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Species diversity is an index for sustainability of rangeland ecosystems. We studied the effect of environmental factors (soil properties and aspects) on plant species diversity in Zagros mountainous rangelands (vegetation type: Festuca ovina-Astragalus parrowianus) in the west of Hamadan in March–July 2009. For this purpose, four aspects were defined in the study area. Vegetation types were studied by physiognomic-floristic method in the field. The factors of vegetation were measured by transects using a systematic-randomized method. Five transects (100 m) and five plots along each transect were used. One soil sample (composition, 0–40 cm) in each plot was collected by a randomized method and assessed the following factors: pH, OM, N, EC, P, K and texture in the laboratory. The multiple regression method was used to investigate the relationship between species diversity (dependent variables) and soil and topographical factors (independent variables). Results showed that soil characteristics and aspects had significant effects on diversity in which north, east and west aspects as well OM, N, EC and clay were the most prominent factors influencing diversity.

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Prangos ferulacea (L.) Lindl. (Umbelliferae family) is a dominant species in the some partial of habitats in Zagros Mountains. According to ethno-botanical studies, this plant is one of the best range plants of Iran. Local ranchers collect green Prangos while it is toxic. They then dry the plant and use it to feed their livestock, especially in winter season. This research done to analyse the changes in the chemical composition of Pr. ferulacea with the effects of time, location and type of secondary metabolisms. Therefore, the ingredients and amounts of the essential oils of Prangos were studied during the growing and flowering stages (in both green/fresh and dried forms) to track such changes. The results showed that the amounts of terpinolene, β-phellandrene and bornyl acetate were decreased in the dried form, and some of the harmful components, such as α-pinene, β-pinene, myrcen and delta-3-carene, were absent, rendering the plant non-toxic. These results confirm the opinion of the ranchers. In the growing stage, the amount of coumarin was significantly less than in the flowering stage, which also supports the conduct of the local ranchers who gather the plants at the most appropriate time.

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  Khaveh plain in the township of Delfan is considered as one of the important plains in the Central Zagros Mountain situated in Eastern Pusht-i Kuh and located between Garin and Sefid-e Kooh Mountains. In general, 36 archeological sites have so far been identified in this plain: the oldest of which relates to aceramic Neolithic Age, and the newest one belongs to the Late-Islamic Age. Among them, 20 sites contain relics related to the Parthian Period. The noteworthy discussions in the present study are mainly based on the activities performed at this plain during 2009-2010 in order to register and determine the boarders of archeological sites, and those carried out in 2011 aiming to identify and analyze the settlement patterns of the Parthian reign in this region. General perception and understanding of the settlement pattern in this region during the Parthian period is the results of this research, which represents demographic or settlement dispersion changes compared with the previous eras. Also it became clear that most of the settlements in the region were small villages or temporary settlements and no evidence of urban centers was recognized. Finally, the present study deals with the investigation and interpretation of the settlement patterns of the Parthian period in this plain.    

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In order to extend the work on Iranian Collembolan fauna, several samplings from leaf litter and soils conducted in Ilam province (west of Iran). Specimens were collected from different localities and extracted by Berlese funnels. Results from the study lead to identification of 11 species of five families: Onychiuridae (with two genera and two species), Tullbergiidae (with one genus and one species), Hypogastruridae (with one genus and one species), Isotomidae (with four genera and four species) and Entomobryidae (with one genus and one species). Sminthurus muscicolus Betsch, 1977 from Sminthuridae was new for Iranian fauna. All species from the present study reported for the first time from Ilam province. Short explanation of each collected species including the material studied, a distribution and a short description for the new record and some illustrations are given.

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This study examines the history of animal domestication, nomadic tribes’ development, and factors influencing them in Central Zagros according to the archaeological and anthropological studies of Neolithic to Islamic eras. Besides, the migrational tribes of western Zagros, specially the tribes of Kermanshah, Eslam - Abad, Shirvan-Chardavol, Aivan, and other tribes of the southern parts of Ilam province, which reside there in hot seasons, are introduced. Through thousands of years, these connections and peaceful coexistence coexistence have led to cultural exchange in the Central Zagros region. Tribe ways, migration roads, and architecture of their homes are also investigated.  

