فهرست مطالب

فصلنامه جغرافیا و پایداری محیط
پیاپی 27 (تابستان 1397)

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1397/06/04
  • تعداد عناوین: 7
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  • علی مهدوی ، سمیه رنگین، حسین مهدی زاده، وحید میرزایی زاده صفحات 1-13
    از آنجا که تغییر کاربری اراضی و تخریب جنگل ها، نشان دهنده ارتباط مستقیم و متقابل انسان و محیط زیست طبیعی آن است، درک بهتر فرایندهای اجتماعی و بیوفیزیکی که ایجادکننده تغییرات و تخریب اراضی هستند، می تواند نقش مهمی در سیاست گذاری و اجرای اقدامات پیشگیرانه و تصمیم ها داشته باشد. به منظور بررسی روند تخریب پوشش جنگلی شهرستان چرداول در استان ایلام، از تصاویر سنجنده های پیمایش گر چندطیفی و تصویربردار عملیاتی زمین ماهواره لندست مربوط به سال های 1366 و 1393 و روش مدل سازی رگرسیون لجستیک استفاده شد. برای بررسی عوامل تخریب، نقشه تغییر پوشش جنگلی با متغیرهای فیزیوگرافی (شیب، جهت و ارتفاع) و انسانی (فاصله از جاده و فاصله از مناطق مسکونی) وارد مدل رگرسیون لجستیک شد. نتایج پژوهش نشان داد طی 27 سال، حدود 82/10332 هکتار از جنگل های شهرستان چرداولتخریب شده است که نشان از کاهش سالانه 67/382 هکتار از سطح جنگل های منطقه دارد؛ همچنین، نتایج مدل سازی نشان داد که متغیر جهت دامنه با دارا بودن بیشترین ضریب تاثیر (7267/0) ، شاید مهم ترین عامل بیوفیزیکی تاثیرگذار بر تخریب جنگل در منطقه مورد مطالعه بوده است؛ پس از آن، به ترتیب متغیرهای شیب و ارتفاع از سطح دریا در تخریب احتمالی جنگل تاثیرگذار بودند. متغیرهای فاصله از روستا و فاصله از جاده هم رابطه معکوس با مقدار تخریب در منطقه مورد مطالعه دارند. ارزیابی مدل رگرسیونی برازش داده شده با شاخص های ویژگی عملیاتی نسبی (معادل 8493/0) وضریب تشخیص کاذب (معادل 2248/0) هم بیانگر قابلیت بالای مدل به منظور توصیف تغییرات و تعیین مناطق مستعد تغییر است. با توجه به سرعت تخریب سالانه جنگل در این منطقه که بیشتر از متوسط جهانی است، در صورت عدم برنامه ریزی پیشگیرانه توسط برنامه ریزان استانی و کشوری، شاید در آینده ای نه چندان دور شاهد پدیده بیابان زایی در شهرستان چرداول باشیم.
    کلیدواژگان: مدل سازی تخریب، رگرسیون لجستیک، تغییرات پوشش، جنگل های زاگرس، ایلام
  • آرمین اخوان، اسماعیل صالحی ، شیرین طغیانی صفحات 15-29
    امروزه مدیریت ترافیک شهری به‎عنوان مهم ترین عامل موثر بر سرزندگیخیابان‎های شهری شناخته شده است؛ اما در کنار آن، سایر عوامل محیطی - کالبدی نیز تاثیر بسزایی بر سرزندگی و کیفیت این نوع عرصه‎های عمومی دارند. در این راستا، پژوهش حاضر با هدف شناسایی و ارزیابی عوامل و مشکلات محیطی - کالبدی موثر بر سرزندگی و کیفیت خیابان‎های شهری و تاثیر آن بر ادراک کاربران خیابان های مورد مطالعه تدوین شد. روش پژوهش حاضر، از نوع متوالی اکتشافی بوده و داده‎های مورد نیاز از روش منابع کتابخانه ای و بررسی های میدانی جمع آوری شده است. جامعه آماری پژوهش را ساکنان، عابران و شاغلان خیابان های نادر و انقلاب شهر ساری تشکیل می دهد. حجم نمونه نیز بر اساس فرمول کوکران، 384 نفر انتخاب شده و داده ها با استفاده از آمارهای توصیفی و ضریب همبستگی اسپیرمن، در نرم افزار اس. پی. اس. اس. ، تحلیل شده اند. یافته های تحقیق بیانگر آن استکه میان کیفیت و سرزندگی خیابان های مورد مطالعه و مشکلات محیطی - کالبدی از قبیل روشنایی ضعیف و نامناسب، کف سازی نامناسب، پوشش گیاهی ناکافی و نامناسب، عرض کم مسیر پیاده، تسهیلات ناکافی برای معلولین، دسترسی نامناسب به حمل و نقل عمومی، فضای پارکینگ ناکافی، ترافیک سنگین سواره، خدمات عمومی و نگهداری ناکافی و نامناسب، رابطه معنی داری وجود دارد و در حقیقت، کیفیت و سرزندگی این خیابان ها، با افزایش این گونه مشکلات، کاهش می یابد؛ همچنین تحلیل ادراک کاربران خیابان نسبت به سرزندگی و کیفیت خیابان ها، نشان دهنده بالاتر بودن میزان سرزندگی در خیابان نادر در مقایسه با خیابان انقلاب است. در بخش نتیجه گیری نیز، راهبرد و سیاست های اجرایی در راستای ارتقاء سرزندگی خیابان های مورد مطالعه ارائه شد.
