جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "biodiversity" در نشریات گروه "علوم انسانی"

Climate change, widely acknowledged as one of the most pressing global threats in recent decades, has significantly impacted biodiversity and natural ecosystems across the planet. The use of appropriate predictive tools can greatly aid conservation managers in their efforts to protect and preserve biodiversity. In this study, we investigated the effects of climate change on the spread and distribution of Luciobarbus barbulus (Heckel, 1847), a freshwater fish species, by employing an ensemble modeling approach using the Biomod2 package. We utilized six distinct algorithms to analyze current conditions and two future scenarios for the years 2070 and 2090, specifically focusing on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) includes SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios. To build our predictive model, we incorporated a comprehensive dataset comprising eight variables, including climatic, topographic, and anthropogenic factors. The results indicated that the model's predictive performance was robust, with evaluation metrics—specifically the Area Under the Curve (AUC) and True Skill Statistic (TSS)—showing values ranging from very good to excellent (AUC ≥ 0.87). Our analysis revealed that the most significant factors influencing the distribution of Luciobarbus barbulus were Annual Mean Temperature (Bio 1), Annual Precipitation (Bio 12), and Mean Temperature of the Warmest Quarter (Bio 10). Alarmingly, the model forecasts a decrease in the species distribution range under both optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for the years 2070 and 2090. In conclusion, it is imperative for managers and decision-makers in the field of biodiversity conservation to recognize and address the impacts of climate change. Identifying and implementing effective measures to protect this valuable species will be essential for ensuring its survival in a rapidly changing environment.

 Valuing goods, functions, and ecosystem services is necessary. Not considering their long-term value has unfavorable consequences for society.

 In this research, the economic valuation of habitat services use the opportunity cost approach, including market-based techniques. An opportunity cost is the cost of passing up one opportunity for another. Data related to annual development incomes (GDP), such as industry, mining, and settlements, were extracted from statistical reports. Using the habitat quality index, we calculated the GDPR. To estimate the economic value of habitat services, habitat quality maps and spatial statistical analyses were used.

 In South Khorasan province, habitat services were worth 544,465.16 billion rials in 2020. LUT Desert has the highest total value within ecological boundaries or subbasins, while Lut Desert (3.32) ranks third among the four subbasins in terms of economic value. In part, this is due to the vast expanse of the Lut Desert and its nonhomogeneous conditions. The value of habitat ecosystem services per hectare in the province was estimated to be around 36 million rials.

 The research findings indicate valuable areas in the northeast with a favourable climate and higher rainfall than the rest of the province. However, the western half of the central region in South Khorasan province has similar conditions but is more arid. Biodiversity protection planners must consider the impact of mining activities in this area.

Innovation: 

Shifting the economic valuation approach towards spatial analysis methods (space-based), which can provide landscape managers with a more powerful tool for making informed and wise decisions. The quantitative and spatial findings from this research are crucial for evaluating environmental impacts, creating development plans, and estimating damages during decision-making processes.

Ecological connectivity function is one of the most important types of biological connections ‎among natural ecosystems due to providing ecological connections. Habitat fragmentation and ‎the subsequent decline of landscape ecological connectivity is one of the main reasons for the ‎devastation of biodiversity. Accordingly, in the present study, using the landscape ecology ‎approach, the function and landscape ecological connectivity was evaluated in the mangrove ‎forests of Khamir-Qeshm. In this way, by identifying the ecological functions and prioritizing ‎the barrier effect, the state of ecological continuity was discussed in this area from 1989-2021. ‎The results demonstrated that the most dispersion of ecological functions can be seen in the ‎bare land‎ and the most barrier effect in the tidal area‎. According to the ecological functions and ‎the existing barriers, most of the mangrove forests of Khamir-Qeshm are under the influence of ‎ecological barriers, the reasons for which can be mentioned to the development of human ‎activities, the reduction of forest lands, and the advancement of water body and tidal area in the ‎region. The results indicate a decreasing trend in the function and ecological continuity of the ‎area, and on the contrary, an increasing trend in the barriers effect. Ecological ‎functions and continuity have a direct relationship with the density of mangrove forests, ‎meaning that with the reduction of forest habitats under the influence of environmental and ‎human hazards, the level of ecological function and continuity has also decreased. According to ‎the results, the assessment of ecological function and continuity can provide the possibility of ‎analyzing the principles of development activities to increase human well-being by maintaining ‎habitat continuity and increasing the stability of ecosystems. The results of this study, as a ‎management solution, can help to protect and plan properly in line with human activities ‎development, followed by environmental risks and consequences.

Biodiversity within ecosystems is intricately linked to a various factor, with soil physicochemical characteristics standing out as pivotal contributors. The soil, particularly in forests, functions as a dynamic habitat supporting a diverse array of organisms, including land snails, which play a significant role in forest ecosystems. This study focuses on unraveling the intricate correlation between the presence of land snails and six key soil parameters: pH, total calcium (Ca), total magnesium (Mg), exchangeable calcium (Ca++), exchangeable magnesium (Mg++), and soil Saturation Moisture percent. These factors are investigated as crucial elements influencing the distribution patterns of land snails.

