جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه "استان مازندران" در نشریات گروه "کشاورزی"

Several studies have reported the role of genetic polymorphisms in the onset and development of type 2 diabetes. SLC30A8 is one of the loci containing polymorphism that is associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes. This gene encodes zinc transporter (ZnT8). In this research, the relationship of some polymorphisms of this gene with fasting blood sugar level and HOMA-IR in patients with type 2 diabetes in a population from the east of Mazandaran province was investigated.

133 patients with type 2 diabetes and 128 controls were evaluated in this study. Insulin and fasting blood glucose levels were used to determine HOMA-IR. RFLP-PCR was used to identify rs13266634 and rs11558471 polymorphisms.

The results showed that for rs11558471 polymorphism, both fasting glucose and HOMA-IR were higher in GA+AA group compared to GG homozygotes (p<0.001). Also, for rs13266634 polymorphism, both fasting glucose and HOMA-IR were higher in CT+CC group compared to TT homozygotes (p<0.001).

The results of this study showed that rs13266634 and rs11558471 polymorphisms are related to blood sugar characteristics in this Iranian population with type 2 diabetes. This association may be useful for identifying individuals at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Of course, to better understand this relationship, it is necessary to study these polymorphisms in other populations with a larger sample size.

Human activities, climate variability, and environmental stress have strongly affected forest ecosystems worldwide. Forest fires are among the major factors of global ecosystem destruction. Fires in the forest, whether of human or natural origin, have been raised as a serious crisis in recent years. Hence, fire risk assessment plays an important role in forest fire management because knowing where the highest risk is essential to minimize threats to resources, lives, and property. Integration of spatial information from different sources using statistical analysis in the GIS environment is a suitable tool for managing and spreading forest fires, which is one of the main natural hazards in northern Iran. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a fire risk assessment map for the planning and protection of forests.

The current practical research concerning its nature is a combination of documentary, descriptive, and quantitative model-based methods regarding the research method. In this study, fuzzy and hierarchical (AHP) logic models were combined to investigate the risk of forest fire in Mazandaran province in five classes, very high, high, medium, low, and very low, respectively, using four main criteria and nine sub-criteria, namely topography (height, slope, direction, and rivers), climatic factors (peak temperature and precipitation), human factors (residential areas and the network of communication roads), and biological factors (vegetation). To obtain the net vegetation cover, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was applied to the Sentinel-2 satellite image set in a 5-year period (2017-2022) in the GEE web system. The height, slope, and slope direction maps of the study area were prepared from the digital elevation model (DEM) of 12.5 m from the ALOS AVNIR-2 dataset. The distance from rivers, residential areas, and the road network was calculated using the Euclidean distance tool in ArcMAP software. The geographic location of meteorological synoptic stations was obtained from the Meteorological Organization, and its information was used as meteorological input data. In the ArcMap environment, a map of average annual precipitation and maximum temperature was prepared from synoptic stations through interpolation for the period from 2007 to 2021. Based on this modeling method, experts' opinions were used for the relative importance and priority of criteria and sub-criteria in the risk of forest fire in the study area to obtain the fuzzy weight of criteria and sub-criteria. Based on the weighting coefficients applied in the present plan, the final weights of the criteria and sub-criteria affecting forest fire from the highest to the lowest weights belong to the topographical, biological, climatic, and human criteria. Among the sub-criteria, the highest and lowest weights belong to vegetation and slope, respectively. The consistency rate (CR) for the matrices of the affecting factors is equal to 6.25%, which is less than 10%, actually indicating that the weight of the criteria is proportionate and reliable. The highest weights were obtained for the vegetation cover and the slope direction, and the lowest weights belonged to the distance from the river and the slope. Finally, the fire risk assessment map was prepared by combining the fuzzy maps of the sub-criteria in GIS.

