ardavan zarandian

This study aims to economic valuation and assess multiple threats to water and soil resources of the Karkheh National Park and Karkheh Protected Area, southwest of Iran.

Modeling water budget, runoff, soil erosion, and water pollution potential, was performed using the WaterWorld Policy Support System (WWPSS), process-based hydrological model that utilizes remotely sensed and globally available. Eeconomics value has been calculated using the Substitute Cost Method, for 2021.

The result showed that the southern area of the Karkheh River basin experienced the minimum precipitation, which has led to a decrease in vegetation and an increase in runoff generation in the southern areas. The total runoff generated in the river basin is based on the upstream-downstream relationships from the north to the south was estimated at 81000648 m3.yr-1. The soil erosion rate spiked in the southern area with the vegetation decline and the intensification of runoff could be result in water pollution. Economic valuation represents the real value of water generation in the whole Karkheh National Park and Protected Area was US$ 0.104 million, estimated US$ 6.63 per hectare. In addition, the soil conservation economic value in the entire Karkheh National Park and Protected Area was US$ 9.3 million and US$ 912.2, per hectare.

This information provides valuable awareness into the economic value of natural resources and can help environmental assessors activities related to conservation planning. It assists as a useful tool for emphasizing the economic implications of ecosystem degradation and can help for sustainable management.

With the rapid development of society, economy and population growth, the impact of human activities on ecosystems is increasing, which has caused the relationship between human well-being and ecosystem to be in the spotlight. To that end, ecosystem services as an essential element for human development and survival emphasizes the benefits that natural ecosystems provide to humans. These services are divided into four categories based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA): provision, regulation, support and cultural. Cultural ecosystem services are important component of ecosystem services that refer to intangible benefits of the human beings from ecosystems and play an essential role in enhancing human well-being. Cultural ecosystem services can include the use of natural resources directly or indirectly.

The present study was conducted with the aim of modeling recreation services in Semnan province. For this purpose, the integration of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) of one as the multicriteria decision-making methods and the recreation opportunity spectrum (ROS) model was used. In the ROS model, recreational service is estimated based on recreation potential index and accessibility- remoteness index. In the recreation potential index, three elements: the degree of naturalness, the protected regions, and the attractiveness of water bodies, and in the accessibility- remoteness index, the distance from roads and human-made areas were mapped. In this research, Sentinel-2 satellite images were used to prepare the land use map of 2021. Then, using the maximum likelihood algorithm, land use maps were prepared in 18 classes.

According to the land use map, pastures, barren lands and rainfed agriculture have the highest levels of land use in the studied area with 23.57, 22.27 and 17.31% respectively. After that, waterbodies, salt marshes and irrigated agriculture are the dominant land uses with 15.65, 10.98 and 7.84%, respectively. It is worth mentioning that the smallest area of the region is dedicated to wetlands and urban uses. Based on the results, Forest and pasture areas have the highest potential in providing recreation services in the study area. It was also seen that, the third category (low provision- difficult access) and the seventh category (high provision- easy access) respectively have the highest and lowest land surface coverage in terms of the provision of recreational ecosystem services in the province. Overall, the results showed that recreation ecosystem service is affected by various factors caused by human development, especially land cover/use changes. Considering the concentration of both variables of ecosystem service provision and urban and industrial development in the northern half of the province, it is vital to pay attention to the conflicts between the development and management of ecosystem services. If this is ignored, in addition to intensifying the instability of development, the destruction of natural assets of the province, especially forests and pastures, which are the main source of provision of various ecosystem services such as recreation, will intensify.

In general, the results indicate that most of the places in the province have a medium to low ability to provide recreation services. Considering that recreational potential is important for the well-being of urban populations, increasing urban parks and green infrastructure areas is a useful way to improve the quality of the recreational experience. Therefore, urban development strategies should increasingly aim to strengthen the natural and artificial network of green space, diversity of plant compositions and biomass structure, and proper management of green space. This is necessary for the design of green space with regard to maximizing ecosystem services in Semnan province.

Heavy soil erosion and sedimentation at the watershed level can trigger intense environmental consequences. This research proposes a modeling technique to estimate changes in incremental soil erosion over time and evaluate the effect of vegetation cover on soil erosion in critical areas. For this, the study employed the Water World Policy Support System (WWPSS) for simultaneous modeling of changes in vegetation cover and soil erosion. Changes in vegetation cover from 2000 to 2020 were studied by extracting data from the model databases received from MODIS VCF satellite images. The study further used maps and calculations of the run model to measure the amount of net soil erosion (erosion minus sedimentation in the same place) and subsequent change in its level under two baseline (before loss of vegetation cover) and current (post-vegetation loss) situations. It was found that the average percentage of grass-pasture cover in the studied watershed has declined from 78.36% (under the baseline situation in 2000) to about 47% (under the current situation). The average amount of net soil erosion in the two sub-watersheds of Aji Chai and Marduq Chai has increased by more than 277% and 33%, respectively, signifying them to be the most vulnerable sub-watersheds (among all the four studied sub-watersheds) to soil erosion at critical areas. Overall as expected, a 40% loss of vegetation in the studied watershed has provoked adversely hazardous consequences during the studied period while cumulatively leading to over 8 million tons of soil deterioration in 15 years. The proposed method is assumed to be advantageous by providing quantitative and rapid environmental assessments that entail precise quantification of environmental consequences like soil erosion.

