نشریه اطلاعات جغرافیایی (سپهر)
پیاپی 80 (زمستان 1390)

Simulation is the most appropriate urban design and planning environment and presents a unique field of study in urban models in urban development projects. The use of mathematics and quantitative and qualitative models has always been a concern for urban planners. Modeling phenomena and urban dynamic elements is usually confronted with technological constraints and difficulties.
Each of the graphical models (structural and vector-based models) has some shortcomings in the simulation of dynamic urban phenomena.
This paper intends to examine the limitations of cell-axis models in a simulation system and provide a new model for integrating vector-based spatial model with the cellular system.

In the theory of functionalism, society is considered an organized system, and as each system consists of distinct components and elements, society is also formed as a system of separate groups and organizations. These components are combined in a special way and together constitute a whole. The survival of a system requires constructive interaction of its components and elements and that the system be integrated in a framework of environmental factors such as geography, values and social systems. This interaction and cooperation conforms to a series of principles and rules will lead to maintaining the balance and survival of the system, and even if parts and components of it are subject to change, this cooperation will contribute to maintaining overall stability. In this theory, each component of the system has a specific function and its survival depends on its interaction with the rest of the system's components and the degree to which it functions. A component can be operating in a period of time and be without any functions in another period, which, if not functioning, is deleted from the system. In this theory, the survival and continuance of all traditions, social relationships and institutions depend on the work or task they occupy in the social system as a whole, and continue to exist in their own way as long as they have a useful function. The theory of functionalism considers any kind of partial change and transformation due to the functional need of society; in other words, in this theory, society acts in a way so as to be responsive to its functional needs, and mechanisms are in a way that preserve unity , coherence, balance and survival. In this paper, while reviewing the functionalism school in geography, comparative parallel of this school with other geographical schools are carried out. (Azadeh Amaraki, 1994; Adibi, Ansari, 2004).

Climatic phenomena are complex. The complexity is that the phenomenon has many causes. The interrelationships between climatic elements and factors have led to the application of statistical methods, including multivariate statistical methods in climatic studies. One of these applications is to study and predict the relationship between climatic elements and factors. Application of statistical methods facilitates these studies. In this study, the relationship between the annual relative humidity and annual temperature with the number of annual days of precipitation of Zanjan station during the statistical period of 1956-2005 have been investigated. For this purpose, Pearson correlation methods have been used. Correlation means the covariance of two variables. The results show that the correlation coefficients of the variables are significant. furthermore, simple linear regression is used to estimate the number of annual days of precipitation with respect to annual relative humidity. Two-variable regression will be used to estimate the number of annual days of precipitation with respect to annual relative humidity and annual temperature.

Application of remote sensing data in identification of important areas in terms of biodiversity, prediction of the mechanism of the distribution of species and modeling the responses of biosphere communities to natural and human changes is one of the important issues in research. Environmental parameters with certain bio-physical characteristics can indicate the mechanism of distribution and frequency of species at the surface of the land and explain how the habitat is occupied by species. New data from remote sensing technology have made it possible to combine them with ecological models to answer many questions about biodiversity. Recent advances in spatial and spectral resolution of sensors have made studying various aspects of biodiversity, such as identifying communities of species, estimating species richness, identifying climatic variables, and studying the habitat structure possible. In cases where direct recognition of a living creature is not possible, by using the indirect remote sensing approach, we can derive meaningful information from the bio-physical properties. This paper reviews the application of remote sensing in biodiversity and conservation studies, which involves the use of direct and indirect remote sensing in identifying species and communities, estimating species richness, identifying climatic variables and studying the habitat structure. Today, it is necessary to form increasing collaboration between remote sensing researchers and researchers in the field of biodiversity and conservation, so that steps can be taken towards better conservation goals.

In order to assess the climatic drought trend in 23 sub-basins of the Caspian Sea, monthly precipitation data were converted to the zoned data by interpolation method. Then, based on the coordinates of the basins, the monthly precipitation of each basin was separated. The Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) method was used to assess climatic droughts and this index was calculated monthly for each basin. According to the parametric test, linear regression of 23 sub-basins of Caspian Sea in January, May and December do not show any significant trend at 95% confidence level. Five sub basins in the months of February and July have a positive trend and 11 sub basins show negative trend in March and September. By applying non-parametric Mann-Kendall test on the SPI matrix of the 23 Caspian sub basin, it was found that no baseline shows significant trend in May. The highest trend in six sub-basins have been in the months of July and August.