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Hunting different animals was one of the first strategies that human beings adopted to obtain food. This way they could secure their lives through hunting in small groups. Little by little they became so skilled that they could hunt huge animals, too. Hunting involves such skills as tracing, following, and killing the prey. Therefore, it has devoted an important part of anthropological and ethno-archaeological research to itself. On the other hand, due to its nature as a means of living, hunting depended on natural resources on which the human had no control. This factor had a direct influence on the population of human groups. Following the developments in technologies and domestication of wild animals, which were affected by hunting, hunting lost its importance to a great extent. Even though all the aspects of hunting had been specialized, it could no longer continue as an independent means of living. Studying various methods of hunting within Kalhor Tribe in Aivan township, the kinds of animals hunted and the purposes for which they were hunted, the strategies in the region to protect and sustain natural resources, and also the tools and devices people of this region used for hunting, nowadays and some decades ago, provide us with valuable information on the system of hunting from Paleolithic era to recent times.  

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Baryscapus evonymellae (Bouché, 1834) (Hymenoptera, Eulophidae) was rediscovered on Leucoma wiltshirei Collenette, 1938 (Lepidoptera, Erebidae) attacked by different parasitoids. This species had already been reported under different names; therefore, its inaccurate identifications were corrected. It was reared as a larval and pupal hyperparasitoid of two important primary parasitoids of L. wiltshirei including Brachymeria tibialis Steffan, 1958 (Hymenoptera, Chalcididae), and Dolichogenidea persica Abdoli, Mohammadi, Sedaratian-Jahromi & Farahani, 2023 (Hymenoptera, Braconidae). The last parasitoid-hyperparasitoid association is new. Its morphological characters were illustrated and its biological data and main characteristics were discussed.
 

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In order to locate the territories that has been established from 3ed millenume B.C up to date of emergence of Iranian tribes in early 1th millenume B.C, and to disscuss about the tribes who has setteld there,this article provide an image of historical geography of a region in western Iran which is known as Central Zagros cultural basin in literature of archaeology , and this is accomplished through a survey of Mesopotamian texts that are the best documents about western Iran, and some Elamide texts.The teritories so called Varhashe, Simashki and Kassit are some examples. Many Scholarships have proposed different theories about the locating of these territories on the base of above mentioned texts. In this article, we disscussed these points of view and try to arrive at some conclusion about historical geography of this important cultural basin in west of Iran during the above mentioned period.

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A significant part of the Iranian dialectology literature consists of older researches which are still referred to and utilized; such as Oranski (1960), Mackenzie (1966), Blau (1989a & 1989b). Nonetheless, their achievements need to be re-examined through detailed documentations, within modern theoretical frameworks and methodologies as well. The older studies on Hawrami by western linguists should also be placed in this collection. The speculations about the status of Hawrami within the Iranian languages family have always been needed to be scrutinized and accredited. There is adequate evidence that reveals historical relationship between Hawrami and different Iranian Languages, which in turn furnishes us with new speculations on the status of Hawrami within the Iranian languages. For instance, we can refer to similar behavior of Hawrami and Baluchi in retaining the historical “labialized voiceless uvular fricative” [X^w] in the form of a “labio-velar approximant” [w]; compare: [wQS] ‘good’ and [w«́n+i] ‘blood’ in Hawrami with [wQS] or [wQSS+ín] ‘sweet’ and [w«n] ‘blood’ in Baluchi.
Another observation discussed in the present article refers to the geographical area of Zagros, and the similar behavior of Hawrami and some south western varieties of Iranian languages. In the mentioned southwestern varieties, underlying alveolar plosives /d/ and /t/ in certain contexts appear as different variants of a voiced dental fricative [D]. This segment has been called ‘Zagros [d]’ and shown by [d] symbol (Windfhur & Arbor, 1989: 251-262). It is the same segment referred to as ‘Zal/Dal Muˊjam’ in older Persian texts (see Natel Khanlari, 1988:50-52). In the present article, compelling evidence is presented to extend the domain of Zagros [d] in order to include Hawrami as well. But, it should be noted that Zagros [d] or ‘Zal/Dal Muˊjam’ in Hawrami has some differences with the southwestern variants that are explained in detail.
In order to maintain validity and reliability, the research is limited to the city of Paveh, which is the largest speech community of Hawrami speakers. The present research, in a descriptive-analytic way, utilizes the theory and methodology of the ‘Rule based Generative phonology’ to explain the regularities under discussion (see Kenstowicz, 1994 and McCarthy, 2007). The problem first discussed in Naghshbandi (1997); nevertheless, its description is not precise and complete. For this reason, in the present article, a new phonetic description of Zagros [d] in Hawrami, its underlying representations, the phonetic context, and an updated analysis and explanation of this phonetic segment are presented. Hence, the following questions are answered here: a) what is the relationship between Hawrami and other varieties of Iranian Languages and what is the status of Hawrami in this regard? b) What is the status of ‘velarized alveolar approximant’ [¨ì] within the sound system of Hawrami?
One of the exclusivities of Hawrami sound system is retaining Zagros [d], manifested as ‘velarized alveolar approximant’ [¨ì]. This segment has some relation with /d/ and /t/ in this language variety. This finding can be as evidence for the close relationship of Hawrami with some southwestern varieties; a relationship has not already been paid attention.  The relation of ‘velarized alveolar approximant’ [¨ì] with [d] and [t], within the sound system of Hawrami is also explained based on ‘Rule based Generative phonology’. By investigating the corpus, we can find that [¨ì] alternates with [d] and [t].
[¨ì] and [d] appear in the following contexts:

