Assessment of forest ecosystem vulnerability and prioritization of degradation factors of Dadabad region of Khorramabad

Document Type : Complete scientific research article

Authors

1 PhD in Forestry, Department of Forest Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lorestan University, Khoramabad, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Natural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Fasa University, Fasa, Iran.

3 Associate Professor, Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran.

4 استادیار گروه مهندسی محیط‌زیست، دانشکده منابع طبیعی، دانشگاه لرستان، خرم‌آباد، ایران.

Abstract

Abstract

Background and objective:
Nowadays, prevention or reduction of undesirable consequences due to degradation and increased vulnerability of forest ecosystems has become one of the most important goals of natural resource managers around the world. The existence of incompatible land uses is considered one of the most important threats to forest ecosystems, especially their biodiversity. To discover and evaluate such threats, which pave the ground for changes at the ecosystem level, using techniques and tools such as remote sensing and geographic information systems with analytical capabilities can play a major role in producing spatial information. The aim of this research is to evaluate degradation in the Dadab forest ecosystem based on the degradation model of working sub-units and investigate the most important human activities paving the ground for degradation in the area.
Materials and Methods:
To quantify landscape metrics, the land use/forest cover map of the Dadab region with 13 sub-basins was used. To prepare the land use/cover map, satellite imagery was first pre-processed and the image was classified into different land use classes. For this purpose, satellite images from the 30-year period (2018-1988) were used to analyze the structure using landscape metrics. One of the advantages of assessment using landscape metrics is timely awareness of the intensity of degradation in the landscape in the shortest possible time with quantitative data that can be compared with future re-studies. Then, based on the landscape degradation model, the ecological vulnerability degree was determined, the intensity of activities and the amount of degradation in the landscape were calculated. Subsequently, based on the degradation coefficients obtained, landscape analysis and mapping were carried out. Finally, the ANP method was used, based on expert opinions, to prioritize the most important human activities paving the ground for degradation in the area. The ANP is one of the multi-criteria decision-making methods used in this research to classify the human activities affecting degradation in the area; one of the most important reasons for using this method compared to other MCDM methods is considering the interdependence or relationship between factors as well as using nonlinear network structure analysis. To achieve this goal, first, the most important factors paving the ground for forest cover degradation in the Dadab region were extracted by reviewing the resources in this field. Calculations related to the ANP method with a multi-criteria decision-making model were performed in the Super Decision.

Findings:
Sub-basins 3 and 5 had the highest numbers of landscape degradation in the Dadab region, and sub-basins 4, 8, 9, 12, and 13 had the least fragmentation. In total, 40.58% of the total area of Dadab was identified with low degradation and development potential that can be developed by considering ecological constraints. It is noteworthy that the reason for the low degradation rate in these areas was their mountainous and inaccessible nature, and therefore they were less affected by human activities. Also, 25.33% needed restoration and rehabilitation, and 37.8% needed protection measures.

Conclusion:
Among the various factors, the three factors of converting national lands to agriculture, socio-economic issues, and widespread development activities (road construction) were the most important parameters for degradation in the area with final weights of 2.0, 182.0, and 18.0, respectively. The results of this study can play a significant role in the effectiveness and success of protection and management programs for Lorestan province's forests by prioritizing the most important factors of forest degradation.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Journal of Wood and Forest Science and Technology
Volume 31, Issue 1
April 2024
Pages 1-22

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