Iranian Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Iranian Journal of Rainwater Catchment Systems 2423-5970 8 2 2020 10 1 Investigating the role of rainwater catchment systems in the development of hazelnut orchards on sloping lands 1 12 FA Kourosh Kamali Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization Davood Javadi Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization Asghar Pourghasem Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization Bagher Karimi Organization of agriculture Guilan The development of hazelnut orchards in sloping lands by changing the cultivation pattern and establishing permanent vegetation is of special importance. Considering the potential of lands in the Eshkorat region of Rudsar city and hazelnut adaptation in this region, the use of rainwater catchment systems can play an important role in maintaining the genetic diversity of this product and prevent soil erosion with the help of local knowledge of gardeners in the region. The examination of the provincial section of the products in the Garden Development Project on the sloping lands of Gilan Province shows that 9981 hectares will be cultivated with hazelnuts in the Sixth Development Plan. Therefore, with the proper use of surface runoff and green water to increase productivity in these orchards, along with the proper production of hazelnuts, water, and soil conservation will also be granted. In this article, some methods of using rainwater catchment systems based on the indigenous knowledge of gardeners have been introduced to provide green water and increase soil moisture in hazelnut orchards in the Eshkorat region of Rudsar city. Also, due to the water needs of hazelnuts and to overcome the water shortage crisis during the vegetative growth period of this product, especially in July and August the role of rainwater catchment systems in the development of hazelnut orchards in sloping lands has been studied.

Iranian Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Iranian Journal of Rainwater Catchment Systems 2423-5970 8 2 2020 10 1 An Overview of Identity Elements in traditional gardens of Qazvin from the Agricultural heritage Viewpoint 13 24 FA afshin uossef gomrokchi Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Qazvin Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Qazvin, Iran.      The traditional gardens of Qazvin are the sign of people's interaction with their natural environment throughout history and the transformation of biological barriers, such as extreme cold or heat and flood, into valuable opportunities to form agricultural gardens around the city and indigenous farming. The traditional garden of Qazvin, which is known to be up to 1400 years old, is one of the examples of optimal use of nature. The construction of traditional gardens around the city of Qazvin shows that human beings have used a more peaceful way of life with nature than ever and have pursued sustainable development, although at a slow pace. The present study aims to examine the identifying elements of the traditional garden heritage. The research method in identifying the elements is based on the historical-interpretive process and based on this, physical and customary elements in the gardens have been analysed. The results show that in the current condition, the use of traditional gardens has lost most of the identifying elements, or in the current situation with the advancement of technology; it looks inefficient. However, the important point is that the customs and traditions created in the gardens can be used as a successful model to reduce social conflicts and patterns of participatory activity in watersheds. In other words, the advantages of traditional gardens not only with the main function of the garden (as a source of garden production) but also as a work environment and participatory activities and low-cost method of flood management and integrated management of water and soil resources can be the main reasons for contemporary garden protection.

Iranian Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Iranian Journal of Rainwater Catchment Systems 2423-5970 8 2 2020 10 1 Micro-Catchment Rain Water Harvesting Systems and fruit seedlings: Strategies and Research challenges 25 32 FA Saeed Najafi Urmia University      The use of Rain-Water Harvesting (RWH) systems for fruit seedling planting in addition to helping to make optimal use of runoff and soil and water conservation, will also help the production of agricultural and horticultural products. Accordingly, this study has focused on the investigation of the effects of RWH systems on the growth of fruit seedlings and their establishment, especially in Zanjan, East Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, and Markazi provinces. For this purpose, all relevant domestic published papers over the last six years have been reviewed to provide an analytical overview of the published results. Although based on the literature review, there is reliable evidence in RWH systems efficiency in runoff production and the positive effect of such systems on photosynthetic activities and consequently fruit seedlings, there is insufficient evidence to select the most effective treatment of the RWH systems. Also, the results of most of the studies have shown some improvements in collar diameter growing and height of the seedlings, but there is no comprehensive conclusion on the positive effect of RWH systems because of the insufficient studies with inconsistent published results in this field. Although the studies have been conducted by some provincial research institutes under the supervision of Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), the creation of management and executive recommendations resulting from such research is hampered by some weaknesses in the designed research plan. On the other hand, short data collection period (only 1-3 years), use of different guidelines for designing the RWH systems, designing the RWH systems without given consideration to species of seedlings, the rainfall regime, and intervals, and the optimum volume of water needed to collect in each system are the weaknesses of the conducted researches, which hamper designing managerial and necessary plans using the results to overcome some problems of water deficit in Iran. Regardless of the aforementioned weaknesses, it is hoped that the promising route initiated by the AREEO and especially its affiliated Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute (SCWMRI) finally leads to national benefits for water resource management and agricultural production.

