جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « استان مازندران » در نشریات گروه « جغرافیا »

One of the challenges faced by urban planners is optimal urban and regional management and balance in the development of cities. the main goal of this research is to measure the economic and social stability of the cities of Mazandaran province during the census of 1385 and 1400. The current descriptive-analytical research method was carried out using the data of government agencies and the census of 1385 and 1400. In order to identify the components of sustainability, 30 professors in the field of urban planning were selected as the sample size. Measuring the economic and social stability of Mazandaran cities in the censuses of 1385 and 1400 is considered an innovation of this research. In order to evaluate the sustainability of the cities of Mazandaran province using questionnaires that were completed by experts in the field of urban planning; Among the models of stability barometer, radar, and electricity, stability factors were ranked. At the end, with the Copeland technique, the final ranking was determined. The results of the sustainability measurement techniques showed that the cities of Sari, Babol, Amel, Qaimshahr, Tankabon and Chalus have higher ranks in terms of sustainability. Also, the cities of Mazandaran province have had different stability, and the problem of instability is more related to small and medium-sized cities in terms of size, and more related to economic issues in terms of indicators. Therefore, it is possible to provide the stability and development of cities by implementing the solutions obtained from this research

Environmental problems caused by human activities have been raised as a serious challenge for global sustainable development in recent decades. One of the key concepts in this field is the ecological footprint, which refers to the consumption of natural resources by human society and compared to the concept of biological capacity, which indicates the ability of the earth to meet human needs and absorb waste; it evaluates the ecological deficiency of the region. The present study analyzed the biological products in order to calculate the load and pressure on nature as a result of human exploitation and the capacity of the biosphere to provide the land needed for carbon absorption, energy consumption, transportation and etc. In this research, the ecological footprint method with the global hectare (gha) measurement unit has been used to analyze the data, and the ecological deficit has been estimated for the townships Mazandaran province. The results showed that the per capita ecological deficit of the entire province in year of 2021 was -0.49 global hectares for each person, which indicated the imbalance between economic activities and environmental protection, as well as excessive consumption of natural resources. Ramsar was the most unsustainable township with the highest per capita ecological deficit (1.03 hectares), and Golugah was the most sustainable region in the province with the highest per capita ecological reserve (2.5 global hectares). The research can create a platform for decision makers and officials to take appropriate measures and make informed decisions to preserve the environment and sustainable development of the province.

In Mazandaran province, nearly 230,000 hectares of land are used for rice cultivation, and in recent years, approximately 85,000 hectares of land have been under second rice cultivation. In 2021, about 300,000 tons of paddy rice were harvested in the rice fields of Mazandaran from the second cultivation, which had a financial turnover of more than 10,000 billion tomans for the agricultural economy of the province. Therefore, organizing the second cultivation is undoubtedly better than its complete elimination. Nowadays, second cultivation is done in different parts of the world. Farmers in Southeast Asia and some countries of Latin America, which are located in the tropical region, cultivate rice up to three times a year due to abundant rainfall in all seasons and suitable climatic conditions.Every year, the first cultivation of rice is done in 110,000 hectares of paddy fields in the Haraz catchment area, which is located in the counties of Amol, Babol, Fereydunkenar, Mahmoudabad, and Babolsar, about 20 to 30 days earlier than in the eastern part of the province. For this reason, the largest area of second cultivation is also in this area. Rice farming is one of the most important agricultural activities in Mazandaran and a significant source of income for farmers in the province. With an annual production of over one million tons, 42% of the country's rice needs are met in this province. Statistics demonstrate that the per capita consumption of rice for each Iranian is about 36 kilograms, indicating an annual consumption of more than 3.1 million tons in the country. Approximately 2.2 million tons of rice are annually supplied from domestic production, and the remainder needs to be imported. Therefore, governmental supportive policies for self-sufficiency on the one hand, and the financial needs of small landowners on the other hand, urge farmers to engage in second rice cultivation in some coastal areas of Mazandaran Province due to favorable climatic conditions. However, considering the water scarcity challenge in Iran and the transfer of flowing water from Mazandaran Province to other parts of the country, the second cultivation of rice caused some worries and concerns that should be taken into consideration.