Soil resources play an important role in providing the necessary material goods for humans and other organisms and also deliver multiple ecosystem services that are essential for life on earth. They have also served for a long time as an important green infrastructure in protecting agricultural and forest landscapes by providing plants a foothold for their roots and holding the necessary nutrients for their growth. In addition, soils can provide various ecosystem services such as contaminant immobilization, rainwater control, carbon sequestration, and habitat provision that are directly beneficial for humans. Services provided by ecosystems for humans are called ecosystem services. Soil retention, which refers to the potential of ecosystems for controlling soil erosion and conserving soil, is classified in the class of regulating services.    

The InVEST Sediment Delivery Ratio (SDR) model was used in InVEST Software to quantify soil retention and erosion. The required inputs for implementing this model include land use maps, K-factor (soil erodibility), R-factor (rain erosivity), C-factor (land use and land cover or LU/LC), P-factor (support practices), DEM (digital elevation model), and the biophysical table. 

Based on the results, the potential of soil loss and sediment transport in the study area ranged from zero to 248.18 t/pixel and from zero to 57.25 tons per pixel, respectively. Soil retention is also estimated in a range from zero to 124.85 tons per pixel in the studied area. The largest amount of soil loss happened in sub-basin number 14 with 13716400 t/year and the smallest in sub-basin number 4 with 416594 t/year. Most of the ecosystem service of soil retention belonged to sub-basin number 13 with 4304414 t/ha/ year and the least to sub-basin number 4 with 5645 tons/ha/year.

The dense forests in the northernmost part of Semnan Province provide the most part of the ecosystem service of soil retention with more than 36 t/ha and the desert areas, the salt lake, and the salt marsh the least. Based on this, the province's forests, including dense, semi-dense, sparse and thin forests, contribute to the maintenance of soil in the province by a total of 4269166 tons per year. Also, good pastures maintain more than 18 tons per hectare of the province's soil every year, and the total function of soil maintenance by all types of pastures in the province, including good, medium and poor pastures, is 9395160 tons per year. Since the area covered by the pastures is 18 times more than that by the forests, we can say that most of the ecosystem service of soil retention is provided by the pastures due to the geographical distribution of this service in the province, despite the fact that forests are more capable in soil conservation than pastures. The orchards and rainfed agricultural land rank third and fourth, respectively, in soil retention with 7.86 and 2.15 tons of soil/ha, respectively. However, man-made land uses such as urban areas decrease this ecosystem service because they are usually accompanied by removing or reducing the vegetation. The urban areas are located in the northern part of the study area, and they have negative impacts on this ecosystem service. Therefore, protection of the forest and rangeland covers in the province is vitally important for the continued conservation of the ecosystem service of soil retention.

Ecosystem assessments have become increasingly important as the hazards posed by natural and human drivers, and the pressure on natural ecosystems increases, especially in developing countries as Iran. This is particularly true for the Lake Urmia watershed due to its vital role in in the provision of various ecosystem services that that different groups of stakeholders benefit from. In this research, a combination of two quantitative assessment methods based on ecosystem modeling using the Water World Policy Support System (WWPSS) and a descriptive assessment using the Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) conceptual framework was applied to link the results of evaluating land-use change, climate change and their effects on echo-hydrological parameters (vegetation, water budget, runoff, and soil erosion) with the aim of spatial zoning of hazards and its application in principled and conscious environmental management in the watershed of Lake Urmia .Vegetation loss caused by climate change has resulted in a change in the average net soil erosion in the watershed from -0.012 to 0.20 mm per year per square meter. In other words, the average soil erosion in the watershed only during the period under review rose dramatically by more than 3 tons per hectare. If this trend continues, soil erosion will become more severe.The capacities of the proposed method used in this research can be developed and more innovative solutions can be investigated to face ecological challenges in watershed management by further application of quantification models of eco-hydrological functions in the future.

Water provision service is one of the most valuable ecosystem services that is important as a key service for the healthfulness and management of water resources. In this study, using the Water Yield model of InVEST software, the water supply and demand in Ilam watershed was modeled. The data related to average annual precipitation, annual evaporation and transpiration, root limiting depth, water available for plants,  land use map, water consumption and estimation of water provision quantity, basin boundary, and subbasins of the watershed were the inputs of this model. The results of model application showed that in Ilam watershed, 45 million cubic meters of water provided annually, with the highest and lowest water provision volumes being in Arghavan (7 million cubic meters) and Chalimar (802 thousand cubic meters) subbasins, respectively. According to results, there are great differences in the water supply and demand in the subbasins of this watershed. Therefore, planner and policymakers should pay attention to this important issue in the layout of land uses and foresee sustainable use of rich forests in the high yield subbasins such as Arghavan subbasin. The results provided in this study, along with showing the importance of modeling surface water demand and its used in macro-policies of water allocation, can function as a guideline and help the managers and planners of Ilam city to adopt reasonable decisions in managing ecosystem and correctly using land in this area.

