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Since the long-term sustainability of garden ecosystems is dependent on maintaining the soil quality, knowing the condition of the soils and investigating the effects of the activities on the soil properties is very important and effective in ecosystem management. To investigate the soil quality index of almond (Prunus dulcis) orchards under different managed methods in ChaharMahal va Bakhtiari province, soil samples were collected from three points in each orchard and finally classified into 6 groups (Saman, Ben, Shahrekord, Kiar, Ardel, and Farsan). To determine the soil quality index, soil characteristics including pH, EC, total and water-soluble organic carbon, basal and substrate-derived respiration, rhizosphere microbial population, and available soil P and K were analyzed. The results showed that almond orchard management in different regions affected the soil characteristics and the processes evaluated in this study. The monitoring of soil properties showed that pH 7.05 - 8.48, EC 0.23 - 2.91 dS/m, microbial respiration 0.44 - 8.57 mg CO2.100 g-1 .day-1, organic carbon 2.09 - 44.79 g/kg, available phosphorus 1.5 - 122.3 mg/kg, and available potassium were between 91.2 - 3038 mg/kg. Soil quality index components including chemical components, microbial activity, microbial population, and soil organic carbon were determined. The contribution of soil salinity to soil quality obtained using factorial analysis was the highest (31%), followed by microbial carbon mineralization coefficient (27%), rhizosphere microbial population (24%), and water-soluble organic carbon (18%). The soil quality index values for Saman, Ben, Shahrekord, Kiar, Ardal, and Farsan almond orchards were 0.46, 0.40, 0.51, 0.67, 0.54, and 0.37, respectively. These values showed that the evaluated soils are suitable for almond production in Shahrekord, Kiar, and Ardal, and for Saman, Ben, and Farsan, there is a need for serious management measures to improve soil quality and increase the sustainability of these agricultural ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The growing global population and increasing demands have significantly intensified the pressure on natural resources and created inherent instability in watershed ecosystems and the complex ecological processes essential for habitat preservation, biodiversity conservation, erosion mitigation, soil formation, water retention, environmental stability, and cultural fulfillment have encountered disruptions. The inter-connected adaptability challenges within human-natural systems, intensified by climate change, bring more uncertainty that complicates the planning and management of ecosystem services in the watersheds. This uncertainty often results in flawed decision-making in water resources utilization and environmental management, contributing to instability and a shift toward critical thresholds in watersheds. This study adopts a systemic approach to analyze the Karoun Basin as a dynamic human-nature system, exploring five systemic analysis patterns and their impacts on water resource management paradigm. Materials and methods: The research progresses through three crucial steps. Firstly, the current status of the Karoun Basin is outlined based on extensive literature studies, characterizing the water system as a complex, adaptive entity. Secondly, leveraging a diverse range of research literature, five recognized structures in dynamic system analysis are explored. These structures offer a detailed understanding of the interconnectedness of human-nature systems, providing insights into the impact of human behavior on water resources management in the Karoun Basin. In the final step, using a systemic thinking approach, the study explores the occurrence of extreme events. This approach enhances the understanding of how extreme events interact with human activities, influencing the sustainability of the Karoun Basin. Results and Discussion: The outcomes highlight the inherent risk of a linear approach to water resource management in the Karoun Basin, which is because of the lack of systemic thinking. This approach disrupts various relationships within the water system, leading to instability and worsening extreme events such as floods, droughts, and water disputes. The systemic investigation reveals recurrent behaviors that align with recognized structures in dynamic systems analysis, referred to as ancient patterns. Understanding and addressing these patterns are crucial for achieving sustainability and ensuring the continuous provision of ecosystem services. Conclusion: Depending solely on short-term solutions, without considering long-term consequences in water resource management worsens water scarcity issues and intensifies social conflicts within watershed units. Solutions for Karoun Basin can be categorized into mitigating (hard) and adaptive (soft) scenarios. Mitigating measures address immediate needs, including advanced water storage and distribution infrastructure, while adaptive solutions incorporating policy measures are crucial for aligning the managed system with fluctuating water availability levels. A comprehensive resolution requires the simultaneous implementation of both strategies, recognizing the interconnected nature of human-nature systems and embracing sustainability principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Water resources management is a set of methods, measures and plans compiled for the control, development, and optimal exploitation of water reserves which are adjusted and guided according to all or part of the economic, social, environmental, political aspects. The increasing human needs for ecological goods and services over the past few decades have led to increased attention to wetlands management, and today wetlands ecosystem management is considered one of the land management approaches. The purpose of this research is to investigate the integrated management indicators of Hamon wetland using factor analysis. This research was conducted by document and survey method and using a questionnaire in the villages of Hamon and Nimroz cities, during which, in addition to field visits and observations of the villages, the indigenous people of the region were