نشریه حفاظت زیست بوم گیاهان
سال دهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 20، بهار و تابستان 1401)

The purpose of this research is identification, accomplishing and test value and validity of criterions and sustainable indicators of forest sustainable in Bazeft region. This research is descriptive-exploration and Collective data in this project is based on two quantity (questionnaires) and quality (interview) ways. This research is using 93 indicators and 7 criterions for questionnaire. Finally, 7 criteria and 62 coherent indicators were selected. The statistical sample of the study included 30 forestry experts of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province's Natural Resources Administraion, and for interviewing by snowball method and semi-structured interview, 10 experts were included. Data analysis was done by SPSS software for descriptive statistics and inferential analysis (Friedman test) and Expert Choice software for doing AHP technique and designing of sustainability barometre diagram. In the survey of 62 selected indicator, 10 indicator achieved the highest final value. Among the criteria, the seventh (legal and legal frameworks) had the highest score and the sixth (social economic practices) had the lowest score, and then management dimension has been a higher priority.

Today, the use of allometric relations for easy, non-destructive, low cost and fast estimation of tree biomass is widely used. The aim of this study was to estimate the stem biomass of Pupulus. caspica and Pupulus. alba 57.58 seedlings. First, 45 cuttings from both fast-growing tree species were selected and planted in a randomized complete block design with three replications in the lands of Chamestan Forest Research and Rangeland Research Station. At the end of the growing season, stem height, collar diameter and stem weight of each rootstock were measured and then, allometric relations were calculated using regression models including power, logarithmic, exponential and linear models. The significance of allometric models was evaluated by regression analyses of variance and among the significant models, the model with higher determination coefficient (R2) was selected. The results showed that the collar diameter presents significant models with high coefficient of determination, but models based on height variable were not significant. For Pupulus. caspica species, logarithmic model based on collar diameter variable (R2=0.99) and for Pupulus. alba 57/57 species, power model based on collar diameter variable (R2=1) were recognized as the best models. The results showed that diameter is an appropriate estimator in terms of determination coefficient for estimating biomass of small-diameter trees in two studied species.

Communities or ecosystems with higher biodiversity also have higher levels of ecosystem function and services, so the relationship between functional diversity and sustainability of plant communities is essential to predict ecosystem functioning. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between carbon stocks and different species diversity and functional indices as well as the effects of biological and mechanical actions on vegetation and soil components. For this aim, Arengeh watershed with an area of 10098.53 ha in Alborz province was selected. The biological and mechanical measures studied in this study were clumping, seedling and grazing, grazing managementrespectively. The functional diversity indices studied in the sampling area included Rao, CHull, FEve, FDive, and FRich indixes. Vegetation sampling was carried out in systematic-random method in 800 plots of 1 m 2 along 80 transects of 100 m in the growing season of May and June. During each transect, three soil samples were taken from different depths of 0-15 and 15-30 cm in different treatments of regeneration and control. To examine more closely the relationship between variables at both sites, Pearson correlation between soil properties as well as between functional diversity indices and carbon stock was calculated. Species richness and diversity indices and functional diversity indices were calculated using Fdiversity software. Multivariate linear regression was also used to investigate the relationship between carbon stocks of richness indices and species and functional diversity. The results of multivariate regression analysis indicated that the highest R2 was related to carbon biomass of 0.72 and the variables affecting it were species richness. Also, Raochr('39')s, evenness, Shannon and functional diversity indices were influenced by total ecosystem carbon. The results showed that the highest amount of vegetable carbon storage in mechanical treatments related to gabion treatment, surface soil carbon storage lower soil carbon storage related to mortar rock treatment and was observed total soil carbon sequestration in treatment Gabion. Also, for biological treatments, grazing, piling, natural rangeland, and exclosure had the highest carbon storage, litter, surface soil, lower soil and total carbon sequestration, respectively.