This study is in review form and the terms of the method is descriptive-analytical based on field studies. The method of collecting data is based on library and field research.  The study population consists of 2,565 households from eight villages in Laleh Abad District of Babol County, with a sample size of 330 rural households determined by using the Cochran formula. Multiple indices were included in the questionnaire and measured at different levels (nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio). The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and its reliability, using Cronbach's alpha, was calculated as 0.86 in the SPSS environment. The distribution and completion of questionnaires among rural households were conducted based on the proportion of the population in the villages by systematic simple random sampling. Data analysis was performed using gamma correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis in the SPSS software. In addition, ArcGIS software was used to prepare and adjust the map.

The results of the Friedman test, while indicating the significant impact of second rice cultivation on the economic prosperity of rural households, also reveal significant differences among various economic indices. On the other hand, the results of Gamma correlation analysis represent a significant relationship and correlation between various environmental damages and the unchecked expansion of second rice cultivation. Moreover, the calculation of the adjustment coefficient and coefficient of determination in multiple linear regression analysis indicates that the environmental threats surveyed in the current research are up to 65% dependent on the indiscriminate expansion of second rice cultivation. Therefore, in order to strengthen the economic prosperity of the second cultivation and prevent the possible destruction of the rural environment, optimum planning of the second rice cultivation is inevitable in order to maintain the rural environment in the framework of land-use planning.

Unfortunately, in recent years, there has been a dual policy regarding the second cultivation of rice, which has confused many farmers and villagers. On one hand, government support policies in the Sixth Development Plan emphasize rice self-sufficiency, and on the other hand, provincial managers encourage farmers to cultivate other crops with less income that do not require as much water as rice.However, field studies indicated that the second rice cultivation needs Well water only in the first four weeks and the rest of the growing process is provided by rainwater, which is not part of flowing water, and its consumption has no effect on reducing the level of underground water. Given that the coastal villages of Mazandaran are considered highly water-abundant areas with surplus water resources, presenting an appropriate cultivation pattern, seed modification, encouraging farmers to cultivate early-yielding and resistant crops, adhering to cropping calendars, and presenting a comprehensive and executable plan can bring a portion of the land under second rice cultivation. So, within the framework of sustainability principles and land-use planning, it prevents possible damage to the rural environment, while providing comprehensive benefits.

One of the most important steps towards sustainable development is the protection of land integrity, so that a part of the land is changed annually for several reasons, and the withdrawal of such lands from the production path creates irreparable damages. Given the high intensity of land use change in Mazandaran province, including the Haraz plain, which represents a significant environmental issues at both macro and spatial scales, the monitoring and analysis of theese changes can be considered a valuable tool for for the management and planning of land use. Considering that Haraz plain has not been spared from the crisis of destructive land use changes in recent decades, the need to monitor, highlight and process these changes as one of the most important management factors in this region is confirmed.

In order to investigate land use changes, it is necessary to integrate a number of layers over a specific period of time. This research aims to investigate land use changes in Haraz Plain from 1980 to 2021. Therefore, Landsat data was employed to quantify the changes. By applying atmospheric, geometric, and radiometric corrections, image enhancement operations were performed and land use change maps were produced based on the supervised classification method, maximum likelihood algorithm and basis component analysis functions. The type of land use changes was determined from the difference function of the identification images and the accuracy of the maps using the overall accuracy test and the Kappa statistic.

The results showed that from 1980 to 1990, the area of forest lands decreased by 4 km2. The rangeland area also decreased from 450 to 436 km2. From 2000 to 2010, the area of forest land decreased from 272 to 270 km2 and rangeland decreased from 432 to 420 km2. Finally, between 2011 and 2021, the area of forest lands decreased by 9 km2 and the rangeland area decreased by 5 km2. The results indicated a reduction in the area of forest and rangeland, accompanied by an increase in the area of agricultural land and residential areas.

