cropping pattern under normal, drought and wet conditions increases by 51.7, 61.9 and 45.2%, the average energy efficiency increases by 40.9, 42.8 and 35.8% and the net profit productivity increases by 43.3, 30.9 and 44.2 %, respectively. Based on the obtained results, it can be seen that in the optimal cropping pattern in drought conditions, the cultivated area of crops such as potatoes, onions, tomatoes, grain corn, sugar beets, beans, alfalfa and watermelons should reach to the zero or be at the lowest possible level. In normal and drought conditions, the cultivated area of these crops should be minimal. On the other hand, the area under cultivation of crops such as fodder sorghum, fodder corn, saffron, cumin, camellia and medicinal plants should be increased and the cultivation of these crops should be promoted at the region. Also, regarding horticultural products, the cultivated area of walnut, apple, peach, apricot and almond orchards should be minimized and replaced with plants such as grapes, oleaster, jujube, barberry, rose, and figs.
Conclusion
Based on the obtained results, it was found that the use of the optimal cropping pattern derived from the indicators of water, food, energy and economic profit is completely superior and preferred over the existing cropping pattern and single purpose optimal cropping pattern. In order to achieve sustainable water resource management, it is recommended to modify the cropping pattern during drought, normal, and wet periods based on the suggested optimal cropping pattern. The existing cropping pattern currently falls short in terms of achieving the four objectives of water, food, energy, and economic profit. Therefore, it is crucial to develop main plans and strategies in the Farahan Plain that align with the implementation of the proposed optimal cropping pattern. By doing so, it will be possible to optimize the allocation of water resources and achieve improved outcomes in terms of water availability, food production, energy efficiency, and economic profitability.
Irrigation
M. Khoshravesh; M. Pourgholam-Amiji; F. Emami Ghara
Abstract
Introduction
Considering the value of water in agriculture and the limitation of this important and vital resource and the existence of intermittent droughts in the country, saving in consumption and optimal use of available water seems necessary. Today, utilizing saltwater is considered one of the ...
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Introduction
Considering the value of water in agriculture and the limitation of this important and vital resource and the existence of intermittent droughts in the country, saving in consumption and optimal use of available water seems necessary. Today, utilizing saltwater is considered one of the practical and effective approaches to minimize water consumption while achieving acceptable economic performance. Given the scarcity of freshwater sources, the utilization of unconventional water for strawberry cultivation holds significant economic importance. Through the application of innovative technologies, such as magnetic technology, the modification of these water sources can lead to increased quantitative and qualitative yields of agricultural products. Salinity stress, which alters the water and nutrient absorption patterns, directly impacts the plant's yield in terms of both quantity and quality. Strawberry is an important commercial product, and the quantitative and qualitative increase of its yield is emphasized from different aspects. The purpose of this research is to the effect of salinity stress under the influence of a magnetic field on the yield and yield components of the strawberry plant.
Materials and Methods
The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of salinity stress under the influence of magnetic fields on the yield and yield components of strawberry plants. The factorial experiment was conducted in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications in 2021 and 2022 in Neka city. The control treatment included full irrigation in all stages of plant growth with normal water (non-magnetic). The treatments include the type of irrigation water at two levels (Non-Magnetic Water (W1) and Magnetic Water (W2)), and water salinity was at three levels (0.86 dS/m (S1), 20 mM sodium chloride (S2), and 40 mM sodium chloride (S3). The strawberry plant of the Silva cultivar was cultivated in 3 x 4-meter plots with a row spacing of 40 cm and a between the spacing of 40 cm. Magnetization of irrigation water was created by passing water through a permanent magnet with a magnetic field intensity of 0.3 Tesla. The salt used for salinity stress was laboratory sodium chloride. The used irrigation method was drip (tape), and the amount of irrigation water and irrigation cycle was done according to the needs of the plant. Soil moisture monitoring was used to calculate the amount of applied water.
Results and Discussion
The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of the irrigation water type and different levels of water salinity on the length, diameter, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, biomass and plant yield was significant at the 1% probability level. The effect of water salinity on the number of fruits per plant was significant at the 1% probability level and on the fruit length and fruit diameter at the 5% probability level. The interaction effect of irrigation water type and water salinity was also significant at the probability level of 1%. On average, during two years of strawberry cultivation with the application of a magnetic field, the length, diameter, number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, biomass, and plant yield were increased by 9.76, 14.14, 23.05, 27.60, 27.08, and 28.36% respectively. The introduction of 20 and 40 mM sodium chloride resulted in a decrease in the physical characteristics of strawberry fruit and overall yield. The most significant reduction was observed in the number of fruits per plant at the salinity level of 40 mM sodium chloride, exhibiting a 56.69% decrease compared to the control treatment.
Conclusion
The growth of population and expansion of agriculture on one hand and the demand for more harvesting from limited water resources on the other hand, make it necessary to increase water productivity. Lack of water and competition for water resources has caused research to be done in order to reduce water consumption and preserve its resources. Therefore, searching for ways to reduce consumption and preserve water resources is of great importance. One of these methods is using magnetic water. The results of the research showed that the use of magnetic water technology caused a significant increase in the yield and yield components of strawberries compared to the control treatment. In addition, the salinity level of irrigation water had a significant impact on the yield and yield components of strawberries, with the highest yield observed in the treatment without salinity stress when using magnetic water technology. The findings of this study indicate that the application of magnetic water technology can enable the use of low salinity levels and lead to improved strawberry yield.
Irrigation
M. Behdarnejad; H. Piri; M. Delbari
Abstract
Introduction
In sustainable farming systems, the use of organic fertilizers is of particular importance in increasing crop production and maintaining sustainable soil fertility. Nowadays, the consumption of organic foods is introduced to consumers as an alternative. The result of the application of ...
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Introduction
In sustainable farming systems, the use of organic fertilizers is of particular importance in increasing crop production and maintaining sustainable soil fertility. Nowadays, the consumption of organic foods is introduced to consumers as an alternative. The result of the application of chemical products is the crisis of environmental pollution, soil and water resources, and the health risk to human society. Nowadays, in order to reduce the effects of misuse of chemical inputs, chemical fertilizers can be replaced with organic biological fertilizers, including animal manure, compost, and green manure. In this regard, chicken manure has a positive effect on the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the soil, and due to its richness in uric acid, the nitrogen contained in it is used by the plant much faster than the nitrogen of other organic fertilizers. Vermicompost is considered a good source of soil fertility due to its organic materials. Organic matter in the soil improves the permeability and drainage of the soil and also prevents excessive dryness of the soil by maintaining sufficient moisture. Despite the fact that vermicompost can be used as a fertilizer in organic farming, high levels of this fertilizer may cause salinity effects in the plant, which affects the growth and development of the plant and even it can cause the death of cucumber as one of the crops sensitive to soil and water salinity. The cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the important vegetables that can be produced in a greenhouse all year round. Fresh consumption of cucumber throughout the year has increased its production. The development of technology and the short growth period of this product has made it possible to grow it in most climate zones. Therefore, in this research, the effects of different levels of water deficit with the simultaneous application of vermicompost and chicken manure on cucumber plants in the Behbahan region have been investigated.
Materials and Methods
In this study, different levels of irrigation water, vermicompost, and poultry manure on ground cucumber were investigated. The experiment was performed in the form of split plots based on completely randomized design and the form of stacks. Treatments included three levels of poultry manure (2, 4 and 8 ton ha-1), three levels of vermicompost (3, 6 and 9 ton ha-1) and three levels of water stress (100, 75 and 50% of plant water requirement). Both vermicompost and poultry manure were applied to the soil before planting. Harvest was done every three days. Fruit weight, diameter and length, plant length, the protein of the dry matter of the fruit percentage, and leaf chlorophyll in each plot were carefully measured. Also, the yield and water productivity at the end of the season were calculated.
Water productivity
Referring to the yield to irrigation water ratio, is obtained by the following relation (Payero et al., 2009):
WP=Y/IR (1)
In this equation, WP represents water productivity (kg/m3), Y denotes the yield (kg/ha), and IR shows the amount of irrigation water (m3/ha).
Statistical analysis
The analysis of variance for the results obtained from different treatments was conducted using SAS software (SAS 9.1, SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA). The mean values of the main factors and interactive effects were compared using the Duncan method at the 1% and 5% levels of significance.
Results and Discussion
The results showed that irrigation, poultry manure and vermicompost had a significant effect on the measured parameters at the level of one and five percent probability. Reduction of water consumption reduced yield and yield components, but in this regard, no significant difference was observed between 100% and 75% of water requirement. The highest yield was obtained in the treatment of 100% of plant water requirement and consumption of 4 ton ha-1 of poultry manure and 6 ton ha-1 of vermicompost, in this regard, no significant difference was observed with the treatment of 75% of water requirement. According to the results obtained from this study, it can be said that there is no significant difference in terms of yield between treatments of 75 and 100% of plant water requirement. Therefore, the amount of water given to the plant can be reduced to 75% of the plant water requirement, and with proper management, less water can be consumed without a significant reduction in crop yield. Examining the effects of irrigation water on the amount of the protein of the dry matter of the fruit showed that the highest amount of the protein of the dry matter of the fruit (56.31%) was obtained in the treatment of 75% of the water requirement and the protein of the dry matter of the fruit was less in other treatments. The interaction effect of vermicompost and poultry manure resulted in the highest percentage of cucumber protein at a treatment of 4 tons ha-1 of poultry manure and 6 tons ha-1 of vermicompost (58.42%). However, when the simultaneous use of 8 tons ha-1 of poultry manure and different levels of vermicompost was employed, the percentage of protein in the fruit's dry matter decreased. The combination of drought stress, poultry manure, and vermicompost, along with their interaction effects, significantly influenced the chlorophyll a and b values at both the 1% and 5% probability levels. As the depth of irrigation water decreased, the amounts of chlorophyll a and b also decreased. The treatment with 100% water requirement of the plant showed the highest amounts of chlorophyll a (0.63 mg/g fresh weight) and chlorophyll b (0.36 mg/g fresh weight). However, no significant difference was observed compared to the 75% treatment. Regarding the interactions between vermicompost and poultry manure, it was found that when using 6 tons ha-1 of vermicompost to reduce yield and its components, the use of poultry manure should be reduced to 4 tons ha-1. On the other hand, when higher levels of vermicompost (9 tons ha-1) are used, the application of poultry manure should be reduced to 2 tons ha-1.
