Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak Forest
Forest nationalization policies in developing countries have often led to a reduction in local forest ownership rights and short- or long-term exploitative behaviors of stakeholders. The purpose of this research is to quantify the effect of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law (FNL) in a part of Zagros...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Sensors |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/2/871 |
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| author | Hadi Beygi Heidarlou Abbas Banj Shafiei Vahid Nasiri Mihai Daniel Niţă Stelian Alexandru Borz David Lopez-Carr |
| author_facet | Hadi Beygi Heidarlou Abbas Banj Shafiei Vahid Nasiri Mihai Daniel Niţă Stelian Alexandru Borz David Lopez-Carr |
| author_sort | Hadi Beygi Heidarlou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Forest nationalization policies in developing countries have often led to a reduction in local forest ownership rights and short- or long-term exploitative behaviors of stakeholders. The purpose of this research is to quantify the effect of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law (FNL) in a part of Zagros Forest over a 68-year time period (1955–2022) using 1955 historical aerial photos, 1968 Corona spy satellite photography, and classification of multi-temporal Landsat satellite images. A past classification change detection technique was used to identify the extent and the pattern of land use changes in time. For this purpose, six periods were defined, to cover the time before and after the implementation of FNL. A 0.27% deforestation trend was identified over the period after the FNL. Dense and open forested area has decreased from 7175.62 ha and 68,927.46 ha in 1955 to 5664.26 ha and 59,223.38 ha in 2022. The FNL brought decisive changes in the legal and forest management systems at the state level, mainly by giving their ownership to the state. Accordingly, the FNL and the related conservation plans have not fully succeeded in protecting, rehabilitating, recovering, and developing the sparse Zagros Forest ecosystems, as their most important goals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:17:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a03afdadfa41429ebcecfa15765d4df9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:17:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-a03afdadfa41429ebcecfa15765d4df92023-12-01T00:29:02ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-01-0123287110.3390/s23020871Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak ForestHadi Beygi Heidarlou0Abbas Banj Shafiei1Vahid Nasiri2Mihai Daniel Niţă3Stelian Alexandru Borz4David Lopez-Carr5Department of Forest Engineering, Forest Management Planning and Terrestrial Measurements, Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Sirul Beethoven 1, 500123 Brașov, RomaniaForestry Department, Faculty of Natural Resources, Urmia University, Urmia P.O. Box 165, IranFaculty of Civil Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Turnului 5, 900152 Brașov, RomaniaDepartment of Forest Engineering, Forest Management Planning and Terrestrial Measurements, Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Sirul Beethoven 1, 500123 Brașov, RomaniaDepartment of Forest Engineering, Forest Management Planning and Terrestrial Measurements, Faculty of Silviculture and Forest Engineering, Transilvania University of Brasov, Sirul Beethoven 1, 500123 Brașov, RomaniaDepartment of Geography, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USAForest nationalization policies in developing countries have often led to a reduction in local forest ownership rights and short- or long-term exploitative behaviors of stakeholders. The purpose of this research is to quantify the effect of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law (FNL) in a part of Zagros Forest over a 68-year time period (1955–2022) using 1955 historical aerial photos, 1968 Corona spy satellite photography, and classification of multi-temporal Landsat satellite images. A past classification change detection technique was used to identify the extent and the pattern of land use changes in time. For this purpose, six periods were defined, to cover the time before and after the implementation of FNL. A 0.27% deforestation trend was identified over the period after the FNL. Dense and open forested area has decreased from 7175.62 ha and 68,927.46 ha in 1955 to 5664.26 ha and 59,223.38 ha in 2022. The FNL brought decisive changes in the legal and forest management systems at the state level, mainly by giving their ownership to the state. Accordingly, the FNL and the related conservation plans have not fully succeeded in protecting, rehabilitating, recovering, and developing the sparse Zagros Forest ecosystems, as their most important goals.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/2/871change detectionconservation policiesdeclassified satellite photographyGoogle Earth Enginehistorical aerial photosmachine learning |
| spellingShingle | Hadi Beygi Heidarlou Abbas Banj Shafiei Vahid Nasiri Mihai Daniel Niţă Stelian Alexandru Borz David Lopez-Carr Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak Forest Sensors change detection conservation policies declassified satellite photography Google Earth Engine historical aerial photos machine learning |
| title | Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak Forest |
| title_full | Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak Forest |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak Forest |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak Forest |
| title_short | Impact of Iran’s Forest Nationalization Law on Forest Cover Changes over Six Decades: A Case Study of a Zagros Sparse Coppice Oak Forest |
| title_sort | impact of iran s forest nationalization law on forest cover changes over six decades a case study of a zagros sparse coppice oak forest |
| topic | change detection conservation policies declassified satellite photography Google Earth Engine historical aerial photos machine learning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/23/2/871 |
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