Investigating the relationship between desertification criteria and land use change and providing operational monitoring methodology Using IMDPA

Desertification is one of the destructive phenomena in the human court that causes the destruction of natural resources. Since Iran is located on a dry and semi-arid belt, recognizing the phenomenon of desertification and the factors affecting its intensification in our country is very important. In this research, satellite image information was used to study the role of land use change on desertification phenomena in the study area in northern Khuzestan. In a 24-year statistical period, a desertification intensity map was prepared using the IMDPA model based on water, climate, vegetation and soil criteria. The land use map of the area was prepared for three periods of 1991, 2003 and 2015, including six landuses: agriculture, rang land, salt land, flaggy and river. The results of the desertification intensity map showed that the intensity of desertification was initially in the period from 1991 to 2003, so that in 1991, about 9.6% of the region was in the low desertification class and 90.4% of the region was in the middle deserification class. In addition, since 2003, severe desertification class has been observed, which includes 8.3% of the region, and low and medium classes have covered about 8.7% and 87.4% of the region, respectively. Moreover, in 2015, low, medium and severe classes include about 14.8, 85 and 0.1 percent of the total area, respectively. In addition, the numerical value of the intensity of desertification in each use and its comparison showed that the most effective effect was the use of pastures, agriculture and residential areas, respectively, and the least effect was the use of Nizar in desertification of the region. To better examine the relationship between desert risk indicators and land use change, different models were adapted to the obtained data, and among these models, the best model was used for each use and intensity of desertification. Among the various uses, according to the correlation coefficient, the best relationship between desertification intensity and land use change was the use of salt land with 0.29 = 96

Antecedent Soil Moisture Conditions Influenced Vertical Dust Flux: A Case Study in Iran Using WRF-Chem Model

Soil moisture is one of the most important parameters affecting dust emission flux. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of soil moisture on vertical dust flux in the central plateau region of Iran. In this study, the WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecast with Chemistry) model, with the GOCART (Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport) scheme, was used to estimate the dust emission flux during a major storm from 19 to 21 July 2015, and to discriminate between dust sources. The results showed that the Kyrgyz deserts in Turkmenistan, the Arabian deserts in Saudi Arabia, the deserts of Iraq, and the Helmand region in Afghanistan are sources of foreign dust. Additionally, the central desert plain was identified as an internal dust source, where the dust level reached 7000 µg m−2 s−1. The results of WRF-Chem simulation were verified with reanalysis data from MERRA2 and AERONET data from Natanz station, which showed good agreement with the simulation. Based on the GLDAS reanalysis, soil moisture content varied between 2.6% and 34%. Linear and nonlinear regression of vertical dust flux values and soil moisture showed nonlinear behavior following the exponential function, with a correlation coefficient of 0.8 and a strong negative association between soil moisture and vertical dust flux