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Background and Objectives: The continuous increase in solid waste generation worldwide due to population growth and industrialization, calls for management strategies that integrate concerns for environmental sustainability. By quantifying environmental impacts of systems, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool which can contribute to answering that call. The aim of this study was to evaluate environmental pollutants resulting from various treatment options including anaerobic digestion, incineration, and landfill of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) generated daily in Tehran. Materials and Methods: First, the physical properties of the waste and consumption of inputs in the study area were determined from September to October, 2014- 2015. Then the different steps of LCA in relation to each of the subsystems were followed (with SimaPro software). Finally, the results based on the CML Baseline 2000 were presented and analyzed. Results: It was found that when the higher rate of separation and processing in any subsystems increases, the emission of environmental pollutants decreases, so that the global warming potential, acidification, eutrophication, and abiotic depletion as the most important impact categories in the subsystems of anaerobic digestion were obtained as -125935 kg CO2/day, -449 kg SO2/day, -1690 kg PO43-/day and -0.43 kg Sb/day, respectively and in incineration were obtained as -264872 kg CO2/day, -974 kg SO2/day, -3471 kg PO43-/day and -0.76 kg Sb/day, respectively, while in the landfill subsystem, they were estimated to be 74478 kg CO2/day, 362 kg SO2/day, 118 kg PO43-/day, and 0.13 kg Sb/day, respectively. Conclusion: According to the constituent processes of each of the subsystems and the results of the evaluation of exhaust emissions subsystems, it can be concluded that in an integrated system of waste management, the energy-generating systems such as anaerobic digestion and incineration should be as the first priority and the traditional subsystems such as landfill should be as the last priority.

Climate change has serious impacts on communities and livelihoods in dry areas. The agricultural sector accepts the greatest impact from climate change due to its extensive interactions with the environment. Environmental degradation and reduced yield of saffron and weakening of the household economy are among the consequences of climate change in the Kashmar plain. This study was carried out in order to evaluate the perception of saffron in the Kashmar plain from climate change and its capacity to adapt to this phenomenon. The present study was conducted to examine the perceptions and adaptation of saffron to climate change in order to expand the strategies for confronting the climate change challenges in the Kashmar plain. The method of this study is descriptive-analytic. The population of the study was calculated using Cochran's sampling method and a sample size of 390 households was chosen. Statistical models such as logistic regression were used to examine saffron perception and compatibility strategies. The analysis of saffron perceptions of climate change shows that the increase in temperature and the decrease in rainfall during the last decade in the Kashmar plain has been ongoing. The results of the logistic statistical model indicated that product diversity, change in crops, finding a job outside the farm, changing the amount of land, changing the planting date of saffron were adaptation methods used in the region. Given that many saffron growers have come to understand climate change and adjust their farming activities based on these changes, the government should facilitate the adaptation of saffron to climate change.

In accordance to the adaptation of architectural styles to the specific climatic conditions of the desert regions has led to the formation of an architectural style tailored to the needs of these areas. Understanding the coordination mechanisms of the technique, materials and environment and its intended application in understanding the concept of aesthetics and the performance of traditional buildings in the Iranian desert cities has attracted the attention of local and foreign researchers. In general, the concept of sustainability formed as a result of human awareness of environmental issues and socio-economic and cultural problems can be seen in desert architecture. One of the most important goals of sustainable development is to preserve nature and to alter the overall outlook towards it; furthermore, it is also sought to promote sustainable development in the built environment termed as sustainable architecture. Hence, the aim of this article is to understand climate adaptation and the environment response of traditional Iranian structures in the unique climate conditions of the desert. In this regard, this paper with a descriptive and analytic methods expresses this hypothesis that there seems to be a reliable and unique association between technique, structuring materials and environment with traditional Iranian structures built in desert areas. In order to prove the research hypothesis, first a descriptive and eloquent definition of the concept of sustainability in the structures and synergies created in the desert ecosystem and architecture is presented and then, the spatial features of a native desert architecture model after climate adaptation are described. Finally, it has been proven that the special features of architecture in desert areas have led to the emergence of beautiful traditional buildings appropriate to the climate of this resort.

