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zeinab hazbavi

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Zeinab Hazbavi, Ph.D. Former of Watershed Management Engineering and Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran. Address: Khuzestan, Ahwaz, 6165855536. Email: [email protected]. Telephone number: 9836114463247. En. Z. Hazbavi has been as guest researcher in Wageningen University and Research, Soil Physic and Land Management Group (SLM). She is co-author of two books in contexts of soil and water conservation and natural resources issues. She received several awards during her studying periods and published several papers which cited in Scopus, Google Scholar and Research Gate. En. Hazbavi is reviewer for several international and domestic journals e.g. ECOPERSIA, Science of the Total Environment, Geomorphology, Extension and Development of Watershed Management, Iranian Watershed Management Society, Iran - Watershed Management Science and Engineering Journal and etc. She is also a member of Iranian Watershed Management Society, European Geosciences Union (EGU) and Agricultural and Natural Resources Engineering Organization (Khuzestan Province).

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Papers by zeinab hazbavi

Innovations of the 21st Century in the Management of Iranian Salt-Affected Lands

Future of Sustainable Agriculture in Saline Environments, 2021

A Multifunctional Conceptual Framework for Ecological Disturbance Assessment

Earth systems and environment, May 28, 2024

Assessing the hydrological effects of Landuse changes using distributed hydrological modelling and GIS

International Journal of River Basin Management, 2005

Predicting the effects of land-use (LU) changes and hydrological processes on a rapidly urbanized... more Predicting the effects of land-use (LU) changes and hydrological processes on a rapidly urbanized catchment using the Markov chain and WetSpa models is the main objective of this research. Hourly hydrometeorological data for 2001-2016, land use maps, a digital elevation model (DEM) and soil texture were used as inputs into the models. The simulation results verified some negative impacts of LU changes, such as increases in peak discharge and flow velocity from 2001 to 2032 by 57.1% and 39.4%, respectively. Additionally, the time of concentration decreased from 6 h in 2001 to 5 h in 2016 and to 4 h in 2032. Surface runoff recorded the highest increases by 48.4% and 83.9%, respectively, in 2016 and 2032, compared to 2001. We concluded that the combination of both models is an appropriate tool for predicting the possible effects of LU changes on different hydrological features, which provide vital information for land managers.

A Blueprint for Elementary Representative Watershed Specification

AGROFOR, 2018

Provision of ecosystem services is necessary for our quality of life. In this vein, itis critical... more Provision of ecosystem services is necessary for our quality of life. In this vein, itis critical to develop a baseline to monitor the ecosystem behavior usingmonitoring, mapping, and modeling indicators of landscape condition. Therepresentative watersheds (RWs) can therefore be considered as such decisionblueprint to implement the best management practices to conserve andconsequently improve ecosystem services. There are few researches for theselection of RWs. However, the comprehensive and of course applicablemethodologies still are lacked particularly in developing countries whereconcentration and proper directing of conservation measures are further neededowing to investments constraints. Therefore, in the present study, an intensivewatershed selection process was undertaken to identify RW across the Gharesoo-Gorgan River Basin (ca. 12987 km2), Golestan Province, Iran. This study aimed toadopt the Laize’s approach in Gharesoo-Gorgan Watershed for identifying therepresentative su...

Importance of Geology and Geomorphology in Watershed Health Assessment

The Journal "Agriculture and Forestry", 2018

Watersheds constituted by different geology, geomorphology, climates, land uses, soils, ecologica... more Watersheds constituted by different geology, geomorphology, climates, land uses, soils, ecological communities, and vegetation covers. The watershed landscapes have established over geologic time while being shaped by patterns of climate, vegetation, and lithology. However, understanding the nexus between watershed health, geology and geomorphology has been less considered and requires a deep knowledge of their spatiotemporal scales of evolution. The current article, therefore, attempts to provide a brief review of geology and geomorphology concepts, importance and applications in watershed health assessment. Additionally, a list of most important geologic and geomorphologic criteria for watershed management and assessment provided as well. The provided information provides useful insights for land managers and decision makers and thus helps in the identification of gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed on a priority basis. It is highly suggested that the future developments in watershed health studies have focused in the direction of the geological and geomorphological process, taking advantage of empirical observations, mathematical and conceptual modeling to attain a quantitative description of real watershed health conditions.

