Study on different parameters of vegetation, especially, on ecological groups can help us to understand environmental factors affecting it. In order to studying of biodiversity, life forms and chorology in different ecological groups in protected area of western Dena forests with 600 ha area were done. Then 50 plots of 450 m2 with dimensions 15×30 meters were established by random-systematic method. TWINSPAN analysis results showed that there were four ecological groups, Smyrnieto-Schumanniatum (first group), Phlometum olivieri (second group), Prangoetum ferula (third group) and Junipereto – Ferulagatum (fourth group) in this area from low to high altitudes, respectively. Different parameters of alpha biodiversity between groups were not significant, although richness value of fourth group was lowest. Beta biodiversity results showed that first group and fourth groups had highest and lowest amount. Also results of life form showed that the first and second groups had higher amount of Therophyt, but phanerophyt species of third and fourth groups were higher than other two groups. On the other hand, fourth ecological groups had the lowest Irano-touranian chorotype and the highest Irano-touranian and Euro-Siberian chorotype. In addition, results showed that first group should be conserved in aspect of plant diversity. Also climate of this group is drier than other ecological groups.

Persian Gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa) is one of the most important herbivores of the steppes of Iran, which is found in different plains and desert areas. Today, the distribution of this species is limited to special areas, which has caused it to be placed in the Vulnerable Class (VU) of the IUCN Red List. In this condition, the phenomenon of climate change as one of the biggest challenges of the current century has affected the habitat conditions and the range of distribution of large mammals such as Persian Gazelle and caused it to change. This research aimed to assess climate change impacts on the efficiency of protected areas and to model the distribution of Persian Gazella. In order to predict the distribution of this species in current and future conditions, the weighted Mahalanobis modeling approach was used. Based on the model used, about 31% of the studied area was identified as a suitable habitat at the present. The overlap between protected areas and suitable habitats was 16%. The research findings showed that by 2070, under the pessimistic scenario of the MRI-ESM2-0 model, 2% of the suitable habitat of the Gazella species will be lost.

Counter-urbanization has been defined with many definitions in research literature as increasing of the small town population in the process of urban expansion and development. This study investigates the counter-urbanization process in Isfahan metropolitan area based on an exploratory method using the population and immigration data, diurnal commuting, and the immigration motivators. The results show that, during different periods, population growth has been changed from the greater cities’ metropolitan area to the small towns. So that, there is less population growth near the main greater cities during the last decade. Regarding the immigration as well as migration effectiveness over the population, and immigration motivators, it can be said that the most important parameters of small towns’ expansion near the greater cities are better habitation opportunities, and finding better jobs. Furthermore, decreasing the diurnal commuting close to the greater cities shows that small towns, which are farther from the greater city, have more autonomy. In addition, based on polarization reversal model, and population development investigation in metropolitan areas, there are population development from the greater cities’ centre to the periphery area, which is leaded to decrease the population of the main greater city, and increase the population absorption in small towns. Consequently, the urbanization of Isfahan metropolitan area has entered to a counter-urbanization phase.

Soil and water conservation (SWC) is important for reducing the damaging effects of different soil erosion problems and improving the sustainability and rehabilitation of the natural environment. This study evaluated the effect of SWC in conserved areas on soil properties of two different climatic regions, including semi-arid (Rastab region) and humid cold temperate (Kohrang region) climates in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran. A total of 24 soil samples were taken as soil cores from two layers, including 0–30 cm and 30-60 cm from each region. The soil physicochemical properties were analyzed based on standard laboratory procedures.Based on the results, soil properties in a five-year conserved area experiment showed improvement. However, no significant trend was observed in soil bulk density. The storage of soil carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) significantly increased after five years in the conserved area, while lime (CaCO3) decreased significantly. Moreover, significant improvement was found based on the infiltration rate in the conserved area management. Therefore, conserved areas for five years significantly improved the soil quality and potential carbon sequestration and infiltration rate in both semi-arid and humid cold temperate climates conserved areas. Overall, conserved areas in the area with a colder climatic regime improved the soil quality more than the semi-arid regime. Thus, SWC should be adopted and scaled up in areas exposed to severe land degradation due to its positive effects.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, noncoding, small RNA molecules consisting of 18-24 nucleotides (nts) that regulate target genes at the post-transcriptional level in plants. Also, this group of RNAs play a crucial role in development of plant, biological processes, cell proliferation and stress response. To date, no miRNAs have been identified in the lentil species although there are several reports on miRNAs in other legume species. Therefore, in this study, in order to identify and analysis of potential miRNAs and their target genes in lentil, total RNA from leaf tissue was extracted using with TRIzol method and was sequenced. Non-protein coding unigenes were identified and considered for candidates of miRNA precursor. Finally five miRNAs belonging to 5 highly conserved families were identified following a range of strict filtering criteria, designated as, lcu-miR156, lcu-miR166, lcu-miR167, lcu-miR171 and lcu-miR391. In addition, we predicted target mRNA genes form complementary base pair in seed region of miRNAs. Totally, due to the regulatory role of the identified miRNA on changing the range of downstream genes in the gene networks, it may be possible to use the identified microRNA as candidate genes in breeding programs aimed at improving the quality and quantity of lentil.