Prioritize Agri-Environmental Measures of Water-Related Ecosystem Services: The Case of Mashhad


  •  A. Firoozzare    
  •  M. Ghorbani    
  •  A. R. Karbasi    
  •  N. Shahnoushi    
  •  K. Davari    

Abstract

Current structure of agricultural input consumption eventually influences bases of natural environment and ecosystem services (especially water related) from which human communities benefit. This research aims at assisting decision making and prioritizing ecosystem services and their improvement measures according to interconnection of different ecosystem services and agri-environmental schemes of improving these services with help of fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) in Mashhad plain. Results show that among water-related ecosystem services, water quality and having healthy products, are first priorities. Providing needed water for agriculture section stands in the second rank with minor difference. Third and fourth places go to soil conservation and biodiversity relatively and agricultural tourism which is categorized under cultural services is placed in the last place. Also, based on this study results, among the seven agri-environmental water-related ecosystem services improvement, integrated pest management (IPM) ranks first. The second and third priorities belong to proposed crop pattern and conservative tillage implementation.


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