Overall, medium to very high fire risk potential was found in 72% of the studied area. From a total area of about 2373189 hectares, very low (8.4%), low (18.3%), medium (23.66%), high (25.62), and very high (24%) vulnerability rates were identified in Mazandaran province. Higher fire potential was detected in the East and Southeast parts than in other parts of the study area. The aforementioned fuzzy layers clearly show that the height, slope, and amount of precipitation are low and the density of residential areas and the network of communication roads are high in these parts, with high temperatures. In fact, these factors have increased the risk of fire in these areas. In the present study, the highest fire potential was observed at low altitudes, which could have resulted from the concentration of human activities at low altitudes. Moreover, most fires occurred on low slopes in the studied area. The distance layer from waterways also plays a dual role in the occurrence of fire. The results of the model show an inverse correlation between the distance from roads and fire potential. Based on the results of the fuzzy AHP model, the probability of fire increased with the decrease in precipitation and the increase in annual temperature. A decrease in the amount of precipitation causes a decrease in soil moisture and vegetation, elevating the possibility of fire. On the other hand, the increase in temperature causes the drying of vegetation and reduces humidity, thereby increasing the possibility of fire.

It can be concluded that preparing a fire risk assessment map can help managers and planners in identifying areas with high potential and in crisis management in vulnerable areas. The obtained fire risk assessment map can be used as a decision-making support system to predict future fires in the study area.

The integrated pest management strategy, as an important environmentally friendly policy, has received special attention in agricultural extension training courses in recent years. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the relationship between rice farmers' reaction towards extension training courses, integrated pest management knowledge, and practical use of the learned knowledge of rice farmers participating in extension training courses on rice integrated pest management in Mazandaran province. The study is descriptive and ex-post facto, conducted using a survey method in 2023. The targeted population of this study consisted of 250 rice farmers who were participating in the extension training courses. Using Krejcie and Morgan table and simple random sampling method, 146 people participated in this study. A questionnaire with a five point Likert scale was used to collect data. The content validity of the research instrument was confirmed by a panel of experts from the Rice Research Institute of Iran, and the agricultural jihad organization of Mazandaran province. The reliability of the research instrument was confirmed using the ordinal theta coefficient with a rate of 0.85 to 0.95 for the research variables. Data analysis was done using SPSS27 and Smart PLS software. The results showed the reaction of the rice farmers was not negative towards the quality of the held training courses. Additionally, the level of their knowledge of integrated pest management was evaluated as average. Most of the farmers acknowledged that they applied their learned knowledge at an average level in practice. The results of the path analysis showed that the learned knowledge of integrated pest management had the most direct effect on the practical use of rice farmers. Also, rice farmers' reaction towards extension training courses, in addition to directly affecting the practical use of rice farmers, indirectly affected it through the learned knowledge.

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges that humanity has faced in the 21st century, because it can have severe effects on water resources, agriculture, energy, and even human bioclimate. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes of climatic parameters in four sites of Plour, Rineh, Kangarchal and Poshtkoh in Mazandaran province using general atmospheric circulation models. For this purpose, the data of IPSL-CM5A-MR and CSIRO-MK36 models under RCP4/5 and RCP8/5 scenarios have been scaled with LARS WG statistical micro-rotator to evaluate the impact of climate change. After carrying out calibration, verification and modeling of data in two stations (Abali and Kiasar), the effectiveness of the models in terms of the amount of compliance of the observed data with the simulated value using the RMSE index, R2, MAE was evaluated. The obtained results showed that IPSL-CM5A-MR and CSIRO-MK36 models obtain acceptable results. Considering that in Abali station, the amount of rainfall in the base period is 542.08 mm under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios in both IPSL-CM5A-MR and CSIRO-MK36 models in the future between (2021-2060) will increase by 0.91-0.97 percent. The average maximum temperature will increase by 1.7-2.2 centigrade and minimum temperature by 1.56-1.88 centigrade compared to the base period. Accordingly, the amount of rainfall in the base period in Kiasar station is 528.46 mm, which under the scenarios of RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 in both models in the future between the years (2021-2060) is 96. 0-87% will increase. The average maximum temperature will increase by 1.72-18.2 centigrade and the minimum temperature will increase by 1.62-1.82 centigrade compared to the base period.