The research was conducted in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran, specifically targeting three distinct forest regions situated in Kordkoy, Amol, and Tonekabon. These areas were designated as sampling sites during field surveys. To ensure a comprehensive and representative approach, sampling was conducted at three distinct locations within each forest, resulting in a total of 27 sample plots, each measuring 3 m × 3 m for detailed ecological assessment. The identification of snails and the evaluation of biodiversity were enhanced by employing DNA barcoding techniques. Snail abundance and species diversity were measured at each forest site, offering valuable insights into the ecological dynamics of these ecosystems. This quantification process provided a comprehensive understanding of the population density of snails and the variety of species present in each forest location. The analysis of soil factors involved laboratory methods, and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was utilized to simplify the multidimensional data. It identified important variables for subsequent Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), a sophisticated statistical technique. This comprehensive approach played a pivotal role in unraveling intricate relationships between soil physicochemical factors and the presence of snails. The analysis not only clarified the correlations between environmental variables and species distribution within the forests but also offered profound insights into the nuanced interplay shaping the ecological dynamics of these ecosystems.

A total of 679 snails were collected from the sampling stations, and phylogenetic tree analysis along with species delimitation revealed 37 sequences belonging to 10 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs). ANOVA results indicated significant variations in snail abundance among the forests. Following PCA, key factors for CCA were identified, and CCA, utilizing total calcium, total magnesium, and soil saturation moisture percentage as factors, demonstrated a positive correlation with most OTUs and snail abundance. These factors are vital in shaping the distribution and biodiversity of land snails. Land snails need Ca and Mg to restore the shell. Also, areas with moist soil are more favorable habitats for Snails provide.

In conclusion, this research establishes a foundational understanding of the intricate relationship between soil properties and snail communities in sections of the Hyrcanian forests. The insights gained from such studies contribute fundamental information essential for developing a native biodiversity index based on land snails. This index, in turn, holds promise for informing the formulation of effective management strategies aimed at conserving the diverse fauna of land snails within these ecologically vital forest ecosystems.

Innovation policies, along with environmental legislation, play a key role in addressing many global environmental issues. Intellectual property rights, as a temporary supervisor over the products of intellectual activities, are the determinants that control information and technology. Intellectual property laws fundamentally affect the quality and availability of innovative ideas and products and are therefore very important in achieving sustainable development, ensuring human health and protecting the environment. The level and scope of intellectual property protection affects the flow of technology between industrialized and developing countriesThese standards also affect control communities over their traditional knowledge, their access to medicines and education, as well as other issues that are the foundation of sustainable development. Registering patents such as a device or a new production process in the patent system and its protection is common and familiar to everyone, but many people do not know that a plant species can also be registered as a patent and one of its exclusive benefits used. In this article, there is a brief overview of plant patents or "Plant Patent" and an attempt will be made to provide a better understanding of this type of patent and its differences with other types of patents (utility patents and design patents).

Since climate change is one of the most important and biggest threats to nature and biodiversity, it makes it difficult to manage and protect species. Predicting and determining its effects will considerably help to provide appropriate protection solutions as well as management plans. In the present study, the impacts of climate change on the distribution of Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi species were forecasted by using the MaxEnt model in the R software environment. The environmental variables included slope, temperature annual range, flow accumulation, annual precipitation, annual mean temperature, and upstream drainage area. According to the results, the performance of the model in predicting the species was excellent (0.989) based on the AUC (Area Under the Curve) criterion. Moreover, the annual mean temperature and slope have been the most important environmental variables in determining the distribution of this species, respectively. In addition, the distribution range of this species will decrease in both the optimistic (RCP 2.6) and pessimistic (RCP 8.5) scenarios of 2050 and 2080. In conclusion, in order to protect this species, it is necessary for decision-makers to identify and implement appropriate actions in order to adapt the effects of climate change and reduce the related threats.

Stakeholders’ knowledge is one of the essential elements of biodiversity management. This research assesses local communities’ knowledge and its impact on the perceived biodiversity loss in the Sorkhabad Protected Area of the Zanjan Province using a quantitative (descriptive-correlational) methodology. A sample of 250 out of all rural households dependent on the protected area (N = 5095) was identified using Cochran's formula as the sample size who were selected by a multi-stage random sampling technique. The results showed that the respondents' knowledge about the ecosystem services and the challenges of biodiversity was at high and moderate levels, respectively. The results of regression analysis showed that the variables of knowledge about ecosystem provisioning services, knowledge about the impact of human factors related to unsustainable local community activities on biodiversity, knowledge about the impact of poor community livelihood conditions on biodiversity, knowledge about the impact of factors related to ineffective intervention conditions on biodiversity and knowledge about the impact of natural hazards to biodiversity accounts for 52 percent of the variance of perceived biodiversity loss in the protected areas.

