نشریه علوم محیطی
سال بیست و یکم شماره 3 (پیاپی 81، پاییز 1402)

Energy use in agriculture has grown faster than other sectors of the global economy. In developing countries, most agricultural systems consume significant amounts of energy to increase production and food security. Energy consumption leads to the emission of greenhouse gases and environmental pollutions in the agriculture sector. Besides, the use of fossil fuels in the production process and transfer of inputs emits greenhouse gases, which in turn cause global warming and climate change. Analyzing and good understanding of energy flow and Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in agricultural production systems can help to optimize crop management practices thereby reducing environmental problems.Qazvin Plain is one of the most important agricultural plains in Iran, which along with the use of groundwater, has the largest irrigation canal network in the country. Differences in agricultural water supply sources can lead to differences in energy consumption and GHG emissions as electricity and other inputs may be affected. Alfalfa and maize silage are major forage crops in Qazvin Plain. Alfalfa and maize silage need a relatively high irrigation water requirement. This paper evaluates the energy flow and Global Warming Potential (GWP) of alfalfa and maize silage farms with two different water supply sources (well and canal) in Qazvin Plain.

The data were collected through face-to-face interviews with farmers in the years 2018-2019. Energy indices were estimated based on the analysis of farm inputs and outputs. GWP was calculated using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method and SimaPro 8.2 software. GHGs were calculated using the conversion coefficients presented by the IPCC GWP 100 method. 

The output energy values of maize silage and alfalfa were calculated as 232726, 191812 MJ ha-1 for well water irrigation system and 234167 and 248060 MJ ha-1 for the canal water irrigation, respectively. Results showed higher net energy values for alfalfa (176218 MJ ha-1) and maize silage (169192 MJ ha-1) in canal water irrigation system compared to well water irrigation (63115 MJ ha-1 and 132956 MJ ha-1 for alfalfa and maize silage, respectively) mainly because of the relatively lower input energy. The results showed that the highest and lowest values of input energy were related to alfalfa production with well water irrigation (128697 MJ ha-1) and maize silage with canal water irrigation (64975 MJ ha-1), respectively. Also, the energy use efficiency of maize silage (3.6) and alfalfa (3.4) were higher in canal water irrigation systems compared to well water irrigation systems (2.3 for maize silage and 1.49 for alfalfa). In the well water irrigation systems, GWP was calculated to be 7466.9 kg CO2-eq ha−1 and 7995.7 kg CO2-eq ha−1 for maize silage and alfalfa, respectively. These values were 5533.3 kg CO2-eq ha−1 and 4947.6 kg CO2-eq ha−1 for maize silage and alfalfa in the canal water irrigation systems, respectively. Electricity and direct emission showed the highest share of total energy consumption and GHG emission.

Generally, our results showed that energy consumption and GWP were lower in the canal irrigation systems than well irrigation systems mainly as a result of electricity used for water pumping in well irrigation operations. It can be inferred from the present study that for efficient use of resources and decreasing environmental problems in the study area, practices such as optimal management of irrigation water, conservation tillage, and optimal management of chemical fertilizers can help to achieve these goals.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF-phylum Glomeromycota) are one of the most important beneficial soil microorganisms that form a mutualistic symbiotic relationship with the roots of more than 80% of terrestrial plant species. These fungi improve the mineral nutrients (especially phosphorus) and water uptake and enhance plant tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stresses such as pathogens, salinity, drought and heavy metals contamination. Hence, they play a key role in the establishment of plant communities in different ecosystems. The present study aimed to identify AMF species associated with different plants roots based on morphological characteristics, comparison of spore’s population and determine the percentage of root colonization in the Kolah'ghazi protected region in Isfahan Province.

At first, 12 plants were selected from the predominant plants that are AMF hosts. The sampling was conducted from a depth of 5 to 30 cm in the rhizosphere of each plant and the soil and root samples were collected. Roots fragments were stained in lactoglycerol blue and the percentage of root colonization was calculated. AMF spores were extracted from each air-dried soil sample (300-500 g) by wet sieving and centrifugation in sugar solution methods. Also, spore populations were determined in a gram of soil with three replications. Then, the isolated spores were identified based on morphological characteristics such as color, shape, size, wall structure, hyphal attachment, etc.