Controling weeds at their critical periods of growth leads to low production costs and injurious effects of using chemical weed controling methods. In this experiment we studied the timinig effects of weed control (interference of weeds after 20, 40 and 60 days and complete control of weeds) and weed interference periods for 20, 40 and 60 days after planting and complete interference) on growth and yield of forage maize CV. 454. The experiment was conducted incomplete randomized blocks design with three replications at the Research Farm of Islamic Azad University of Tabriz Branch in 2013. According to the results, maintenaning the farm for 40 and 60 days under weed interference after 20 days prevented reduction of maize biomass, while weeds interference after 20 days, weed interference and controling weeds after 40 and 60 days resulted in 41.2%, 35%, 25% and 32.5% reduction of forage maize biomass, respectively. Reduction in fresh weight of corn and fresh weight of leaf and stem were also observed due to interference of weeds after 20 days. If weeds are controlled after 60 days, reduction of corn weight and fresh weight of stem will also results in reduction of biomass. Also, if weeds are controlled after 40 days, stem fresh weight of maize will result in biomass reduction. Corn traits were affected by weeds control treatments. Being affected by treatments of weeds interference after 20 days, weeds non-interference, controlling weeds after 40 and 60 days, the height of corn was reduced by 29.9%, 41.4%, 27.6% and 37.2%, respectively. The stem diameter demonstrated a significant reduction, although it was only affected by treatments of weeds interference and weeds control after 60 days. Based on the results of this study, it may be suggested that controling weeds during initial 20-60 days of maize growth would prevent the undesirable effect of weeds on growth, production and biomass production of maize and also results in production costs.

Introduction: Drought is a natural and recurrent feature of climate. The characterizations of it may change under the effect of climate change in future periods. During the last few decades a number of different indices have been developed to quantify drought probabilities. Droughts are caused by disruptions to an expected precipitation pattern and can be intensified by unusually high temperature values. Precipitation-based drought indices, including the Standardized precipitation index (SPI), cannot identify the role of temperature increase in drought condition and in addressing the consequences of climate change. Recently, two new standardized drought indices have been proposed for drought variability analysis on multiple time scales, the Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI, Tsakiris et al., 2007) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI, Vicente-Serrano et al., 2010). The objective of this study is to evaluate the characterization of wet and dry periods under the effect of climate change according to SPEI index in synoptic station of Hamedan for the next thirty years (2011-2040). Materials and Methods: In this study, the indices of SPEI, SPI and RDI were investigated and the SPEI index as a multiscalar and suitable index was used to detect, monitor, and explore the consequences of global warming on drought conditions in synoptic station of Hamedan (airport). For this purpose, the period of 1981-2010 was chosen as the base period and the simulation of the future climate variables were done based on A1B, A2 and B2 emissions scenarios and performance of multi model ensemble via LARS-WG5 model for the period of 2011-2040. The performance of the multi model ensemble was done by using five global climate models including IPCM4, MPEH5, HADCM3, GFCM21, and NCCCS in the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Semenov and Stratonovitch, 2010). By simulating the values of precipitation ,and the values of temperature and the values of estimated evapotranspiration , the values of SPEI, RDI and SPI indices were calculated annually and 1, 3 and 6 months (short- term period) and 12, 18 and 24 months (long- term period) time scales for the base period and the three next decades. Then, the relation among them was computed and investigated via correlation coefficient. Then, by monitoring the humidity condition via SPEI index, the characterization of wet and dry periods including period numbers, longest period, total deficit or surplus, and maximum deficit or surplus were derived based on Run theory and were comprised for the base period and three future decades. Results and Discussion: Evaluation of LARS-WG5 model for base period showed that the model was able to simulate minimum and maximum temperatures and precipitation data with high accuracy based on statistic error and can be used to generate data for future years according to emission scenario. According to the simulated results of performance of multi model ensemble, the average values of mean temperature and precipitation will increase by 0.820C and 2.5 % for A2 scenario, respectively. In addition, the minimum and maximum temperatures have increased in all of the months according to the three scenarios in comparison with the base period. The correlation results between the investigated indices showed that the maximum and minimum of correlation can be observed between SPI & RDI and SPEI & SPI indices in the base period and future decade for each scenario, respectively. Drought assessment based on the SPEI index in the base period shows that the main drought episodes occurred in the 1999 to 2001 that were consistent with FAO report (2006). Comparison of wet and dry periods in relation to the base period showed that the number of dry periods will increase in time scales of 1 and 3 months and will decrease in other long-term time scales. Conclusion: Climate change and its effects are among the main challenges of water resources management in the present century. In this study, the effects of this phenomenon on drought monitoring and change of characterizations were investigated. For this purposes, we used daily meteorological variables during thirty years (1981-2010) from Hamedan Synoptic station. The results of drought monitoring were based on SPEI index, and it revealed the high variability of humidity condition in the first decade of simulation in comparison with the second and third decades. This issue indicated that this decade requires more attention and management measurements. Also, according to the results of the derived characterization via Run theory, the number of dry periods will decrease and persistence of the longest dry period and consequently the volume of deficit will increase in the next three decades. In addition, the total volume surplus of wet periods will decrease in relation to the base period that can be interpreted as the increasing of moisture deficit in future decades The SPEI is based on precipitation and temperature data, and it has the advantage of combining multiscalar character with the capacity to include the effects of temperature variability on drought assessment. Thus, we recommend SPEI, as a suitable index for studying and identifying the effect of climate change on drought conditions.