Result
According to the results obtained from this research, it can be said that there is no significant difference in performance between the treatments of providing 75% and 100% of the water requirement of the plant, therefore, the amount of water given to the plant can be reduced to the amount of 75% of the water requirement of the plant. With proper management, less water can be consumed without significantly reducing the yield of the product.
Irrigation
H. Ramezani Etedali; F. Safari
Abstract
IntroductionEvaluation of plant models in agriculture has been done by many researchers. The purpose of this work is to determine the appropriate plant model for planning and predicting the response of crops in different regions. This action is made it possible to study the effect of various factors ...
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IntroductionEvaluation of plant models in agriculture has been done by many researchers. The purpose of this work is to determine the appropriate plant model for planning and predicting the response of crops in different regions. This action is made it possible to study the effect of various factors on the performance and efficiency of plant water consumption by spending less time and money. Since the most important agricultural product in Iran is wheat, so proper management of wheat fields has an important role in food security and sustainable agriculture in the country. The main source of food for the people in Iran is wheat and its products, and any action to increase the yield of wheat is necessary due to limited water and soil resources. Evapotranspiration is a complex and non-linear process and depends on various climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, radiation, type and stage of plant growth. Therefore, in the present study, by using daily meteorological data of Urmia, Rasht, Qazvin, Mashhad and Yazd stations, the average daily evapotranspiration values based on the results of the FAO-Penman-Monteith method are modeled and the accuracy of the two methods temperature method (Hargreaves-Samani and Blaney-Criddle) and three radiation methods (Priestley-Taylor, Turc and Makkink) were compared with FAO-56 for wheat.Materials and MethodsThe present study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of the AquaCrop model in simulation of evapotranspiration and biomass, using different methods for estimation reference evapotranspiration in five stations (Urmia, Qazvin, Rasht, Yazd and Mashhad). Four different climates (arid, semi-arid, humid and semi-humid) were considered in Iran for wheat production. The equations used to estimate the reference evapotranspiration in this study are: Hargreaves-Samani (H.S), Blaney-Criddle (B.C), Priestley-Taylor (P.T), Turc (T) and Makkink (Mak). Then, the results were compared with the data of the mentioned stations for wheat by error statistical criteria including: explanation coefficient (R2), normal root mean square error (NRMSE) and Nash-Sutcliffe index (N.S).Results and DiscussionThe value of the explanation coefficient (R2) of simulation ET and biomass in the Blaney-Criddle method is close to one, which shows a good correlation between the data. The NRMSE and Nash-Sutcliffe values for both parameters and the five stations are in the range of 0-20 and close to one, respectively, which indicates the AquaCrop model's ability to simulate ET and biomass. On the other hand, the value of R2 in the Hargreaves-Samani method for biomass close to one, NRMSE in the range of 0-10 and Nash-Sutcliffe index is more than 0.5, which indicates a good simulation. The NRMSE index in the evaluation of ET and biomass wheat is excellent for the Blaney-Criddle method and about Hargreaves-Samani for ET is poor and for the biomass is excellent.The Turc method with NRMSE in the range of 0-30, explanation coefficient close to or equal to one and a Nash-Sutcliffe index of one or close to one can be used to simulate ET and biomass at all five stations. Also, for biomass simulation, Priestley-Taylor and Makkink methods have acceptable statistical values in all five stations.Based on the value of explanation coefficient (R2) of estimation ET and biomass wheat for radiation methods, the correlation between the data in all three radiation methods is high. Percentage of NRMSE index of Makkink method for wheat in ET evaluation in Qazvin station is poor category and in Urmia and Rasht is good and in Mashhad and Yazd is moderate and about biomass in all five stations (Qazvin, Rasht, Mashhad, Urmia and Yazd) is excellent category, the error percentage of Priestley-Taylor method for wheat in ET evaluation in Yazd station is good and the rest of the stations is poor, about biomass is excellent in all five stations (Qazvin, Rasht, Mashhad, Urmia and Yazd). The error rate of Turc method for wheat in ET evaluation in Urmia, Rasht and Mashhad stations is good and in Qazvin and Yazd is poor and about biomass is excellent in all five stations (Qazvin, Rasht, Mashhad, Urmia and Yazd).ConclusionAccording to the results obtained using Blaney-Criddle method with R2 value close to one, NRMSE in the range of 0-20% (excellent to good) and Nash-Sutcliffe index close to one and Turc method with R2 value close to one, NRMSE in the range of 0-10% (excellent) and Nash-Sutcliffe index close to one was showed a good accuracy of AquaCrop model in simulation of evapotranspiration and biomass with these methods of estimation of evapotranspiration compared to other methods.
Irrigation
Abdorreza Vaezihir; Vahede Aghaie; Mehri Tabarmayeh
Abstract
IntroductionDetermining the capture zone of water resources is a strategic approach proposed at the national level of water resources management in Iran. One of the important actions for this purpose is protection of karst water resources, which are considered one of the vital sources for supplying water ...
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IntroductionDetermining the capture zone of water resources is a strategic approach proposed at the national level of water resources management in Iran. One of the important actions for this purpose is protection of karst water resources, which are considered one of the vital sources for supplying water due to the widespread karst formations in this country and the limitation of groundwater resources in alluvial aquifers. Generally, water flows out through the springs in the karst system. The land area where the water contributes to the spring is called the spring's capture zone. The study and analysis of the recession curve of the springs, the area extending from a discharge peak to the base of the next rise, along with the other physical characteristics of springs such as electrical conductivity is a useful indicator for getting knowledge about the condition of the catchment area and other properties of the heterogeneous karst terrain. In estimating the water budget, unlike the non-karst areas where the surface runoff or the outflow is considered the main factor in the estimated water budget, the recharge component is an important factor in the karst domain. The difference between hydrogeological and hydrological (topographic) catchments is one of the obvious features in karst landscapes. The identification of these basins or their boundaries is possible by combining geology and topography information. Soufiyan Cement Company in the vicinity of Chelleh Khanehe Olya spring located in Moro Mountain is associated with the creating social problems due to the expansion of mining activities and the negative impact on spring water in this area. Therefore, this study aims to determine the catchment area and the capture zone of the Chelleh Khanehe Olya spring by determining the protective boundary for the extraction of limes by the Soufiyan cement factory to prevent the negative impact of this factory on the spring.Materials and MethodsIn this research, the hydrograph of the recession curve related to a rainfall event has been analyzed by taking into account the mean monthly discharge rate of spring to determine the sub-regimes of diffuse and conduit flow by employing the following equation:Qt=Q0e-αt (1)Where Qt is the discharge rate at time t, Qo reveals the discharge at the initial time, and α is a recession coefficient.In addition, The Qmax/Qmin ratio has been calculated to estimate the flow type and the degree of karstification in the catchment area.In the next step, to determine the Chelleh Khanehe Olya spring catchment area and its capture zone, spring hydrogeological boundaries were determined and investigated using the SCS method and estimating the area's water budget. Due to the lack of sufficient rainfall and groundwater discharge information in this region, the water budget for a given period (2019-2020) has been computed indirectly by measuring the monthly discharge rate from the selected stations. After collecting the required data, the following equation developed by Milanovich (1989) has been used to estimate the water budget as follows:P=E+R+I (2)Where P, E, R, and I denote precipitation (P), evaporation at the basin level (E), runoff (R), and recharge to the aquifers (I). All the parameters are in mm units.Results and DiscussionAnalyzing the variation of electrical conductivity along with the discharge rate indicates that by decreasing the discharge rate from 2.5 l/s to 8.1 l/s, the electrical conductivity increase from 463 µs/cm to 500 µs/cm, reflecting an increase in the volume of the reservoir, the dilution of the aquifer. The hydrograph recession curve during 2019-2020 indicated two laminar and turbulent sub-regimes. Micro regimes α1 (01.002) and α2 (0.013) represented that the dominant system of karst development in the region is diffuse. The high density of fractures and the lack of purity of lime are the main reasons for the weak development of the karst fracture in the region, which the Chelekhaneh Alia spring recession curve analysis, maximum to minimum ratio of discharge, and karstification coefficient confirmed this issue. Determining the catchment basin using geological, hydrogeological information, and water budget showed that the hydrological and hydrogeological boundary of the spring is different. The protected zone of Chelekhane Alia spring, which includes the total hydrogeological basin and the Cretaceous limestone area below the level of the spring, was estimated to be about 184,000 square meters (18 hectares). According to the findings of this research, Sufian Cement Factory does not have the right to enter the hydrogeological boundary to extract limes, and on the other hand, to prevent the water level from decreasing due to the excessive extraction of lime as a result of the excavation depth reaching the level of the water table, it suggests to extract from the unsaturated part of the aquifer (unsaturated limes) to prevent the flow rate of Chele Khana spring from decreasing and even drying it up.ConclusionAnalyzing the discharge rate, electrical conductivity, hydrograph recession curve, and its recession coefficient(α=0.002), revealed that the dominant flow in the system is diffuse, which results from the high density of fractures and region lithology consisting of impure cretaceous limestone. Since the result revealed the inconsistency between hydrological and hydrogeological boundaries, the geological profile of the site was prepared and the spring of the catchment was estimated. Based on the findings of this research, the Chelle Khanehe Olya capture zone consists of the hydrogeological area, obtained from the groundwater budget estimation, and the protective boundary for the limestone below Cheleh Khaneh Olya spring (the unsaturated zone of the area's limestones), which covers an area of about 18 hectares.
Irrigation
A. Asadi; H.R. Khazaie; J. Nabati
Abstract
IntroductionDue to climate change, one of the limiting factors of crop production is environmental stress which, by disrupting the natural metabolism of the plant, limit plant growth and finally reduce crop production. Drought stress causes the greatest reduction in crop productivity compared to ...
