Concentration of Particulate Matter below 10 and 2.5 Micron in air of Shiraz, Iran

According to the United Nations Environment Programme, particulate matter is the most important air pollutant in large cities around the world, released from many sources into the air. Since one of the main causes of air pollution in Shiraz is also particulate matter, monitoring the particles is necessary to develop control programs; therefore the aim of this study was to measure the concentration of particulate matter less than 10 and 2.5micron in air of Shiraz and compare same with EPA and National Standards. In this study, 45 stations were selected and sampling was performed in mornings and afternoons using Dust trak device. So during three sampling months (June, July and August), 90 samples for PM2.5 (45 in morningd and 45 in afternoons) and 90 samples for PM10 (45 in mornings and 45 in afternoons) and a total of 180 samples were taken. During the sampling for PM10, July with an average of 17.1μg/m3 was the spottiest month and August with an average of 13μg/m3 was the cleanest month. Also for PM2.5, July with an average of 11μg/m3 was the spottiest month and August with an average of 8.67μg/m3 was the cleanest month. Results showed that the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 was less than standards in most cases.Keywords: Air pollution, Standards, Particulate matte

Economic importance and GIS mapping of medicinal plants in Iran: A Case study of Darkesh

Iran with a wide diversity of wild medicinal plants (8,000 Medicinal plants) is increasingly becoming a valuable source of household income for many rural people. We showed that economic potential of the wild medicinal plant and their contribution to the local people’s livelihoods. This study identified the economic importance of medicinal plants and evaluated with Geographical Information System (GIS) tool to develop spatial maps covering medicinal plants prevalent in Darkesh area, Northern Khorasan, Iran. Then provide the coordinates of the identified area as your results. 10 medicinal plants belonging to 4 families were collected and its geographical distribution is illustrated in the GIS map. More than 50 species were collected and 10 species being the most frequently collected in this area. Most plants were collected in the form of whole plant. It was estimated that at least 18.000 USD are being annually traded in study area, the 10 species most frequently collected contributing most of the retail value. Results from this study indicate that the collection of certain medicinal plants could be increased livelihood for edge community of natural resources. Also, the geographical location of medicinal plants facilitates easy access of medicinal plant's natural habitat and would help to find out potential of medicinal plants in the study area.Keywords: Medicinal plants, Geographical distribution, GIS Mapping, Darkesh, Ira

Sustainable forest management through floristic study (Case study: Darkesh Forest, Northern Khorasan Province, Iran)

Floristic study of plants in each site is one the most important role in keeping natural resources of each country. Plant species were collected from field sites that representing major habitats of study area. Surveys were managed during active growth periods in 2013 and 2014. A total of 140 medicinal plant species were documented. These species were scattered in 39 families and 116 genera. Families of Lamiaceae with 26 species, Asteraceae with 21 species and Rosaceae with 13 species were the most dominant families of medicinal plants in the study area. Hemicryphtophytes with 40%, therophytes with 18.4%, geophytes with 14.25%, phanerophytes with 13.57% and chamaephytes with 6.42%. The phyto-geographically of the medicinal plant showed that these species belonging to the regions of Irano-Turanian, Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean. The results of the present study showed that medicinal plants and wild fruit as Non Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) documented in this study, play an important role in the rural community welfare and sustainable forest management

Prioritizing of effective factors on development of medicinal plants cultivation using analytic network process

For the overall development of medicinal plants cultivation in Iran, there is a need to identify various effective factors on medicinal plant cultivation. A proper method for identifying the most effective factor on the development of the medicinal plants cultivation is essential. This research conducted in order to prioritizing of the effective criteria for the development of medicinal plant cultivation in North Khorasan province in Iran using Analytical Network Process (ANP) method. The multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) is suggested to be a viable method for factor selection and the analytic network process (ANP) has been used as a tool for MCDM. For this purpose a list of effective factors offered to expert group. Then pair wise comparison questionnaires were distributed between relevant researchers and local producer experts of province to get their opinions about the priority of criteria and sub- criteria. The questionnaires were analyzed using Super Decision software. We illustrated the use of the ANP by ranking main effective factors such as economic, educational-extension services, cultural-social and supportive policies on development of medicinal plants. The main objective of the present study was to develop ANP as a decision making tool for prioritizing factors affecting the development of medicinal plants cultivation. Results showed that the ANP methodology was perfectly suited to tackling the complex interrelations involved in selection factor in this case. Also the results of the process revealed that among the factors, supporting the cultivation of medicinal plants, build the infrastructure for marketing support, having educated farmer and easy access to production input have most impact on the development of medicinal plant cultivation

Potential cultivation areas of Saffron and its economic effects on forest dwellers welfare

The maintenance of natural forest and forest dwellers welfare are vital to biodiversity conservation. For this purpose, introducing of Saffron cultivation as innovation in agricultural activities outside of the forest could be a key factor. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to determine the agronomic suitability and the appropriate spatial pattern for the Saffron cultivation. Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to identify suitable areas for Saffron cultivation in the North of Khorasan Province, Iran. Relevant environment components such as climate factors (temperature and rainfall), topography (Digital Elevation Model and slope) and land-use were considered. The results of this study were specially looking for potential cultivation areas for expanding Saffron and to develop suitable map for Saffron cultivation. We found that 69% (1887 ha) of agricultural land have currently suitable for Saffron cultivation in North of Khorasan, Iran. The map of land suitability for cultivation of Saffron can be practiced for improving livelihood and forest conservation