Considering the importance of corals in different dimensions of human life, their investigation and study will become more necessary. Kharg and Khargo islands are very important from the point of view of the environment, especially the unique coral covers. In the past few decades, many potential threats such as destructive human activities related to the oil industry and the resulting wastes in coastal environments, oil and hydrocarbon pollution, industrial and urban pollution, air pollution, discharge of municipal effluents and sewage, thermal stresses caused by changes Climatic and fluctuating middle and upper water levels, fishing with nets by fishermen and hunting fish by divers in coral areas, as well as carelessness of divers, have faced many challenges in coral habitats. One of the activities that is in relative conflict with the ecosystem of Khark Island and especially the location of the coral beaches, is the activities and movements related to fishing in Khark and Khargo Island. These activities date back several decades. Extreme poverty in many areas has caused a large number of people to go fishing. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the various aspects of the fishing challenge that threatens the geographical territory of coral reefs. The aim of this study is to emphasize the investigation of human-environmental challenges.

In this research, for evaluate and investigate the threats created in the geographical area the first step we investigated the challenges of fishing activity of Khark Island. Then these challenges were classified and finally analyzed and investigated the contribution of each of its aspects in the fishing communities near the coral habitat of Kharg and Khargo islands. In order to investigate fishing and fishing challenges, using the statistical method of Cronbach’s alpha analysis and Likert scale. For trust final results and analyzes must the confidence percentage was calculated and confirmed. The weights of each of the criteria were finalized by the SWARA fuzzy-numerical test. In this questionnaire, there are 21 questions and Cronbach’s alpha is at an acceptable and good level of 0.72.

In the questionnaire of this research, there are 21 questions and the Cronbach's alpha level is at an acceptable and good level of 0.72. It was found that trust in the content of the questionnaire confirms. The effectiveness and weight of each of the criteria showed that the highest percentage of fishing is done by motor boats in the winter season and early in the morning (93%). The results showed that more than 85% of fishermen have not received any necessary training for fishing in coral areas, and this challenge is considered serious and fundamental. The results showed that more than 85% of fishermen have not received any necessary training for fishing in coral areas, and this challenge is considered serious and fundamental.

The output indicates that the fishing tool is valued as a criterion with the first rank, in other words, it explains 31% of the weight of the items. On the other hand, fishing time has the lowest weight in the criteria definition with 23%. These statistical processes show that human-environmental factors should be prioritized in examining the challenges and threats of the coral reef in Khark Island. In other words, the control and management of man-made challenges and related factors can create safe coral environments.

Ecosystems, if properly managed, provide a vital variety of services such as the production of goods for human beings. Therefore, they need to be protected and developed as a fundamental solution to achieve sustainable development and ensure the well-being of generations. Ecosystem services are natural activities and functions necessary for human well-being. Understanding the value of natural property as one of the preconditions for sustainable development reveals the significance of valuation. In fact, valuing ecosystem services is one of the main tools for protecting the environment and natural resources. Using economic valuation ways in actual policy making is a rare phenomenon. Analyzing the valuation studies shows the need in future to strengthen the sectors that affected by economic valution regading decision making.

Topics presented in this article are based on a review of the scientific literature on the economic valuation of ecosystem services, concepts of ecosystem services and classification of services based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA, 2005), interviews with experts from various academic and research centers and library studies and Internet sites.

Monetary arguments for recognizing the relative importance of different forms of ecosystem services and natural capital may not be universally accepted, but they can be useful and convincing for decision makers. In other words, if they do not value the benefits provided by nature, they are considered worthless and the current trend in the decline and destruction of natural systems will continue. In environmental policies and natural resources, economic evaluation involves determining the monetary value of changes in services and the functions and shares of natural capital. A valuation of natural resources and the environment by economists contributes to understanding the benefits of the environment, helps decision makers and planners become cognizant of the environmental issues, and specifies the relationship between economic policies and natural incomes. If the valuation of environmental services and natural resources is based on units that are not comparable to other goods, it is supposed that these services are free.In factoverlooking the value of these services, at the level of decisions, leads to the adoption of unsustainable policies. Thus, the economic valuation of natural resources helps managers plan the protection and sustainable use of the environment and natural resources by raising the quantitative value of ecosystem goods and services.

Evaluating ecosystem services is an effective way for managers to evaluate how costs are allocated to valuable ecosystem services. Given that many natural ecosystem services are not traded in the market and the willingness of people to pay for receiving these services is not clear, methods of valuing natural ecosystem services and goods have always been considered by experts as a central issue in natural resource economics. According to the review of economic valuation methods, it can be said that researchers are focusing on the Contingent Valuation (CV) method due to its simplicity and flexibility to apply. Nevertheless, one of the chief criticisms of the CV method is that results are generally inflated as respondents do not face a real budget constraint and tend to say yes. This often leads to loss of validity and exaggeration. Therefore, the use of Choice Experiment (CE) and Benefit Transfer methods are preferable. The benefit transfer method is an effective method for developing countries. In fact, this method will be suitable when there is sufficient time to conduct economic evaluation or studies on the cost of environmental damage. Although the purpose of economic valuation, regardless of how it is done, is to assist decision makers in implementing public policy and environmental and natural resource planning, However, due to the new approach of the selection test method and its optimal ability to evaluate ecosystem services, it is suggested that more studies be carried out with this method. Therefore, due to the importance of economic valuation of ecosystem goods, the scientific community in Iran should continue further research on economic valuation. These studies can help shift from hypothetical to real markets and highlight the vital role of ecosystem services in society.