The limitations of resources and documents related to the field of space in the country necessitates clarification of the status of space in the development of the country and sustainable security, which, while expressing the fundamental issues concerning space technology and space activities of the country, examine specialized areas of remote sensing and space imagery. Space structure, space legal regime, space functions and space technology are the major issues addressed in this paper.

n recent years, a new sensor called Lidar Continuous Wave has been introduced into the commercial laser scanners family. The main advantage of this new type of sensors is the complete recording of the return pulse after the collision with various ground features along the path of the laser pulse to the surface of the ground. With full wave recording, the output of the cloud of points has a higher density and more reliability, along with new parameters, including pulse widths and pulse amplitudes for each point. These new parameters help us analyze and investigate outcomes of the three-dimensional cloud of points of these types of sensors ever more correct and comprehensive . Lidar's output can be applied in various fields, including updating 3D databases, extracting ground features, providing a 3D model of buildings, providing forest models, urban management and planning, traffic management, air pollution control, tourism industry, crisis management, and many other applications. In this article, we first discuss some points about the Lidar Continuous Wave sensor, the signal processing carried out on it so far, and how to extract the three-dimensional points from it. Examining different types of these sensors and a brief history of their evolutionary process forms the next section. In the end, various applications of this data in forest, urban and hydrographic fields are discussed.

Visitation of nature has always existed in soul and mind of mankind, and it is rooted in the nature of human love of beauty. On the other hand, the contemporary man in the continuation of his machine-ridden and tedious life seeks relaxation and freshness in the light of attention to the nature.
Choghakhor area with a delightful nature, pleasant, cool and mild climate, vegetation and colorful charming woodlands, landscapes and orchards, clear fountains and the sound of a stream of roaring creeks with a magnificent landscape of Choghakhor wetland, wildlife and birds native and immigrant, on the slopes of the sky-tall mountain range of Kalar (3832 m high), is 60 km from Shahrekord (center of Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province) and 45 km from Borujen (county center) in the central part of the beautiful Zagros, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari province And is a complete gallery that can fulfil a wide range of expectations of people tired of urban life.
The Chaghakhor area is one of the areas with high potential for tourism and recreation in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, due to the presence of valuable natural and environmental attractions and potentials, so that visiting this province without seeing the Choghakhor wetland and the beauties of the area that attracts tourists intending to visit, namely ecotourism , is incomplete.
In this paper, which is a documentary-field study with a comprehensive view, while describing the natural features of the Choghakhor area, we introduce the most important attractions and potentials of the region's ecotourism, including the Choghakhor wetland, mountains and heights, springs and jungles, gardens and resorts, religious and historical-cultural centers, etc. Finally, the negative effects of ecotourism development along with strategies and suggestions for optimal utilization of environmental resources of the region are presented.

The expansion of urbanization and urban development, along with the acceleration of the population growth and the development of industrial activities that consume fossil fuels, has greatly increased the air pollution, with its consequences primarily as a variety of respiratory, cardiovascular, pulmonary, Skin and ... diseases threatening the inhabitants of the cities.
On the other hand, climatic parameters such as humidity, sunshine clock, temperature, air pressure and radiation levels of the sun increase the amount of pollutants in the atmosphere and increase their impact on humans and natural ecosystems. Therefore, by altering the composition of effective gases in the life of the earth's organisms and disturbing their balance, human beings have harmed themselves and the environment, causing extensive changes in the climatic patterns and, on the other hand, have exposed their lives and health to risk. In this paper, the relationship between climatic elements such as temperature, pressure, humidity and atmospheric pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrous oxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), hydrocarbon (HC) and particulate matter (PM10) with the prevalence of various diseases in Isfahan province have been investigated. For this purpose, after the data collection, statistical calculations were performed and the results were presented as tables and charts and the relationship between each variable and patients suffering diseases was investigated.
The results show that there is a significant correlation between climatic elements such as temperature, pressure and humidity with the prevalence of cardiovascular, pulmonary, ocular and skin cancer.

The main purpose of this article is to provide an indicator in addition to existing indicators for determining the direction of the dominant wind in the region (Arg-Hasan Abad of Bafgh). This indicator can be helpful in areas where other indicators, such as wind statistics for wind rose, satellite images and aerial photographs are less available.
In the implementation of this project, with the help of the statistics of Bafq synoptic station, the monthly, seasonal and annual wind roses were drawn. furthermore, the morphology of sand dunes was investigated using satellite images of the region and the total of the above activities were drawn upon to determine the dominant winds. Thereupon, the random network was applied onto the satellite image and the coordinates of forty points were extracted, which were approximately 500 meters apart. Using the GPS, the points were called upon and the sediment samples were taken. The specimens were screened and their cumulative graphs and diameter distribution were plotted in terms of fi and micron, and the mean, skewness and sorting factors were calculated with the help of the corresponding formulas. By drawing the diameter contour lines, it was found that there is a significant relationship between the dominant wind direction and the distribution of grain size in the area of Ark.