Microscopic observations indicated that all the sampled plant roots were colonized by AMF. The percentage of AMF colonization ranged from 9-92% among plants species and the highest and lowest of it were observed in Thymus vulgaris and Alyssum homolocarpum plants, respectively. The highest spore density was in the rhizosphere of the Th. vulgaris and the lowest was related to Lepidium draba. The statistical analysis showed that there is a positive correlation between the percentage of mycorrhizal colonization and the number of spores in most plants. Based on morphological criteria, 12 species of AMF belonging to 8 genera Claroidoglomus (C. etunicatum and C. luteum), Funneliformis (F. caesaris and F. geosporum), Glomus (G. ambisporum), Rhizophagus (Rh. aggregatum and Rh. fasciculatus), Septoglomus (Se. africanum, Se. constrictum and Se. deserticola), Entrophospora (E. infrequens), Gigaspora (Gi. gigantea) and Scutellospora (Scutellospora sp.) were identified. Se. africanum is new for mycoflora from Iran and other identified species have previously been reported from different regions and crops.

Due to the importance of AMF, identification and reproduction of these fungi for exploiting their potential in regenerate arid areas, especially protected areas, can be necessary. However, further research is needed to more accurately identify AM species.

Nowadays, tourism has become an all-encompassing aspect as a driver of economic and social development. Creative tourism has a fundamental role in the strategic plans of tourism in Iran, by crystallizing the cultural values of the land according to the many subcultures in Iran.The change in tourism trends and the importance of meaningful experiences for tourists, attention to the effective factors of optimal utilization of existing capacities and the role of creativity in the success of tourism businesses shows the necessity of research in the field of creative tourism.Incorporating creative and innovative strategies while anticipating emerging tourism trends helps identify the most reliable paths for future development.  . The main goal of creative tourism is to provide favorable experiences for tourists through active participation in courses and learning experiences. Therefore, the purpose of the current research was to evaluate the internal and external strategic factors and determine the appropriate strategy for the development of creative tourism in Zahedan.

The research method is descriptive-analytical and its type is applied-developmental. The information has been collected in two ways: documents and surveys (questionnaires and interviews). The statistical population includes 300,000 citizens of Zahedan city, of which 383 people were selected as the statistical sample of the research, based on Cochran's formula, and the resulting data were analyzed using SOWT and QSPM models.

According to the results of the SOWT technique, the overall strategy for the development of creative tourism in Zahedan was defensive (WT), with a final weight of 7.98. The results of the Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix (QSPM) also showed that out of the four strategies of WT Group, priority is given to the strategy of "creating cultural and artistic places  to supply creative cultural products" (with an attractive score of 11.966).

In order to realize creative tourism in the studied area, in accordance with the findings of the research, suggestions such as creative marketing through information and communication technology, training of local industries and productions, holding a festival of local dialects, training in sewing local and indigenous  clothes as well as cooking local dishes at the provincial and national level, etc., are presented by using the methods of creating partnership between tourists and the environment.

Free radicals are considered harmful and damaging compounds to plant and animal cells and damage human health. Phenols are a large group of hydroxyl compounds that include compounds such as flavonoids and anthocyanins. Mountain dog-rose, red hawthorn and black hawthorn are three medicinal fruits with valuable compounds such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and vitamins, in the north of the country, with very favorable vegetative and reproductive growth. 

In order to investigate and determine the maximum amount of extraction of antioxidant compounds, different extraction methods were used in these fruits. The fruits of these plants were collected from Nava area (52.209 and 35.854, altitude 2300 meters above sea level) located in Amol City. After drying, they were extracted with four solvents i.e. water, ethanol, hydroalcohol (water and ethanol 50:50) and methanol. Then the amount of phenol, flavonoid and percentage of DPPH free radicals were measured for each fruit and extraction method. 

The results of this research showed that different extraction methods of dog-rose fruit have a significant difference at the level of 1% (p<0.01) on phenol and antioxidants and at the level of 5% (p<0.05) on flavonoids. Also, based on the comparison of the average extraction methods in the dog-rose fruit, the use of hydroalcoholic solvent (water and ethanol) caused a significant difference compared to other solvents and was able to show the highest amount of total phenol in this plant. The effects of different extraction methods on the fruit of the red hawthorn showed all extraction methods (water, hydroalcoholic, ethanolic and methanolic) were effective on the amount of phenol, flavonoid and antioxidant and were significant at 1% level. Based on the comparison of the average extraction methods in the red hawthorn fruit, the extracts obtained from the hydroalcohol solvent showed the highest number in phenolic and flavonoid traits and were the superior treatment. Extraction methods were significant in flavonoid and antioxidant traits at the level of 1% (p<0.01) and in phenol at the level of 5% (p<0.05) in the black hawthorn fruit. Also, based on the results of the comparison table of the average extraction methods in the fruit of black hawthorn, hydroalcohol solvent was the best solvent in extracting phenolic compounds compared to other solvents.