Illegal wildlife hunting, trading, and smuggling have devastating effects on both species' lives and society's economy. This phenomenon has several socio-economic causes and consequences. The effective management of wildlife trafficking requires identification and inclusion of all stakeholders (Kolahi, 2021: 26) involved in the supply and demand sides of wildlife trafficking in hard and soft management and planning frameworks (Kasterine & Lichtenstein, 2018: 23-24). Some studies show that focusing solely on restrictions and prohibitions on the supply side without considering the social actions of actors on the demand side can have unintended consequences. Trade bans, for example, can increase consumer demand and make poaching a more profitable activity by driving up the price of trafficked wildlife (Cronin et al., 2015; Leader-Williams, 2014: 112). The absence of strong supervision and continuous monitoring can strengthen black markets and perpetually increase the economic profit of wildlife trafficking for black market dealers (Challender et al., 2019: 2). Additionally, environmental sociologists aim to design and implement supply-side interventions that recognize the drivers of trafficking and reduce consumer demand (Wright et al., 2016: 5). It is argued that many wild species are currently caught by poachers through various methods, including direct hunting with guns, trapping in nets, and poisoning with chemical poisons, thus entering the cycle of trafficking due to unfavorable social conditions (Olea et al., 2022: 2-3; De Lange et al., 2021: 889). However, the various drivers involved in the wildlife trafficking process are still not well understood (Thomas-Walters et al., 2021: 489; Margulies et al., 2019: 216) and have been neglected by researchers, planners, and policymakers (Phelps et al., 2016: 483). Despite wildlife trafficking being a pervasive phenomenon in contemporary Iran, few studies have been conducted on its social, moral, and cultural aspects. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies on the drivers and consequences of wildlife trafficking. The current research aimed to investigate the phenomenon of wildlife trafficking in Iran as a social action from the perspective of environmental sociology. In this regard, a qualitative approach was used to study the two main groups of stakeholders in the Khalij-e-Fars Bird Market of Tehran: the sellers of smuggled wildlife and its buyers. A paradigm model of wildlife trafficking in Khalij-e-Fars Bird Market is presented based on the results of the study.

The present study took a qualitative approach based on "Grounded Theory" with the aim of theory-making based on interpretative-constructive foundations. This method was used to build a data-oriented theory for criticizing, expanding, and testing formal theories. This study used the same methodology as applied by Zare Shahabadi & Mohammadi (2021) and Ghaderzadeh et al. (2013), who previously explored the phenomenon of trafficking from a sociological perspective.The research tool was a semi-structured in-depth interview. The interviewees were stakeholders, who were active in the field of illegal wildlife trade in Khalij-e-Fars Bird Market in Tehran. They were selected through purposive sampling by using the snowball model. In the sample selection, we aimed to achieve "maximum variety" and "theoretical saturation." In this regard, 12 sellers and 11 buyers, who had extensive knowledge and experience in this field, were selected.After 20 interviews, no new information was presented, indicating "theoretical saturation." However, for more certainty, three more interviews were conducted. After each interview, the full text was carefully listened to and transcribed, capturing all the words. Data analysis was done through constant comparison and simultaneous data collection. The interviews’ texts were read multiple times to gain a general understanding of the data. At this stage, the primary (open and selective) codes were identified and grouped into categories. Finally, summarization was continued as much as possible and all the axial codes were used in the paradigm model. To ensure reliability of the research findings, all research processes, such as the research model, study group, data collection process, and analysis, were explained in detail. Additionally, the data obtained from the interviews were individually coded by two individuals: a main researcher and an invited colleague. The percentage of agreement between the coders was calculated using the following formula:  Reliability = consensus / (consensus + difference) × 100 The data obtained by the two researchers underwent content analysis and were compared using separate codes. As a result, a reliability of 85% was obtained by using the mentioned formula.

