Simultaneous optimization of parameters influencing organic mulch test using response surface methodology

Abstract

Wind erosion could be regarded as one of the most important phenomena especially in arid lands in the globe, which destroys vast areas with its rapid growth. Due to global droughts and climate change, vegetation is weakened and soil particles are more easily exposed to wind erosion. Today, various methods have been developed to control wind erosion. One of the most commonly used methods is the use of mulch. Mulch has several types (physical-chemical). The purpose of this research is to make organic mulch with inexpensive and available compounds to prevent environmental pollution as well as preventing wind erosion. For this purpose, Chaff, Manure, Biosolids and Black Strap mixture were used. The surface response method (RSM) was utilized to perform the relevant tests and create optimal situation. In this study, the central composite design (CCD) in RSM modeling was applied to make the optimal experimental conditions of erosion and penetration resistance. The effect of concentration of Chaff, Manure, Biosolids and Black Strap, was evaluated in erosion and penetration resistance and each variable was coded at five levels. The optimum values for penetration resistance of 1.8 (kg/cm 2) for Chaff, Manure, Biosolids, and Black Strap, were 11.32, 15.72, 19.23 and 4.37 g, respectively. Also, the optimum values of mulch combination for wind erosion of 1.8 kg/cm 2 for Chaff, Manure, Biosolids, and Black Strap, were 12.49, 19.95, 16.71 and 7.15 g, respectively. By increasing the use of these compounds, adhesion and erosion resistance increased and more consumption of Black Strap had a reverse effect. This was due to the loosing of soil particles and creating exponential mode in graphs. According to the results, no particular distinction was found between predicted data by Design-Expert software and experimental data and simulation results can be expressed reliably. One of the environmental problems in the arid and desert areas of the world that operates externally is the wind erosion and its consequences, such as dust storms and the displacement of massive masses of sand 1-3. Dust storms destroy lands, reduce visibility (dust concentrations in some cases reach 6 g/m 3), and cause the spread of radioactive materialals 4. The Greenhouse Effect 5 leads to the transport of salt and chemical substances (herbicides) to the atmosphere, and increases respiratory problems 6,7. Over the half past century, various materials have been evaluated to find suitable stabilizers for controlling wind erosion 8. One common method for controlling the movement of sand is mulching over its surface 1. The word "mulch" in English means "cover". These materials cover the soil surface as a thin coating and protect soil, water, and plants from damage. This term is more often referred to as soil cover by organic materials such as straw, chaff, plant leaves, and sometimes animal Manures and similar substances. Mulch refers to natural or artificial materials that protect the soil from the damage of various factors such as wind and rain 9. Mulch reduces wa...

Short-term effect of oil-mulch on vegetation dynamic; Integration of ecological and remote sensing-based approaches

“…These positive effects of oil-mulch treatment have probably resulted from three mechanisms include 1) stabilizing effects on sand dunes (Wuddivira et al, 2013), 2) decreasing water evaporation and preserving available soil moisture (Kowsar et al, 1969;Mulumba and Lal, 2008;Liu et al, 2020) and 3) increasing the rate of seedling survival (Akbarian and Mosavi, 2006) and germination (Farahpour et al, 2005;Jafarian, 2006). Arid and semi-arid regions are known as water-limited areas (Shojaei et al, 2020), and thereby, soil moisture is an important factor that controls the seedling germination, survival, and growth (Zhenghu et al, 2004). It has been reported that oil-mulch treatment could provide more benefits in encouraging seed germination than other tested sand stabilizers (Farahpour et al, 2005), mainly due to the presence of more soil moisture and temperature.…”

“…Mulches are natural or artificial materials and are used to protect the soil from the damage of various factors such as wind and rain (Refahi, 2009). Oil (petroleum) mulch (hereafter oil-mulch) is one of the high-cost chemical mulches which can be sprayed over sand dunes to assist with re-vegetation (Amiraslani and Dragovich, 2011) and referes to oil products which are made of hydrocarbon mixtures and are used to cement sand particles (more details in Shojaei et al, 2020). Application or spraying of oil-mulches on the degraded and exposed soil to erosion reduces water evaporation (Chen et al, 2007), resulting in soil moisture manitenance and preventing sudden temperature changes (Ramakrishna et al, 2006).…”

“…Application or spraying of oil-mulches on the degraded and exposed soil to erosion reduces water evaporation (Chen et al, 2007), resulting in soil moisture manitenance and preventing sudden temperature changes (Ramakrishna et al, 2006). Also, oil-mulches facilitate plant establishment and growth conditions and, therefore, increase fertilization and soil productivity (Shojaei et al, 2020). For example, Jafarian (2006) reported that in the oil-mulched area in the central part of Iran in Kermen province, the germination ofHaloxylon persicum was nearly three times greater than that found in untreated surfaces.…”

Performance Evaluation and Optimization of Dyes Removal using Rice Bran-Based Magnetic Composite Adsorbent

“…To show the full impacts of adsorption, RSM can be used to maximize or minimize the output response and analyze the factor interactions [32]. The adsorption performance was optimized by CCD based on RSM.…”

Application of Chemometrics Into Removal of Dyes by NaX Nanozeolites: Simultaneous Model

“…To achieve optimal conditions by this method, the tests must be repeated for all factors, which leads to a very large increase in the number of tests. In order to cope with the limitations, various experimental design methods based on mathematical and statistical techniques have been developed, including the Taguchi method and response surface methodology (RSM) [34,35]. Taguchi method includes experimental design method to determine the effect of factors on the response and to obtain the optimal process conditions.…”