No abstract

Two-thirds of Iran's landmass is considered a desert-land devoid of forests and green pastures. Such a harsh environmental condition ancient Iranian innovated amazing techniques and knowledge for supplying water, which are recently called indigenous knowledge. Rain water and runoff harvesting techniques are often applied to increase the water recharge and consequently productivity in arid regions. The sizes of runoff harvesting structures are varying form micro to macro landscape. Qanat, Khooshab, Bandsar and Degar are the most famous indigenous techniques of water resources management in Iran. We tried to introduce two methods (Bandsar and Khooshab), their classification and structure as well as benefits. Bandsar is a kind of flood farming structure ground water recharge prevailed in Khorasan province of eastern Iran. Depending on rainfall, land topography and geomorphology of area, different types have been established to use floods and agricultural activities. Their area is about 0.5 to 5 ha in alluvial fans and piedmont plain. Its structure consists of plots, basin and levee along contour lines and dry rivers. The upland generated runoff is stored in the basin to infiltrate. Moreover, the fine trapped sediment in Bandsar as a fertile material cause to improve sandy soils. Khooshab is another traditional method used in southeast of Iran (Sistan va Baluchistan). It is a wall structures built across or along the dry river to catch the summer Monson floods water and cultivation as well as combat to wind erosion. Their areas are about 1-10 ha and crops such as wheat, maize and barely are produced through them. Flood plains and piedmont are the best location for Khooshabs which caused aquifer recharging. This work tries to explain about environmental condition affect the outcomes of mentioned techniques and their side effects on decreasing soil erosion, flooding and desertification as well as productivity increasing in some parts of Iran. Our findings revealed that the efficiency of traditional knowledge is closely integrated with environment conditions and socioeconomic situation

There is no accurate information on the effect of metal oxide nanoparticles (MO NPs) on plant enzymatic activities (EAs) under drought stress (DS). The aim of this work was to study the effect of MO NPs on the EAs of Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn and Sanguisorba officinalis L. under DS. Foliar spray of silver oxide (AgO), iron oxide (FeO), zinc oxide (ZnO) and cadmium oxide (CdO) at levels of 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg L−1 were used on plant aerial parts under DS levels of 25–100% field capacity (FC). Glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured after 2 weeks of the experiment. The EAs changes varied depending on the plant species, levels of DS, types and levels of NPs. Application of 30–60 mg L−1 MO NPs under 25–50% FC significantly reduced EAs, especially in S. officinalis (P < 0.01). Higher concentrations of MO NPs significantly increased EAs. Decreases in CAT (20.90%, 18.80%), POD (21.30%, 17.67%) and SOD (23.14%, 16.88%) were observed using 60 mg L−1 ZnO NPs under 25–50% FC in S. officinalis and A. cristatum, respectively. High concentrations of CdO NPs (90–120 mg L−1) increased EAs (max. = 24.0%) in both species under 25% FC.

Modifying human activities is key to achieving land degradation neutrality in rangelands. Rangeland stakeholders encompass different ownership regimes; however, little is known about whether different ownership models benefit or degrade social conditions and ecosystem services in the Middle East. The aim of this research was to determine the effects of Collective or Council ownership on social and ecological indicators in the wintery rangeland of Iran. The study included a social network analysis of the 187 stakeholders in the communal rangelands of Kalat (NE Iran). We considered social network variables such as density, reciprocity, transitivity, geodesic distance and E-I (external-internal) and degree centrality combined with ecological indicators such as condition, forage yield and trend in range condition. The stocking rate was 2.43 AU ha −1 in Council rangelands and 0.94 AU ha −1 for Collective rangelands, with both exceeding recommended carrying capacity. Herbage mass and canopy cover were both higher in the Collective (247 kg/ha; 59%) than Council rangelands (140 kg/ha; 48.3%). Density (47.6% and 48.6%) and reciprocity (54.2% and 53.7%) were higher for Collective rangelands than Council rangelands, but were lower for geodesic distance (1.5 and 1.7-1.8) for trust and collaboration ties. Collective rangelands showed more bridging ties (55%) than the council rangelands (27.5%), suggesting they would be more resilient when problems occur. It concluded that social capital was richer in the Collective rangelands, which creates a willingness in operators to contribute to participatory management of rangelands to improve their condition. Finally suggested new tools and policies, and possible financial and pedagogic support be provided to the Council rangelands to increase social capital and improve outcomes.