Journal of Natural Environment

Assessment of destruction through sustainability of urban forest ecosystem (Case study: Deciduous of Sorkhe Hesar forest park)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D in Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran

2 Professor of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran

3 Associate prof. of Forestry, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran

4 Assistant prof. Iranian Space Agency, Space Research Institute

Abstract

Due to the different factors and complexity of their effects on healthy and sustainability of urban forest, this study has been tried by means of determining effective factors in ecosystem, and dividing Sorkhe Hesar man made forest park to homogeneous units according to natural factors (slope, aspect, high, soil depth, mixture and pure planting system) and human factors (amount of irrigation and outdoor recreation intensity), has been investigated their effects on ecosystem sustainability. Deciduous quantity and quality including Fraxinus rotundifolia, Cercis siliquastrum, Platanus orientalis and Robinia pseudoacaia were studied. Evaluation criteria of homogeneous units were height, basal area, crown diameter, crown simultaneity, vitality, herbal layer density and canopy density. Analyses of results showed complexity of factors have been affected on site healthy and sustainability, while mixture and pure planting system, slope and soil depth are the most important limiting factors. In fact with decreasing the soil depth and increasing slope around more than 15 percent, site allocation to intensive recreation usage, would destroy intensely. Also, researches showed that in the similar condition Cercis siliquastrum is more sustainable than Fraxinus rotundifolia, Platanus orientalis and Robinia pseudoacaia.

Keywords

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Journal of Natural Environment
Volume 67, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
January 2015
Pages 381-390