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Name: Dr. Mazhar Iqbal Zafar
Designation: Associate Professor
Department: Environmental Sciences


Qualifications: Ph.D: Environmental Risk Assessment of Pesticides (ERA)
Department of Aquatic Ecology & Water Quality Management Group (AEW)
Wageningen University and Alterra Research Centre,
Wageningen, Netherlands
(www.wur.nl/university)

M.Sc. (Hons.) : Agri- Entomology, Ecotoxicology
Department of Agricultural Entomology
University of Agriculture; Faisalabad (UAF)


Phone: +92-51 9064-4182
Email: mzafar@qau.edu.pk
Status: On Job
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Research Interests Publications Conferences Research Projects

  1. Chemical Stress Ecology, Aquatic (Eco)-Toxicology & Pollution (ATP)
  2. Environmental Risk Assessment of Chemicals- ERA (Pesticides)
  3. Fate of Pesticides in Environment (Insecticides, Herbicides, Fungicides)       
  4. Environmental Fate, Exposure & Effect of Emerging Organic Contaminants of Concern
  5. Ecological Impacts of Pesticides on Freshwater Ecosystems
  6. Effects of Pesticides on Macro-invertebrates, Zooplankton &  Phytoplankton and their Identification
  7. Environmental Toxicology & Freshwater Sciences (Limnology)
  8. Agricultural Sciences with respect to Agriculture-Entomology
  9. Ecotoxicology and Pesticides Use in Pakistan (Asia & South Asia)
  10. Semi-field tests (Microcosm and Mesocosm Experiments)   

      

The research focus of Chemical Stress Ecology & Aquatic Toxicology laboratory (CSE) is to perform an aquatic risk assessment of pesticide use, promoting the safe use of pesticides by farmers to ensure sustainable agriculture. Research group of this laboratory aims at investigating the effects of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) on freshwater invertebrate species and communities. Protection of non-target organisms from the potential effects of agricultural pesticides is the aim of risk assessment procedure. Humans have changed the structure and functioning of the world’s ecosystems more rapidly, largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, and fresh water etc. Hence, modern agriculture practices rely on the usage of synthetic pesticides (e.g. insecticides, herbicides and fungicides) in order to reduce crop losses due to pest and disease to achieve higher crop yields. Pesticides applied in crops may enter water bodies adjacent to agricultural fields, via different entry routes such as spray drift, agricultural run-off, leaching and/or drainage. Given the fact that they are inherently designed to harm biota, therefor, pesticides may pose risk to a range of aquatic organisms. These contaminations may have undesirable impacts on the ecology of freshwater ecosystems. In order to prevent unacceptable, adverse effects on non-target aquatic communities of natural aquatic ecosystems, the evaluation of these effects is considered to be major challenge now days as well as part of the registration procedure of pesticides. Protecting the biological community of fresh waters, it is essential to assess the potential risks associated with PPPs to aquatic ecosystems.

Sadia Wahid, Muhammad Zeeshan Majeed, Muhammad Asam Riaz, Muhammad Afzal, Mazhar Iqbal Zafar, Sohail Ahmed, Kanwar Shehzad Ahmed and Mehar Zubair Shehzad (2021). Biocidal Activities of Plants from Salt Range of Pakistan against the Subterranean Termite, Odontotermes obesus. Biopesticides International, 17(1):41-49.

Saleem K, Iqbal A, Mirza CR, Butt TA, Toqeer M, Yousaf S, Zafar MI, Iqbal M*. 2021. Role of Trametes hirsute on Petuniahybrida Vilm. in the Presence of Cadmium and Lead. Russian Journal of Plant Physiology. 68, S116-S130.                                                                                                      

Kali, S., Khan, M., Ghaffar, M. S., Rasheed, S., Waseem, A., Iqbal, M. M., Khan Niazi, M. B., & Zafar, M. I. (2021). Occurrence, influencing factors, toxicity, regulations, and abatement approaches for disinfection by-products in chlorinated drinking water: A comprehensive review. Environmental Pollution, 116950.                                                                                                                      

Ismail Zeb, Naveeda Akhter Qureshi, Nargis Shaheen, Mazhar Iqbal Zafar, Abid Ali , Aneeqa Hamid, Syed Aizaz Ali Shah , Asma Ashraf. 2021. Spatiotemporal patterns of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the District Upper and Lower Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan: A GIS-based Spatial Approaches, Acta    Tropica (2021), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016  /j.actatropica.2021.105861.                              