Vegetation is an important factor affecting runoff, quantity and quality of water in a watershed. This study investigates the effects of vegetation reduction in the eastern watershed of Lake Urmia on two parameters of runoff and the potential for water pollution .The WWPSS model was used to simultaneously assess the three parameters. Vegetation shows a fraction of the types of grass, tree and land without vegetation that were obtained from MODIS VCF satellite images. Runoff was calculated as accumulated water budget downstream. This model also provides an indicator to determine the potential level of water pollution. The results showed that rangeland cover decreased by an average of about 32%. Also, the average runoff production increased by 2.6, 3.16, 2.9 and 3.25 percent, respectively, in the existing conditions in 4 sub-basins of Aji Chai, Qaleh Chai, Marduq Chai and Sufi Chai compared to the situation before the reduction of vegetation coverage. According to the results, the difference in water pollution potential between the baseline and existing conditions in different parts of the watershed has fluctuated in the range between -9 to15% and an average of 0.6%. This change has increased the pollution load in some places and decreased it in others; but in general, it has led to incremental changes in water pollution potential with an average of about 2.5% in the total watershed. The method used can be used to quantify and map ecosystem water changes and its application in environmental assessment and management.

Natural tourism is estimated to account for approximately 27% of international travel and, when properly managed, can create local employment and local development formats as well as preserve the natural environment (Ryngnga, 2008). The function of the recreation area is one of the most important cultural services of national parks. The environment and its sustainable development for optimal use, has been considered by many countries, politicians and thinkers in the field of natural, economic and social resources. The expansion of forest parks, centralized and extensive promenades, following this idea, has a special place (Ping, 2014). National Park and Protected Area of Karkheh is located in a narrow strip on both sides of the Karkheh River. The physical and chemical status of river water has a direct impact on the ecosystem services of the region. The ecosystem services of this region are diverse and one of the most prominent is the recreational function. Presenting the economic value of this function leads to raising awareness of its importance and revealing the benefits of conservation and sustainable use of the protected area among local stakeholders as well as for decision makers to further protect these ecosystems. The importance and role of economic valuation of the recreational function of Karkheh National Park and its protected area has unfortunately been ignored in the present studies. Given the importance of this function and explaining its economic value, the present study specifically deals with the economic evaluation of the recreational function of the National Park and the Protected Area of Karkheh.

To determine the economic value of a resort, the ecological carrying capacity and willingness to pay visitors must first be calculated. Therefore, the following is an estimate of these two factors in the study area. • Determining the capacity of the ecological carryingEcological carrying Capacity (ECC) is the maximum number of visitors to a recreational environment that, due to the limiting factors that result from the specific conditions of the place and the impact of these factors on the physical carrying capacity, are allowed to visit that place. To act. These limiting factors are obtained by considering biophysical, ecological, social and managerial conditions and variables (Lee and Han, 2002). In this study, physical board capacity (PCC) is obtained from Equation 1:PCC ₌ A * (v / a) * Rf In this regard, A is the area of tourism-prone areas. v / a is the ratio of the number of tourists allowed per unit of tourism level. V is equivalent to one visitor and a is the amount of space the visitor needs to be able to move easily and not interfere with other physical phenomena or people. The ecological carrying capacity is obtained from Equation 2):RCC₌ PCC- Cf₁- Cf₂-… Cfₓ Where Cf is a limiting factor of each region and the limiting factors depend entirely on the specific conditions and characteristics of each region. Limiting factors are expressed as a percentage. The percentage of limiting factors are obtained based on the following formula (Lee and Han, 2002):CF₌ M₁ / M * 100 In this formula, M1 is the limiting value of a variable and M is the total value of the variable. In this study, the soil of the region due to high erosion potential, the presence of Iranian yellow deer species in the region and days with very high temperatures have been considered as limiting factors. • Average willingness to pay The two-dimensional selection method has been used for the willingness of people to pay. In this study, a questionnaire consists of two parts, the first part includes socio-economic characteristics of individuals such as age, gender, education, occupation, number of family members, income and other characteristics of respondents and the second part is related to the amount. Willingness to pay people is designed. In the second part of the questionnaire, three offered prices of 3000, 5000 and 10000 Rials are presented as three interrelated questions. Estimated values must also be adjusted in relation to expected changes in price levels over time, otherwise: the results of cost-benefit analysis are not reliable. Therefore, two types of corrections are necessary (Mishkin, 2009):1) Determining the present value: takes into account the opportunity cost of money. 2) Inflation correction: adjustment of changes in price levels. estimates of cost-benefit should also be adjusted for changes in price levels over time, called inflation adjustment. To adjust the price of a dollar at the present time according to the expected inflation in the future, its value must be converted to its nominal value at the desired time. Nominal value means the set value of the value for the current time. Real value also means the adjusted amount of value with respect to the effect of inflation.

