Golestan national park’s ecosystem services, a case with brown bears habitat suitability
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7632690Keywords:
Ecosystem services, Golestan national park, Ursus arctos, Co$ting natureAbstract
Ecosystem services are the benefits that people gain directly or indirectly from the ecosystems. Golestan National Park as one of the world's biosphere reserves and one of the best habitats of brown bears (Ursus arctos) as the biggest carnivore in the country, has been truly important. The brown bear has been considered a model species in this research due to its high ecological value. Assessment models of habitat and ecosystem services can be used as a suitable tool for conservation, planning, and management purposes. Ecosystem service indicators were determined through the Co$ting Nature web model and based on the results, the entire region had the highest priority for protection. The index of region future threats showed the average threat (0.55) in 77% of the national park area. However, the potential ecosystem services index showed that 50.9% of the park has a high potential for ecosystem services. Mainly, Golestan National Park has a suitable quality brown bear habitat and it has relatively appropriate conditions in terms of ecosystem services. However, it is necessary to adopt strategies to protect the region and improve the conditions, especially in the area of the Tehran-Mashhad Road in Golestan national park.
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