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IntroductionDue to climate change, one of the limiting factors of crop production is environmental stress which, by disrupting the natural metabolism of the plant, limit plant growth and finally reduce crop production. Drought stress causes the greatest reduction in crop productivity compared to other environmental stresses. Therefore, the use of methods to reduce water consumption in agriculture is more important due to the lack of freshwater resources. Increasing water use efficiency and maintaining plant yield by reducing water consumption has a particular importance for crop production and should be paid special attention. Drought stress reduces photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, biomass, growth and consequently plant yield. The effects of drought stress on the yield of plants such as potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.) etc., which play an important role in the nutrition and food of the world, has a great importance. Achieving the desired soil moisture range is one of the most important approaches to increase water use efficiency and not significantly reduce yield. For this goal, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with five replications in the research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.Materials and MethodsFactors studied in this experiment included three levels of irrigation 1- full irrigation (100% of field capacity), 2- medium drought stress (70% of field capacity), 3- partial root-zone drying (70% of field capacity), time of induction of water stress (two weeks after planting and 50% at flowering time) and two levels of phosphate (CaH4[Po4]2 H2O) fertilizer (based on soil analysis (25 mg.kg-1) and adding 25% more than recommended (31 mg.kg-1)) at the beginning of the period phosphate was mixed with soil inside the pot in greenhouse condition. Fontane potato cultivar was used in this study. In irrigation treatments, one part of the pots was stressed two weeks after planting and the second part of the pots were fully irrigated until the beginning of flowering and irrigation treatments were applied at 50% flowering stage. From the prepared samples, membrane stability index, osmotic potential, and relative water content were measured in the laboratory and at the end of experiment, plant height, tuber weight, biomass and plant water use efficiency were measured. Minitab 18 software was used to analyze the data.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that with increasing phosphate fertilizer from 25 mg.kg-1 to 31 mg.kg-1, plant biomass increased significantly and in all treatments biomass increased between 2 to 28% . Partial root-zone drying treatment showed a 17.4% increase in biomass. In the medium drought stress treatment, the total growth period and phosphorus level of 31 mg.kg-1, the lowest water use efficiency was observed, and there was no significant difference in the medium drought stress treatment of the total growth period and the phosphorus level of 25 mg.kg-1. Partial root-zone drying treatment of roots from flowering time and 31 mg.kg-1 P, with full irrigation treatment 25 mg.kg-1 P have the same water use efficiency, but the performance of this treatment compared to full irrigation treatment was reduced by 28%. Water use efficiency in partial root-zone drying (intermittent irrigation) has increased compared to traditional irrigation, which indicates a more optimum use of water in the medium drought stress method. Full irrigation treatment had the highest tuber weight per plant and partial root-zone drying during the growing season treatment had the lowest tuber weight per plant (65%) compared to full irrigation. The partial root-zone drying treatment after flowering, ranked second after full irrigation treatment, for tuber weight per plant and more tuber weight per plant compared to other drought treatments. Using 31 mg.kg-1 phosphate, tuber weight per plant in full irrigation treatment reached 332 g.plant-1 which increased by 13% and was significantly different from all treatments. With increasing phosphate level from 25 mg.kg-1 to 31 mg.kg-1, in the partial root-zone drying treatment from flowering time, tuber weight per plant increased by 28% to 207 g.plant-1. Tuber weight per plant in other drought treatments decreased with increasing phosphate level from 25 mg.kg-1 to 31 mg.kg-1, although this decrease was not statistically significant. ConclusionCompared to deficit irrigated methods, partial root-zone drying from the beginning of growth and full irrigation has the ability to use available nitrogen at the end of the growing season and has more greenery than other drought treatments. This effect probably explains the filling of the gland tubers at the end of the growing season and thus the keeping of yieldyield production. The best methods for saving water consumption and maintaining the yield, the partial root-zone drying methods is better than the medium drought stress method.
Irrigation
A.H. Montazeri; S. Khodambashi Emami; M. Mazaheri
Abstract
Introduction
Showing the rivers as a one-dimensional problem has simplified or eliminated many processes affecting salinity transfer in the river. Storage processes are one of the factors affecting water quality in rivers. Generally, as a substantial factor, the limitation of observational data confines ...
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Introduction
Showing the rivers as a one-dimensional problem has simplified or eliminated many processes affecting salinity transfer in the river. Storage processes are one of the factors affecting water quality in rivers. Generally, as a substantial factor, the limitation of observational data confines the use of two-dimensional and three-dimensional models, leading to the use of more widely employed one-dimensional models. Most existing computer models are developed based on the Advection-Dispersion Equation (ADE) and do not consider the storage zone. For this purpose, Modified Advection-Dispersion Equation (MADE) is proposed to consider the stagnant area by defining effective velocity and dispersion coefficient. In this study, a solution has been proposed to apply the effect of the Stagnant zone in water quality simulation in one-dimensional models. The river simulation is closer to the natural conditions. In this model, to prove the improvement of the proposed method, the average stagnant zone fraction expressed as the fraction of the average cross-sectional area of the river (η) and employed in a one-dimensional model through the definition of the effective velocity and the dispersion coefficient. This model is considered representative of the one-dimensional models developed only by the Advection /Dispersion relation, and the proposed method was investigated for the Arvand River. Observational data along the river were used to calibrate and validate the model.
Materials and Methods
Since the available and well-known one-dimensional computer programs are generally developed based on the 1D Advection-Dispersion model, they do not consider factors affecting salinity transport such as topography and river morphology heterogeneities known as storage areas. In such a way, these processes are not expressed by presenting the problem as a one-dimensional equation. In this research, in order to increase the accuracy of the simulation with well-known and available one-dimensional models a corrective solution is proposed. To compare the proposed modified method and the base ADE, at the first, the tidal and transboundary arvand river is modeled as a study area, which is a well-mixed river. The river's upstream and downstream boundary conditions were defined according to the available data in 2014. Manning's roughness parameters ranged from 0.017 to 0.033, and the dispersion coefficient was 285 m3/s according to previous studies. In order to apply the effect of stagnant areas in the modified equations, it is essential to determine the value of η for the river. This study uses three parameters of dispersion factor (a), dispersion exponent (b), and η by ant colony algorithm with the definition of 5 initial ants and 100 repetitions in Sehan station in the study area, Arvand river was optimized. The values of the estimated parameters are respectively η = 0.168, a = 273.4, b = 0.94. Therefore, in the modified model, corrections were made using the speed and effective dispersion coefficient as the modified Advection - Dispersion (MADE) method and considering variable dispersion coefficient depending on the flow's speed in the one-dimensional model. These changes were validated in the other two stations (Faw and Dweeb).
Results and Discussion
Based on this study results, increasing the parameter η caused the peak of the time series to rise and the river's travel time to decrease. The shortening of the water travel time in the river, although increases the dispersion coefficient due to the influence of the stagnant zone, the effect of this parameter on the time series of the simulated concentration is reduced. Like the observational data, the slope of falling and rising limbs is increased. By comparing the one-dimensional model in the two cases of using the effective dispersion coefficient and velocity and without it, the increase in accuracy in the simulation was determined at Sehan station - 123 km from the river formation site - after optimizing the coefficients with three statistical errors parameters. In addition, these changes at two other stations along the river with distances of 180 and 150 km from the river's source confirm this accuracy. For instance, the simulated and measured concentration in 12 months of the year by applying the optimized coefficients reaches the correlation coefficient (r) of 0.86 to 0.97 at a distance of 150 km from the upstream, and the root means square error (RMSE) improves 1.27 ppt. The remaining difference in the concentration estimation may be caused by the effect of other parameters or even the entry of agricultural runoff from the lands along the river.
Conclusion
Accurate estimation and simulation of concentration in river engineering have always been one of the environmental challenges. This research aimed to improve water quality simulation using one-dimensional model in well-mixed rivers. In order to increase the accuracy of the modeling and become closer to the actual conditions, correction factors such as considering the dead zones along the river have been suggested. Analysis showed that, on average, 16% of the surface of the Arvand River's cross-sections are stagnant areas, and the dispersion coefficient depends on the river's speed. These areas include bed dunes and meanderings of the river. The point that attracts attention is the tidal irrigation channels on the sides of the river. The results showed that in Sehan, Dweeb, and Faw stations, the root means square error decreases to 1.78, 1.27, and 0.84, respectively. Therefore, the modified 1D model estimated the concentration (in this study salinity) closer to the measurement data. In Dweeb and Sehan stations, the effect of dead zones such as river meandering is evident. Still, in Faw station, no significant improvement in the impact of stagnant zones was observed due to its proximity to the river mouth. The results of this research can be used for higher accuracy in one-dimensional water quality simulations and bringing the models closer to the natural conditions in rivers.
Irrigation
F. Zargar Yaghoubi; M. Sarai Tabrizi; A. Mohammadi Torkashavnd; M. Esfandiari; H. Ramezani Etedali
Abstract
IntroductionThe rise in water demand and reduction of water quality and soil in irrigating areas, especially in dry and semi-arid areas of the world, have turned into one of the most crucial challenges for water and soil engineering in recent years. This issue leads us toward optimal quantitative and ...
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IntroductionThe rise in water demand and reduction of water quality and soil in irrigating areas, especially in dry and semi-arid areas of the world, have turned into one of the most crucial challenges for water and soil engineering in recent years. This issue leads us toward optimal quantitative and qualitative management of these valuable resources aimed at achieving economic performance and water productivity. The periodic evaporation and transpiration of the plant in the conditions of simultaneous water and salinity stress are known as one of the most important factors in the qualitative and quantitative growth of the plant yield. Applying mathematical models that simulate the relationship between field variables and yield can be seen as a useful tool in water and soil management issues in such a situation, which has the potential to ensure optimal use of the water and soil resources of any country by providing the plant's water needs and preventing its further loss.Materials and MethodsA factorial experiment was performed in 2019 based on completely randomized blocks design with three replications in plots with an area of 9 square meters at the agricultural and animal husbandry farm of Aliabad Fashafuyeh, located in Qom province to examine the simultaneous effect of different levels of water stress and salinity on the periodic evaporation-transpiration and fresh yield of the single cross 704 forage corn cultivar. The applied treatments included the irrigation water salinity at three electrical conductivity levels of 1.8 (S0), 5.2 (S1), and 8.6 (S2) deci Siemens/meter (dS/m), which were prepared by mixing saline well water of the region with fresh (drinking) water and three water stress levels of 100% (W0), 75% (W1), and 50% (W2) of the plant's water requirement. The depth of soil moisture in the corn plant root zone was measured by the TDR device at five depths of 7.5, 12, 20, 40, and 60 cm during different growth stages of the plant using pairs of 7.5, 12, and 20 cm stainless steel electrodes.Results and DiscussionThe simultaneous water and salinity stresses, which led to the reduced amount of periodic evaporation-transpiration of the yield compared to ideal conditions (without stress), were simulated by additive and multiplicative models. The results suggested a decrease in the evaporation and transpiration with the increased simultaneous water and salinity stresses so that the amount of total evaporation-transpiration in different treatments was measured to be between 692.7 and 344.9 mm and the fresh yield was estimated between 50.4 and 3.2 tons per hectare. Also, the highest amount of periodic evaporation and transpiration in all treatments was found to occur in the development and intermediate stages, and the relative fresh yield in the W0S0 to W2S2 treatments was calculated between 66% and 100%. The results of modeling the relative yield of the crop based on the amounts of relative evaporation and transpiration of corn in different growth stages and under the different treatments of water stress and salinity, indicated that Singh's additive model and Rao's multiplicative model were appropriate, while the Minhas model was recognized to be inappropriate in this estimation.ConclusionThe research results suggested the significant impact of water stress and salinity at least at the 95% level on evaporation and transpiration and the corn yield. Moreover, the effect of the sensitivity of different growth stages of the plant on the reduction of evaporation and transpiration of corn varies so that in the three treatment groups W0, W1, and W2, the highest average decrease in slope was related to the final stage (13.6%) followed by the middle stage with an average decrease of 8.4% compared to the control treatment. Therefore, the highest decrease rate in evaporation-transpiration slope has been observed in these two growth stages due to the beginning of flowering, fruit formation, and physiological ripening of seeds. These results come from the lack of sufficient water storage and increased salinity of irrigation water in the soil. Water stresses and salinity will reduce water absorption and evaporation-transpiration, and ultimately, reduce crop production due to the decreased amount and potential of water in the soil. Another finding to be mentioned is the priority of water stress compared to salinity stress in reducing evaporation and transpiration and production yield. Also, by managing water and salinity stresses in the critical stages of plant growth (especially the middle stage), which is the time of flowering and the beginning and completion of the maize production process, a significant reduction in the crop can be somewhat prevented.
