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One of the most basic criteria in documenting rangeland use prospects is the recognition of byproducts and their economic appraisal. The current study was conducted to assess the economic indices of exploiting byproduct production in Shahindej, Northwest Iran. For this purpose, 24 by-product-generating species were selected in 114 locations that belong to 49 rangeland units. The total expected value of 24 by-product generating species yield and forage production was calculated at 44.22 USD ha(-1). The results of this study showed that the sustainability of natural resources depends on the effective participation and empowerment of local communities. Furthermore, by-product exploitation contributes significantly to the local economy and employment while also reducing grazing intensity. Overall, the findings of this study show that by-product earnings should be considered in range management schemes and comprehensive natural-area management.

Our ability to forecast future Land use/cover changes (LUCC) is extremely limited due to lack of understanding of how rapid and drastic changes like socio-economic shocks and disturbances (e.g., po...

Zagros Forest provides various ecosystem services such as food, timber, water, carbon storage, air purification, wildlife habitat as well as social and cultural benefits for both humans and animals. Due to the economic expansion beginning in the early 1990s in Iran and its resulting desertification, Zagros has lost numerous forests over the last 30 years. To overcome this issue, Zagros Forest Preservation Plan (ZFPP) has been under implementation in Northwestern Iran since 2003 to reduce forest destruction and attract the people's participation. However, it faced shortcomings caused by a variety of factors including insufficient funds, incomplete preservation, and unsuitable organization during implementation. This research aims to study the effect of ZFPP on forest loss in Sardasht County as a representative of Iranian Northern Zagros Forests. A series of Landsat images were used to analyze the forest loss before ZFPP implementation (1993–2002), after 10 years of implementation (2002–2012), and finally after its revision (2012–2016). Land Change Modeler (LCM) was employed to detect land cover changes for land cover prediction in 2024. We used land cover maps between 2002 and 2012 for calibration. We then compared the predicted land cover map from LCM with actual land cover map in 2016 for validation. The results indicated that 3330, 4562, and 1234 ha of forestlands converted to agricultural lands, rangelands, and built-up areas during 1993–2002, 2002–2012, and 2012–2016, with annual deforestation rates of -0.40%, -0.52% and -0.36%, respectively. The highest deforestation rate was observed between 2002 and 2012 because of the destructive effects of population growth. Land cover prediction indicated that per capita forest area would continue to decline while the other land cover uses would continue to grow more severely around the existing agricultural lands and built-up areas in Sardasht until 2024.

Ecotourism development in a forest area includes many positive and negative aspects and requires a comprehensive study that can consider all simultaneously. Because of the inner and outer dependence or feedback links between the criteria in this research, the Analytical Network Process (ANP) based on the BOCR Model was used. Decision making and planning for the development of ecotourism is influenced by the attitude of experts towards development impacts. The question of this research was whether due to different environmental conditions in Iran, is it appropriate to follow ecotourism development patterns of developed countries? Given the different forest conditions in Iran, the weights of decision-making criteria for ecotourism development was significantly different for experts from Iran and developed countries. Weight difference for five sub-criteria, ECB2, ECB3, SOB4, ENC4 and, ENR2 were not significant, but for the rest of the sub-criteria were significant at 1% level. The results of comparing the mean weight values of the alternatives with an independent t-test indicated the difference was significant at 1% level. According to experts of the developed countries, ecotourism development with a weight of 0.927 and according to experts of Iran with a weight of 0.531 was prioritized.

Protection policy of forests is an important strategy to improve quantitative and qualitative characteristics of forest stands and their services. In addition, the concurrence of global climate change and the decline in natural resources has led scientists to focus on the sustainable development of forest land use. Unfortunately, the allocation of different uses to land has led to urbanization, industrialization, and environmental risks. Forty-five years of forest protection policy in Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve, Northwest of Iran, has created a venue to assess the effectiveness of forest conservation-based management. For this purpose, by using random systematic sampling methodology, 132 samples (66 sample plots in the protected area and 66 sample plots in the unprotected area) with a total area of 300 square meters were collected in the northern slopes. Quantitative and qualitative characteristics of woody species in each plot, as well as regeneration frequency, were recorded. Topsoil samples were also collected, and some soil characteristics were measured. Biodiversity indices were calculated for tree species using the inventory collected data. Results revealed that parameters such as diameter at the breast height (DBH), basal area (BA), proportions of seed-origin stems, total height, crown’s height, and canopy area were significantly higher in the protected area (p