Ebrahim Karimi Sangchini; Majid Ownegh; Amir Sadoddin; Nasser Tahmasebipuor; Hossein Rezaee
Abstract
This article describes a research aiming to investigate factors affecting community participation and to predict community acceptance of vegetation-based management scenarios in the Hable-rud River Basin. The Hable-rud River Basin which is a transboundary basin is extended between Tehran and Semnan provinces ...
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This article describes a research aiming to investigate factors affecting community participation and to predict community acceptance of vegetation-based management scenarios in the Hable-rud River Basin. The Hable-rud River Basin which is a transboundary basin is extended between Tehran and Semnan provinces in Iran. In this research, vegetative management scenarios include: the current condition, terracing, saxaul plantation, riparian restoration, forage growing, bunch seeding, contour furrowing, tree plantation, grazing exclusion, seeding, drill seeding, orchard development, and agroforestry. Through an interview with the stakeholders of the basin, a predefined questionnaire was completed for each respondent separately. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire were tested. On the basis of Cochran formula, 379 respondents were chosen in a stratified sampling scheme among the local communities of the basin. The factors influencing people's participation in various districts of the basin were investigated. The community acceptance level of watershed management actions was quantified using binomial probability distribution. Financial support policies of the government were identified as the most effective factor in community participation for the study area that attained the highest value in the viewpoint of people living in Sorkhe and Ivanakey districts. Community participation was evaluated in four forms including support by heart, labor support, financial support, and labor and financial support. The analysis indicates that scenarios of agroforestry and orchard development have the highest level of labor and financial support. Central Firoozkooh and Central Damavand districts have maximum labor and financial support level. The results of the binomial distribution analysis show that scenarios of agroforestry and orchard development have highest preferences among the local communities of the Hable-rud river basin. The results of this research can be used by managers and decision makers to promote soil and water resources protection as well as to promote the adoption of management actions at the watershed scale.
Ebrahim Karimi Sangchini; Majid Ownegh; Amir Sadoddin; Nasser Tahmasebi Pur; Hossein Rezaee
Abstract
This paper describes the utilization of a system dynamics model to predict the effects of vegetation-based management scenarios on structural landscape ecology in the Hablehrud River Basin. The river basin covers an area between Tehran and Semnan provinces. In this research, vegetative management scenarios ...
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This paper describes the utilization of a system dynamics model to predict the effects of vegetation-based management scenarios on structural landscape ecology in the Hablehrud River Basin. The river basin covers an area between Tehran and Semnan provinces. In this research, vegetative management scenarios include: the current condition, terracing, saxaul plantation, riparian restoration, forage growing, bunch seeding, contour furrowing, tree plantation, grazing exclusion, seeding, drill seeding, orchard development, and agroforestry. In order to predict the effects, Weighted Mean Patch Size index (WMPSI), Weighted Land Cover Area Index (WLCAI) and Riparian Proportion Index (RPI) were quantified. Additionally, the model uncertainty analysis was conducted using bootstrap method. Ecological impacts of the scenarios using aforementioned indices were predicted and the best scenarios were chosen using system dynamics. Results suggest that considering WMPSI, tree plantation and riparian restoration scenarios are the preferred scenarios. Seeding and orchard development scenarios were considered to be the best scenarios based on WLCAI. Moreover, riparian restoration and saxaul plantation were chosen as the best scenarios considering RPI. Seeding and riparian restoration scenarios obtained the highest priority considering the combination of the indices. WLCAI and RPI have the minimum and maximum uncertainty levels with respect to coefficient of variation as 0.28 and 0.45, respectively. The system dynamics models are capable of predicting the effects of various management scenarios providing the information required for decision making and management at watershed scales.