Irrigation
M.T. Sattari; S. Javidan
Abstract
Introduction
Surface and underground waters are one of the world's most important problems and environmental concerns. In the last few decades, due to the rapid growth of the population, the water needs have increased, followed by the input load to the water. In order to classify the quality of underground ...
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Introduction
Surface and underground waters are one of the world's most important problems and environmental concerns. In the last few decades, due to the rapid growth of the population, the water needs have increased, followed by the input load to the water. In order to classify the quality of underground water and water level according to the type of consumption, there are many methods, one of the most used methods is the use of quality indicators. Considering the facilities available in water quality monitoring stations and the need to save time and money, using alternative methods of modern data mining methods can be good for predicting and classifying water quality. The process of water extraction for domestic use, agricultural production, mineral industrial production, electricity production, and ester methods can lead to the deterioration of water quality and quantity, which affects the aquatic ecosystem, that is, the set of organisms that live and interact. Therefore, it is very important to evaluate the quality of surface water in water-environmental management and in monitoring the concentration of pollutants in rivers. The aim of the current research was to estimate the numerical values of the drinking water quality index (WQI) using the tree method and investigate the effect of wavelet transformation, the Bagging method, and principal component analysis.
Materials and Methods
In this research, to calculate the WQI index from the quality parameters of the Bagh Kalaye hydrometric station including total hardness (TH), alkalinity (pH), electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), chlorine (Cl), carbonate (CO3), bicarbonate (HCO3) and sulfate (SO4) were used in the statistical period of 23 years (1998-2020). Quantitative values calculated with the WQI index were considered as target outputs. By using the relief and correlation method, the types of input combinations were determined. The random tree method was used to estimate the numerical values of the WQI index. Then, the capability of the combined approach of wavelet, principal component analysis, and Bagging method with random tree base algorithm was evaluated. To compare the values obtained from the data mining methods with the values calculated from the WQI index, the evaluation criteria of correlation coefficient (R), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and modified Wilmot coefficient (Dr) were used.
Results and Discussion
The use of the wavelet transform method and the Bagging method has improved the modeling results. Considering that the Bagging classification method with the random tree base algorithm is a combination of the results of several random trees, so using this method has increased the accuracy of the RT model. So, in general, it was concluded that the use of wavelet transformation and classification methods increases accuracy and reduces errors. The best scenario with the highest accuracy and the lowest error was related to scenario 10 of the W-B-RT model with Total Hardness, Electrical Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solid, Sulphate, Calcium, Bicarbonate, Magnesium, Chlorine, Sodium, and potassium parameters. The results showed that the effect impact of pH in estimating the numerical value of the WQI index is considered lower than other parameters. When the principal component analysis method was used, by reducing the value of the eigenvalue from F1 to F12, the value of the factor also decreased; As a result,so F1, F2, and F3 factors were selected as the basic components. Considering 3 main factors, modeling was done employed and R=0.98, RMSE=2.17, MAE=1.52, and Dr=0.97 were obtained. In general, the results showed that the PCA method, despite reducing the dimension of the input vectors and simplifying it, can improve the accuracy and speed of the model and is introduced as the best method for estimating the numerical value of the WQI index.
Conclusion
The results obtained from the present research showed that the use of wavelet transform, Bagging and PCA methods had a positive effect on improving the results and increasing higherthe accuracy. In estimating the numerical values of WQI index, PCA-B-RT method considering 3 main factors, with correlation coefficient equal to 0.98, root mean square error equal to 2.17, average absolute value error equal to 1.52 and tThe modified Wilmot coefficient equal to 0.97 had the highest accuracy. Considering that all the methods used in the estimation of quantitative values had acceptable accuracy, therefore, in case of lack of data and lack of access to all chemical parameters, it is possible to obtain appropriate and acceptable results by using a limited number of parameters and data mining methods achieved.
Irrigation
A. Sedaghat; N.A. Ebrahimipak; A. Tafteh; S.N. Hosseini
Abstract
IntroductionThe accuracy of determining reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is an important factor in estimating agricultural and garden water requirements. The complexity of the evapotranspiration process and its dependence on meteorological data have made it difficult to accurately estimate this variable. ...
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IntroductionThe accuracy of determining reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is an important factor in estimating agricultural and garden water requirements. The complexity of the evapotranspiration process and its dependence on meteorological data have made it difficult to accurately estimate this variable. Non-linearity, inherent uncertainty and the need for diverse climatic information in ET0 estimation have been the reasons that have made researchers interested in data mining methods such as artificial neural network (ANNs), random forest (RF) and support vector machine (SVM). Dos et al. (2020) evaluated the performance of machine learning methods to estimate daily ET0 with limited meteorological data. Their results showed that machine learning methods estimate ET0 with high accuracy, even in the absence of some variables. The use of artificial intelligence models in estimating ET0 with high accuracy has become popular in recent years, but the complexity of these models makes it difficult to apply them to regions with different climatic conditions) Feng and Tian, 2021.( Therefore, the aim of this study is to show that different data mining methods are suitable for daily ET0 estimation, which can reach a comprehensive and simple model with high accuracy by using minimal weather data.Materials and MethodsIn this research, the accuracy of data mining methods in estimating ET0 was evaluated in comparison with the plant water requirement system (FAO-Penman-Monteith standard method). For this purpose, data related to meteorological parameters such as sunshine hour, air temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity air were collected from ten synoptic stations and five climatology stations of Qazvin province in a period of 10 years (1389-1399). The ET0 extracted from the plant water requirement system was calculated based on the Penman-Moanteith method of FAO 56 and on a daily time scale, which is the actual value (measured) with the estimated values obtained by data mining methods (ANNs, RF and SVM) were evaluated. In order to validate the obtained results, the data of each station was divided into two sets of training (two-thirds of data) and testing (one-third of data). Finally, the generalizability of the mentioned methods in estimating ET0 was investigated based on NRMSE, R2, RMSE, MBE, EF and d Criteria.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the ET0 values of the plant water requirement system have a good correlation with the estimated ET0 values of ANNs, RF, and SVM methods. In this research, the accuracy of the results of ANNs method was relatively higher than the other two methods. The results of statistical investigations and diagrams showed that ANNs, RF and SVM methods, considering all meteorological parameters (mean air temperature, average relative humidity, sunshine hours and wind speed) as input to the model, in Qazvin synoptic station with altitude 1279 meters and the climatology station of Rajaei power plant with a height of 1318 meters, estimated ET0 with higher accuracy in both training and testing steps.In the ANNs method, the values of NRMSE and R2 at Qazvin synoptic station in both training and testing steps are equal to 0.11 and 0.97, respectively, and at Rajaei Power Plant climatology station in both training and testing steps are equal to 0.10 and 0.97, respectively. In this research, the accuracy of estimating the value of ET0 in two ANNs and RF methods is close to each other and higher than the SVM method. On the other hand, the fitting speed of the ANNs method is very long compared to the RF method, and considering all aspects, it can be said that the RF method has a more suitable approach for estimating the ET0 value. The results of this research showed that the value of ET0 is not only based on air temperature, but may change under the influence of other factors such as air pollution, and is also strongly influenced by regional conditions such as topography and altitude.ConclusionThe results of this research, in addition to better investigation of ET0, help to know more influential factors in each region and can be used in regions with similar climatic conditions. For example, in the current study area, it was found that the role of average air temperature is greater than other climatic parameters and has a greater impact on ET0. Therefore, it can be said that increasing the average daily air temperature will increase ET0 and subsequently increase the water requirement of plants. As a result, by using these methods and paying attention to these points, it is possible to avoid water stress and possible reduction of the production.
Irrigation
N. Haj Seyed Ali Khani; H. Saeediyan
Abstract
Introduction Control and extraction of water using underground dams in arid regions has been of interest to researchers since not too long ago. Construction of underground dams does not require surface water storage and does not change land use. Therefore, they are environmentally suitable. The ...
