Parasitic contamination of surface and deep soil in different areas of Sari in north of Iran

Objective:To study the parasitic contamination of soil in selected areas of Sari,north of Iran.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify all available parasites in surface and deep soil.In this study 580 soil samples(278 deep soil and 302 topsoil samples)from 21 different locations were collected from pathways,parks,greenhouses,estates around the city,cemetery,main squares,farmlands,fenced gardens and seashores.Depending on the soil type,two samples were prepared,from surface and deep soil at the depth of 3 to 5 cm.After performing various stages of preparation,including cleaning and washing,smoothing and flotation,parasitic elements were examined microscopically and quantitative parasite counting was done using a McMaster slide.Results:The results showed that the highest rate of parasitic contamination was related to nematodes larvae(26.11%).Other contaminants such as Entamoeba and Acanthamoeba cysts,vacuolization Blastocystis hominis form,oocyte containing sporocysts,Toxascaris eggs,nematoda larvae,Hymenolepis eggs,Ascaris eggs,Fasciola eggs,hookworm eggs,Toxocara eggs,insects'larvae and other ciliated and flagellated organisms were also observed.The results of this study showed that the highest contamination was found in public garden(25.80%)both in surface(29.30%)and in deep soil(21.12%),while the lowest level of contamination was observed in seashore surface soil(4.90%).Conclusions:The results showed that soil can provide a potential medium for the spread of soil transmitted parasitic diseases in the environment;therefore,preventive programs are needed.

Effect of intervention and type of forest management on quality andquantity characteristics of dead wood in managed and reserve forests: Acase study

We compared the dead wood （DW） conditions of Chesh- meh-sar forest and Sardab forest with different management history, including reserve forest and harvested forest. The First forest took 100% inventory from all the available DW. Also dead trees were compared in terms of species, shape, location and quality of fracture in both forests. Volumes of dead wood in Cheshmeh-sar and Sardab forests were 207.47 and 142.74 m3, respectively. Due to this significant difference, impact on the management level was determined. In Cheshmeh-sar forest, 42% of dead trees were standing and 58% were fallen type while in Sardab forest 38.6% were standing and 61.4% fallen. But the difference was not statis- tically significant l^etween them （p = 0.0587）. In terms of quality, dead trees of hard, soft and hollow had the highest frequency, respectively. However, 71.5% of DW was seen as hard dead in Cheshmeh-sar forest while hard dead trees in Sardab forests were 54.2%. Soft quality degree of dead trees which formed in Cheshmeh-sar and Sardab forest were calcu- lated as 26.6% and 43.4% respectively. Also 30% of the dead trees of Sardab forest were eradicated while in Cheshmeh-sar this amount was reduced to 12%. Due to this significant difference （（P=0/018）, it is concluded that the type of management and human interference are affecting the quality of dead trees and makes us to think the human in- terferences could effect on the ecosystem of touched forests.