فصلنامه جغرافیا و پایداری محیط
پیاپی 37 (زمستان 1399)

The increasing use of motor vehicles is one of the consequences of urbanization, which in addition to problems such as traffic and air pollution, will reduce the physical activity of residents and affect the general health of society. As a result, one of the most effective ways to tackle this problem in recent decades has been to increase people's accessibility to a variety of land uses by reducing travel distance or properly mixing land uses. Therefore, this challenge has led various researchers around the world to seek new ways of urban management to solve this problem. One of the most significant approaches to increase accessibility is proper mixed land use in urban areas. This study aims to calculate equality in the distribution of urban uses along the street network of Valiasr neighborhood, located in District 6 of Tehran Municipality by using GIS as a spatial analyst tool and Gini index as an indicator for the level of justice in distribution. Based on the number of land uses among longitudinal deciles of each street, this analysis has determined the level of equality in the distribution of land uses by the Gini index, for each passage and the whole neighborhood. The findings show that the Valiasr neighborhood with a Gini index of 0.3 owns a relatively good equality in the distribution of land uses. In addition, a comparison of the results with the findings of other studies reveals that the Gini index of each neighborhood can be a good indicator to measure the landaus mixed-ness, walkability, and accessibility to urban and transportation infrastructure in a region. Besides, it can be used along with other factors in regional or urban planning due to the justice-oriented essence of Gini index.

Paying attention to environmental effects on the production of agricultural yields can be very useful in the direction of sustainable agricultural management. Understanding biological behaviors in the production of pollutants can play an important role in reducing the adverse effects of air pollution. Logistic regression method is considered as a linear developed method to predict air pollution; Time series analysis of parameters affecting air pollutants and addressing how much data is needed in previous times to predict the amount of pollutants one step ahead is an issue that has been less studied. The current study aims to model the process of five important pollutants including carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), particulate matter less than 10 μm in diameter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Mazandaran province, using logistic regression method and time series analysis, to examine the efficiency and flexibility of the methods used in modeling and forecasting these pollutants. In this study, meteorological data from Ramsar, Amol, Babolsar and Nowshahr stations and air pollution data from Gulogah, Ghaemshahr, Sari and Kiasar stations were received daily in the second half of 2017 and 2018, the average of which has been used in data analysis. The findings reveal that NO2 and CO of Gulogah station and O3 of Kiasar station and SO2, NO2 and CO of Sari and Ghaemshahr pollution stations are completely related to the parameters of temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, which indicates the effect of these parameters on changing the concentration of these pollutants. Moreover, based on the patterns of univariate functions of regression equations, valid formulas for estimating logistic relationships between pollutants and meteorological parameters were extracted, according to which, having meteorological parameters in stations, it is easy to predict the pollution of the region.

Pressure on the environment for human activities is important not only environmentally but also economically. In Iran, due to the abundance of energy resources, there is waste and extravagance in their use for economic activities, which leads to an increase in environmental pollution. The current study aims to predict five important pollutants including carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). In fact, this study is going to investigate the process of pollutants using logistic regression method and time series analysis to examine the efficiency and flexibility of these methods in modeling.

Studied air pollution measuring stations in this work include Gulogah, Ghaemshahr, Sari and Kiasar stations. Data from Ramsar, Amol, Babolsar and Nowshahr meteorological stations were also used. Meteorological data from synoptic stations and air pollution data from monitoring stations of the Environmental Protection Organization were received daily in the second half of 1396 and 1397, the average of which was used in data analysis. In statistical analysis, the correlation between the parameters was calculated and the correlation relationships were presented. In this study, logistic regression method was used.