Quantification and analysis of water retention ecosystem service and its spatial autocorrelation in North west Iran

The development of human societies has altered the landscape of the watershed through remedial ac... more The development of human societies has altered the landscape of the watershed through remedial activities, industrialization, and urbanization, causing significant changes in a wide range of hydrological, climatic, ecological, and socio-economic functions. This, in turn, has had significant consequences on resources and ecosystems. Therefore, in this study, the water retention index, one of the indicators of multifunctional ecosystem services, was quantified using InVEST software. For this purpose, variables including rainfall, land use, soil hydrological groups, and curve numbers related to 28 watersheds in Ardabil province were prepared and introduced to InVEST software. Then, an accuracy assessment was conducted using error coefficients, including R2, RMSE, ME, and MAE. Additionally, to analyze auto-spatial correlation and identify runoff hotspots and water retention, global Moran's index and Enslin Moran's index were employed. The results showed that the minimum water re...

Modeling canopy cover and aboveground net primary production using soil factors in rangelands of Ardabil province, Iran

Remote Sensing

Canopy cover (CC) and the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) vary under the influence of v... more Canopy cover (CC) and the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) vary under the influence of various environmental factors. They underscore ecological sustainability under different environment-human interactions. Towards this, the present study aimed to model the CC and ANPP of different plant functional types (PFTs) and their total using the soil attributes in the northwest (Ardabil province) rangelands of Iran. According to ecoregions and plant types and environmental factors, sampling was taken at the peak stage of plant growth from 2016 to 2020 using 1-m2 plots. For each transect, a soil sample was taken and transferred to the soil laboratory and the various attributes were measured. Maps of soil attributes were prepared using the inverse distance weighting (IDW) method. Differences in CC and ANPP of PFTs among soil attributes were analyzed using the paired sample t-test. Linear multiple regression was used for modeling the soil attributes. Total CC and ANPP were prepared in...

Flood vulnerability analysis using different aggregation frameworks across watersheds of Ardabil province, northwestern Iran

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

Determining the Attitude of Government and Local Stakeholders in Participatory Decision-Making for Watershed Management Practices in Unar Chay Watershed, Meshgin Shahr, Iran

journal of watershed management research

Introduction and Objective: Implementing management practices and involving stakeholders is assoc... more Introduction and Objective: Implementing management practices and involving stakeholders is associated with challenges due to changing perceptions and expectations of stakeholders. Active participation in decision making of watershed management measures is determining the community characteristics, involved people and diverse groups of stakeholders. In this regards, the present research was planned to determine the different groups approach in participatory decision-making for watershed management measures in the Unar Chay Watershed of Meshgin Shahr, Ardabil Province via Policy Profile Ratio (PPR) and Index of Resolution (IR). Material and Methods: To achieve the considered goal, the target experts/managers have been chosen based on different background including natural resources, environment, regional water company, nomadic affairs, Jahad griculture, NGOs members, watershed residents, students, university professors and citizen groups. Through designing a questionnaire, the approach of different groups was examined based on analyzing the effect of watershed management projects on improving the income of watershed residents and evaluating the watershed community participation in the projects implementation and conflict reducing and increasing of local community's cooperation. Then, the PPR and IR were calculated and analyzed for all stakeholder groups. Results: The results showed that the value of PPR is between zero and-11. So that, among the study groups, the least PPR value was related to the subject of improving the watershed community income for the NGOs group which they were as opponents of the decision. Some of the study groups have a moderate approach towards the considered subjects. Additionally, the IR value was ranged between-50 and 12. The lowest value of IR was obtained for students group (opponents of the decision) towards the Women's empowerment and support via local cooperatives and organizations. Conclusion: The social profile ratio, while determining and prioritizing the views of different decision-maker and stakeholder groups, can be useful in effectively managing actions based on the strengths and weaknesses of the watershed participation process. In this regard, strengthening the participation of stakeholders and effective groups as well as removing barriers in low-impact groups can be considered in the planning process.