    کلیدواژگان: سرزندگی، خیابان شهری، خصوصیات محیطی - کالبدی خیابان، خیابان نادر، خیابان انقلاب
  • سیروس قنبری ، مهدی نادریان فر صفحات 31-45
    در سال های اخیر، کاهش یا توقف جریان آب ورودی رودخانه هیرمند به سیستان، وقوع خشک سالی های پی درپی، خشک شدن تالاب هامون، کاهش پوشش گیاهی زمین های مرتبط با روستاها، وجود بادهای 120 روزه و تشدید فرسایش خاک و وقوع طوفان های شن و ماسه و هجوم ماسه های روان به سکونتگاه های روستایی، شرایط بسیار نامطلوب زیست محیطی را بر روستاهای این منطقه حاکم کرده است؛ از سوی دیگر، بر اساس ماده 10 اساس‎نامه تشکیلات و سازمان دهیاری ها، مصوب مورخ 8/12/1380، هیئت محترم دولت، وظایف اصلی دهیار به منظور توسعه پایدار روستا، بهبود وضع زیست محیطی (بند اول و هفتم اساس‎نامه) ، بهداشت محیط روستا (بند چهاردهم، بیستم و چهل و چهارم) و حفظ منابع آب (بند بیست و سوم و چهارم) است؛ بنابراین، پژوهش حاضر در نظر دارد عملکرد دهیاری ها را در پایداری محیطی روستاهای بخش مرکزی شهرستان نیمروز، مورد بررسی قرار دهد. جامعه آماری پژوهش، شامل تمامی روستاهایی است که دارای دهیاری (32 روستا) است و روستاهای نمونه، شامل روستاهایی است که حداقل 5 سال از مجوز تاسیس دهیاری سپری شده باشد. بر این اساس، 18 روستا مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است که با توجه به تعداد خانوارهای ساکن در آنها و با استفاده از فرمول کوکران، از تعداد 271 سرپرست خانوار، پرسشگری به‎عمل آمد. برای تجزیه و تحلیل داده ها، با استفاده از مدل تحلیل سلسله‎مراتبی فازی و به کارگیری تکنیک ترکیب وزنی در محیط جی. آی. اس. و از روش های آماری تحلیل واریانس یک طرفه و آزمون همبستگی کندال در نرم افزار اس. پی. اس. اس استفاده شده است. بر اساس یافته های پژوهش، در 22% روستاهای مورد مطالعه، عملکرد دهیاران در پایداری محیطی در سطح متوسط و در سایر روستاهای مورد مطالعه، ضعیف یا بسیار ضعیف است؛ از دیگر سو، نتایج حاصل از تحلیل های آماری نشان می دهد عملکرد دهیاران تنها در مولفه بهداشت محیط روستا (با میانگین 77/2) در حد تقریبا متوسط و در سایر مولفه ها، پایین تر از حد انتظار است.
    کلیدواژگان: دهیاران، پایداری، محیط زیست، روستا، تحلیل سلسه مراتبی فازی
  • مهدی مومی پور صفحات 47-58
    شوری خاک، به‎دلیل ضعف مدیریت منابع آب وخاک و توسعه ناپایدار کشاورزی رخ داده و موجب کاهش بازدهی خاک می شود. در روش سنتی، شوری خاک با جمع آوری نمونه های میدانی، آنالیز آزمایشگاهی و هدایت الکتریکی آنها اندازه گیری می شود. داده ها و تکنیک های سنجش از دور، روشی موثرتر و اقتصادی تر برای پایش و تهیه نقشه شوری خاک هستند. بازتاب طیفی نمک ها در سطح خاک کاملا شناسایی شده و به عنوان شاخص مستقیم شناسایی خاک های شور در سنجش از دور استفاده می شود. هدف این مطالعه، بررسی تغییرات مکانی و زمانی شوری خاک های سطحی در محدوده شهرستان آبادان است. به این منظور، تصاویر ماهواره ای لندست در بازه زمانی 24 ساله استفاده شده و سه شاخص نسبت آبی به سبز، شاخص نرمال شده شوری خاک و شاخص شوری با استفاده از این تصاویر به دست آمده و مقایسه شده اند. شاخص های مختلف شوری خاک با مدل رگرسیون خطی ارزیابی شده و پارامترهای مدل به دست آمد. بر اساس نتایج رگرسیون، شاخص شوری، بهترین انطباق را با واقعیت میدانی نشان داد (573/0R2=). در بازه زمانی انجام این پژوهش، شوری خاک در برخی نواحی شهرستان کمتر و در برخی نواحی بیشتر شده است. نمی توان با اطمینان و بدون وجود داده های میدانی از شاخص ها استفاده کرد. پژوهش حاضر نشان داد، با اینکه شوری خاک منطقه همچنان بالاست، شوری زمین ها در بیشتر مناطق شهرستان آبادان در بازه زمانی این مطالعه کاهش یافته است؛ اما در برخی نواحی، افزایش شوری به طور موردی است. استفاده از تصاویر ماهواره ای و شاخص های شوری خاک به‎دلیل دید کلی که از وضعیت شوری ارائه می دهد بسیار مفید است، اما باید عدم قطعیت داده ها را در نظر داشت.
    کلیدواژگان: شوری خاک، تصویر ماهواره ای، شاخص های شوری، آبادان، تغییرات زمانی
  • وکیل حیدری ساربان ، سهیلا باختر، مینا زیارتی صفحات 59-74
    بخش کشاورزی، یکی از منابع اصلی اشتغال و تامین درآمد به شمار می رود و پایداری آن، سبب پایداری اقتصاد روستایی و زیست محیطی درون سیستم های کشاورزی و جوامع روستایی می شود. یکی از عوامل موثر بر این امر، سرمایه اجتماعی است؛ چراکه دستیابی به توسعه پایدار، بدون مشارکت، اعتماد و انسجام، امکان پذیر نیست؛ از این رو، پژوهش حاضر با هدف ارزیابی تاثیر سرمایه اجتماعی بر توسعه پایدار کشاورزی در مناطق روستایی انجام شده است. جامعه آماری روستایی، استان کرمانشاه است که از این میان، 84 روستا و 441 نفر به عنوان نمونه انتخاب شد. به منظور گردآوری اطلاعات، از روش های کتابخانه ای و میدانی استفاده شد. برای تحلیل موضوع، چارچوبی از 6 شاخص سرمایه اجتماعی (اعتماد، انسجام و مشارکت) و کشاورزی پایدار (اجتماعی، اقتصادی و زیست محیطی) در قالب 63 گویه تدوین و انتخاب شد. روایی پرسش‎نامه، بر اساس نظر کارشناسان و متخصصین، پس از تغییرات لازم بررسی و تایید شد. پایایی آن نیز با استفاده آلفای کرونباخ محاسبه و میزان پایایی کل آن، 815/0 به دست آمد. نتایج حاصل از یافته های پژوهش بیانگر این است که بین سرمایه اجتماعی و توسعه پایدار کشاورزی، رابطه مثبت و معنی دار وجود دارد. نتایج رگرسیون چندمتغیره نیز نشان داد، مولفه های سرمایه اجتماعی 685/0 از تغییرات توسعه پایدار کشاورزی را تبیین می کنند؛ همچنین، بر اساس نتایج آزمون t تک‎نمونه ای، می توان بیان کرد که شاخص های توسعه پایدار کشاورزی در حد مطلوب قرار ندارد؛ بنابراین، وجود سرمایه اجتماعی در مناطق روستایی، نقش کلیدی و مهمی را در توسعه روستایی داراست؛ زیرا توسعه روستایی با مشارکت، اعتماد و انسجام محلی ایجاد می شود
    کلیدواژگان: سرمایه اجتماعی، توسعه پایدار، پایداری کشاورزی، مناطق روستایی، استان کرمانشاه
  • مسعود عشقی زاده صفحات 75-87
    بیابان زایی، یکی از مهم ترین پدیده های تهدیدکننده، در بسیاری از مناطق خشک و نیمه خشک است. تغییرات اقلیمی و فعالیت های بی رویه انسان ها، سبب افزایش سرعت بیابان زایی و توسعه بیابان در این مناطق شده است. کاربرد شاخص های اکولوژیکی چشم انداز، روشی ساده و کاربردی برای پایش و ارزیابی گسترش بیابان و بیابان زایی است. پژوهش حاضر با هدف بررسی توانایی این شاخص ها در پایش و ارزیابی بیابان زایی در یکی از کانون های اصلی بحران فرسایس بادی در منطقه عمرانی شهرستان گناباد واقع در جنوب خراسان رضوی صورت گرفت. در مرحله اول، نقشه کاربری و پوشش سطح زمین با استفاده از تصاویر ماهواره ای لندست 5 و لندست 8 در دو مقطع زمانی 1366 و 1396 تهیه و نقشه عناصر چشم انداز آنها ترسیم شد؛ سپس مقادیر شاخص های تنوع، غالبیت و تناسب عناصر چشم انداز منطقه مورد مطالعه، برای هر یک از این سال ها محاسبه شد و اختلاف آنها از روش مدل ماتریس مارکو مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. نتایج حاصل نشان داد، سال 1396 نسبت به 1366، مقدار شاخص های تنوع و تناسب به ترتیب، 315/0 و 135/0 افزایش و مقدار شاخص غالبیت، 315/0 کاهش داشته است؛ همچنین مدل ماتریس مارکو نشان داد وسعت اراضی مرتعی، 4/10% کاهش یافته، اما 7/1% بر وسعت تپه های ماسه ای و کفه های رسی بدون پوشش در منطقه مورد مطالعه افزوده شده است که به طور متوسط، مقدار 20 هکتار در سال است. بر این اساس، در صورت رها شدن اراضی آبی در اثر کمبود منابع آبی، بی درنگ بیابان زایی در منطقه شدیدتر شده و اثر قوی و فزاینده چشم اندازهای بیابانی بر روی کل چشم انداز قابل مشاهده خواهد بود.