The results obtained and the defined goals allow us to conclude that the area in question underwent changes in terms of its use during the considered statistical period (1980-2021). These changes were noticeable. Therefore, human factors interventions play a pivotal role in land use changes. The results of this study can assist planners in identifying the factors influencing land use changes and in making appropriate management decisions in the future.

In the situation of responsible consumption, the tourist considers the impact of consumption behavior on the environment, economy, society, and culture of the destination, and consciously maximizes positive effects and minimizes negative effects. Considering the importance of responsible consumption, especially the importance of this type of behavior among tourists, the present research has tried to provide a sociological analysis of responsible consumption with an emphasis on Bourdieu's theory.

Design/methodology/approach: 

This research was done with an emphasis on a quantitative approach and focusing on survey strategy. The statistical population of this study was tourists visiting tourist places in Mazandaran province. The research information was collected through a questionnaire from 385 tourists using a multi-stage cluster sampling method.

The results of the research show the impact of various types of social, economic, cultural, and symbolic capital on the responsible consumption behavior of tourists. The capital structure (with 4 dimensions) has had a direct and positive effect (Beta = 0.76) on the responsible behavior of tourists. In fact, with the increase in the capital level of tourists, their consumption will also become more responsible. Also, the capital structure (with 4 dimensions) has been able to explain 57% of the dependent variable (responsible consumption).

Conclusions and suggestions: 

Among the dimensions of capital, cultural capital has played the most important role in responsible consumption among tourists. Therefore, the design of cultural policies to promote the responsibility of consumer behavior, especially among tourists, is of great importance.

Originality/value: 

Based on the research findings, culture is an important factor in the discussion of the tourist's buying or consumption behavior. In fact, in addition to influencing the buyer's personal and psychological characteristics, culture also affects the buyer's decision-making process.

In recent years, different foresight programs have frustrated urban and regional planning with environmental forecasting methods and have been driven to use the tools of building a favorable future. On the other hand, in today's world where the notion of sustainability has become a necessity in urban and regional planning, the trend towards sustainable and balanced spatial development has become increasingly important around the world. One of the major challenges is considered in regional planning and policy-making. The present study considers identifying and extracting the key factors affecting the spatial development of Mazandaran province by using the structural analysis process in scenario planning. In the first step, 35 factors were identified as a set of factors affecting the spatial development of this province, based on recognizing the current situation of the province and reviewing related theoretical and experimental texts, existing documents, and programs. Then, the cross-impact analysis matrix was formed, and to identify and determine the relationships between these factors, the expert panel method was used with the presence of 10 experts who scored each of these factors. In the next step, the consensus of the experts' opinions was calculated using the weighted average method, and its implementation was carried out in the MIC MAC software. Finally, 16 factors were extracted as key factors affecting the spatial development of Mazandaran province in the year of the horizon, 12 factors were in the economic sector, 9 factors were in the socio-demographic, 11 factors were in the environmental and 3 factors were in the physical-spatial, and they will form the foundation of planning for the future of a sustainable space in this province.

Wildfires are one of the critical environmental issues that cause financial and human losses. This harmful phenomenon endangers the lives of humans and creatures and is one of the factors of global warming. Its quick detection is a key element in controlling such a phenomenon. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the trend of active vegetation fire spots and its relationship with climatic variables using satellite data in Mazandaran province. So, while checking the efficiency of remote sensing data, practical measures can be taken to control and monitor this destructive phenomenon in a precise location and time. Therefore, in this research, meteorological data with daily scale, Brightness temperature 31 (BRIGHT_T31), and Fire Radiative Power (FRP) of MODIS sensors were used in the period from 2001 to 2022. The results showed that the most occurrences of vegetation fires were in the east of Mazandaran in the altitude classes of 0-500 meters and the lowest frequency was related to the altitude classes of 2500-5600 meters. Most of the vegetation fire incidents occurred in the hot and dry months of the year in the eastern strip of Mazandaran. The Petit homogeneity test was used to check the change point of fire. The results of the Petit homogeneity test presented the trend change point in an upward direction in July 2011 for the BRIGHT_T31 profile at the 95% confidence level. Spearman's non-parametric test was used to investigate the correlation between climatic parameters and the number of fires. Correlation results showed a significant relationship between climate parameters with a daily scale (Temperature, Precipitation, Relative Humidity, Sunshine Hours) and FRP and BRIGHT_T31 profiles at the 90% confidence level. So, temperature has been the most effective meteorological component of forest fires. As a result, fire events are strongly related to weather conditions.