Determining the range capacity of the National Park and North Protected Area of Karkheh According to the results, the total real (ecological) range capacity of the North, South National Park and the North Protected Area of Karkheh, most of which is forest cover, is 117,007 people.Determining the range capacity of the South Karkheh Protected AreaAlso, the protected area of South Karkheh, whose prominent natural feature is the Karkheh River, has a capacity of 62,543 real (ecological) capacity. Recreational value in North and South National Park and North Protected Area of KarkhehThe results show that the average willingness to pay is 5540 Rials in 1397. Considering the inflation rate in 1398 which is equal to 34.8%, this amount in 1398 is equal to 7467.92 Rials. Considering that the ecological range capacity of North and South National Park and North Protected Area of Karkheh is equal to 117,007 people, so the recreational value of North and South National Park and North Karkheh Protected Area is 873.8 million Rials.Recreational value in the protected area of South KarkhehThe results showed that the willingness of people to pay in the protected area of South Karkheh for natural landscape and recreation is 127810 Rials, for ecological performance is 212270 Rials and for educational performance is 152560 Rials. Therefore, the figure of 127810 Rials is considered as the recreational value of each visitor for the protected area of South Karkheh. Of course, according to the average inflation rate during the years 1394 to 1398, which is equal to 18.46 percent, this amount in 1398 is equal to297797.3 rials.Therefore, considering that the amount of ecological range capacity in the protected area of South Karkheh is 62543 people per year, the recreational value of this area is 18625.14 million Rials.Therefore, in total, the real (ecological) range capacity in the whole study area is 179,550 people. Therefore, the recreational value of Karkheh National Park and Protected Area is a total of 19498.94 million Rials (873.8 + 18625.14 million Rials). Considering that the area of lands providing ecotourism ecosystem services in Karkheh National Park and Protected Area is 1310.49 hectares, so the value of each hectare is 14.88 million Rials. Therefore, according to Table 1) the real value of recreational function in the entire national park and Karkheh protected area with inflation correction in 1398 is estimated to be equal to 16276.24 million rials. The real value of recreation per hectare of the study area has been estimated with inflation correction equal to 12.42 million rials.

The economic value of natural ecosystem services in national parks such as forests, pastures, vegetation and crops are one of the major challenges in environmental studies. In this study, the economic evaluation of fodder and crop production performance in the national park and Karkheh protected area has been investigated. Karkheh National Park and Protected Area is located in a narrow strip on both sides of the Karkheh River. The physical and chemical condition of the river water has a direct impact on its ecosystem services. The ecosystem services of this region are diverse (Khuzestan Province Planning Studies, 2013) and its economic value, leading to increased awareness of the importance of its services and revealing the benefits of conservation and sustainable use of the protected area among local stakeholders and It is for decision makers to further protect these ecosystems. This assessment also makes it clear that the environment is a limited resource, even though there is no specific market for it. Therefore, economic evaluation and valuation of the environment can further highlight the scarcity of institutions called the environment. If all environmental components are taken into account in decisions, then economic development strategies will be judged from a better perspective, as opposed to frugal methods. In this case, decision makers will be led to an appropriate decision that has the least environmental damage.

Considering that the downstream area of Karkheh Protected Area, especially the wetland and mangrove forest, is affected by hydrological conditions; Spatial delimitation should be done in such a way that the analysis of ecological processes can be correctly interpreted from the perspective of hydrological knowledge. Therefore, the study area is Karkheh National Park and Protected Area (Figure 1) and its hydrological unit (Figure 2).In order to evaluate the economic performance of fodder and crop production in the region, the alternative cost approach has been used. This approach calculates the value of ecosystem goods and services in terms of the cost of providing substitutes for them and uses the cost of providing substitutes as an estimate of the value of an ecosystem or its services (Sussman & Zohar, 2018). Estimated values must also be adjusted in relation to expected changes in price levels over time, otherwise: the results of cost-benefit analysis are not reliable. Therefore, two types of corrections are necessary(Mishkin, 2009):1) Determining the present value: takes into account the opportunity cost of money.2) Inflation correction: adjustment of changes in price levels.Preliminary estimates of cost-benefit should also be adjusted for changes in price levels over time, called inflation adjustment. To adjust the price of a dollar at the present time according to the expected inflation in the future, its value must be converted to its nominal value at the desired time. Nominal value means the set value of the value for the current time. Real value also means the adjusted value of value according to the effect of inflation (Sussman & Zohar, 2018).Economic resource valuation studies estimate the net present value (NPV) of ecosystem goods and services. Therefore, in this study, time demarcation is not considered and the present value of goods and ecosystem services of Karkheh Protected Area will be estimated this year.

