List of Articles Landscape changes

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  1 - Investigating the Quantitative Trend of Land Changes in Kermanshah Province (Case Study: Gharesou and Mereg Watershed (in years 1984, 2000, and 2016))
  Fatemeh Mardani Yaghouti Mehrdad Khanmohammadi Peyman Karami
  10.22034/jest.2018.28911.3762
  Background and Objectives:  Human activities change land cover at unprecedented speeds and large spatial scales. The rapid changes in ecosystems in recent decades have been more along all the human history and have led to unprecedented changes in ecosystems and env More

  Background and Objectives:  Human activities change land cover at unprecedented speeds and large spatial scales. The rapid changes in ecosystems in recent decades have been more along all the human history and have led to unprecedented changes in ecosystems and environmental performance at local, regional and global scales. This research aims to investigate the process of landscape quantitative changes in Gharesou and Mereg watersheds. Investigation method: For monitoring changes, Landsat satellite imagery of 1984 (TM), 2000 (ETM+) and 2016 (OLI-TIRS) were used. The classification was performed using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. Land cover was classified into seven categories. Metrics PLAND, NP (Number of Patch), PD (Patch Density), and ED (Edge Density) at the Level of Class, NP, LPI (Largest Patch Index), CONTAG (Contagion), and SHDI (Shannon's diversity index) were calculated at the level of Landscape for the study area. Results: The results indicate that the highest percentage of the land cover belongs to agricultural lands and then medium rangelands. The numbers of patches of agricultural land in the period of 1984-2004 has increased due to the conversion of rangelands to agricultural lands and then between years 2000-2016 have decreased due to the conversion to medium ranges with a lesser rate. The number of forest patches in the first period has decreased because of conversion to medium rangelands and increased during the second period. Conclusion: The study of the landscape metrics indicates the increase in continuity, the reduction of fragmentation and diversity in the first time period, and in contrast, in the second time period, continuity has decreased and fragmentation and diversity have increased. Given the fact that the process of landscape changes varies over two different periods, it can generally be noted that the fragmentation and diversity of the landscape have declined and the spatial continuity has increased. Manuscript profile
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  2 - Examining changes in the ecological structure of four hills in Sanandaj using object-oriented method and metrics of continuity and complexity
  Milad Zandsalimi Bakhtiar Bahrami
  10.22034/jest.2021.59586.5330
  Background and Objective: Hills, as one of the main components of the ecological structure in a hilly town, are influenced by human actions and affect them. The landscape Ecology Approach examines diverse ecosystems at different scales and balances human actions and nat More

  Background and Objective: Hills, as one of the main components of the ecological structure in a hilly town, are influenced by human actions and affect them. The landscape Ecology Approach examines diverse ecosystems at different scales and balances human actions and natural processes. In this study, changes in the ecological structure of four significant hills in Sanandaj (Tosonozar, Nishtman, Mellat, and Didgah) were investigated using Google Earth images and two ecological metrics over 16 years (2020-2004). Material and Methodology: The ecological structure of these hills was investigated by object-oriented method in six classification categories and their changes. Also, by using FRAGSTATS 4.2 software, the status of two ecological indicators, FRAC and CONTIGH, were calculated and checked in the hills until 6/20/2019. Findings: Man-made elements have increased (19%) in all hills, especially in Nishtman. Also, rangeland cover has decreased (32%), especially in Tusunozar and Nazgah hills. The complexity of landscape spots in all hills except Toos-Nozar has increased. Also, the continuity Toos-Nozar has decreased except Toos-Nozar hill. Discussion and Conclusion: The elimination of pastures and plant species, the increase in recent fires and droughts, and the increase in human interventions such as construction and motorways, the cohesion and ecological flows of these hills have posed a severe threat. Simplification while homogeneity of landscape components in Toos-Nozar hill indicates the distance of landscape components from their natural state. The decrease in continuity in the three hills, including Mellat, Didgah, and Nishtman, indicates an increase in fragmentation and discontinuity in these hills' natural landscapes. Manuscript profile