One of the important and fundamental needs in order to develop the capabilities and capabilities of tourism in a region is the suitable climate for tourism. The use of tourism capabilities and capacities requires the recognition and evaluation of comfort climate using accepted scientific methods to systematically determine the effect of climatic elements on the activities of tourists. Based on this necessity, in the current research, the spatial-temporal distribution of tourism climate conditions in Mazandaran province has been investigated using the Beach Climate Index in the ArcGIS software environment. In order to implement this index and achieve the goals of the research, the daily time series data of the meteorological stations of Mazandaran province during the years 1980 to 2018 were used. According to the needs of the model and method used, climate elements (on average) including relative humidity, wind speed, sunny hours, monthly precipitation, average daily and monthly temperature, cloudiness and number of foggy days have been used. After calculating the values of the CPI index in the J environment. Oh you. S, interpolation methods were used to prepare tourism activity zoning maps with the least amount of error in interpolation. The results of the coastal tourism climate index at the level of Mazandaran province on a monthly scale indicate that between the coastal and mountainous areas Different patterns prevail in terms of tourism comfort index at different times of the year. In autumn and spring, in the coastal parts of the province, especially the parts of the eastern coast, the quality of beach rest is in a better condition. Meanwhile, in the same period, cold stress prevails in the mountainous parts and reduces the quality of the climatic comfort index compared to the coastal areas. But in the summer months, due to the rule of heat stress in the coasts, the mountainous areas have a more suitable climatic comfort quality according to the BCI index.

Urban planning, since it is related to the allocation and distribution of scarce resources among different places in the city, its reliance on the criteria of spatial distribution of urban services, it is necessary.

Research purpose:

The purpose of this study is to investigate the spatial distribution of urban service uses in urban centers of Mazandaran province.

The present research is of applied type and its method is descriptive-analytical. The data required for the research were collected using the library method and documents from the statistical yearbook of Mazandaran province in 2017. In this study, to measure the spatial distribution of urban services, the indicators of recreational-welfare services, transportation services, urban infrastructure, urban development, urban green space, educational services, health services and cultural services have been used. Vikor model has been used to rank the urban centers of Mazandaran cities based on the status of urban services development.Geographical area of research The study area is the city centers of Mazandaran province.

Findings show that only 7 cities of the province, which include urban areas of 4 cities of Babolsar, Fereydunkenar, Kelardasht and Ramsar, are in fully-owned, well-off and semi-well-served groups, and their citizens are in a position to enjoy urban services. They have an ideal. In other words, providing services to citizens in the cities of Babolsar, Bahnmir, Hadi Shahr, Fereydunkenar, Kelardasht, Ramsar and Katalam and Sadatshahr is largely acceptable.

