مجله محیط زیست و توسعه فرابخشی
پیاپی 82 (زمستان 1402)

In recent years, natural habitats, especially protected areas, have mostly become fragmented and islanded and have been placed among human uses. Knowing the desirable wildlife habitats and understanding their characteristics is very important. By using the methods of habitat modeling widely and without the need to collect the details of the physiological and behavioral characteristics of the species, it is possible to get an estimate of the habitat's desirability for wildlife. Wild goat (Capra aegagrus) and Caspian snowcock (Tetraogallus caspius) are two indicator species of high mountain areas, which are placed in the NT & LC category according to the 2020 and 2016 IUCN Red List, respectively.

In this research, the habitat desirability of these two species was modeled in the central northern Alborz protected area by using the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method. First, the effective criteria were determined by reviewing the sources and studying the overview of the species, and then using the AHP method, six different weight scenarios were created for each species. Six scenarios were modeled using the weighted linear combination method, and the validation of the model was performed using the ROC index from the comparison of the simulated image and the reference image. The information about the presence of the warbler and the partridge was obtained through field visits and direct observations of the species, the effects left behind such as dung and footprints in the central northern Alborz protected area and was used as a reference image to evaluate the accuracy. Finally, the dependence of the final utility on the criteria was determined using the Pearson's linear correlation coefficient (r).                                                                 

Among the six different weight scenarios for Wild goat and Caspian snowcock, according to the validation results, the second scenario with ROC rate equal to 0.95% for both species was selected as the best weight scenario. The image of the final desirability showed the greatest desirability for both species in the central and southeastern parts of the study area, and based on the results of the linear Pearson correlation coefficient (r), the desirability of the habitat has the greatest dependence on the factors of height, distance from rocky areas and environmental checkpoints. And it is less than the influence of other parameters. Also, Wild goat and Caspian snowcock species have a significant overlap in habitat areas, so that both of them prefer high rocky areas as habitats. Another important factor is the existence of environmental checkpoints, which greatly increases the desirability of the species in this area.     

The present study shows that the Caspian snowcock and Wild goat species of partridge have more suitable habitat conditions in the high mountainous areas, especially in the southeastern and central areas of the central northern Alborz protected area. These areas include rocky heights that are particularly attractive for these species. The distance from the rocky areas and the distance from the environmental checkpoints are also very important and have a significant effect on the habitat desirability of these species. For these species, roads and the construction of human settlements interfere with their habitat, but illegal hunting is also a serious threat to these species. Therefore, to protect these species, measures such as the establishment of environmental checkpoints, restrictions on construction in their habitat areas, promotion of public awareness about the protection of these species and the implementation of strict laws against illegal hunting can be effective.

The population of Red Deer has decreased significantly, and the species distribution is restricted to only some core zones of protected areas of the country. The most important threatening factors in decline the population of the species are destruction and fragmentation of habitats and poaching of the species, which are strongly affected by human presence and human activities. Therefore, using habitat suitability modeling of the species as an effective tool in identifying, managing, and protecting the remaining habitats, can help managers in conserving the species more effectively.

Hyrcanian forests or Caspian forests consist of 15% of the total forests of Iran and are the last surviving temperate broadleaf forests in the world. Mazandaran province includes a significant part of the Hyrcanian forests. The core zone of the Central Alborz Protected Area is the most important area and the safest breeding habitat of Maral in Mazandaran province and has the largest populations of this species in the country. In this study, by use of the Maximum Entropy method and Ecological Niche Factor Analyses, using the species presence points in the Central Alborz Protected Area, we investigated the suitable breeding habitats of the Maral population in Mazandaran province. These models are launched by predictive environmental layers and species presence points, and express the suitability of each cell in the habitat as a function of biological variables.