Although the importance of urban management in achieving sustainable urban development has become increasingly clear to the general public and urban managers, there is a wide range of contradictions and confusion regarding the content of urban management in China, which are considered amongst important practical barriers. This paper examines some of the issues faced by Chinese cities during the experience of urban management. The most interesting part is the need for a comprehensive understanding and a strategic model focusing on the Gwangju case study and its regional development to improve the capacities of the Chinese urban management. This paper, using some quantitative evaluation criteria, shows that implementing a comprehensive urban management strategy is beneficial in improving the urban management process

Rural areas account for a large part of the population and natural and biological areas of the country and play a major role in the economic and social life of the country. In this regard, the rural environment needs a special attention in the process of planning sustainable rural development and improving the quality of the environment. Environment is one of the sensitive and vulnerable dimensions of villages that are less affected by pollutants than cities. However, the expansion of urban consumption patterns and the influx of some urban pollutants into rural areas and the change in the pattern of consumption in villagers have led to environmental and healthy life degradation in rural areas.
In this article, the aim is to provide strategies for improving the rural environment which has been studied through descriptive-analytical method of the subject. Also, considering the role of public participation in protecting the rural environment and achieving sustainable rural development, issues including rural waste management methods, rural green space management and rural wastewater disposal methods have been addressed as effective factors in protecting the rural environment and creating healthy life. Noting that many villages in the country have not properly implemented appropriate methods of environmental protection such as waste disposal, sewage disposal and green space management, and their poor performance in attracting public participation, the sustainable development of villages has not come to fruition.
The results of this paper show that if the correct way of protecting the environment is applied in the villages, many diseases common in villages will be eradicated and the villages will become closer to sustainable development.

The surface of the earth is composed of the continuity of a more or less extensive surface, which is called the slope. The main feature of this feature is its skewness. This surface is generally covered by soil and surface deposits. Since the soil is the most important element of the earth's biosphere, without which the life in the land will not be running and durable, preserving and protecting it is of particular importance (Badrifar, 2000). Sometimes humans, by cultivating slopes and plowing in the direction of slope, have caused vertical cuts in the slopes; plowing the slopes and building irrigation networks along the level curves and also digging the canals along the direction of the slopes have greatly contributed to the intensification of the process of destruction and erosion of the soil and the elimination of this valuable material. In this paper, the status and shape of erosion in different directions of the slopes and the effect of morphology and slope on erosion and its type have been studied in Natchi basin. In this research, in addition to field studies, various documents such as topographic maps, geology, vegetation, aerial photos and satellite imagery have been used as research tools.

In recent years, various philosophical, political, social and economic schools have had a clear and profound influence on the geographic debate and have created new ideas. Radicalism is also one of these schools that was able to provide a deconstructive approach to solve as much as possible the problems that space had to deal with, and to eliminate many of the established trends in geography. It is within this approach that radical geographers consider geographic space to be a historical-socio-political category that has been inscribed in nature. But what is most apparent in this school is the exploitation of Marxist and socialist ideologies.
This article seeks to answer the question whether the legitimacy of radicalism in geography is due to its opposition to the views and frameworks that shape the geographic space for the benefit of the owners of power and capital or merely a paradigm that challenges the space perspective. To reach this goal, the author has tried to collect and analyze the issues using the documentary research method and referring to library resources. By studying the foundations of radicalism and its different perspectives, it clarifies the extent to which this school has been influenced by other ideologies as well as its impact on geographic studies, and discusses the various spaces that the advocates of this school have introduced in geography.

The border is the main factor in defining the country and is one of the cornerstones of the science of political geography, but following many discussions about open borders in the European Union, today we witness  border elimination issues within the framework of country elimination. Though globalists - which form a wide range - herald the existence of a steady process of border elimination in the future, but we can simultaneously witness the strengthening of the borders in some parts of the world.
In this regard, this article describes the reconciliation and geo-economic and geopolitical linkages on the northern borders of the United States with regard to the process of globalization based on a neorealist approach. This means that, with economic liberalization within NAFTA, security needs to address the various threats at the border have become more and more important. The satisfactory solution to this has been a technological one that has brought the geo-nuclear and geopolitical linkage and reconciliation along the border.