The aim of this study was to determine influencing social capital on approaches and attitudes related with environment protection. The methodological approach of this study was descriptive- correlative. The research population consisted of 183 managers of rural production cooperatives in Mazandaran province, which was selected using randomizing sampling method (n=125). Validity of the instrument was established by a panel of experts consisting of senior faculty members and research committee advisors. Reliability analysis was conducted by using and Cronbach alpha formula and result was 0.88. Dependent variables were dimensions of approaches and attitudes related with environment protection. Independent variables include dimensions of social capital (structural social, cognitive social and relationship social). The results showed that dimensions of social capital with approaches and attitudes related with environment protection had been relationship of positive and significant. The results of the multiple regression analysis (stepwise method) revealed that structural social, cognitive social and relationship social in three steps explained a variation of 92.3% of the attitudes related with environment protection.also, structural social, cognitive social and relationship social in three steps explained a variation of 94.5% of the approaches related with environment protection.

Introduction and Goal:

In recent years, soil erosion and sediment yield have posed a significant threat to food security. Many countries have conducted extensive research studies to manage and prevent soil erosion and sedimentation. Considering the need to know the rate of erosion and sediment yield, the current research was conducted using empirical models with the aim of estimating the rate of erosion and sediment yield in the Kasilian representative watershed. Also, empirical models were evaluating and comparing with observational data.

The Kasilian representative watershed in Mazandaran province had its soil erosion and sediment yield estimated using the G2 and IntErO Models. Then, using the observational data and the sediment rating curve of Valikbon hydrometery station at the outlet of the watershed, the annual specific sediment yield was calculated and the results of the models were evaluated.

The results of the G2 and IntErO Models showed the rate of soil erosion at 1.30 and 2.35 t ha-1 yr-1 for this watershed, respectively. Also, the annual specific sediment yield estimated by the G2 and IntErO Models were 0.44 and 0.84 t ha-1 yr-1, respectively, and observational data was obtained as 0.16 t ha-1 yr-1. In this watershed, the G2 Model results revealed that vegetation cover had more significant impact on erosion than rainfall intensity. Due to the type of vegetation cover, most areas in the watershed had low erosion rates. The IntErO Model results showed that the steep slopes of the watershed led to a peak discharge of 137.81 m3 s-1 with 20-year return period. In addition, the surface erosion was the dominant erosion type in this watershed.

Conclusion and Suggestions:

The investigated empirical models had similar results. Although, taking into account the changes in land use in the Kasilian representative watershed, the estimated values of annual erosion and sediment yield are acceptable and reasonable, the differences with the observational data were very high and apparently indicated the low efficiency of the models. However, it is necessary to mention that the inappropriateness of the sampling intervals of runoff and sediment in this watershed has been a very important reason for the low intensity of annual sediment yield based on observational data. In other words, the daily measurement intervals for this small watershed have caused the real data of sediment concentration to be collected at the same time as flood hours or peak discharges that have the most sediment transport. To solve this problem, it is suggested to do sampling in small watersheds at shorter time intervals (several times a day or even hourly) so that high concentrations of sediments are collected at the same time as high flows and are included in the calculation of sediment yield.

The multi-sectoral nature of water management requires cooperation and coordination between actors involved in water governance. The integrity of the water governance network requires the existence of trust between these actors to strengthen communication and interactions between them. This study was conducted to analyze the water governance network in Mazandaran province from the perspective of inter-institutional trust and interaction. In this regard, first, 21 institutions and organizations were identified through archival research, direct observation, and unstructured interviews with experts and activists in the field of water governance in Mazandaran province, and in the next step, to analyze the structure of the pattern of relationships between these institutional activities, social network analysis approach was used. The results of the research showed that the inter-institutional trust and interaction at the level of the water governance network of the province is average, and therefore the communication between the actors of this network is not easily done. Key organizations such as the regional water company, agricultural jihad, and governorate are in an important position at the level of the inter-institutional trust and interaction network, and they play the role of intermediaries. Based on the results of this research, strengthening the trust between water governance actors and their interaction as much as possible at the levels of policy, planning, implementation and monitoring of water projects can improve the coherence of the water governance network of Mazandaran province

The monitoring and evaluation rangelands provides the necessary information for the essential planning of rangeland management. As a result, it prevents the destruction of rangelands and water and soil conservation. This research aims to prepare a continuous database of vegetation and soil indicators in rangelands and monitor their changes, determine the relationship between vegetation indicators and climatic factors, determine the trend and intensity of changes in different managements, and provide information for calculating the long-term capacity of rangelands.

