فهرست مطالب m. moameri

Resolving social, economic and ecological challenges, analyzing the relationships between stakeholders and their surrounding environment is one of the requirements for empowering rangeland users. The interaction of humans and nature is defined as socio-ecological systems. Vulnerability, resilience and adaptive capacity have been identified as three characteristics related to the socio-ecological system. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to investigate the spatial changes of socio-ecological systems based on vulnerability, resilience and adaptation capacity criteria. Also, prioritization of the northern rural districts of Ardabil province using multi-criteria evaluation is another objective of the current study.
In this study, the research was conducted in the northern villages of Ardabil province. As per the Iranian Statistics Center's report from 2015, the northern region of Ardabil province comprises four cities: Meshginshahr, Germi, Bilasuvar, and Parsabad, along with 31 rural districts and 980 villages. The total population in this area is 237,907, residing in 61,412 households. The study focused on rural districts as the primary socio-ecological management units. These units encompass rural communities and rangeland ecosystems, each evaluated based on criteria such as resilience, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity. Based on the purpose of the research and different dimensions of socio-ecological systems, the research sub-criteria were selected. Data for the sub-criteria were gathered through mapping, climate data, and questionnaire analysis. To standardize the values across different rural districts, the maximum method was applied due to the varying nature of the criteria. Then, different weighting methods were then employed to evaluate and prioritize the rural districts accordingly.
The analysis results indicate that Shaban and Lahrud rural districts in Meshginshahr county have the highest vulnerability scores (0.871 and 0.867), while Aslandoz and North Qashlaq rural districts in Parsabad county have the lowest scores (0.448 and 0.483). This suggests that Shaban and Lahrud are in a more vulnerable situation compared to Aslandoz and North Qeshlaq. In terms of resilience, central Arshagh and West Qashlaq rural districts in Parsabad county have the lowest values (0.252 and 0.286), while the two western Meshgin and Meshginshahr Ghareso rural districts have the highest values (0.692 and 0.691) among all rural districts. Additionally, the adaptive capacity criterion shows that Dasht and Lahrud rural districts in Meshginshahr exhibit the highest favorability (0.797 and 0.864), whereas Angirlu and South Qeshlaq rural districts in Bilasuvar have lower favorability compared to other districts (0.111 and 0.145). Furthermore, the zoned maps of socio-ecological system index values revealed that when applying equal weighting or adjusting the weight of each criterion, there were no significant variations in the socio-ecological system index across rural districts. Notably, the analysis indicated that the southern rural districts in the research area exhibited more favorable socio-ecological conditions compared to other regions. Consequently, it is imperative to implement robust measures to conserve nature and the environment, provide support to rural communities, and align efforts with sustainable development objectives. This approach will facilitate informed decision-making and effective management of plans and projects aimed at enhancing social-ecological systems.
The results showed that the index of socio-ecological systems of Dasht, Lahrud, Qarasu, Western Meshgin and Eastern Meshgin rural districts in all four weighting approach conditions (with the same weighting, emphasis on vulnerability criteria, emphasis on resilience criteria and emphasis on adaptation capacity criteria) are more desirable compared to other rural districts. Overall, it is important to acknowledge that rural communities face greater challenges compared to urban areas in various aspects. When natural disasters strike, these communities are particularly vulnerable and have limited resources to recover. Therefore, it is crucial for management efforts to focus on maintaining favorable conditions and enhancing vulnerability, resilience, and adaptive capacity in lower prioritized regions. Based on the research results, it is recommended to prioritize intra-regional and inter-regional equity to establish sustainable development and service indicators effectively. Special attention should be given to the spatial and physical organization of rural villages.

The aim of the study was to determine the most important environmental factors (topography, climate, and soil) affecting changes in production and canopy cover of plant variations and to prepare prediction maps, based on the most important factor, in semi-steppe rangelands of Hir-Baghrou, Ardabil province, Iran. First, by detecting the vegetation types and different classes of environmental factors, the production and canopy cover were estimated in 1-m2 plots at full flower stage of dominant species. Then, to determine the most important environmental factors, affecting the production and canopy cover changes, the principal component analysis (PCA) was used. For modeling, first, the correlation between the most effective environmental factors was obtained from the PCA. Then, the highly correlated factors were eliminated and the quadratic polynomial models were obtained. Finally, the obtained models were simulated in GIS. The results of the PCA showed that the first six components with 71.65% had the greatest effect on the production and canopy cover changes. Based on the root mean squared error (RMSE), simulating maps of production (RMSE=0.76) and canopy cover (RMSE=0.48) by effective factor (annual precipitation) showed the highest accuracy. The results of this study can be used to manage the rangelands of Ardabil province to create a balance between supply and demand of production and also to balance carbon.

