1 2476-3128 562 General A Comparison of Simulated Annealing (SA) and Multi Objective Land Allocation (MOLA) for Solving the Problem of Multi-Objective Land Allocation Salman Mahiny A. Asadolahi Z. Saied Sabaee M. Kamyab H. R. NasirAhmadi1 K. 1 12 2014 3 9 1 13 14 01 2015 14 01 2015 The goal of multi-objective land use assessment and allocation (MOLAA) is provision of an optimal allocation of all land uses with maximum suitability. Different techniques of multiple criteria decision making have proven useful as decision support tool for solving a MOLAA problem. SA and MOLA are two different MCDM approaches that can provide solution to a MOLAA problem using different decision rules. This paper aims to provide an informed choice about these methods by comparing their performance in optimal allocation of study area to four land uses including agriculture, forestry, rangeland and development. Visual interpretation of the results showed that SA maximized overall land use suitability with better spatial compactness than MOLA. At the land use level, except for agricultural lands, MOLA allocated more suitable land units to development, forestry and rangeland than SA. Considering results in terms of landscape patterns by FRAGSTATS software, we found that SA has produced better land use patterns with higher spatial compactness than MOLA. The main problem of MOLA is insufficient attention to compactness factor that results in spreading of pixels in final map.
563 General Distribution and Abundance of Phytoplankton in Helleh River Estuary (Persian Gulf-Iran) Farhadian O. Sedaghat R. Pouladi M. Sharafi R. 1 12 2014 3 9 15 28 14 01 2015 14 01 2015 Estuaries are one of the most productive aquatic ecosystems that both ecologically and economically are important. The study purposed to investigate the distribution and abundance of phytoplankton from Helleh river estuary (Boushehr- Persian Gulf). Samples were taken in mid-season from summer 2011 to spring 2012 for one year period. Results showed that the dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, pH and the visible depth of Secchi disk were varied in the range of 6.45-12.25 mg/l, 13-34.4 oC, 9-45 ppt, 8.04-8.23 and 40-55 cm, respectively. The phytoplankton community comprised of Ochrophyta (3 classes, 17 families, and 22 genera), Myzozoa (1 class, 6 families, and 8 genera), Cyanophyta (1 class, 2 families, and 2 genera), Chlorophyta (2 classes, 2 families, and 2 genera) and Haptophyta (1 class, 1 family, and 1 geneus). All samples were dominated by Ochrophyta, especially Bacillariophyceae class. The range of phytoplankton abundance were obtained 2266.7-13533.3, 4933.3-11866.7, 2066.7-9266.7 and 1333.3-28666.7 cells/L in summer, autumn, winter and spring, respectively. In addition, there were significant correlation between phytoplankton abundance with pH (r= 0.57, P<0.01) and salinity (r= 0.52, P<0.05). This study showed that Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) was the important class of phytoplankton in Helleh estuary and also the pH and salinity were the most important environmental parameters for phytoplankton distribution and abundance. 564 General Network Analysis and Key Actors Toward Wildlife Management (Case Study: Habitat of Caucasian Black Grouse, Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve) Darvish A. Ghorban M. Fakheran S. Soffianian A. 1 12 2014 3 9 29 41 14 01 2015 14 01 2015 One of the most important approaches for policy making in order to biodiversity conservation and wildlife management is co-management of natural resources. Local stakeholders are one of the main elements in this approach. This is necessary to consider social network analysis in the framework of social-ecological systems toward biodiversity conservation and sustainable wildlife management. In this study, social network analysis and understanding key actors or social powers for implementation of co-management toward biodiversity and sustainable habitat management of Caucasian Black Grouse in Kharil village of Arasbaran area had discussed. The results illustrated key actors, social powers in environmental decisions. Also, according to in-degree and out-degree centrality, actors who have social power and dominance have revealed. Yo-Al actor has highest social power and Vahe-Eb actor has highest social dominance and also Ka-Gh actor has highest betweenens role in the study society. These actors will be outlined as local leaders in the process of ecosystem co-management in the study area. The outcomes of this research could be used for conducting co-management and biodiversity management action plan. 565 General Modeling the Propagation of Noise Pollution from Isfahan’s West Ringway in Ghamishloo Wildlife Refuge Using SPreAD-GIS Madadi H. Moradi H. Fakheran S. Jokar M. Makki T. 1 12 2014 3 9 43 56 14 01 2015 14 01 2015 The most common sources of environmental noise are human transportation systems which can have catastrophic effects on physiology and behavior of wildlife species. Spatial models of noise propagation from roads in ecological sensitive region could be very useful tools for prediction of roads impacts. The goal of our study was to apply a straightforward, accurate, and affordable approach for modeling noise impacts from Isfahan’s west ringway, which passes through Ghamishloo wildlife refuge. We used the System for the Prediction of Acoustic Detectability noise model (SPreAD-GIS). For this study, land use map, meteorological data, topography map, and noise source characteristics were used as the model inputs. We compared the model results to wildlife occurrences to evaluate how noise effects could impact threatened animals. The key affected species of the study area Goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) and wild sheep (Ovis orientalis isphahanica), were considered for impact analysis. The results showed that in the areas with noise intensity lower that 20 db the animal has no actions and the area is known as “calm area”, however the areas with noise intensity higher than 20 db is as “disturbance and action” area. The comparison of the results of both species showed that the results vary based on their habitat and behavior, and we found the higher noise impacts on distribution of Goitered gazelle in the study area. 566 General The Short Term Effects of Fire Severity on Composition and Diversity of Soil Seed Bank in Zagros Forest Ecosystem, Servan County Heydari M. Faramarzi M. 1 12 2014 3 9 57 69 14 01 2015 14 01 2015 In most ecosystems, disturbance is an important agent of variation in community structure and composition. Determining the diversity and composition of soil seed bank is essential for designing conservation and restoration programs because it can markedly contribute to future plant communities. Despite the important role of soil seed banks in the composition of different plant communities, and thus in their conservation, the floristic studies in Zagros forests have only focused on aboveground vegetation. In this study, the characteristics of soil seed banks were examined in three conditions after one year of fire high severity burned, low severity burned and control (not burned) in Shirvanchardavol city in northeast of Ilam Province. The result of DCA showed that different fire severities and their effects on site conditions have been reflected clearly in the composition of the soil seed bank. The results also indicated that soil seed bank composition between control and high severity burned spots was specifically different. The shanon diversity, Margalef richness and evenness indices differed significantly between three treatments and the highest diversity was observed at low severity. In this regard the proportion of annual forbs tended to decrease with increasing severity of fire. In soil seed bank, Therophytes were the dominant life form of low severity burned and control spots and Hemichryptophytes were dominant in high severity burned spots. 567 General Effects of fire Products on the Seed Germination of the Three Dominant Species from Astragalus Genus in Semi-Steppe Rangelands of Central Zagros, Iran Naghipour Borj A. A. Khajeddin S. J. Bashari H. Tahmasebi P. Iravani M. 1 12 2014 3 9 71 80 14 01 2015 14 01 2015 Fire products (smoke, ash and heat) have widely been recognized as a germination cue for some species from both fire prone and fire-free ecosystems. It is an important factor for the understanding of vegetation dynamics and could have potential use for ecological management and rehabilitation of disturbed area. This study attempts to understand the effect of the main fire products (smoke, ash and heat) on germination of the three dominant species in the semi-arid rangelands of Feridan in Isfahan province including: Astragalus adscendens, Astragalus susianus and Astragalus verus. Six treatments including: 3 of heat (60°C, 80°C and 120°C), 1 of smoke, 1 of Ash, and 1 of control were tested in the current study. Results showed that the seeds were incubated in a germination chamber with a photoperiod of 12 h of light at 22.5°C and 12 h of darkness at 17.5°C. The three studied species had different responses against the used fire factors. Smoke and ash treatments did not modify the germination percentage of A. adscendens, but its germination was increased and significantly decreased in low heat (60°C) and severe heat (80 and 120°C) respectively. Germination percentage of A. verus was increased after the smoke treatment compared to the control treatment, but it did not increase the germination of A. susianus. Outcomes of further research would have important impacts also for conservation, environment management and ecosystem restoration in semi-arid rangelands. 568 General Suitable Methods in Spatial Pattern Analysis of Heterogeneous Wild Pistachio (Pistacia atlantica Desf.) Woodlands in Zagros, Iran Erfanifard Y. Rezayan F. 1 12 2014 3 9 81 91 14 01 2015 14 01 2015 Spatial pattern of trees in forests reveals how trees interact with each other and their environment. Spatial structure of trees in forest ecosystems is affected by environmental heterogeneity that leads to their heterogeneous distribution. This study was aimed to investigate the appropriate methods to analyze spatial pattern of heterogeneous wild pistachio woodlands in Zagros, Iran. A 40-ha pure stand of wild pistachio trees (Pistacia atlantica Desf.) was selected in Wild Pistachio Research Forest in Fars Province for this purpose. The Kolmogrov-Smirnov test of goodness-of-fit of inhomogeneous Poisson point process showed that the distribution of wild pistachio trees was significantly heterogeneous (α=0.05). Inhomogeneous Ripley's K-, L-, and G-functions were applied beside their homogeneous forms. Inhomogeneous Ripley's K- and L-functions showed that wild pistachio trees were primarily clumped and dispersedly distributed thereafter, while g(r) not only showed these results but also well expressed the detailed changes in spatial scale. The results of inappropriate homogeneous functions in the study area showed that all three functions expressed the primary clumping of the trees more than it was and their dispersed pattern as clumped. In general, it was concluded that inhomogeneous functions should be applied to analyze the spatial pattern of heterogeneous wild pistachio trees in the study area and it is recommended to develop g(r) applications due to its more detailed information