For this study, the Asbchar site was selected in the rangelands of the Baladeh region in Mazandaran province and was evaluated and monitored for five years (2017-2021). In order to evaluate the indicators of vegetation cover, three transects of 100 meters were placed at a distance of 50 meters from each other. Vegetation and soil factors were measured. Vegetation factors included canopy cover, density and production of plant species, litter, rangeland condition and trend. Soil factors include pH, E.C., nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic matter, soil bulk density and soil texture. Ten plots of 1m2 were placed in each transect, and a total of 30 plots were placed in exclosure and grazed areas. The crown cover of any plant species with the method of measuring the crown surface, the density by counting the number of species, the production by cutting and weighing, and the percentage of stone and gravel cover, litter, and bare soil were also measured in the plots. Data testing was done in Minitab16 software.

The analysis of variance results has shown a significant difference between most vegetation and soil factors in different years. The comparison of the averages of vegetation and soil factors investigated in different years shows that the highest average percentage of the total cover was related to the exclosure region. The highest average value was related to 2010, 2021 and 2019, respectively, and the lowest was the year 2017. The correlation between the total cover of the exclosure region with the total production, the percentage of nitrogen inside and outside the plant, the amount of potassium outside the plant, the annual rainfall, the rainfall of the growing season and the rainfall of autumn and winter seasons in exclosure region is significant.  Also, the correlation between total production and annual rainfall, rainfall in the growing season and rainfall in autumn and winter seasons is significant.  The correlation between total cover with total production, nitrogen percentage under plants, annual rainfall, growing season rainfall and autumn and winter rainfall in the grazed area is significant. Also, the correlation between total production with rainfall in the growing season and rainfall in the autumn and winter seasons is significant. The step-by-step regression results showed that climatic factors such as growing season rainfall, total fall and winter rainfall, and soil factors such as E.C., pH, % O.M. and %N were used to predict the total cover and production.

The results of this research show a significant difference between the total crown cover, production and density of species during five years. Also, there is a significant difference between the exclosure and grazed areas in terms of all the factors examined in this research. The percentage of coverage, production and density of the perennial grasses and forbs in the exclosure region was higher than in the grazed region. The research results over five years showed that when autumn and winter rainfall and total rainfall and rainfall in the growing season were greater, an increasing trend was also seen in vegetation characteristics.

Although economic growth is not the only criterion of economic development, its importance has always been more than other indicators of development. Increasing production is another expression of economic growth. Today, productivity is considered as one of the influencing factors on the economic conditions of countries. Because improving productivity while increasing the gross domestic product and competitiveness of countries also increases public welfare. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness and ranking of productivity barriers in the agricultural and industrial sub-sectors in Mazandaran Province.

Material and Methods:

 In order to examine the obstacles and damages affecting productivity in Mazandaran Province, 65 questionnaires were completed by experts and senior managers of the executive bodies of Mazandaran Province in the summer of 2022. In order to estimate the results, the method of Analytic Hierarchy Process and Expert Choice Software and to examine the effect of each of the relevant criteria and sub-criteria on other obstacles from Structural Equation Medelling and Smart PLS software was used.

The normalized weight obtained from the results of the AHP for the criteria of environmental barriers, organizational barriers and individual barriers is 1.00, 0.966 and 0.983, respectively, with the highest weight corresponding to the criterion of environmental barriers and the lowest weight related to organizational obstacles. The results of the factor analysis showed that the environmental barrier hypothesis affects individual barriers and the organizational barrier hypothesis affects environmental barriers are meaningful؛

The results of the Analytic Hierarchy Process showed that low leadership skills of managers from individual barrier sub-criteria, lack of proper performance evaluation system from organizational barrier sub-criteria and incomplete performance information from environmental barrier sub-criteria are of the highest importance among other sub-criteria and and the most important barriers and damages affecting productivity in Mazandaran Province. In general, according to the obtained results, among the three mentioned criteria, environmental barriers have the highest importance from the point of view of high-ranking officials of organizations in Mazandaran province; Also, based on the results of SEM, environmental barriers are effective on individual barriers and organizational barriers are effective on environmental barriers.