The results of the ENFA method showed that the Central Alborz Protected Area Core Zone is the most important area and the safest breeding habitat of the Maral in Mazandaran Province. The results with values of 1.3 marginalities and specialty 5.5 indicate habitat areas with higher slopes and elevation models than the average which has low tolerability, are selected by the species. The results of the MaxEnt revealed that among the human-related variables, the most effective parameter is the distance to the village. According to the Jackknife test, this variable is the most important in the habitat selection of Maral. As the distance from the village increases, the habitat suitability increases exponentially, and then it decreases due to the proximity to other villages and the density of human presence in the region. By increasing the vegetation density, the suitability of the habitat increases, but in the high density of vegetation, suitability decreases. The output response curve of the results shows that the habitat suitability of the species increases with the increase in elevation because, during the breeding season, the Maral species is dependent on high-elevation safe habitats. Among the ecological variables, the slope variable was identified as the least effective factor.

During the breeding season, the Maral is present only in the Alborz Protected Area Core Zone, and in the non-breeding season, it is dispersed in a wider area of protected areas. Mazandaran province is potentially one of the hotspots of biodiversity in the country, but since the central Alborz core area is currently highly conserved by the Department of the Environment, it is the most important and most populated breeding habitat of Marals in Mazandaran and one of the two main breeding habitats of the country. The lack of protection of suitable habitats is the most important factor in reducing the population of Maral in the province. One of the other important challenges for the protection of this species in the province is the fragmented habitats and their dispersion. Many of the habitats in the species corridors probably have high habitat suitability, but these habitats may have low survival rates for the species due to weak protection, they are sinks of local populations or ecological traps.

Financial development is a process through which the quantity, quality, and efficiency of financial intermediation services are improved. The more the financial system develops, the more financial resources are provided for the development of renewable energy technologies, and as a result, it can have positive environmental impacts by changing the energy supply mix and reducing pollutant emissions. Financial development can affect the level of CO2 emissions and environmental quality through its impact on economic growth, capital attraction, industrial activities, energy efficiency, technological innovation, investment costs in projects, increased use of renewable energy sources, financial provision, and allocation of credit for renewable energy projects.The importance of utilizing renewable energy sources and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on one hand, and the need for financial resources and large-scale investments for renewable energy projects on the other, highlights the role and significance of financial development in the level of environmental pollution through CO2 emissions. Therefore, considering the role and importance of financial development in the value of CO2 emissions as a criterion for environmental pollution and the significance of examining this relationship at the provincial level, this study investigates the relationship between financial development and CO2 emissions in the provinces of Iran and at the end, will test the environmental Kuznets hypothesis.

This study uses the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) method to investigate the relationship between financial development and CO2 emissions in the provinces of Iran during the period of 2009-2021 and answers the question of whether financial development in the provinces of Iran is environmentally friendly (Green) or not. In order to investigate the difference in the relationship between financial development and carbon dioxide emissions at the level of the country's provinces, all provinces are divided into two categories of developed and less developed provinces based on the report of the Economic Statistics Research Group of Iran Statistics Center (2022).In this study, in order to investigate the impact of financial development and other independent variables on carbon dioxide emissions, a Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) method is used to analyze the coefficients. For this purpose, the following model is considered:CO2it=αi+β1FDit+β2GDPit+β3EIit+β4URBit+ɛit                                                                      (1)Where:CO2it: Carbon dioxide emissions in each provinceFDit: Composite index of financial developmentGDPit: Real per capita gross domestic product of the provincesEIit:  Energy intensityURBit: Urbanization rateAlso, in the following, in order to test the Kuznets hypothesis in the studied provinces, model (1) is specified as model (2):CO2it=αi+β1FDit+β2FD2it+β3GDPit+β4EIit+β5URBit                                                            (2)Where:FD2it: The square of financial development. 

The results of the estimation of models indicate that in both groups of provinces in the country, financial development is positively significantly associated with carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, energy intensity, gross domestic product, and urbanization rate are also found to be positively and significantly related to carbon dioxide emissions. The results suggest that financial development may initially lead to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions, but with further development, this effect is reversed, resulting in a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. This finding confirms the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory in the studied provinces during the period under investigation.

The estimation results indicate that financial development in the provinces of Iran will lead to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. Furthermore, further investigations confirm the validity of the Kuznets relationship in the provinces of Iran, meaning that in the initial stages of development, the impact of financial development on carbon dioxide emissions will be positive, but over time this relationship becomes negative, leading to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.

