Sima Fakheran

University of British Columbia - Vancouver | UBC · Faculty of Forestry

Women are disadvantaged across all stages of academic publishing. In science, contribution to editorial boards of journals is evidence of a high reputation within a specialty or field. Therefore, the low presence of women on editorial boards can be considered a disadvantage indicator for women in academia. This study aims to highlight the gap in wo...

The stakeholders and natural resources are not discrete and independent. Therefore, natural resource management needs to explore the dependency on natural resources. One of the best methods for studying social relations is social network analysis. Kalaleh village is in the Arasbaran biosphere reserve, which is one of the most sensitive and unique r...

Given the growing universal demand for sustainable development in recent years, ecotourism has become one of the top effectual actions that can be employed to reconcile environmental conservation with economic growth. Therefore, sustainable development can be supported by assessing ecotourism ecosystem services at the landscape scale. In this regar...

This study provides a framework for optimizing ecosystem service zones based on landscape patterns. Ecosystem service zoning is a tool for making more informed land-use decisions and integrating ecosystem services into land development strategies. Accordingly, a meta-heuristic algorithm (simulated annealing-genetic hybrid) was applied to optimize z...

Context Combining field-based assessments with remote-sensing proxies of landscape patterns provides the opportunity to monitor terrestrial ecosystem health status in support of sustainable development goals (SDG). Objectives Linking qualitative field data with quantitative remote-sensing imagery to map terrestrial ecosystem health (SDG15.3.1 “lan...

Cultural ecosystem services, despite the conceptual and methodological difficulties linked to their evaluation, have received much attention in the scientific literature. We applied a participatory GIS approach for mapping and assessing recreational value for cultural ecosystem services in the central part of Esfahan Province, Iran. Firstly, the ob...

One of the key purposes of conservation selection strategies is to design a network of sites to support relevant biodiversity components and, therefore, decrease the risk of populations becoming isolated. To this end, it is important to be aware of the habitat locations of the target species and the threats of human activities, in order to identify...

Mangrove ecosystems are of high ecological value and occur in tropical and subtropical coastal areas. They consist of salt-tolerant woody plants and are highly complex and productive. Here, a novel approach was developed to map disturbances and evaluate the ecological status of Iranian mangroves based on multispectral WorldView-2 and Sentinel-2 and...

Identification of capacities for development of ecotourism is an undeniable priority in any country. The aim of this research is to identify and evaluate ecotourism attractions in the Abbas Abad Wildlife Refuge in Isfahan Province, Iran. To reach the aforementioned aim, this study uses integrated GIS-based MCDA and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluat...

Abstract Species Distribution Models (SDMs) can be used to estimate potential geographic ranges and derive indices to assess species conservation status. However, habitat-specialist species require fine-scale range estimates that reflect resource dependency. Furthermore, local adaptation of intraspecific lineages to distinct environmental condition...

Soundscape (biophonies) analysis using acoustic indices provides researchers with valuable ecological information to assess biodiversity, species behavior, and noise pollution. In this study, to analyze biophonies and anthrophony in six urban parks in Isfahan city in spring, six acoustic indices, including Acoustic complexity index (ACI), Acoustic...

In recent years, the development of urbanization has caused noise pollution to enter urban parks so much that pollution can affect many animal species' habitats in urban parks. Urban parks as ecological areas are of particular importance in attracting animal species. By measuring the amount of noise pollution in urban parks, parks' safety can be ex...

Aim Central part of Iran harbours populations of wild ungulates that are threatened or extinct over large parts of the region, and are likely to be impacted by climate change. In this study, we predicted the impact of climate change on the distribution of three vulnerable ungulates in central Iran. We then evaluated future suitability of corridors...

Mangrove forests grow in the inter-tidal areas along coastlines, rivers, and tidal lands. They are highly productive ecosystems and provide numerous ecological and economic goods and services for humans. In order to develop programs for applying guided conservation and enhancing ecosystem management, accurate and regularly updated maps on their dis...