Water ponds play an important role in providing water needed for a large part of paddy lands. In addition to providing drinking water, these native structures play an important role in feeding underground water and preventing the drop of the underground water level, so their preservation is very important. In this research, by observing the distribution map of water ponds in Mazandaran province, a range of Haraz catchment with about 41 water ponds was selected. For this purpose, 20 water ponds were examined, then the catchment runoff was calculated for different return periods using the SWMM model, and the obtained results used for all the water ponds in the project area. Based on the obtained results, improvement of all water ponds in the region from one to two meters will collect the runoff from rainfall up to the return period of 50 years and increase the cultivated area of paddy fields. Therefore, by collecting runoff in non-agricultural seasons and using it in agricultural seasons, an important step can be taken in the optimal use of water resources, as well as increasing the amount of production of the dominant crops in the region.

Agricultural development has been emphasized as one of the dimensions of sustainable rural development. In this regard, this research was conducted with the aim of identifying and explaining the factors affecting the development of citrus cultivation in Mazandaran. The statistical population of this research was made up of 200 experts active in the citrus field of the Agricultural Jihad Organization and its subordinate units and 148,238 gardeners in Mazandaran. that Using the Cochran formula, 127 experts and 306 gardeners respectively were sampled in Available and randomly selected. The data collection tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a group of specialists and experts. The tool of data collection was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a group of specialists and experts.  Also, Cronbach's alpha was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, which that showed the value was calculated as 0.912. The results of exploratory factor analysis on 43 variables of citrus cultivation showed that six factors were identified as the main factors that Include: environmental, technical, economic, structural, social and cultural-educational, in total, they explained 51.8 of the total variance of factors affecting the development of citrus fruits. Finally, according to the obtained results, practical suggestions have been presented. Addition to, using LISREL 8.8 software, the factors affecting the development of citrus cultivation were confirmed.

Medicinal plants not only have economic advantages but also can improve social health. In spite of developing the plantation of medical plants throughout Mazandaran province, one of the main challenges of that the farmers are faced is the marketing of their products. Present study aimed to analyze marketing of medical plants products, and to present appropriate marketing strategies based on farmers’ views. Statistical population included the farmers who were cultivating medical plants in the eastern part of Mazandaran province (Sari, Neka, Behshahr and Galogah Township). 339 farmers were selected as sample by stratified random sampling using the Krejcie and Morgan table. Descriptive and quantitative research method, survey technique and questionnaire tool were used to collect data. The research results showed that farmers mainly sell their products through retailing, brokers, or medicinal herbs sellers. The most important challenges in the cultivation and marketing of medicinal plants have been the high cost of production inputs, the small number of processing and packaging workshops, low international exports, the inability to access to financial credits, and the low awareness of farmers about the marketing of medicinal plants. based on the farmers’ view, strategies such as granting low-interest financial credits, setting up processing workshops, training and empowering farmers in the field of marketing, facilitating the issuance of licenses, creating permanent and temporary markets for direct sales, guaranteed purchase by the government and providing consumption subsidies, can improve marketing of medicinal plants

One of the development policies tailored to the conditions of rural areas is sustainable agricultural tourism. Most countries of the world have considered this type of tourism as a new strategy for the development of rural areas, but the sustainability of agricultural tourism in Iran, especially in Mazandaran province, is doubtful. This descriptive-correlation study was conducted to explain the sustainability of agricultural tourism in the west of Mazandaran province and the variables affecting it. The statistical population of the study was 72 farmers with agricultural tourism sites in the west of Mazandaran province who were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that was based on theoretical foundations and three Delphi stages through interviews with 21 experts in the field of agricultural tourism in various organizations that were purposefully selected, 86 indicators in the terms of social, economic, cultural and environmental dimensions were identified. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts and the reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed by Cranach's alpha. The Prescott-Allen five classes were used to evaluate the degree of stability. The results showed that the situation of agricultural tourism in western Mazandaran is unstable. This sustainability in social, cultural and environmental dimensions is almost unstable and economically moderate. Tonekabon city had better stability in three dimensions of social, cultural and environmental than Ramsar and Chalous cities, but this difference was not significant according to ANOVA test. The results of multiple regression analysis also showed that the three variables of farm size, history of activity in the field of agricultural tourism and income had the greatest impact on farmer's views regarding the sustainability of agricultural tourism. In order to develop agricultural tourism, it is necessary to pay attention to the principles of sustainability and its various dimensions in order to avoid harm in the direction of sustainable development while enjoying its benefits