With the obtained values ​​for special vectors suitable for each component, a suitable drawing of the relationship between meteorological parameters and air pollutants is created. The results showed that increasing each parameter has an increasing effect on the output, while decreasing each has a decreasing effect on it. A closer look reveals that the O3 pollutant is directly related to the temperature parameter and inversely related to humidity. Moreover, the findings from the test phase as well as the prediction error in the network test phase and the correlation between the actual data and the predicted data indicate that the coefficient of determination R2 between the actual data and the predicted data is equal to 0.62. The relationship between the actual values ​​of O3 and the error obtained from the network test reveal that there is no systematic relationship between the values ​​of O3 and the error and there are different errors for different values ​​of O3. Performing logistic regression and examining the accuracy obtained from them to predict the other four pollutants, it was concluded that there is no systematic relationship between the values ​​of these pollutants and the error and their different values ​​have different errors. Based on this, the error value for these pollutants in the range of 0.4-0 can be assumed to be approximately in a range from 0.07 to 0.1. Besides, studies show that there is a significant relationship between O3 and temperature in Amol meteorological station and Ghaemshahr pollution station. Furthermore, the correlation between meteorological parameters and pollutants in Ramsar meteorological stations and Kiasar pollution shows a significant relationship between SO2 and wind speed, while it indicates a significant relationship between O3 and temperature for Babolsar meteorological stations and Sari pollution. Moreover, correlation study for Nowshahr meteorological stations and throat pollution show a significant relationship between SO2 content and temperature.Based on the correlation results, there is a positive and significant relationship between O3 and temperature in Amol meteorological stations and Ghaemshahr pollution, as well as Babolsar meteorological stations and Sari pollution. Besides, the study of the correlation between meteorological parameters and pollutants in Ramsar meteorological stations and Kiasar pollution proves a negative and significant relationship between NO2 and temperature, and for Nowshahr meteorological stations and bottleneck pollution, shows a significant negative relationship between SO2 and temperature. Therefore, the results clearly indicate that temperature is the most effective factor in the process of creating pollutants in Mazandaran province. This result is consistent with the results of Khorshiddoost et al. (2015) which investigated the relationship between atmospheric parameters and air pollution in Tabriz. However, it contradicts the results of Mahneh (2015) Taste and Kakhki study, which examined the relationship between climate elements and air pollution fluctuations in Mashhad, in which relative humidity was identified as the most influential factor on CO and SO2 pollutants; On the other hand, it is noteworthy that at different stations, different elements have a significant relationship with temperature; This difference in the performance of spatial models for different stations has been confirmed in other studies.

According to the findings from the studied stations, it can be said that NO2 and CO of Gulogah station and O3 of Kiasar station and SO2, NO2 and CO of Sari and Ghaemshahr pollution stations completely indicate a significant relationship among the parameters of temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. The effect of these parameters is to change the concentration of these pollutants. Given the uniformity of changes in station data, it can be inferred that the resulting changes follow general patterns; thus, the stations that have a higher correlation coefficient have closer and more similar patterns and the stations that have a lower correlation coefficient will have unique and special patterns for the same station. Performing logistic regression and examining the accuracy obtained from them to predict pollutants, it was concluded that there is no systematic relationship between the values ​​of these pollutants and the error and their different values ​​have different errors. Finally, based on the purpose of this study, valid formulas to estimate logistic relationships between pollutants have been extracted in order to investigate the efficiency and flexibility of these methods in modeling the pollutant process using logistic regression and time series analysis, based on univariate models of regression equations of models. According to these equations, it is easy to predict the level of pollution in each region by having the meteorological parameters in the stations.

Urban development based on the mixed land use is a new approach not only to regulate and make optimal use of physical space but also achieve sustainability, especially in the process of regenerating deteriorated and inefficient urban area of neighborhoods. The current study aims to investigate the correlation between mixed land use and sustainability indicators in deteriorated and inefficient urban area of neighborhoods. In this study, after evaluating the amount of mixed land use by entropy models, access scale and focal statistics have been calculated by using a questionnaire and SPSS software. Moreover, the degree of stability of deteriorated and inefficient urban area and also the correlation between mixed land use and sustainability were also investigated. The target tissues of the research have been calculated. Findings indicate that the rate of mixed land use in 17 neighborhoods of the study area does not have the same distribution and in terms of stability, all deteriorated and inefficient urban area of the study areas are below the average stability level which are considered unstable. Besides, the findings of the third part of the study indicate that there is a positive relationship and correlation between the mixed land use of neighborhood and sustainability indicators (participation, diversity and visual richness) and vice versa, with increasing mixed land use, sustainability in indicators (correlation,Vitality, accessibility, greenery, spatial affiliation, security, transportation, housing quality and environmental quality) decreased. The final results of the study reveal that the mixed land use can affect the level of sustainability of deteriorated and inefficient urban area in neighborhoods. However, the interrelationship of sustainability indicators with each other, the type of composition and quality of uses of the area of ​​worn tissue and surrounding tissues can determine the aspects of sustainability of deteriorated and inefficient urban area.

Sustainable city is a Justified and reasonable alternative to the destructive urban planning of the twentieth century, and in addition to paying attention to environmental issues, social and human issues such as adequate housing and minimum living are also considered. The integration of uses creates safe and dynamic environments, both at the street level and in individual buildings. The basic principle in this planning is walking and paying attention to the elements related to the living, working and playing environment. So far, more than 67,000 hectares of deteriorated and inefficient urban area have been identified in more than 373 cities in Iran with a population of 8.5 million. The 18th Region of Tehran, as a part of such tissues of the country, is not exception to these problems and attention to efficient planning for their reconstruction can, while creating value, stimulate the process of tissue regeneration and solve problems within They will also meet part of the future development needs of Tehran and, as a result, prevent the growth of the outskirts of the city, whose infrastructure requires high costs.

In the first step, information on the current status of the area and, deteriorated and inefficient urban areas is extracted from the basic maps of the detailed plan and land use of the area and field harvesting, by GIS software. Using three entropy models, access index and focal statistics, the mixed land use of neighborhoods has been measured and finally the final weight of mixed land use of each neighborhood has been determined and the neighborhoods are ranked. In the second step, the sustainability indicators of the neighborhoods have been analyzed by SPSS software and the stability status of the deteriorated and inefficient urban area of the neighborhoods was determined. In the third step, the correlation between the mixed land use coefficient of neighborhoods and the sustainability indicators of each neighborhood has been measured and evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficient test, between the range of -1 to +1.

South Khalij fars neighborhood and Imam Khomeini neighborhood have been identified as the neighborhoods with high and low mixed uses respectively. Among the 13 indicators of neighborhood stability, all deteriorated  and inefficient urban area  in the 18th Region of Tehran Municipality are in a situation below the average level of stability, which is mostly due to the inefficiency of these deteriorated  and inefficient urban area. There is a positive relationship between the combination of neighborhood uses and indicators (participation with correlation coefficient (0.232), diversity with correlation coefficient (0.282) and visual richness with correlation coefficient (0.315). This means that as the combination of uses increases, the amount of stability in the four mentioned indicators is increased, and vice versa, with increasing the mixed land use, the indicators of stability (correlation and interaction with correlation coefficient (-0.109), vitality (-0.479) ), accessibility (-0.186), greenery (-0.082), location (-0.641), security (-0.584), transportation (-0.597), quality of housing (-0.201) and the quality of the environment (-0.451) decreased, which means that there is a negative correlation between the mixed land use development and the recently mentioned indicators. Based on the views on sustainable urban development and modern urban planning such as smart growth, intensive city, mixed land use, dense city, etc., it is possible to use indicators such as increasing density in urban areas, compacting tissues, mixing and combining land uses, etc.as a desirable solution and strategy against urbanization based on zoning and segregation of uses, achieved more sustainable cities and neighborhoods. Despite the views expressed, the findings from the present study confirm the lack of positive correlation between the mixed land use of neighborhoods and the stability of tissues in most of the sustainability indicators in the neighborhoods of the 18th region. In 13 indicators, we see a negative correlation between the mixed land use of neighborhoods and sustainability indicators (correlation and social interaction, vitality, accessibility, greenery, spatiality, security, transportation, housing quality and environmental quality) and only in 3 indicators (Participation, diversity and visual richness) have been positively correlated. In addition to the degree of tissue wear, the existence and spread of incompatible uses in the vicinity of residential textures such as iron market, sand mines, two roads iron, factories and industries, manufacturing workshops, inefficient public transport, narrow passages with inadequate coverage, texture finesse and low pedestrian surface ratio can be recognized as the most important reasons for the inverse correlation between the mixed land use of textures and the stability of neighborhoods with a correlation coefficient of -194 which have made these textures more complex and unstable.

The 17 neighborhoods of Region 18 of Tehran Municipality have had different experiences in the field of mixed land use according to their capacities and location. The neighborhoods of Persian Gulf, South, Yaftabad, North and Ferdows have the most mixed land use, respectively, and the neighborhoods of Imam Khomeini, Behdasht, 17th of Shahrivar, respectively, have been identified as the least mixed neighborhoods in deteriorated and inefficient urban area respectively. All deteriorated and inefficient urban areas of the 18th Region do not have a good condition in terms of stability indicators. All these tissues can be considered unstable. The results of the third part of the study show a positive correlation between increasing land use and sustainability indicators in only three indicators (participation, diversity and visual richness) and in ten other indicators (correlation and interaction, vitality, accessibility, greenery, spatial affiliation). There is a correlation and inverse relationship between the mixed land use rate and tissue stability, confirms the overall negative correlation between the mixed land use rate and the stability of the target tissues in the eighteenth region.