Conclusion :

The results show that nearly 90% of the cities of Mazandaran province in terms of urban service indicators are unfavorable and below average and the lack of urban services considered in the study is felt in proportion to the population of these cities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has unprecedentedly damaged the traveling and tourism industry as well as life and subsistence. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, travelers’ behaviors, demands, and even characteristics of traveling have changed. Identifying these changes in the behavior of consumers, especially in choosing their destination and service centers, is considered crucial in rebuilding the tourists’ lost trust and revitalizing the tourism industry. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to structurally analyze the motivation, frequency of visiting, and experience components of the tourists’ satisfaction and behavioral tendencies in their destination areas with an emphasis on COVID-19 in Mazandaran province. The research method is descriptive-analytical based on field research. The population of the study consists of tourists who visited Mazandaran province during the outbreak of the COVID-19. The samples were selected randomly and the sample size was estimated at 385 using the Cochran’s formula. The collected data from the questionnaire containing close-ended questions were analyzed using SPSS 27 and Smart PLS3 software. The findings show that of the research variables, experience, and frequency of visits have a significant relationship with satisfaction and behavioral tendencies. Tourism motivation has no significant relationship with satisfaction and behavioral tendencies. Moreover, no significant relationship was reported between satisfaction and behavioral tendencies.

Today, villages, with their unique settlement patterns and human livelihoods, require organization and development considering their roles in countries' economic and social aspects. For the preparation and implementation of the Guide (Hādi) plan as the most comprehensive and local rural development plan in Iran, huge costs are spent, and this plan has had significant effects on the physical, social, and economic structure of rural settlements. The multi-dimensional effect of the preparation and implementation of this plan on the area of rural settlements and the communities settled in them doubles the necessity of the pathology of guide's plan. Therefore, the main goal of this research was to investigate the pathology of rural development plans with an emphasis on the rural guide plan and also the factors affecting the advancement of the rural guide plans, which was conducted as a case study in Māzandarān province. The current research was descriptive-analytical; documentary research and a researcher-made questionnaire were used for data collection. The statistical population of the research was experts and specialists in the field of rural guide plan. The questionnaires were distributed among 30 of them. They were selected using snowball sampling. The pathological criteria of the studied rural development plans included (economic-social-environmental-psychological and content) in the form of 33 questions. Results showed that the criteria of eradicating poverty (3.26), lack of people's participation in the plan (2.93), not considering international laws (3.10), neglecting functions and activities (3.96), the role of private sector (3.46), common understanding of the issues (3.33), investment in the agricultural sector (3.23), identification of geological factors (3.36), are among the damages from viewpoint of experts of guide plan in Māzandarān province. Furthermore, according to experts, the results of exploratory factor analysis indicated that the influential factors in advancing rural development projects in Māzandarān province included three dimensions (economic, social, and content-related) within a framework of nine variables. Ultimately, solutions are proposed to address existing challenges and improve the effectiveness of the rural guide plans in enhancing the quality of life for residents in the region.

Remote sensing is considered as the most important source of spatial data in the current era, which we witness its increasing development in different dimensions. The release of global products of these data in recent years with the aim of easier access and use by experts in geospatial science is one of the dimensions of this development. The land cover product is one of these products that is used more than other remote sensing products. When presenting these products, their qualitative and quantitative characteristics, including their global accuracy, are also published. Expressing the accuracy of these products globally makes it necessary and necessary to re-evaluate their accuracy regionally for the users of these products in different regions of the world.

In this research, the accuracy of the European Space Agency's Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS), GlobeLand30 and Esri's land cover product were evaluated for regional use in the north of Iran - Mazandaran province. After calculating the area of the classes for each of the land cover products, Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to calculate the correlation between them. For quantitative evaluation, the error matrix was used as one of the most common ways to evaluate the accuracy of land cover products. This method is based on the comparison of classified data and ground reality data. Also, the categorized random sampling method was used to select 1329 evaluation samples in Mazandaran province. For visual evaluation, three areas with dimensions of 6 x 6 km were selected.