The aim of the study was to determine the quality of the inlet and outlet water of five selected rainbow trout breeding farms in Mazandaran Province (Haraz, Chalous, Tonekabon, and Sari) based on environmental parameters during four seasons in 2021-2022. Forty samples were collected and measured based on standard methods. According to the results, the range of water temperature (3.0-24.0°C), air temperature (2.0-25.0°C), DO (6.16-12.24 mg/l), BOD5 (0.24-2.76 mg/l), COD (2.40-93.70 mg/l), EC (284-783 µs/cm), turbidity (1.12-220-0 NTU), TSS (2-288 mg/l), pH (7.44-8.62), total phosphorus (0.2-2.12 mg/l), phosphate (0.01-0.206 mg/l), ammonium (0.012-0.538 mg/l), ammonia (0.001-0.018 mg/l), nitrite (0.001-0.426 mg/l), nitrate (0.52-6.10 mg/l), fecal coliform count (6-1000 CFU/100ml) and water quality index (WQIIR) (62.0-91.0) were registered. The water quality of this river was placed in class III (low pollution) based on the average parameters of organic pollution (BOD5 and COD) and human activities were not one of the main factors in the increase of organic matter in the river. The concentration of ammonium and nitrite was within the threshold limit, but the concentration of phosphate in all the inlet and outlet stations and in different seasons was more than the maximum limit of unpolluted rivers. The results showed that the WQIIR was in the range of 62-91. 7.5% of the total data and the mean of this index indicated the relatively good quality of the inlet and outlet water of the rainbow trout breeding farms. The highest quality of water, i.e. very good quality, is recorded in 12.5% of all data, which is observed at the inlet water of rainbow trout breeding farms. The outlet quality index of the farms was lower than its inlet, but it was categorized as good quality. The overall WQIIR (77.4±6.6) in all inlet and outlet stations indicates that the water of this farm is suitable for fish and wildlife and also suitable for rainbow trout breeding.

Income-generating industrial tourism is economically viable, with social and cultural exchange, and at the same time contains the least environmental pollution. Geotourism was first used in the early 1990s to study a special place containing obvious geological and geomorphological phenomena. Today, the development of tourism around the world has attracted a lot of attention because tourism has become an industry that brings many benefits to both the host and the visitor. This industry has become the main source of income, employment, private sector growth and infrastructure development in many countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate the capabilities and capabilities of geotourism in Khatirkuh region located in Savadkuh city of Mazandaran province using the combined SWOT-ANP and QSPM analysis. 

In terms of the work steps, this research is descriptive-analytical. The method of data collection was library and survey type field studies (interviews and questionnaires) and the theoretical framework was also done using documentary method. In order to carry out the research, a questionnaire containing 83 questions was divided into four parts: economic, social, environmental and ecological and the ability of geotourism, and some questions related to suggestions and solutions are given at the end of the questionnaire. The designed questionnaire, after its reliability and validity test, was given to 71 local people, employees, experts and students, and each of the questions in the questionnaire were designed as four options based on a Likert scale. Then, using SWOT model, the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of the region in the field of geotourism were identified and prioritized and prioritized using the network analysis process method. Finally, geotourism development strategies were identified using SWOT-ANP. 