The phenolic compounds of the three medicinal fruits were more favorable by hydroalcohol solvent than other solvents, such as water, ethanol and methanol. Also, the highest amount of phenol among the three tested fruits was observed in the dog-rose mountain fruit. While in the red hawthorn, hydroalcohol (water and ethanol) and in the black hawthorn, methanol contained the most measured flavonoids. In general and considering the importance of phenolic compounds, it is suggested to use hydroalcohol solvent to extract these types of compounds in these plants.

The urban heat island (UHI) as a climatic effect of urbanization can negatively impact the flora and fauna involved in urban and suburban ecosystems, the presence of pollutants, air quality, energy and water consumption, as well as human health and economy. Therefore, spatiotemporal analysis of the urban heat island changes has been considered an effective approach to understanding the impact of urbanization on the urban and suburban ecosystem, which also can support sustainable urban development and planning. Accordingly, this study contributes a novel approach to identifying the trend and predicting the pattern of UHI changes using statistical analysis, Shannon's entropy and chi-score statistics.

The study area of this research is the city of Rasht and its surroundings, a region located in the north of Iran. This research was implemented using remote sensing images from 1991 to 2021 that were collected by LANDSAT 5 and 8 with a fixed time interval of 10 years. All images were captured in the summer. In order to conduct this research in the pre-foresight stage, first, the required preprocessing, including atmospheric and radiometric corrections applied to the satellite images. Then, the surface biophysical characteristics of the study area were extracted from the satellite images. In the third step, the land surface temperature was computed using satellite images in 2021. In the fourth step, Multivariate linear regression between surface biophysical characteristics and the land surface temperature in 2021 was applied and then the cellular automata-Markov chain model was utilized to predict the land surface temperature for 2031. Finally, the pattern of changes in the urban heat island of Rasht city was investigated using statistical analysis in different geographic directions and different time periods.

The results of this study indicate that the highest positive correlation (R=0.89) was between NDBI and LST. Moreover, the highest negative correlation (R=-0.81) was between the greenness and LST. Our results also showed that the lowest correlation (R=0.42) was between the brightness and LST. The predicted LST corresponding to surface biophysical characteristics using a multivariate linear regression model illustrates the low error of this approach (RMSE=1.33K) in 2021. This means that the predicted values in 2021 are close to the real values, and therefore, this model can be trusted to predict LST in 2031. Statistical analysis of the patterns of observed and expected changes in UHI clearly illustrated that Rasht urban expansion and the UHI expansion will consistently continue to increase from 1991 to 2031. However, the expansion rate changes over time and space. Moreover, these analyses also showed that the UHI of Rasht city has a high degree of freedom and a high degree of sprawl. Thus, and as a result, its degree of goodness is negative.

The pattern of UHI changes is highly dependent on the pattern of built-up land changes: as a result, sustainable development, resilience and environmental protection of Rasht requires direct monitoring and control of the pattern of urban growth, such as preventing changes in built-up areas and agricultural lands in suburban areas by incorporating a vertical form of development as well as constructing green roofs and walls and using high-reflectance building materials.

In arid and semi-arid regions, the existence of wetlands is very important. The results obtained from various researches have shown that wetlands, in addition to environmental benefits, such as soil stabilization, temperature regulation, reducing air dryness, etc., also have economic benefits for local communities. As their livelihood depends on the wetlands, many local communities have been forced to migrate due to successive droughts and the drying up of the wetlands. Hamon Wetland is one of the natural ecosystems that has had valuable environmental and economic benefits for local communities in the Sistan region, but due to the droughts, many human and financial losses have been caused in the Sistan region. The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits of the users of the Hamon Wetland when the wetland is flooded and to investigate the damages caused to the users during the drought.

In this article, in order to investigate the interests of Hamon wetland users, with the consultation of local communities and previous researches, three occupations of agriculture, fishing and animal husbandry were selected for the purpose of interview. The data used in the questionnaires were extracted and the interests of farmers, fishermen and ranchers were checked by the market price method, the conditional valuation method was used to check the damage caused in the wetland.

The results showed that in the year 2020, the profit from the fishing sector was 7967002800 Rials. The benefits of the livestock and agriculture sectors were 77452923610 and 318165282120 Rials, respectively. The damage caused in 2022 was determined 11,683,454,1600 Rials. Also, the willingness to pay for the preservation and restoration of the Hamon Wetland was 23,445,559,200 Rials. Our findings showed that it is necessary to take serious measures in order to properly manage the wetland (Hamoun Wetland water rights) and creating alternative livelihoods for wetland beneficiaries should be on the agenda.

This research showed that the local communities had lots of benefits with the exploitation of the lagoon but the drought caused a lot of damage to them. Therefore, according to the exploitations that took place during the flood of the lagoon, including the use of water for agriculture, the movement of fishermen to catch fish and the harvesting of fodder by ranchers and even the entry of livestock to graze in the reeds can be one of the important factors in the destruction and reduction of water resources of Hamon Wetland.