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Introduction Control and extraction of water using underground dams in arid regions has been of interest to researchers since not too long ago. Construction of underground dams does not require surface water storage and does not change land use. Therefore, they are environmentally suitable. The lack of groundwater resources on the one hand and indiscriminate and unscientific harvesting on the other hand, and the increasing needs associated with population growth, will cause scientific communities to revise and provide appropriate solutions for managing the exploitation of groundwater aquifers and creating new resources or renewable reservoirs in the country. Nowadays, in many countries of the world, the construction of underground dams has been considered as a new method for utilization of water resources. Several criteria such as physical, socio-economic and hydrological criteria are involved in the location of underground dams. Underground dams have wide applications for feeding groundwater aquifers and water storage, as well as preventing soil erosion and increasing groundwater quality. Due to the limitation of water resources and the lack of equality of the world's share in exploiting this divine gift, it is anticipated that most countries will soon suffer from severe water shortages, so that it is firmly believed that if this problem continues, many international conflicts will be over water for centuries to come. One of the strategies to deal with water shortage is to extract water from new resources, especially the discovery of underground, which can be done by constructing different underground dams and with the knowledge of the world.Materials and Methods In this study, to determine the susceptible areas of underground dam construction using field visits was selected Pashueeyeh watershed. To communicate between effective criteria and save time and money, a method based on combining maps in GIS and RS system has been used. In the first step, investigations were carried out to identify suitable areas for the construction of underground dam. For this purpose, data extracted from basic maps, findings in this field and expert opinions were used.Results and Discussion Therefore, a combination of new sciences such as GIS, RS and geoelectrics was used in determining the susceptible areas of underground dam construction, which in turn is a valuable research that provides the situation for creating other combined researches in different climates of the country, stating that a combination of different sciences in addition to the sciences mentioned in this research can increase the quality of studies related to underground dams and even large groundwater discovery are effective and in case of mild to severe droughts can be a way to solve the country's problems in the field of using quality water and lower extraction costs. The results showed that Pashueeyeh watershed is not a susceptible place for underground dam construction in Lut desert region for water storage. According to the results of geoelectric sodages and field evidences, the bedrock at the proposed location has dense clay that have many salts and the depth of impact on the bedrock varies between at least 2.6 meters and a maximum of 7 meters. On the bedrock is a river alluvial layer consisting of two wet and dry horizons. Also, the river alluvial layer consists of sequences of layers with different aggregation and permeability. The results show that the electrical resistance of different layers rarely reaches more than 30 ohms per meter; this is due to fine grain texture and high density of sediments as well as water salinity.Conclusion One of the strategies to deal with water shortage is to extract water from new resources, especially the discovery of underground aqueous, which can be done by constructing different underground dams and with the new knowledge of the world. Underground dams in the world are expanding in different climates, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, which are likely to become one of the most important sources of water extraction in the future years, especially if they are associated with new technologies and combination of GIS, RS and geoelectric. the results showed that the combined role of GIS, RS and geoelectric in determining the susceptible areas of underground dam construction makes the accuracy of proper site construction of underground dams and even the discovery of underground aquifers much higher and achieved valuable results.
Irrigation
F. Saberinia; M.B. Farhangi; N. Yaghmaeian Mahabadi; R. Shokati; N. Ghorbanzadeh
Abstract
Introduction Overuse of antibiotics and their entry into the environment is a global concern today. Much of the antibiotics taken by animals and humans are excreted unchanged and found in their feces which enter the environment through livestock waste and municipal wastewater disposal. Uncontrolled ...
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Introduction Overuse of antibiotics and their entry into the environment is a global concern today. Much of the antibiotics taken by animals and humans are excreted unchanged and found in their feces which enter the environment through livestock waste and municipal wastewater disposal. Uncontrolled release and continuous introduction of antibiotics to the environment induced antibiotic resistance in microorganisms living in other habitats which pose a potential hazard to existing aquatic ecosystems and animals. Rivers act as the main sink for the effluents that distribute antibiotics and antibiotic resistant microorganisms in the environment. This study aimed to investigate the antibiotic resistant index (ARI) in Goharrood River. Seasonal variations and source of contamination, focusing on urban surface wastewater of Rasht, were investigated through sampling of river water and sediment in different points along the river during four seasons of a year.Materials and MethodsThe water and sediment of the river were sampled at three points along the river (focused on river course in Rasht city), in autumn, 2016 and in winter, spring and summer, 2017. The number of antibiotic resistant heterotrophic and coliform bacteria were counted via colony count method in the antibiotic supplemented 100 µg/mL Nutrient Agar and Eosine-Methylene Blue agar media respectively. Cephalexin, gentamicin, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim antibiotics were tested in this study. ARI was calculated by dividing number of bacteria colonies (heterotrophic and coliform bacteria) in plates supplemented with antibiotics to the number of colonies in control plate (without antibiotic). Escherichia coli as an indicator coliform bacterium was isolated from water and sediment samples (12 strains; 4 season and 3 sampling points) and their resistant pattern to these antibiotic was also tested by disk diffusion (Kirby-Bauer) method in Mueller-Hinton agar medium. The inhibition zone (ZOI) of E. coli growth was measured and its sensitivity/resistant was assessed based on CLSI standard protocol. The calculated ARI of heterotrophic and coliform bacteria of water and sediment of the River and the determined ZOI of E. coli isolated from water and sediment were analyzed by repeated measures of factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design format by SAS software package. Factors included sampling point at 3 levels (before entering river to the Rasht city; A, in the Rasht city; B, and after river exit from the Rasht city; C), and antibiotics at 5 levels (cephalexin, gentamicin, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, and trimethoprim) as main plot and sampling time at 4 levels (autumn, winter, spring, and summer) as sub-plot.Results and Discussion The highest ARI value of water heterotrophic bacteria was obtained to cephalexin at the sampling point C. Mean ARI of water heterotrophic bacteria to all antibiotics (regardless of type of antibiotic) at three points of A, B and C was 3.77, 4.54 and 7.53%, respectively. The highest ARI levels of heterotrophic and coliform bacteria in water were obtained in the summer season. In fact, the change of seasons and clearly the summer season controlled the ARI in water bacteria rather than the type of antibiotics. So that in this season 30.78% of water heterotrophic bacteria were resistant to ciprofloxacin antibiotic and about half (50.78) of the river water coliforms were resistant to cephalexin. Although ARI for heterotrophic and coliform bacteria was lower in sediment rather than that in water, the highest ARI levels of heterotrophic and coliform bacteria in sediment were obtained against cephalexin in autumn and winter, respectively. In general, the mean ARI in water and sediment bacteria was as follows: cephalexin > gentamicin > ciprofloxacine > doxycycline > trimethoprim. The lowest ZOI value for E. coli was obtained against cephalexin. Therefore, in all three sampling points, isolated E. coli bacteria from water and sediment were resistant to cephalexin. In the study of the sampling time and sampling point interaction, it was also seen that the lowest ZOI of E. coli was in autumn and at sampling point C. Therefore, it seems that E. coli has become resistant to antibiotics when river crosses the city.Conclusion According to the results of this study, Goharrood river is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant, especially cephalexin resistant bacteria and it may distribute pollution downstream. If the river water is used in aquaculture and irrigation of downstream agriculture fields, the antibiotic resistant bacteria may be spread in the other ecosystems and finally may enter the human food chain.
Irrigation
Nader Karimi; Sayyed-Hassan Tabatabaei; Mohammad Hassan Rahimian; Seyyed Alireza Esmaeilzadeh Hosseini
Abstract
Introduction In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural sustainability needs to improve the consumption of water and soil resources. Low rainfall, high evaporation, low water quality and less leaching of solutes in the soil due to limited water resources are the main problems in these areas. The ...
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Introduction In arid and semi-arid regions, agricultural sustainability needs to improve the consumption of water and soil resources. Low rainfall, high evaporation, low water quality and less leaching of solutes in the soil due to limited water resources are the main problems in these areas. The quality of water and soil resources in the provinces of Fars, Khuzestan, Yazd, Golestan and Khorasan also shows that most of the wheat farming lands in these provinces are always facing salinity issues. According to the conducted studies, saline water can be successfully used in irrigation, but application of unconventional water by surface irrigation systems with low efficiency due to evaporation and high water salts leads to soil salinity. Micro-irrigation methods increase water use efficiency by reducing water consumption and increasing yield, so that drip irrigation efficiency of 91-80% and irrigation levels of 50-73% have been reported. In recent years, the use of drip irrigation system (such as tape on wheat fields) has been recommended to farmers as a water management solution. Micro-irrigation systems by reducing water consumption and increasing yields, improve water use efficiency. Drip tape irrigation system compared to other surface and sprinkler irrigation methods, due to short irrigation periods and reduction of evaporation losses and deep infiltration even for crops can be proposed as an alternative. Drip tape irrigation in wheat cultivation can increase water use efficiency up to 2 times. Also, in irrigation with salt water, while maintaining humidity in the environment, it reduces salinity stress and by consuming less water and reducing the amount of wetting, it introduces less solutes into the soil. This method has limitations in wheat fields due to costs and also the possibility of soil salinity problems, some of which can be overcome by increasing the distance between the laterals and reducing the consumption of drip irrigation (Tape) per unit area.Materials and Methods In this study, during the 2020-2021 at the Salinity Research Center of Yazd Province (Iran), the effect of lateral distances on the surface and depth distribution of soil salinity was investigated. For this purpose, two irrigation water salinity treatments, including 3 and 8 dS / m and two flood (T1) and drip irrigation systems (Tape) with lateral distances of 60 (T2), 100 (T3) and 140 (T4) cm were considered. Irrigation management treatments included the use of the flooding method (as the dominant method in wheat fields) and the use of the Tape drip irrigation method (as the proposed method with very low water consumption). A distance of 60 cm was considered as the optimal distance with complete water overlap, a distance of 100 cm was considered as an economic distance with the possibility of deep moisture distribution and a distance of 140 cm was considered as a large lateral distance. To investigate the salinity distribution and the accumulation of salts in the soil, regular soil sampling of different treatments was the end of the season.Results and Discussion In all irrigation treatments (saline and non-saline), despite the constant volume of water consumption per unit area of all treatments, in T3 and T4 treatments, irrigation depth increased compared to T2 treatment and reduced soil salinity in the wetting area (irrigated area). By increasing the horizontal distance of each point of the field from the lateral, the irrigation depth and leaching fraction decrease and consequently, the soil salinity of these points can also increase. Under non-saline irrigation conditions (salinity of 3 dS/m), soil salinity at intervals of zero (below the lateral), 15 and 30 cm, between 5.5 and 6.1 dS/m has been observed. Values below the threshold of tolerance to salinity of wheat plant and, in this regard, does not pose a risk to the plant. At a distance of 45, 60 and 70 cm from the water pipe, the salinity of the soil is higher than the threshold and if there is a plant in this area of the field, it will face serious damage.Conclusion The results showed that although the Tape method in saline conditions (8 dS/m) compared to non-saline conditions (3 dS/m) leads to higher accumulation of solutes in the soil and increases the possibility of plant damage, but according to the final results of this study, by increasing the distances of irrigation laterals and proportionally increasing the depth of irrigation and keeping the salts away from the planting bed, a more suitable environment for plant growth can be prepared and higher economic benefits of this measure can be obtained. Also, in terms of controlling soil salinity, the conditions have been such that treatment with lateral distance of 140 cm compared to treatments of 60 and 100 cm has led to lower amounts of soil salinity in the subsurface and has provided better conditions for the plant. Thus, by increasing the distances of laterals from 60 to 140 cm and, consequently, increasing the depth of irrigation, it was possible to transfer solutes to lower depths of the soil.
