Note: Intro -- Preface -- Contents -- Land Degradation -- Land Use Land Cover Mapping in Support of Land Degradation Mapping Using Tree-Based Classifiers -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Study Area -- 3 Methodology -- 4 Land Cover Land Use Maps -- 5 Evaluation of the Results -- 6 Discussions -- 7 Conclusions -- 8 Recommendations -- References -- Detection of Anthropogenic and Environmental Degradation in Mongolia Using Multi-Sources Remotely Sensed Time Series Data and Machine Learning Techniques -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Study Area -- 3 Data and Methods -- 3.1 Remotely Sensed Data -- 3.2 Meteorological Data -- 3.3 Training Samples -- 3.4 Methods -- 4 Results -- 4.1 Meteorological Data Time Series Analysis -- 4.2 Land Cover Classification Derived from Landsat Data -- 4.3 Change Detection Analysis -- 5 Discussions -- 6 Conclusions -- 7 Recommendations -- References -- Assessment of Land Degradation Vulnerability Using GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Analysis in Zakho District, Kurdistan Region of Iraq -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Material and Methods -- 2.1 Case Study -- 2.2 Data Collection and Preparation -- 2.3 Weighting Criteria -- 2.4 Aggregating Criteria -- 3 Results and Discussion -- 3.1 Physical Land Degradation Vulnerability -- 3.2 Chemical Degradation Vulnerability -- 3.3 Land Degradation Vulnerability -- 4 Conclusions -- 5 Recommendations -- References -- Evaluation of Geo-hazard Induced by Zarand Earthquake in Central Iran Using Thermal Remote Sensing Data and GIS -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Study Area -- 3 Materials and Method -- 3.1 Satellite Data Acquisition -- 3.2 Satellite Data Analysis -- 3.3 Detection of LST Variation -- 4 Results and Discussion -- 4.1 LST Variation Prior to Earthquake for 2005 -- 4.2 Correlation Between MODIS LST and In-Situ Air Temperature -- 4.3 Comparisons of 2005 LST with 2004 and 2007 LSTs -- 4.4 Air Temperature Anomaly. , 5 Conclusions -- 6 Recommendations -- References -- Environmental Control of the Sand Dunes in Iraq -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Aeolian Hazards -- 3 Migration of Sand Dunes -- 4 Hazards of Sand Dunes in Iraq -- 5 Methodology -- 5.1 Field Work -- 5.2 Geological Maps of Iraq -- 5.3 Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques -- 6 Conclusions -- 7 Recommendations -- References -- Amu Darya Dynamics in Afghanistan Using Remote Sensing Data -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 River Channel Dynamics -- 1.2 Remote Sensing and River Dynamics -- 2 Study Area -- 3 Google Earth Engine Classification -- 4 Results -- 5 Discussion -- 6 Conclusions -- 7 Recommendations -- References -- A New Method for Land Degradation Assessment in the Arid Zone of Republic of Kazakhstan -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Study Area -- 2.1 Physiography of the Arid Zone of Kazakhstan -- 3 Material and Methods -- 3.1 Field Data -- 3.2 Remote Sensing Data -- 4 Results -- 5 Discussion -- 6 Conclusions -- 7 Recommendations -- References -- Land Degradation Issues in Uzbekistan -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Climatic Condition of the Country -- 3 Land Degradation in Uzbekistan -- 4 Effects of Climate Change Phenomena -- 5 Short Overview on the Aral Sea -- 6 Main Priorities of the Soil Science Development in Uzbekistan -- 7 Innovative Technologies for the Prevention of Soil Degradation -- 8 Conclusions -- 9 Recommendations -- References -- Soil Degradation and Environmental Contamination -- Soil Erosion Catastrophe in Iraq-Preview, Causes and Study Cases -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Preview of Soil Erosion in Iraq -- 3 The Climate of Iraq -- 4 Soil Erosion Concepts -- 4.1 Water Erosion -- 4.2 Types of Water Erosion -- 4.3 Quantifying Water Erosion -- 4.4 Solving Water Erosion Equation (USLE) -- 4.5 Study Cases of Soil Erosion by Water in Iraq -- 5 Wind Erosion -- 5.1 Prediction of Soil Loss by Wind Erosion. , 5.2 Study Cases of Wind Erosion in Iraq -- 5.3 The Need for a Soil Conservation Foresight in Iraq -- 6 Conclusions -- 7 Recommendations -- References -- Assessment of Aircraft Noise Pollution on Students' Performance -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Methods -- 2.1 Data Collection -- 2.2 Statistical Analysis and Model Development -- 2.3 Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Samples -- 3 Data Analysis and Discussion -- 4 Conclusion and Limitations -- References -- Role of Effective Factors on Soil Erosion and Land Degradation: A Review -- 1 Introduction to Land Degradation -- 2 Environmental Destruction -- 3 Soil Erosion -- 3.1 The Importance of Erosion -- 3.2 Types of Erosion -- 4 Land Degradation Sources -- 4.1 Natural: Geography, Topography, and Climate -- 4.2 Anthropogenic -- 5 Conclusions and Recommendation -- References -- Cadmium Fractionation