    کلیدواژگان: بیابان زایی، چشم انداز، تناسب، تنوع، غالبیت
  • حبیب نظرنژاد ، تارا شاه حسین، فرخ اسدزاده صفحات 89-99
    فرسایندگی باران، به عنوان عامل کلیدی موثر بر فرسایش شناخته می شود. آگاهی دقیق از میزان کمی فرسایندگی باران در یک منطقه، به عنوان گام اولیه در مدیریت پایدار خاک و آب محسوب می شود. از نظر کمی، فرسایندگی باران به ویژگی ای از آن اطلاق می شود که دارای بیشترین همبستگی با میزان تلفات خاک باشد. شاخص فورنیه اصلاح شده از مهم ترین شاخص های کمی فرسایندگی باران است که به دلیل محاسبه آسان در مقایسه با سایر شاخص ها، کاربرد گسترده ای در مطالعات فرسایش خاک دارد. این مطالعه، با هدف بررسی تغییرات مکانی و زمانی شاخص فورنیه اصلاح شده در طول دوره آماری 2012-1993 در استان آذربایجان غربی انجام شده است. برای این منظور، از آمار و اطلاعات بارندگی 66 ایستگاه باران سنجی استفاده شده و شاخص های فورنیه اصلاح شده و شاخص تمرکز بارش در منطقه محاسبه و نقشه تغییرات مکانی با استفاده از روش کریجینگ معمولی ترسیم شد. تغییرات شاخص فورنیه در استان بسیار زیاد بوده و در دامنه 22/116-25/28 میلی متر قرار داشت. حداکثر شاخص فورنیه در جنوب غربی و حداقل آن، در شمال شرقی استان مشاهده شد. بر اساس شاخص تمرکز بارش، به طور تقریبی در 20% ایستگاه ها، الگوی نسبتا فصلی و در 80% ایستگاه ها نیز الگوی فصلی از بارش مشاهده شد. شاخص فورنیه اصلاح شده داری همبستگی بسیار قوی با مقدار بارش سالانه (001/0>p ، = r 934/0) بود. با این حال، شاخص فورنیه اصلاح شده و مجموع بارش سالانه، ارتباط معنی داری با شاخص تمرکز بارش نداشت. نتایج پژوهش نشان داد که با حرکت به سمت عرض های جغرافیایی بالاتر، شاخص فورنیه و مقدار بارش سالانه به شکل منظمی کاهش می یابد.
    کلیدواژگان: فورنیه اصلاح شده، شاخص تمرکز بارش، کریجینگ
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  • Ali Mahdavi , Somayeh Rangin, Hossein Mehdizadeh, Vahid Mirzaei Zadeh Pages 1-13
    Since land use change and forest degradation represent a direct and interrelated relationship between human and their natural environment, understanding the social and biophysical processes that cause land use change and degradation can play an important role in policing and implementing preventive measures and decisions. In order to investigate the forest cover degradation trends of Chardavol county in Ilam province, satellite images of MMS and OLI Landsat sensors for the years 1987 and 2014 and regression logistic modeling methods were used. To investigate the causes of degradation, forest cover changes map and physiographic (slope, aspect, altitude) and human (distance to road and distance to residential areas) variables were integrated into regression logistic model. The results of study showed that about 10332.82 ha of forest cover has been reduced in Holeilan division of Chardavol County during 27 years. This amount of forest cover reduction includes 382.68 ha annually. In addition, the results of modelling showed that aspect variable with the highest coefficient (0.7267) is probably the most biophysical factor affecting on deforestation in the study area. After that, slope and altitude variables probably affected deforestation, respectively. Distance to villages and road variables in study area are both inversely related to the amount of forest degradation. Assessment of regression model fitted with ROC (0.8493) and Pseudo-R2 (0.2248) indices indicated the ability of the model to describe the changes and to identify the areas prone to change. According to the annual rate of deforestation in the area, which is more than global average, in the absence of proactive planning by provincial and national planners, perhaps, we will see the desertification phenomenon in Chardavoul County in the near future.
    Extended Abstract
    1-
    Introduction
    Zagros forests have long been the habitat of the inhabitants and nomads in these areas and have been exposed to many damage. The issue of degradation and reduction of Zagros forests has emerged as one of the crises in recent years. Destruction and land use /land cove changes represent a variety of social and environmental factors. Since land use change and forest degradation represent a direct and interrelated relationship between human and their natural environment, understanding the social and biophysical processes that cause land use change and degradation can play an important role in policing and implementing preventive measures and decisions.
    2-
    Materials and Methods
    Satellite images of MMS and OLI Landsat sensors for the years 1987 and 2014 and regression logistic modeling methods were used in order to investigate the forest cover degradation trends of Chardavol County in Ilam province. Image method with 46 ground control points was used to do the geometry correction of the images of 2014. In order to do the geometry correction of images of 1987, after correction of the image of 2014, the image to image method with 42 ground control points was used. The supervised classification method of support vector machines was used to classify the satellite images of the respective years. Conducting investigations in the studied area as well as reviewing past research in similar areas to identify the important factors of forest degradation in the region, it turned out that five factors (elevation to sea level, aspect, slope, distance to village, and distance to road) are more important and effective in destroying forests in the region. Then, forest cover changes map and physiographic (slope, aspect, altitude) and human (distance to road and distance to residential areas) variables were integrated into regression logistic model.