Multisensor Assessment of Leaf Area Index across Ecoregions of Ardabil Province, Northwestern Iran

Remote Sensing

Leaf area index (LAI), one of the most crucial vegetation biophysical variables, is required to e... more Leaf area index (LAI), one of the most crucial vegetation biophysical variables, is required to evaluate the structural characteristic of plant communities. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the LAI of ecoregions in Iran obtained using Sentinel-2B, Landsat 8 (OLI), MODIS, and AVHRR data in June and July 2020. A field survey was performed in different ecoregions throughout Ardabil Province during June and July 2020 under the satellite image dates. A Laipen LP 100 (LP 100) field-portable device was used to measure the LAI in 822 samples with different plant functional types (PFTs) of shrubs, bushes, and trees. The LAI was estimated using the SNAPv7.0.4 (Sentinel Application Platform) software for Sentinel-2B data and Google Earth Engine (GEE) system–based EVI for Landsat 8. At the same time, for MODIS and AVHRR, the LAI products of GEE were considered. The results of all satellite-based methods verified the LAI variations in space and time for every PFT. Based on Sentinel-2B, L...

Spatial Comparative Analysis of Landscape Fragmentation Metrics in a Watershed with Diverse Land Uses in Iran

Sustainability

Knowledge of landscape fragmentation is known to be important in ecological integrity, hydrologic... more Knowledge of landscape fragmentation is known to be important in ecological integrity, hydrological processes, urban planning, sustainable land management, and policymaking. Recent anecdotal studies reveal a need for analytical quantification of landscape fragmentation at different levels. Therefore, the present study was conducted at KoozehTopraghi Watershed, Ardabil Province, Iran, where covers by different land uses/covers, to (a) explore the spatial pattern of landscape fragmentation metrics comprehensively in different scales, (b) distinguish the landscape fragmentation hot spots, and (c) investigate the spatial clustering of landscape fragmentation metrics. The behaviors of 7, 10, and 13 fragmentation metrics concerning three levels of patch, class, and landscape across 36 sub-watersheds were explored using principal component analysis (PCA) and expert elicitation. The Getis-Ord Gi* and local Moran’s I indices were also used to analyze the hot spots and clusters of landscape f...

Spatial distribution of flood vulnerability index in Ardabil province, Iran

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment

Introducing the Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI) as a flood crisis management tool

Disaster Prevention and Management Knowledge (quarterly), May 10, 2021

Leaf Area Index Variations in Ecoregions of Ardabil Province, Iran

Remote Sensing, 2021

The leaf area index (LAI) is an important vegetation biophysical index that provides broad inform... more The leaf area index (LAI) is an important vegetation biophysical index that provides broad information on the dynamic behavior of an ecosystem’s productivity and related climate, topography, and edaphic impacts. The spatiotemporal changes of LAI were assessed throughout Ardabil Province—a host of relevant plant communities within the critical ecoregion of a semi-arid climate. In a comparative study, novel data from Google Earth Engine (GEE) was tested against traditional ENVI measures to provide LAI estimations. Moreover, it is of important practical significance for institutional networks to quantitatively and accurately estimate LAI, at large areas in a short time, and using appropriate baseline vegetation indices. Therefore, LAI was characterized for ecoregions of Ardabil Province using remote sensing indices extracted from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), including the Enhanced Vegetation Index calculated in GEE (EVIG) and ENVI5.3 software (EVIE), as well as the Normaliz...

Analysis the Relationship between Landscape Metrics and Soil Erosion of KoozehTopraghi Watershed, Ardabil Province

Journal of Geography and Environmental Hazards, Dec 21, 2020

Comprehensive Estimation of Erosion and Sediment Components using IntErO Model in the KoozehTopraghi Watershed, Ardabil Province

Environmental Erosion Research Journal, Apr 10, 2020

Determination of spatial correlation of rivers discharge in the Ardabil Province using Moran index

Environmental modelling and computer-graphic simulation for the analysis of physical-geographical characteristics of watersheds: Case study Zim Potok, Montenegro

