Geobiodiversity Assessment of Oshtorankuh Region Based on GBI Index

Various biological and geological processes, especially erosion, lead to the diversity of environmental features, which are studied under concepts such as geodiversity and biodiversity. In recent years, a new concept called geobiodiversity has been introduced, which focuses on places with high geodiversity and biodiversity importance. Considering the importance of identifying these areas for conservation purposes and sustainable uses, in this research, the geobiodiversity of the Oshtorankuh area located in Lorestan province has been investigated. The research data includes various elements of geology, geomorphology, water, soil, vegetation and environmental protection level, which have been collected through library-documentary and fieldworks. In the next step, the GBI index has been used to achieve research goals and data analysis. This index evaluates and integrates four sub-indexes of geodiversity, geomorphology, vegetation and protection levels through the creation of hexagonal cells and an analytical matrix, and finally identified the areas with high geobiodiversity value. The obtained results showed that in terms of geodiversity index, more than 62 percent; in terms of geomorphology index, about 59.35 percent; in terms of vegetation index, about 59.20 percent of the studied area have high and very high values. While in terms of protection index, more than 70 percent of the studied area is distributed in low and very low protection levels. Finally, in terms of geobiodiversity, the number of 2587 hexagonal cells (44.35 percent of the area) have a high and very high value, which are mainly inside the Oshtorankuh protected area, especially in the east and south of Gahar Lake, along the Neygah Valley and in the Vazmdar area have been distributed. Therefore, it is necessary to implement an integrated management approach to preserve the geobiodiversity values in the Oshtorankuh region by the relevant organizations and with the participation of local communities.