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DPSIR framework priorities and its application to forest management: a fuzzy modeling

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Abstract

The main aim of this research was to quantify the parameters related to forest situation (according to DPSIR framework) using decision-making processes and fuzzy methods in the Zagros forests of Iran. In this study, the situation factors (e.g., socioeconomic, biophysical, and environmental factors) were evaluated by fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) using \(\alpha\)-cuts in addition to the Chang method for fuzzy pairwise comparisons. The results of the study clearly illustrate that the decision-making process is the most important input in forest management planning in the Zagros forests, Iran. In such situations, decision-making techniques can be of great help in differentiating the factors influencing decision-making and policy-making for these forests. We found that \(\alpha\)-cuts could improve the quality of the decision-making process, but only after secondary analysis. Initially, we did not find any significant difference in the results between \(\alpha\)-cuts and research results, but using the differences in rankings, we could identify a significant difference. We propose that this method, which requires lengthy calculations to get the answer, should only be used by forest managers when the quality of the results and the difference between the parameters are very important to them; otherwise, they may be able to achieve the same desired results in a much easier way.

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For further information, please contact the corresponding author (mehdi.zandebasiri@yahoo.com).

Abbreviations

AHP:

Analytic hierarchy process

DPSIR:

Driving forces, pressures, state, impact, responses

FMP:

Forest management plan

FSE:

Fuzzy synthetic extent

MCDM:

Multi criteria decision making

SWOT:

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

ANP:

Analytic network process

FAHP:

Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process

FMU:

Forest management unit

MADM:

Multi attribute decision making

NGOs:

Non-governmental organizations

TFN:

Triangular fuzzy number

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Zandbassiri’s doctoral thesis at Lorestan University, Iran, focused on the issue of forest decline. This research, as an independent study, is outside of his doctoral thesis and focuses on quantifying the results of the strategies needed to reduce forest decline with fuzzy MCDM. We thank the experts who helped us in weighting the DPSIR factors and two anonymous reviewers as well for their helpful comments. Petra Grošelj also acknowledges the financial support of the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding No. P4-0059).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Division of Natural Resources, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Shahrekord, I.R., Iran

    Mehdi Zandebasiri

  2. Behbahan Khatam Al-Anbia University of Technology, Behbahan, Iran

    Mehdi Zandebasiri

  3. Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Petra Groselj

  4. Research Group Climate Change and Security, Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Hossein Azadi

  5. Department of Geography, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Hossein Azadi

  6. Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Hossein Azadi

  7. Department of Biological and Environmental Science and Technology, University of Salento, Prov.le Lecce-Monteroni, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Francesca Serio

  8. Department of Management, Hazrat-e Masoumeh University , Qom, Iran

    Roohollah Abbasi Shureshjani

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  1. Mehdi Zandebasiri
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Appendix

Appendix

Livestock grazing in the forest is one of the problems of Zagros forests in Iran. This issue causes both soil weakness and the elimination of sexual reproduction in the forest. Nowadays, the Zagros forests of Iran are mainly coppice forests (such as show in Fig. 6). Coppice forests can reduce the tree species richness (Vacik et al., 2009), but the problem in the Zagros forest is that the possibility of turning these forests into high forests is low due to socioeconomic problems (Ghazanfari et al., 2004; Valipour et al., 2014; Imani Rastabi et al., 2015). In some areas, there is a combination of coppice with standard tree species richness, but many single stems are the oldest shoots of the past.

Fig. 6
figure 6

Coppice trees at Tange-Solak local area in the Zagros region

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One of the visible conditions in the Zagros forests is rock outcrops and soil erosion. In some cases, the ground is barely covered by forest trees and there are many pebbles on the ground of oak stands (such as shown in Fig. 7). This specifies the need for protection in such areas.

Fig. 7
figure 7

Little ground covers for the trees at Tange-Solak local area in the Zagros region

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Soil weakness is the main impact of these pressures and drivers. In this paper, “soil weakness” consists of loss of microorganisms in soil (such as earthworm), lack of surface cover, and lack of stability. This impact involves weakness in various productions, lack of stability and environmental capabilities, and reducing social welfare which originated from the lack of soil productivity. This can be attributed to the importance of soil for seed regeneration, an issue that Zagros forests suffer from. The weakness of the soil can also be caused by the grazing of the cattle, the lack of crown cover, and the dryness of the air. For about 10 years, the decline of the oak has been an issue. The rise in temperature, climate change, external dusts, and the general weakness of the forest structure could be the reason for this. After declining at the tree crowns, the basal emergence hole appears on oak trunks (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8
figure 8

Basal emergence holes in the topper parts of the branches in Tange-Solak local area in the Zagros region

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Zandebasiri, M., Groselj, P., Azadi, H. et al. DPSIR framework priorities and its application to forest management: a fuzzy modeling. Environ Monit Assess 193, 598 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09257-x

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