The purpose of this study was to model biomass with soil parameters in Hir-Neur rangelands of Ardabil Province. Initially, considering the vegetation types and different classes of environmental factors, at the maximum vegetative growth stage, using one square meter plot, biomass was estimated by clipping and weighing method. For each transect, a soil sample was taken and transferred to the soil laboratory and the various parameters were measured by conventional methods. The relationship between soil factors and the rangeland biomass was analyzed and simulated using linear multiple regression. Among the measured soil factors, the Silt, EC, Ca, Ksoluble, OC, POC, pH, Mg, TNV, clay, P, and volumetric moisture had the highest effect and percentage of biomass forecast (p<0.01). The accuracy of the simulated maps was analyzed using RMSE criteria and for grasses, forbs, shrubs, and total biomass were equal to 0.81, 0.65, 0.34, and 0.46, respectively. The results of this study, not only point out the importance of soil factors on the biomass but also as a baseline data for managing rangelands, supply-demand, and carbon balance can be used in the current section.

Most rangelands of Urmia in Iran have been destroyed and need significant restoration to achieve favorable conditions. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of a 19-years research exclosure on vegetation and soil features in Mahabad Sabzepoush rangelands of Iran.

To conduct research using the random-systematic method, three reference sites inside the exclosure and three reference sites outside the exclosure were selected with similar conditions. In each site, three linear transects, and along each transect, ten plots of one square meter were established. The percentage of canopy cover and the number of plants in each plot were measured using estimation and counting methods. From the beginning, middle, and end of each transect, soil samples were collected from a depth of 30 cm. An independent t-test was used to compare data on quantitative vegetation factors, land surface cover, richness characteristics, species diversity, evenness, and soil characteristics both inside and outside the enclosure.

Based on the results, 75 species belonging to 60 genera and 19 families were identified in the selected sites. Results showed that vegetation factors such as density and canopy cover of forbs and grasses and total canopy cover had a significant difference between the outside and inside of exclosure (p<0.05). The total density, density, and canopy cover of shrubs were not significantly different between exclosure and control sites (p>0.05). In the grazing area, the value of plant density of forbs, grasses, and shrubs was 43.84, 40.62, and 1.10number/m2, respectively. After 19 years of the exclosure, the forbschr('39') density (57.45number/m2) and shrubs (2.17number/m2) were increased. Besides, forbs canopy cover increased from 18.14 to 24.88 (percentage) and shrubs canopy cover increased from 0.91 to 0.97% in 19 years exclosure. Richness, diversity, and evenness did not differ significantly between the exclosure and open grazing sites (p>0.05). The richness and diversity index was increased by 0.03 and 0.05 in the exclosure sites, but the evenness index increased by 0.01 in the open grazing sites. Nitrogen, electrical conductivity (EC), available phosphorus, organic matter, silt, and potassium in the exclosure and open grazing areas, had a significant difference (p<0.05). In the grazing area, EC and potassiumchr('39')s value was 1.35ds/m and 464.24ppm, respectively. After 19 years of the exclosure, the value of EC (1.10ds/m) and potassium (464.24ppm) were increased. Nevertheless, the values of other factors were decreased.

Although exclosure has increased the percentage of canopy cover, density, and diversity of species, but in some cases, non-observance of exclusion will prevent the achievement of the expected goals and desired results. These results indicate that grazing exclosure plays a crucial role in vegetation recovery and soil protection of destroyed rangelands.

This study was performed to investigate the relationship between ecological species groups and environmental factors in Fandoghlou rangelands of Ardabil province in the northwest of Iran, assuming that plant species distribution has been correlated with various of complex environmental gradients.

Data were collected from 180 sampling plots (1m2) in an area of 3.27km2 using the systematic-random method. In each plot, environmental factors (topography, climate, and soil variables) and the percent of vegetation cover for each species were recorded. TWINSPAN method and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) were used to define ecological species groups and determine the relationship between ecological species groups and environmental factors, respectively.

Results of using TWINSPAN for 180 plots classified rangeland communities into three groups. The first group contained 110 plots, the second group 40 plots, and the third group 30 plots. Using ISA, vegetation species groups in the first group contained 8 species, the second group 11 species, and the third group 8 species. In each group, the name of the species with the highest index value was selected as the groupchr('39')s name. Thus using CCA, the group of Trifolium pratense had a relation with aspect, slope, organic matter, magnesium, temperature, and volumetric soil moisture. The Leucanthemum vulgare was related to phosphorus, elevation, lime, sand, clay, and potassium. The group of Trifolium repense had a relation with pH, electrical conductivity, calcium, diffusible clay, temperature, silt, and sodium. The factors of diffusible clay and electrical conductivity with the first CCA axis and potassium and phosphorus factors with the second CCA axis had the strongest correlations.

Using the results of this study, we can evaluate the habitat conditions and vegetation quality of Fandoghlou rangelands. Moreover, used high-quality rangeland species such as Trifolium to counteract the spread of invasive species such as Leucanthemum vulgare.