Papers by Prof. Dr. Sima Fakheran
Quantifying the relationship between landscape patterns and ecosystem services along the Urban–rural gradient
Landscape and Ecological Engineering
SWOT analysis, which mainly analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of targ... more SWOT analysis, which mainly analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of target object or place, is a useful method in strategic planning. Strategic planning is an extended tool for regional development and can be defined as a systematic form of preparing for change and for the future of a city. Urban planning is influenced by changes within internal and external operational environments. SWOT is a useful tool for analyzing internal and external factors. In this paper a SWOT analysis is done regarding the urban management approach for Isfahan City in Iran. Based on our findings the Location of city in country, Rich cultural history and civilization, Various historical attractions, The presence of Zayanderood river in Isfahan are the most strengths factors which can make great opportunities for tourist attractions, however the high rate of urban expansion and industrial development, increasing water demands and degrading Zyandehroud water quality, air pollution an...
Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology, 2019
Quantifying land use/land cover changes is essential to monitor and assess the ecological consequ... more Quantifying land use/land cover changes is essential to monitor and assess the ecological consequences of human disturbances. Ecological condition and water quality of wetlands are highly related to the landscape characteristics, including land use/land cover (LULC) types and their fractions in the upland and the surrounding landscape. The changing characteristics of LULC in Shadegan International Wetland, Khouzestan Province, Iran, were detected in this study by using the Landsat Satellite images of the years 2001, 2014, and 2017, which were classified using the Artificial Neural Network algorithm. Then by using Land Change Modeler (LCM) in the TerrSet IDRISI software, the future of LULC changes was simulated using six independent variables and the Markov chain method. The results of this study showed that from 2001 to 2017, about 48200 ha of the wetland water was increased and around 50000 ha of saline soils and vegetation area was decreased. However, since this water increase in the wetland was due to the entry of drainage and wastewater, particularly from sugarcane cultivation around the wetland, this increase could significantly alter the hydrology, the water quality of wetland and also, the plant species composition, as compared to historical conditions; mapping these changes requires further investigations and fine scale monitoring studies.
Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology, 2020
Journal for Nature Conservation, Apr 1, 2022
koraiensis) communitie important Broad-leave shrinking q urbanizatio urgently ne Mountains consid... more koraiensis) communitie important Broad-leave shrinking q urbanizatio urgently ne Mountains considered China. Guid (SCP) me representat ecosystem quantitative of the bio watershed a Plan softwa value of eac (Ti) of eac conservatio gap of the Apply protec Chang MA Lin SUN G
Spatially heterogeneous habitat use across distinct biogeographic regions in a wide-ranging predator, the Persian leopard
Biodiversity and Conservation
A hybrid GIS-OWA and DANP method for the identification and evaluation of ecotourism attractions: the case study of Abbas Abad Wildlife Refuge, Iran
GeoJournal
Urbanization and urban land-use transition are a global concern and one of the greatest challenge... more Urbanization and urban land-use transition are a global concern and one of the greatest challenges for ensuring human welfare. The landscape patterns resulting from urbanization influence processes at local, regional, and global scales. Quantifying the spatio-temporal pattern of urbanization is important for understanding its ecological impacts and can provide basic information for appropriate decision-making. The main goal of this study was to quantify the changes of landscape patterns in Isfahan city, in Iran, during the last two decades. For monitoring spatial pattern changes, land use and land-cover maps of the area were prepared using supervised maximum likelihood classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images taken in 1990 and 2010. Five classes of land use including Water, Agricultural land, Urban area, Undeveloped area, and Bare land were identified. The changes of landscape structure were analyzed using several landscape metrics including: Percentage of landscape (PL...
Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology, 2014
TURKISH JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY, 2020
Remote Sensing, 2020
Mangrove forests grow in the inter-tidal areas along coastlines, rivers, and tidal lands. They ar... more Mangrove forests grow in the inter-tidal areas along coastlines, rivers, and tidal lands. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide numerous ecological and economic goods and services for humans. In order to develop programs for applying guided conservation and enhancing ecosystem management, accurate and regularly updated maps on their distribution, extent, and species composition are needed. Recent advances in remote sensing techniques have made it possible to gather the required information about mangrove ecosystems. Since costs are a limiting factor in generating land cover maps, the latest remote sensing techniques are advantageous. In this study, we investigated the potential of combining Sentinel-2 and Worldview-2 data to classify eight land cover classes in a mangrove ecosystem in Iran with an area of 768 km2. The upscaling approach comprises (i) extraction of reflectance values from Worldview-2 images, (ii) segmentation based on spectral and spatial features, and (i...
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2020
There has been a growing pressure of human activities, especially road network, on natural habita... more There has been a growing pressure of human activities, especially road network, on natural habitats of the world, which has led to habitat degradation and loss of ecosystem services. To mitigate the impacts of human activities, appropriate studies quantifying ecosystem services and assessing ecological impacts of road network are essential. The main goal of this study was modeling habitat quality and habitat degradation of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in the southwestern part of Iran, which is among the most important habitats for wild sheep (Ovis orientalis) classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In this study, we used the habitat quality module of the InVEST software (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs), which was driven from land use/cover data, information on anthropogenic threats, and expert knowledge. We tested the reliability of the habitat quality values by comparing them with the distribution map of wild sheep obtained from the Department of the Environment. Then, to have a more comprehensive assessment of the roads' effects on the natural habitats of this province, considering ecosystem services model, the Spatial Road Disturbance Index (SPROADI) was applied as a landscape index. The results of this study revealed that the east and north eastern parts of the study area which were among the most suitable habitats for wild sheep were highly affected by road network. Overall, findings of our study provided useful information on the spatially explicit distribution of habitat quality and degradation which were a valuable input for conservation planning and enhancing ecosystem services.
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2019
This study assessed the effect of road development on vegetation fragmentation in and around a pr... more This study assessed the effect of road development on vegetation fragmentation in and around a protected area network in western Isfahan Province, Central Iran. As the first study in Iran, an attempt was also made using the weighted linear combinationinformed ecological value index of roadless area (EVIRA), to evaluate the environmental value of roadless areas based on a set of ecological and anthropogenic factors. Toward these aims, a Landsat 8-OLI image was processed to delineate land use/cover of the region. Road-induced fragmentation was then estimated by comparing the results of a small set of landscape metrics (DIVISION, SPLIT, MESH, LPI, and NP) measured from the original and road-included LULC map. The results showed road-induced increasing DIVISION (by 4.8-85.9%) and SPLIT (by 0.01-23.1%) and decreasing MESH (by 2.7-14%), LPI (by 1.3-32.4%), and NP (by 6-97.8%) values within all protected areas and across the entire study area, indicating a significant rise in landscape fragmentation and habitat loss. Roadless patch area and Thiessen connectivity stood out as the most salient criteria in determining environmentally valuable roadless areas. The results of EVIRA showed that the study region comprises some valuable but unprotected roadless areas which should be protected against road development or any kind of destructive human activities by laying out conservation plans or their inclusion to the current protected area network.
Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology, 2019
Habitat suitability models for the focal species are used to address the concerns related to the ... more Habitat suitability models for the focal species are used to address the concerns related to the limited availability of data for remote habitats by scrutinizing the relationship between the biodiversity distribution patterns and the naturalanthropogenic characteristics. The current study aimed at modeling habitat suitability for seven focal species including Asian black bear, Persian leopard, Persian ibex, Wild sheep, Chinkara, Asian houbara and Mugger in the southeastern Iran, by relying on Generalized Linear Model (GLM), Generalized Boosted Model (GBM), Random Forest (RF), and Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) models and using 10 physical, anthropogenical and land cover variables. Next, habitat suitability maps were overlaid with sensitive coastal habitats to delineate a final habitat suitability map. Based on our results, more than 34% of the region were identified as sensitive habitats which were mostly located along the coastline. These habitats demonstrated less than 15 percent spatial overlap with the current protected area network of the region. Moreover, a suitable connecting corridor extended in the east-west was identified, but it was neglected due to having lower suitability values in comparison to the central habitats and the focus of conservation objectives on the core habitat.