interviewed. Methodology: Hamon wetland, with an area of nearly 5700 km2 and a depth range of 1 to 5 meters in the desert area of the east of the country, in the region of Sistan is located between 60°39' to 61°35' east longitude and 31°15' to 31°32' north latitude, which is considered as the largest freshwater lake in the entire plateau of Iran. In this study, three economic, social and environmental indicators were selected for Hamon wetland management. The total number of households under study in the two cities is 1987 households from the outskirts of Koh-Khwaje and Talabhamun, and 321 questionnaires were considered to conduct this research. One of the statistical methods for analyzing the information in the data set is factor analysis. This method is used to determine the most influential variables when the number of variables under consideration is large and the relationships between them are unknown. Results: Considering the importance of Hamon wetland in ecological, economic, social dimensions and direct relationship with people's livelihood and environmental sustainability, it is necessary to change the attitude in the type of management and proper planning to restore Hamon wetland. In this research, the data obtained from the questionnaire was examined and analyzed. Based on the obtained results, it was found that all dimensions and indicators of the research had a significant impact on the integrated management of Hamon wetland. The factor load for the economic dimension is equal to 0.95, the socialparticipatory dimension is equal to 0.97 and the environmental dimension is equal to 0.85, which shows the social-participatory dimension and its indicators such as the revival of agriculture by the wetland. All kinds of partnerships in this field have had the greatest role and impact in the management of the Hamon wetland. Also, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was obtained for economic, social-participatory and environmental dimensions, which were respectively 0.839, 0.91 and 0.75, showing that the reliability of the questionnaires was good. The integrated management of Hamon wetland requires a kind of systemic approach, which will not be possible without paying attention to local communities and their participatory role in decision-making and planning. The effective factors extracted from the factor analysis of economic indicators showed that employment and income are the main factors in the field of integrated management of Hamon wetland. In this context, by supporting the private sector and increasing investment in the field of creating various businesses in line with the potentials of our wetlands, job security and economic well-being can be provided for the local residents. In this context, considering the interwoven relationship between the natives' income and the vitality of the Hamon wetland, with local management and planning in the field of entrepreneurship, and taking into account the local culture and the prosperity of the handicrafts market, and supporting it, it provided the conditions for economic well-being. Optimal and appropriate training along with the participation of local people is the main factor in the integrated management of Hamon wetland. Discussion and Conclusion: For the optimal and integrated management of water resources, a comprehensive look at the economic, social, physical, environmental, cultural and political characteristics is necessary so that the most optimal ones can be developed with a set of methods and strategic plans. Feedback from the proper management of the Hamon wetland is economically very important for the local residents, and it is also considered an important and wonderful resource from the environmental point of view. It is necessary to provide facilities and support platforms in order to increase private sector investment in creating employment and entrepreneurship, as well as supporting handicrafts and the development of small industries, to provide conditions for the economic dependence of local people and excessive exploitation of resources. Managing and protecting the natural potentials of any geographical environment requires comprehensive development and human sustainability in that environment; Therefore, it is necessary to provide educational platforms and hold appropriate training courses on the importance of natural resources in the human environment and efforts to protect and optimally exploit it. In this context, it is necessary to take into consideration the local management and use the existing potentials by holding training courses and providing the necessary platforms for the use of local power in the direction of the restoration and reconstruction of the Hamon wetland, which leads to the sustainability of the natural environment in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to propose an approach for identifying and prioritizing ecosystem indicators for effective ecosystem management. Specifically, fuzzy Delphi and fuzzy DEMATEL approaches are used to define ecosystem management goals and indicators, rank the importance of quality attributes in ecosystem management, and rank the effectiveness of each indicator in each pillar of ecosystem management. The ultimate goal is to provide a tool to decision-makers that can help in allocating resources more effectively and efficiently toward achieving sustainability. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed approach involves a three-phase framework. Phase 1 involves identifying and determining the indicators affecting ecosystem management. This has been performed by studying theoretical articles, reviewing systematic literature, and searching previous studies to identify different indicators for each pillar of ecosystem management. A list of indicators and factors affecting each of the pillars of ecosystem management has been determined accordingly, and an initial categorization has been created using library studies. Phase 2 involves using a fuzzy Delphi method to rank the most important indicators in each pillar of ecosystem management. Experts have been asked to indicate their proposed indicators in a questionnaire based on fuzzy variables, and the degree of proportionality of the proposed factors. Phase 3 involves using a fuzzy DEMATEL approach to rank the effectiveness of each indicator in each pillar of ecosystem management. This approach handles imprecise or subjective data and can be replicated for different cities. Overall, this methodology aims to provide a comprehensive approach for identifying and prioritizing ecosystem indicators that can be used by decision-makers in environmental management and policy-making. Findings: Findings imply that the integrated approach of the Fuzzy Delphi Method and the Fuzzy DEMATEL can be used to identify and rank the importance of quality attributes in ecosystem management, and to rank the effectiveness of each indicator in each pillar of the ecosystem management. A total of 36 indicators were identified across four pillars of ecosystem management, i.e., economic, social, environmental and institutional. The results indicated that the most important indicators for each pillar were science and technology and innovation for the economic pillar; air quality, waste treatment and energy efficiency for the environmental pillar; poverty, health, and safety and security for the social pillar; and transparent sharing of information and political stability for institutional pillar. It was also found that there was a strong interrelationship between different pillars of ecosystem management. For example, the institutional pillar had serious effects on most of the other identified EM pillars. In addition, the economic pillar was the second most influential factor. Moreover, the institutional pillar profoundly influenced the environmental pillar. Finally, the economic pillar highly affected the environmental pillar, which doubled the complexity of ecosystem management. Research limitations/implications: Several limitations and implications have been addressed for future research. The number of participating experts was limited, which could affect the results and limit the possibility of their summarization. Expert bias may have influenced the results of the study. Such limitations imply that further research with a larger and more diverse group of experts is necessary to validate and expand upon such findings. This study was limited in scope to a particular ecosystem or region and the identified indicators as a result may not apply and be generalizable to other ecosystems or regions. Based on the cause-and-effect relationships between the studied elements, a hypothesis can be expanded and validated using a larger sample. Future studies could replicate this methodology in different contexts to test its applicability and effectiveness. Practical implications: Decision-makers in environmental management and policy-making can use the methodology presented in this study to identify and prioritize ecosystem indicators. By using an integration of the Fuzzy Delphi Method and the Fuzzy DEMATEL, decision-makers can identify the most important indicators for each pillar of ecosystem management and evaluate their effectiveness. This information can be used to allocate resources more effectively and efficiently toward achieving sustainability. Decision-makers could use this methodology to evaluate different ecosystem management practices and policies, and develop new policies or modify existing ones to better address the needs of different stakeholders. Overall, this study provides a useful tool for decision-makers in environmental management and policy-making by providing a comprehensive approach to identifying and prioritising ecosystem indicators. Social implications: This study highlights the importance of considering social factors in ecosystem management. The study identifies several social indicators, such as poverty and material deprivation, education level, public awareness and training, gender equality, and social participation. By prioritizing such indicators in ecosystem management, decision-makers can ensure that the needs and perspectives of different stakeholders are taken into account. This can help to promote social equity and cohesion, which are important for achieving sustainable development. Furthermore, by involving a wide range of stakeholders in the decision-making process, including local communities and marginalized groups, decision-makers can ensure that ecosystem management policies are more inclusive and responsive to the needs of all members of society. Overall, this study highlighted the importance of considering social factors in ecosystem management and provides a useful framework for identifying and prioritizing social indicators. Originality/value: The main contribution of this study is the application of the integrated approaches of the Fuzzy Delphi Method and the Fuzzy DEMATEL to identify and rank the importance of quality attributes in ecosystem management. This methodology is innovative because it allows decision-makers to handle imprecise or subjective data, which is often encountered in ecosystem management. The study provides a three-phase framework for identifying and prioritizing ecosystem indicators, which can be replicated for different cities. Findings indicated that science and technology, air quality, poverty, and transparent sharing of information were identified as the most important quality indicators in their respective pillars of ecosystem management alternatives. This implies that decision-makers and policymakers should consider allocating more resources toward improving such areas. Overall, this study provided a useful tool for decision-makers in environmental management and policy-making by providing a comprehensive approach to identifying and prioritizing ecosystem indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Flood is a phenomenon that occurs almost in most regions of the world and causes significant damage to human life and ecosystem. Forests are one of the necessary things to prevent damages caused by floods, but the conditions are not enough. Therefore, it is important to use an economic tool to manage and protect the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem in order to reduce flood damage in the coming years. Currently, there are various tools in this field that must be carefully chosen and it is not possible to use one tool in all ecosystems of the world. Payment for forest ecosystem services (PES) is one of the economic tools of forest