Land use/cover change at the geological marl formations, especially the conversion of forest and rangeland areas to rain-fed lands and subsequent improper tillage practice has led to severe soil erosion and sedimentation, soil moisture lost, dust-blown, global warming, and water pollution. The current study aims to prepare the spatial distribution of marl formation in Kermanshah province in Iran and to assess dominant land-use, plant cover, slope, and erosion features using satellite image (SPOT 2000) and field survey. The field data have been analyzed through ArcGIS software. The results of this study reveal that there are eight major marls formations in Kermanshah province including Amiran, Aghajari, Gachsaran, Gurpi, Talezangh, Kashkan, Pabdeh, and Mishan occupying about 24.21 % of province areas. Among these formations, three formations including Amiran, Kashkan, and Aghajari are the most vulnerable to degradation due to topographic conditions, high solubility, and improper land-use practices. The sensitive facies of Amiran and Kashkan Formations are more prominent in the forest and rain-fed areas with hill slope conditions. In these areas, deforestation, illegal charcoal extraction, improper agricultural and non-agricultural activities resulted in the dissolution of sensitive layered and consequently landslide incidents. Thus during each effective rainfall occurrence, there is severe erosion and siltation deliver fresh sediment in lower drainage systems affecting road, brigs, and farmlands. In gentle slope, this process causes head-cut and gully development. Aghajari formation, which covers a wide range of winter pastures in Kermanshah province, has a high potential of dissolution due to its mineralogical and soil properties increasing soil erosion and sediment yield. It is concluded that severe land use/cover change at marl formation of Zagros areas are the factors sensitive to soil erosion, sedimentation and flood hazard as well as the solution of serous crises such water deficiency and desertification.

 Geological Marl formations and their deposits are more sensitive to degradation and soil erosion factors. The considerable areas of Zagros regions in Iran comprise marl formations dominated by forest and rangeland land uses. These marls are different condition of topography and land use/cover, while they are characterized by high level of clay and slit contents and dominant swell-shrink clay minerals. Thus, the soils originated from these marl formations are vulnerable to plant cover degradation causing severe erosion, sediment and flood hazards. Landus in marly areas are forest and rangeland, hence; converting them to rain-fed areas and subsequently improper human practices such as heavy tillage and civil activities cause gully erosion and other soil erosion features, landslide occurrences, soil moisture lost and organic carbon emission. However, survey on marl formations in terms of land use/cove and dominant soil erosion at local scale are necessary steps to control environmental hazards, especially erosion, sediment, flood as well as drought, dust and water shortage managements in watersheds of west and east west of Iran. The present study aims to determinate the marl formation areas and to make a map for their distribution recognizing, some important local features like erosion in Kermanshah province (a part of upper Karkheh catchment) in Iran which were carried out during 2017-2020.  

 This research conducted in Kermanshah province comprising verity of geological formations mainly marl deposits which are the hilly and plain topography. In other to achieve this research, the border of each marl formation was mapped using basal geological map and field verification. Next the dominant erosion feature was determined using satellite image (SPOT), but the land use was mapped through Landsat 8 (2015). Finally, field survey carried out for exploring details of land use and erosion features using GPS. The soil erosion features were inter-rill, rill, gully and landslide. Furthermore, land use was forest, rangeland and agricultural areas.  The spatial distribution and area of main erosion feature and land use within each marl formation was mapped using ArcGIS.