Global change refers to planetary-scale changes of the land, oceans, atmosphere, the planet's... more Global change refers to planetary-scale changes of the land, oceans, atmosphere, the planet's natural cycles and processes. These constituent parts of the Earth systems influence one another and now includes human society, so global change also refers to largescale changes in society and the subsequent effects on the environment. This situation of environmental degradation should be stopped without further delays, with thinking and planning globally, but dealing locally. Every, even minor positive initiatives, we should count as worthwhile contribution to protecting natural resources from the degradation. Therefore, we need innovative theoretical and practical scientific approaches. The urgency of the problem poses a challenge to environmentally oriented informatics. Important methods and tools are modelling and simulation: a problem solving method where problems are solved not by experimentation with real world systems but by experiments using models of real world objects. This...

Spatial and temporal analysis of the COVID-19 incidence pattern in Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2020

In the present paper, province-level variations of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease incidence... more In the present paper, province-level variations of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease incidence across Iran were investigated. To this end, a geo-database from infected cases, deaths, total population, death-to-population ratio, and infected case-to-death ratio for 31 provinces of Iran and during seven successive periods

Effectiveness of native wood strand mulches for land rehabilitation in Iran under experimental conditions

Land Degradation & Development, 2019

Wood-based mulches are a preferred erosion control material for rehabilitation of degraded lands ... more Wood-based mulches are a preferred erosion control material for rehabilitation of degraded lands because they can be made from native wood materials; however, research is needed to verify the effectiveness of new products prior to application. The present study aims to assess the effectiveness of two types of native wood strand mulches from Iran (waste byproducts of Alnus glutinosa and Fagus orientalis working) in reducing runoff, soil loss, and sediment concentration under laboratory conditions. Toward this goal, rainfall simulations were conducted 27 times using a 50 mm hr −1 rainfall during 20-min experiments on erosion plots with treatments of different cover percentages (bare, 30 and 70%) and strand dimensions (16 and 4 cm in length; 1.5 cm wide). The results showed that all strand applications reduced runoff (>12%), soil loss (>47%), and sediment concentration (>44%) compared to the bare plots. The most effective application treatment was a 70% coverage of the 4-cm strands of either material (p value < .002). The shorter strands were most effective for all hydrological and erosion variables reductions because they maintained more contact with the soil surface during simulated rainfall and then increased the soil retention potential, whereas the longer strands realigned in the direction of flow, thereby limiting their ability to retard flowing water. The small strands also facilitated the creation of microdams that blocked flow and promoted infiltration. Both materials were deemed effective native erosion control products in degraded sites in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran, particularly when small strands were applied at high cover rates.

Innovations of the 21st Century in the Management of Iranian Salt-Affected Lands

Future of Sustainable Agriculture in Saline Environments, 2021

A Multifunctional Conceptual Framework for Ecological Disturbance Assessment

Earth systems and environment, May 28, 2024

Assessing the hydrological effects of Landuse changes using distributed hydrological modelling and GIS

International Journal of River Basin Management, 2005

Predicting the effects of land-use (LU) changes and hydrological processes on a rapidly urbanized... more Predicting the effects of land-use (LU) changes and hydrological processes on a rapidly urbanized catchment using the Markov chain and WetSpa models is the main objective of this research. Hourly hydrometeorological data for 2001-2016, land use maps, a digital elevation model (DEM) and soil texture were used as inputs into the models. The simulation results verified some negative impacts of LU changes, such as increases in peak discharge and flow velocity from 2001 to 2032 by 57.1% and 39.4%, respectively. Additionally, the time of concentration decreased from 6 h in 2001 to 5 h in 2016 and to 4 h in 2032. Surface runoff recorded the highest increases by 48.4% and 83.9%, respectively, in 2016 and 2032, compared to 2001. We concluded that the combination of both models is an appropriate tool for predicting the possible effects of LU changes on different hydrological features, which provide vital information for land managers.