One of the primary goals of conservation portfolio selection approaches is to create a functional landscape or network of sites that can support all elements of biodiversity and minimize the environmental risk to critical habitats and species. As human activities, especially roads network development, can be regarded as one of the most important ri...

There has been a growing pressure of human activities, especially road network, on natural habitats of the world, which has led to habitat degradation and loss of ecosystem services. To mitigate the impacts of human activities, appropriate studies quantifying ecosystem services and assessing ecological impacts of road network are essential. The mai...

Determining and identifying homogeneous regions for ecosystem services supply is an effective and useful step in improving land management. Therefore, in this study, after quantifyingand mapping ecosystem services, aesthetic value, recreational value, and noise pollution reduction, the K-Means clustering method was used to identify homogeneous area...

The purpose of this study is to introduce a method for improving the accuracy of mapping mangrove covers by integrating CART algorithm and vegetation indices using Landsat 8 imagery. In this study, 7 vegetation indices were calculated including DVI, NDVI, NDII, IPVI, MNDWI, SAVI, and OSAVI. The important indicators and thresholds were identified by...

Considering the spatial patterns of ecosystem services plays an important role in evaluating them. Therefore, in this study, inorder to identify and determin the spatial patterns of ecosystem services, new methods of spatial statistics such as spatial correlation of Global Moran and Anselin Moran Index and GIS were used, after quantifying recreatio...

This study assessed the effect of road development on vegetation fragmentation in and around a protected area network in western Isfahan Province, central Iran. As the first study in Iran, an attempt was also made using the Weighted Linear Combination-informed EVIRA index, to evaluate the environmental value of roadless areas based on a set of ecol...

With the acceleration of urbanization, human needs to connect with the nature and experience the aesthetic qualities such as landscape aesthetic, fresh air, topographic diversity and green infrastructures. Hence, landscape aesthetic quality is regarded as a valuable source of conservation. The purpose of landscape visual quality assessment is to id...

With the acceleration of urbanization, human needs to connect with the nature and experience the aesthetic qualities such as landscape aesthetic, fresh air, topographic diversity and green infrastructures. Hence, landscape aesthetic quality is regarded as a valuable source of conservation. The purpose of landscape visual quality assessment is to id...

Considering the spatial patterns of ecosystem services plays an important role in evaluating them. Therefore, in this study, inorder to identify and determin the spatial patterns of ecosystem services, new methods of spatial statistics such as spatial correlation of Global Moran and Anselin Moran Index and GIS were used, after quantifying recreatio...

With the acceleration of urbanization, human needs to connect with the nature and experience the aesthetic qualities such as landscape aesthetic, fresh air, topographic diversity and green infrastructures. Hence, landscape aesthetic quality is regarded as a valuable source of conservation. The purpose of landscape visual quality assessment is to id...

Mangrove forests in Iran are highly productive and complex ecosystems since they represent the interface between land and sea. They are a unique environment for supporting biodiversity, and they provide direct and indirect benefits to humans. Investigating changes in mangrove forests is essential for ecologists and forest managers to improve the as...

Caucasian Grouse (Lyrurus mlokosiewiczi) is an endemic species found in the Caucasus whose population is declining. Initial assessment of genetic variation and phylogenetic status of the species confirmed the monophyly of L. mlokosiewiczias and indicated a sister relationship between L. mlokosiewiczi and L. tetrix (Black grouse). Further the Caucas...

The combination of niche modelling and landscape genetics (genomics) helps to disentangle processes that have shaped population structure in the evolutionary past and presence of species. Herein, we integrate a comprehensive genomic dataset with ecological parameters and niche modelling for the threatened Kaiser’s newt, a newt species adapted to mo...

Natural habitats of Southeastern Iran are threatened by both natural and anthropogenic pressures such as long-term drought, dust storms, and land use change. Surveys on habitat suitability of vulnerable species and integration of protected areas have raised alarm over potential species extinction and geographical isolation of populations. Reducing...

