The impact assessment method seeks to bring about a more ecologically, socio-culturally and economically sustainable and equitable environment. Determining the main factors affecting the attitudes of stakeholders is crucial for understanding the impacts of development plans. This approach helps planners and decision makers to identify the values and traits of stakeholders and accelerate the diffusion of innovations through designing proper incentives and removing available obstacles. The purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting laser land levelling project impacts in Fars Province, Iran. The sample included 285 farmers who were selected using multi-stage random sampling. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were measured and revisions were made to improve measurement scales. The results of structural equation modelling indicated that reduction in water consumption was the most important variable which affected the recognition of impacts among laser land levelling adopters. Furthermore, laser land levelling impacts as dependent variables were influenced by the direct effect of the duration of adoption, attitude towards water and soil conservation, need perception and attitude toward prior projects. Based on the results, practical recommendations have been presented.

Cu smelting has had a severe impact on the environment around the town of Karabash, Russia. Dispersion modelling has been carried out to estimate atmospheric fallout of metals and metalloids (henceforth termed metals for brevity) from the copper smelter, calibrated and ground-truthed using metal concentrations in transplanted and naturally growing lichens.Lichens (Hypogymnia physodes) were transplanted in June 2011 from a relatively little impacted ‘reference site’ to stations in NE–SW and W–E transects centred on the smelter at Karabash. The transplants were removed during September 2011 and then analysed for As, Cu and Pb. The results were compared with deposition loads estimated using TAPM modelling which was carried out for particles of various sizes, and with simple chemistries, and with the smelter conceptualised as a continuously emitting point source.Variation in the ratio of lichen divided by modelled concentrations was lowest for Pb, ranging from 30.3 to 939.9 and 4.9–107.8 for PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, across eight sample points.The TAPM modelling is in agreement with previous studies that smelter emissions are the major source of environmental Pb deposition around Karabash. Further modelling will be required to determine whether the Pb in the lichens is largely sourced from current smelter airborne emissions or windblown soil particles containing historic additions of Pb.

A comprehensive evaluation index system is established in this study, and evaluation and comparison of resource and environmental carrying capacity from 2005 to 2012 are conducted from four aspects, namely, land, water resource, transportation and environment. Research results show that from 2005 to 2012, the carrying capacity of the 10 main urban agglomerations increased, except for the wing of Beijing and Tianjin urban agglomeration. A significant difference in carrying capacity was observed. Among the top 10 urban agglomerations, the resource and environmental carrying capacity of the eastern region is the highest, followed by that of the central region. The resource and environmental carrying capacity of the western region is the lowest. Traffic capacity, circular economy development level, water resource consumption, and industrial pollution emission are the main reasons for the difference in resource and environmental carrying capacity.

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an important technique to ensure that possible effects of developmental projects have been fully identified and calculated for environment, and also its main purpose is accurate predicting, identifying and analysing the all positive and negative impacts on the natural and human environment. Assessment of the environmental impact requires a method or methods to do it. Due to the lack of sufficient knowledge, potential effects of projects are qualitative for nature, and they cannot be numerical exactly. One way to overcome this problem is using different types of uncertainty on EIA process. The theory of D numbers is a new provision of unreliable information and it is developed version of Dempster-Shafer theory. In this research, an assessment of environmental impact arising from the construction and operation of Ghomeishlou highway has been evaluated using D theory of numbers.