    3-
    Results and Discussion
    The results of the supervised classification in the studied area were compared and statistically analyzed for classification accuracy using general and Kappa reliability coefficients, as the images of years 1997 and 2014 had a total accuracy of 86.11 and 86.39%, respectively. The results of study showed that about 10332.82 ha of forest cover has been reduced in Chardavol County during 27 years which indicates an annual decline of 382.68 hectares or 0.37 percent of the initial level of forests in the area. This amount of forest cover reduction includes 382.68 ha annually. In addition, the results of modelling showed that aspect variable with the highest coefficient (0.7267) is probably the most biophysical factor affecting deforestation in study area. After that, slope and altitude variables probably affected deforestation, respectively. Distance to villages and road variables in study area are both inversely related to the amount of forest degradation. That means the greater the distance from the road and the village, the less the decline in forest cover or forest destruction is. The results of degradation in different aspects indicate that the flat areas in the area have the highest damages (4292.96 ha) and the west aspects had the least amount of destruction (278.42 ha). Assessment of regression model fitted with ROC (0.8493) and Pseudo-R2 (0.2248) indices indicated the ability of the model to describe the changes and to identify the areas prone to change. To further improve the model, the more variables such as socio-economic data (population, average income level and welfare of residential areas, number of livestock in residential areas) climate data and so on can be included in the prediction model.
    4-
    Conclusion
    Considering the comparison of the results of this study and the factors affecting the process of forest degradation in this region, further studies needed to investigate the factors affecting forest degradation in each region. Because the factors affecting forest degradation are often specific to each region and are different from other areas, even if the factors are common, their degree of importance will vary from region to area. According to the annual rate of deforestation in the area, which is more than global average, in the absence of proactive planning by provincial and national planners, perhaps, we will see the desertification phenomenon in Chardavoul county in the near future. Since spatial modeling is a good tool for better understanding of the causes of land use/land cover changes, it is hoped that the results of this research will be considered in future planning that is relevant to land-use /cover change
    Keywords: Modelling of Degradation, Regression Logistic, Cover Changes, Zagros Forests, Ilam
  • Armin Akhavan, Esmail Salehi , Shirin Toghyani Pages 15-29
    Today, urban traffic management is known as the most important factor affecting the livability of urban streets. But along with that, other environmental-physical factors also have a great effect on the livability and quality of these kinds of public realms. This paper aims to identify and evaluate environmental and physical factors affecting the livability and quality of urban streets and its impact on perceptions of street users. An exploratory sequential mixed method was adopted as the methodology of this research. Besides, the required data are collected through library resources and field surveys. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation coefficient in SPSS software. Findings of the research indicate that there is a significant relationship between the livability of the studied streets and some physical-environmental problems like poor lighting, improper walkway paving, improper and inadequate vegetation, low width of sidewalks, inadequate facilities for disabled people, and improper access to public transportation, inadequate parking spaces, traffic congestion, inadequate public services and maintenance. In fact, the quality and livability of these streets are decreased with the increase of such problems. Moreover, the analysis of street users' perception of the livability and quality of the streets indicates a higher level of livability in Nader Street.
    Extended Abstract
    1-
    Introduction
    A "livable urban street" is an urban space in which the presence of a significant number of people and their diversity (in terms of age and gender) over a wide range of days, will be seen when their activities are mainly selective or social (khastoo,Rezvani,1389:66). According to the above definition, the street of the city is recognized as the main symbol of the social interactions that the streets of the world's prestigious cities have usually benefited from. However, our country, Iran has always faced difficulties and deep issues mostly due to over-physical development, lack of proper planning, and the application of some non-principled policies and procedures in facing urban streets and ignoring its central role in creating an environment for pause and social interactions. Lack of attention to urban furniture, lack of variety of activities during different hours of the day, lack of appropriate lighting and vegetation, lack of easy access to public transportation and parking space are a part of environmental problems which affect the active participation of the people, leading to the livability of the urban streets and the physical and mental health of citizens. Considering the above-mentioned cases, the importance of the studied arterial streets in terms of high daily traffic of citizens and their significant presence in these spaces, the presence of identity elements like HOLY SHRINE, the traditional market in the studied areas, the promotion of physical -environmental quality and its impact on the livability of the streets and perception of users are of great importance. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to identify the environmental and physical problems of the streets of the Nader and Enghelab of the city of Sari and assess their impact on the quality and livability of these streets.
    2-
    Materials and Methods
    An exploratory sequential mixed method was adopted as the methodology of this research. The quantitative and qualitative approaches were taken separately to answer the research questions. Studied streets’ environmental-physical features were considered as independent variables and their quality and livability were taken as dependent variables. Direct observation was accompanied by photographs and field notes to collect the qualitative data reaching an accurate visual appraisal of the studied streets’ physical-environmental problems. The studied streets were visited at different times, during the night, day, weekends, raining times and special events of the year to make sure that the quality of all attributes are examined and all problems are identified. At the second phase, questionnaires were designed specifically for each street. This questionnaire survey tended to uncover the users’ view point towards the identified physical-environmental problems of these spaces and their impact on streets’ livability. The analysis of physical-environmental impacts on the quality and livability of streets were analyzed by applying descriptive statistics and spearman coefficient correlation among the research streets’ quality and livability as the dependent variables and physical-environmental streets problems as the independent variable.
    3-
    Results and Discussion
    The related findings to the streets were evaluated in order to have a better understanding of the effects of environmental-physical factors on the livability and the quality of urban streets. The results of the correlation analysis in streets showed that the problems like improper walkway paving, poor lighting, improper and inadequate vegetation, low width of sidewalks, inadequate facilities for disabled people, improper access to public transportation, inadequate parking spaces, traffic congestion, inadequate public services and maintenance had negative correlation with the livability of both studied streetscapes. Research shows that traffic congestion and inadequate parking space, as two important factors, strongly affect the deterioration of livability in both studied streets. In terms of green space, insufficient vegetation in Enghelab Street has a negative effect on the livability of this street.