Technique as a Chemical Degradation Indicator for Some Soils Near Diyala River in Iraqi Center -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Materials and Methods -- 2.1 Study Area -- 2.2 Samples Preparation and Analysis -- 2.3 Physio-chemical Properties of Soils -- 2.4 Extraction of Cadmium -- 3 Results and Discussion -- 3.1 Physio-chemical Properties of Soils -- 3.2 Available Phase-Soluble and Exchangeable -- 3.3 Bound to Carbonates -- 3.4 Bound to Oxides -- 3.5 Bound to Organic Matter -- 3.6 Bound to Residue -- 3.7 Total Concentration of Cadmium Ions -- 3.8 Physio-chemical Pathway of Cadmium Ions in Soil -- 4 Conclusions -- 5 Recommendations -- References -- Land Degradation Due to MSW Dumping and Sanitary Landfilling: Iraq as a Case Study -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Sanitary Landfill -- 2.1 Identifications -- 2.2 Comparison Between Open Dumping and Sanitary Landfilling -- 2.3 Types of Sanitary Landfills -- 2.4 Waste Stabilization in Landfills -- 2.5 Planning and Operation. , 2.6 Design and Site Selection of Sanitary Landfilling -- 2.7 Estimation of Capacity, Volume, Area and Decomposition Rate -- 2.8 Estimation of Required Land Areas for Existing and Proposed Landfills in Iraq -- 2.9 Analysis of Estimated Areas Used for Existing and Future Landfills in Iraq -- 2.10 Landfills Impacts -- 3 Published Literature and Research Works on Landfilling -- 4 Up-to-Date Technologies of Waste Management and Treatment -- 5 Conclusions -- 6 Recommendations -- References -- RUSLE Model in the Northwest Part of the Zagros Mountain Belt -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Case Study -- 3 Methodology -- 3.1 Data and Software -- 3.2 RUSLE Model Description -- 4 Estimation of RUSLE and Its Parameters -- 4.1 R Factor -- 4.2 K Factor -- 4.3 LS Factor -- 4.4 C Factor -- 4.5 P Factor -- 4.6 Prediction of Soil Erosion -- 5 Conclusions -- 6 Recommendations -- References -- Changes in the Water Quality of Large Rivers in the Asian Part of Russia from the Standpoint of Achieving Sustainable Development Goals -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Global and National Approaches to Water Quality Evaluation Within the Context of Sustainable Development Goals Achievement -- 2 Materials and Methods -- 3 Results -- 4 Discussion -- 5 Conclusions -- 6 Recommendation -- References -- A Sustainable Way for Fish Health Management by Replacement of Chemical and Drugs by Earthworm -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Causative Agent for Fish Diseases -- 2.1 Bacterial Diseases -- 2.2 Fungal Diseases of Fish -- 2.3 Viral Diseases of Fish -- 2.4 Parasitic Diseases of Fish -- 3 Drugs or Chemicals Used to Cure Fish Diseases -- 4 Impact of Drugs/Chemicals -- 4.1 Bio-Magnification -- 4.2 Adverse Effects of Antibiotics -- 5 Therapeutic Properties of Earthworms -- 5.1 Earthworms as a Source of Biologically Active Molecules -- 5.2 Anticarcinogenic Property -- 5.3 Skin Wound Healing -- 5.4 Antipyretic Property. , 5.5 Antioxidative Property -- 5.6 Antiulcer Property -- 5.7 Anti-Inflammatory Property -- 5.8 Hepato-Protective Property -- 5.9 Analgesic Properties -- 6 Immune System of Earthworm -- 6.1 First Line of Defense -- 6.2 Cellular Defense Mechanism -- 6.3 Humoral Defense Mechanism -- 7 Role of Earthworm to Control Fish Diseases -- 8 Different Method/Strategies to Use Earthworm -- 9 Comparative Study of Treated and Untreated Fish -- 10 Conclusions -- 11 Future Prospective -- References -- Climate Change and Human Activities in Nine Chapters -- Integration of Field Investigation and Geoinformatics for Urban Environmental Quality Appraisal of Bankura Town, West Bengal, India -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Study Area -- 3 Materials and Methods -- 4 Results and Discussion -- 5 Conclusions -- 6 Recommendations -- References -- Urban Heat Island Under the Background of Urbanization: A Case Study in Nan Jing City, China -- 1 Introduction -- 2 The Surface Heat Island -- 3 Materials and Methods -- 3.1 Study Area -- 3.2 Materials and Preprocessing -- 3.3 Study Methods -- 4 Results -- 4.1 Urbanization Process and Land Cover Changes in Nanjing -- 4.2 The Variation of LST Zones -- 4.3 Spatial Autocorrelation of LST Zones -- 4.4 Driving Factors Analysis -- 5 Discussions -- 6 Conclusions -- 7 Recommendations -- References -- Optimization of Ecological Environment Sensor Network Sites with Multiple Monitoring Targets -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Study Area and Data -- 2.1 Study Area -- 2.2 Data Description -- 3 Methodology -- 3.1 Trend Modeling -- 3.2 Optimize the Target -- 3.3 Sampling Method -- 3.4 Optimization Algorithm -- 3.5 Entropy -- 3.6 Distribution Adjustment -- 4 Results and Discussion -- 4.1 Number of Optimization Sites -- 4.2 Spatial Trend Optimization -- 4.3 Combine Objective Optimization Result -- 4.4 Sampling Comparison of SRS, SCS and UCK -- 4.5 Discussion. , 5 Conclusions.