The regional accuracy evaluation of the studied products shows opposite results compared to the global accuracy of these products. Based on the global accuracy reported for the studied products, the highest accuracy is calculated for the Esri product at 86%, followed by GlobeLand30 and CGLS at 83-85 and 80%. Meanwhile, based on the regional accuracy obtained from the results of this research, the highest regional accuracy for the CGLS product has been calculated at 84% and then for GlobeLand30 and Esri products at 81 and 75%. In evaluating the regional accuracy of the classes, all three studied products (CGLS, GlobeLand30 and Esri) have acceptable accuracy (above 90%) in the classes of snow and ice (100, 100 and 100%), forest (90, 95 and 98 percent), water (96, 94 and 90 percent) and impervious surface (94, 91 and 90 percent). For the agricultural class, accuracy equal to 92, 69 and 84% was obtained for CGLS, GlobeLand30 and Esri land covers.In the 3 classes of shrubland, Impervious surface and wetland, the accuracy results are less than other classes for all three land cover products and in the amount of (29, 0 and 13 percent), (65, 66 and 42 percent) and (67, 38 and 0 percent).

Conclusion:

By evaluating and comparing the regional accuracy of three CGLS products, GlobeLand30 and Esri, this research answered the question of whether the accuracy stated in global land cover products can be trusted for regional studies and planning. The results show that the regional accuracy of CGLS, GlobeLand30, and Esri are 84, 81, and 75 percent, respectively, compared to their global accuracy (80, 83, 85, and 86 percent). These results show the difference obtained for the Esri product more than the two products CGLS and GlobeLand30. Meanwhile, the remote sensing data used for the Esri product (Sentinel-2 data) and its pixel size (10 meters) are of higher quality and quantity than the other two products. In fact, these results show that only paying attention to the type of data used and the global accuracy is not enough to use products in regional scales and requires evaluations before using them.In addition, by evaluating the classes of each product and comparing them, the need for this evaluation before using these products seems necessary. The results showed that in the evaluation of the regional accuracy of the classes, all three studied products had an accuracy of over 90% in the classes of snow and ice, forest, water areas and human construction. For the agricultural land class, accuracy equal to 92, 69 and 84% was obtained for CGLS, GlobeLand30 and Esri land covers. In the 3 classes of shrubland, herbaceous cover and wetland, the results show lower accuracy than other classes for all three land cover products. Significant results were also obtained in the visual evaluation, and it seems necessary to pay attention to this evaluation before the applications where it is important to pay attention to a particular class.

One of the challenges encountered by urban planners pertains to achieving optimal management and balance in the development of urban and regional areas. In relation to this matter, the primary objective of this study was to assess and analyze the trajectory of economic and social stability in the cities of Mazandaran province during the 2006 and 2021 censuses.

This study, characterized as descriptive-analytical in nature, relied on data obtained from government agencies and the aforementioned censuses conducted in 2006 and 2021. To determine the components of sustainability, a sample of 30 experts was selected using a simple random method. The questionnaire's validity and reliability were established through the calculation of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Subsequently, the stability of 16 cities in Mazandaran province during the 2006 census and 22 cities during the 2021 census was evaluated employing the stability barometer, Electr, and Vicor models. Finally, the cities' sustainability was assessed through the utilization of the Copeland technique, which enabled the determination of the final ranking.

The findings from the utilization of sustainability evaluation methodologies demonstrated varying degrees of sustainability among cities. Additionally, the economic and social indicators revealed that the cities of Sari, Babol, Amel, Qaimshahr, Tonkabon, and Chalus exhibit higher levels of sustainability. Moreover, the city of Sari has consistently upheld its position of superiority due to its centralization in political-administrative affairs and the implementation of growth pole strategies, leading to the concentration of economic, political, and social activities and resources within the province.

In conclusion, the cities within the Mazandaran province have encountered distinct levels of stability, with the issue of instability primarily affecting small and medium-sized cities in terms of their scale, and predominantly associated with economic matters when considering indicators. Consequently, the implementation of solutions derived from this research offers the potential to foster stability and facilitate the development of cities.