    4-
    Conclusion
    In connection with identified problems, four operational recommendations are presented to improve the environmental-physical quality of the streets which can be generalized to other arterial streets of Sari. The first action plan is the provision of facilities such as suitable street furniture and seating, adequate shelter, facilities for disabled people and adequate parking space. The second one is the quality enhancement of existing facilities and services like public transportation systems, public services, landscaping and planting. The third is the redesign, renovation, maintenance of some elements, like pavements, old and abandoned buildings and facades, and the reduction of the contrast between the architectural styles of new and old buildings. Besides, preserving and improvement of historical attractions and identification of the old fabric of Sari city as the center of the social life , utilization of valuable historical buildings and environments, maintaining and developing public services, open and green urban spaces, allocation of valuable urban environments(pathways and historical open spaces), allocation of pathways in the textures passing through the main historical passages and YAHYA holy shrine area and traditional market, in modern pattern combined with the existing structure of the city will play a significant role in enhancing the vitality and quality of the studied streets. Additionally, the government must educate people on urban maintenance and cleaning issues. Without people taking care, municipalities will not be able to keep the city livable and clean. Furthermore, education is needed to encourage the use of public transportation, although private vehicles and walkability promotion would be effective in preserving and restoring of urban streets livability. The supervision and law enforcement in city image field is another municipalities role which should be taken more seriously
    Keywords: Livability, Urban Street, Physical-Environmental Features of Urban Streets, Nader Street, Enghelab Street
  • Sirous Ghanbari , Mahdi Naderianfar Pages 31-45

    In recent years, the reduction or stopping of water flow from the Hirmand River to Sistan, the occurrence of successive droughts, the drying of the Hamoon wetland, the reduction of vegetation of the land associated with the villages, the presence of 120 days of winds, the intensification of soil erosion and the occurrence of storms Sand and sand flooding into rural settlements have greatly adverse environmental conditions on the villages of this region. On the other hand, according to Article 10 of the Articles of Association of Organizations, dated 2/27/2002, the Cabinet of Ministers, the main tasks of the dwellers for sustainable development of the village are improvement of the environment (Paragraph 1 and 7 of the Statute), rural health (Fourteenth, twentieth and forty-four) and conservation of water resources (paragraphs twenty-third and fourth). Therefore, this research intends to examine the performance of rural dwellers in the environmental sustainability of villages in the central part of Nimroz. The statistical population of the study includes all villages with a total of 32 villages and sample villages including villages that have been in existence for at least 5 years. Accordingly, 18 villages have been surveyed. According to the number of households in them, using the Cochran formula, 271 households were questioned. Fuzzy hierarchy analysis model, weight composition technique in the software environment G.I.S. and one-way analysis of variance and Kendall's correlation test in Software SPSS are used to analyze the data. According to the findings, in 22% of the studied villages, the performance of the rural dwellers in environmental sustainability was average while weak or very weak in other villages. On the other hand, the results of statistical analysis show that the performance of rural dwellers in the rural health environment alone (with an average of 2.77) is almost average and in other components is lower than expected.
    Extended Abstract
    1-
    Introduction
    The annual reports of the World Watch Institute on the status of environmental resources reflect the unfavorable status of many indicators related to these resources around the world. Unfortunately, Iran has consistently ranked below the global tables in respect of environmental sustainability and sustainable development indicators; So that Iran's status in environmental performance indicators, which examined 22 environmental factors from Yale and Columbia University, 83 out of 178 countries surveyed in 2014 while it has fallen to 105 in 2016, in terms of environmental performance. On the other hand, according to paragraph 10 of the statute of the structure and organizations, approved by the government on 2/27/2002, the main responsibilities of the rural municipality council for the sustainable development of the village are improving the environmental status of the villages. Therefore, the present study aims to evaluate the performance of rural municipality council as local managers in the control, management and environmental sustainability of villages.
    2-
    Materials and Methods
    This research has been done by descriptive-analytical method. The statistical population of the study is 32 villages with a rural municipality council located in the central part of Nimroz County until 2017, of which 18 villages with a history of over 5 years of establishment as a statistical sample were determined. Based on the number of households in sample villages and using the Cochran formula, 271 households were calculated as the sample size of the household. Besides, in accordance with the geographical range and the conditions governing the villages of this County, a set of components and indices have been determined to evaluate the performance of the rural municipality council in the environmental sustainability of the village. Data analysis was done by using the fuzzy hierarchical analysis model and statistical and spatial analyzes using SPSS and GIS software. One-way analysis of variance analysis and Kendall's correlation test were used in statistical analyzes.
    3-
    Results and Discussion
    The results of the research indicate that the rural dwellers do not have any good or excellent performance in the environmental sustainability of the villages, and in only 4 villages out of the 18 studied villages, rural residents have an average level of environmental performance in rural areas. The study of the distribution of the studied villages in terms of the performance of rural dwellers in rural environmental sustainability shows that villages with a meddle level are mainly studied in northern and southern regions, and villages with poor or very poor performance are scattered throughout the studied area. Moreover, Kendal’s correlation test was used to survey the level of educators and environmental sustainability of the villages. According to the correlation coefficient of 0.679 and error level of less than 5%, a significant correlation with 95% confidence level is established between these two variables. On the other hand, one-way analysis of variance analysis has been used to investigate the impact of rural dwellers on environmental sustainability in villages. The results of one-way ANOVA showed that the mean of variance among the groups is more than the average of the groups, and since the level of significance is less than 0.001, with a confidence level of 99%, there is a significant difference between the intensity of the activity of the attendants on various components of environmental sustainability in the studied villages. In this regard, the results of this test confirm that, the most influential actors in the environmental and wildlife health components, out of the 6 studied components, have an average of 2.75 and 2.5 in environmental sustainability respectively. Based on one-way ANOVA and respondents' views, the performance of the farmers in these components (soil, air and vegetation) was expressed at a weak level with mean values of 77.1, 88.1 and 17.2, respectively.
    4-
    Conclusion
    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of rural dwellers in the environmental sustainability of villages in the central part of Nimroz Township. The results of the study showed that the performance of the farmers in environmental sustainability was poor or very poor in 78% of the studied villages and 22% in the middle level. The effect of rural dwellers' performance on the environmental sustainability of rural areas is limited to the rural health components and will be weak in other components that play a more important role in environmental sustainability, it is mainly the level of educators, the lack of awareness and lack of adequate training for environmentalists to deal with environmental instability, as well as the lack of funding for decentralization to reduce environmental instability
    Keywords: Rural Dwellers, Sustainability, Environment, Rural, Fuzzy Hierarchy
  • Mehdi Mumipour Pages 47-58
    Soil Salinity caused by poor water and soil resources management and non- sustainable agriculture, lead to the decrease of soil productivity. In traditional soil salinity measurements, soil samples are collected from field and analyzed for electrical conductivity. Remote Sensing data and techniques are more effective and frugal for soil salinity monitoring. Surface salts spectral reflectance are studied widely as a direct evidence of saline soils. This study aims to distinguish spatial and temporal variation of saline soils in Abadan district. For this purpose, Landsat images with a 24 –year interval were used in conjunction with field data. Three indices including B/G, NDSI and SI extracted from images. Linear regression used for assessment of indices and results shows that SI index is more compatible with field data (R2=0.573). In the period of this study, soil salinity in some parts of the district has been decreased and in some other parts has been increased. The indices are not acceptable in the absence of field data. This study shows that soil salinity in Abadan district has decreased in the period of the study. However, the soil salinity is above the standard levels, except in few parts that soil salinity has been increased. Satellite images and salinity indices are useful to make an overview of soil salinity, but data uncertainty should be indicated.