Iranian Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Iranian Journal of Rainwater Catchment Systems 2423-5970 8 2 2020 10 1 Evaluating the capabilities of Logistic Model Tree in predicting the occurrence probability of daily precipitation 33 42 FA Fatemeh Mikaeili University of Tabriz Saeed Samadianfard University of Tabriz Due to the location of Iran in arid and semi-arid regions and the inhomogeneous distribution of precipitation, predicting the occurrence of precipitation is important, therefore, researchers are implementing novel methods to identify and predict this parameter accurately. Thus the purpose of the current study is to investigate the capabilities of Logistic Model Tree (LMT) in predicting the occurrence of daily precipitation at Parsabad station using 1 to 3-day meteorological data. For this purpose, meteorological data for 2004-2016 were collected, and three combined scenarios of meteorological parameters were considered for calibration and validation of the studied method. The results showed that the prediction accuracy of the best-case scenario using the data from 2 days ago was about 79%, however, with the data from 1 and 3 days ago, the daily precipitation was with 80% prediction accuracy. Finally, by investigating the evaluation criteria, scenario 1 with the input parameters of minimum, maximum and average relative humidity (%), temperature (oC), total sunshine hours, and wind speed (m/s) was determined as the most accurate scenario to predict daily precipitation.

Iranian Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Iranian Journal of Rainwater Catchment Systems 2423-5970 8 2 2020 10 1 The Impact of rainwater harvesting systems in increasing the soil moisture in soil profile of Ahram rainfed gardens in Bushehr province 43 52 FA Ali Jafari Research Organization Mohammad Roghani Research Organization Integrated methods to store precipitation when it is not sufficient to cause floods will provide suitable conditions for improving the vegetation of floodplains. In this study, the application of rainwater harvesting systems in combination with the performance of flood distribution networks and its impact on increasing the moisture storage in soil profile were investigated. Therefore, while using rainwater catchment systems in three treatments, including control, cement coating, and plastic-gravel in three replications, the effect of each treatment was also studied. In this research, the role and efficiency of rainwater catchment systems in improving the soil moisture status of flood spreading areas to establish and develop productive vegetation were investigated. Furthermore, the SPSS software was used to compare the average percentage of soil moisture in different treatments of rainwater catchment systems. The Duncan test was used to compare the experimental treatment means. In terms of moisture content, the results between the plastic-gravel treatment (with an average of 19.73%) and the cement coating treatment (with an average of 20%) were not significant at one percent significance level, however, these two treatments showed a significant advantage at one percent significance level compared to the control treatment (with an average of 14.56%). The results of this research, while improving the quality of the performance of the mentioned systems, help managers to persuade users to actively participate in these projects. In examining the cost of implementing the rainwater catchment system with cement coating and plastic-gravel, the system with the plastic-gravel is recommended due to lower cost. Also, the use of gravel filters in these systems has a significant effect on increasing and storing soil moisture in the root development of rainfed trees and pasture plants, so the use of gravel filters in sloping areas is recommended.

Iranian Rainwater Catchment Systems Association Iranian Journal of Rainwater Catchment Systems 2423-5970 8 2 2020 10 1 Feasibility study and construction of an underground dam in the Daryan watershed (Case Study Mashnaq Underground Dam) 53 65 FA ahad habibzadeh AREEO     The water crisis in arid and semi-arid regions is a limiting factor for human activities and sustainable agricultural development. One of the new solutions in this field is the construction of underground dams. Underground dams compared to conventional dams that store river water in open reservoirs; block the subsurface flow of water in the cross-section of the river and store it under the riverbed. In these dams, water losses through evaporation are controlled and the possibility of environmental pollution is minimal. In the present study, the feasibility of constructing an underground dam in the seasonal Meshnaqchai River for agricultural water harvesting has been studied. After basic studies, the main location was finalized with geophysical and geotechnical studies. In the main axis of the dam, the width of the bed is 130m and the alluvial thickness in the location of the axis and the lake of the dam is 14m and 22m, respectively. The cross-sectional design of the dam is trapezoidal and consists of fine-grained materials in the dam core and a filter layer with a thickness of one meter in the dam shell. The length of the dam crown is 160.30m and its height in the center of the dam axis is 15m. By moving towards the sides of the river, the depth of the bedrock decreases, and the depth of the dam decreases accordingly. The area of the aquifer, including the 5% slope of the river, is 39,000 square meters. By calculating the depth of alluvium, the volume of the reservoir is 546,000 cubic meters and according to the total porosity of alluvial deposits (35%), it is possible to harvest 163,800 cubic meters of water of the aquifer. The purpose of this study is to assess the feasibility of constructing underground dams in coarse-grained alluvial rivers to manage floods in watersheds. By achieving this goal, the problem of the agricultural, sanitary, and drinking water supply in Meshnaq village will be solved.