The results of this research showed that causal conditions in phenomenology of “wildlife trafficking” were "entertainment and enjoyment", "tradition", "pride and wealth", "experiment and scientific research", "mediation for smuggling" and "drug use", intervening conditions of "superstitious beliefs", "propaganda", and "imitation of others". The background conditions were "social and moral legitimization", "non-practical implementation of environmental laws and regulations", "poverty and unemployment", "individual and collective indifference and distortion", and "ignorance of the consequences of wildlife trafficking". The coping strategies included "education and culture", "intensification of legal supervision", "providing alternative employment opportunities to sellers", and "providing the necessary mechanisms for legal trade with permitted purposes". The consequences of coping with wildlife trafficking were "biodiversity protection", "restoring the human dignity of violators", and "respecting animal rights". Finally, the research findings were presented in a paradigm model.In line with the results obtained by Zhang et al. (2020), a wide range of drives, including recreational, food, and medicinal and cultural motives for wildlife trafficking, were identified as the causal, contextual, and intervening conditions in the current research. The present study showed that one of the main drives of wildlife trafficking was consumption of meat or body parts of wildlife as traditional medicines with therapeutic motivation. In line with this finding, other researches showed that in other countries, bear bile (Feng et al., 2009), pangolin meat (Newman et al., 2014), rattlesnake venom (Alves et al., 2013), and rhino horn (Watts, 2011) were bought and sold as medicine with the motive of relieving physical pain. Of course, despite the general perception, so far many of these medicinal and health agents are facing serious ambiguity of effectiveness from the viewpoint of modern medicine.In addition, the consumption of wildlife meat was one of the other findings of the present study. Due to the cultural differences in diets of nations, trafficking with the motive of buying and selling pangolin meat (Mason et al., 2012; McEvoy et al., 2019) and bat meat (Anti et al., 2015; Suwannarong & Schuler, 2016) were reported in similar studies, while the interviewees of the present study were looking for buying and selling the meat of wild birds, such as goose or wild duck.The findings of this study showed that preservation of wildlife or their body parts has become a means of showing wealth and pride among wealthy groups of people due to such reasons as high price, rarity, and special facilities it requires. In line with this finding, similar studies showed that the drives of some buyers of illegal wildlife products, such as rhino horn (Truong et al., 2016), tiger bone (Moyle, 2009) and elephant skin (McEvoy et al., 2019), or people, who served special dishes like shark fin soup to theirguests (Brierley, 2007), were boasting, showing wealth, or trying to show their belonging to special and prosperous classes of the society.In line with the results of the study of Day et al. (2014), the present research showed that some actors of wildlife trafficking tended to trade exotic wild animals, especially reptiles and rare ornamental amphibians. They did this with the motivation of entertainment and pleasure, boasting, and displaying wealth. Although tiger bone wine in the research of Feng et al. (2009) and rhinoceros horn opium in the study of Trang et al. (2016) were shown to be sold illegally with the motive of intoxication, no similar drives were found in the current research.Compared to previous studies, contribution of the present research in the production of knowledge should be considered as a qualitative explanation of the concept of wildlife trafficking in the Iranian context so as to bring the main stakeholders’ experiences of this illegal trade to the official knowledge. The findings of the present study could contribute to ensuring social health, environmental protection, and sustainability of economy based on biological resource-carrying capacity for future studies.

The increasing population, the expansion of industrial and urban wastewater, and the lack of proper treatment have significantly contributed to the existance heavy metals in the soil ecosystem. Preventing the impacts of heavy metals on the quality and health of the soil ecosystem requires selecting appropriate bioindicators. Thus, this study aims to investigate the impacts of heavy metals and the effective environmental parameters of the soil on Collembola, at genus level. For this purpose, in two stages, soil samples were taken from the stations around Charmshahr industrial wastewater treatment plant and Khin Arab and Parkandabad municipal wastewater treatment plants in Mashhad, Iran. Twenty-eight soil samples, each obtained by mixing four sub-samples, were collected from 14 stations. Statistical analysis was performed using R software. In the studied area, a total of 15 genera of Collembola were identified. All these genera were reported for the first time from Mashhad. The results of comparing the concentration of chemical parameters and the genera richness in Collembola showed that there is a significant correlation between them. The results show that the number of genera has a negative correlation with two metals, iron and chromium, and among the measured elements in soil, only total carbon has a positive correlation with the number of genera (p<0.05). The results of the canonical correspondence analysis showed that the response of the abundance of each Collembola genera to the concentrations of heavy metals and the environmental parameters is different. Thus, even if Collembola is advising as a proper bioindicator, we should mention that the response of the biodiversity to the abiotic parameters in soil is various, which must be deliberated in the ecosystem management.

In today's era, human activities at sea are not limited to areas under national jurisdiction, but have also extended to areas beyond national jurisdiction, and the destructive effects of such activities has led to increasing concern in the field of ocean health and biodiversity. Clearly, the loss or damage to the body of biodiversity poses serious challenges to the survival of human life on Earth, and addressing this important concern will require immediate action to preserve and sustainable use of it. Therefore, it is necessary to implement ecosystem-based projects such as the creating marine protected areas that can improve the environmental management of the seas. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the conceptual analysis of these areas by examining existing international documents and then to evaluate regional initiatives and related international regulations in this area and the challenges in achieving this important goal.

The purpose of this study is to provide an optimal educational model to improve the general and specialized knowledge of Tehran citizens regarding biodiversity. In the first step, a researcher-made questionnaire was used to assess the level of citizens' awareness. Then, using the opinions of experts, various educational methods were weighed and evaluated. For this purpose, two target levels were designed as expected scenarios. Digest and Ant (ACA) algorithms were used to accurately evaluate and determine the optimal route with the lowest time and lowest cost. The results showed that women's general knowledge about biodiversity was higher than men’s and vice versa about specialized knowledge. On the other hand, there was a significant positive relationship between biodiversity knowledge and education level. Also, to achieve the first level goal, the "Combined educational model" with a weight of 1.196, and the educational model "Virtual educational model" with a weight of 0.608 were evaluated as the most appropriate and inappropriate educational model for transferring general knowledge to citizens, respectively. Regarding the purpose of the second level, the method of "face-to-face training" with a final weight of 64 and "preparation and distribution of training packages" with a weight of 43 had the highest score. Finally, the optimal path for raising the level of specialized knowledge of citizens has a weight of 161, which includes such things as achieving a good level of general knowledge, creating an educational environment, supporting the formation of environmental NGOs, incentives, needs assessment, and review.