    Extended Abstract
    1-
    Introduction
    In the traditional soil salinity measurement methods, samples are collected from field and analyzed in the laboratory to determine the concentration of soluble substances or electrical conductivity (EC). However, these methods are time consuming and costly, because they need large amount of sampling to determine the spatial variation of soil salinity in an area. Unlike traditional methods, remote sensing techniques are more effective and frugal method to monitor the soil salinity and salinity map preparation. Halophyte plants on the soil surface can be a sign of soil salinity, which enables indirect detection of saline soils based on the spectral signature of the vegetation. Normally, unhealthy or salt-affected plants have less photosynthesis activity, which lead to more reflection in the visible and less reflection in near-infrared (NIR) spectrum which is referred as salt stress in plants. Several vegetation indices such as NDVI, SAVI are used as indirect indices of soil salinity. Besides, some researchers have introduced salinity indices that are directly applicable to salinity detection, such as NDSI and SI.
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the spatial and temporal changes in salinity of surface soils in Abadan district. For this purpose, Landsat satellite imagery has been used for a 24-year period from 1990 to 2014. Three soil salinity indices have been applied on satellite images and compared to illustrate changes in soil salinity and shows which indices are more suitable for the study area?
    2-
    Materials and Methods
    The study area is Abadan district, located at Iran-Iraq political border in the southwest of Iran. The annual precipitation of the study area is less than 250 mm per year. This area has been affected by saline water in recent years and soil productivity had been decreased.
    The satellite image of TM Landsat 5 (1990) and OLI Landsat 8 (2014) were used. The usual radiometric and atmospheric corrections were done for these images. The regression was done based on the Landsat 8 data that was simultaneous with soil sampling.
    The salinity indices used in this study includes the Normalized Differential Salinity Index (NDSI), the ratio of blue to green bands and Salinity Index (SI):
    Band ratio= B/G


    3-
    Results and Discussion
    Soil salinity indices have been created primarily to detect the spectral reflectance of salts and to distinguish the difference in spectral reflectance of saline soils in satellite images.
    Using different indices of soil salinity shows that there are various preferences to estimate soil salinity. The linear regression model was used to evaluate different soil salinity indices and model parameters were obtained. Based on the performed regression, the SI index shows the best fit with the field truth data.
    Because the salt’s tendency to accumulate in separate parts of a pixel in a satellite image, a variety of spectral reflectance of salts are present in a given pixel. In addition, salt layers have a considerable difference in terms of structure (from soft to hard) and color (from white to dark). So the spectral reflectance is too complex. Thus, the reflections recorded in a pixel may include several different salt minerals and several different salt structures.
    Urban areas show higher levels of salinity than other parts of the study area, but it is different from soil. Therefore it is considered as an interference with surface soil reflectance. The soil salinity of large parts of the study area is high and the areas with low or moderate soil salinity are very limited.
    4-
    Conclusion
    According to the regression results of the three studied indices, the SI index has the highest correlation with field truth data. Of course, it should be noted that none of the indices is highly acceptable and can’t be used without field data. Saline soils in arid, desert and marginal regions have a lot of morphological and chemical diversity. This makes a variety of reflections from the surface. High evaporation and the low quality of groundwater and high water-table levels lead to salt accumulation in soil. In terms of human factors, water supply projects, cut off the hydraulic connection between the river and the flood plain, which leads to an increase in groundwater levels which may lead to soil salinity. This breaks the water-salt balance, so the salt is deposited in the soil. Dam construction on the upstream of the river also causes lowland soil salinity. This study showed that salinity in most parts of Abadan district has been decreased in the 24-year period of this study. In some areas, where soil salinity has been increased, it may be because of preparing the land for farming. It should be noted that despite the decrease in the soil salinity during the period of the study, soil salinity is still more than usual and non-saline soils in the region are rarely seen. Even though the soil salinity has been decreased, most of the district area has been covered with saline soils
    Keywords: Soil Salinity, Satellite Images, Salinity Indices, Abadan, Temporal Variation
  • Vakil Haidari Sareban , Sohyla Bakhtar, Mina Ziarati Pages 59-74
    The agriculture part is one of the main sources of employment providing income whose sustainability causes the rural economics and environmental sustainable within the agricultural systems and rural communities. Social capital is one of the factors that have effect on it, because achieving sustainable development is not possible without partnership, trust and solidarity. So this research is done to evaluate the impact of social capital on sustainable development of agriculture in rural areas. The statistical society is Kermanshah province villages those 84 villages and 441 people were selected as samples. Field methods were used to collect data. Moreover, a framework of six indicators of social capital (trust, consistency, and consistency) and sustainable agriculture (social, economic and environmental) in the form of 63 items were selected in order to analyze the subject. Validity of the questionnaire was proved by the experts and required changes were done. Its reliability was calculated by using Cronbach's alpha and its total reliability was 0.815. The results of research findings indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between social capital and sustainable development of agriculture. Besides, the results of multivariate regression showed that the components of social capital explain 685% of the changes in agricultural sustainable development. Based on the results of single-sample T test, we can say the indicators of agricultural sustainable development are at an undesirable level. Thus, the existence of social capital in rural areas plays a key role in rural development, because rural development is created by participation, trust and local cohesion leading to increase the level of knowledge and awareness of farmers in the field of correct management of Farms and their skills.
    Extended Abstract
    1-
    Introduction
    Through the emphasis on trustworthy, cooperation , participation, coherence and activity in local networks Farmers' social capital, social capital is considered as a major factor, and its level can affect the type of sustainable agricultural policies, rural economic diversification and more appropriate productivity of production inputs. Kermanshah Province with about 25% of rural population and a wide and diverse geographical territory, with most villages is located in mountainous area, necessitates for establishment and achievement sustainable agricultural development. Initially, the status of the region and the views of the villagers in this area and the factors that affect sustainable agriculture should be investigated. Therefore, this study has been carried out in order to examine the effects of social capital on sustainable development of agriculture in rural areas of Kermanshah province. The aim of this paper is to achieve the goals such as studying the relationship between social capital and sustainable development of agriculture, investigating the effects of social capital indicators on sustainable development of agriculture and surveying the status of indicators of sustainable agricultural development.