The findings reveal that there are eight major marl formations in Kermanshah province including Amiran, Aghajari, Gachsaran, Gurpi, Talezangh, Kashkan, Pabdeh, and Mishan occupying approximately 603 million ha (24.21 % of province areas).Among these formations, three formations of Amiran, Kashkan, and Aghajari are the most vulnerable to degradation due to higher area, topographic conditions, high solubility, and improper land-use practices. Field verification showed that solubility phenomenon in both Kaskan and Amiran formations is considerable where, forest and rangeland are degraded or rain-fed areas is subjected to up-down the slope tillage practice. They are more sensitive to land use change and field survey showed severe inter-rill, rill and landslide incidence where subjected to converting forest, tillage practice, charcoal extraction and improper civil activities. In some areas, that forest is wholly cleared, after each effective rainfall occurrence, fresh sediment from hill slope of Amiran and Kashkan damage the road, bridge, riverside and lowland agricultural areas. Moreover, in plane areas, dissolve phenomenon contributes to head-cut activity developing of gully erosion. For instance, in Bujan area (SW Kermanshah city), sever tunneling erosion and landslide are delivered the fresh sediment comprising greenish clay and slits fractions during rainfall. This sediment moves down through runoff in parallel to slope furrow of tillage at the rain-fed lands. Consequently, this sediment contaminates surface water, accelerates local flood hazard and covers farmlands in lower parts. It can be said that the deforestation rate is less visible in this province. Therefore, as one of the upstream branches of Karkheh basin, it has a key origin of flood occurrence and sediment yield and its accelerating damages in Lorestan (Pol-e Dokhtar) and Khuzestan provinces. This destruction continues in an astonishing way, away from improper management and monitoring. Aghajari formation, which covers a wide range of winter pastures in Ghasr-e-shirin, has a high potential of dissolution phenomenon due to its mineralogical and soil properties increasing soil erosion and sediment yield. It is more vulnerable, where subjected to land use change, particularly converting rangeland to irrigation lands.

According to findings, most of the marl formations in Kermanshah province have more outcrops in the upper and middle parts of watersheds and continue in Lorestan, Ilam and Khuzestan provinces which induces same conditions for environmental hazards such as floods, soil erosion and dust phenomena. The reason for the destruction of these marl formations is the change in land use, especially the conversion of forests and rangeland to rain-fed areas causing various forms of erosion, including dissolution, rill, gully and landslides. Field studies reveal that most facies of these marl formations contain clay, silt and shale with thin to medium sandstone layers. Due to mineralogical property and high amounts of clay and silt fractions as well as topographic factors, they are prone to dissolution, erosion and landslides hazard, which are increased by land use change in forest and rangeland areas, vegetation destruction and improper tillage practice. In this condition, fine-grained sediments reach the drainage system during rainfall time. The consequencs of this process, in addition to sediment, are the flood hazard, water shortages impacting proper management of such crises in the Zagros regions. In Qasr-e-shirin areas, extensive land use change at Aghajari formation not only causes soil erosion, sediment and flood problems, but also potentially is the dust blown origin due to the prevailing wind direction (from east to west), that can affect Kermanshah, Lorestan, Hemedan and Markazi province of Iran.

In this study, the ENVI-met Headquarter model was used to design a biological windbreak to control wind erosion, and wind tunnel was used to determine the wind erosion threshold. In order to determine the wind erosion threshold, soil samples were transferred to laboratory and exposed to dry air and transferred to wind tunnel. Then, the wind erosion threshold velocity was measured by adjusting the wind flow velocity and using an anemometer. The data required for simulation with Envi-met model include geographical location of the region, soil texture, average minimum and maximum temperature, average minimum and maximum relative humidity, average maximum wind speed and wind direction. Based on the simulation results, both designed windbreak for the Prosopis juliflora and Haloxylon aphyllum species can create microclimate in region. The wind speed decreased to the wind erosion threshold in the Haloxylon aphyllum species windbreak and less than that in the Prosopis juliflora species windbreak. In general, in the Prosopis juliflora species windbreak temperature in the first and last row of the windbreak was 36.12 and 34.78˚C, respectively. Besides, the lowest relative humidity in the first row was 28.52% and reached to 33.11% in the distance of 8h to 10h behind the first row. On the contrary, inside the Haloxylon aphyllum species windbreak, the temperature in the first row was 34.67˚C and in the last row was up to about 35.21˚C. Moreover, the highest relative humidity in the first and last row was 33.28% and 31%, respectively. Therefore, the designed windbreak for the Prosopis juliflora species can protect the more distance behind the initial windbreak, reduce the wind speed to a longer extent from the initial windbreak, more effectively affect the microclimate of the area, and modify it. Thus, it is recommended as a suitable windbreak for the study area.