The results showed that the total weighted scores of strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) were 2.881 and 2.549, respectively, and the total weighted scores of opportunities (O) and threats (T) were 2.922 and 2.39, respectively. Given that the total SO scores are higher than the WT, an appropriate strategy for geotourism development planning in the region would be an aggressive strategy. Also, based on the results of quantitative strategic planning method (QSPM), the prioritization of these strategies with total points of 29.283, 28.350, 27.744, 26.877 and 26.534 respectively include ST6, SO1, SO7, WO2 and WO1 strategies. Financial resources for developing the region's tourism infrastructure, investing in infrastructure, creating new jobs for indigenous peoples, investing well in cultural sectors, and educating indigenous peoples to connect with tourists were identified more than other strategies. 

Considering the priority of the proposed strategies for the region, it can be said that for the sustainable development of geotourism, incentives should be considered for the private sector of Khatirkoh region, because private investors are looking for more income by entering this industry, and this is their issue. makes it necessary to provide appropriate services. Unfortunately, there is not much incentive for the participation of the private sector in the tourism industry, especially in the field of geotourism in Iran and naturally in the Khatir-Kuh region. If the problems caused by not handing over to the private sector and infrastructure facilities are solved, we will witness a more sustainable development in the region.

In this study, the catch composition and the catch per unit effort (CPUE) of sturgeon spawners caught by the gill net were investigated in the fishing grounds of Mazandaran province in two regions 3 and. Sampling and data collection of sturgeon spawning fish was done seasonally from 7 fishing grounds using gill nets with a mesh size of 150 mm. The results of the Chi-square test showed that there was a significant relationship between the time and place of Caught Persian sturgeon and Starry sturgeon (P<0.05) There was a significant relationship between the time and place of fishing with the abundance of fish spawners caught between regions 3 and 5 with spring and autumn seasons (P<0.05). There was a significant relationship between the time and place of fishing with the abundance of Starry sturgeon spawners caught between regions 3 and 5 only in the winter season (P<0.05). Also, a significant difference was observed between the amount of catch per unit effort of the spawning fishes caught in regions 3 and 5 (P<0.05) and between the averages of the catch per unit effort of the spawning fishes caught in the spring and summer seasons. Also, there was a significant difference between autumn and winter (P<0.05). Since the spawners of the caught sturgeon belonging to the Starry sturgeon and Persian sturgeon had the highest number compared to other species, so the results show the influence of the spatio-temporal factors of the habitats on their spawners.

In the present study, in order to optimally use the water and soil resources of Mazandaran province according to the potential of the region, the comparative method was used. For this purpose, the current situation of the province was first identified in terms of water and soil resources and the cultivation pattern, and in the next step, by comparing and adapting other regions of the world that have similar climatic conditions to Mazandaran province, modeling the experiences of those countries in the field of crop cultivation It was carried out according to the potential of the region. The results of the comparison phase showed that a total of 158 points on the earth had the same climate level as Mazandaran province. Based on the comparative results obtained, the current cultivation pattern in Mazandaran province should be slightly changed according to water and soil resources. The cultivated area of products such as cotton, which has been favored by farmers in this province in the past, can increase again in this province as a suitable product for the textile industry. Also, a tree like olive that can be used in different fields (eating raw, extracting oil and animal fodder) and considering that in Mazandaran climate, in many mountainous areas of this province, olive oil extracting species have shown good performance, Therefore, this product can also be recommended. Also, the possibility of growing some new crops in Mazandaran province, which was done through interviews with the professors of Sari University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and research projects, which products such as medicinal plants are also suggested.

Mazandaran province is one of the most important rice and citrus-producing areas in Iran, where most of the citrus orchards and agricultural fields are irrigated with groundwater. On the other hand, irrigation water pH is one of the basic qualitative factors that determine the solubility and biological availability of chemical components in the soil such as nutrients and heavy metals, and it can affect agricultural production.

The coastal strip of Mazandaran Province toward the southwest of the Caspian Sea is situated in the north of Iran with an area of 8,252 km2 between 35.77 to 36.99 N latitudes and 50.36 to 57.13 E longitudes. In this study, the temporal and spatial variations of groundwater salinity were studied in the coastal strip using data from 300 wells, collected by Mazandaran Regional Water Company. Data included mean pH for each 6-month period of 9 consecutive years, from 2012 until the end of 2020. pH maps and maps of the risk probability area for rice and citrus growth were obtained by using Ordinary Kriging (OK) and Indicator Kriging (IK) in ArcGIS 10.7.1 software, respectively. Classifications were selected according to the properties pH range for the growth of citrus (5.8, 8) and the optimum pH for rice (6.8) in OK method. The indicator amount of pH was considered equal to 6.8 in IK method. Thereby, areas belonging to different pH classes were outlined and places with the risk probability for growing the rice and citrus were identified.