The semi-parasitic European yellow mistletoe (Loranthus europaeus Jacq.) is one of the harmful and damaging factors to the Zagros forests. This study to analyze the causes of infected trees by European yellow mistletoe was conducted in the Ghalajeh forests in Kermanshah province. To carry out this study, completely infected trees were examined by using the tree-to-tree sampling method. Required data including habitat characteristics and host tree characteristics such as tree species, diameter at breast height (DBH), length of the tree, crown area, and severity of European yellow mistletoe infection recorded in three parts on crown through the DMR method. The results showed that Persian oak includes 80.4% of the region's trees. The state of tree infection to European yellow mistletoe showed that the highest infection rate consisted of the Persian oak species (91.9%). Typically, 60 and 65 cm diameter classes, 15-meter-high tree height, and 9 square-meter crown class had the highest infection. Among the physiographic factors in the study site, the highest impact on the abundance of European yellow mistletoe-infected trees is related to the altitude factor. The variance test results demonstrated a significant difference between the severity of infected trees in the DBH classes, height, and crown area of trees (p=0.5). By increasing the number of characteristics of trees (i.e. diameter, length, and crown area), the severity of infection increases.  Therefore, it suggested that to control the spread of mistletoe in different habitat conditions such as slope, altitude, geographical direction, two-story, and old-growth trees with outsized dimensions should be given priority.

Rural-urban migration has been identified as one of the most important components of livelihood strategy and poverty reduction in many rural communities. The aim of this study was to conduct a factor analysis of indicators determining rural-urban migration among ranchers in Ardabil province's watersheds. The research method was descriptive-analytical and the data collection tools were questionnaire, observation, and face-to-face interview. The statistical population included 9244 ranchers in 5 watersheds (33 villages) in Ardabil province, with a sample size of 372 persons based on Cochran's calculation. The questionnaire included 11 economic indicators, 10 social indicators and 6 indicators related to other factors affecting rural-urban migration. The Friedman test was utilized to rank the most important factors affecting in rural-urban migration of ranchers. The factor analysis test was used to analyze the variables impacting migration and the KMO index and the Bartlett test were utilized to assess the adequacy of the data. The results of the principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that among the studied indicators based on factor loading, 9 factors of economic-cultural security, welfare services, reverse migration, lack of motivation in rural areas, social participation, land, children's future, poor employment in rural and higher job chances in the city, respectively, explained a total of 85 percent of the variance of the data. In general, the findings of the present study can explain the essential priorities for reducing the livelihood and social problems of rural communities in the study region, as well as providing key organizations with the necessary information for efficient planning. This might ultimately reduce rural-urban migration.

The carbon sequestration project has sought to increase the empowerment and livelihoods of indigenous peoples with the goal of mobilizing people and involving local communities in the conservation, restoration and exploitation of the principles of natural resources. Therefore, rural livelihood index is one of the most important and important factors used in measuring and evaluating the living conditions of rural communities. The present study, while identifying the components of rural livelihoods, seeks to investigate the effects of carbon sequestration on the livelihoods of local communities in the Til Abad watershed of Golestan province. This is a descriptive-survey study that the statistical population is 2097 households of 6 target carbon sequestration villages in the study area, 317 of which were selected using Morgan table as sample size. Questionnaire was the main research measurement tool whose validity was confirmed by experts' opinions and its reliability was calculated based on Cronbach's alpha. According to the results, the livability of local communities and its dimensions (employment and income, infrastructure facilities and services, participation, solidarity, trust, education and skills, attachment and location) at both the time before and after project implementation. Carbon sequestration was significantly different at 99% confidence level. Therefore, based on the results of the research, by developing appropriate planning and supportive policies for local communities, efforts can be made to increase the livability of rural communities in order to take an effective step towards rural development.