Wind erosion is one of the major problems in arid and semi-arid regions which occurs mainly in the areas with rainfall less than 200 mm. Following the erosion of the wind, the area is deserted and degraded. The problem of erosion in the arid and semiarid regions is very important, since the compensation for the eroded soils is impossible and difficult due to the unfavorable conditions and the fragile ecosystem. Among the methods used to combat wind erosion, the construction of live and inert windbreaks is a good place to be considered as an appropriate option to prevent damage caused by wind erosion to biological and economic resources. The construction of windbreaks has many positive effects on environmental factors, including the advantages of the Windbreak on the temperature of the soil, air humidity and soil, snow accumulation, evaporation rate, carbon dioxide accumulation, etc. Therefore, considering that Dehloran city has a critical center of wind erosion and is also exposed to dust due to its proximity to Iraq, the current study aims to draw a biological windbreak and figure out its role on the microclimate of the study area investigated using the ENVI-met Headquarter model, which is one of the micro-climatic simulation models of urban climate.

After a detailed visit and the identification of the area, sampling was carried out at the depth of 0-3 cm in three replications. In this study, the threshold wind velocity for erosion was determined using a wind tunnel machine in Ilam University Lab. In order to determine the threshold wind velocity for Erosion, soil samples were exposed to the air in a dry tunnel after being transferred to the laboratory in a wind tunnel. Then, the threshold wind velocity for Erosion was measured with acceptable accuracy by adjusting the wind speed and using the Manometer. The ENVI-met Head quarter was also used to design a biological windbreak. This model calculates the weather conditions (temperature, wind, humidity) at different levels of the domain and the range of effects (buildings, types of vegetation, types of permeable and impenetrable surfaces). Therefore, the most commonly used and used seedlings in sand dunes SStabilization, two Prosopis juliflora and Haloxylon aphyllum species, which are most used in sandy stabilization and flooding projects in the study area, were selected for simulation. The preliminary data required for the implementation of the model is based on the geographical location of the study area, including latitude, longitude, soil texture, air temperature conditions, velocity, wind direction and relative humidity. After implementation of the model, the outputs of the model were prepared and analyzed using Leonardo software.

Based on the results of Table 3, mean Threshold Velocity for Wind Erosion in the study area is 4.84 m/s. According to the simulation results, both designed Windbreak for the Prosopis juliflora and Haloxylon aphyllum species could lead to the formation of microclimate in region, so that the wind speed has dropped around the wind erosion threshold in the Haloxylon aphyllum species Windbreak and less than that in the Prosopis juliflora species Windbreak. In the Prosopis juliflora Windbreak, the region temperature in the first row of the Windbreak is 36.12 ˚C and in the last row of the Windbreak is reduced to 34.78 ˚C. The relative humidity of the area in the first row of the Windbreak was 28.52%, and of the last row reached 32.55%. On the contrary, in the Haloxylon aphyllum Windbreak, the temperature of the region in the first row of the Windbreak was 34.67 ˚C, but in the last row of the Windbreak increased about 35.21 ˚C, although the relative humidity of the area in the first row of the Windbreak was 33.28% and decreased to 31% in the last row. However, at the end, it can be said that designed windbreak for the Prosopis juliflora species can protect more distance behind the initial windbreak, reduce the wind speed to a longer extent from the initial windbreak, more effectively affect the microclimate of the area, and modify it. Based on the results, it can be said that the changes in temperature and relative humidity in the Prosopis juliflora contrary is a Haloxylon aphyllum species. This difference seems to be due to how the wind velocity changes in the two windbreak, which is the speed change itself to the height of both windbreak, because the higher the wind speed, the lower the wind speed. Therefore, in a Prosopis juliflora windbreak, with a further reduction in wind speed and air turbulence in the vicinity of the surface of the soil and the creation of shadows, there is a region with relatively moderate, relatively low temperatures. As a result, with decreasing air temperature, the amount of evaporation decreases and consequently the amount of moisture increases.

Considering that all three factors of wind speed decrease, temperature decrease and humidity increase can reduce evaporation from the water surface. Therefore, in addition to reducing wind erosion in sand dunes and road sides, Prosopis juliflora species can be used as a suitable type for windbreak construction in order to reduce the evaporation from very limited water resources located in the windy region.