Determining the economic value of forage production  In the hydrological unit The total area under forage cultivation in Shush, Andimeshk and Hamidiyeh counties is 8322 hectares, of which 43 are allocated to alfalfa cultivation, 78 to clover cultivation and 8201 hectares to forage corn cultivation. According to the production ratio of fodder products with approximate ratios of 0.6, 0.9 and 98.5% for alfalfa, clover and fodder corn as well as forage production area (216692.17 hectares) in the hydrological unit There will be 1118.3 hectares of alfalfa, 2030.4 hectares of clover and 213541.46 hectares of fodder corn. According to the statistical yearbook of Khuzestan province in 1397, the average yield of alfalfa cultivation in the region is 7492.5, clover cultivation is 6000 and forage corn cultivation is 39582.7 kg / ha. The Statistics Center of Iran has announced the average price of alfalfa in 1397 as 11593.7 Rials per kilogram. Also, this year, the average price of clover is 10212 and the price of fodder corn is 2334.9 Rials per kilogram. Therefore, the production value of each forage in the hydrological unit is according to Table 1.The area of lands providing ecosystem service for forage production in the national park is 1664.95 hectares (statistical yearbook of Khuzestan province, 1397). Therefore, the value of forage production in Karkheh National Park is equal to 153092.15 million Rials. The area covered by this ecosystem service in the protected area is 31168.88 hectares and the value of forage production is equal to 291378.52 million rials. In total, the total value of the forage production ecosystem service in the protected area and Karkheh National Park is estimated at 444470.67 million Rials. The area of arable lands in the hydrological unit is 126737.89 hectares, of which 49878.14 hectares are for irrigated cultivation and 76859.75 hectares are for rainfed cultivation. The main crops in the region are wheat, rice, corn, watermelon, cucumber, tomato, melon, sugar beet, potato and onion. According to the modeling, the area of lands providing crop ecosystem service in the national park is 414.38 hectares. Therefore, the value of crop production in Karkheh National Park is equal to 61.50506 million Rials. The area covered by this ecosystem service in the protected area is 3724.1 hectares and the value of crop production is equal to 552768.17 million rials. In total, the total value of crop ecosystem services in the protected area and Karkheh National Park is estimated at 61427274.59 million rials. The total economic value of crops in Karkheh hydrological unit is estimated at 18811.65 billion rials. The economic value of each hectare of agricultural land is equal to 148.43 million rials. The real value of crop production in the whole national park and Karkheh protected area with inflation reform in 1398 is estimated to be equal to 512750.07 million Rials. The real value of crop production per hectare of the study area is estimated to be 123.9 million rials with inflation modification.

The goals of the present study were to analyze changes in land cover and to estimate a future scenario for 2028 using an artificial neural network in the Karaj Metropolis. To this end, the effects of land use changes in response to urban expansion on landscape patterns were investigated in three baseline, current, and future scenarios using landscape metrics and gradient analysis. The results showed that during a 22-year period, the agricultural and Garden lands have been severely damaged due to urban expansion. The results of the evaluation of changes in landscape also indicate that urban expansion in in development in the north-south transect to the margins (especially northward) and the east-west transect with a gentle slope to the west of the region. It is also anticipated that in the future scenario, if the current trend continues, the northern margin of Karaj metropolis will be changed from natural environment to a completely human-made one. Therefore, considering the results of the Pd and Ed metrics in both transects over the three examined years, it can be said that the area has expanded to the margin and there has not been much changes in the landscape of downtown. In addition, the decrease in the Pd and NP in all three scenarios indicates the consistency of urban landscape. In general, population growth and urban development have made the landscape pattern in Karaj metropolis to be a more regular and less varied one. The results indicate that spatial heterogeneity has altered the landscape patterns. Therefore, the growth of construction land in some areas should be restricted, and balanced development should be adopted to prevent the fragmentation of the landscape.

Valuation of functions and Non-Market services of environment are important for many reasons such as identifying and understanding the environmental and ecological benefits by humans, presentation of environmental issues to decision makers and planners, providing link between economic policies and natural revenues and assess the role and importance of environmental resources in support of human welfare and sustainable development.

In this study, recreational value of Bamou Park is estimated and measured with using two methods of contingent value and travel cost. For this purpose, 315 questionnaires from visitor to extract the required data have been matched.

Based on estimated results, variables: inhabitance, distance from park, first visit, number of visit, Deontologist, education, travel cost, visitors income, museum existence, and existence of Animal species such as deer, wolf, wild ram and cinereous vulture is effective variable on willingness to pay of visitor in 2011. Results show that monthly expected willingness to pay of consequentialist and deontologist visitors is 51397 and 61028 Rial respectively. Finally, recreational value of Bamou Park estimated in 2 methods is 1.085 and 1.975 Billion Rial respectively in 2011.

  Since that travel cost method used market price information and revealed willingness to pay and also 90.7 percentages of visitors are Zone inhabitance and travel cost function was ideal form econometrics theoretical aspect, preferred using travel cost method instead of contingent value method to valuating the Bamou National Park in 2011.