M. Abdullah Khan, Ahad Hussain Javed, Memoona Qammar, Muhammad Hafeez, Muhammad Arshad, Mazhar Iqbal Zafar, Afrah M. Aldawsari, Afzal Shah, Zia ur Rehman, Naseem Iqbal (2020). Nitrogen-rich mesoporous carbon for high temperature reversible CO2 capture. Journal of CO2 Utilization. Volume 43, 101375.                                                                                                       

Aftab N, Saleem K, Khan AHA, Butt TA, Mirza CR, Hussain J, Farooq G, Tahir A, Yousaf S, Zafar MI, Nawaz I, Iqbal M*. 2021. Cosmos sulphureus Cav. is more tolerant to lead than copper and chromium in hydroponics system. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. doi:10.1007/s13762-020-02981-w                                                                                                   

Munawar, K., A. Saleh, M. Afzal, M. Qasim, K. A. Khan, M. I. Zafar, E. I. Khater (2020). Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of anopheline (Anophelinae: Culicidae) mosquitoes of the Oriental and Afrotropical Zoogeographic zones in Saudi Arabia.  Acta Tropica, 105494.       

Malik A, Butt TA, Naqvi STA, Yousaf S, Qureshi MK, Zafar MI, Farooq G, Nawaz I, Iqbal M*. 2020. Lead tolerant endophyte Trametes hirsuta improved the growth and lead accumulation in the vegetative parts of Triticum aestivum L. Heliyon. 6, e04188

Beig, B., M. B. K. Niazi, Z. Jahan, E. Pervaiz, G. Abbas Shah, M. U. Haq, M. I. Zafar, M. Zia (2020). Slow-Release Urea Prills Developed Using Organic and Inorganic Blends in Fluidized Bed Coater and Their Effect on Spinach Productivity. Sustainability, 12(15), 5944.                                            

Iqbal, M. M., T. Naz, M. I. Zafar, M. Imtiaz, O. Farooq, A. U. Rehman, S. Ali, M. Rizwan, S. Hussain, W. Javed, G. Murtaza, M. Afzal, A. Mahmood, S. M. Mehdi, M. A. Sarwar, G. D. Laing (2020). Green remediation of saline–sodic Pb‑factored soil by growing salt‑tolerant rice cultivar along with soil applied inorganic amendments. Paddy and Water Environment, 18, 637–649.                 

Zafar, M. I.,* S. Kali, M. Ali, M. A. Riaz, T. Naz, M. M. Iqbal, N. Masood, K. Munawar, B. Jan, S. Ahmed, A. Waseem (2020). Dechlorane Plus as an emerging environmental pollutant in Asia: a review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-21.                                                     

Ali, M., M. Majid, I. Hussain, S. Kali, T. Naz, M. B. Niazi, M. R. Khan, M. I. Zafar* (2020). Chlorpyrifos mediated oxidative damage and histopathological alterations in freshwater fish Oncorhynchus mykiss in Northern Pakistan. Aquaculture Research.                                                                  

Neelab, M. R. Asi, S. Kali, M. A. Riaz, A. Waseem, M. M. Iqbal, N. Ahmad, M.  Iqbal, N. Masood, M. I. Zafar* (2020). Comparative efficacy of mitigation techniques for the detoxification of Prunus persica (L.) from selected pesticide residues. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-9.    