In recent years, the global economy witnessed a remarkable growth in the tourism industry. However, this growth and dynamism were severely disrupted by the global spread of the COVID-19. With the imposition of international travel bans and the enforcement of widespread restrictions on public gatherings, along with hindrances to movement and mobility to various destinations, the tourism sector came to a halt. The pandemic's impact effectively pushed tourism towards a complete standstill. This study aimed to investigate the impact of perceived COVID-19 risk and social media on the intention for revisiting, with the mediating role of brand engagement in the tourism industry. The study had an applied objective and was conducted using descriptive survey with a cross-sectional approach in terms of methodology. The statistical population of the study were all customers of tourism offices in Māzandarān province, from which 384 individuals has been selected as the sample through the Cochran formula. A researcher-made questionnaire adapted from Rutter's study (2021) was used for data collection. The questionnaire comprised 7 dimensions and 29 questions, formulated on a five-point Likert scale. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated by the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α=0.7). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique using SmartPLS software was employed for hypothesis testing. The results demonstrated that social media and perceived COVID-19 risk have significant direct effects on brand engagement and intention for revisiting. Furthermore, the brand engagement has a significant direct impact on the intention for revisiting. Brand engagement was also found to mediate the relationship between social media and perceived risk with the intention for revisiting.

To measure and prioritize attractions, usually different criteria such as: economic, social, cultural, infrastructure, environmental, institutional, legal and geographical, etc. are considered so that based on them can be compared to different attractions. Decided. The purpose of this study is to prioritize financial investment in Mazandaran city with the approach of sustainable tourism development.

Design/methodology/approach: 

The type of descriptive-analytical research is based on collecting the required data by observing and completing a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study was the cities of Mazandaran province. Based on Cochran's formula, 384 people were selected as the sample size and the questionnaire was distributed randomly in the study area. The validity of the questionnaire items was confirmed by a number of university professors and its reliability using Cronbach's alpha is 0.82%. The data analysis method was performed using descriptive statistics (mean and frequency distribution) and inferential statistics in SPSS software. To prioritize investment in the cities of Mazandaran province with the sustainable development approach, Kruskal-Wallis test has been used.

Amol city won the first place and Babol city won the second place. This ranking can be used by tourists to choose tourist destinations and from On the other hand, help the planners and tourists and related management in this field and tourism investors.

This ranking can help tourists to choose tourist destinations on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can be useful for planners and tourists and related management in this field and tourism investors.

Originality/value: 

Knowing the investment priorities of financial investment in the cities of Mazandaran province is the innovation aspect of the present research.

Floods are among the hazards that affect millions of people around the world every year. The northern region of Iran has also faced numerous floods in recent decades and has caused a lot of damage to urban and rural areas. The northern regions of Iran have also experienced numerous floods in recent decades and have caused extensive damage to urban and rural areas. This study aimed to prepare a map of flood-prone areas by fuzzy method and to validate various maps downstream of the Neka River catchment in eastern Mazandaran. After the flood of 2019, the location of the areas that were affected by the flood was recorded in points. Data were randomly divided into two parts: training and validation 70% and 30%. Based on 70% of the observational data, fuzzy relationships of different information layers were determined, including elevation, slope, distance from the river, precipitation, lithology, and land use. After fuzzification of layers, using 9 different fuzzy operators, the layers overlapped and flood hazard maps were obtained. The validity of the resulting maps was performed using 30% of flooded points and the same number of non-flooded points by ROC method and Cohen's Kappa index. The results showed that operators of fuzzy Gamma 0.9, 0.8, and 0.7, had the highest accuracy of respectively. According to the map of the fuzzy Gamma 0.9, 15.7% of the area is in the very high and high class and 30% of rural and urban areas of the catchment are in these danger zones.