The management of social-ecological systems such as cities is extremely complicated due to the interdependence of subsystems, the cause-and-effect relationships that exist between them, and the impacts on sustainability. The necessity of ecological capacity and the ability of cities to sustain their potential to provide goods and services to both current and future generations cannot be overstated. Understanding how arid ecosystems adapt to disturbances is critical for the sustainable management of such areas, given the global extent of this type of ecosystem and its fragility, both structurally and functionally. The purpose of this study is to assess the impacts of urban growth on the carrying capacity of Isfahan, which is located on Iran's central plateau. In this regard, simulation models can be an effective tool in providing scientific decisions in dealing with complex and unknown social and ecological systems.

In this study, system dynamics modeling was used to determine the cause-and-effect relationships between variables affecting Isfahan's carrying capacity. In order to examine the landscape structure, DIVISION, SPLIT, and IJI metrics have been used to show connectivity, and ED, SHDI, and AI metrics have been used to determine the heterogeneity of the landscape of Isfahan City. After problem articulation, the model boundary was defined in the initial step of the modeling process by developing the subsystem diagram. After the population, environment, landscape, and carrying capacity subsystems were evaluated, a cause-and-effect diagram was made. The flow diagram and scenario were also made to evaluate the state of Isfahan's carrying capacity. In order to validate the model, the historical trend and simulation of two variables of urban population and the number of industries have been compared using the coefficient of determination.

The pressure factors on the urban carrying capacity were detected and analyzed by assessing key variables in the system, such as water sustainability (WSI) and air quality, as well as changes in the landscape structure of Isfahan using landscape metrics. The research findings indicate that approximately 90% of the urban water demand is dedicated to the domestic sector; therefore, the first scenario is related to the management of water consumption in this sector and its influence on the Water Supply–Demand Index. This scenario showed that if domestic water demand is not controlled, the result of this index will reach nearly 0.7 by 2040, indicating greater vulnerability to the region's water resources. The second scenario is related to the city's increasing trend of construction and the number of industries, the impact of which has been shown on the carrying capacity.

The current study's findings, based on two enlarged scenarios, demonstrated that water demand, changes in the structure of the urban landscape, and the growth of industries all have a major impact on Isfahan's carrying capacity. Therefore, by controlling and managing water consumption in the domestic sector, limiting industrial growth, preventing the destruction of gardens, enhancing urban green and open areas, and limiting the increase of impervious urban surfaces, Isfahan's carrying capacity will improve.

One of the most important and complex social developments in the world in the last half century is the development of urbanization. Due to scattered growth in many cities in the world, natural resources are not used properly. The increase in environmental concerns, economic and social inequalities as a result of the expansion of urban spaces, caused attention to new urban design and planning strategies, including the smart urban growth strategy. In fact, the smart growth strategy is one of the most acceptable approaches to face such a situation, which, while preserving the environment, meets the needs of today's urban society.

The current research is of a practical and practical type, the purpose of which is to overlap the environmental indicators of the Bashgah Naft neighborhood, with an emphasis on the smart growth approach, with a descriptive-analytical method, and in order to evaluate the indicators and the state of the situation, a survey method was used to measure opinions and Thoughts go on. The process of collecting research information is a review of library texts and the most used sources are specialized books and magazines and the use of the global information network. The studied space of Bashgah Naft neighborhood is from district 21 of Tehran city, according to the last census of 2015, the population of the neighborhood is 60,163 people, sampling is based on random method and using Cochran's formula with an error rate of 5%, the statistical sample is 381 people. Independent sample t-tests are used in data analysis.

According to the presented theoretical foundations and also after examining the indicators of urban environment and indicators of smart urban growth and examining the background of their researches, the indicators of urban environment were overlapped with an emphasis on the approach of smart urban growth and in the form of four criteria, 12 sub-criteria and 47 Indicators were proposed and the relationship between the indicators and their sub-criteria and criteria has been determined. The indicators of the research were investigated using the t-test of one sample, and after measuring the t-test in the indicators and sub-criteria, it was determined that only four indicators out of 47 indicators and two sub-criteria out of 12 sub-criteria are average. Regarding 44 indicators and 10 other sub-criteria, according to their significance level, in some of them, due to the positive difference of the mean and the numbers of the upper and lower limits obtained, it indicates the intensity in that index or sub-criteria, and in the rest of them, according to The negativity of the average difference and the numbers of the upper and lower limits obtained indicates weakness in that index or subcriterion.