The aim of this study is investigating the changes of macro elements in soil and vegetation based on the different life form with changes in elevation. For this purpose, soil and vegetation sampling was performed in 13 places in the elevation gradient of 300 to 3300 meters in 2016. In each site were placed three transects of 100 meters with 50 meters distance from each other and along each transect were placed  five plots of 1m2.  In Each plot, Vegetation was harvested based on vegetative form including grasses, forbs and shrubs and Soil samples were taken from two depths of 0 to 15 cm and 15 to 30 cm. Then calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorus and nitrogen were measured for vegetation samples based on life form and soil samples. The amount of macro elements in soil and vegetation in different elevation classes were compared with each other using one-way analysis of variance test. The results showed that the concentration of soil macro elements in different elevation classes has significant difference. Maximum nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and calcium were at the elevations of 3300-3000 m (0.47%), 1500-1200 m (87.8 ppm), 3300-3000 m (57.6 ppm), 3300-3000 m (69.8 ppm) and 3300-3000 m (16.53 meq/l). Also, the macro elements of vegetation were significantly different in different elevation classes. Maximum nitrogen was in the shrubs at 2400-2100 m (3.06%), phosphorus in forbs at 3300-3000 m (548.2 ppm), potassium in forbs at 900-600 m (400.3 ppm), Sodium in shrubs at 300-300 m (58.4 ppm) and calcium in forbs at 0-300 m (261.7 ppm). It seems that the amount of nutrients in vegetation changes by changing amount of these elements in the soil through elevation. The results show that the Soil Macro Elements affect the amount of Minerals of plants. Due to the fact that balance in the amount of Minerals in plants is very important in animal nutrition, knowledge of the amount of these elements in soil and plants will be effective in providing animals with a proper diet and increasing the quantity and quality of livestock products.

This study was accomplished with the aim of investigating the effects of tree decline and slope aspect on leaf morphological traits and determining the indicator morphological traits that indicate the leaf diversity of Persian oak trees in relation to habitat conditions and environmental stresses in Mellah Siah forests of Ilam. Two forest habitats were selected on the northern and southern slopes of the Mellah siah Mountain and at the same altitude range. In each habitat, 20 standard oak trees were randomly selected. These trees were divided into four classes of tree decline and five trees were placed in each decline class. From each tree, 20 leaves were separated from the four main sides of the tree crown, from the middle height of the crown and from the end branches as a combined sample in August. Samples were transferred to the laboratory to measure leaf morphological traits including leaf length, leaf width, petiole length, leaf shape, number of right leaf teeth and number of main veins. The results showed that leaf length under the influence of tree decline and other studied leaf morphological traits under the influence of tree decline and slope aspect had significant changes. Accordingly, leaf length in healthy trees was less than other classes of tree decline. The values ​​of leaf width and number of teeth on the right leaf side were higher in the northern habitat and the values ​​of petiole length, leaf shape and number of main veins was higher in the southern habitat and how these traits changed among tree decline classes was different in both slope aspects. The plasticity study showed that the petiole length trait has the most plasticity and is more affected by the environment. Therefore, it was found that the leaf morphological traits of Persian oak trees are significantly affected by habitat environmental conditions and tree decline, and the petiole length is an indicator of leaf diversity of Persian oak trees at the habitat level, although at the tree classes level all studied traits were involved.

The aim of localization of rangeland species plantation is to predict the potentials and limitations of rangelands for plantation. Aellenia subaphylla is resistant to drought and salinity. It produces considerable forage in winter rangelands. In this research, the geographic information system and two methods of classic and fuzzy logic were used to locate this species in winter rangelands of Golestan province in 2018. At first, the needed information and layers were collected, and the required maps were prepared. Then, according to the ecological requirements of A. subaphylla, the layers for the classic method were classified into two appropriate and inappropriate classes, while for the fuzzy method classified into inappropriate, proportionate, appropriate and perfectly suitable classes. Then, by combining the classifieds layers, the final maps were obtained using Boolean and fuzzy logic method. Localization of A.subaphylla using classic logic indicated that 47.5% of the winter rangelands of Golestan province are suitable and 52.5% are notsuitable for plantation of A.subaphylla. However, the fuzzy logic demonstrated that 15.8% of the studied rangelands are highly suitable, 13.8% are suitable, 26.2% are moderately suitable and 44.2% are notsuitable for A.subaphylla plantation. The results demonstrated that high soil salinity, soil acidity and temperature conditions are limiting factors for A.subaphylla plantation in degraded winter rangeland of Golestan province. It was found that the fuzzy logic gives better and more accurate results than the classic method, so it is recommended to localization of suitable areas for rangeland species plantation.