Recently, Mazandaran Province has needed more energy. Considering the capabilities of this province in generating renewable energy, recognizing the potentials of clean energy generation and consumption, especially wind energy, should be a priority in the plans of managers and researchers. A descriptive, analytical and field approach is used in this study. The spatial capability of wind power plants in Mazandaran Province was evaluated using spatial and quantitative data. In order to initially estimate the energy that can be obtained from wind flow in the province, the necessary calculations were performed on wind direction and velocity information over a period of 12 years. Then, based on the group of experts, documentary and library studies, scientific resources in this field and available data, four climatic, economic, environmental-social and topographical factors, have been selected as the most important indicators to determine suitable areas for the establishment of wind power plants in Mazandaran Province. These four criteria include 18 sub-criteria and after weighting and overlapping, the final zoning map was prepared using the Boolean model. According to the final map, the central strip of the province within the boundaries of Noor, Amol and Babol counties, the northern parts of Noor and Sari counties, the south of Savadkooh and Qaemshahr counties, as well as the central and southern parts of Behshahr county, are more suitable areas than other parts of Mazandaran Province for establishing wind power plants.

The expansion of human population, the creation of cities and villages, the construction of bridges, roads and dams are the salient factors destroying and threatening the habitat of a variety animal and plant species. Preserving the habitat of species is one of the ways to protect them from threatening factors and prevent their extinction. Protected areas include four parts such as the national natural heritage, the protected areas, the wildlife sanctuary, and the national park. The purpose of this research is to opt for the new preserved areas for the protection of 6 mammal species in Mazandaran province using the Simulated Annealing Algorithm. The maximum entropy method was used to prepare the species distribution layer. This research studied and investigated the effect of different parameters such as BLM, SPF, different protection goals (30%, 40%, 50% and 60% of the minimum area considered for any kind of protection) in the process of selecting protected areas. By examining 4 different scenarios for the protection of 6 species of mammals, the results showed that the existing protected areas (Shesh Rudbar, Asas, Hazar Jerib, Dodange Wildlife Sanctuary, Bind National Park, and Kiasar National Park) are not effective for protection purposes.

One of the policies that has been taken into account by many countries to develop sustainable tourism is the development of touristic towns and villages in a centralized manner and the prevention of haphazard, unplanned contractions that destroy environment, sociocultural context, and economic structure of the touristic attraction sites. This policy was enacted by the Iranian cabinet in 2017. The purpose of this study was to present a methodology to identify the spaces suitable for the development of touristic towns and villages. The study was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of methodology. As the input of the analytic model, the spatial territory of Mazandaran province was divided into 23007 spatial units, each covering 100 hectares. Then, the development of touristic towns and villages were evaluated and prioritized. In this article, the combined index of “the priority of the development of touristic towns and villages in Mazandaran province” was made by combining exploratory factor analysis and network analysis (F’ANP) based on 14 factors effective on the development of touristic towns and villages. The resulting map was then trimmed based on four control indices. The findings of the model showed that the three factors of “environmental potential and transportation infrastructure,” “the quantity and quality of serving the tourists,” and “tourism investment potential” are effective on the prioritization of Mazandaran province spaces in order to develop touristic towns and villages. The results of study demonstrated that the development of touristic towns and villages in this province is possible in the middle and eastern side of seashore, in limited areas in the eastern plains, and in the eastern and western mountainous lands.

The speed of changes of geographical spaces is so high that human strength and power cannot predict it. In order to prepare for environmental changes, future studies have replaced traditional forecasting and planning techniques. Scenario planning is a technique that presents different futures by considering environmental uncertainties. This research tried to formulate future development scenarios of Mazandaran province using the scenario writing approach. Delphi method and opinions of the province's experts were used to identify the driving forces of the province's development and possible uncertainties ahead. Primary variables were defined in the framework of the cross-effect matrix in the MikMak prospective software. According to the high score of direct and indirect influences, 18 main key factors influence the future regional development of Mazandaran province. These factors were discussed in this research as the main basis for depicting possible situations and regional development scenarios of Mazandaran province. Scenario Wizard software was used to formulate the scenarios. The results showed that a total of 68 different situations were designed for 18 key factors, which included a range of favorable to unfavorable conditions. The number of situations for each factor varied between 3 and 4 depending on the complexity of the province's conditions. Totally 11 scenarios were divided into 3 groups according to their degree of desirability. Each group contains several scenarios with almost common characteristics and little difference in one or more situations among 18 key factors.