Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Changes in Ecological Sources Identified Using the Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) Method and Ecosystem Services Assessment in the Hyrcanian Forests

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Environmental Planning, Management and HSE, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Disaster Engineering, Education and Environmental Systems, Faculty of Environment, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.22059/jes.2025.387395.1008564

Abstract

Objective: The issues of loss and fragmentation of forest habitats are significant challenges diminishing the resilience of these ecosystems. The identification of ecological source regions is crucial for enhancing landscape connectivity and building ecological networks. These regions not only provide suitable habitats for species but are also essential in sustaining ecological processes and functions. This study employed a combination of morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and ecosystem service assessment to identify critical locations for sustaining ecological connectivity and providing multiple ecosystem services within the ecological networks. Ecological sources were, thus, identified, and their temporal trends were assessed for the years 2002, 2013, and 2022.
Method: In order to meet the research objectives, InVEST software was used to model ecosystem services, including carbon sequestration, flood retention, and habitat quality. The results of these models were integrated using the fuzzy weighted overlay method. Subsequently, the core areas that were determined by the MSPA method were integrated with the regions that provided the most ecosystem services. Temporal changes in these areas were then analyzed by examining 20 years of data. To provide a thorough method aimed at locating regions that have not been impacted by human-induced degradation, a set of threat factors were also used in the habitat quality mapping process, in which the use of the Nighttime Light Index and Impervious Surface Index specifically played a pivotal role in identifying high-quality habitats.
Results: According to the derived results of the temporal change analysis, it was demonstrated that ecological sources shrank by 29,053 hectares during the study period, and the counties of Abbasabad, Chalous, and Nowshahr witnessed the highest declines. The analysis of land cover changes in 2002, 2013, and 2022 revealed that built-up areas increased by 12,473 hectares and agricultural land by 7,156 hectares, while forest area decreased by 32,723 hectares. Moreover, the results of the morphological spatial pattern analysis indicated that the core class had the largest share in the study area during the period of investigation. The results of this study also illustrated that in 20 years, the habitat quality within the area had declined. The greatest reduction in habitat quality occurred in the northern coastal areas of the study area, which were influenced by human-made land cover and road networks, acting as serious threats to wildlife.
Conclusions: According to the results, assessing how multiple ecosystem services are distributed spatially is crucial in effective conservation planning. These findings can play an important role in planning and conserving key patches of the Hyrcanian forests and assist policymakers and managers in the sustainable management of these areas. 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