Hanif, H., A. Waseem, S. Kali, N. A. Qureshi, M. Majid, M. Iqbal, T.  Ur-Rehman, M. Tahir, S. Yousaf, M. M. Iqbal, I. A. Khan, M. I. Zafar* (2020). Environmental risk assessment of diclofenac residues in surface waters and wastewater: a hidden global threat to aquatic ecosystem. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192(4), 1-12.                                                                                      

Qayyum MA, J Akhtar, F Bashir, T Naz, MM Iqbal, O Farooq, Atique-ur-Rehman, MI Zafar, M Ali, M Imtiaz, MA Sarwar, ZA Saqib, SMA Basra, Z Guoping, Yinglan (2019). Physiological and biochemical characterization of linseed genotypes in response to NaCl stress. International Journal of Agriculture Biology 23:630‒636.

Barzah M., K. Munawar, I. A. Khan, S. Jahan, M. Iqbal, M. R. Asi, A. Farooqi, A Nazli,I. Hussain & M. I. Zafar*. 2019. Stress response and toxicity studies on zebrafish exposed to endosulfan and imidacloprid present in water. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology—AQUA, 718-729.                                                                                                                             

Masood N., A. Farooqi & M. I. Zafar. 2019. Health risk assessment of arsenic and other potentially toxic elements in drinking water from an industrial zone of Gujrat, Pakistan: a case study. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 191 (95), 1573-2959.                                          

Zafar M.I., R.P.A. van Wijngaarden, I. Roessink and P.J. van den Brink. 2011. Effects of time-variable exposure regimes of the insecticide chlorpyrifos on freshwater invertebrate communities in microcosms. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 30 (6): 1383-1394.                              

Zafar M.I., J.D.M. Belgers, R.P.A. van Wijngaarden, A. Master and P.J. van den Brink. 2012. Ecological impacts of time-variable exposure regimes to the fungicide azoxystrobin on freshwater communities in outdoor microcosms. Ecotoxicology 21(4): 1024-1038.                                                            

Mamoona H.N., Hussain, I, and Zafar  M.I. (2015). Classification of Water Quality Index and Identification of Significant Factors. Water Resources Management. 30(12): 4233-4246.    

Farooqi A., M. I. Zafar. 2016. Response to "Co-occurrence of arsenic and fluoride in the groundwater of Punjab, Pakistan: source discrimination and health risk assessment" by Rasool et al. 2015. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 30 (12): 4233-4246                                       

R.P.A. van Wijngaarden., J.D.M. Belgers, M.I. Zafar, A. Master, M.C. Boerwinkle and  G.H.P. Arts. 2014. Chronic Aquatic Effect Assessment for the Fungicide Azoxystrobin. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 33(12): 2775-2785.                                                                                                 

Raza  A ., A. Farooqi, A. Javed, M.I.  Zafar. (2017). Effect of Human Settlements on Surface and Groundwater Quality:Statistical Source Identification of Heavy and Trace Metals of Siran River and its Catchment Area Mansehra, Pakistan. Journal of The Chemical Society Of Pakistan. 39 (03): 296-308.                                                                                                                                                      

A. Ajmal, I. Majeed, R.N. Malik, M. Iqbal, M. Arif Nadeem, I. Hussain, S. Yousuf, Zeshan, G. Mustafa, M.I. Zafar, M. Amtiaz Nadeem. 2016. Photocatalytic degradation of textile dyes on Cu2O-CuO/TiO2 anatase powders. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 4 (2): 2138–2146.            

Book Chapters

S. Ahmed, M.I. Zafar, A. Hussain, M.A. Riaz and M. Shahid. 2011. Evaluation of plant extracts on mortality and tunneling activities of Subterranean Termites in Pakistan. In: Pesticides in the Modern World - Pests control and pesticides exposure and toxicity assessment. Stoytcheva, Margarita (ed.) InTech - Open Access Publisher. pp. 39-51.

K. Fariha, A. Farooqi, M. I. Zafar. 2017. Biodegradation of Xenobiotics in Soil by Fungi. In:  Xenobiotics in the Soil Environment: Monitoring, Toxicity and Management. Soil Biology, Vol 49. pp 235-242. Springer, Cham.

Zafar. MI, M. Ali, A. Farooqi, R.N. Malik, Z. Iqbal, S. Ahmed. 2018.Toxicity Evaluation in Flora and Fauna Exposed to Marine Pollution. Bentham Science Publishers: Vol. 1, pp 256-274.

Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, 45320, Pakistan.
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