The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was adopted in 2010 to establish international rules and regulations on liability and redress for damages to biosafety resulting from the transboundary displacement of genetically modified organisms in order to protect sustainable use of biodiversity. Based on strict liability, the protocol holds the operators responsible for their activities, merely by establishing a causal link between the damages incurred and the genetically modified organisms without the need to prove any fault. The protocol also provides two general approaches to prevent and redress any harm to biodiversity: the administrative and the civil liability approaches. This article's main question is how to define the administrative approach and its differences with the civil liability approach? The research hypothesis, which has been proven by a descriptive-analytical method, indicates that these two approaches are not inherently different as regards the necessity to allocate and redress loss. However, with an administrative approach, there is no longer a need for lengthy trials, as it provides a more efficient system for biodiversity protection. The international liability system for genetically modified organisms provides a standard set of legal provisions that helps the Biological Diversity Convention's member states to safely produce, distribute, and transport genetically modified organisms by adopting a strict liability basis and an administrative approach for redress.

Various biological and geological processes, especially erosion, lead to the diversity of environmental features, which are studied under concepts such as geodiversity and biodiversity. In recent years, a new concept called geobiodiversity has been introduced, which focuses on places with high geodiversity and biodiversity importance. Considering the importance of identifying these areas for conservation purposes and sustainable uses, in this research, the geobiodiversity of the Oshtorankuh area located in Lorestan province has been investigated. The research data includes various elements of geology, geomorphology, water, soil, vegetation and environmental protection level, which have been collected through library-documentary and fieldworks. In the next step, the GBI index has been used to achieve research goals and data analysis. This index evaluates and integrates four sub-indexes of geodiversity, geomorphology, vegetation and protection levels through the creation of hexagonal cells and an analytical matrix, and finally identified the areas with high geobiodiversity value. The obtained results showed that in terms of geodiversity index, more than 62 percent; in terms of geomorphology index, about 59.35 percent; in terms of vegetation index, about 59.20 percent of the studied area have high and very high values. While in terms of protection index, more than 70 percent of the studied area is distributed in low and very low protection levels. Finally, in terms of geobiodiversity, the number of 2587 hexagonal cells (44.35 percent of the area) have a high and very high value, which are mainly inside the Oshtorankuh protected area, especially in the east and south of Gahar Lake, along the Neygah Valley and in the Vazmdar area have been distributed. Therefore, it is necessary to implement an integrated management approach to preserve the geobiodiversity values in the Oshtorankuh region by the relevant organizations and with the participation of local communities.

Based on the definition provided by the European Biodiversity Information System, biodiversity includes richness of life and diversity of patterns on 3 levels: 1) ecosystems and habitats; 2) species; and 3) genetic resources. According to this definition, comprehensive understanding of the concept of biodiversity involves recognition of threats, such as climate change, invasive species, fragmentation and land use change, pollution, and overuse of effective resources. On the other hand, the loss of biodiversity with all its unfortunate consequences is a global phenomenon that is still under threat despite the efforts made to protect it. This lack of success is largely due to underestimating people’s power in this process. The study of developing countries shows that local people’s short-term economic benefits from the exploitation of nature and their lack of awareness of its long-term effects are important obstacles to the protection of nature. Considering the extent of damage to the environment and ineffectiveness of governance, the most available option to reduce destruction is increasing people's awareness and encouraging their participations. At the same time, changing people's behaviors is a challenging issue. People’ desire to actively and committedly participate in the protection of nature is influenced by several factors. Behavioral change, conscious act, and voluntary participation in environmental activities can be influenced by internal factors (self-worth and individual motivation) (Molinario, et al., 2020) and external factors (economic interest and social and civic values and norms) (Li, Zhao, Ma, Shao, & Zhang, 2019).The social and civil factors affecting pro-environmental behaviors in developing countries, including Iran, have been given less attention, while the civilizing process can provide an important framework for predicting committed activities to protect biodiversity (Baynham-Herd, Amano, Sutherland, & Donald, 2018; Kashwan, 2017). In the current situation of Iran, it is very important to educate people and encourage them to participate in the process of biodiversity preservation by taking voluntary and committed actions. However, the evidence shows that there is a kind of passivity and indifference to environmental contributions. Thus, the following question is raised: What are the factors and components that explain cooperative behaviors of biodiversity and how important and effective are they? The innovation of this article was combination of the theoretical model of "planned behavior" and the theory of new civil actions. According to the current conditions of the Iranian society, the studied students' civic actions for protecting the environment were affected by their interactions and levels of network relationships. Their memberships and amounts of co-presence in virtual social networks by increasing their opportunities to talk could enhance their knowledge of biodiversity and augment civic activism. Therefore, the chain of knowledge-value-action showed itself more where it was possible to discuss the issue. Accordingly, an extended model was presented in this article, which put more emphasis on the variables of social and institutional structures of the society and thereby placed individual actions in its cultural, social, and institutional contexts. In this model, the development of a virtual public space and the possibility of discussing issues and problems as a determining variable in strengthening the knowledge of biodiversity and evoking environmental values were added to the variables related to the previous theories. A collective discussion about the topic could play an important role in the construction and evolution of the society (Inglehart, 1990).