    2-
    Materials and Methods
    Regarding the aim of the study, this is an applied one, but methodologically, this research has descriptive-analytical nature. The statistical population of the study is 478,444 rural residents that settle in 85 rural districts of Kermanshah province. In this research, using the Cochran formula, the sample size was 385, which promoted to 441 in order to achieve better results. Multi-stage stratified random was used to sampling, so that, among the rural districts of each township 2 rural districts and from each rural districts 3 villages and among them 5 villagers were selected as the sample. Finally, 84 villages were selected to distribute the questionnaire in 14 township of the province. Sampling method in each village is randomly systematic. To conduct research, three social capital indicators (trust, consistency, and consistency) in the form of 29 items were used and three main indicators of sustainable agriculture (social, economic and environmental) were used in the form of 34 items. The required data were collected by using documentary study and field studies (questionnaire and interview). The questionnaire was basically designed with closed questions in the form of the Likert Five Spectrum Option. Validity of the questionnaire was proved by the experts and required changes were done. Its reliability was calculated by using Cronbach's alpha and its total reliability was 0.815. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. In the descriptive statistics section, the mean and standard deviation were used and in the inferential statistics, Pearson correlation test (to examine the relationship between variables), regression test (to examine the effect of independent variable in dependent variable), and one-sample t-test (to measure the villagers' viewpoints about variables Research) were used.
    3-
    Results and Discussion
    Distributed questionnaires were filled by 420 respondents in studied villages. (51.66) of respondents were men and (48.44) were women. In terms of the level of education from among the 4 educational levels, about 32% of respondents with the highest frequency were graduate students. Regarding the marital status of respondents, 286 were married and 134 were single. The results of Pearson correlation coefficient to examine the correlation between social capital and sustainable agriculture showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the components of research and the components of social participation with a correlation coefficient of 0.764 and a significance value of 0.303. 0 has the highest correlation with sustainable agriculture. The results of multiple regression coefficient indicate that according to the significance level of the test for the confidence level of 0.95, among the social capital indices, the social trust index has the highest effect on the dependent variable with the beta coefficient of 0.653 and can explain the 685/0 of the variance of sustainable agriculture. The results of this study indicate that, among three factors of social capital, the most important factor in the agricultural sustainability is social trust. According to the average of the three main sustainability indicators that was estimated 2.82; sustainable agriculture in the studied villages is in the Undesirable level. On the other hand, it can be concluded that there is a correlation between farmers' social capital and sustainable development of agriculture and by promoting the level of participation, social trust and social cohesion of farmers, their attitude towards sustainable agriculture will improve. As a matter of fact, the requirement for sustainable agricultural development is improving. According to the results, the correlation coefficient between the two independent and dependent variables was 0.77, which show a direct and positive correlation.
    4-
    Conclusion
    It can be argued that the existence of social capital in rural areas plays a key role in rural development, because rural development is created by participation, trust and local cohesion increasing the level of knowledge and awareness of farmers in the field of correct management of farms and their skills. On the other hand, by reducing poverty and increasing income, the production and investment in agricultural affairs prevent the farmers from emigration from rural areas, for the stability of price of agricultural yields, reducing the supply and demand for them and balancing the land incentives to encourage farmers to diverse cultivation lead to economic sustainability. Finally, due to the analysis of the results and with the aim of developing sustainable agriculture, the suggestions such as increasing the number of meetings and holding meetings among farmers, development and improvement of intra-group relations and group-based management for shared resource can help its development leading to sustainable agriculture.
    Keywords: Social Capital, Sustainable Development, Agricultural Sustainability, Rural Areas, Kermanshah Province
  • Masoud Eshghizadeh Pages 75-87
    Desertification is one of the most important degenerative phenomena in many arid and semi-arid regions. Climate change and human activities have led to the increase of desertification and desert development in these areas. The application of ecological indices of the landscape is a simple and practical method to monitor and evaluate desert development. This research was carried out with the aim of investigating the ability of the indices to monitor and evaluate the desertification in one of the main focal points of the wind erosion crisis in the Omrani area of Gonabad. In the next stage, land use and land cover maps were prepared using Landsat 5 and 8 satellite images for the years 1987 and 2017. Each type of land use and land cover was considered as a landscape element preparing the map of the landscape elements of the study area. Then, the amount of the diversity, dominance and the evenness indices of each landscape element were calculated. Then, the changes of landscape elements were studied between 1987 and 2017 through the Marcov matrix model in the ecology. The results showed that the amount of diversity and evenness indices have increased by 0.315 and 0.135, respectively, while the amount of the dominance index has decreased by 0.315 in 2017. Besides, the area of rangeland has decreased by 10.4%, while the area of the desert element has increased by 1.7%. The results showed that the average desertification rate has been 20 hectares per year from 1987 to 2017 years. Accordingly, in the event of the abandonment of the arable lands, the desertification development process in the region will be intensified due to lack of water resources which will show a strong and increasing effect of the desert element on the entire landscape.
    Extended Abstract
    1-
    Introduction
    The application of ecological indicators has increasingly been used to determine landscape features. The analysis of these indicators is based on the land use map and user-generated maps that are derived from satellite images and aerial photographs. For this purpose, each land use can be considered as a landscape element, and its changes over the time, are monitored and evaluated. The present study aims at monitoring and evaluating desertification in the Omrani area of Gonabad by using the ecological landscape indicators. The Omrani area of Gonabad is one of the main critical areas of wind erosion in the Gonabad County. Therefore, the ecological indicators of diversity, dominance and the evenness of the landscape have been investigated in 1987 and 2017.
    2-
    Materials and Methods
    At first, the ecological indices of diversity, dominance and the evenness of the landscape and Marcov matrix model in ecology were defined. Then, land use and land cover maps were prepared using Landsat 5 and 8 satellite images in the 1987 and 2017 years. Each type of land use and land cover was considered as a landscape element preparing the map of the landscape elements of the study area. Then, the amount of the diversity, dominance and the evenness indices for each the landscape elements was calculated. In the next stage, the changes of the landscape elements were studied between 1987 and 2017 through the Marcov matrix model in ecology.
    3-
    Results and Discussion
    The amount of the diversity index in the entire landscape of the studied area has increased from 1.291 in 1987 to 1.606 in 2017. The amount of the diversity index for desert elements of the landscape has increased from 0.501 in 1987 to 0.552 in 2017. Diversity index shows the degree of homogeneity and heterogeneity of the elements of the landscape. An increase in the diversity index indicates an increase in heterogeneity across the landscape. The non-desert landscape is covering 72.6 percent of the entire landscape. Therefore, increasing the amount of the diversity index indicated that the area of desert landscape elements has increased and the development trend of desertification has been positive. Besides, the amount increase of the diversity index of the desert landscape elements proves the development of the desert landscape elements in the study area. The results of the diversity index showed the desertification development trend in the entire landscape.
    The amount of the dominance index in the entire landscape of the studied area has decreased from 1.294 in 1987 to 0.979 in 2017. The amount of the diversity index for desert elements of the landscape has decreased from 0.5 in 1987 to 0.45 in 2017. The reduction of the dominance index represents that the dominance of the main element of the landscape decreased relative to the total landscape. The dominant element has been rangeland in the landscape. Therefore, reducing the amount of the dominance index indicates a decrease in the dominance of the rangeland element in the landscape and the transformation of it to the desert elements. Therefore, the decrease in the amount of the dominance index is a good index to show the development of the desertification.
