Mehdi Zarei
Shiraz University
Network
Latest external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Publication
Featured researches published by Mehdi Zarei.
Bioremediation Journal | 2014
M. Jarrah; Reza Ghasemi-Fasaei; N. Karimian; A. Ronaghi; Mehdi Zarei; S. Mayel
ABSTRACT Lead (Pb) contamination of soils is a widespread problem. Mycorrhizal inoculation and synthetic chelators such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) may be useful for improving phytoremediation efficiency in Pb-contaminated soils. A greenhouse experiment was performed to study the influence of inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF), Glomus mosseae, and addition of EDTA on phytoremediation of Pb by sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) in a calcareous soil. The experiment was a completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement with five levels of Pb, two levels of mycorrhizal treatments, and two levels of EDTA. Inoculation increased root colonization as Pb levels increased, but the addition of EDTA decreased it. Shoot and root dry matter yields increased by inoculation; however, they decreased with EDTA and Pb levels in co-application treatments. Pb concentration in shoots was significantly higher than that in roots, indicating a translocation factor greater than 1. Inoculation or addition of EDTA significantly increased Pb in roots and its translocation to shoots. The uptake index (UI) value increased in co-application of EDTA and AMF and the individual application of them; it is, therefore, concluded that both AMF and EDTA are effective in phytoremediation of Pb by sunflowers in the studied soil.
Bioremediation Journal | 2012
E. Malekzadeh; Hossein Ali Alikhani; G. R. Savaghebi-Firoozabadi; Mehdi Zarei
ABSTRACT A pot experiment was conducted to study the effect of single and co-inoculation of Bacillus mycoides and Micrococcus roseus strains, indigenous to heavy metal (HM)–contaminated soils, on the growth and essential-nutrient and Cd uptake of maize in a soil polluted with 100 and 200 mg Cd kg−1. Increasing Cd levels significantly decreased shoot and root dry weights, and shoot P, Fe, Zn, and Mn uptake. All bacterial treatments significantly increased biomass and shoot nutrient uptake of plant compared with control in the soil polluted with Cd. Inoculation of plants with B. mycoides and consortium of two bacteria significantly increased, whereas M. roseus significantly decreased, shoot and root Cd uptake, and Cd transfer and translocation factors compared with control in Cd-polluted conditions. The results showed that B. mycoides and consortium of two bacteria had an effective role in phytoextraction and M. roseus was the most effective treatment in phytostabilization of Cd.
International Journal of Phytoremediation | 2016
Mahboobeh Bahraminia; Mehdi Zarei; A. Ronaghi; Reza Ghasemi-Fasaei
ABSTRACT A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in phytoremediation of lead (Pb)-contaminated soil by vetiver grass. Experiment was a factorial arranged in a completely randomized design. Factors included four Pb levels (50, 200, 400, and 800 mg kg−1) as Pb (NO3)2, AM fungi at three levels (non mycorrhizal (NM) control, Rhizophagus intraradices, Glomus versiforme). Shoot and root dry weights (SDW and RDW) decreased as Pb levels increased. Mycorrhizal inoculation increased SDW and RDW compared to NM control. With mycorrhizal inoculation and increasing Pb levels, Pb uptake of shoot and root increased compared to those of NM control. Root colonization increased with mycorrhizal inoculation but decreased as Pb levels increased. Phosphorus concentration and uptake in shoot of plants inoculated with AM fungi was significantly higher than NM control at 200 and 800 mg Pb kg−1. The Fe concentration, Fe and Mn uptake of shoot in plants inoculated with Rhizophagus intraradices in all levels of Pb were significantly higher than NM control. Mycorrhizal inoculation increased Pb extraction, uptake and translocation efficiencies. Lead translocation factor decreased as Pb levels increased; however inoculation with AM fungi increased Pb translocation.
Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science | 2014
Mehdi Zarei; Zahra Paymaneh
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi alleviate the unfavorable effects of salinity stress on plant growth. A pot study was conducted to determine the effects of AM fungi and salt on growth and some physiological parameters of Citrus jambheri rootstock. Four levels of salinity (2, 4, 6, and 8 dS m−1 as NaCl) and three mycorrhizal treatments (Glomus etunicatum, Glomus intraradices and non-mycorrhizal (NM) control) were used. As salinity increased, all measured characteristics of plants after 4.5-month growth except Na uptake, proline content, and electrolyte leakage decreased. Shoot dry weight and K uptake were significantly higher in G. intraradices-colonized seedlings than NM controls at all salinity levels. Root dry weight and shoot P uptake were significantly higher in G. etunicatum-colonized seedlings than NM controls at all salinity levels. G. intraradices-colonized seedlings had significantly higher proline content than NM controls and G. etunicatum-colonized seedlings at salinity levels of 4, 6 and 8 dS m−1. The electrolyte leakage percentage was significantly lower in G. intraradices-colonized seedlings than NM controls at all salinity levels. The data demonstrated that mycorrhizal citrus seedlings exhibited greater tolerance to salt stress than NM seedlings and the enhanced proline content seems to be one of the mechanisms involved.
Journal of Plant Nutrition | 2018
Anahita Khosravi; Mehdi Zarei; A. Ronaghi
ABSTRACT In order to study the effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), vermicompost and phosphate sources on the growth and nutrients uptake by lettuce, a greenhouse experiments was conducted. Treatments consisted of PGPR (Pseudomonas fluorescens) (with and without inoculation), vermicompost (0 and 1% w/w) and phosphate sources (control, rock phosphate (RP), tricalcium phosphate and triple super phosphate (TSP) at 25 mg P kg−1 level). Biological fertilizers, RP and TSP significantly increased shoot dry matter (SDM) and some measured nutrients uptake. Co-application of PGPR and RP, in non-vermicompost treatments significantly increased SDM, shoot nitrogen, phosphorus (P), potassium, zinc and manganese uptake rates. Shoot P uptake had no significant difference between TSP and RP treatments. Co-application of PGPR, vermicompost and TSP significantly decreased SDM, which may be due to the P toxic levels in the plant aerial parts and/or the inhibition of the bacterial activities in the rhizosphere soil.
Carbonates and Evaporites | 2017
Esmaeil Nekouei; Mehdi Zarei
Karmustadj salt diapir (KSD) is located in the arid region of southern Iran. The karstic features of the KSD including vertical shafts, sinkholes, caves and brine springs, were investigated in order to characterize groundwater flow system in the diapir. KSD drains by three perennial and several temporary brine springs saturated with respect to halite. Electrical conductivity and chemical composition of three perennial brine springs were measured in wet and dry hydrological seasons. KSD consists of two hydrogeological units of Plug and Glacier districts. A conduit karst flow system is characterized for the Plug district including point recharge through sinkholes and discharge as several temporary brine springs. For the Glacier district, a diffuse flow system is proposed. Rainfall recharged to Glacier district discharges mainly via three brine springs throughout the year. The higher elevation of the springs of the diapir indicates that the elevation of base level of karstification is higher than the surrounding area, i.e. subsurface discharge of brine to the adjacent aquifers is unlikely. In this condition, construction of evaporite basins is proposed to prohibit re-infiltration of the emerged brine of the diapir into the surrounding aquifers which would increase water quality of the aquifers.
Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science | 2014
Sonia Mayel; Reza Ghasemi-Fasaei; N. Karimian; A. Ronaghi; Mehdi Zarei; Mahboube Jarrah
A laboratory study was performed to investigate the influence of soil texture (sandy loam vs. clay loam), Pb supply (as Pb(NO3)2 without or with compost) and Pb levels on the extraction of available Pb by diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) and its desorption patterns at ten shaking periods. The soils were polluted with five Pb levels without or with compost and incubated for 1 month. Kinetic models commonly used to study the release of the nutrients were used in this study. Results showed that Power function model described the pattern of Pb desorption better than other models. The amount of extracted Pb increased as the Pb levels increased and was found to be higher in sandy loam soil treated with Pb without compost than that of clay loam soil treated with Pb with compost. The a value (Pb desorption constant) was the highest in sandy loam soil amended with Pb without compost. The lowest value of a, however, was observed in clay loam soil amended with Pb with compost. The ab coefficient (initial desorption rate of Pb) was higher in sandy loam than clay loam soil, demonstrating higher initial release rates of Pb in the coarser-textured soil. Addition of Pb without compost resulted in a higher increase in ab value in comparison with Pb with compost, in both the soils.