Material & Methods :

A survey of attitudes towards biodiversity was conducted among Shahid Beheshti University students in 2019. Using the stratified sample size method, the statistical population of 20,000 students was divided based on the 4 fields of humanities and social sciences, technical sciences and engineering, natural sciences, and architecture and art. To obtain the sample volume, Cochran's formula was applied. Since the method of collecting information was designed through a structured internet questionnaire on the Google Doc platform, the number of samples increased to about 500 people. Then, the questionnaire was sent to the sample students and 420 questionnaires were returned. Finally, after reviewing and refining the questionnaires and discarding the defective and incomplete items, 393 questionnaires remained. Also, a structured questionnaire and a 5-point Likert scale were employed to measure the research variables. In the extended model, the variable of dialogue feasibility (D) referred to the possibility and extent of discussion about environmental issues and the issue of biodiversity through dialogue networking. The problematic variable of biodiversity (R) referred to the knowledge of biodiversity and awareness of the risks and consequences of its destruction. To measure the environmental values based on Schwartz’s method (2012) with the help of factor analysis, two types of value biases towards the issue of biodiversity were identified: Instrumental Value (IV) and Egocentric Value (EV). Although two types of moral and legal obligations might be created depending on the value bias, this set of norms was considered as Biodiversity Norms (BN) in this research since no significant distinction between the two was empirically recognized. Also, environmental activism was measured based on the two main types of civil action (CPA) and individual action (PBA).

The purpose of the current research was to expand the model of "planned behavior" (Ajzen, 1985; Schwartz, 1992; Stern, Dietz, Abel, Guagnano, & Kalof, 1999) and explain "pro-biodiversity" behaviors among the students based on the possibility of forming dialogue circles. While it was expected that environmental civic activism be more common among university-educated people, the scope of such a behavior was limited according to the results of this research. Only 15% of the studied population expressed that they had civic environmental activities. This finding confirmed the results of Shafiei & Malek Saeidi (2020) and Veisi et al. (2019), who showed that environmental civil actions in the Iranian society had a low range and no significant difference in civil activism could be seen between the male and female students and the students of various degrees. Yet, the results of this research showed that environmental civic activities among the students were different based on the study field type and the students’ presence in nature (Shafiei & Maleksaeidi, 2020; Veisi, Lacy, Mafakheri, & Razaghi, 2019).In addition, as Reis, Lindenmeier, and Schild suggested, the effects of institutional and legal conditions on environmental civic activism were of importance (Lindenmeier, 2008; Reis, 2020; Schild, 2018). The results of this study revealed that civic activism could be enhanced when the law, formal norms, and regulations were perceived ineffective in supporting biodiversity in the eye of the public. The belief in the ineffectiveness of the existing laws and regulations in preserving nature in Iran and the belief in individual effectiveness drove the concerned activists towards voluntary activities in order to offset the weakness and inefficiency of public organization and government. Also, the active memberships in the environmental civic associations could lead to the promotion of group-based pro-environmental behaviors and moral responsibility towards the environment and biodiversity (Schmitt, Mackay, Droogendyk, & Payne, 2019; Liobikienė & Poškus, 2019) According to the findings of this research, the most important conditions for the development of civic activism at both institutional and cultural levels were creating a dialogue-oriented public atmosphere and a universal value system. This meant that civic activism required the development of a culture of dialogue in the public sphere. Public sphere means a place where it is possible to create a free conversation without threats, which can include both the real and cyber public realms. The results showed that in the current conditions of the Iranian society, the cyber public space could make it possible to increase the knowledge of biodiversity by creating a context for interactions and dialogue. In other words, as Leventon and his colleagues found (Leventon, Duşe, & Horcea-Milcu, 2021), although expanding public space did not provide a sufficient condition, it was a necessary condition for environmental civic activities. As long as collectivist and universal value biases were able to appear in social networks, they could form self-reinforcing circles that both strengthened the universal value system and facilitated pro-biodiversity civic activism.