    The amount of the evenness index in the entire landscape of the studied area has increased from 0.361 in 1987 to 0.496 in 2017. The amount of the evenness index for desert elements of the landscape has increased from 0.316 in 1987 to 0.365 in 2017. Considering the extent of desert elements in the study area, which cover less than 50 percent of the total landscape, an increase in the evenness index indicates the development of the desertification. From 1987 to 2017, the area, covered by the rangeland, has been diminished and added to the area of other elements. In the case of the desert elements of the landscape, the increase of the evenness index indicates the trend of desertification development in the entire landscape. The results showed that the average desertification rate has been 20 hectares per year from the 1987 to 2017 years. Accordingly, in the event of the abandonment of the arable lands due to lack of water resources, the desertification development process in the region will be intensified showing a strong and increasing effect of the desert element on the entire landscape.
    4-
    Conclusion
    The results of the study showed that the elements of the landscape and types of land use can serve as inputs for monitoring and assessment of desertification. Therefore, indicators for monitoring and evaluating the landscape elements, including diversity, dominance and evenness indices, along with the Marcov matrix model, can be used to study the variations of the spatial patterns of the landscape and their dynamic variations over the time. In addition, the ecological indicators of the landscape used in this study can be used to study other changes caused by natural or human factors, including the long-term effects of climate change and droughts, land use change and urban development
    Keywords: Desertification, Diversity, Dominance, Evenness, Landscape
  • Habib Nazarnejad , Tara Shahhossein, Farrokh Asadzadeh Pages 89-99
    Rainfall erosion is a key factor in soil erosion processes. Determining the quantitative values of the rainfall erosion factor is assumed as a first step in sustainable management of soil and water resources. In terms of quantity, rainfall erosion is one of the characteristics that has the highest correlation with soil losses. Modified Fournier index (MF) is a simple rainfall erosion index which is widely used as a quantitative index in soil erosion projects. In this research, the spatiotemporal variation of the modified Fournier index was determined in west Azerbaijan province for a twenty-year period from 1993 to 2012. A total of 66 rain gauge data were used to determine the MF and precipitation concentration index (PCI). The spatial pattern of the MF and PCI were mapped by Kriging. The findings indicated that there was a wide range for MF, 28.28-116.22 mm, and the highest value of MF was observed in southwest of the region while the smallest values of the MF is located at the northeast of the region. Descriptive statistics of the PCI indicated that the 80 percent of the stations shows a seasonal pattern of rainfall distribution, while 20 percent of the stations have a moderate seasonal rainfall distribution pattern. There was a strong positive relationship between the annual rainfall and MF (r= 0.934, p< 0.001). A significant relationship was not observed between the PCI with annual rainfall and MF. The spatial patterns of the MF and annual rainfall showed a regular decreasing from south to the north of the region.
    Extended Abstract
    1-
    Introduction
    Climate change in the current era is one of the most important environmental challenges. Precipitation is one of the most important climate elements directly affecting the availability of water resources. Low amount of precipitation and its extreme fluctuations in the daily, seasonal and annual scales is an inherent characteristic of Iran’s climate. Due to significant impacts of rainfall on water resources such as groundwater, surface water, and snow reservoir, some indices, Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) and Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI), are applied to explain its changes. SPI index includes applicable indices that are used in most studies, while PCI index has been introduced in recent years. Different indices have been used to assess the density of precipitation, inwhich the Precipitation Concentration Index (PCI) is recommended, for it provides information on long-term total variability in the amount of received rainfall. Rain erosion is recognized as a key factor on erosion. Accurate knowledge of the amount of rainfall erosion in a region is considered as a primary step in the sustainable management of soil and water. Early indices (Fournier and modified Fournier) are one of the most important indicators of rainfall erosion, which have widely been used in soil erosion studies due to easy calculation compared with other indices.
    2-
    Materials and Methods
    West Azerbaijan province with an area of 37210 square kilometers (including the Urmia Lake) is the thirstiness province of Iran in extent which is located at a geographic location of 44° 3' to 47° 23' East longitude and 35° 58' to 39° 3344' Northern latitude. In this study, rainfall data from gauge stations of West Azerbaijan (Iran) were used in order to investigate of Precipitation Concentration Index. Referring to Iran water resources management, information, including daily rainfall data, geographical coordinates of the stations and years of statistics, received. After reviewing, the stations with incomplete data were excluded and finally, 66 rain gauge stations were selected. Information on daily rainfall for a period of 20 years (1993-2012) was reviewed in terms of homogeneity and normality using Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and was used for calculating of PCI index. The aim of this research is to establish a regression relationship between the early indices with the EI30 index for studying the spatial and temporal changes in the rainfall erosion index during the period of 1993-2012 in West Azerbaijan province. Therefore, the data of 66 rain gauges and 13 rain-fed stations were used and erosion indices and precipitation concentration index of the region were calculated and spatial changes map was mapped using the Kriging method.
    3-
    Results and Discussion
    Average rainfall in the entire area during a twenty-year period is approximately 325 mm. The mean value of PCI was 16.66 indicating the seasonal distribution of rainfall in the province. The minimum value of PCI for the area was 12.36 demonstrating the fair distribution of rainfall and the maximum value of this index for the entire period as 22.17 that represents the distribution of rainfall is very seasonal. The important note is the few differences in statistics related to Precipitation Concentration Index so that during the period of two decades, mean changes of PCI is less than 2%. The EI30 index has the highest correlation with the overall corrected Fournier index (R2 = 0.9). The EI30 index variation is very high in the province and is located in a range of 62.54 to 230.05 mega Jules millimeter per hectare per hour per year. The maximum erosion was observed in the southwestern part of the province and in the forests of Piranshahr and Sardasht, and at least in the northern and eastern of the province. According to the precipitation concentration index, rainfall pattern in the province was observed as relatively seasonal and seasonal. In terms of statistical period, rainfall amount and erosion indices showed an increase during the second decade compared to the first decade. The results showed that the erosive indices and the amount of annual precipitation decrease regularly by moving to higher geographic latitudes.
    4-
    Conclusion
    In general, in lower latitudes, rainfall is higher in parts of the western highlands and in the southwest of the province which is decreasing regularly by moving towards the northern and eastern regions. This is in line with the results of Jalali and Shafi'i (2012) investigations conducted for West Azarbaijan province. ). Examining the annual and seasonal changes of rainfall in different climate zones by Azarakhshi et al (2013), and Ghaderpour (2014) by the assessment of precipitation spatial trend in the watershed of Lake Urmia announced that the province has a rising and declining trend in rainfall on an annual basis and the results are in accordance with this study.
    Keywords: Modified Fournier Index (MF), Precipitation Concentration index (PCI), Rainfall Erosion, Kriging, Latitude