Habitat suitability models for the focal species are used to address the concerns related to the limited availability of data for remote habitats by scrutinizing the relationship between the biodiversity distribution patterns and the natural-anthropogenic characteristics. The current study aimed at modeling habitat suitability for seven focal speci...

Taking an area of about 2.3×10⁴ km² of southeastern Iran, this study aims to detect and predict regional-scale salt-affected lands. Three sets of Landsat images, each set containing 4 images for 1986, 2000, and 2015 were acquired as the main source of data. Radiometric, atmospheric and cutline blending methods were used to improve the quality of im...

This study sought to investigate the feasibility of using field data and remote sensing structural and functional indices in the evaluation and monitoring of semi-steppe rangelands of Isfahan Province, Iran. The study area was first divided into 40 sub-catchments, and rangeland conditions in each sub-catchment were classified into three classes usi...

This article assessed the patterns and determinants of human-carnivore conflicts and local attitudes toward carnivores in 18 villages in eastern Isfahan Province, Central Iran. Livestock depredation by carnivores was common, representing a total loss of 3% and 13% of sheep and poultry population, respectively. Over 93% depredation events were attri...

One of the most serious challenges facing biodiversity conservation is associated with the efficiency of protected areas for conserving biodiversity under future climate change. To address it, conservationists recommend shifting conservation planning from just focusing on protecting animal populations and their present habitat to including areas of...

One of the primary reason of species extinction especially rare species with very specific requirements, is habitat destruction. To protect these species, habitat suitability evaluation plays a central role. Hence, an attempt is made in this study to evaluate the suitability of sand cat’s habitat in a sand dune-dominated landscape in Iran. Four Lan...

Climate change is expected to become one of the greatest driver of biodiversity loss (Thomas et al.,2004). Mitigating the impacts of climate change is considered as the most effective way to reduce the threats of climate change to biodiversity however, there will always be some amount of current and future change in climate that is certain to occur...

Dams provide benefits for human societies, but now they are considered as one of the most important factors influencing habitat degradation and changing the hydrological water flow. In order to study the ecological effects of Zayandehroud Dam on the benthic communities and water quality of Zayandehroud river, six sampling stations were selected on...

Development of roads can have deleterious effects on natural habitats containing species of conservation concern. Fragmentation of habitat into small, non-contiguous patches may result in dramatic population declinesThus appropriate studies quantifying ecological impacts of roads at landscape scale are essential. The main goal of this study was eco...

Development of roads can have deleterious effects on natural habitats containing species of conservation concern. Fragmentation of habitat into small, non-contiguous patches may result in dramatic population declines. Thus appropriate studies quantifying ecological impacts of roads at landscape scale are essential. In this study, the Spatial Road D...

Monitoring and assessing marine biodiversity relies upon adequate and accurate knowledge of population and distribution patterns of ecologically important species. Cetaceans are recognised both as functionally important and as flagship species and have been the target of monitoring and conservation programs. The habitat specialist Indian Ocean hump...

Lorestan newt (Neurergus kaiseri) is an endemic species which has restricted dispersal in southern Zagros Mountains in Iran, and it is listed as critically endangered in IUCN red list. Today the populations of this species are decreasing and facing serious threats. In this study, habitat suitability of Neurergus kaiseri was evaluated using a MaxEnt...

The landscape patterns due to urbanization effect processes at local, regional, and global scales. The main objective of this study was to zoning landscape by mapping technique landscape metrics with the hexagonal network. Land-cover map of the area were prepared using the supervised maximum likelihood classification of Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)...

Land cover/land use changes are among the most important factors altering the Earth surface. Accurate monitoring of these changes is important to understand the relationship between man and nature to provide decision-makers with relevant information. The main goal of this study was to quantify the changes of landscape patterns in Khomeyni Shahr Cou...

In the recent years, International Anzali wetland has been exposed to changes by dumping sewage water, land uses changes and sediment deposition that caused the reduction of the wetland depth and the aquatic growing up. In this study, the effects of land uses changes on wetland's water quality was investigated from 1985 to 2014 by determining the l...