Archive | 2013
Mozhgan Sepehri; Habib Khodaverdiloo; Mehdi Zarei
Pollution of the biosphere by heavy metals (HM) is a global threat that has accelerated dramatically since the beginning of industrial revolution. HMs can accumulate in soil and, in turn, adversely affect the microbial population density and physicochemical properties of soils, leading to the loss of soil fertility and yields of crops. The HMs generally cannot be biologically degraded to more or less toxic products and, hence, persist in the environment. Conventional methods used for metal detoxification produce large quantities of toxic products and are not cost-effective. The use of microorganisms (bioremediation) and plants (phytoremediation) to remediate polluted environments has provided an alternative to conventional methods for the cleaning-up of soils contaminated by metals. Phytoremediation mostly involves the use of metal-hyperaccumulating plants to remove, transform, or stabilize the contaminants, but this technique is time consuming. In other words, plants with exceptionally high metal-accumulating capacity often have a slow growth rate and produce limited amounts of biomass when the concentration of metal in the contaminated soil is very high and toxic. Microorganisms also play important roles in the environmental fate of toxic metals and metalloids with a multiplicity of physicochemical and biological mechanisms affecting transformations between soluble and insoluble phases. Furthermore, by establishing effective relationships with plants, microorganisms are able to induce the chance of success of phytoremediation. Fungi, particularly arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), associated with hyperaccumulating or non-hyperaccumulating plants have repeatedly been demonstrated to alleviate HM stress of plants, although there is a need to completely understand the ecological complexities of their interactions with the host plant and soil system and their better exploitation as consortia in remediation strategies employed for contaminated soils. This chapter provides an overview on the developments in the role of fungi particularly AMF in phytorestoration of HM-contaminated soils.
International Journal of Recycling of Organic Waste in Agriculture | 2018
Mehdi Zarei; Vahid Alah Jahandideh Mahjen Abadi; Ameneh Moridi
PurposeUsing different organic beds to produce vermicompost may influence on quality of vermicompost and its derived productions.MethodsA greenhouse experiment was conducted to compare the properties of vermicompost, vermiwash and vermicompost tea obtained from three types of organic beds consisted of cow manure, leaf meal and a combination of cow manure and leaf meal (1:1 w/w).ResultsCow manure vermicompost had more desirable effect on many measured traits toward leaf meal and combination of leaf meal and cow manure vermicomposts. Vermicompost tea obtained from three vermicompost types was richer in terms of macro and micro nutrients, C/N, percent of organic matter and organic carbon toward the vermiwash produced from the same vermicompost. Vermiwash and vermicompost tea produced from cow manure vermicompost were at first order in majority of measured traits toward others.ConclusionsGenerally vermicompost which was richer in nutrient concentrations affected intensively quality of vermiwash and vermicompost tea produced from it.
Environmental Earth Sciences | 2016
Esmaeil Nekouei; Mehdi Zarei; Ezzat Raeisi
Hormuz salt breaches the surface in 122 diapirs in southern Iran that source brines that generally degrade the groundwater quality in adjacent aquifers. The Karmustadj salt diapir (Larestan, Iran) is surrounded by one karstic and two alluvial aquifers. We use hydrochemical and hydrogeological measurements of brine springs and exploitation wells to investigate the impact of the Karmustadj salt diapir on water quality in its surrounding aquifers. Our study indicates that the Karmustadj salt diapir does not degrade the quality of the adjacent karstic aquifer because impermeable geological formations interrupt the potential hydraulic connectivity between them. By contrast, the diapir does significantly degrade water quality in part of the western alluvial aquifer and all of the eastern alluvial aquifer. Infiltration of surface brines draining from the diapir and discharge from perennial brine springs account for the high salinity of groundwater in the surrounding aquifers.