Drought is a natural phenomenon that occurs almost in most regions of the world, and due to its relationship with agricultural products and water resources, it is considered as one of the most important issues in environmental sciences. The effects of this phenomenon are greater in arid and semi-arid regions due to their less annual rainfall. In contrast to traditional methods, the use of remote sensing techniques and satellite images has been considered as a useful tool for agricultural drought monitoring. The main objective of this study is to investigate changes in agricultural land use using normalized vegetation difference index and satellite images.

In this study, Landsat satellite images were used to investigate the trend of agricultural land use changes in the Zayandeh Rood catchment during 1984-2023. To do this study, the normalized plant difference index was used for each year. Since various patterns of cultivation with different time differences are present in the study area during a year, it is not possible to use a selected image as the basis of a year, on the contrary, it is necessary to examine different images for different times of the year. To identify and specify the set of all the pixels that have gone under the cultivation surface in one crop year. Since this process would be very time-consuming, an innovative approach was used. First, in the Google Earth Engine system, all the annual Landsat images were called year by year. Then, the images with cloud cover were removed and the maximum filter was applied to the bands of the remaining images. Then, the normalized vegetation difference index of new annual images was created and by applying a threshold of 0.2, agricultural lands were separated from other lands. The extent of agricultural land was calculated in each year and the linear regression model was used to identify the change process. In other words, the extent of agricultural land was used as a dependent variable and time was used as an independent parameter on an annual scale.

The extent of agricultural land in 1984 was about 25 thousand hectares, which with a decreasing trend over time reached 21700 and 15180 hectares in 1994 and 2014, and finally reached its lowest value in 1401. It has reached 11.250 hectares. This trend shows a 55% reduction in the abandonment of agricultural land at this point in time. Also, the value of the normalized plant difference index in agricultural lands has experienced a decreasing trend over time, which indicates the change in the cultivation pattern towards low-density crops with low biomass such as wheat.

The results of the changes in the extent of agricultural use in the study area showed a decreasing pattern, so, there has been a loss of agricultural land, which is consistent with the decreasing pattern of the water level of the Zayandeh Rood watershed. This phenomenon can be directly attributed to the reduction of water resources in the region. In the last decade, the amount of water allocated to carry out agricultural activities in this region has decreased a lot due to the water volume of the Zayandeh Rood watershed approaching critical limits.

The Caspian Hyrcanian forests are a habitat with ancient growth of temperate broadleaf trees that spread along the Alborz Mountain range's northern slopes and near the southern borders of the Caspian Sea. However, human activities have significantly reduced forest cover, and identifying species diversity, forest structure, and human manipulations in Hyrcanian forests have received less attention. Macroinvertebrates are the main part of soil biodiversity in forests. Earthworms are one of the main components of soil biodiversity in forests and are one of the most valuable indicators of soil health and a vital component of soil fauna. Nevertheless, studying earthworms based on their morphological features poses various challenges. To overcome these challenges, DNA barcoding has emerged as a valuable tool extensively employed in biodiversity research. The study aims to use molecular approaches to identify earthworms and their diversity and compare the communities of these animals between natural and planted forests in the Hyrcanian region.

The study was conducted in the central part of the Caspian Hyrcanian forests. The research was done in three locations, with two planted and two natural areas in each location. Within each area, a total of six quadrats were randomly placed to collect samples. Subsequently, the samples were classified based on their morphological characteristics. A total of 251 earthworm samples were collected, and 22 individuals were then selected for genetic studies using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit one (COI) gene after doing morphological sorting. The samples were initially kept in 96% ethanol for genetic studies to long-term storage. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were then performed to investigate the diversity of earthworms and compare their communities between planted and natural areas and three locations.                                                                                                                                             

Based on genetic studies, 15 taxonomic units of earthworm were identified in the study area of the Hyrcanian forests. The research findings indicate that the abundance and total number of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) in natural and planted areas are almost the same. The results of univariate statistical analysis (ANOVA) and multivariate analysis (PERMANOVA) did not show any significant difference for earthworms between natural and planted habitats.

