Using Landscape Ecological Metrics to Investigate Impacts of Road on Structural Changes in Golestan National Park During 1987 to 2010

The echoes of human activities are felt everywhere, even in regions usually regarded as wilderness, such as national parks. Presence of adverse activities inside these areas, which is inconsistent with conservation of their primary goal of protection, will end in structural damages and prevent the fulfillment of the function of these sensitive and important areas. Among these adverse activities inside the protected areas, roads are of considerable importance due to their length, which makes their zone of influence wider and their impacts much more complicated. Considering the negative structural impacts of simultaneous construction and operation of road crossing Golestan national park, this research aims to use landscape ecological metrics to measure the structural changes of landscape to identify the spatial effects of this road on the park. The results show increase in fragmentation in Golestan national park, which is noticeable at landscape and dense forest class level.