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The runoff generation and soil erosion in the Kechik Watershed, Golestan Province, was assessed, using a designed and constructed portable rainfall simulator. Treatments were applied on different land-uses, slopes and aspects as the most influential factors. Results showed that land-use significantly affected runoff generation (13.35 l, 6.9 l, and 4.12 l, respectively for agriculture, forest and rangeland uses), however slope (7.7 l for Class I; 9.23 l for Class II) and aspect (8.52 l for the northern aspects; 8.32 l for the southern aspects) did not have significant influence. All factors, significantly altered sediment concentration (Agriculture 9.6 g l^-1, forest 8.24 g l^-1, and rangeland 5.26 g l^-1; slope class I 6.6 g l^-1 and slope class II 8.7 g l^-1; northern aspect 8.7 g l^-1, and southern aspect 6.9 g l^-1). Agricultural fields generated the highest runoff and sediment under simulated rainfalls. Rangeland and forest did not have significant runoff generation and sediment concentration. Results showed that land-use management, especially in terms of agriculture, could not only hamper current erosion, but reduced further advancement of this encroaching phenomenon.

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Introduction
In simple terms, land-use planning means what form of development is placed in a region to achieve its primary goal in a long-term sustainable manner. Additionally, passive defense is one of the basic approaches that should be taken into consideration so that military centers have the lowest level of vulnerability during military attacks and wars.
Methodology
In this research, 18 parameters were identified and selected from the educational, research and operational resources of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the construction of military centers in Golestan province, and then the weight of each indicator was determined using the AHP approach in the form of an eigenvector. Then, the raw obtained data were converted into classified maps using GIS and after combining with the given eigenvalues, the final spatial zoning map was prepared based on the used passive defense parameters for the construction of military centers in this province. 
Results and Discussion
The results showed that in this province there are no very suitable and very unsuitable regions. Also, there are regions with the total area of 340.6 square kilometers in this province, which are suitable. Other regions of the province (98.33% of the total area of the province) either have medium desirability or have unsuitable conditions for building safe military centers due to their proximity to cities, inappropriate distance from faults, proximity to industrial centers and mines.
Conclusions
The central and western regions of the Golestan province, which comprise about one-third of the province's area, due to its proximity to cities, inappropriate distance from faults, proximity to industrial centers and mines are inappropriate for the construction of safe military centers. The rest of the province has a moderate location utility and the construction of military centers in these areas requires other indicators and components of military-security management.

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Three known species of the family Criconematidae namely Criconema crotaloides, C. princeps and Ogma zernovi were recovered from natural forests in Golestan province, and were characterized based upon their morphological and morphometric characters. The Iranian population of C. crotaloides was recovered from the rhizosphere of Fraxinus excelsior and is characterized by females 517-594 μm long, having 64-70 not retrorse body annuli with smooth margin without lateral differentiation and RV = 11-14. The second species, C. princeps, was associated with Carpinus betulus and is characterized by females 421-506 μm long, having 63-69 rounded to retrorse body annuli with smooth margin, marked by distinct lateral triangular arches and RV = 11-12. The main characteristics of this species and the status of some other previously reported populations as C. princeps were discussed. The last species, Ogma zernovi, was recovered from the rhizosphere of Quercus sp., and is characterized by females 350-653 μm long, having 58-64 retrorse body annuli, each annulus with nine rows of short smooth scales in the middle of the body, the scales uni- or bi-lobulated, RV = 9-11, tail conoid and the last three annuli without projections. New observations on its morphology were added, comparisons were made with the type populations of the species and characteristics of the species were updated with including data of males and juveniles. Compared to the type populations, no remarkable differences were observed for the three studied species. All the three species represent new records for Iran.
  