The study demonstrates that the utilization of barcoding techniques yields more accurate results; however, the establishment of a comprehensive DNA reference library is necessary to enhance the precision of species classification. Despite finding no significant differences in earthworm communities between natural and planted forests, notable distinctions were detected among the three studied locations. This suggests that the dependence of earthworms on planted forests is contingent upon specific characteristics, soil conditions, and management practices. Moreover, the results show that earthworms are known for their ability to adapt to a wide range of environments. It is anticipated that secondary forests, which have been established for over two decades, will provide sufficient time for the restoration of earthworm populations, contributing to overall ecosystem recovery. The significance of this knowledge lies in its contribution to the sustainable preservation and effective administration of forests, particularly the Hyrcanian forests, which represent an ancient and invaluable ecosystem.

Cultural ecosystem services, as one of the components of ecosystem services, are intangible human benefits from ecosystems that play a fundamental role in promoting human well-being. Rapid changes in land use with damage to ecological assets in the Ilam urban watershed have reduced the capacity of ecosystem services, including aesthetic quality. Therefore, the evaluation of the supply of aesthetic ecosystem service, which shows the biological diversity in urban areas and favorable conditions for life, is considered essential for inclusion in the improvement plans of Ilam city in line with appropriate management measures. In this vein, in the current research, an integrated approach to prepare an aesthetic map with the aim of showing the spatial distribution of the supply of aesthetic services in the Ilam urban watershed has been presented, the results of which can greatly influence planning and managerial decisions regarding future development towards urban sustainability by preserving natural ecosystems.

Spatial distribution of providing aesthetic ecosystem services in Ilam urban watershed using 12 visual and ecological criteria including: slope, Elevation, geomorphology, land use, habitat characteristics, visibility of various areas, visibility of roads, visibility of residential areas, visibility of the river, visibility of the park, type and density of vegetation were investigated. To prepare visibility layers, Viewshed function was used in TerrSet Idrisi software. Then, the input layers were integrated using fuzzy membership functions and using the weighted linear combination method in the ArcGIS 10.8 system. Among the multi-criteria decision-making methods, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method was used to prioritize the criteria.

Based on the results of the hierarchical analysis process and according to the results of the experts Among the input criteria, visibility of the river, type of vegetation and visibility of diverse areas were assigned the most weight with values of 0.14, 0.127 and 0.116 respectively. On the other hand, the least importance and weight was observed in the measure of road visibility. Based on the final map of aesthetic quality, the best quality of this service is in the parts of the north, east, southeast and west of the Ilam urban watershed, where these places have the best visibility of the river, visibility of various areas, high to medium altitude and with dominant forest cover.

The results of this study showed, that areas with forest cover and areas with human uses have the highest and lowest capacity of this service in the study area, respectively, which denotes the importance of natural green uses compared to artificial uses and human-made is in providing aesthetic service. These results indicate that the capacity of the watershed ecosystem of Ilam city in providing aesthetic services varies in different places and is influenced by various factors, especially topographic changes and land use patterns. That is to say, prevent land use change is an important factor for maintaining ecosystem services. Because the land use Changes pattern affects the capacity of the ecosystem to produce goods and services. The results of this research also, by presenting the spatial distribution model of aesthetic service potential can be useful for decision makers, managers and urban planners in order to monitor and protect aesthetic values and it is important and useful to adopt urban landscape management strategies and plans in the landscape of the studied area.

Chitons are marine molluscs, mostly grazers, resistant to tidal conditions and often living in crevices of rocks. The Oman Sea is located in the southeast of Iran and the northwest of the Indian Ocean and is heavily influenced by the monsoon winds of the Indian Ocean. Due to the occurrence of the monsoon process, the Makoran Sea has a rich variety of marine species, including molluscs. The aim of the present research was to investigate the density and distribution of Acanthopleura vaillantii in the beaches of Pozm, Konarak, Tis, Kolbe Ghawasi, Darya Bozorg and Ramin in winter 2018 and summer 2019.

In this study, the density and distribution of A. vaillantii was investigated in transects perpendicular to the sea and in the tidal zone, using a quadrat (1*1 m2). in the tidal zone of six stations on the coasts of Pozm, Konarak, Tis, Kolbe Ghavasi, Darya Bozorg and Ramin. A number of samples in each station were taken to the laboratory to measure biological parameters such as length, total wet weight, soft tissue moisture content, tissue moisture percentage and dry weight percentage. In each station, physical and chemical factors of water (temperature-salinity and acidity) were measured and recorded by WTW device.