A Blueprint for Elementary Representative Watershed Specification

AGROFOR, 2018

Provision of ecosystem services is necessary for our quality of life. In this vein, itis critical... more Provision of ecosystem services is necessary for our quality of life. In this vein, itis critical to develop a baseline to monitor the ecosystem behavior usingmonitoring, mapping, and modeling indicators of landscape condition. Therepresentative watersheds (RWs) can therefore be considered as such decisionblueprint to implement the best management practices to conserve andconsequently improve ecosystem services. There are few researches for theselection of RWs. However, the comprehensive and of course applicablemethodologies still are lacked particularly in developing countries whereconcentration and proper directing of conservation measures are further neededowing to investments constraints. Therefore, in the present study, an intensivewatershed selection process was undertaken to identify RW across the Gharesoo-Gorgan River Basin (ca. 12987 km2), Golestan Province, Iran. This study aimed toadopt the Laize’s approach in Gharesoo-Gorgan Watershed for identifying therepresentative su...

Importance of Geology and Geomorphology in Watershed Health Assessment

The Journal "Agriculture and Forestry", 2018

Watersheds constituted by different geology, geomorphology, climates, land uses, soils, ecologica... more Watersheds constituted by different geology, geomorphology, climates, land uses, soils, ecological communities, and vegetation covers. The watershed landscapes have established over geologic time while being shaped by patterns of climate, vegetation, and lithology. However, understanding the nexus between watershed health, geology and geomorphology has been less considered and requires a deep knowledge of their spatiotemporal scales of evolution. The current article, therefore, attempts to provide a brief review of geology and geomorphology concepts, importance and applications in watershed health assessment. Additionally, a list of most important geologic and geomorphologic criteria for watershed management and assessment provided as well. The provided information provides useful insights for land managers and decision makers and thus helps in the identification of gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed on a priority basis. It is highly suggested that the future developments in watershed health studies have focused in the direction of the geological and geomorphological process, taking advantage of empirical observations, mathematical and conceptual modeling to attain a quantitative description of real watershed health conditions.

Quantification and analysis of water retention ecosystem service and its spatial autocorrelation in North west Iran

The development of human societies has altered the landscape of the watershed through remedial ac... more The development of human societies has altered the landscape of the watershed through remedial activities, industrialization, and urbanization, causing significant changes in a wide range of hydrological, climatic, ecological, and socio-economic functions. This, in turn, has had significant consequences on resources and ecosystems. Therefore, in this study, the water retention index, one of the indicators of multifunctional ecosystem services, was quantified using InVEST software. For this purpose, variables including rainfall, land use, soil hydrological groups, and curve numbers related to 28 watersheds in Ardabil province were prepared and introduced to InVEST software. Then, an accuracy assessment was conducted using error coefficients, including R2, RMSE, ME, and MAE. Additionally, to analyze auto-spatial correlation and identify runoff hotspots and water retention, global Moran's index and Enslin Moran's index were employed. The results showed that the minimum water re...

Modeling canopy cover and aboveground net primary production using soil factors in rangelands of Ardabil province, Iran

Remote Sensing

Canopy cover (CC) and the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) vary under the influence of v... more Canopy cover (CC) and the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) vary under the influence of various environmental factors. They underscore ecological sustainability under different environment-human interactions. Towards this, the present study aimed to model the CC and ANPP of different plant functional types (PFTs) and their total using the soil attributes in the northwest (Ardabil province) rangelands of Iran. According to ecoregions and plant types and environmental factors, sampling was taken at the peak stage of plant growth from 2016 to 2020 using 1-m2 plots. For each transect, a soil sample was taken and transferred to the soil laboratory and the various attributes were measured. Maps of soil attributes were prepared using the inverse distance weighting (IDW) method. Differences in CC and ANPP of PFTs among soil attributes were analyzed using the paired sample t-test. Linear multiple regression was used for modeling the soil attributes. Total CC and ANPP were prepared in...

