Qualitative Analysis of Changing Procedure between Meteorological Parameters and Dust Occurrence in Kermanshah Province

Background & Aims of the Study: Due to widespread dust-storms in the western regions of Iran and the significant role of meteorological parameters in formation and control of these storms, this study aimed to explore the correlation between meteorological parameters and dust-storm occurrences in the western part of Iran. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, meteorological parameters of temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, prevailing wind velocity and direction were selected and their relationships with visibility below 1000 m as well the number of recorded dusty days in meteorological stations in monthly and annually scales were analyzed, using multivariate linear regression in Kermanshah province, Iran. Results: Sarpol-e Zahab, Ravansar, Kermanshah and Eslamabad-e Gharb stations were characterized by 148, 111, 107 and 60 days with visibility below 1000 m, respectively. In the last decade, the highest and the lowest number of dusty days for all stations have occurred in spring and autumn with a total of 1548 and 216 days, respectively. Also, in all stations, the lowest precipitation (4.5 mm) was observed in summer. Conclusions: According to the results, non-concurrence of season with stormy days (spring), with season with the lowest precipitation (summer), indicated  most dust storms are from non-local sources among all stations. Due to large scale dust-storms and their non-local sources, providing a comprehensive long-term plan for identifying this phenomenon among all affected regions seems to be essential

The Influence of Slope Positions on the Recovery Response of Compacted Soil Properties and Enzyme Activity in an Oriental Beech Stand in the Hyrcanian Forests, Iran

Several studies emphasize the effects of slope position on divergences of soil properties in forest ecosystems, but limited data is available on the impact of slope position on recovery levels of soil, which were exposed to compaction due to machine traffic. This study examined the effects of slope position (i.e., S; summit, BS; backslope, and TS; toeslope) on recovery rate of soil properties and enzyme activity four years after ground-based harvesting operations were performed on machine operating trails, compared to the undisturbed areas (UND) in the Hyrcanian forests (north of Iran). Soil properties and enzyme activity of compacted soil in machine operating trails showed significant trend differences among the slope positions. A significantly lower soil bulk density, penetration resistance, soil moisture, aggregate stability, pH, sand, and C/N ratio were found in TS compared to the values recorded in the BS and S treatments. Conversely, total porosity, macroporosity, silt, clay, organic C, total N, available nutrients (i.e., P, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+), fulvic and humic acid, earthworm density and dry mass as well as fine root biomass were higher in TS than in the BS and S treatments. Soil microbial respiration, MBC, NH4+, NO3−, N mineralization, and MBN were significantly higher in the UND areas followed by TS > BS > S treatment. The highest activity levels of enzymes (i.e., urease, acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, invertase, and ß-N-acetylglucosaminidase) were detected in the UND areas, followed by TS > BS > S treatment. The highest recovery levels of all soil properties and enzyme activity were found in TS, followed by BS > S treatment. However, the full recovery of soil properties did not occur even after a 4-year period, compared to the UND areas. Our study results highlight the significance of the slope position in augmenting divergence in soil properties and enzyme activity after ground-based machine traffic