Irrigation
Ramin Fazloula; Hedyeh Pouryazdankhah
Abstract
IntroductionMazandaran province is one of the most important rice and citrus-producing areas in Iran, where most of the citrus orchards and agricultural fields are irrigated with groundwater. On the other hand, irrigation water pH is one of the basic qualitative factors that determine the solubility ...
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IntroductionMazandaran province is one of the most important rice and citrus-producing areas in Iran, where most of the citrus orchards and agricultural fields are irrigated with groundwater. On the other hand, irrigation water pH is one of the basic qualitative factors that determine the solubility and biological availability of chemical components in the soil such as nutrients and heavy metals, and it can affect agricultural production.Materials and MethodsThe coastal strip of Mazandaran Province toward the southwest of the Caspian Sea is situated in the north of Iran with an area of 8,252 km2 between 35.77 to 36.99 N latitudes and 50.36 to 57.13 E longitudes. In this study, the temporal and spatial variations of groundwater salinity were studied in the coastal strip using data from 300 wells, collected by Mazandaran Regional Water Company. Data included mean pH for each 6-month period of 9 consecutive years, from 2012 until the end of 2020. pH maps and maps of the risk probability area for rice and citrus growth were obtained by using Ordinary Kriging (OK) and Indicator Kriging (IK) in ArcGIS 10.7.1 software, respectively. Classifications were selected according to the properties pH range for the growth of citrus (5.8, 8) and the optimum pH for rice (6.8) in OK method. The indicator amount of pH was considered equal to 6.8 in IK method. Thereby, areas belonging to different pH classes were outlined and places with the risk probability for growing the rice and citrus were identified.Results and DiscussionThe 11 different models for semivariograms were drawn, and the best one was chosen according to the lowest nugget-to-sill ratio, and thus Stable and Exponential were obtained as the highest frequency for first and second half-years. The indices of cross validation for each selected semivariogram were estimated within acceptable ranges. In Ik method, the pH of studying area was classified into 4 ranges of <5.8, 5.8–6.8, 6.8–8.0, >8, and the percentage area of each classification derived from the ArcGIS software, the average area of each classification during the studying period was calculated zero, 0.6, 83.5 and 15.9 percent, respectively. It showed that most part of the study area located in the range of 6.8-8. It means most rice fields and citrus orchards were irrigated by the groundwater with the pH close to neutral. The obtained maps in the OK method indicated that the pH of the groundwater was not acidic in any points and alkaline conditions were observed in the western and eastern parts of the province. Therefore, The IK method was used to further investigate and determine the vulnerable areas. The probability of pH risk in rice and citrus growth was classified into 4 ranges (0-20%, 20-40%, 40-60% and 60-100%), and the average percentage area of each classification along the period was estimated 94.9, 4.8, 0.3 and zero percent, respectively. Using the IK method, higher probability of groundwater pH reducing the yield in citrus orchards and rice fields was found in eastern parts of Mazandaran province, which was about 5% of total studying area. Also, the results of the study in these 9 consecutive years did not show any decreasing or increasing trend in pH changes and consequently the area under each classification.ConclusionGenerally, the results indicated that the pH of groundwater for irrigating the citrus orchards and rice fields was appropriate in the most parts of the province and merely in the eastern part of the province, low water alkalinity may make a risk probability for rice and citrus growth in both western and eastern parts of the province. Due to the fact that alkaline water causes soil alkalinity and consequently reduces the solubility of phosphorus and some other plant nutrients in soil, it is suggested to supply the optimum required fertilization amounts of the nutrients in soil. However, the amount of fertilization should be on the basis of field research results. It is also proposed to study the condition of rice and citrus growth and the irrigated water in more details through the farms of western parts of the province. Due to the fact that most citrus orchards in this province are irrigated under the pressurized irrigation systems and using groundwater for irrigation, it is suggested that the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) be examined in future research.
Irrigation
Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi; Mohammad Tavoosi; Somayeh Zare; Vahid Beiranvandi; Hengameh Shekohideh; Fatemeh Akbari Emamzadeh; Marjan Bahlekeh; Faezeh Khorshid Sokhangoy; Reza Chamani
Abstract
IntroductionCurrently, many disasters threaten the health of ecosystems. The pressures caused by extensive human interventions and the unprincipled exploitation of natural resources have led to the degradation of natural resources and the structure and functioning of ecosystems. Hence, evaluating the ...
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IntroductionCurrently, many disasters threaten the health of ecosystems. The pressures caused by extensive human interventions and the unprincipled exploitation of natural resources have led to the degradation of natural resources and the structure and functioning of ecosystems. Hence, evaluating the consequences of human intervention in nature and meeting the growing need of humans to receive diverse services has made it necessary to evaluate the performance of watershed ecosystems in providing different services. Healthy watersheds play an important role in providing a wide variety of ecosystem services. Therefore, watershed health monitoring and evaluation is vital for the conservation of ecosystems and achieving the optimal level of services. In such a way a suitable collaborative and executive approach is established between research and watershed management. In this connection, watershed health analysis can provide valuable help in achieving the goals of integrated management of watersheds and, of course, the balance between the needs of human societies and ecosystems. However, the assessment of the health and sustainability of the watershed affected by human activities has not been sufficiently documented yet.Materials and MethodsThe current pilot research has evaluated the health of the Shiraz Darwazeh Quran Watershed in Fars Province, Iran, and the effect of existing watershed management structures in the region on the health of the watershed with a focus on floods. For this purpose, 36 key criteria from a set of climatic, anthropogenic, and hydrologic factors were identified based on the conditions of the region and the analysis of the flood occurrence process in the watershed. The selected criteria were then categorized into the three indices of pressure (P), state (S), and response (R). After screening the selected criteria in exploring the conceptual approach of pressure, state, and response (PSR), the health status was evaluated in two cases with and without watershed management structures.Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the health condition without considering the watershed management structures was at average conditions with health index of 0.55. In addition, the results of the watershed health assessment verified the non-significant effects of stone and mortar structures on improving watershed health. So that, the health conditions was remained at average status with health index of 0.53. Therefore, it can be acknowledged that the existing watershed management structures, due to the limited both number and spatial coverage, have not been able to noticeably affect the improvement of the general conditions of the watershed, despite the effect on the factors affecting the health of the sub-watersheds where the structures have been constructed. The spatial changes of the calculated variables showed that the abandoned lands, time of concentration, area under military activities, surface of sensitive formations to erosion, high density of the drainage network, density of the roads, areas of regions with high potential in producing runoff and sediment, and size of the residential areas were the most important factors affecting the health situation of the Darwazeh Quran Watershed.ConclusionAccording to the results of the analysis of the indicators and criteria considered in evaluation of the health of the Shiraz Darwazeh Quran Watershed based on the PSR approach, it was found that the watershed had an average health status. Therefore, it can be acknowledged that the existing watershed management structures have not been able to impose a noticeable effect on the prosperity and improvement of watershed health conditions. In general, it can be said that abandoned lands, short concentration time, military activities, the presence of formations sensitive to erosion, high density of drainage network and road, and the potential of high runoff and sediment production, and the size of residential areas are among the most important factors affecting the declining the health of Darwazeh Quran Watershed. Therefore, it is necessary to pay further attention to the aforesaid factors by conducting periodical monitoring with more comprehensive data, in time and also analyzing the trend of relative changes of the indicators in order to explain the adaptive and intelligent management of the watershed. The necessary measures should also be taken into account simultaneously. Therefore, it is suggested to turn the weak points of the region into strong points by applying bioengineering measures and use the opportunities in the region such as the potential of tourism and ecological features in order to improve the health status of the watershed.
Irrigation
S. Attaran; A. Mosaedi; H. Sojasi Qeydari
Abstract
IntroductionThe world population has grown rapidly over the last 150 years and continues to do so, resulting in impacts on hydrologic resources at both a local and global scale (Yang et al., 2012). The competition for water between humans and ecosystems leads to complex interactions between hydrologic ...
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IntroductionThe world population has grown rapidly over the last 150 years and continues to do so, resulting in impacts on hydrologic resources at both a local and global scale (Yang et al., 2012). The competition for water between humans and ecosystems leads to complex interactions between hydrologic and social systems (liu et al., 2015). From the beginning of human history, it is located in floodplains. Floods can have large societal impacts, such as severe damage to urban areas, which are expected to grow around the world (Alfieriet al., 2018). In traditional hydrology, humans are either conceptualized as an external force to the system under study or taken into account as boundary conditions (Peel and Blöschl, 2011). Sivapalan et al. (2012) proposed a new model for investigating the interactions of the hydrological system and the social system. It explores the procedure coupled human-water system evolves and possible trajectories of its co-evolution, including the possibility of generating emergent, even unexpected, behaviors. Socio-hydrology must strive to be a quantitative science. There are several methods to control and mitigate flood risk, one of these methods is flood zoning (Jha et al., 2012). In last two decates, The Kalat city is flooded almost every year and many houses and historical sites in the city are damaged. Therefore, the main purpose of thisWe paper is to show investigated how changing human behavior with nature can affect the behavior of the natural system.Method and MaterialsKalat city located in 59° 43' 23" to 59° 47' 41" northern latitude and 36° 59' 35" to 37° 00' 05" eastern longitude. The city is divided into 11 sub-basins. The city has experienced fast and inappropriate urbanization over the past few years. To collect our data, the annual reports of the Regional Water Organization and the Environment Organization of Khorasan Province were used.SCS method was used to estimate the runoff peak discharge. Precipitation has been estimated for seven return periods: 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 200 years. In this study, to analyze the sensitivity of runoff, we considered precipitation and curves number from 20% less to 20% more than the actual values in the study basin (at intervals of 5 %). We used the Cowan method to determine the roughness coefficient in this study. HEC-RAS model has been used for flood zoning. To determine the impact of various factors on the intensification of floods in Kalat city, we obtained questionnaires from relevant authorities. Likert scale was used to measure the results of the questionnaires. We prepared two questionnaires; first one is related to the inner city zone and includes the factors that intensify the occurrence of floods inside the city of Kalat, and it was classified into the following parts: 1) Local community 2) Managerial 3) Physical; and the second one includes the factors that intensify the flood in the upper part of Kalat city. We classified these factors into three parts: 1) Non-local community 2) Managerial 3) Environmental .Results and DiscussionResults of sensitivity analyzes demonstrated that land-use and land cover change had a further effect on peak discharge. In sub-basin 1, by 20% increase in the curve number, the level of peak dumping increased by more than 111%, with a return period of 2 year; while a 20% increase in precipitation, in the same return period, rises the peak discharge only 3%. The peak discharge time in some sub-basins was brief due to the presence of impermeable surfaces, so that in sub-basins 4, 6, 7, and 8, the peak discharge time was less than 30 minutes. These results highlight the dangers of these floods and the need for proper flood planning and management in these sub-basins. The results of the Manning coefficient demonstrated that we can reduce flood damage by applying management measures in the future, as well as paying attention to the feedback between urbanization and the flood zone. Roughness control by applying management programs can reduce the area of flood zones to 0.1 square kilometers. In this case, buildings should be removed from the river, and there should be no structure in the path of the river. According to the questionnaires in the inner city part, the most fundamental factor in intensifying the flood damage was related to “activities of local people” with the average of 3.59. In the upper part of the city, the most influential factors were ascribed to “managerial factors” with the average of 3.79.ConclusionIn a general conclusion, it can be concluded that the role of human factors in the occurrence and intensification of floods was much greater than rainfall. Therefore, in order to manage and control floods, it is necessary to prevent the change of land use and the reduction of permeability. And management programs should be aimed at increasing surface permeability. We suggest that more research be done on the role of economic and social factors in increasing flood risk in other climate zones.