Investigations showed that the highest average density in the winter of 2018 was in Ramin station and was equal to 11.27 ± 1.46 m2. In total, Ramin station had the highest average density in winter and summer with a value of 19.15 ± 2.67 m2. Also, the lowest average density was related to the diving hut station in summer and the first transect of the lower part of the tide, which was not recorded due to the presence of a sandy bed. In total, the average density for two seasons was 0.85 ± 0.26 m2 at the Kolbeh ghavasi station. Also, the statistical test showed a significant difference between the stations (P<0.05). The biological parameters showed that in Tis station, in winter and summer respectively, the maximum average length was 53.56±4.25 and 58.2±4.53 mm, weight was 23.19±7.43 and 22.8±51. 28.28 grams and at the Kolbeh ghavasi station for winter, the lowest average length was 32 ± 2.14 mm and weight was 2.99 ± 0.85 grams. In the Big Darya station, for summer, the lowest average length and weight were 43.44 ± 4.21 mm and 16.53 ± 4.89 grams, respectively.       

According to the results of other researchers, Tis station has high biodiversity, but the results of the present study showed that in this station, A. vaillantii samples had more weight and length despite the lower density (probably due to competition). Also, there was more density and distribution in the crevices of rocks and tidal pools with algal cover and temperature of 22 to 26 degrees Celsius.

The investigation of the causes of the failure of the environmental policies of the state requires first cognition from the evolution of environmental statehood. Ioris (2014) by focusing on the politico-philosophical approaches shows that during the last century, three different environmental statehoods were put in place, encapsulating three characteristic interpretations and reactions to environmental problems, which were under the influence of the political theories of Hobbes, Kant and Hegel. The trend of environmental disruption and institutional reforms shows environmental statehood has the evolution of trend in Iran too. Therefore, the central question here is the evolution trend of environmental statehood of Western countries compatible with Iran's conditions? The answer to this question requires investigation of state reactions to environmental problems. In this regard, the environmental statehood model of Iran was investigated with the use of the methods of qualitative content analysis. It also focuses on the political theory of Ioris (2014). The investigation of the coercive and non-coercive policy in the environmental regulation and legislation show Legislative institutions focus on the coercive policy for environmental protection. Despite the fact that the dominance of coercion policy from in the Iran's Forests act (1942) to Soil Conservation act (2019) shows that the political ideas of Hobbes are dominant in Iran's environmental law. But, legal reforms to solve environmental and water resource problems are associated with the upholding of a specific model of environmental statehood in Iran. In fact, the most obvious features of the conventional model of environmental statehood (environmental impact assessment) and the transition period from conventional to flexible environmental statehood (sustainable development) were introduced to Iran's environmental statehood in the Sazandegi government. In addition, the results show that the state in Iran introduced more flexible approaches into the regulations of water resources without creating a prepared the ground for the transition to a more flexible environmental statehood. Such as increasing the participation of the private sector in the three levels of governance of water resources and development of legal capacity for the acceptance of market-based approaches such as the water bank into the draft of the water law. Also, introducing policy tools of the payment for ecosystem services (PES) and ecosystem services to solve the problems of water resources in watersheds. Therefore, frameworks of the flexible model of environmental statehood exist also in Iran. But, the evolution trend of environmental statehood of Iran is not according to Western countries. The environmental statehood in Iran involves the application of specific forms of market-based interaction of Hegelian state model and command-and-control approaches of conventional model of environmental statehood to the control of water resources. It should be noted that focusing on the frameworks of the features of the conventional model of environmental statehood and flexible environmental statehood cannot solve Iran's environmental problems. Therefore, it is necessary that framework of local environmental statehood be designed for Iran, which focuses on the participation of local groups. By focusing on frameworks of this model can be achieved 1) reducing social inequalities on the scale of watersheds and 2) creating a balance between people's interests in the scale of small watersheds and macro policies in the scale of large watersheds.