Current conventional agricultural systems using intensive energy have to be revitalized through new integrated approaches relying on renewable energy resources, which can allow farmers to stop dependence on fossil resources. The aim of this study was determining the amount of input–output energy used in onion (Allium cepa L.) production in Khorasan Razavi province. For this purpose, the data was collected from 55 onion farm workers in Khorasan Razavi. Inquiries were conducted in face-to-face interviews in April-May 2011. Farm workers were selected based on random sampling method. The results indicated that total energy input was 98479 MJ.ha-1. The share of electricity and nitrogen fertilizer was 50.9 and 14.7%, respectively out of total energy input. The average onion yield under normal conditions was 73227 kg.ha-1 on irrigated farms. The net energy and energy productivity values were estimated to be 18684 MJ.ha-1 and 0.74 kg.MJ-1, respectively, and the ratio of energy output to energy input was found to be 1.19. This indicated an intensive use of input in onion production, which is not parallel to the increase in the final yield. Approximately 77.3% of the total energy input used in onion production was non-renewable (machinery, diesel, fertilizers, chemicals and electricity) and only 22.7% was renewable energy form (human labor, manure, water for irrigation, seeds). Cost analysis revealed that total cost of onion production for one hectare was 79262908 Rials. Benefit–cost ratio was calculated as 1.65. Although energy efficiency of onion production in Khorasan Razavi province is low, it is economically justified.

Introduction: Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is an important winter crop in northern of Iran with a total of 9580 ha which produces approximately 90, 197 tons per year. It is the second most widely cultivated species of the genus, Allium after onion (Allium cepa). Also, Garlic along with onions and leeks are three major cultivated species in Alliaceae family. This plant because of high economic and medicinal values is cultivated in 2610 hectares of agricultural lands of Mazandaran Province, Iran. Slow growth rate, low height, and a thin canopy that does not cover the soil enough to sup-press weeds make garlic a poor competitor against the latter until the beginning of spring. According results, reported 71% yield losses in garlic crop if weeds are allowed to grow during the crop season. Weed interference is affected by the time of weed emergence relative to the crop’s phenological development. The weeds, which emerge early or simultaneously with the crop, are highly competitive and should be managed by farmers. Most weed management strategies in cereals target seedlings, as they are the most sensitive stage of the weed. However, emergence of weed seedlings varies every year in timing, extent and intensity. Therefore in this study, the effect of chemical management on reducing the density and biomass of weeds, yield and agronomic characteristics of garlic were studied in Mazandaran Province, Iran. Materials and Methods: After the selection of location test, in order to determine the physical and chemical properties before the preparation of soil for planting, sampling from the soil was carried out from the depth of 0 to 30 cm at some point. The farm was plowed using a moldboard plow, then the used fertilizers in this study were added to the soil twice before planting and then the fertilizers were incorporated with the soil using a Disc. The amount of used fertilizers in this study according to soil test were including: 200 kg Urea per hectare that 100 kg as the base and 50 kg in two foliage stage and 50 kg in 4 foliage stage of garlic, 200 kg superphosphate triple per hectare, and 100 kg potassium sulfate. The research was performed in a land with area of 300 m2 containing 30 plots with dimensions of 3×3 m2. The planting process was done after disinfection of garlic seed varieties of Mazand for 24 hours in a solution of 2% carboxin thiram with the distance of 30×15 cm and the density of 23 plants per m2on 23/10/2012. After about two weeks from planting of garlic, germination was fully performed. The studied factors in 10 dosages of herbicide are including: 1.5, 2 and 2.5 liters per hectare of Trifluralin (Terflan) via formulations (EC 48%), 1.5, 2 and 2.5 liters per hectare of Oxyfluorfen, 1.5 liters per hectare of Oxyfluorfen in two stages (the half in first stage and the rest 18 days later) via formulations (EC 24%), hand weeding control and lack of weeding control (the number of replications of these two treatments were two folds of others (2 replications in each block and 6 replications in total)). Two weeks before planting Trifluralin herbicides were incorporated with the soil and Oxyfluorfen herbicides as post-emergently were applied in the 3 to 4 foliage stages of weeds using a backpack sprayer pump from the side of the nozzle sag (T-Jet). After 145 days from planting, 10 plants per plot were selected and plant heights measured. After maturity of garlics, 10 plants of garlic were eradicated and the number of cloves per bulb was counted and weight of 100 cloves of garlic was weighed. After full maturity of garlic, a square meter of each plot was harvested on 7.5.2013 and the harvested plants was placed for 48 hours in the farm and then bulb yield and biological yield were weighed and harvest index was also calculated. Statistical analysis software SAS (version 9.1) was used for analysis and the obtained averages were compared by means of the Duncan least significant difference test. Results and Discussion: Results showed that the use of different doses of various herbicides had a significant difference on the plant height, weight of 100 cloves, economical and biological yield and harvest index of garlic. In contrast, under treatments of the usage of 1.5 liter of Oxyfluorfen in two stages and hand weeding treatment, plant height of garlic was increased due to lack of competition with weed species and no significant difference was observed between the above treatments with the usage of 1.5, 2 and 2.5 liters of Oxyfluorfen. The adverse effect and phytotoxicity of garlic under the use of different doses of 2 and 2.5 liters of Oxyfluorfen caused disturbances in the production of cloves per bulb of garlic and the plant spent their photosynthetic products in the reclamation of its shoots. In contrast, the highest number of cloves per bulb were counted under the treatments of using 1.5 liter of Oxyfluorfen, hand weeding and 1.5 liter of Oxyfluorfen in two stages. The results showed that the highest economical yield of garlic was obtained in the treatment of using 1.5 liter of Oxyfluorfen, hand weeding treatment and splitting of 1.5 liter of Oxyfluorfen in two stages, and there were no significant differences between the above treatments. The plant used the best from the resulted ecological niche in normal conditions, and it could transfer more photosynthetic materials to the reproductive organs and it could increase the bulb yield with more producing of cloves per bulb with higher weight. Conclusion: The results obtained from experimental trials on plant height, cloves number in the bulb, cloves weight and ultimately economic yield of garlic (bulb) showed that the treatment of using 1.5 liters of Oxyfluorfen in 3 to 4 foliage stages of weed species was the best treatment.