For example in words: [dwÁrd+i] 'scissors', [/a¨ìÁ] ‘mother’, and [nawí¨ì] ‘Navid (proper noun)’
 
 
[¨ì] and [t] appear in the following contexts:

For example in words: [goùSt] ‘meat’, [tHutHá]’dog’, [p^hatlìá] ‘wheat meal’, [góùS+«¨ì] ‘your ear’, and [di+¨ì] ‘you saw him’.
Based on ‘corpus internal and external evidence’; and the criteria of ‘frequency of occurrence’, ‘phonetic plausibility’, ‘phonological naturalness’, and ‘universal tendencies’ /d/ and /t/ are conclusively underlying the different realization of [¨ì].
In conclusion, [¨ì] in Hawrami is considered as a contextual variant of /d/ and /t/, and it is a remnant of Zagros [d] or ‘Zal/Dal Muˊjam’. This finding proposes new aspects in the relationship between Hawrami and other Iranian languages. It also challenges the claims on the relationship between Hawrami and Caspian border languages or Central varieties.
 

 

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According to the studies conducted by western archaeologists in a number of plains in Iran such as Doroodzan and Shahabad Plains, they have estimated population of the nuclear villages in the above plains between 100 and 150 people per hectare. This estimation is mostly related to large sedimentary plains with agricultural and animal husbandry livelihood. It seems, the condition in highland is different with those villages in lowlands due to differences in their lifestyle.  Accordingly, Laran County, which is located in the highland with nomadic lifestyle and animal husbandry, was studied to estimate its population in each period and assess its population changes during long period.  By applying Descriptive-Analytical and statistical methods such as SPSS, it was attempted to have a better understanding of the population changes. To estimate population of the area, population census of the modern day villages during year 2012 and ethno-archaeological activities such as study of 21 modern campsites were applied in this study. Finally, it was estimated that each person occupies 5/6 sq. m in village houses and 6/5 sq. m in campsites. Consequently, based on our studies in village houses and surrounding areas, it seems 51 persons are living in each hectare.  For campsites, which are located close to the village houses, it was estimated to 27 persons per hectare. Then the prehistoric population of Laran County was estimated in both site and region scales.

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Aims: Haft Barm is a series of five small lakes in the southern Zagros region which has encountered recent rapid development of human settlement. This article reports a survey on its essential ecological attributes.
Methods: Water samples were taken from three locations in March and June 2020 and analyzed regarding physical and chemical factors and plankton communities. Trophic state and primary production were estimated.
Findings: Results showed water temperature 8.2–23.1 °C, dissolved oxygen 6.3–8.3 mg.L^-1, salinity as electrical conductivity 739 – 971 µS.cm^-1, total nitrogen 0.1–1.1 mg.L^-1, and total phosphorus 0.4 and 3.8 mg.L^-1. Algae of the lake consisted of 24 taxa, the highest density of which counted 23360 cells per liter in June, and the Chlorophyceae were the dominant group. The Zooplankton composition was of four taxa from Cladocera (Bosmina sp. and Daphnia sp.), Copepoda (Cyclops sp.), and Rotifera (Rotaria sp.), with the highest densities in Rotaria (35 individuals per liter). Phragmites sp., and Juncus sp. were the dominant species in the macrophyte community besides Polygonum amphbium, and Potamogeton pectiatus. The very high concentration of total phosphorus is a strong sign for predicting a eutrophic condition. The average trophic index is estimated at 88, which suggests a eutrophic to hyper-eutrophic state for the lake. The estimated primary production of the lake was 1114 gC.m^-2.A^-1.
 