The protected areas system in Iran is faced with many challenges even without climate change. The combined effects of climate change and land use change is the most important conservation challenge we face. As a background to this work, we summarizes information on the current situation in Iran with respect to the distribution and efficacy of prote...

Water quality of wetlands is strongly influenced by human actions at landscape scale including land use /cover types, and their spatial configuration. Choghakhor Wetland is considered to be one of the most important Ramsar sites in Iran and designated as the 23rd Wetland of International Importance in Iran. The main goal of this study was to quanti...

Caucasian black grouse (Tetrao mlokosiewiczi) is on the 'red' list of species of high conservation concern as nearest threatened (NT) and also in level (I) of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The black grouse distribution range in Iran is restricted to the Arasbaran region, Northwest of Iran,...

The combined effects of climate change and existing human-caused stresses to natural systems, such as habitat fragmentation and land use change are the most important conservation challenge we face. Maintaining connectivity is the most recommended strategy for conserving species in onset of climate change. Improving connectivity is not only strateg...

Large scale land use/cover changes and habitat fragmentation is a major factor in the distribution and functioning of ecosystems. For analysis the relationship between land use changes and their impacts on biodiversity, land cover and land use information is needed at different scales. The main goal of this study was to quantify the land use/ cover...

One of the most important approaches for policymaking 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 conservat...

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 straightfor...

Accelerating urban growth and land use/cover changes places increasingly pressure on the natural environment and human welfare and have become a global concern. Iran, as a developing country, is also experiencing growth of its urban areas during the last decades by high rate of rural– urban migration along with rapid socioeconomic and political cha...

Large scale land use/cover changes and habitat fragmentation have been associated with the decline of many wildlife populations in ecological sensitive regions. The main goal of this study was to quantify the spatial pattern changes in Caucasian Black Grouse habitat in Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve, Northwest of Iran in a period of 24 years (1987–201...

Spatially explicit threat assessments can be critical in understanding the impact of threats on biodiversity; they enable better predictions of the magnitude and type of biodiversity loss, better priority setting, and better conservation triage. So in this study the Environmental Risk Surface was applied to produce map of the spatial distribution o...

Similarity in species composition between sites typically decreases with geographical distance due to a decrease in environmental similarity or due to dispersal limitation. However, Geographical distance similarity relationships may be non-linear and vary between different types of habitats, different groups of organisms, different geographical gra...

Land cover/ use changes are happening rapidly in most of the terrestrial ecosystems. Accurate monitoring of these changes is important to understand the relationship between man and nature to provide decision-makers with relevant information. The main goal of this study was to quantify the changes in landscape patterns in Najaf Abad County during t...

Urbanization and urban land-use transitions are a global concern and one of the greatest challenges for ensuring human welfare. The landscape patterns due to urbanization effect processes at local, regional, and global scales. Quantifying the spatiotemporal pattern of urbanization is significant for understanding its ecological impacts and can supp...

Water quality of rivers is strongly influenced by landscape characteristics of their watershed, including land use /cover types, and their spatial configuration. This research evaluates the effects of land cover changes on the water quality of the Zayandehroud River, which is the most important river in the center of Iran. The main goal of this stu...

The modeling of ecological connectivity of habitat patches and incorporating it into conservation planning efforts requires quantifying how connectivity is affected by landscape patterns. Recently, concepts and algorithms from electrical circuit theory have been adapted to predict patterns of movement, gene flow, and genetic differentiation among w...

Development of roads through protected areas and ecological sensitive regions can have catastrophic effects on wildlife. In Iran, road construction in sensitive habitats and protected areas has been expanding during the past decades. This study focuses on the ecological impacts of Isfahan’s west ringway, which passes through Ghamishloo wildlife ref...

It has been predicted that Europe will experience a rise in temperature of 2.2–5.3 °C within this century. This increase in temperature may lead to vegetation change along altitudinal gradients. To test whether vegetation composition has already changed in the recent decade due to current warming (and other concomitant environmental changes), we re...