Journal of Climate Research

Journal of Climate Research

Assessment of Ecotourism Potential of Arasbaran Forest Using CPI Bioclimatic Index

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ladan Kazemi Rad 1
Roya Abedi 2
1 Environmental Research Institute, Academic Center for Education, Culture & Research, Rasht, Iran
2 Department of forestry, Ahar Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources,, University of Tabriz
10.22034/jcr.2025.200602
Abstract
Abstract

Climate and tourism are inseparable components of a natural ecosystem and have interactions. Therefore, the potential of nature-based tourism in an area can be measured based on climatic conditions and using bioclimatic indicators. Bioclimatic comfort means a person’s comfort against the conditions of the natural environment so that the person does not feel extreme cold or heat and the body does not need a lot of effort to protect against the stability of its internal environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the ecotourism potential in the vicinity of Arasbaran forest using the Cooling Power Index (CPI) bioclimatic index. For this purpose, monthly temperature (°C) and wind speed (m/s) data were used from four synoptic stations located in the Arasbaran region in East Azarbaijan province in a ten-year statistical period. The results indicated that based on the standards of the Becker index, the Arasbaran region has favorable and optimal bioclimatic comfort conditions in three months of summer including, July (CPI=13.8), August (CPI=13.8), and September (CPI=18.0)). In addition, there are two months in favorable cold bioclimatic conditions (June (CPI=22.3) and October (CPI=27.6)). Therefore, the study area is favorable for ecotourism activities and has high potential in terms of bioclimatic comfort optimal ranges in five months. Therefore, considering the proper use of the potential to attract tourists requires adequate planning and attention to the basic infrastructure. Moreover, the current research identified the climatic comfort of the region. It showed the best time for tourism based on the CPI index (which includes climatic parameters: temperature and wind) and revealed that the area has the potential to adopt infrastructures in tourist development and bring the region to a comprehensive eco-tourism in the whole year. Applying the results of this research will lead to the correct guidance for managers, decision-makers, and administrator organizations in the tourism industry.

Keywords:, Bioclimatic comfort, Cooling Power Index, Ecotourism.







Introduction

Among the influencing factors in the tourism industry, the health and comfort of people can refer to the atmospheric and climatic conditions. The importance of this issue has created a new branch of science under the title of bio-climate and many indicatorsas as well. Climate and tourism are inseparable components of a natural ecosystem and have interactions. ‎‎Therefore, the potential of nature-based tourism in an area can be measured based on climatic ‎conditions ‎and using bioclimatic indicators. Bioclimatic comfort means a person’s comfort ‎against the conditions of ‎the natural environment so that the person does not feel extreme cold ‎or heat and the body does not need a ‎lot of effort to protect against the stability of its internal ‎environment. The aim of this study was to ‎investigate the ecotourism potential of the Arasbaran ‎forest using a bioclimatic index namely the Cooling Power Index (CPI) . ‎



Materials and Methods

Arasbaran forest is one of the most important tourist attractions in Iran and occupies about 56% of the total area in the Arasbaran region in the north of East Azerbaijan province and the northwest of Iran. It is considered one of the 102 biosphere regions of the world. Therefore, to make optimal use of these natural resources, identifying the range of bioclimatic comfort based on the indicators in this field can be used for tourism planning. Monthly temperature (°C) and wind speed (m/s) data were obtained from ‎four ‎synoptic stations located in the Arasbaran region in a ten-year ‎statistical ‎period and ‎ the CPI index was calculated based on this information.



Results and discussion

Based on the standards of the Becker index, the Arasbaran region has ‎favorable and optimal bioclimatic comfort conditions in three months of summer (including, July ‎‎(CPI=13.8), August (CPI=13.8), and September (CPI=18.0). In addition, there are two months in favorable ‎cold bioclimatic conditions June (CPI=22.3) and October (CPI=27.6).

The results of the temperature parameter showed that August had the highest temperature with a range from 23.3 to 30.6 °C in the summer in all stations. January and February with a range of -0.3 to 4.8 °C were recorded as the coldest months in the Winter. The results of these two months in all stations also showed that August with a mean temperature of 26.4 °C and February with a mean temperature of 1.7 °C were the hottest and coldest months in the entire region, respectively.

The wind speed parameter showed that the distribution of wind speed was very inconsistent throughout the year. January, July and September with a range from 2.5 to 4.4 meters per second were the months with minimum wind speed. The maximum wind speed was recorded in April, May, June and Feburary with a range from 5.4 to 6.1 m/s. In general, the results of the station's information showed that the highest wind speed (5.2 m/s) and the lowest wind speed (3.9 m/s) were recorded in May and January in this region respectively.



Conclusions

Due to climate changes and global ‎warming, climatic factors should be included ‎in ‎developing tourism strategies, leading to ‎more profitable management and increased ‎‎sustainability. Investigating climatic comfort based on indicators that provide quantitative and qualitative values, due to their comprehensibility, is suitable for showing the types of temperature and wind stresses. Consequently, displaying the results in the form of ‎visual diagrams can illustrate a ‎summary of conclusions. These ‎charts can be used in various ‎social programs ‎and better tourism and economic time ‎planning.‎



Keywords

Bioclimatic comfort, Cooling Power Index, Ecotourism.
Keywords
Bioclimatic comfort
Cooling Power Index
Ecotourism
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Journal of Climate Research
Volume 1403, Issue 59 - Serial Number 59
Vol. 15, No. 59,, Autumn 2024
Winter 2025
Pages 33-46