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To evaluate the capability of IRS-P6 LISS-III data to be employed for monitoring the pollarding forest areas in Northern Zagros, some parts of pollarded forests located around Baneh city were selected as a case study area. The pollarding area was determined as the ground truth in a 3-year alternation period using a global positioning system (GPS). Radiometric and geometric corrections were applied to the image and then the data pre-processed, using 2 methods of Spectral Rationing and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Likewise, multi-spectral bands were fused with IRS-1C PAN image, using the Intensity–Hue–Saturation Method (IHS). The obtained results were combined with the original bands. The separability of classes was studied using Bhuttacharrya Distance Criteria. The resulting data was classified using Maximum Likelihood Algorithm. Then the classified image was compared with ground truth on a pixel by pixel basis. In order to determine the classification accuracy, four parameters encompassing Overall Accuracy, Kappa Coefficient, Producer Accuracy, and User Accuracy were used. The results showed that most of the classes were completely separated from Northern Koor class. The highest overall accuracy was 70 % and a Kappa Coefficient of 60% obtained through a five-class classification of the bands combination PCA (4, 2, 3) -1, 4, 1. In this classification the resulted User accuracy and Producer accuracy were more than 50% for all classes expect for southern Khert. Results of the study revealed the high capability of the abovementioned image and methods to separate the pollarding areas and to prepare the map of the area.

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Landslides are among important mass movements of a great interest for earth scientists. This is due to their importance in land use and decision-making in rural and urban areas. Survey of old landslides to determine their behavior has important bearing on the study of new ones. Seimareh grand landslide is one of the oldest and the most attractive phenomenon that has been the subject of concern for Iranian as well as international scientists for decades. There are two different opinions on the motivation factor and incidence date of the slide. This paper tries to investigate both geographic location and condition of the slide, with the geologic background of the Seimareh basin. By using hydro- climatic data, kinematics calculations, morphometeric measurements and remote sensing simulation, the dimension and extension of the landslide have been determined and a reasonable date of event has been estimated. Geomorphologic field and documentary surveys and historical details have led to a new chronological conclusion that the event age was about 1100 years old instead of 10k.a. years as suggested by others. Also Hogback movement in limestones has been recognized as the trigger or motivation factor for the slide in the area rather a severe earthquake.

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There has been more than four decades since Frank Hole and Kent Flannery conducted a field expedition in central Zagros Mountains located in western Iran, in 1963. From then onward, numerous discoveries and field projects have been done in this region. Some of these findings may contradict the report of the original survey. Although the goal of this article by no means, is to criticize the 1967 report, it sounds unavoidable to incorporate the new discoveries in it. For instance, the author of this article believes that the twelve missing sites in the 1963 survey were found later, hence; new discoveries in case of the presence of Levallois technique in the Zagros Mountains could change our understanding regarding the Middle Paleolithic of Zagros.

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Although the Iranian plateau has witnessed Paleolithic researches since the early twenty century, still little is known about the Paleolithic of Iran. There are several reasons for this situation and lack of scholarly enthusiasm on the part of Iranian archaeologists seems to be the most imperative one. Concerning the history of Paleolithic surveys and excavations conducted in Iran, three distinct phases are recognizable. First, from the beginning of the twenty century to the 1980 when numerous field missions were executed in this region all by western institutes, second phase observes a twenty years gap in the Paleolithic studies hence; only few surveys could be performed in this period, and the third phase starts with the reopening of the Iranian fields to the non-Iranian researchers, which led to the survey and excavation of handful of new Paleolithic sites. This article reviews Paleolithic researches conducted in Iran since the beginning of twenty century to the present time.

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Although the Zarzian was first identified in the 1920s, it has not been until recently that detailed investigations of it have been undertaken. In contrast to the intensive research on the Epipaleolithic period in the Levant, the Zarzian in the Zagros area is less well known, although it shares some similarities (as well as differences) with the Levantine Epipaleolithic including trajectories of hunter-gatherer subsistence and other behavioral strategies that may have played a role in long-term processes ultimately leading in both regions to the advent of food production economies

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 We aimed to find the meteorological parameters that affect variations in Leaf Area Index (LAI) of Persian oak (Quercus brantii var. persica) trees in the Zagros region of western Iran. Canopy developmental stage for five individual trees using a fish eye camera was monitored from August 2015 to August 2016. Meteorological parameters of Temperature (T), Precipitation (P), and Wind Speed (WS) were obtained from the nearest meteorological station during 1986-2016. FAO Penman-Monteith (PM) combination equation was employed to calculate daily reference Evapotranspiration (ET₀). The nonparametric Mann–Kendall (MK) test was used to detect significant changes in yearly meteorological parameters and ET₀. Over the study period, LAI varied from zero during the LeafLess Period (LLP), when the Woody Area Index (WAI) was 0.88, to 1.65 in Full Leaf Period (FLP). LAI showed relatively strong and significant positive linear correlations with T (R²= 0.71), Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) (R²= 0.58), and ET₀ (R²= 0.33), such that higher LAI values were measured in warmer and drier days with higher ET₀. No statistically significant trend was detected by MK test during 1986-2016 for yearly T and VPD (MK statistic, Z_MK= 0.044 for T, and Z_MK= 0.207 for VPD). Significant relationship between leaf area index of oak trees and temperature in the Zagros region can partially confirm the connection between declining oak trees and rising temperature.