Irrigation
M. Mohammadi Ghaleni; H. Kardan Moghaddam
Abstract
IntroductionThe water quantity and quality has always been one of the main challenges in the issue of allocating water resources for different uses. Water quality management requires the collection and analysis of large amounts of water quality parameters that will be evaluated and concluded. Many tools ...
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IntroductionThe water quantity and quality has always been one of the main challenges in the issue of allocating water resources for different uses. Water quality management requires the collection and analysis of large amounts of water quality parameters that will be evaluated and concluded. Many tools have been found to simplify the evaluation of water quality data, and the water quality index (WQI) is one of these widely used tools. In summary, the WQI can be defined as a number obtained from the combination of several quality parameters based on standards for its extraction. The aim of this study was to develop and introduce the new Surface water Drinking Water Quality Index (SDWQI) adopt the water quality parameters measured on hydrometric stations of Iran. In developing this index, criteria such as the availability of required parameters in most rivers and simple and accurate methods have been considered. Also, the ability to calculate with the minimum general parameters of water quality, simple calculations and in terms of the international standard WHO for drinking is one of the advantages of the introduced index.Materials and MethodsFor this purpose, 12 water quality parameters including Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Hardness (TH), pH, Chloride (Cl-), Sulfate (SO42-), Carbonate (CO32-), Bicarbonate (HCO3-), Magnesium (Mg2+), Sodium (Na+), Calcium (Ca2+) and Potassium (K+) have been used from Rudbar and Astaneh hydrometric stations located on Sefidroud river. Then initial preprocessing on data e.g. correlation analysis, and multivariate statistical methods including cluster analysis (CA) and principal components analysis (PCA) are used to selecting and weighting of water quality parameters using the “clustering” and “factoextra” packages in R 4.1.1. In order to develop the SDWQI were performed four steps including, parameter selection, sub-indexing, weighting and aggregation of the index. Also, in order to evaluate the index of the present research, the results of the SDWQI have been compared with the WHO drinking water quality index and Schoeller drinking water quality classification.Results and DiscussionCorrelation analysis between water quality parameters shows a significant correlation between TDS, EC and TH parameters and also with Cl-, Ca2+ and Mg2+ parameters at the level of 1% in both Astaneh and Rudbar stations. On the other hand, the lowest values of Pearson correlation coefficient are related to pH and CO32- parameters with other quality parameters. The results of CA indicate that most of the water quality parameters are located in separate clusters. So only the parameters TDS, EC, Cl- and Na+ in both Rudbar and Astaneh stations are in the same cluster. The weights of the parameters showed that TDS and K+ are assigned with the highest and lowest weights equal to 0.163 and 0.031 based on PCA method. Also, PCA results show that first and second principal components covered 59.3% and 67.6% of the total variance of measured water quality parameters in Rudbar and Astaneh stations, respectively. Water quality classification results indicate that (40.5%, 16.4% and 23.7%) and (90.1%, 73.1% and 57.3%) of data in Rudbar and Astaneh stations, respectively, fell into the excellent and good categories for drinking purposes based on Schoeller classification, WHOWQI and SDWQI.ConclusionGenerally, the comparison of the SDWQI with the WHO index and the Schoeller classification shows the rigidity of the new index in the classification of water quality for drinking purposes. Each water quality index developed in order to evaluate the uncertainty of results, should be tested for data with different characteristics in terms of the range of variation with different limit values (minimum and maximum). The index developed in the present study is no exception to this rule and in order to better evaluate the results, it is suggested that to be evaluated and analyzed with data from other hydrometric stations. Another important points that should be considered in using any water quality index, including the present research index, is to examine the allowable limits of water quality parameters that are not considered in these indicators. The results of the study indicated that, two most important steps in the development of a quality index that have a great impact on its results are sub-indexing and weighting of parameters. According to the results, two ideas recommended for future research. One, choosing an appropriate method such as non-deterministic (fuzzy) and intelligent (machine learning) methods to sub-index the parameters and two, to weigh the parameters more effectively, multivariate statistical methods such as clustering, factor analysis and principal component analysis should be used.
Irrigation
M.R. Emdad; A. Tafteh; N.A. Ebrahimipak
Abstract
Introduction
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is native plant in Bolivia, Chile and Peru, which is widely adapted to different climatic conditions and can grow in all soils. This plant has shown adequate adaptation to arid and semi-arid areas conditions and is planted from areas with low elevation ...
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Introduction
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) is native plant in Bolivia, Chile and Peru, which is widely adapted to different climatic conditions and can grow in all soils. This plant has shown adequate adaptation to arid and semi-arid areas conditions and is planted from areas with low elevation (sea level) to areas with an altitude of 4000 meters above sea level. Quinoa is often cultivated in areas with limited water resources, and it is rare to find quinoa cultivation under full irrigation conditions. Some studies have shown that quinoa yields slightly better under full irrigation (without water restriction) than quinoa under deficit irrigation. Crop growth models are very important tools in the study of agricultural systems and they can be used to simulate the yield of crop in different conditions. Given that the study of performance limiting factors requires numerous and costly research and experiments in different areas, so finding a way to reduce the number, time and cost of these experiments is worthwhile. Aquacrop model is one of the applied models that are used to simulate yield variations in different water and soil management.
Materials and Methods
This investigation was carried out in two growing seasons of 2019 and 2020 to determine the efficiency of Aquacrop model for simulating Quinoa grain yield and biomass under imposing three stress treatments of 30, 50 and 70% of water consumption in development and mid-growth stages. Plant spacing was 40 cm between rows and 7 cm between plants within rows. Seeds of quinoa (Titicaca cultivar) were cultivated in the first decade of August 2019 and in the third decade of July 2020. The experiment was a randomized complete block design with three replications. Three deficit irrigation treatments including 30, 50 and 70% of available water were considered in two growth stages (development and mid-growth) in 18 experimental plots (3 × 4 m). Soil moisture in rooting depth (about 40 cm) was measured by TDR and after the soil moisture of the treatments reached the desired values, plots were irrigated until the soil moisture reached the field capacity. The results of grain and biomass yield in the first year were used to calibrate the Aquacrop model and the results of the second year were used to validate the model. Root mean square error (RMSE), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), Willmott index (D), model efficiency (EF) and mean error deviation (MBE) were used to compare the simulated and observed values.
Results and Discussion
The results of the first and second year were used to calibrate and validate the model, respectively. The results of the first year showed that irrigation with 50 and 70% of available water in the development stage reduced quinoa grain yield by 17 and 33%, respectively, compared to the control treatment. The application of these two deficit irrigation treatments in the middle stage reduced the yield by about 12 and 28%, respectively. The results of comparing the statistical indices of grain yield, biomass and water use efficiency showed that the NRMSE for grain, biomass and water use efficiency were 9, 8 and 14% in the first year and 9, 6 and 9% in the second years. Furthermore, the EF for these traits were 0.81, 0.77 and 0.64 in the first year and 0.68, 0.71 and 0.62, in the second year, respectively.
Conclusion
The results of calibration and validation of the model showed the accuracy and efficiency of the Aquacrop model in simulating grain yield, biomass and water use efficiency of quinoa. This model can be used to provide the most appropriate scenario and irrigation management for different levels of deficit irrigation managements.
Irrigation
N. Salamati; A. Danaie; V. Yaaghoobi
Abstract
Introduction Drought stress is the most important environmental factor limiting growth and development of plants worldwide. Growth reduction due to drought stress has been reported more than other environmental stresses. So far, many studies have been conducted on the relationship and correlation ...
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Introduction Drought stress is the most important environmental factor limiting growth and development of plants worldwide. Growth reduction due to drought stress has been reported more than other environmental stresses. So far, many studies have been conducted on the relationship and correlation between important agronomic traits in rapeseed, which have introduced 1000-grain weight, number of seeds per pod and number of pods per plant as the most important traits with high correlation in yield. The results showed that the application of drought stress had an effect on the yield components of sesame and the cultivars that were more sensitive to drought stress had a greater decrease in their yield. The aims of this study were to investigate (1) the effect of consumed water volume as the independent variable on other variables of the study, and (2) the effect of total independent variables (yield components and other independent factors) on yield and water productivity (dependent variables). Finally, the most important independent variables affecting water productivity and the most sensitive variables to the amount of consumed water were determined.Materials and MethodsIn order to achieve aforementioned objectives of this study, an experiment was conducted during two growing season of 2011-2011 and 2010-2011 in Behbahan Agricultural Research Station. The experiment was conducted as randomized complete block design with 4 replications. The applied amount of water in drip irrigation was composed of four levels of 50, 75, 100 and 125% water requirement in main plots and two canola varieties Hyola 401 and RGS003 in sub plots were placed.Results and Discussion The results of the analysis of variance of the regression model showed that the higher absolute value of beta coefficients and t-statistic of each independent variable caused that variable to be introduced as the most sensitive independent variable affecting the dependent variable. Therefore, the independent variable of water volume, with beta coefficient of 0.860 and t-statistic of 13.246 had the greatest effect on plant height variable. In terms of yield, the studied variables (the number of pods per plant, the number of seeds per pod, and 1000-seed weight, consumed water volume, flowering period, growth period and plant height) showed 74.1% of variation (R2 = 0.741) of dependent variable (Yield of canola). The consumed water volume with the highest absolute value of beta coefficient of 0.563 and t-statistic with 2.967 had the most significant effect on yield at the level of 1%. Among the dependent variables, the consumed water volume with the highest absolute value of beta -1.013 and t-statistic at -12.415 had the most significant effect on water productivity at the level of 1%. consumed of water volume with the highest absolute value of beta coefficient of 0.563 and t-statistic with 2.967 had the most significant effect on performance at the level of 1%. The results of Pearson correlation coefficient showed that the highest correlation between the number of pods per plant and seed per pod with both plant height were calculated to be 0.763 and 0.849, respectively, indicating that increasing plant height was effective in increasing the number of pods per plant and seed per pod.ConclusionThe results of analysis of variance of regression model showed the effect on volume of consumed water as an dependent variable through other variables (number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, yield, water productivity, 1000-seed weight, flowering period, growth period and plant height). Results showed a significant effect of all variables at the level of 1%, except for the variable of flowering period which had a significant effect but just at 5%. The volume of consumed water by r= 66.2% on grain yield variation in the pods, had the most significant effect on yield components. Therefore, seed number in the pods received the most negative effect from reducing water consumption due to drought stress. With increasing the growth period of canola, water productivity showed a significant decrease at 1%. The results of Pearson correlation coefficient showed that grain water productivity had a negative and significant correlation at the level of 1% with all variables. The highest correlation between water productivity (r = -0.939) was calculated with volume of consumed water, which indicates the importance of reducing water consumption in increasing canola water productivity.
