Assessment of the stand structure of protective forest monitoring based on statistical models in Irano-Turanian phytogeographical regions of Iran.

One of the most important data that forest management planners need for effective decisions is the data related to the forest structure. The aim of the study is to investigate and analyse the structure of protective forests in Irano-Turanian phytogeographical regions, Iran. Since there are many shrubs in this phytogeographical region, it is very difficult to measure the stand diameter at any height (breast or root height). For this reason, it is necessary to analyse the parameters of height and crown cover to investigate and analyse forest structure. For that purpose, two study plots were selected, and basic data were analysed by using statistical distributions, scatter plots and R2 coefficients. With EasyFit software and Anderson‒Darling test, it was found that the Weibull (3P) and Pearson 6 (4P) distributions for the crown cover factor and the Gen-Pareto and Pert distributions for the height factor have the best goodness-of-fit for the distribution of the different crown cover classes and heights in the studied forest. Moreover, the results confirm that there is a very weak R2 coefficient between crown cover and root collar diameter, with R2 = 0.513 and 0.369 in plots 1 and 2, respectively. Therefore, the combination of crown cover and height parameters is more suitable for use when analysing stand structure in such forests, although the values of R2 are still low (0.673 and 0.524 in plots 1 and 2, respectively). The results of this study show that in protective forests with many shrubs, it is better to focus on the height and crown cover of ​trees and of shrubs rather than on parameters related to stand/tree diameter when analysing stand structure.

Ecosystem services valuation: a review of concepts, systems, new issues, and considerations about pollution in ecosystem services.

Managers can determine the function of ecosystem services in decision-making processes through valuation. Ecological functions and processes that benefit people lead to ecosystem services. Valuing ecosystem services mean finding values for the benefits of ecosystem services. For the concepts related to ecosystem services and their valuation, categories in different articles have been presented. One of the most important issues is providing a suitable grouping for different methods and concepts of valuing ecosystem services. In this study, the most recent topics related to ecosystem service valuation methods were compiled and categorized by using the system theory. The aim of this study was to introduce some of the most important classical and modern methods and concepts of valuing ecosystem services. For this aim, a review of articles related to ecosystem service valuation methods, content analysis, and categorization of their contents was used to provide definitions, concepts, and categorization of different methods. To summarize, valuation methods are classified into two types: classical and modern methods. Classical approaches include the avoided cost method, the replacement cost method, the factor income method, the travel cost method, hedonic pricing, and contingent value. Modern methods include the basic value transfer method, deliberative ecosystem service valuation, valuation of climate change risks, and other cases that evolve every day in the world of science. Findings of the paper have the potential to be beneficial in comprehending the definitions and ideas of ecosystem services in ecosystem management, particularly in protected areas, participatory management, and pollutant research. This research can add to the worldwide literature on the valuing of ecosystem services while also determining the most pressing issues and difficulties of today, such as climate change, pollution, ecosystem management, and participatory management.

DPSIR framework priorities and its application to forest management: a fuzzy modeling.

The main aim of this research was to quantify the parameters related to forest situation (according to DPSIR framework) using decision-making processes and fuzzy methods in the Zagros forests of Iran. In this study, the situation factors (e.g., socioeconomic, biophysical, and environmental factors) were evaluated by fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) using [Formula: see text]-cuts in addition to the Chang method for fuzzy pairwise comparisons. The results of the study clearly illustrate that the decision-making process is the most important input in forest management planning in the Zagros forests, Iran. In such situations, decision-making techniques can be of great help in differentiating the factors influencing decision-making and policy-making for these forests. We found that [Formula: see text]-cuts could improve the quality of the decision-making process, but only after secondary analysis. Initially, we did not find any significant difference in the results between [Formula: see text]-cuts and research results, but using the differences in rankings, we could identify a significant difference. We propose that this method, which requires lengthy calculations to get the answer, should only be used by forest managers when the quality of the results and the difference between the parameters are very important to them; otherwise, they may be able to achieve the same desired results in a much easier way.