The 11 different models for semivariograms were drawn, and the best one was chosen according to the lowest nugget-to-sill ratio, and thus Stable and Exponential were obtained as the highest frequency for first and second half-years. The indices of cross validation for each selected semivariogram were estimated within acceptable ranges. In Ik method, the pH of studying area was classified into 4 ranges of <5.8, 5.8–6.8, 6.8–8.0, >8, and the percentage area of each classification derived from the ArcGIS software, the average area of each classification during the studying period was calculated zero, 0.6, 83.5 and 15.9 percent, respectively. It showed that most part of the study area located in the range of 6.8-8. It means most rice fields and citrus orchards were irrigated by the groundwater with the pH close to neutral. The obtained maps in the OK method indicated that the pH of the groundwater was not acidic in any points and alkaline conditions were observed in the western and eastern parts of the province. Therefore, The IK method was used to further investigate and determine the vulnerable areas. The probability of pH risk in rice and citrus growth was classified into 4 ranges (0-20%, 20-40%, 40-60% and 60-100%), and the average percentage area of each classification along the period was estimated 94.9, 4.8, 0.3 and zero percent, respectively. Using the IK method, higher probability of groundwater pH reducing the yield in citrus orchards and rice fields was found in eastern parts of Mazandaran province, which was about 5% of total studying area. Also, the results of the study in these 9 consecutive years did not show any decreasing or increasing trend in pH changes and consequently the area under each classification.

Generally, the results indicated that the pH of groundwater for irrigating the citrus orchards and rice fields was appropriate in the most parts of the province and merely in the eastern part of the province, low water alkalinity may make a risk probability for rice and citrus growth in both western and eastern parts of the province. Due to the fact that alkaline water causes soil alkalinity and consequently reduces the solubility of phosphorus and some other plant nutrients in soil, it is suggested to supply the optimum required fertilization amounts of the nutrients in soil. However, the amount of fertilization should be on the basis of field research results. It is also proposed to study the condition of rice and citrus growth and the irrigated water in more details through the farms of western parts of the province. Due to the fact that most citrus orchards in this province are irrigated under the pressurized irrigation systems and using groundwater for irrigation, it is suggested that the Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) be examined in future research.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the barriers to education and extension in management of rangelands of Mazandaran province. The research is of applied type and field research in Mazandaran Province. Population consisted of all Extension and rangeland management experts in 12 counties of Mazandaran province that in relation to the expert’s population in each of the counties related to livestock and rangeland activities through random and available sampling method, the statistical sample of the study was selected that the sample size of 110 people was obtained using Morgan formula. The main research tool included a questionnaire. Its validity (form and content) was confirmed based on the collective opinion of experts from Jihad Agriculture, Natural Resources Management, Environment Organization, Rangelands and Forests Organization in Mazandaran Province, faculty members of Department of Agricultural Extension and Education and Rangeland of Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha was used to estimate the reliability (0.798). The reliability was found to be acceptable. The results of factor analysis showed that: 1) Economic-supportive barriers; (2) infrastructural-technical barriers; (3) rangeland management system barriers; (4) socio-cultural barriers; (5) Political-institutional barriers were the five barriers to application education and extension in management of rangelands. These factors explained 74.66 percent of the total variance. Finally, the proposed research model in rangeland ranchers and rangeland brokers (policy makers) has provided solutions to reduce barriers and problems in extension rangeland management. Keep up with the research results development of the use of appropriate extension methods such as training and visit approach and participatory approach and prioritization of training and extension needs in the rangeland management department of the province to disseminate information and practical skills among rangeland users, integrating knowledge and indigenous skills with new technologies in conservation Recommended from pastures and livestock production.