Assessment of the impacts of climate change and variability on water resources and use,food security,and economic welfare in Iran

Climate change influences the agricultural sector by reducing available water resources, thereby influencing income, consumer and producer surplus, and crop prices. So, it is necessary to have a comprehensive integrated method to measure the effects of these changes on natural resources and social conditions. The present study aims to use the positive mathematical programming method to discover the trend and conditions of groundwater resources, agricultural water use, food security, and economic welfare of the agricultural sector in Iran. To this end, data for the period 2000–2015 was used under four different scenarios of normal climate change, climate change, climate variability, and concurrent climate change The results showed that the mean agricultural water use will amount to 35,103.6, 26,533.8, 35,216, and 26,510.7 million m³ and the mean decline in the reserves of aquifers will amount to 4422.22, 11,165.6, 4438.25, and 11,267.4 million m³ under the scenarios, respectively. With respect to food security, the net farm revenue will be 314,560, 248,753, 315,427, and 248,574 billion IRR, respectively. The mean crop price per ton will reach 905.3, 1141.8, 904, and 1142.8 million IRR, respectively. The mean consumer surplus will be 172,107.7, 166,450, 172,024, and 166,403 billion IRR and the mean producer surplus will be 419,959.2, 395,380, 419,751, and 395,204 billion IRR, respectively. Based on the results, to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change on different studied aspects, it is necessary to change policymaking in the water and agricultural sectors, especially regarding the shift from traditional agricultural water allocation to its market-based allocation and to change planting pattern.

     

Impregnation on activated carbon for removal of chemical warfare agents (CWAs) and radioactive content

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare (NBC) agents cause an inevitable threat to defense forces and civilians. Exposure to these toxic agents...     

Hydrogeochemistry and water quality assessment of the Kor–Sivand Basin, Fars province, Iran

In order to assess the quality and suitability of waters in the Kor-Sivand river basin, 60 water samples from the Kor river and 90 water samples from wells in the basin were studied. Assessments were based on Piper's and Gibbs' diagrams for water quality, Food and Agricultural Organization's (FAO) guidelines, and US Salinity Laboratory diagram for water suitability. The results showed that the river water is of Ca-HCO(3) type, while well water is of Ca-Cl and Na-Cl type. Based on Gibbs' diagram, the source of soluble ions in the river water samples is the weathering of stones over which water flows, while evaporation was found to be the dominant process in the ion concentration of the well samples. According to the FAO Guidelines, the salinity of surface water for irrigation did not cause great restrictions; however, many of these waters could create potential permeability problems. In the groundwater samples, a high salt concentration is more important than the infiltration problem. Mg hazard values at some sites limit its use for agricultural purposes. One third of the river water samples and two thirds of well waters had more than 50% magnesium. Saturation indices showed that 94% of the analyzed water samples are supersaturated with calcite, aragonite, and dolomite. Based on the US Salinity Laboratory diagram, river water samples were classified as C(2)S(1) and C(3)S(1), while C(4)S(3), C(4)S(4), C(2)S(1), and C(3)S(1) were the most dominant classes in well samples. Some management practices necessary for sustainable development of water resources in the study area were discussed briefly, including appropriate selection of crops, adequate drainage, leaching, blending and cyclic use of saline water, proper irrigation method, and addition of soil amendment.