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Impacts of environmental and human factors on desertification-induced land degradation in arid areas

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Abstract

Land degradation is often negatively exacerbated by anthropogenic processes. This phenomenon threatens food security and economic welfare. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the extent of land degradation in Yazd-Ardakan Plain, central Iran, to identify the most prominent criteria contributing to the degradation. The Iranian model of desertification potential assessment (IMDPA) with 9 criteria and 36 sub-criteria was employed for this purpose. Accuracy of the results was confirmed by the results of Spearman’s and Mann–Kendall’s non-parametric tests in terms of significance levels and a Kappa coefficient of 0.61, ending up with an overall validity of 81.7% for the desertification map. The results showed that 67% (mainly rangelands) and 33% (mainly residential lands and surrounding areas) of the study area were potentially exposed to moderate and severe desertification, respectively. The vegetation coverage, groundwater, and climate were found to be the main factors controlling the desertification severity across the region. The human factor was seen to impose, directly and indirectly, the greatest impact on the environmental conditions and land degradation. Focusing on the study area, several management strategies were found to be necessary for avoiding the risk of desertification and rather controlling the factors contributing to desertification phenomenon in an attempt to maintain the current status rather than letting it get even worse in areas exposed to low, moderate, severe, and very severe risks of desertification.

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Notes

  1. A qanat is an underground aqueduct that carries water from an aquifer or groundwater aquifer to lower lands. It consists of several wells that are drilled vertically on a sloping surface, and these wells are connected to each other underground with a corridor at a gentle slope with respect to the ground surface. The depth of the first well (spring), which is usually immersed in an alluvial cone, is greater than the groundwater level. The vertical wells are drilled at a spacing in the range of 20 to 200 m and act to connect the wet and dry areas of the aqueduct. From above, the aqueduct system resembles a path from an ant nest that starts at the foot of a mountain and extends to a point where water is extracted in the desert.

  2. Windbreak is an obstacle placed in front of the wind to attenuate the wind speed below an allowable threshold. There are two types of windbreaks, namely biotic (e.g., planting trees, shrubs, and shrubs) and abiotic windbreaks (e.g., canopies, mats, straws, etc.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forest, Range and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Ahmad Entezari Zarch & Abolfazl Moeini

  2. Department of Reclamation of Arid and Mountainous Regions, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

    Hassan Ahmadi

  3. Department of Soil Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Ebrahim Pazira

Authors
  1. Ahmad Entezari Zarch
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  2. Hassan Ahmadi
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  3. Abolfazl Moeini
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  4. Ebrahim Pazira
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Contributions

All authors whose names appear on the submission made substantial contributions to the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hassan Ahmadi.

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This study did not involve human participants.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Communicated by Stefan Grab.

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Entezari Zarch, A., Ahmadi, H., Moeini, A. et al. Impacts of environmental and human factors on desertification-induced land degradation in arid areas. Arab J Geosci 14, 2447 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08745-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08745-1

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