management and protection by providing direct incentives to stakeholders to improve its ecosystem functions and services. Therefore, in comparison with other market instruments of environmental protection such as environmental taxes which may cause a reduction in the production of various economic sectors and as a result reduce the income of producers and finally lose their motivation. The Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services (PES) program not only does not reduce income, but also increases income for the beneficiaries of forest ecosystem services and thus creates incentives. Payment for ecosystem services is a two-way transaction and is completely voluntary. In this transaction, there must be at least one buyer and one ecosystem service provider provided that the ecosystem service provider continues to offer that service. The logic of PES schemes is that the beneficiaries (people who benefit from ecosystem services) are asked to protect the providers of ecosystem services (such as public or private organizations) who work to protect, restore and natural ecosystem management is to pay for better management and protection of these ecosystems. This payment may take place at the local, national and global level. Studies show that among the various factors influencing the occurrence of floods, excessive exploitation of forests and changes in the use of forest lands are the main causes of floods. But few studies have been conducted on the role of PES plans to protect natural ecosystems to prevent natural hazards such as floods. Therefore, considering the importance and extraordinary value of natural forests in the region in reducing flood damage, the purpose of this study is to investigate the preferences of residents affected by recent floods in Mazandaran province in the form of payment for ecosystem services (PES) scheme and to identify the factors affecting the acceptance of PES scheme to reduce flood damage by conservation the Hyrcanian forests ecosystem using the choice modeling approach (Choice Experiment (CE) and the multinomial econometric model. The Choice Experiment is one of the methods of valuing stated preferences, which is very suitable for analyzing the importance of different features of a product or a policy. Materials and Methods: To achieve this goal, the Choice Experiment method and multinomial logit econometric model were used. The features studied in this method include forest management, watershed management, land use management (preventing forest land use change), payment method, contract duration and payment amount (price). Also, the statistical population of the study includes the affected-floods residents in three parts of the center, east and west of Mazandaran province. Research data were obtained by field survey, random sampling and 110 choice experiment questionnaires in summer 2020. Socio-economic variables in the study include age, gender, job, education, PES awareness, expenses and income of the affected-floods residents. Results and Conclusion: Based on the study results, the willingness to pay of households affected by floods for conserving the Hyrcanian forest ecosystem to reduce flooding through land use management is as follows: for changing the status quo, it is 36,140 Rial per month; for improvement status, it is 68,910 Rial per month. Additionally, for contract duration and payment method, the willingness to pay is 150,150 Rial per month. The study findings also indicate that affected-floods residents prefer to make cash payments in the long-term to conserve the forest ecosystem and mitigate flooding. Furthermore, when examining the impact of various socio-economic variables on the residents' willingness to pay, it was found that age, gender, education, expenses, income, and awareness of Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) have a direct positive effect on their willingness to pay. Considering these results, it is recommended that forest conservation programs in the Northern provinces place importance on the mentioned factors to encourage people's participation in forest conservation projects. This will facilitate the implementation of the PES scheme and enhance the success of forest conservation efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning and providing appropriate tools to reduce the adverse effects of natural hazards including floods is inevitable. Achieving the above goal depends on having sufficient and accurate knowledge and information about the vulnerability of different ecosystems (watersheds) to various destructive factors. Vulnerability assessment by identifying potential stresses and disturbances (natural and man-made) as well as estimating the sensitivity of watersheds allows for predicting the effects and selecting appropriate solutions for the sustainable management of these ecosystems. Therefore, this study has been designed to identify and rank vulnerable sub-watersheds to floods in the Ardabil plain, taking into account social, economic, infrastructural, and ecological dimensions. First, the indicators and criteria of each dimension were identified taking into account the conditions prevailing in Ardabil plain. Then, information and data on climatic, hydrological, demographic, economic, infrastructure, and land use were obtained from relevant authorities. Then, the mentioned criteria were standardized and the weight according to their importance was calculated based on the BWM method the data obtained from this stage were performed using the TOPSIS technique to rank flood vulnerability for different sub-watersheds in Ardabil plain for the period 2007-2017. Finally, a map of Ardabil's plain vulnerability to floods was prepared and presented. According to the results, the criteria of building density, rainfall, population density, and the unemployment rate were the most important criteria of vulnerability and among the studied dimensions, the infrastructure dimension is too significant in flood vulnerability in Ardabil plain. Based on the comprehensive vulnerability map, sub-watershed 7 in Ardabil plain was identified as the most vulnerable sub-watershed in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: In order to properly manage rangeland ecosystems, it is necessary to study the