Improving the quality and status of country’s environment through targeted research management is one of the most important goals of the research centers in this field. In this regard, administration and prioritizing the environmental research can play a significant role in achieving this goal. This paper uses the collected data from a research project called "Needs Assessment and Prioritization of the Research Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development", a systematic approach to identifying the research priorities. This process is based on five principles. These principles include beneficiaries participation, status analysis and needs assessment, identification of research bases, scoring the research bases, based on feasibility and attractiveness criterions and prioritization based on the highest agreement rates at the research institute (the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development). The experts participating in this project were, 16.66% from Environmental Research Institute, 15.15% from department of Water and Soil, 13.63% from county departments, 9.09% from department of Marine Ecosystems, 54.4% from faculty members of universities and the rest of them, from the Environmental Protection Agency. In total, there are 346 research bases, 28 titles in ecology; 5 titles in science; 41 titles in environmental engineering and technology; 44 titles in environmental economics; 31 titles in environmental law; 108 titles in environmental management; 26 titles in natural science; 22 titles in social systems; 27 titles in Biological Safety and 14 titles in Environmental Technology. These research bases were analyzed by the experts and the most important research priorities were identified.

Extensive changes in land use over the past few decades have posed a major challenge to the ability of ecosystems to provide services. Therefore, a better understanding of the impact of these changes on the ecosystem services is essential. For this purpose, in the present study, while extracting the land use map for the past and present, the land use map for the future was predicted and extracted using the Scenario Generator tool of InVEST software. Then, the effects of land use change on ecosystem services related to habitat quality in Normab Dam Basin of Golestan province were evaluated using the Habitat Quality tool of InVEST software. The results showed that due to severe changes in land use and conversion of natural lands, especially forest lands into agricultural and residential lands, the quality of habitats has decreased from 2000 to 2018 and land degradation has increased by the same amount. The forecast for 2036 also confirmed that if the current trend continues, the decline in habitat quality will be more severe and land degradation will increase. Based on the results, the average habitat quality for the years 2000, 2018, and 2036 is 0.8, 0.71, and 0.59, respectively, which indicates a sharp decline in habitat quality. Also, the average land degradation for the years 2000, 2018, and 2036 is 0.016, 0.020, and 0.025, respectively, which indicates an increase in degradation over time.

In this study, firstly, the process of changes in land coverage/usage was determined through satellite image analysis in the Dohezar and Sehezar forested landscape in Tonekabon County, Mazandaran Province during the years of 1984-2016 .Then, impacts of changes in land coverage/usage on the quantity of carbon sequestration and storage were mapped, quantified and valued using InVEST carbon model within the same time period. The result showed that dense and low-dense forest cover have been decreased by 18 and 55 percent, respectively during three decades, while semi-dense forest has been increased by 63 percent. It was also found that the effects of these structural changes in forest cover have reduced carbon sequestration capacity by 1927474 tons. This reduction has caused a loss of 53,137,258.80 US $ (equivalent to 568,568,699,160 billion rials) over three decades.

Land fragmentation is the most important urban development challenge that blocks the flow of materials and energy in the region. These changes greatly affect ecological characteristics, so ecological networks are considered as tools for conservation planning. In this regard, order, satellite images were used to evaluate the ecological networks of Karaj Metropolis in 2006, 2011 and 2017. Classification and preparation of land use map based on land cover and with the support vector machine algorithm. Landmarks were also used to assess the status quo and the process of changing heterogeneity, continuity and communication-isolation networks in previous years. The results showed that the trend of changing the criteria in the study area is not desirable. Inappropriate process of changing heterogeneity criteria Space landscape, The conjunction of the same spots across the land and the optimal communication reduces the ecological function and the consequent decline in the sustainability of ecological networks also, due to the reduction process, the metric of green spots, especially human green, was made and the increasing trend of construction metrics and open spots In sum, it can be concluded that the ecological function of the landscape and the ecological network characteristics of the descending of landscape are followed.

In the present study, vegetation changes in the Karaj watershed in 2006, 2011 and 2017 were investigated using the Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the integration of land metrics and gradient analysis. After calculating the NDVI index, Then, two-section gradient analysis was designed in the direction of north-south and east-west. Then 6 metrics were calculated at two levels of class and landform using moving window design. The results of the comparison of the floor area showed that the highest increase in the area was done in lands with very good vegetation so that 5104 hectares (4%) have been enlarged. It is also the largest reduction in the area of excellent vegetation cover, which decreased by 4055 hectares (3%) during the studied period. The results of gradient analysis showed that the distribution pattern of vegetation in a three-year period is a cluster. The results of the analysis of both transects at the level of the land and the classes show that the average of mean distance from the nearest neighbor gradually increases during transects and the increase in total in 2017 compared to the initial year. This indicates an increase in the distance between the vertices of the same patch and the difficulty of communication between them, which is one of the signs of the disruption of the landscape.