According to the assumption of the research that the Bashgah Naft neighborhood is moderately compatible with the overlapped indicators of the urban environment with an emphasis on the smart growth approach; After conducting the desired test and analyzes, it can be concluded that the level of compatibility of  Bashgah Naft neighborhood with the overlapped indicators is not up to the average level.

Nowadays, development is considered a fundamental change in economic, social and cultural variables in any society and its realization requires coordination between its dimensions. In other words, real development is a comprehensive development and cultural development is an integral part of it. Hence, no development is possible without cultural development and economic development is incomplete without cultural development. It should be noted that the main goal of development, including cultural development, is to eliminate inequalities. Therefore, the existence of inequality and spatial imbalance is one of the obstacles to the development of various facilities and infrastructure in a balanced way leads to the achievement of integrated development. In order to achieve a fair distribution of cultural facilities, it is necessary to identify different settlements in terms of the extent to which they have cultural facilities and services; In this regard, deprived and developed areas are identified and planners can take action to balance and reduce the distances between the areas. Hence, the study was conducted to measure regional differences in the level of cultural development indicators of the provinces to provide a clear picture of cultural facilities and services in the provinces to guide the budget to improve the cultural development of the country.

The research method was based on the construction of a composite indicator, the linear norm method was used to free scale, the principal component analysis method to weigh the indicators, the TOPSIS method to construct a composite indicator of provincial development, coefficients of variation and Williamson to calculate inequality, and finally GIS software as well as hierarchical cluster analysis method to classify the level of development of the provinces were applied. In this regard, 19 indicators were selected and their data were obtained from the results of the general census of population and housing in 2018 and the results of statistical yearbooks in 2018.

The results of the research indicated the indicators including "ratio of the number of book titles published to the whole country", "number of visitors to museums under the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization to the whole country" and "ratio of the number of active publishers to the whole country" and "number of cinema spectators per 100,000 population" had the highest inequality in the country, respectively. In contrast, the indicators including "share of the population covered by the TV channels of the total population of the province", "ratio of books in the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults to the number of its members" and "per capita libraries per 100,000 population" and had the least inequality and the state of the provinces were balanced in these indicators. In addition, the provinces of Tehran, Mazandaran, Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, and Boushehr were in the best situation and Lorestan, Kurdistan, Sistan and Baluchestan, West Azerbaijan and Golestan, respectively, had the lowest rank in terms of the composite indicator. The findings of leveling the provinces indicated that the provinces of Tehran and Mazandaran were at a very high level of development. Most of the central, northeastern and southwestern provinces were identified at the level of high development. At the level of average development, provinces including North Khorasan, some southern (e.g., Kerman, Hormozgan), central (e.g., Qom, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari), western (e.g., Lorestan, Kermanshah), northern and northwestern (e.g., Alborz, Qazvin, Zanjan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil, Gilan) provinces were observed. Finally, five provinces of Golestan, Sistan and Baluchestan, Hamedan, Kurdistan, and West Azerbaijan were observed at a low level of development. The result of hierarchical cluster analysis to classify the level of cultural development of the provinces showed that two main clusters were formed, the first cluster (cluster 1-1) included only the provinces of Tehran and Mazandaran, which indicates that the distance between their cultural development and the rest is greater. In the other cluster (clusters 1-2), other provinces were located.

The findings showed that there was high inequality in the indicators related to book publishing and the number of visitors to museums which are mostly focused in Tehran. Thus, it is necessary to take those indicators in other provinces into consideration. Furthermore, the results revealed that the provinces of Tehran, Mazandaran, Khorasan Razavi, Isfahan, and Boushehr were in the best situation and the provinces of Lorestan, Kurdistan, Sistan and Baluchestan, West Azerbaijan and Golestan, respectively, have the lowest rank. The findings of leveling provinces as well as cluster analysis confirmed the significant difference in the level of cultural development among provinces. Therefore, improving the cultural development of provinces with low-level development should be taken more into account.

Drought, as one of the major natural hazards, affects the environment, society, agriculture and economy. Several indices have been developed for drought quantification based on ground data and remote sensing. Traditional drought quantification methods are based on meteorological data and conventional criteria and are usually not available in near real- time. On the other hand, data based on remote sensing are continuously available and can be used to detect several aspects and characteristics of drought. The purpose of this research is to investigate and compare different indices derived from remote sensing and meteorological data for local scale drought monitoring (eastern part of Kurdistan Province).