Examining the economic value of carbon sequestration in forests is essential, given the risk of global climate change, which has posed a profound challenge to societies internationally. The present study investigates the amount of carbon sequestration and its economic value in the oak forests (Quercus brantii L.) of Pahnus forest habitat with an area of 990 ha, located in Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province, western Iran. For this purpose, systematic sampling with random starting points was chosen, and required variables such as diameter at breast height, tree height, and canopy diameter of all trees in 100 sample plots with dimensions of 60 × 60 m were collected. The  biomass value in the aerial and below-ground organs of trees was estimated using two methods, allometric equations, and the density method. Then, the value of storage and sequestrated carbon was calculated by the trees' dry biomass using experimental formulas, and the carbon tax rate was determined to value the function of carbon sequestration. The results showed that the value of carbon sequestration per hectare of these forests using allometric equations and the density method is 0.83 and 0.74 Mg C ha-1 y-1, respectively. Considering USD 60 as a tax rate per Mg C, the economic value of carbon sequestration in each method was estimated at USD 50.05 and USD 44.47 ha-1 for 2020, respectively. The results of this study show the high carbon sequestration capacity of the Pahnus Forest. Thus, the proper conservation and management of such forests can lead to the storage of a significant atmospheric carbon value.

Prangos ferulacea (L.) Lindl is a perennial plant that besides fodder and medicinal values the plant can help to control soil erosion. There is little knowledge about the effect of climate change on the Prangos genus especially P. ferulacea. In this study, we used ensemble modeling based on five species distribution models to predict the potential effects of climate change on the future geography distribution of Prangos ferulace. The presence of P. ferulacea points was recorded from our field surveys (during the years 2019 and 2020) in Chaharmahal-va-Bakhtiari province as a part of Central Zagros, Iran. The future projections were made for the year 2070 with three SSP126, SSP370, and SSP585 scenarios and general circulation model GFDL-ESM4. To do this, species occurrence data (48 points), along with 11 environmental variables including bioclimatic, physiographic and land cover/land use variables were used. Our findings show that the estimated suitable habitats of the species covers about 30.88% of the study area for the P. ferulacea. The Precipitation of the wettest month, Mean diurnal range and Precipitation seasonality had the greatest effects on the species’ distribution in the study area. The decline of suitable habitats will be 23.98% to 32.4% by 2070. In contrast, 9.3% to 20.3% of currently unsuitable habitats can become suitable with climate changes. Also, the results showed excellent performance of the Ensemble model (AUC= 0.97, TSS= 0.83). The results of the present study can provide valuable information for policymakers and planners to adapt and conserve this species against future climate change.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between ecological factors and the distribution of rangeland habitats of Sumac shrub (Rhus Coriaria L.) and to determine the range of changes in effective environmental factors to interpret the best distribution of Sumac habitats in Khorasan Razavi province within the heights overlooking Khanik Valley in Brakuh , Kalat district of Gonabad city. In this study, geographical maps of the basin were prepared with the help of GIS and samples were taken and according to the location of ecological population spots of Sumac in the rangeland ecosystem, 130 plots in different altitudes from the beginning to the end of the habitat corresponding to 1600 meters to 2400 meters above sea level was selected and in each ecological spot a 100 meter transect was randomly thrown in the direction of the slope and in the middle a plot of 20 * 20 square meters and in each plot a total of 5 sumac trees were selected and inside the plots list of available plants and canopy cover Their density was determined and two species of Tragacanth (Astragaluas gossypinus L.) and Artemisia aucheri L. were also selected as two companion species for further analysis and comparison. Inside each plot, three soil samples were taken from 0-30, 30-60 and 60-90 cm depths and a 1 kg sample was separated from the sample mixture and in the laboratory, soil texture components, lime content, acidity, salinity, organic carbon, nitrogen. , Calcium, phosphorus, sodium and potassium were measured. During the sumac harvest season, a fruit sample was taken from each plot and sent to the laboratory to measure phenol and flavonoids. Using meteorological data, the amount of rainfall and temperature in each plot were determined. First, the normality of the data was assessed by Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (k-s) and the significance test of the data was performed by ANOVA (Duncan) multivariate test. To investigate the relationship between the vegetation distribution of Sumac shrub and environmental factors, ridging was used. Plant community ranking was done by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that the first and second axes with specific values ​​of 71.98 and 12.71 and variance of 0.9575 and 0.6291, respectively, showed changes in the distribution of Sumac habitat at the ecological spot level in relation to environmental factors in the region by 70.7%. Justifies.Finally, using Gaussian normal distribution model by GAM method based on hypsometric curves of height, temperature and rainfall, the optimal common point of all functional factors of sumac in this habitat, 1970 m altitude difference from sea level, 9.2 ° C and 233 rainfall was determined.