Flood vulnerability analysis using different aggregation frameworks across watersheds of Ardabil province, northwestern Iran

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction

Determining the Attitude of Government and Local Stakeholders in Participatory Decision-Making for Watershed Management Practices in Unar Chay Watershed, Meshgin Shahr, Iran

journal of watershed management research

Introduction and Objective: Implementing management practices and involving stakeholders is assoc... more Introduction and Objective: Implementing management practices and involving stakeholders is associated with challenges due to changing perceptions and expectations of stakeholders. Active participation in decision making of watershed management measures is determining the community characteristics, involved people and diverse groups of stakeholders. In this regards, the present research was planned to determine the different groups approach in participatory decision-making for watershed management measures in the Unar Chay Watershed of Meshgin Shahr, Ardabil Province via Policy Profile Ratio (PPR) and Index of Resolution (IR). Material and Methods: To achieve the considered goal, the target experts/managers have been chosen based on different background including natural resources, environment, regional water company, nomadic affairs, Jahad griculture, NGOs members, watershed residents, students, university professors and citizen groups. Through designing a questionnaire, the approach of different groups was examined based on analyzing the effect of watershed management projects on improving the income of watershed residents and evaluating the watershed community participation in the projects implementation and conflict reducing and increasing of local community's cooperation. Then, the PPR and IR were calculated and analyzed for all stakeholder groups. Results: The results showed that the value of PPR is between zero and-11. So that, among the study groups, the least PPR value was related to the subject of improving the watershed community income for the NGOs group which they were as opponents of the decision. Some of the study groups have a moderate approach towards the considered subjects. Additionally, the IR value was ranged between-50 and 12. The lowest value of IR was obtained for students group (opponents of the decision) towards the Women's empowerment and support via local cooperatives and organizations. Conclusion: The social profile ratio, while determining and prioritizing the views of different decision-maker and stakeholder groups, can be useful in effectively managing actions based on the strengths and weaknesses of the watershed participation process. In this regard, strengthening the participation of stakeholders and effective groups as well as removing barriers in low-impact groups can be considered in the planning process.

Multisensor Assessment of Leaf Area Index across Ecoregions of Ardabil Province, Northwestern Iran

Remote Sensing

Leaf area index (LAI), one of the most crucial vegetation biophysical variables, is required to e... more Leaf area index (LAI), one of the most crucial vegetation biophysical variables, is required to evaluate the structural characteristic of plant communities. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the LAI of ecoregions in Iran obtained using Sentinel-2B, Landsat 8 (OLI), MODIS, and AVHRR data in June and July 2020. A field survey was performed in different ecoregions throughout Ardabil Province during June and July 2020 under the satellite image dates. A Laipen LP 100 (LP 100) field-portable device was used to measure the LAI in 822 samples with different plant functional types (PFTs) of shrubs, bushes, and trees. The LAI was estimated using the SNAPv7.0.4 (Sentinel Application Platform) software for Sentinel-2B data and Google Earth Engine (GEE) system–based EVI for Landsat 8. At the same time, for MODIS and AVHRR, the LAI products of GEE were considered. The results of all satellite-based methods verified the LAI variations in space and time for every PFT. Based on Sentinel-2B, L...

Spatial Comparative Analysis of Landscape Fragmentation Metrics in a Watershed with Diverse Land Uses in Iran

Sustainability

Knowledge of landscape fragmentation is known to be important in ecological integrity, hydrologic... more Knowledge of landscape fragmentation is known to be important in ecological integrity, hydrological processes, urban planning, sustainable land management, and policymaking. Recent anecdotal studies reveal a need for analytical quantification of landscape fragmentation at different levels. Therefore, the present study was conducted at KoozehTopraghi Watershed, Ardabil Province, Iran, where covers by different land uses/covers, to (a) explore the spatial pattern of landscape fragmentation metrics comprehensively in different scales, (b) distinguish the landscape fragmentation hot spots, and (c) investigate the spatial clustering of landscape fragmentation metrics. The behaviors of 7, 10, and 13 fragmentation metrics concerning three levels of patch, class, and landscape across 36 sub-watersheds were explored using principal component analysis (PCA) and expert elicitation. The Getis-Ord Gi* and local Moran’s I indices were also used to analyze the hot spots and clusters of landscape f...

Spatial distribution of flood vulnerability index in Ardabil province, Iran

Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment

Introducing the Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI) as a flood crisis management tool

Disaster Prevention and Management Knowledge (quarterly), May 10, 2021

Leaf Area Index Variations in Ecoregions of Ardabil Province, Iran

Remote Sensing, 2021

The leaf area index (LAI) is an important vegetation biophysical index that provides broad inform... more The leaf area index (LAI) is an important vegetation biophysical index that provides broad information on the dynamic behavior of an ecosystem’s productivity and related climate, topography, and edaphic impacts. The spatiotemporal changes of LAI were assessed throughout Ardabil Province—a host of relevant plant communities within the critical ecoregion of a semi-arid climate. In a comparative study, novel data from Google Earth Engine (GEE) was tested against traditional ENVI measures to provide LAI estimations. Moreover, it is of important practical significance for institutional networks to quantitatively and accurately estimate LAI, at large areas in a short time, and using appropriate baseline vegetation indices. Therefore, LAI was characterized for ecoregions of Ardabil Province using remote sensing indices extracted from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI), including the Enhanced Vegetation Index calculated in GEE (EVIG) and ENVI5.3 software (EVIE), as well as the Normaliz...

Analysis the Relationship between Landscape Metrics and Soil Erosion of KoozehTopraghi Watershed, Ardabil Province

Journal of Geography and Environmental Hazards, Dec 21, 2020

Comprehensive Estimation of Erosion and Sediment Components using IntErO Model in the KoozehTopraghi Watershed, Ardabil Province

Environmental Erosion Research Journal, Apr 10, 2020

Determination of spatial correlation of rivers discharge in the Ardabil Province using Moran index

Environmental modelling and computer-graphic simulation for the analysis of physical-geographical characteristics of watersheds: Case study Zim Potok, Montenegro

Global change refers to planetary-scale changes of the land, oceans, atmosphere, the planet's... more Global change refers to planetary-scale changes of the land, oceans, atmosphere, the planet's natural cycles and processes. These constituent parts of the Earth systems influence one another and now includes human society, so global change also refers to largescale changes in society and the subsequent effects on the environment. This situation of environmental degradation should be stopped without further delays, with thinking and planning globally, but dealing locally. Every, even minor positive initiatives, we should count as worthwhile contribution to protecting natural resources from the degradation. Therefore, we need innovative theoretical and practical scientific approaches. The urgency of the problem poses a challenge to environmentally oriented informatics. Important methods and tools are modelling and simulation: a problem solving method where problems are solved not by experimentation with real world systems but by experiments using models of real world objects. This...

Spatial and temporal analysis of the COVID-19 incidence pattern in Iran

Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2020

In the present paper, province-level variations of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease incidence... more In the present paper, province-level variations of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) disease incidence across Iran were investigated. To this end, a geo-database from infected cases, deaths, total population, death-to-population ratio, and infected case-to-death ratio for 31 provinces of Iran and during seven successive periods

Effectiveness of native wood strand mulches for land rehabilitation in Iran under experimental conditions

Land Degradation & Development, 2019

Wood-based mulches are a preferred erosion control material for rehabilitation of degraded lands ... more Wood-based mulches are a preferred erosion control material for rehabilitation of degraded lands because they can be made from native wood materials; however, research is needed to verify the effectiveness of new products prior to application. The present study aims to assess the effectiveness of two types of native wood strand mulches from Iran (waste byproducts of Alnus glutinosa and Fagus orientalis working) in reducing runoff, soil loss, and sediment concentration under laboratory conditions. Toward this goal, rainfall simulations were conducted 27 times using a 50 mm hr −1 rainfall during 20-min experiments on erosion plots with treatments of different cover percentages (bare, 30 and 70%) and strand dimensions (16 and 4 cm in length; 1.5 cm wide). The results showed that all strand applications reduced runoff (>12%), soil loss (>47%), and sediment concentration (>44%) compared to the bare plots. The most effective application treatment was a 70% coverage of the 4-cm strands of either material (p value < .002). The shorter strands were most effective for all hydrological and erosion variables reductions because they maintained more contact with the soil surface during simulated rainfall and then increased the soil retention potential, whereas the longer strands realigned in the direction of flow, thereby limiting their ability to retard flowing water. The small strands also facilitated the creation of microdams that blocked flow and promoted infiltration. Both materials were deemed effective native erosion control products in degraded sites in the Hyrcanian forests of Iran, particularly when small strands were applied at high cover rates.