خیرخواه قهی، نسیم.؛ ملک‌محمدی، بهرام و جعفری، حمیدرضا (1400). ارزیابی سنجه‌های ارتباطات سیمای سرزمین و کیفیت زیستگاه برای شناسایی لکه‌های زیستگاهی کلیدی قوچ و میش البرز مرکزی (مطالعه موردی: منطقه حفاظت شده ورجین، تهران). فصلنامه علوم محیطی، 19(3)، 23-40.‎ https://doi.org/10.52547/envs.2021.31778
دستی‌گردی، مرتضی؛ نادری، مهدی؛ شامگانی مشهدی، بهاره؛ حاتمی‌پور، محدثه و مهدوی امرئی، امید (1403). تحلیل روند پوشش گیاهی در استان مازندران با تاکید بر تغییرات کاربری اراضی با استفاده از سری زمانی NDVI سنجنده مودیس. پژوهش‌نامه مدیریت حوزه آبخیز، 15(2)، 105-118. https://doi.org/10.61186/jwmr.15.2.105  
سادات، مهدیس؛ صالحی، اسماعیل؛ امیری، محمدجواد و احسانی، امیرهوشنگ (1399). بهینه‌سازی ساختار سیمای سرزمین با رویکرد تجزیه تحلیل شبکه اکولوژیک و تئوری گراف. محیط‌شناسی، 46(4)، 625-644.‎ https://doi.org/10.22059/jes.2021.323284.1008169
موحد، سپیده و طبیبیان، منوچهر (1397). بررسی تغییرات شبکه اکولوژیک و نقش آن در تاب‌آوری اکولوژیکی کلانشهر مشهد. محیط‌شناسی، 44(2)، 373-394.‎ https://doi.org/10.22059/jes.2018.236242.1007458
 An, Y., Liu, S., Sun, Y., Shi, F., & Beazley, R. (2020). Construction and optimization of an ecological network based on morphological spatial pattern analysis and circuit theory. Landscape Ecology, 36(7), 2059–2076. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01027-3
Ansari, A., Ghorbanpour, M., Kazemi, A., & Kariman, K. (2023). Ecological assessment of Iran’s terrestrial biomes for wildlife conservation. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 17761. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45120-4
Asadolahi, Z., Salmanmahiny, A., & Sakieh, Y. (2017). Hyrcanian forests conservation based on ecosystem services approach. Environmental Earth Sciences, 76, 1-18. https://doi:10.1007/s12665-017-6702-x
Beier, P. (2006). Effects of artificial night lighting on terrestrial mammals. InEcological Consequences of Artificial Night Lighting; Rich, C.,Longcore, T., Eds.; Island Press: Washington, DC, USA; pp. 19–42.
Dadashpoor, H., & Salarian, F. (2020). Urban sprawl on natural lands: Analyzing and predicting the trend of land use changes and sprawl in Mazandaran city region, Iran. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 22, 593-614. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-018-0211-2
Dastigerdi, M., Nadi, M., Shamgani Mashhadi, B., & Hatamipour, M. (2024). Analysis of Vegetation Trend in Mazandaran Province with an Emphasis on Land Use Changes Using MODIS NDVI Time Series. Journal of Watershed Management Research, 105-118. https://doi.org/10.61186/jwmr.15.2.105 [in Persian]
Dos Santos, A. R., Araújo, E. F., Barros, Q. S., Fernandes, M. M., de Moura Fernandes, M. R., Moreira, T. R., ... & de AlmeidaTelles, L. A. (2020). Fuzzy concept applied in determining potential forest fragments for deployment of a network of ecological corridors in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Ecological Indicators, 115, 106423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106423
Fang, Z., Ding, T., Chen, J., Xue, S., Zhou, Q., Wang, Y., ... & Yang, S. (2022). Impacts of land use/land cover changes on ecosystem services in ecologically fragile regions. Science of the Total Environment, 831, 154967. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154967
Forzieri, G., Dakos, V., McDowell, N. G., Ramdane, A., & Cescatti, A. (2022). Emerging signals of declining forest resilience under climate change. Nature, 608(7923), 534-539. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-04959-9
Guan, H., Bai, Y., Tang, Y., Zhang, C., & Zou, J. (2023). Spatial identification and optimization of ecological network in desert-oasis area of Yellow River Basin, China. Ecological Indicators, 147, 109999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109999
Grantham, H. S., Duncan, A., Evans, T. D., Jones, K. R., Beyer, H. L., Schuster, R., ... & Watson, J. E. M. (2020). Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity. Nature communications, 11(1), 5978. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3
Hosseini, S., Amirnejad, H., & Azadi, H. (2024). Impacts of Hyrcanian forest ecosystem loss: the case of Northern Iran. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-04408-1
Kheirkhah Ghahi, M., Malek Mohammadi, B., & Jafari, R. (2021). Evaluating landscape connectivity metrics and habitat quality to identify key habitat patches for urial (Ovis vignei) in the central Alborz region (Case study: Varjin Protected Area, Tehran). Advanced Environmental Sciences, 19(3), 23-40. https://doi.org/10.52547/envs.2021.31778 [in Persian]
Martensen, A. C., Saura, S., & Fortin, M. (2017). Spatio‐temporal connectivity: Assessing the amount of reachable habitat in dynamic landscapes. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 8(10), 1253–1264. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12799
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005). Ecosystems and human well-being: Scenarios: Findings of the Scenarios Working Group (Vol. 2). Island Press.
Movahed, S., & Tabibian, M. (2018). Investigating the changes of ecological network and its role in the ecological resilience of Mashhad city. Journal of Environmental Studies, 44(2), 373-394. https://doi.org/10.22059/jes.2018.236242.1007458 [in Persian]
Opdam, P., Steingröver, E., & Rooij, S. V. (2006). Ecological networks: A spatial concept for multi-actor planning of sustainable landscapes. Landscape and Urban Planning, 75(3–4), 322–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2005.02.015
Peng, J., Yang, Y., Liu, Y., Hu, Y., Du, Y., Meersmans, J., & Qiu, S. (2018). Linking ecosystem services and circuit theory to identify ecological security patterns. Science of The Total Environment, 644, 781–790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.292
Sadat, M., Salehi, E., Amiri, M. J., & Ehsani, A. H. (2023). Spatiotemporal ecosystem services: Response to structural changes (A case study in Lahijan, Iran). Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4843
Sadat, M., Salehi, E., Amiri, M. J., & Ehsani, A. H. (2020). Optimization of Landscape Structure Using an Ecological Network Analysis and Graph Theory Approach. Journal of Environmental Studies, 46(4), 625-644. https://doi.org/10.22059/jes.2021.323284.1008169 [in Persian]
Sharp, R., Tallis, H. T., Ricketts, T., Guerry, A. D., Wood, S. A., Chaplin-Kramer, R., Nelson, E., Ennaanay, D., Wolny, S., Olwero, N., Vigerstol, K., Pennington, D., Mendoza, G., Aukema, J., Foster, J., Forrest, J., Cameron, D., Arkema, K., Lonsdorf, E., ... & Daily, G. C. (2018). InVEST 3.6.0 User's Guide. The Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, University of Minnesota, The Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund.
Tannier, C., Bourgeois, M., Houot, H., & Foltête, J. C. (2016). Impact of urban developments on the functional connectivity of forested habitats: A joint contribution of advanced urban models and landscape graphs. Land Use Policy, 52, 76–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.12.002
Urban, D., & Keitt, T. (2001). LANDSCAPE CONNECTIVITY: A GRAPH-THEORETIC PERSPECTIVE. Ecology, 82(5), 1205–1218. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658
USDA. (1986). Urban hydrology for small watersheds. Washington DC.
Vogt, P., Riitters, K.H., Iwanowski, M., Estreguil, C., Kozak, J., Soille, P. (2007). Mapping landscape corridors. Ecol. Ind. 7 (2), 481–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ecolind.2006.11.001
Yang, J., Wang, Y., Xiu, C., Xiao, X., Xia, J., & Jin, C. (2020). Optimizing local climate zones to mitigate urban heat island effect in human settlements. Journal of Cleaner Production, 275, 123767. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123767
Zhai, T., & Huang, L. (2022). Linking MSPA and Circuit Theory to Identify the Spatial Range of Ecological Networks and Its Priority Areas for Conservation and Restoration in Urban Agglomeration. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 828979. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.828979
Xu, H. (2010). Analysis of impervious surface and its impact on urban heat environment using the normalized difference impervious surface index (NDISI). Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing, 76(5), 557-565. https://doi.org/10.14358/PERS.76.5.557
Journal of Environmental Studies
Volume 51, Issue 4
March 2026
Pages 411-430

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics