reza yari; Gholamali Heshmati; Hamed Rafiee
Volume 28, Issue 4 , November 2021, , Pages 745-758
Abstract
Assessment of the potential ecological and natural capacity of each area with proper planning can lead to sustainable and continuous utilization of natural areas. By increasing the population and psychological pressures resulting from the bustle of cities, ecotourism has become doubly ...
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Assessment of the potential ecological and natural capacity of each area with proper planning can lead to sustainable and continuous utilization of natural areas. By increasing the population and psychological pressures resulting from the bustle of cities, ecotourism has become doubly important as one of the ways to reduce the pressures on people. The development of ecotourism to conserve natural resources should be commensurate with the natural and social potential of the region. Due to the importance of conserving natural resources, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the ecotourism potential of Chaharbagh summer rangelands in Golestan province based on the FAO limiting method and using GIS. The factors assessed include two ecological categories (climate, altitude, slope, soil, water resources, distance to attraction places, value attractive vegetation) and infrastructure (distance to city, amenities, roads, and access routes). The results showed that the total area of the region is 25.36% (2249.29 ha) with medium potential and competence (S2), 28.65% (2542 ha) with low potential and competence (S3), and 45.98% (4079) hectare lacks ecotourism competence and potential (N). The results also showed that water resources, soil, slope percentage, vegetation attraction value, access routes, and distance to attractions are factors that reduce the potential and merit of tourism and altitude factors, distance to city and facilities, welfare as well as climate (temperature) are factors that increase the potential and merit of tourism. Chaharbagh rangelands have suitable facilities and potentials in terms of tourism, and observing the principles of tourism and preserving natural resources, in addition to creating employment and income for the residents of the region, can help the protection and sustainable development of the region.
Omid Karami; Seyed Mohammad Hosseini Nasr
Volume 20, Issue 1 , June 2013, , Pages 101-114
Abstract
Determination of land capability for optimal use of land and prevention from land degradation due to improper use is an effective step towards sustainable development strategy. Due to the importance of the issue, in this study, ecological capability of Babolrood basin-Mazandaran for range management ...
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Determination of land capability for optimal use of land and prevention from land degradation due to improper use is an effective step towards sustainable development strategy. Due to the importance of the issue, in this study, ecological capability of Babolrood basin-Mazandaran for range management was evaluated using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS). Thus, the hierarchy of evaluation process was created and the weights of criteria and indicators were computed using expert's judgments and indicators were mapped in GIS environment. In final step, ecological capability map of range management was generated using GIS-based Weighted Linear Combination (WLC) technique. Results showed that 78.94% of the study area had no capability and 1.21, 13.02, 6.7 and 0.13% of the study area had the class capability of first, second, third and fourth, respectively.