Biodiversity faces various challenges which make its management difficult. This research aimed to investigate the challenges of biodiversity management in the Sorkhabad Protected Area of the Zanjan Province. The research was conducted using a qualitative approach through the grounded theory methodology. A sample of participants consisting of 15 experts from the Environmental Protection Administration and the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Administration in the Zanjan Province were selected through a theoretical and snowball sampling and the data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Using the Nvivo10 software, the data on biodiversity management challenges were analyzed through open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, which led to exploring 92 concepts, 38 initial categories, 22 principal categories, and 9 core categories. Then, the relationship among the core categories was identified. It was identified that biodiversity loss is interconnected with other natural hazards and environmental crises. Moreover, the threat and loss of biodiversity and other natural resources are directly and indirectly influenced by various factors consisting of weak national strategies and policies on biodiversity management; the weakness of allocating human, financial and physical resources of organizations responsible for biodiversity protection; poor knowledge, attitude and value system of rural communities about biodiversity management; unsustainable agriculture and natural resources use by rural communities; unsustainable use and intervention of people outside rural communities; unsustainable actions of external organizations; and lack of integrated and participatory management in biodiversity management.

Decades of environmental conservation experience have shown that Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) of human society is an essential part of conservation. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to investigate the KAP of Mashhad citizens towards biodiversity and related factors. This research was conducted with a mixed quantitative and qualitative method. The statistical population of the study, using Cochran's formula, 384 samples of people over 15 years old living in different areas of Mashhad, was determined based on clustering. The data collection tool was a localized EU questionnaire whose validity and reliability were 0.73 for 5 items of variable attitude, 0.77 for 7 items of variable and 0.71 of 5 items of variable behaviour. Descriptive statistics and results from Exell2016 and SPSS16.0 software as well as distribution and frequency tables and related graphs were applied to describe the data. SPSS16.0, t-test, test hypotheses from t-test, variance analysis and Spearman correlation test were applied to analyse the data and hypothesis test. The results showed that less than a third of people had heard of the biodiversity term. University education contributes to the improvement of the term biodiversity. There is also a significant relationship among the variables of gender, income and education's type of citizens' attitudes toward biodiversity. In addition, there is a positive and significant correlation between environmental knowledge and attitude. In fact, with the increase in the level of knowledge, the attitude of citizens towards biodiversity has been raised to a higher level. As a result, their behaviours are directed towards the protection of the environment. There is also a significant difference between the KAP of citizens living in different areas. Finally, by analysing the biodiversity profile in the KAP of Mashhad citizens and referring to the Delphi panel, a conceptual model of the research was presented.

This article aims to quantitatively evaluate the biodiversity of medicinal plants in order to protect vulnerable species. Biodiversity has been involved in a crisis rooted in human activities since past. In lack of control over unlimited human expectations, the destructive effects on  environment will increase and the crisis will exacerbate. Iran has a variety of ecological regions where have created animal and plant biodiversity and also a variety of climates, ethnics, cultures, customs and rituals.The present study is based on field studies in the rural areas of Darab city of Fars province: Morvarid, Hyderabad, Dehmord, Fath al-Mubin. Based on the findings, 89 species of medicinal plants belonging to 43 families are identified in the target areas. The largest number with 14 species belongs to the mint family. This area has 6 biological type, 4 vegetative forms, 8 consuming organs with 3 germination periods that are distributed on both even and steep surfaces. According to the results, 9 plants are seriously exposed to damage: Ferula Assa-foetida, Pistacia Atlantica, Zataria Multiflora, Amygdalus Scoparia Spach, Ziziphus Spina Christi, Prangos Ferulacea, Dracocephalum, Myrtus Communis, Ziziphora Clinopodioides. High interest in the use and exploitation of medicinal plants, failure to record indigenous knowledge and lack of revitalization, development, conservation and supervision, will probably lead to deletion of effective plant genes of this region in the near future.

This article seeks to re-read nomadic life in Iran based on the link between natural and human fields. The main question is: how is it possible to recover and re-read this natural-cultural heritage and use it for the future? It seems that the vital relationship between nomads and plant communities on the one hand and the knowledge and skills of nomads to work in geodiversity and climate diversity on the other hand, the dissection of nomadic life, it makes it possible. From the descriptive-analytical-critical method and a combined approach of botanical, geological, deep ecological and spatial and land use planning, the activities of nomads as plant sociologists(oral) were first performed in the high plateau of Iran. Findings show that the lack of knowledge in identifying the relationships of domains (natural and human) and the lack of attention to biological domains and basic resources such as land and plants, has led to nomadic life as a tissue in natural and human studies, be forgotten more than ever. Therefore, retrieving and re-reading it requires reviving interdisciplinary studies by documenting and producing endemic ecological data and utilizing global data for optimal use in the design of sustainable habitats for It is the future.

