The aim of this study was to develop an optimal sustainable forest plantation based on goal programming and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods. This study was carried out in Guilan province, north of Iran. First of all, the ecological capability of the study area for plantation establishment/maintenance was evaluated based on multi-factor method and specific ecological Makhdoum Model by ...

The mid-altitude zone of the Qinling Mountains in China was once dominated by birch and pine-oak belts but are now mainly covered by secondary growth following large-scale deforestation. Assessing the recovery and sustainability of these forests is essential for their management and restoration. We investigated and compared the tree species composition and community assemblages of secondary for...

The mass-extinction episode underway is largely centered on tropical forests, insofar as they contain at least half of all Earth's species and they are being depleted faster than any other biome. But species distributions and depletion patterns are anything but uniform throughout the biome. This paper identifies 10 areas that a) are characterized by exceptional concentrations of species with ...

this report is part of a national project for gathering and classifying the arthropod seed feeders in different provinces of iran between 2008–2014. in this paper, nineteen host species with their areas of distribution are presented for twelve species of seed beetles (chrysomelidae: bruchinae). most of the identified host plants (84%) belong to the family fabaceae (leguminosae). in addition, al...

Understory herb communities in the Southern Appalachians are among the highest biodiversity plant communities in North America. In the mid-1990s, a debate began over whether understory herb communities recover to their pre-disturbance states following logging. Studies showing reduced herb-layer diversity in previously logged forests were criticized for not accounting for intersite environmental...

Two conservation goals of the early 20th century, extensive reforestation and reduced wildfire through fire exclusion, may have contributed to declining pollinator abundance as forests became denser and shrub covered. To examine how forest structure affects bees we selected 5 stands in each of 7 forest types including: cleared forest; dense young pines; thinned young pines; mature open pine wit...

Private forests harbor considerable biodiversity, however, they are under greater threat than reserved areas, particularly from urbanization, agriculture, and intense exploitation for timber and fuel wood. The extent to which they may act as habitats for biodiversity and how level of protection impacts trends in biodiversity and forest structure over time remain underresearched. We contribute t...