Ecosystems provide humans with services that include benefits from food, fresh water, climate regulation, and socio-economic assets. The Mesopotamian marshlands are among the largest wetlands in the Middle East and they provide various benefits. However, ecosystem services of the Marshlands are consistently undervalued in national economic analysis and decision making. This study focusses on the Central Marshes, the first National Park in Iraq, and is the first attempt at valuing a series of ecosystem services from a valuable natural ecosystem in Iraq. We adopted the Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-Based Assessment (TESSA) for the determination of biophysical and economic values of services at the site level. Data on key ecosystem services (as determined by 30 interviews with residents of the Marshes) included the trading of fish, harvested plants, water buffalo milk, and fodder were collected across six months in 2014. We valued the ecosystem services within the CM (40,000 ha) over a 6-month period to have a total value of 860,078.23 USD. This estimated total value was the sum of 86,637.25 USD from harvested plants, 551,334.80 USD from trading fish, 167, 303.70 USD from trading water buffalo milk, and 54,804.00 USD from trading fodder. The average income per individual in Iraq in 2014 was 6720 USD (World Bank data - https://data.worldbank.org/country/iraq): thus, the CM provided an average salary for 256 people. Our results provided greater understanding of the ecosystem services contributed by the Central Marshes and has highlighted the crucial role of nature in supporting sustainable well-being for humans living in the area. In addition, the results can be used to enhance local policy, to aid management plans of the National park, and to estimate lost and damage that could result from impact of climate change on the area.
The Web Design Quality Index, known as WDQI, was applied to assess the quality of websites for six Iraqi universities, namely Basra University, Mosul, Muthanna, Samarra, Dijla University College, and Al-Isra University College. The results of the index showed that the universities of Basra and Dijla University College had the highest value, at 71.07 and 70.39, respectively. Its final evaluation metric was that the website of these two universities needed a slight improvement. As for the rest of the other universities, the final values of the index ranged from 64.72-69.71. When the final values of the index are displayed on the final evaluation scale, it appears that the websites of the four universities need many improvements. The study
... Show MoreMany biochemical and physiological properties depend on the size of ions and the thermodynamic quantities of ion hydration. The diffusion coefficient (D) of lanthanide (III) ions (Ln+3) in solution assumed (1.558-1.618 ×10−9 m2 s−1) by Einstein–Smoluchowski relation. The association constant (KA) of Ln+3 ions was calculated (210.3-215.3 dm3 mole-1) using the Shedlovsky method, and the hydrodynamic radius calculated (1.515-1.569 ×10−10 m) by the Stokes-Einstein equation. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔGo, ΔSo) also calculated by used suitable relations, while ΔHo, values are obtained from the lit
... Show Morethe behavior of the first-order black and gray solitons propagtedin optical fiber in the presence of frequency chirp is studied analytically and numerically results show that phase profile of black solitons changes abruptly
The adsorption isotherms and kinetic uptakes of CO2 were measured. Adsorption isotherms were measured at two temperatures 309 K and 333 K and over a pressure range of 1 to 7 bar. Experimental data of CO2 adsorption isotherms were modeled using Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin. Based on coefficient of correlation it was found that Langmuir isotherm model was well suited with the experimental data of CO2 adsorption isotherms. In addition, Adsorption kinetic of CO2 mixture with N2 containing 10 % by volume CO2 and 90 % by volume N2 were determined in a temperature 36 °C and under the atmospheric pressure .When the flow rate was increased from
... Show MoreJudo has witnessed tremendous developments since its inception until the present day. It has been distinguished by its adaptation to the various challenges it has faced throughout the ages. Judo is one of the sports that have been affected by social, technological and cultural changes. These changes reflect its transformation from the traditional Japanese martial art to a global sport practiced. All over the world, therefore, studying the historical development of judo is important, as it provides valuable insights into the development of martial arts over a century, by studying the origins, principles and techniques of judo for the period (1880 - 1980), and also enables us to gain an understanding A deeper understanding of how the art form
... Show MoreThe present article delves into the examination of groundwater quality, based on WQI, for drinking purposes in Baghdad City. Further, for carrying out the investigation, the data was collected from the Ministry of Water Resources of Baghdad, which represents water samples drawn from 114 wells in Al-Karkh and Al-Rusafa sides of Baghdad city. With the aim of further determining WQI, four water parameters such as (i) pH, (ii) Chloride (Cl), (iii) Sulfate (SO4), and (iv) Total dissolved solids (TDS), were taken into consideration. According to the computed WQI, the distribution of the groundwater samples, with respect to their quality classes such as excellent, good, poor, very poor and unfit for human drinking purpose, was found to be
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