relationship between ecological factors in nature such as elevation, climate and soil factors with vegetation and living organisms. In this regard, the present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between species diversity and environmental factors (Physical and chemical characteristics of soil, topographic and physiographic characteristics) in the mountain rangelands of Chahar Bagh Golestan. Methodology: The study area of Chaharbagh Golestan mountain rangelands with an area of about 9,000 hectares is located 45 km southeast of Gorgan city. 6 plant types were identified, for sampling and measurement. In each plant type, 3 transects of 300 meters were established and 10 plots along each transect and a total of 30 plots on each plant type were used. In each plot, the percentage of individual species coverage was estimated. Also, on each transect, soil samples were taken from the first and last plots. The depth at which samples were taked was dependent on the rooting zont of the dominant plants. After sieving, soil samples were transferred to the laboratory to determine the physical and chemical properties of the soil, including soil texture, EC, pH, K, P, lime, saturated moisture, and the amount of organic matter. Slope, direction and height above sea level were measured at each soil sampling point. Average slope, modified direction and average height were measured for each plant type. In order to investigate the relationship between species diversity with topographic and physiographic characteristics and soil characteristics of plant types, classification methods were used. Based on the length of the gradient, the redundancy analysis method was used as a linear method to classify species diversity with environmental factors. All statistical calculations for classification were performed using Canoco software version 5 and calculations related to species diversity were performed using PAST software version 3.17. Results: The results of Margalf average (14.12) and Taxa (41) indices in type 1 (Ar au-St ba) are higher than other types. Also, the mean Shannon (3.306) and evenness (0.91) indices in type 6 (Ho vi-Cr ko-Ag in) are higher than other types. Ju po-On co-St ba type has the highest slope value (51.6%), and St ba-On co type has the lowest (5.6%). The results showed that the values of Simpson evenness indices and Shannon-Wiener species diversity of plant types are also affected by slope, organic carbon content and electrical conductivity. The slope factor is the most important factor affecting Simpson evenness indices and Shannon-Weiner species diversity. The results of redundancy analysis showed that the relationship between the characteristics of the types and the indices of plant diversity is significant. The results showed that with increasing the amount of K and EC, the amount of evenness index also increases. The results also showed that with increasing lime and pH factors, the amount of Shannon index increases. Shannon indices are inversely related to directional slope and height factors. Also, according to the results, with increasing clay factors, saturation moisture and pebbles, the value of Margalf index increases. According to the results of Margalf index, it has an inverse relationship with sand factor. Conclusion: In general, physiographic and topographic characteristics have had the greatest impact on species richness, and soil chemical properties on the amount of evenness and species diversity of types. In general, the slope of the types is the most important environmental factor affecting the indicators of species diversity. According to the results of the present study, changes in species diversity indices can be used as an index to improve the condition of rangelands in the region and also in deciding on appropriate management programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding effects of environment on the distribution of economic fish is a fundamental step in the ecosystem-based management and ultimately a standard approach in management policies. Bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) is one of the most important aquatic species harvested in the Indian Ocean. The present study investigated the association of different variables effecting the rate of catch and distribution of bigeye tune, using generalized additive model (GAM) and maximum entropy (MaxEnt) and satellite derived environmental variables in the Indian Ocean. Results highlighted the importance of temporal and spatial variables along with the eddy kinetic energy, sea level height, depth of 20°C isotherm and sea surface temperature on the distribution of the species. The most suitable habitat predicted by MaxEnt model was observed around the latitudes of 0 to 5 degrees of north and south, mainly in the western part of the Indian Ocean and longitude of 45 to 70 degrees east. Using satellite data, the present study determinied the important factors and suitable habitats for the species, which can be useful for Iranian fisheries managers to increase the fishing efficiency and implementing of ecosystem-based fisheries management in the shared exploited stocks of the Indian Ocean.

The quintuple helix innovation model has been introduced by E.G. Carayannis and F.J. Campbell. The natural environments of society and the economy are major drivers of this innovation model. The third generation university (the convergence of government, industry and university), the fourth generation universities (the convergence of government, industry, university and civil society) and the fifth generation university (the convergence of government, industry, university, civil society and bio-environment) perform within Triple Helix, Quadruple Helix and Quintuple Helix models, respectively. According to the viewpoints of Carayannis and Campbell, the cardinal characteristics of the fifth generation university could be conceptualized as a knowledge-based innovation system which is sensitive to natural environment of society, produces knowledge within the mode 3 knowledge production framework, supports co-evolution and co-existence of different knowledge paradigms, shapes co-opetitive ecosystem for knowledge management and promotes knowledge democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]