Seven drought indices were compared, including Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), Vegetation Drought Index (VDI), Vegetation Health Index (VHI), Vegetation Supply Water Index (VSWI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Temperature Condition Index (TCI) and Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). Remote sensing indicators are derived from MODIS data. The meteorological index SPI is obtained by combining the data of rain gauge stations and gridded precipitation data. The digital maps of the seven drought indicators have been prepared for the period of 2002-2021 with the same time interval (16-days). To analyze the characteristics of each drought index, a comparative method including the selection of specific periods of drought and spatial drought identification characteristics has been used. The comparison of drought indicators was done May, which is the growing season. Finally, Pearson's correlation analysis was used to evaluate the behavioral similarity of the indicators.

The spatial comparative analysis between the drought indicators showed that all the indicators had certain adaptations in the distribution of the regional scale of drought, especially those derived from similar data sets. Meanwhile, the difference in local scale distribution was found among different groups of indicators. The results showed that the general trend of the VSWI had a better compliance with the standardized precipitation index. Based on the correlation analysis, it was proved that the VSWI  can be a better reflection of the amount of rainfall and the severity of drought due to the lack of rainfall. In addition, the land surface temperature (LST) contributes more to the VSWI results than the reflectance information. A two-period (32-day) delay of the indicators indicating the state of vegetation is a good indicator of the meteorological drought conditions in the study area. The absence and lack of rainfall in at least five periods (80 days) earlier can had a serious effect on the state of vegetation in the existing conditions. Plain and mountainside areas located in the central, eastern and south-eastern parts of the study area were more sensitive to drought conditions than other parts due to the dominance of grain farming, especially rainfed farming.

While remote sensing drought indicators have many advantages in the analysis of drought in real-time, meteorological drought indicators are still the priority for drought monitoring. This is due to the dependence of hydrological and agricultural systems on meteorological conditions. Mainly, these hydrological and agricultural systems in different regions respond to meteorological fluctuations with different time delays. Understanding these complex relationships between meteorological, hydrological and agricultural systems can be useful in early preparation programs against drought and its management.

The reduction of urban green space and its importance makes it necessary to adopt comprehensive strategies. In addition to physical development, the main issue in this discussion is the category of human development, which means the participation of local people and their control over the development process. According to the survey conducted and according to the per capita green space obtained in the research, the per capita green space in Mehrabad district of Isfahan is 4.4 square meters, which is why it faces the challenge of lack of green space. The present study was conducted with the aim of measuring the desire for the quantitative and qualitative development of private green space in the Mehrabad neighborhood by using participatory planning and measuring the effects of this development on the lives of residents.

To achieve this goal, first, dimensions, criteria, sub-criteria and indicators of participatory planning and private green space development were identified. Then, these indicators were set in a questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale, and this questionnaire was distributed among 30 residents of  the Mehrabad neighborhood using Cochran's formula. After measuring validity and reliability, the questionnaire was distributed among 375 residents. Then, using SPSS software and a step-by-step regression model, an inferential analysis of criteria and indicators was done.

In the inferential analysis of criteria and indicators, two stepwise regression analyzes were performed. In order to analyze in step-by-step regression, a table was prepared under the title of average scores of dimensions of participatory planning, desire to develop private green space and dimensions of the effects of private green space development on the lives of neighborhood residents. A total of 61 indicators were considered. Because the data used in regression must be distance or relative, so the average of each dimension is considered. In the first step-by-step regression analysis, the effects of economic, social and cultural aspects of participatory planning on citizens' willingness to quantitatively and qualitatively develop private green spaces were examined. It can be said that among the dimensions of participatory planning, only the economic dimension is effective and the cultural and social dimensions are not effective on the neighborhood residents' desire to develop private green spaces. In the second analysis, stepwise regression was used. In this analysis, the desire for quantitative and qualitative development of private green space was considered as an independent variable, and each of the dimensions of the effects of private green space development were considered as a dependent variable. From the second analysis, it can be concluded that the quantitative and qualitative development of private green space has an impact on the physical, cultural and environmental dimensions of the residents of the neighborhood and does not affect the social and economic dimensions.

The analysis of the obtained information shows that among the social, economic and cultural dimensions of participatory planning, residents have a social and cultural desire to develop private green spaces. Among these dimensions, the problem of the residents is in the economic dimension and lack of land and cost for green space. Also, the development of private green space does not have a favorable effect on the physical, environmental and cultural dimensions of the residents of the neighborhood, and does not have a favorable effect on the social and economic dimensions.

Environmental pollution caused by growing dumps of increasing urban construction wastes has adverse effects on the health of the environment. This research was carried out with the aim of planting plants resistant to heavy elements in the construction waste recovery center of Gud Abali - Tehran.

