Investigate the Potential and Application of Ecosystem Services as Ecological Indicators in the DPSIR Model (Case Study: Choghakhor Wetland)

The concept of ecosystem goods and services has gained an enormous and steadily rising attractiveness for environmental scientists, managers and decision makers. Transferring concept of systems dynamics, a growth of applied information on ecosystem services could be observed. Actually the sequencing approach trends to land use assessment using this interdisciplinary concept, it has closely approached scientific foundations of ecology with economics and policy management to stakeholders. Wetland ecosystems furnish human societies with services such as recreational uses, climate regulation, fisheries, and water for crop production. However, the health of these valuable ecosystems is threatened with environmental pressures by human activities especially in developing countries in which the protection of wetland ecosystems is not widely acknowledged to be important by both citizens and decision-makers. Driver, Pressure, State, Impact and Response (DPSIR) conceptual framework is used for organizing information of environment and the relationship between human activity and possible changes in the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the capabilities and application of ecosystem services as environmental indicators in DPSIR model. In order to study state environmental assessment as regard to the ability model for different scales, the ecosystems of Choghakhor Wetland in large scale was investigated. The results show that the identified drivers (agriculture, water demand, settlements and tourism growth, population growth, drought and mining activities) within the study area are imposed the pressures to environment, leading to structural changes. Consequently, the natural functions which are dependent to the structure will be changed, and the environmental ecosystem services, such as provision, regulation, support and culture may decrease or to be lost.