Analyzing Biodiversity Management Challenges in the Sorkhabad Protected Area of the Zanjan Province, using a Grounded Theory study

Biodiversity faces various challenges which make its management difficult. This research aimed to investigate the challenges of biodiversity management in the Sorkhabad Protected Area of the Zanjan Province. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach through the grounded theory methodology. A sample of participants consisting of 15 experts from the Environmental Protection Administration and the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Administration in the Zanjan Province were selected through a theoretical and snowball sampling and the data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Using the Nvivo10 software, the data on biodiversity management challenges were analyzed through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, which led to exploring 92 concepts, 38 initial categories, 22 principal categories, and 9 core categories. Then, the relationship among the core categories was identified. It was identified that biodiversity loss is interconnected with other natural hazards and environmental crises. Moreover, the threat and loss of biodiversity and other natural resources are directly and indirectly influenced by various factors consisting of weak national strategies and policies on biodiversity management; the weakness of allocating human, financial and physical resources of organizations responsible for biodiversity protection; poor knowledge, attitude and value system of rural communities about biodiversity management; unsustainable agriculture and natural resources use by rural communities; unsustainable use and intervention of people outside rural communities; unsustainable actions of external organizations; and lack of integrated and participatory management in biodiversity management

Monitoring of Heavy Metals in Water, Sediment and Phragmites australis of Aras River along the Iranian-Armenian Border

Background: Aras River is the main source of drinking water supply in northwestern provinces of Iran. The present study aimed to determine the concentration of heavy metals in the river on the border between Iran and Armenia. Methods: Three samples were taken from the Aras river water, the river bottom sediments and the root of Phragmites australis. In water sampling, the concentration of Hg, Mo, Cu, C o, B, Cd, Ni, Zn, Pb, Al, Mn, Cr, and Fe was noticed while in sediment sampling, to measure the concentration of Cu and Mo. In samples taken from the plant root, the concentration of Cu was only analyzed. The water sampling was performed at 11 stations along the river course during four seasons fall, winter, spring and summer 2011. Results: The highest and lowest concentrations respectively belonged to Al (2600 ppb) and Cd (0.4 ppb). Parameters including B, Cu, Mo and Al were all higher than the standard limits. The results obtained from sediment and root sampling indicated that the concentration of Cu exceeds the standard. Conclusion: Poor quality of Aras River reveals to the necessity of implementing mitigation measures to improve the water quality of the river

Contrasting changes in the abundance and diversity of Northern Iranian birds assemblages from 2011 to 2015

Birds are distributed in wide range based on flight power and structural changes in their composition. So, the ecological diversity and density can be indicative of the environmental changes. This study was conducted for the first time in the north of Iran to quantify and compare the temporal abundance in the taxonomic diversity of bird assemblages. Data were collected by the Iranian Environmental Protection Agency from 22 key sampling sites from 2011 to 2015 in Golestan Province. During the 5-years period, 13 abundance and diversity metrics with the average abundances of 123 species for each site were calculated. In terms of the number of birds in a particular species, mallard and greater flamingo were the most abundant species, and Anatidae family was the most abundant bird family in all monitoring data. Based on ecological indicators, the most diversity in species has been observed in 2012. Keywords: Biodiversity, Birds, Diversity matrix, Ira

Assessing of oil pollution in suburbs of Shahid Tondgoian Oil Storage in Zanjan Province (July 2020)

Background: Soils have a key role in establishment and growth of biota and also are as a natural resource, national capital and life substrate in any country. Therefore, every contamination can be transferred from soils to higher food levels with its negative impacts. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to investigate oil pollution in soils caused by the establishment of Shahid Tondgovian Oil Storage in Zanjan province. The depot has three storage tanks with capacity of 47, 35 and 26 million liters of oil and gasoline and kerosene, respectively. Methods: Soil samples were collected from a depth of 5-15 cm at 20 sites and the values ​​of EC, pH and PAHs were measured. Then T-test was used to compare the results with standards and control sites. Results: The mean of pH and EC results were 8.24 and 281 µ/cm, respectively. The results showed PAHs values ​​were lower than the standard and there was no statistically significant difference between the study sites and the control one (P > 0.05). Also, the amount of benzo (a) pyrene compound, used as an indicator of total PAHs to study carcinogenic effects, was lower than standard in study area. Therefore, there is no health risk for the oil residents in collected samples from Shahid Tondgoian Oil Storage. Conclusion: Currently, oil pollution is not observed in the soils around the study area and there is no health risk for the residents in the suburbs

Length-weight relationships of 14 fish species from Tajan River, Southern Caspian Sea basin, Iran

The length-weight relationships, (LWRs) were calculated for 14 fish species belonging to five families (Cyprinidae, Cobitidae, Nemacheilidae, Salmonidae, and Gobiidae) collected from the Tajan River, north of Iran. Significant length-weight relationships with high correlation coefficients were found for all species.</p

Length-weight relationships of 14 fish species from Tajan River, Southern Caspian Sea basin, Iran

The length-weight relationships, (LWRs) were calculated for 14 fish species belonging to five families (Cyprinidae, Cobitidae, Nemacheilidae, Salmonidae, and Gobiidae) collected from the Tajan River, north of Iran. Significant length-weight relationships with high correlation coefficients were found for all species.</p

Cd and Pb bioaccumulation in Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) in relation to the role of metal contents in wetland sediments

The Choghakhor Wetland in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province (Iran) has a significant role in maintaining water and sediment quality, because the wetland acts as a sink for contaminants that can pollute the aquatic ecosystem and affect human health. The present study uses a simple geostatistical technique to investigate the spatial variability of Cd and Pb in the Choghakhor Wetland to link the spatial variations of sediments to heavy metal contents in Myriophyllum spicatum. It was hypothesized that the heavy metal contents in the Choghakhor Wetland sediments impacted the concentration values in macrophytes. The value of heavy metals in sediments ranges from 0.54- to 1.84-μg/g dry weight (dw) for Cd, and from 1.32- to 2.46-μg/g dw for Pb, with a mean value of 1.12- and 1.82-μg/g dw, respectively. The mean value of Cd and Pb was 1.14- and 1.67-μg/g dw, respectively, in the aquatic macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum, with corresponding ranges of 0.9-1.83-μg/g dw and 1.33-1.95-μg/g dw. There was a spatial structure in the Cd and Pb contents in the wetland sediments, with lower contents in the northern zone despite the values quantified in the south. We observed a direct spatial relationship between the Cd content in sediments and the Cd concentration in M. spicatum, and confirmed an effect of plant uptake for Cd. However, there were no significant differences between Pb in sediments and Pb in samples of M. spicatum, which implied that other factors like discharged industrial waste could also affect the accumulation of metals in plants. It can be concluded that spatial patterns indicated differences in the territory of the sediment Cd content at the Choghakhor Wetland localization in association with sediment enrichment. However, it was surprising that Pb did not show this pattern despite anthropic pressure.This work was funded by the Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran. The authors appreciate the assistance provided by the Spanish Ministry (Project CGL2013-43675-P).Peer reviewe