With a view to its use in relation to land consolidation programmes, we present an approach to evaluation of land distributions that aggregates the influences of the size, shape and dispersion of plots on productivity and is designed for computer implementation in a geographical information system. It is envisaged that it will be useful for identification of areas in which land consolidation is required, for evaluation of consolidation projects, and for consolidation project optimization.

Landowners and game reserve managers are often faced with the decision whether to undertake consumptive (such as hunting) and/or non-consumptive (such as tourism) use of wildlife resources on their properties. Here a theoretical model was used to examine cases where the game reserve management allocated the amount of land devoted to hunting (trophy hunting) and tourism, based on three scenarios: (1) hunting is separated from tourism but wildlife is shared; (2) hunting and tourism co-exist; and (3) hunting and tourism are separated by a fence.

Desertification is one of the main environmental and also social and economic problems facing Iran. Seventeen out of 31 Iranian provinces, which are home to approximately 70% of the total population, are affected by desertification. This study aimed to use geographic information system (GIS) and fuzzy logic for mapping environmentally sensitive areas to desertification based on Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use approach in Isfahan province, central Iran.

Implementation of rational parameters of cultivation area of several cultivars can be achieved upon base of balanced interrelation of plant producing and animal husbandry. Development and substantiation of rational structure of plantings should be based upon wide use of plant seeding as an important source of feeding base and main deliverer of organic matter in soil. Therefore, grassy part of cropping areas should be fully saturated with leguminous grasses, especially with clover.

It has been widely accepted that ecosystem services (ESs) should be taken into account in natural resource management decisions. Hence, there is an increasing need for innovative quantification methods and tools to evaluate ESs on different landscape scales, and under varying land-use forms. Integrating biodiversity protection with the provision of ESs is a key element for sustainable land-use planning. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis, together with various environmental data, provide a suitable foundation for ESs evaluations.

Groundwater resources of the Tarsus coastal plain (Mersin, Turkey) are being exploited heavily for a variety of purposes and they are under a serious threat from nonpoint source pollution from the conflicting land use practices and saltwater intrusion due to overpumping. In this study, vulnerability of groundwater to nonpoint source pollution was assessed using GIS techniques and employing both Generic and Pesticide DRASTIC models. Calculated vulnerability indices ranged between 68–206 and 69–236 for Generic and Pesticide DRASTIC, respectively.

Data on salt-affected soils of Russia are analyzed. Three major problems of current research are outlined: (1) adequate diagnosis of soil salinization, (2) mapping and assessment of the areas of salt-affected soils, and (3) monitoring of the state of soil salinization. On the basis of recent publications, priority tasks and challenges for further research in this field are discussed. First, the notion of salt-affected soils should be specified with due respect for the diagnostic criteria of soil salinization.

Coyotes (Canis latrans) have expanded to live in urban areas with limited natural habitat. A year long coyote howl survey combined with geospatial information systems (GIS) was applied to locate populations within a metropolitan region, to determine the habitats where coyotes most frequently occur, and to estimate group sizes within this urbanized region. Surveys were conducted along the perimeters of natural areas and urban-residential communities.

Objectives of this research were to determine the socio-economic condition, opinion level and factors related to opinions on the reform land use pattern of the villagers of Ruamthai Demonstration Cooperative Village, Kui Buri District, Prachuap Khiri Khan province. A designed questionnaire was used as a tool for gathering the data by interviewing 260 respondents from Ruam Thai village (Mue 7), Pu Bon village (Mue 8) and Yan Sue village (Mue 9).

The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world’s largest network of lands set aside specifically for wildlife conservation. For refuge planners and managers tasked with maintaining ecological integrity and wildlife habitat, many uncertainties exist. In forests in the Upper Midwest, for instance, exotic earthworms are impacting ecosystem structure and function, but their community composition and effects on refuges is unknown.

The present study was carried out to evaluate agricultural capability of a watershed located in Khuzestan; a province in southern Iran. It is aimed to examine the applicability of Multi Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods in site selection process. Accordingly, the ecological resources of the watershed were initially identified. To specify the criteria required for agricultural land evaluation, Delphi method was applied. After selecting the criteria, they were weighted using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method.