Anthropogenic Decline of Ecosystem Services Threatens the Integrity of the Unique Hyrcanian (Caspian) Forests in Northern Iran

Abstract

Abstract:The unique Hyrcanian (Caspian) forests of northern Iran provide vital ecosystem services for local and global communities. We assess the status and trends of key ecosystem services in this region where native forest conversion has accelerated to make way for housing and farm development. This is a mountainous forested area that is valuable for both conservation and multiple human uses including recreation and farming. It contains globally significant natural habitats for in situ conservation of biological diversity. A rapid, qualitative, and participatory approach was used including interviews with local households and experts in combination with assessment of land use/cover remote sensing data to identify and map priority ecosystem services in the Geographic Information System (GIS). Based on the interests of the beneficiaries, eight priority services (food production, water supply, raw materials, soil conservation, water regulation, climate regulation, biodiversity, and recreation) were identified and mapped. The results indicate the current typical spatial distribution of the provided services based on structural characteristics of the study landscape and their changing trends through a comparison of past, present and future land use, and land cover. Although food production and recreation have greatly increased in recent decades, the other services, in particular timber production, biodiversity, and water purification and supply are being gradually lost. The results of this study and of others elsewhere should raise awareness of ecosystem service status and trends and the value of examining these since they provide much of the information to inform natural resources policy and decision making. The declines in supply of key ecosystem services both within and outside the protected area are creating conflicts within communities as well as impacting on the integrity of the area and careful planning and conservation is required to provide win-win opportunities.

Integrating the spatial proximity effect into the assessment of changes in ecosystem services for biodiversity conservation

“…On the other hand, this method is only focused on the assessment of the value of ecosystem services from the ecological perspective and does not consider the economic development and social welfare. Therefore, further research of specific scenarios can introduce a participatory approach into the calculation of parameters to integrate the thoughts of local residents, environmental organizations, government workers or experts who are familiar with regional conditions (Jianzhong et al, 2006;Berbés-Blázquez, 2012;Paudyal et al, 2015;Van Oort et al, 2015;Zarandian et al, 2016). This improvement can identify both biophysical and socioeconomic value associate with ecological process in most regions, even in developing and data-poor countries with a lack of data or technical expertise.…”

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“…Selaras dengan hal tersebut, perkembangan sosial ekonomi telah serta merta akan mengakibatkan perubahan penggunaan lahan yang secara umum dari kawasan alami menjadi kawasan budidaya. Bennett, 2005;Bennett & Balvanera, 2007;Bhatta et al, 2015;Zarandian et al, 2016 menyebutkan bahwa aktivitas manusia telah mengakibatkan hilangnya jasa lingkungan (ecosystem services) yang sebetulnya sangat memberi keuntungan utama bagi manusia itu sendiri. Berbicara mengenai jasa lingkungan yang terkait dengan biodiversitas, sudah seyogyanya semua pihak ikut terlibat dalam pelestarian wilayah (tata kelola kawasan) yang sangat penting bagi keanekaragaman hayati yang terhubung dengan baik untuk meningkatkan manfaat bagi masyarakat, baik untuk saat ini maupun untuk masa yang akan datang (Woodley et al, 2012).…”

Approaches and tools for assessing mountain forest ecosystem services

“…improvement of upstream biodiversity can support upstream watershed management). Zarandian et al (2016) assess multiple ecosystem services in Hyrcanian forests of northern Iran based on rapid, qualitative and quantitative modeling approaches (Figure 3). The unique Hyrcanian forests provide vital ecosystem services for diverse groups of beneficiaries.…”