The prevalence of Corona disease as one of the most critical infectious diseases has increased the risks of food security in different parts of the world. Local communities, especially in rural areas, are highly dependent on natural resource-based ecosystem service strategies to manage global food security and meet livelihood needs. Forests and pastures can also provide goods and services that are sold or consumed directly as part of natural resources. Identifying livelihood patterns can suggest several potential strategies for maintaining a livelihood in the face of sudden shocks such as corona. The main purpose of this study is to focus on identifying the dependency of rural communities to forests and rangelands during the corona outbreak and how to deal with and adapt to the economic damage of this disease through ecosystem-based services. The research method of this research is descriptive survey and data will be collected through field studies using a questionnaire. To complete the questionnaire, first the villages will be selected by pre-study and randomly. The results showed that livestock (67%) and agriculture (67%) were the main activities of local respondents. The average annual household income of the studied households was 1023 million Rials during the COVID-19 crisis. The average income diversity index for all sample households was 1.09. Income of local communities from forests and pastures were mostly from medicinal plants, fruits, fodder and mushrooms. The share of forests and pastures in the total household income of all interviewees was 1.43% and 2.84%, respectively. According to the results, 77.6% of respondents stated that they use natural resources including forests (63%) and pastures (67%). Forage collection (44.6%), medicinal plants (42.2%) and forest fruits (29.3%) were the three most important forest products that were mentioned among local respondents in Arasbaran forests. Given the global nature of the Corona crisis, identifying ecosystem-based strategies, especially forests and pastures, can inform rural communities in other parts of the country and the world. This study helps managers and planners assess the vulnerability of local communities and identify ways out of the crisis.

Species richness is a simple and interpretable indicator of biodiversity and is one of the most important and and practical measurements in the rangeland ecosystems. Experimental models of richness are used to determine the points of richness of suitable and unsuitable species, and the factors affecting it. The aim of this study is to compare two methods of modeling species richness S-SDM and MEM in the Sorkh-Griveh rangelands in Mazandaran province. For sampling of vegetation and soil, random-systematic stratification method was used. In each sampling unit, 10 plots of 1m2 and a total of 260 plots of one square meter were located. Species list, presence and absence of species were recorded in each plot. Also, three soil samples were taken in each sampling unit from a depth of 0-30 cm. Data related to a number of soil physical and chemical factors were collected in the measurement laboratory, topographic variables were determined with the help of GIS software and 15-year climatic data were collected from meteorological stations in nearby areas. Plant species richness was predicted by amplified regression tree (BRT) model with macroecological methods (MEM) and aggregated distribution model (S-SDM). Data analysis was performed using R software version 3.1.1. The results showed that the species richness observed with the richness predicted by both methods and the richness predicted by MEM method had a significant correlation with the richness predicted by the combination of MEM and S-SDM methods. The results obtained from Spearman's correlation between different methods of predicting the richness of plant species indicated that the S-SDM method with a value of -0.184 and then the MEM method with a value of 0.177 were more consistent with the observed species richness. The results show that by modeling species richness, information about plant community composition, species identification and their prediction in space and time can be used to investigate biodiversity changes.

Protected areas have emerged as one of the most important and effective tools in the world for biodiversity conservation. Changing the use of natural lands, especially rangelands to protected areas, causes livestock grazing to be restricted in some of the grazing lands. These restrictions cause conflict between different natural land stakeholders. This study investigates the grazing management conflicts in the Bahram-e Goor protected area in Iran. In the first stage of the study, in order to investigate the existing conflicts, interviews were conducted with various stakeholders. The sampling method is classification, optimum allocation and targeted sampling method and the statistical population size is obtained from snowball method. The tool used for data collection was questionnaire and SPSS and Gephi software were used for statistical analysis of data.  In general, the results of this study show the conflict between the three stakeholders of the Department of Environment, the Department of Natural Resources and herder more than others, that the number of conflicts related to the Department of Environment and the herder is more than others. Based on the findings of this study, in order to resolve key and important conflicts, planning can be done by the management of natural resources and protected areas.