Spatial Information Research, 2017
One of the primary reason of species extinction especially rare species with very specific requir... more One of the primary reason of species extinction especially rare species with very specific requirements, is habitat destruction. To protect these species, habitat suitability evaluation plays a central role. Hence, an attempt is made in this study to evaluate the suitability of sand cat's habitat in a sand dune-dominated landscape in Iran. Four Landsat-derived indices including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Weighted Difference Vegetation Index, Brightness Index (BI) and Salinity Index were combined to characterize sand cat's habitat requirements through a land use land cover (LULC) map. Furthermore, a set of landscape metrics were employed to explore the spatial pattern LULC classes. Sand cat's habitat suitability map was generated by linear combination of the standardized and relatively weighted NDVI and BI indices and then categorized into five classes of most suitable, highly suitable, moderately suitable, least suitable and not suitable. The results showed that about 75% of the total area is suitable for sand cat. Although this region is rich in biodiversity, it has not yet been subject to any conservation planning and should be granted more conservation attentions.
Applied Geography, 2018
One of the most serious challenges facing biodiversity conservation is associated with the effici... more One of the most serious challenges facing biodiversity conservation is associated with the efficiency of protected areas for conserving biodiversity under future climate change. To address it, conservationists recommend shifting conservation planning from just focusing on protecting animal populations and their present habitat to including areas of high habitat heterogeneity. It is now well documented that range shifts of many species are occurring along altitudinal gradients. Thus, species in reserves extending over larger altitudinal gradients would have more opportunities for shifting their range toward higher altitudes. In this study, we evaluated the network of protected areas (PAs) in central Iran for their altitudinal heterogeneity. We then used a comparison index to quantify representativeness level of each altitudinal zone within the PAs. To detect if altitudinal heterogeneity may contribute in vulnerability of PAs to climate change, a climate change vulnerability assessment was performed using climate change velocity index. Our results demonstrated that the overall altitudinal heterogeneity within the PAs in central Iran is low. This was mainly attributed to the disproportionate size of the sites regarding topographic position. Among the altitudinal zones, only those at higher altitudes were well represented by the network suggesting a bias in the selection of protected sites toward higher altitudes. Altitudinal heterogeneity was found as a significant factor influencing vulnerability of the Iranian PAs to future climate change. In this regard, the sites most at risk were those distributed in east and across more topographically homogeneous landscapes. Thus, they are more urgently in need of taking actions for ameliorating the negative impacts of climate change. We suggest applying these assessments to other PAs to more completely plan for the efficiency of the Iranian PAs to future climate change.
Journal of Arid Land, 2018
Taking an area of about 2.3×10 4 km 2 of southeastern Iran, this study aims to detect and predict... more Taking an area of about 2.3×10 4 km 2 of southeastern Iran, this study aims to detect and predict regional-scale salt-affected lands. Three sets of Landsat images, each set containing 4 images for 1986, 2000, and 2015 were acquired as the main source of data. Radiometric, atmospheric and cutline blending methods were used to improve the quality of images and help better classify salinized land areas under the support vector machine method. A set of landscape metrics was also employed to detect the spatial pattern of salinized land expansion from 1986 to 2015. Four factors including distance to sea, distance to sea water channels, slope, and elevation were identified as the main contributing factors to land salinization. These factors were then integrated using the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) procedure to generate land sensitivity map to salinization and also to calibrate the cellular-automata (CA) Markov chain (CA-Markov) model for simulation of salt-affected lands up to 2030, 2040 and 2050. The results of this study showed a dramatic dispersive expansion of salinized land from 7.7 % to 12.7% of the total study area from 1986 to 2015. The majority of areas prone to salinization and the highest sensitivity of land to salinization was found to be in the southeastern parts of the region. The result of the MCE-informed CA-Markov model revealed that 20.3% of the study area is likely to be converted to salinized lands by 2050. The findings of this research provided a view of the magnitude and direction of salinized land expansion in a past-to-future time period which should be considered in future land development strategies.
Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology, 2017
Development of roads can have deleterious effects on natural habitats containing species of conse... more Development of roads can have deleterious effects on natural habitats containing species of conservation concern. Fragmentation of habitat into small, non-contiguous patches may result in dramatic population declines. Thus appropriate studies quantifying ecological impacts of roads at landscape scale are essential. In this study, the Spatial Road Disturbance Index (SPROADI) was applied for the ecological impact assessment of the roads network in Eastern part of Isfahan Province, including Abassabad wildlife refuge and Siahkouh National park, which are among the most important habitats for Asiatic Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. This new landscape index uses three sub-indices including traffic intensity, vicinity impact and fragmentation grade to calculate the ecological impacts of roads network. Results obtained through quantifying the Spatial Road Disturbance Index showed that the degree of disturbance by roads network is between 0 and 54.53. Our results also revealed that 12 percent of Abassabad wildlife refuge and wide range of suitable habitats for Asiatic Cheetah were affected by roads network, which presents a conservation concern for this critically endangered species.
Journal of Oceanography, 2017
The complexity and lack of information about marine ecosystems make a challenge with achieving to... more The complexity and lack of information about marine ecosystems make a challenge with achieving to data about ecological niche for aquatic species. Spatial-Temporally knowledge on distribution of key species is an important component for systematic conservation planning. However, few efforts have been made to model the habitat of marine mammals in Iran so far. The Coast of Makran Sea in the South of Iran is a high biodiversity region that has a vital marine habitat for a lot of marine species. Dolphins are of the most important species in this region. In this paper, we presented predictive habitat modelling as a potential tool to support decisions for conservation planning. A maximum entropy algorithm (MaxEnt) was used to develop habitat models. As a result of the model, distance from coast and sea surface and temperature were the most important variables to identify the suitable area such as Gulf of Gwadar. The index of area under the curve (AUC) was equivalent to 84/0, indicating the high accuracy and efficiency of the model was to identify distribution areas. These results can be useful for conservation planning.
Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 2014
Accelerating urban growth and land use/cover changes places increasingly pressure on the natural ... more Accelerating urban growth and land use/cover changes places increasingly pressure on the natural environment and human welfare and have become a global concern. Iran, as a developing country, is also experiencing growth of its urban areas during the last decades by high rate of ruralurban migration along with rapid socioeconomic and political changes that has resulted in degrading environmental quality in many parts of Iran, particularly in the metropolitan areas such as Isfahan. Therefore, developing methods for assessing different urban growth planning scenarios and simulating urban expansion is critically important. The main goal of this study was simulating future urban expansion of Isfahan Metropolitan area from 2010 to 2050, by making use of cellular automata methodology in the SLEUTH modelling. The model was calibrated using historical data extracted from a time series of satellite images. The input data required by the model including Slope, Land use, Exclusion, Urban extent, Transportation and Hillshade were obtained from satellite images based on supervised classification. This research used the four images of Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS) and Thematic Mapper (TM) acquired 1976, 1990, 2001, and 2010. Two scenarios were planned to simulate the spatial pattern of urban growth. The first scenario was historical urban growth, which permitted urban development maintenance of the historical trend and the second scenario was a more compact growth as an answer to hypothetical policies and the lack of land to decrease urban spreading. Calibration of the SLEUTH model for Isfahan metropolitan area showed a high spread coefficient, which means that the predicted mode of growth in Isfahan is "organic" or edge growth. In Isfahan metropolitan area, topography was also shown to have an enormous effect in controlling the urban development. The results of this study invites many opportunities for further studies in many other regions which are experiencing growth of their urban areas and can be useful for planners, and policy makers to implement preventative or controlling factors in advance and make more informed strategic decisions.
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Papers by Prof. Dr. Sima Fakheran