Changes in land use and/or land cover (LULC) are associated with many socio-economic and physical environmental factors. Due to the multiplicity and diversity of variables involved and drivers that cause changes, the prediction of future conditions of LULC patterns is complex and faces many uncertainties. Meanwhile, environmental and development planners need to consider clearly how their current decisions may shape the future structure of the landscape. Therefore, in the policy-making and planning process, there is always the question of how to predict future LULC changes. In recent years, thanks to advances in remote sensing knowledge and spatial data generated from satellite imagery as well as evolving modelling tools, it has been possible to simulate complex natural systems and simplify them with a specific emphasis on more important variables depending on the issues being investigated. With this in mind, the present study was conducted in a pilot forested landscape of the Hycanian vegetative region located in Mazandaran Province in northern Iran to detect the changing trends of LULC over the period of 1984-2016 as well as to project and analyze the plausible future shape of the landscape by the year 2040 using InVest scenario-generator software model (Sharp, 2014). To conduct this modelling process, two plausible future scenarios were defined entitled Business As Usual (BAU), which reflected the continuation of current LULC changes with no management intervention, and Balanced Development (BD) involving governmental intervention to prevent current changes through conservation and restoring forest cover along with an adjusted developmental policy for human settlements. Then, the input data required to run the model was provided and the future landscapes under both scenarios were simulated and compared. The results showed that, under the BAU scenario, there will be dramatic changes in the landscape structure which will lead to a significant loss in the natural forest cover, destruction of farmlands and its replacement with human settlements. Conversely, the BD scenario showed how land management through forest conservation and restoration policies, simultaneously with adjusted land conversion for settlement construction, can be transformed into a win-win strategy for a balanced development strategy. Also, in this study, the InVEST scenario generator model was compared with some other models (Azinmehr et al., 2013; Blainski et al., 2017; Eskandari, 2014; Han et al., 2015; Samie et al., 2017) used to simulate LULC, and its advantages and limitations were discussed. Finally, the scenario simulation with the method introduced here can be used in different studies (including various environmental assessments, economic valuations, etc.) to make the predictions more accurate. Moreover, this kind of modelling can make insight for planners and decision makers in the fields of development, conservation and land use planning, so that future plans are based on logical assumptions with less uncertainty.

Ecosystem service concept can offer a valuable approach for linking human and nature and analysis for the conservation and restoration plans of natural ecosystems. Despite an increasing consideration in the concept, the practical application of the concept of land use and water resources management has been challenged by the lake of appropriate definitions and methods. In this study with review of existing scientific literature, a conceptual framework has been suggested for assessment and valuation of the services that are relevant to water resources management. In particular, within the framework, it has been described how the linkages between human pressures, ecological status, and ecosystem services delivery can be analyzed in aquatic systems. Also, a list of sustainability and efficiency indicators of the water-related ecosystem services has been provided with an emphasize on the capacity and flow of the services and their social benefits which can be used in the quantification of the services and measurement of their changes. Finally, with a comparison between both approaches of the usually integrated management of water resources and ecosystem management of the watersheds, the urgent need for incorporation of ecosystem services approach in water resource management has been explained as an innovative approach in response to the dominance crisis in water systems such as wetlands.

Bamou national park in Iran has many environmental functions such as ecosystem regulation functions. The ecosystem function of water regulation by forest and rangeland ecosystems includes seasonal water flow regulation, water supply for various uses, treatment and storage of water. In this study, effects of dominant vegetation in the Bamou National Park (including Astragalus gossypinus, Astragalus susianus, Ebenus stellate, Amygdalus scoparia, Amygdalus lycioides, Scariola orientalis and Scariola orientalis) on the runoff control were estimated in four soil erosion types using Justin method. According to the results, effects of vegetation on the runoff height reduction were estimated to be 1.28, 0.71, 0.71 and 1.19 centimeter in four erosion types of E1 to E4, respectively. In addition, the economic value of water conserved in the underground aquifers in the current area of park was estimated to be 68.105 billion rials and 1.792 million rials per hectare in 2012.

Dareh Si is a forested valley located 3 km from southwest of Kalaybar county within the Arasbaran forests in the north of East Azerbayijan Province. High Biodiversity and ecological conditions that generally govern Arasbaran area had turned those forests to a unique biogeographic area of Iran. In this study, the recreational value of the Dareh Si Castle Park (as the minimum recreational value of Arasbaran forests) was estimated using Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). Questionnaires were used to collect the required information. Descriptive statistics of variables were introduced, followed by providing results of LOGIT models and expected WTP values. Analytical results indicated that for each visit to the park the visitors would like to pay 3908 IRR. Annually, 275000 individuals visit the park, which results in the estimated recreational value of 1.074 billion IRR when multiplied by the WTP (The base year was 2007). This was updated based on Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) announced by Central Bank of Islamic Republic of Iran in 2014, accounting for 4.14 billion IRR.

Quantifying,anticipation of the impacts of changes in water-related services caused by human activities is a complicated aspect of environmental assessment which can be facilitated by the application of dynamic,spatial models of ecosystem services. This paper aims to examine the application of the WW PSS model in the Sarvelat,Javaherdasht forested landscape in order to calculate the water balance,water- related services of the ecosystem in a baseline condition and, then, to measure the impacts of changes in natural forest cover on the services' quantity,quality based on a scenario developed. The result of running the model indicates that the surfaces covered with dense forest have decreased by 29% in recent 13 years, but the semi-dense,poor forest covers have increased by 14%,15%, respectively. Then, the impacts of such structural changes on water services were measured,this showed an overall decrease in water balance of 1.5 mm,yr,an increase in runoff of 12,197,528 m3,yr which is caused by a reduction in evapotranspiration due to cutting forest trees. In the final stage, the environmental consequences of changes in ecosystem services were quantified by the model which depicts an increase in soil erosion of 0.57 mm,yr on average,exacerbation of the potential of water contaminate distribution across the study landscape.