Arid and semi-arid regions of the world have been severely degraded by human and natural factors. These regions play an important role in reducing natural disasters and improving human well-being due to their unique ecosystems, rich resources and economically suitable areas. In this regards, in order to estimate the effects of man-made pressures on biological capacity of Esfahan city, consumption footprint pressure index (CFPI) and production footprint pressure index (PFPI) were used based on the concept of ecological footprint during 2000-2019. Besides, the ecological footprint distribution index (EFCI) was evaluated to investigate the pressures created by CFPI and PFPI. In this study, carbon storage service was integrated with ecological footprint index to evaluate the level of ecological security index (ESI) for consideration of the performance of the ecosystem as a criterion in the evaluations. The results showed that despite the different fluctuations in the trend of CFPI and PFPI variations during the study timespan, these indices have approximately a decreasing trend. In addition, the negative values of EFCI illustrates the higher effectiveness of the consumption footprint in determining the ecological safety index than the production footprint, and according to the decision-making model, this index in the ‘high risk’ class. Comparison of the biological capacity and the ecological footprint highlighted a severe ecological deficit and weak ecological security in Esfahan city during the studied timespan. The outcomes to this study could help policy makers and decision makers to adopt strategies such as the scenario of reducing the ecological footprint or increasing the biological capacity considering the land management criteria.

 Ecosystems have been altered and destroyed by the pressures of human activities and natural hazards around the world. The emergence and intensification of these pressures called the experts and policymakers to consider the concepts of carrying capacity to achieving sustainable development, especially in crowded areas which have sensitive ecosystems. Ecological security is known as a strategically important issue from a social, economic and political point of view, and in fact, maintaining the ecological security of a small region will maintain global and regional ecological security which allow economic growth and sustainable development. This study aimed to investigate the variations of carrying capacity and ecological security with the approach of ecosystem services in the arid and semi-arid ecosystems of Esfahan city during 2000 – 2019.

 In order to estimate the effects of man-made pressures on natural resources in Esfahan city, consumption footprint pressure index (CFPI) and production footprint pressure index (PFPI) were used based on the concept of ecological footprint. In this regard, at first, the trace of product distribution, the imported and exported product for different products and wastes were calculated and biological capacity was calculated based on the classification of satellite images in the time period. Besides, the ecological footprint distribution index (EFDI) was evaluated to estimate the pressures created by CFPI and PFPI. The ecological security index modeled to assess the level of ecological security in Esfahan using these indices.

The results illustrated that CFPI, PFPI had the average per capita of 9 and 7 global hectares, respectively, during 2000 – 2019. Moreover, consumption footprint capita index (CFCI) and production footprint capita index (PFCI) had the average of 3.05 and 3.89 global hectares, respectively, during 2000 – 2019. In addition, CFPI, PFPI, and CFCI decreased, while PFCI indicated ascending slope during the study timespan. According to the results of present study, the negative value of EFDI indicated that the ecological security is more affected by CFPI when compared with PFPI in Esfahan during 2000-2019. The biological capacity per capita decreased from 0.48 to 0.389 global hectares in Esfahan between 2000 and 2019. Although, it was observed higher fluctuation in the trend of EFDI, it showed reducing slope with the average of -0.22 over the studied years. Generally, the ecological security index exposed to drastic risk and according to the decision-making model, this index is classified as the ‘high risk’.

The value of 0.44 hectares worldwide indicates low biological capacity in the city of Esfahan. The per capita ecological deficit in the city of Esfahan is equal to -3.5. In addition, the rate of resource using raises the potential concerns at this level. On the other hand, the lack of biological capacity of Isfahan city compared to the country (one fourth) shows that development has occurred in areas that do not have good ecological capacity and this issue is considered as a warning for development. According to the analysis of changes in consumption footprint and production footprint of different types of land use from 2000 to 2019, it can be seen that this risk in terms of consumption footprint is mainly related to energy and then agriculture. Accordingly, the production pressure index has decreased from 3.17 in 2000 to 2.22 in 2019. However, the production pressure index has decreased slightly in the same period. This has tripled due to the need for energy consumption, which leads to carbon dioxide emissions. Comparison of the biological capacity and the ecological footprint highlighted a severe ecological deficit and weak ecological security which is due to the surplus demand, pressures on production resources, and higher consumption than the biological capacity in Esfahan city during the studied timespan. Induced pressure on resource to make products, high energy consumption, degradation of the ecosystem function, and reduced biological capacity are the main components of the reducing EFDI in the study area, which illustrated the significant effects of CFPI on the ecological security of Esfahan. It should be considered that the decreasing biological capacity has played an important role in increasing the ecological footprint due to human and natural causes. Finally, it is suggested that the decision-makers adopt strategies such as the scenario of reducing footprint or increasing biological capacity in their agenda, based on the principles of land use management and taking into account the needs of stakeholders.

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.