Irrigation
H. Shokati; Z. Sojoodi; M. Mashal
Abstract
Introduction Arid and semi-arid climates prevail in Iran. The precipitation is also sparsely distributed in most areas of the country. Therefore, there is a need for management measures to overcome the water crisis. One of these measures is designing rainwater harvesting systems that can meet some ...
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Introduction Arid and semi-arid climates prevail in Iran. The precipitation is also sparsely distributed in most areas of the country. Therefore, there is a need for management measures to overcome the water crisis. One of these measures is designing rainwater harvesting systems that can meet some of the non-potable needs and reduce runoff in urban areas. The main components of rainwater harvesting systems in residential regions include the catchment area, storage tank, and water transfer system from the catchment area to the tank. The storage tank is the biggest investment in a rainwater harvesting system, as most buildings are not equipped with a storage system. Therefore, tank capacity should be determined optimally to minimize project implementation costs. The stored water volume and the project profit increases with increasing the tank volume. However, in this case, the price of the tank increases. Therefore, the tank capacity should be optimally designed to justify economic exploitation.Materials and Methods In order to evaluate the feasibility of using rainwater harvesting systems, the tanks’ volume was optimized. Due to the higher rainfall of Ardabil relative to the average rainfall of the country, it is expected that this area has a good potential for the implementation of rainwater harvesting systems. Therefore, this region was selected as the study area under the scenario of a residential house with 100 and 200 m2 catchment areas and four inhabitants. The amount of rainfall in the region is one of the primary parameters in determining the volume of rainwater collection tanks. Some of the precipitated water is always inaccessible due to evaporation from the surface. Nonetheless, since there is almost no sunlight during and immediately after rainfall, and also the received water enters the reservoirs shortly after precipitation, evaporation was assumed to be zero. Daily precipitation data for 42 years (from 1977 to 2019) were retrieved from the Ardabil Meteorological site. The daily water balance modeling method was used to analyze the rainwater harvesting systems due to the simplicity of interpretation, high accuracy and better general acceptance. Daily precipitation data were entered into this model and used as the primary source to meet the domestic demands. Simulation of rainwater harvesting systems was performed using daily precipitation data in MATLAB software, and the reliability of these systems was calculated for different tank volumes. Then, considering the price of drinking water and the current price of tanks in the market, the optimal volume of tanks was calculated using the Genetic Algorithm. Finally, the annual volume of water supply and the amount of water savings in case of using the optimal volumes of tanks were also estimated.Results and Discussion The results showed that the percentage of reliability is directly related to the volume of the tank, thus, the reliability percentage also increases with increasing the tank capacity. As the volume of the tank increases, the slope of the increasing reliability percentage decreases continuously, to the point that this slope becomes almost zero. Comparing the reliability percentage obtained for 100 and 200 m2 rooftops indicated that 200 m2 rooftop had a higher reliability percentage than 100 m2 rooftop due to receiving much more rainfall and meeting the water need for a longer duration. By comparing the results of overflow ratio for 100 and 200 m2 rooftops, it can also be concluded that using a fixed size tank, the overflow in 200 m2 rooftop is higher, which is due to receiving more water volume than 100 m2 rooftop. The results also showed that by using a 5 m3 tank, 44.5 and 24 m3 of water can be stored annually from the 200 and 100 m2 catchment areas, respectively, these are equal to 28 and 19 m3, respectively, if 1 m3 tank is used. The optimal tank volumes for 100 and 200 m3 rooftops are equal to 0.59 and 1.66 m3, respectively. Since the tanks are made in specific volumes, the obtained volumes were rounded to the closest volumes available in the market. Thus, a 1.5 m3 tank was used for a 200 m2 rooftop and a 0.5 m3 tank was applied for a 100 m2 rooftop.ConclusionApplication of a tank of 0.5 m3 for the rooftop of 100 m2 was the most profitable for saving 17% of water consumption, annually. Moreover, the optimal tank volume for the 200 m2 rooftop was selected to be 1.5 m3, saving about 32 % of water consumption per year. Water-saving percentages indicate the high potential of our study area for the implementation of rainwater harvesting systems.
Irrigation
Sh. Nourinezhad; M.M. Rajabi; T. Fathi
Abstract
Introduction Simulation of quantity and quality of surface runoff in mountainous watersheds is one of the most challenging topics in modeling due to its unique features, such as unusual topography and complex hydrological processes. One of the lesser-known aspects of modeling such catchments is ...
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Introduction Simulation of quantity and quality of surface runoff in mountainous watersheds is one of the most challenging topics in modeling due to its unique features, such as unusual topography and complex hydrological processes. One of the lesser-known aspects of modeling such catchments is the uncertainty analysis of water quality predictions, especially about the vital phosphorus parameter. Phosphorus is one of the important quality variables in water, and its increase in water resources can cause eutrophication phenomena in streams and reservoirs of dams. Due to the importance of the phosphorus parameter and the fact that water quality modeling has not been employed in the Karaj catchment area so far, in this research, total phosphorus has been modeled as a water quality parameter along with the flow and sediment discharge. This study aims to identify the most sensitive parameters of the model to flow, sediment, and total phosphorus discharge and calibrate, validate and analyze the parametric uncertainty of the SWAT model in predicting these three variables in a mountainous catchment. The case study was the catchment area of the Karaj River upstream of Bileqan pond, which is one of the mountainous watersheds in Iran. There are two critical water structures along the Karaj River, namely Amirkabir dam and Bilqan pond. Amirkabir dam (Karaj) is a multi-purpose project that is constructed to supply drinking water to Tehran and regulate water for irrigation and agriculture in the suburbs of Karaj. The Bileqan pond is also the essential point of supply and transfer of drinking water in Tehran. Given the importance of this region in supplying water for different uses, providing a calibrated model for quantitative and qualitative variables of water can be the basis for decisions to apply future management scenarios in this basin.Materials and Methods The case study was the Karaj River catchment area upstream of Bilqan Basin, which with an average height of 2880 meters, is one of the mountainous areas located in the Alborz Mountains. This basin with an area of 1076 square kilometers in the north, includes parts of Mazandaran province. In the east and south of the catchment area includes parts of Tehran province and most of it is located in Alborz province. The average annual temperature and rainfall in this basin are 12.1 °C and 480 mm, respectively, and the average of 117 glacial days during the year is observed in this area. The long-term daily data of synoptic stations adjacent to the study area from the beginning of 1998 to the end of 2018 (21 years in total) was introduced to the model. Also, daily data of relative humidity, rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, solar radiation hours, and wind speed as meteorological parameters measured at stations in the study area were introduced to the model. It should be noted that there was a lot of missing data in meteorological information, especially for daily temperature data. In addition to the above information, daily flow data discharged from Amirkabir dam and technical specifications of the dam were introduced to the model. In addition, orchard management information, including irrigation periods and information related to phosphate fertilizers used in regional orchards, were presented to the model. The global sensitivity analysis method was used to determine the sensitive parameters of the model. Furthermore, the SUFI2 algorithm was used in SWAT_CUP software to calibrate and analyze the parametric uncertainty of the SWAT model. This algorithm quantifies the output uncertainty by 95% prediction uncertainty boundaries.Results and Discussion According to the results of sensitivity analysis, the parameters Baseflow alpha-factor (ALPHA_BF), Manning’s “n” value for overland flow (OV_N), and Precipitation Laps rate (PLAPS) were the most sensitive parameters to flow, sediment, and total phosphorus, respectively. The best Nash-Sutcliffe (NS) coefficients for runoff, sediment, and total phosphorus simulation obtained in all stations and after full calibration and validation periods were equal to 0.76, 0.56, and 0.92, respectively. Simulation of the peak points of the diagram of all three quantities was also associated with increased uncertainty and decreased model prediction accuracy, but due to the placement of more than 70% of the measured runoff and sediment values and nearly 60% of the measured total phosphorus values in the prediction uncertainty boundaries generated by SUFI2 algorithm the final value of the parameters used in the calibration process can be appropriate for simulating future scenarios in similar mountain catchments. The main weakness of the model is simulating the peak points of flow and sediment discharge. In the case of flow and sediment discharge, the liability of modeling can be generalized due to the lack of accurate prediction of the snowmelt inflow to the river in spring, which begins to increase in February and reaches the peak point in May. A considerable number of missing data in meteorological stations can effectively reflect the lack of accurate model prediction at the peak points. In this region, missing daily temperature data compared to other meteorological parameters has been significant. The dependency of the SWAT model on many experimental and quasi-experimental models such as SCS-CN and MUSLE can be another factor affecting the weakness in predicting the peak points of the sediment discharge, as well.Conclusion According to the uncertainty analysis results, most of observed flow, sediment and total phosphorus discharge values were within the uncertainty prediction boundaries generated by the SUFI2 algorithm. The NS coefficient for all three variables has met the satisfactory modeling threshold. Therefore, it seems that the sensitive parameters identified and used in the calibration process in this study and their final values can be appropriate for modeling future scenarios for this study area and similar mountain catchments. One of the limitations of the present study was a large number of missing data in meteorological stations, especially for the temperature variable. Thus, providing required measured meteorological data to the model may emhance the simulation, especially at peak points.