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Medics are native to semi-arid areas around the Mediterranean Sea and have long been used in degraded pastures in the region. Annual medics are now widely distributed throughout the world, largely in areas with mild, rainy winters and alkaline soils. This study was conducted at a site located in the north east of Golestan Province (55° 57´ E, 37° 48´ N), on a silty clay loam soil in 2002 and 2003. The experimental design was a random-ized complete block with four replications. Cultivars were seven annual medics (includ-ing: Medicago truncatula cv. Caliph, Mogul; M. scutellata cv. Sava, Robinson; M. poly-morpha cv. Spineless; M. litoralis cv. Herald; M. sphaerocarpas cv. Orion) in addition to the indigenous annual medic M. minima. Results showed significant differences among cultivars (P<0.01) in terms of forage and protein production. Average forage production ranged between 216 kg ha-1 in the first year and 1,179 kg ha-1 in the second year. Average seed production ranged between 26 kg ha-1 in the first year and 890 kg ha-1 in the second year. The amount of protein production per unit was very low in some cultivars for both years. The results of this experiment suggest that Robinson and Sava might be recom-mended for cultivation in the region.

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For studying the heavy rain fall in southeast of the Caspian Sea, the Meteorology Organization,s daily synoptic maps on four surfaces (the earth, 850, 700 and 500 HPA) from 1992 to 2002 were used. The results showed that five kinds of air mass and pressure systems influence heavy rain fall in southeast of the Caspian Sea; European migrant high-pressure, Siberian high-pressure, Subtropical high-pressure, Moonson low-pressure and Sudan low-pressure. Therefore, necessary synoptic conditions for heavy rain fall in warm season in Golestan province consisted of cold air advection on the surface of the Caspian Sea by European migrant high-pressure and warm and wet convection from the east and southeast by Moonson low-pressure on the earth level. Descending cold air in divergence zones of north Russian trough in upper layers of atmosphere on the surface of the Caspian Sea. Penetration of European migrant high-pressure from northwest and descending of subpolar cold air and penetration of Sudan low-pressure tongues from south and southwest of the earth and penetration of subtropical high-pressure to central part of the Caspian Sea in middle atmosphere layers and to settle the Caspian sea in divergence zones of north Russian trough.

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Charcoal rot caused by Macrophomina phaseolina is an important disease of soybean throughout the world. To understand the spatial distribution of soybean charcoal rot incidence and M. phaseolina populations in Golestan Province, 172 soybean fields were surveyed for population density, in two successive years, and integrated with Geographic Information System (GIS). Each year, 60 fields were also surveyed for disease incidence. Propagule density was determined by assaying five 1-g subsamples of soil from each field using a size-selective sieving procedure. In the seasons of 2009-2010 and 2010-2011, disease incidence ranged from 0 to 97% and 3 to 91% with the highest in Gorgan and Aliabad, respectively. Total mean of disease incidence were 21.01 and 35.84 percent in the province. In the two sampling years, Sclerotia were recovered from 73.33 and 93.57% of the total fields. The average population density per gram of soil ranged from 0.65 to 14.31 and 4.7 to 16.9, respectively, with the highest levels in Aliabad in both years. Charcoal rot incidence was positively correlated with soil populations of M. phaseolina (r= 0.61 and r= 0.47, P= 0.01). Geostatistical analyses of the survey data showed that the influence range of propagule density and disease incidence was between 8,000 to 14,000 m. In general, no significant correlation could be found between soil factors and sclerotia numbers. But, higher average air temperatures and decreased precipitation may have a significant effect on disease intensity.

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Today, the economy of countries is based on the focus of entrepreneurs and business owners. The entrepreneurship development depends on paying attention to several aspects called entrepreneurship ecosystem. The purpose of this study is to prioritize the components of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Iran’s Golestan province. Entrepreneurship ecosystem is unique in each region and since Golestan province has unique opportunities and special features for entrepreneurship development, this study was conducted focusing on the specific dimensions and characteristics there. For this purpose, the dimensions of the Eisenberg (2011) entrepreneurial ecosystem model were selected. Library data and field survey in the form of a questionnaire were used to collect data. The statistical population was randomly selected and included 16 experts. Dematel method and the network analysis process and Super Decision software were used to prioritize and weigh the indicators. The results show that the most important factors of entrepreneurship ecosystem in this province are support (NGOs, support specialties and infrastructure), market (primary customers and networks), human capital (labor force and Educational institutions), politics (government and governance), and capital (financial capital) and culture (successful examples and social norms). Based on the results, suggestions were made to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Golestan province.