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Quantitative Assessment of Environmental Sensitivity to Desertification Using the Modified MEDALUS Model in a Semiarid Area

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  • Sayed Fakhreddin Afzali

    (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Engineering, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71441-65186, Iran)

  • Ali Khanamani

    (Department of Management the Arid & Desert Regions, College of Natural Resources & Desert, Yazd University, Yazd 89158-18411, Iran)

  • Ehsan Kamali Maskooni

    (Young Researcher and Elite Club, Jiroft Branch, Islamic Azad University, Jiroft 76178-14815, Iran)

  • Ronny Berndtsson

    (Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Division of Water Resources Engineering, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden)

Abstract

Iran is mainly located in the arid and semiarid climate zone and seriously affected by desertification. This is a severe environmental problem, which results in a persistent loss of ecosystem services that are fundamental to sustaining life. Process understanding of this phenomenon through the evaluation of important drivers is, however, a challenging work. The main purpose of this study was to perform a quantitative evaluation of the current desertification status in the Segzi Plain, Isfahan Province, Iran, through the modified Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) model and GIS. In this regard, five main indicators including soil, groundwater, vegetation cover, climate, and erosion were selected for estimating the environmental sensitivity to desertification. Each of these qualitative indicators is driven by human interference and climate. After statistical analysis and a normality test for each indicator data, spatial distribution maps were established. Then, the maps were scored in the MEDALUS approach, and the current desertification status in the study area from the geometric mean of all five quality indicators was created. Based on the results of the modified MEDALUS model, about 23.5% of the total area can be classified as high risk to desertification and 76.5% classified as very high risk to desertification. The results indicate that climate, vegetation, and groundwater quality are the most important drivers for desertification in the study area. Erosion (wind and water) and soil indices have minimal importance.

Suggested Citation

  • Sayed Fakhreddin Afzali & Ali Khanamani & Ehsan Kamali Maskooni & Ronny Berndtsson, 2021. "Quantitative Assessment of Environmental Sensitivity to Desertification Using the Modified MEDALUS Model in a Semiarid Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:14:p:7817-:d:593353
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mohamed S. Shokr & Mostafa. A. Abdellatif & Ahmed A. El Baroudy & Abdelrazek Elnashar & Esmat F. Ali & Abdelaziz A. Belal & Wael. Attia & Mukhtar Ahmed & Ali A. Aldosari & Zoltan Szantoi & Mohamed E. , 2021. "Development of a Spatial Model for Soil Quality Assessment under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Peixian Li & Peng Chen & Jiaqi Shen & Weinan Deng & Xinliang Kang & Guorui Wang & Shoubao Zhou, 2022. "Dynamic Monitoring of Desertification in Ningdong Based on Landsat Images and Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-35, June.
    2. Vito Imbrenda & Rosa Coluzzi & Valerio Di Stefano & Gianluca Egidi & Luca Salvati & Caterina Samela & Tiziana Simoniello & Maria Lanfredi, 2022. "Modeling Spatio-Temporal Divergence in Land Vulnerability to Desertification with Local Regressions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Orestis Kairis & Andreas Karamanos & Dimitrios Voloudakis & John Kapsomenakis & Chrysoula Aratzioglou & Christos Zerefos & Constantinos Kosmas, 2022. "Identifying Degraded and Sensitive to Desertification Agricultural Soils in Thessaly, Greece, under Simulated Future Climate Scenarios," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, March.

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