Biodiversity is one of the most important indicators of ecosystem diversity and dynamism. Birds, as a clinker indicator of ecosystem biodiversity, are considered as the habitat suitability and other necessary living conditions for any species. Therefore, the study of birds, especially migratory birds, is of particular importance as a clinker indicator. Due to the need for studies in this field, the present study was conducted to investigate the desirability of the habitat and identify the most important environmental variables affecting the distribution of the Anser anser species as a migratory and index species in Iran. Using 23 environmental variables and the nine models in the BIOMOD software package under R software, the Anser anser species is distributed in three types of habitats including winter-passing, summer-passing and breeding and stopeover modeling. The findings from species modeling showed that the models, used in species distribution modeling, have high accuracy in studying species distribution. In general, temperature and precipitation variables are the most important, while the variables such as vegetation and distance to roads are less important in the distribution of Anser anser species in Iran.  According to the results, 15.91% of the surface of Iran was identified as a desirable habitat for Anser anser species, which overlaps with 15.95% of the protected areas. Therefore, the used method in this study identifies the desired habitats of the species correctly. Besides, it can be applied as a suitable method to model the habitat suitability of similar species, which is essential from the perspective of conservation providing comprehensive and practical wildlife management programs.

Bird watching or the scientific study of birds is one of the oldest environmental sciences. The migration of birds, especially aquatic species, has long been of interest to many researchers. Birds, as a clinker indicator of ecosystem biodiversity, are considered as the habitat suitability and other necessary living conditions for any species. Therefore, the study of birds, especially migratory waterfowl, is of particular importance. Due to the need for studies in this field, the present study aims to investigate the desirability of the habitat and identify the most important environmental variables affecting the distribution of Anser anser species as a migratory and index aquatic species in Iran.

In this study, 10 presence spots for the summer-passing and breeding population, 116 presence spots for overwintering population and 25 presence spots for the passing population of Anser anser have been applied in order to model the distribution of Anser anser species in three habitat types including winter-passing, summer-passing and hatchery, as well as stopping places in Iran. These spots were obtained from the bird census reports of the Environmental Protection Agency. Three groups of environmental variables including topography, climate and land use / land cover were used to investigate the factors affecting the distribution of Anser anser species. Finally, 23 environmental variables were called for modeling in the biomod software package.

The values ​​of accuracy evaluation indices reveal that models such as FDA and RF have high accuracy in the modeling process out of the nine models implemented in modeling Anser anser stopover. Moreover, variables such as seasonal rainfall, distance to rural areas and the amount of rainfall in the least rainy season play an important role in the selection of stopover by the Anser anser. According to the results of the overlap analysis of the total area of ​​Iran, only 20.99% is known as desirable habitats of this species, which includes 18.69% of the total desirable habitats in protected areas.
Based on from modeling the habitat of summer Anser anser, all the models used in this study have high accuracy in studying the species distribution. On the other hand, the distribution of this species in Iran depends on factors such as distance to wetlands, distance to forest and distance to streams. According to the findings, 3.22% of the total area of ​​Iran is known as a suitable habitat summer Anser anser and overlaps with the presence of species, which is 4.09% of the total summer habitats. Optimal laying and hatching of this species is covered by protected areas.
The results of modeling the Anser anser species in the surface of wintering habitats indicate that all models have high accuracy. The distribution of this species in the surface of wintering habitats is affected by factors such as rainfall, distance to the city and the warmest rainfall of the year. Optimal habitats of this species cover 23.52% of Iran, which is 25.09% of the total desirable habitats of the studied species overlap with protected areas.
Examining the distribution of species at the level of ecological nests and understanding the relationship between environmental variables and the distribution of species using a biomod software package show how species respond to environmental changes at the present time. The findings from evaluating the algorithms used in modeling the habitat types of the Anser anser species reveal that the biomod software package has a high ability to predict the optimal habitats of this species. Thus, it has identified desirable species habitats at the present time, habitats that can be used in the future and have favorable conditions for species introduction, as well as habitats that had ideal conditions in the past. In this regard, the species of Anser anser Choose to spend winters in areas such as Urmia Lake, Fars province, Sistan and Baluchestan, Azerbaijan, Kurdistan and the southern parts of the Caspian Sea and in some eastern and northern areas of the country that have ideal biological conditions. According to the frindings from modeling, the Anser anser is mainly present in summers in Azerbaijan province, especially Urmia Lake and the surrounding wetlands. These areas are more preferred than other parts of the country due to favorable weather conditions, adequate security and availability of food resources. Locations of Anser anser in the country include areas such as the southern shores of the Caspian Sea, parts of the west and northwest, as well as northeastern areas. Proper identification of stops and providing applications to protect these areas is important due to the functional role of stopping places in meeting the needs of migratory species. In general, in the present study, it is found that 15.95% of the total habitats of the Anser anser species are located in protected areas. This indicates the existence of a large part of the desirable habitats of this species outside the protected areas. Therefore, the results of the present study show the need to reconsider the demarcation of protected areas in the future more than in the past in Iran.

The current study aims to investigate the distribution of Anser anser species and the effect of environmental variables on the distribution of this species in Iran using a biomod software package.  Based on the results, the method used in this study correctly identifies the desired habitats of the species and can be used as a suitable method to model the habitat suitability of similar species and also to study the biodiversity of habitats. This is essential from the point of view of conservation and the presentation of comprehensive and practical wildlife management programs.