Considering that a significant portion of the share of energy consumption among consumer sectors is in the home and commercial sectors and this share is still increasing, there is a need for research in energy consumption management and evaluation of effective indicators in the building industry. Building the country is vital to optimizing energy consumption. One of the most appropriate ways to optimize fuel consumption in the building and housing sector is the implementation of zero energy buildings which is considered as the main solution in the world. In this research, after analyzing the population and statistical sample, data were collected to evaluate effective criteria and options related to energy consumption management. First, fuzzy Delphi method was used to evaluate the sub-criteria and select the main options of each. At first level the criterion is discussed and at the second level the data analysis and research model is analyzed through paired comparisons using fuzzy hierarchical analysis technique. Finally, the most important indicators and criteria are obtained using fuzzy hierarchical analysis. According to the research findings, among the energy consumption optimization management indices investigated by the FAHP method, the economic, construction and utilities indices with 0.333, 0. 201 and 0.176 have the highest management priority, respectively. Energy-efficient optimization has a zero-energy building approach.

Sustainable development tried to continuous development, beyond the economic development. Given the fundamental importance of banks in the economy and the importance of sustainability in recent years, this study aimed to measure sustainability of Parsian Bank and in general, the Iran's banking industry. The initial framework resulting from the review of the literature, sustainability reports of selected banks in the world and other reports in the area of sustainability with holding focus group sessions with industry experts is confirmed. In order to measure sustainability a multi-stage/multicast Fuzzy Inference System(FIS) was designed that able to measure sustainability in each of the 4 main structures identified, i.e. the social, environmental, economic and governance structures. Based on the output of this 4 structures, a FIS for measuring the specific form of the concept of sustainability in Parsian Bank planned that the output is number 0/798. For the final evaluation of the overall sustainability, the designed range in the Global Initiative Report was used. Due to the resulting number noted range, Parsian Bank has the A-level of sustainability.

Increasing energy consumption in the world raises concerns about future energy supplies. In addition, reducing energy consumption will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as CO2. Given that residential buildings have a significant share in energy consumption, reducing energy consumption in these buildings through the Building Management System (BMS) and insulation of their Exterior walls can have a significant impact on reducing energy consumption.In order to evaluate the impact of these factors on reducing the energy consumption of residential buildings, using Building Information Modeling process (BIM) with the help of BIM software is the method used in the present study. Using building information modeling process, after the modeling of the desired properties, the thermal analysis of the building has been done and by changing the parameters, the effect of each one on the energy consumption is investigated.The main objectives of this research is to investigate the effect of the use of thermal insulating materials and building management system on reducing energy consumption, comparing all types of thermal insulating materials in terms of type and thickness, comparing insulation and building management systems in terms of reducing energy consumption and finding optimal energy-saving model between different building models that have different conditions. Comparison in this study has been done between different building models and the actual base model. Finally, by doing the stated studies, the model with BMS system with 34.61% reduction in energy consumption compared to the base model has the most effect on reducing energy consumption.