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Desertification vulnerability in Varamin Plain, Central of Iran
Ammar Rafiei Emam, Farhad Fakhri
Faculty of natural resources, university of Tehran, Karaj P.O.Box 31585-4314, Tehran, Iran.
E-mail: rafiei99@yahoo.com
Ali naghi Rafiei Emam, Amir Ahmadian
Faculty of economic, university of Tehran,Tehran, Iran.
Tel : +98 911 2499262, Fax: +98 21 8966760
Email: ali_rafie@yahoo.com
Abstract:
Desertification is a land degradation problem of major importance in the arid regions of the world.
Desertification is a world-wide phenomenon which causes the earth's ecosystems to deteriorate. It affects about two-thirds of the countries of the world, and one-third of the earth's surface, on which one billion people live, namely, one-fifth of the world population.
The vulnerability of land to Desertification is mainly due to the climate, water sources degradation, the state of the soil and the natural vegetation, and the ways in which these two resources are used and its degradation.
The state of the soil (texture, structure and chemical and biological properties) is a major factor, particularly in the sub-humid zones where the influence of climatic factors is less marked. It plays an essential role in causing vulnerability to Desertification caused by human activities.
In this research we evaluated risk of Desertification of Varamin plain, one of the Great Plains in Iran. This plain has a semi dry climate and have rainfall about 173 mm.
To this aim, three indicators was evaluated by using a geographic Information System (GIS). These indicators are to include soil, Groundwater and Landuse.
Each parameter was weighted in relation to its influence on Desertification process.
And risks of Desertification were computed by geometric mean of the parameters with help of ARCVIEW 3.1 Software.
The results show that Desertification is high or medium in the south of plain, and in the central of plain the Desertification is low.
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