Chale Sonbak: a sustainable traditional dry farming system based on the ecosystem services of Rigboland sand dune strip, Aran and Bidgol

Chale Sonbak is a traditional dry farming technology developed and practiced by desert farmers at Rigboland sand dune strip of Aran and Bidgol, Iran. For centuries, watermelon have been cultivated in huge hand-excavated pits in between the shifting sand dunes of Rigboland desert. The sustainability of Chale Sonbak is discussed in this study. The local desert farmers have recognized the presence of a perched water table underneath the sand dunes. Thus, they have developed an innovative and unique method of watermelon cultivation technique, to sustainably take advantage of the natural desert ecosystem services for centuries. Hydrology of the region plays a crucial role in the agricultural activities in the desert sand dunes. However, destructive activities of some modern day desert farmers have affected the natural hydrology of the fragile sand dune desert. Such destructive actions include expansion of irrigated agriculture in the outskirt of Rigboland desert, unconventional and illegal constructions such as garden villas, drilling wells and pumping excessively from the shallow perched aquifer, and excessive excavation of sands from the bottom of Sonbak farm-pits. All these have jeopardized the sustainability of Chale Sonbak technology and the ecosystem services of the desert. Although Chale Sonbak technology is specific to the desert ecosystem of Aran and Bidgol, but the most important wisdom that can be gained from this traditional farming system is that sustainability is achieved by respecting the ecosystem services and capabilities of the environment, and utilizing them according to their carrying capacity.