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Alashtar is one of the prominent valley plains in central Zagros Mountain Range. The main focus of this study is based on the activities performed in this plain in 2006-2007 periods with the aim of identifying and studying the ancient relics as well as the studies conducted in 2010  to identify and analyze Parthian settlement patterns in this area. Archaeological survey in the area identified 72 historical sites and ancient monument. The current studies suggest that first settlements in this area date back to Copper and Stone Age and the most recent settled sites belong to the later centuries of the Islamic period. Among the historical relics found in Alashtar plain, 42 relics contained remnants of the Parthian.  The overall perception of the settlement pattern in this plain during Parthian period reflects variation in population or distribution of settlement patterns compared to the former and later periods. The distribution pattern of the identified historical sites suggests that the settlements were mainly in the form of rural units with no evidence of urban centers. Overall, the distribution pattern of Parthian settlements has been strongly influenced by climatic characteristics, environmental capabilities and the special geographical position of the region. This paper attempts to study the Parthian settlement pattern in this plain; moreover, it seeks to examine these historical sites and interpret the settlement patterns in the Parthian period.
 



 

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Introduction
Spatial-Temporal changes of snowy areas extent is not only an important element of environmental and socio-economic, but is an important key in study of climate change and include an effective element in surface albedo and energy balance of Earth's surface and seasonal changes of it. Thus quantification of these changes has a special importance, that this is possible by using satellite images and spending energy and little cost.
Methodology
In this research, Snow Area Changes in Zagros Mountains by using NOAA-AVHRR Images since 1996 from 2015 is studied, and appropriate models based on composition of reflection and thermal bands for extract of snow from NOAA-AVHRR imagery in Zagros Mountains is presented. These models use two different methods to detachment snow from non- snow according to the type of sensor. First, satellite images were geometric correction in ENVI software. Then, radiometric correction was performed. In the following calculated albedo of Reflective Bands (RB) and brightness temperature (BT) of thermal bands with the coefficients available in HDR files. For calculation land surface temperature (LST) we used formula Coll et al (1994). Then, calculate NDSI (normalize difference snow index) and NDVI (normalize difference vegetation index). Finally, for extraction snow pixel threshold was performed on RB, BT, LST, NDVI, NDSI and DEM models.
Results and Discussion
In this research, we concluded snow pixel that RB is more than 0.2, the difference BT (3.7µ) and BT (11µ) less than 11 and 265 > BT (11µ) <285. So, snow pixel are land surface temperature for April -4 < LST < 14, for May -2 < LST < 16, for June and July -2< LST < 18. For determination snow pixel, should be the amount of NDVI more than -0.1, NDSI more than 0.3 and DEM more than 2000 meter. The results of this research showed in April most snowy cover in 1997 was 9234.7 km² and the lowest snowy cover in 2008 was 2509 km². In May most snowy cover in 1997 was 27637.6 km²; the lowest snowy cover in 2008 was 231 km² and the average snow cover is 1811 km². In June most snowy cover in 1997 was 1471.4 km²; the lowest snowy cover in 2012 was 125.8 km² and the average snow cover is 409 km². During the studied period, the maximum amount of snow cover reduction occurred in May to June. In July most snowy cover in 1998 was 208 km²; the lowest snowy cover in 2001 was 3.6 km² and the average snow cover is 55.6 km².
The highest monthly variation in snowy cover in Zagros Mountains was -0.35 in July and the lowest monthly variation in snowy cover were was about of -0.17 in April. Overall, the reduce average of snowy cover in the study period was about of -0.22.
From the spatial point of view, the maximum of snowy covers has been observed in the highlands of Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari Province, east of Lorestan and border elevations of Isfahan and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Provinces for most years. Of course, in April and especially in 1997, snow was observsd in most of the provinces within the study area (except Bushehr, Hormozgan and Yazd).
Conclusion
The results of Zagros snow cover survey during the studied period showed, the highest snowy cover was observed in April, May and Jun in 1997, and in July in 1998. From the spatial point of view, the maximum of snowy covers has been observed in the highlands of Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari Province, east of Lorestan and border elevations of Isfahan and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Provinces for most years, but with increasing temperature, the area of the snowy cover is reduced. As in July, in most of the years, only Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari heights and mountainous areas of the border of Isfahan and Kohkiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces have been observed. As a whole, towards the warmer months of the year, changes in the snowy cover are increasing.