The research method, while laying the foundation of cognitive theory, was experimental-analytical, which was carried out cross-sectionally in 2022. The research samples are oleander (Nerium oleander), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), bitter olive (Melia azedarach), Myrtus communis L., rose (Rosa damascena), pistachio (Pistacia vera) and pine (Pinus). They were randomly selected. Lands were selected based on the necessity of ten percent planting of plants around industrial factories according to the environmental regulations of the Environmental Organization and in the surrounding environment of the sand factory. The samples were planted in the effluent soil of the Abali Mining Center in Tehran and were kept under light and temperature conditions of 37 degrees during several months of care and irrigation. The measurement tool was objective observation, the validity of which was confirmed by experts and the reliability of plant growth criteria. Then the findings were analyzed using laboratory investigation and content analysis and SPSS software.

The findings showed that the increase in the concentration of heavy metals Cd and Pb in the sewage soil of the region causes a decrease in the diversity and density of plant species, and by managing the planning of plants resistant to heavy elements, the adverse effects of these elements on the diversity and density of vegetation in the region can be reduced. The findings showed that the eucalyptus plant did not grow at the beginning of the growing season due to the high absorption of heavy metals, but the oleander, bitter olive, case, rose, pistachio and pine plants continued to grow. Since it is not possible to expand the vegetation of Gud Abali area of Tehran without evaluating the resilience of resistant plant species to heavy elements of the region, the application of these findings in presenting the species planting pattern will lead to the biological instability of the land's vegetation.

Assessing plants resistant to heavy elements can reduce the adverse effects of heavy elements on plant diversity and density in the region. In this regard, plant remediation is recommended in order to manage the concentration of heavy elements in the effluent soil of Gud Abali Construction Waste Recovery Center of Tehran.

Climate changes and indiscriminate harvesting as well as overgrazing of different Iranian rangelands have caused the destruction and reduction of vegetation in the rangelands. This has been especially severe for medicinal plants, in the last decade. By identifying the plant communities and analyzing the ecological nature of each species, it is possible to plan for optimal management based on ecological principles for the present and the future. Based on the above-mentioned issues, the current research was conducted regarding the ecological evaluation of cultivating medicinal plants in different rangelands of Lorestan Province through analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach and ArcGIS software in order to restore the rangelands and protect the medicinal plants.

The studied area was the rangelands class 1 of Lorestan Province in the west of Iran. Required data included soil, long-term climatic (1970-2020), and topographic data. Climatic and topographical data were obtained from the WorldClim database. Soil data were gathered by the International Soil Reference and Information Centre (ISRIC). Studied medicinal plants were Asafoetida, Galbanum, Liquorice, Keluss, and Borago Oxtongue flower. The judgment of 15 experts was used for pairwise comparisons and weighting of ecological data for each medicinal plant using the Delphi method, and the weight of each of the options and criteria was calculated in Expert Choice11 software. Then, to match the environmental requirements of the medicinal plants with the characteristics of the rangelands, the natural breaks –(Jenks) classification method was employed in ArcGIS software.

The results showed the major role of annual mean temperature with a weighting coefficient of 0.309 in cultivating medicinal plants, followed by elevation and annual cumulative rainfall (0.212). Also, among the studied factors, the lowest weight belonged to soil organic carbon percentage (0.057). For annual mean temperature, more than 53% of rangelands in Lorestan Province experienced a temperature between 10 and 15 °C. The rangelands received an average of 350 mm. More than 60% of the rangelands were located at an elevation between 2000 and 3000 m. For slope, more than 54% of rangelands had a slope between 25 and 60%. The soil of Lorestan rangelands had a heavy texture, so that more than 75% of the rangelands had clay loam soil texture. More than 59% of the rangelands had soil organic carbon of 2-5%. Also, more than 74% of the rangelands had a pH between 7.7 and 7.9. Also, the rangelands were divided into three classes (very good, good, and medium) in terms of potential and having suitable ecological conditions for growing Asafoetida, Galbanum, Liquorice, Keluss, and Borago Oxtongue flowers. Ninety-eight, 97, and 94% of the rangelands were placed in the very good and good categories for cultivating Asafoetida, Galbanum, and Keluss, respectively. However, these values were 26 and 27% for planting Liquorice and Borago Oxtongue flower, respectively.

Overall, the rangelands of Lorestan Province had a good potential for growing Asafoetida, Galbanum, and Keluss, and they had a medium potential for cultivating Liquorice and Borago Oxtongue flowers. However, the suitability of medicinal plants cultivation varied based on the geographical position of the rangelands, and the recommendation for cultivating each medicinal plant should be considered according to each geographical zone.

Emissions of particulate matter from car exhaust, tire wear, engine lubricants and street fence wear contain heavy metals, which are dangerous for the urban ecosystem. However, most of the particles are deposited on the canopy and soil of plants, which are absorbed by them. Pollution-resistant species with a high capacity to absorb suspended particles can be used to remove suspended particles from the urban environment. For this reason, in this study, concentrations of heavy metals in the leaves and soil of tree species in Bandar Abbas were measured and evaluated. Also, species with the highest potential for adsorption of heavy metals were identified. 

First, three tree species including Azadirachta indica, Conocarpus and Prosopis juliflora were selected as the dominant plants in Bandar Abbas and in 30 points of the fields with 5 points of the non-polluted environment outside the city (control), and sampled from the surface soil and leaves of these species. After preparing and digesting the samples, the concentration of heavy metals (cadmium, manganese, zinc and lead) emitted from urban traffic was measured using atomic absorption spectrometry in soil and tree leaf samples. Next, the difference in heavy metal concentrations between tree species was analyzed by ANOVA and between soil and leaves and between urban and control environments was analyzed by t-student test. Then, to determine the tree species with high accumulation of heavy metals, two indices of heavy metal accumulation (BCF) and bioaccumulation index (MAI) were used.

The results showed that the pattern of heavy metals in soil and leaves of tree species was Mn> Zn> Pb> Cd. The maximum concentrations of heavy metals in the soil and leaves were detected in Conocarpus, Azadirachta indica and Prosopis juliflora, respectively. Spatially, the highest concentration of heavy metals in the sampling points was related to Imam Hossein Street. However, the minimum concentration of heavy metals was observed in the Persian Gulf Street. The concentrations of Mn and Pb in the soil of plant species were different and their differences were significant at 95% level, but the concentration of Cd and Zn was not different in the soil of tree species. Pb, Mn and Zn concentrations were not different in the shoots of the studied tree species and their differences were not significant at the 95% level. However, the concentration of Cd in the shoots of the species was different and the difference between the species was significant at the 95% level. There was a significant difference in the concentration of heavy metals between soil and leaves at 95 and 99%. Also, the concentration of heavy metals in soil and leaves between urban and control fields was significantly different at 95%. The pattern of the BCF index in all species was Zn> Pb> Mn> Cd and heavy metals had moderate accumulation for tree species. Bioaccumulation index (MAI) showed that Conocarpus had the highest adsorption potential of heavy metals and the lowest adsorption potential was observed in Prosopis juliflora.

Conocarpus, by absorbing pollutants from urban traffic, purifies the polluted air of Bandar Abbas; However, Prosopis juliflora, which is one of the migratory trees in the city of Bandar Abbas, with strong and deep roots, dries up the surface and groundwater of the region. On the other hand, its potential to absorb urban air pollutants is weak. Therefore, despite their resistance to drought and heat, Conocarpus trees have a high potential to purify urban pollution and can replace Prosopis juliflora.

The international community includes states that enact and execute the rules and regulations of international law. The basis of international law derives from the need for states to coexist in the international community. In other words, the states cannot be forced to accept a new rule when they do not agree. However, sanctions are based on a mutual structure including diplomatic protest and countermeasures influencing the behavior of states. In addition, some sanctions have been enacted in environmental law, after breach of obligation for more protection of the environment based on erga omnes. In addition to the sanctions, some mechanisms have been enacted by international organizations and states for support and protection of the environment before breach of obligation. The present study aims to explain and evaluate the development of new sanctions and mechanisms in international environmental law for efficient and effective protection of the environment and offer solutions for handling legal challenges in executing the obligations and assessing the adequacy of classic sanctions and mechanisms in international environmental law.

The method was descriptive-analytical and the data were collected based on library study and reference to documents by searching the Internet. Therefore, with a descriptive and analytical method and relying on library resources and existing data, in the first part, the existing mechanisms and executive guarantees in the field of environmental protection are reviewed, and in the second part, new mechanisms and executive guarantees and reasons are examined.

The main research question states; whether new sanctions and mechanisms are emerging in international environmental law for more protection of the environment based on theoretical foundations. investigate the new sanctions and mechanisms emerging in international environmental law to further protect the environment.  This research expresses the inefficiency of classic sanctions including civil and criminal ones and classic mechanisms for the protection of the environment by separating the concept of sanction from mechanism. Based on the results, new limitations such as green taxes, environmental insurance, and Environmental Damage Fund (EDF) have been emerging and developing due to the specific nature of environmental issues and their relationship with the necessity of creating and developing new sanctions and mechanisms, and given that the development fails to be enough for protection of the environment due to the existing limitations, despite the  development of classic sanctions and mechanisms.

In environmental law, two types of new sanctions have been identified and developed for efficient and effective protection of the environment, which include "pay compensation without agreement and going to the court in cases of severe damage to the environment" and "compliance and noncompliance control of member states to environmental conventions".