10.57647/j.jap.2024.0802.15

Scenario-based land use management to restore natural areas and reducing soil erosion rate in a competing land uses condition

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  • Khadijeh Haji1,
  • Abazar Esmali-Ouri*2,
  • Raoof Mostafazadeh2,
  • Habib Nazarnejad3,
  1. Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
  2. Department of Natural Resources and Member of water management Research Center, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran
  3. Department of Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran
Scenario-based land use management to restore natural areas and reducing soil erosion rate in a competing land uses condition

Received: 2024-06-17

Revised: 2024-08-03

Accepted: 2024-08-29

Published 2024-12-15

Copyright (c) 2024 Khadijeh Haji, Abazar Esmali-Ouri, Raoof Mostafazadeh, Habib Nazarnejad (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Haji, K., Esmali-Ouri, A., Mostafazadeh, R., & Nazarnejad, H. (2024). Scenario-based land use management to restore natural areas and reducing soil erosion rate in a competing land uses condition. Anthropogenic Pollution, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.57647/j.jap.2024.0802.15
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Abstract

Identifying the contribution of different land uses plays a crucial role in preventing erosion and prioritizing land management activities. This research aimed to assess the impacts of various land use scenarios on mitigating soil erosion in the North West Urmia region of Iran. In addition to the current scenario, 12 land use management scenarios were identified based on the observed trend in changes in land use patterns throughout the study area utilizing GIS. The RUSLE was used, and the necessary input parameters of the RUSLE model, were prepared. The erosion mapping has been done using overlaying the input layers. The baseline scenario (current condition) resulted in an erosion amount of 17.22 (t/ha/yr). Introducing soil conservation techniques in dry farming on steep terrain, as depicted in scenario 6 (conservation and restoration of plowed rangelands), resulted in a reduction of the erosion rate from 17.22 to 9.75 (t/ha/yr). On the other hand, scenario 20, characterized by severe rangeland degradation and overgrazing, exhibited the highest estimated erosion rate at 30.42 (t/ha/yr). In contrast, the most substantial erosion reduction of 43.37% was evident in scenario 6 (conservation and restoration of plowed rangelands). It was observed that the P-factor (support practice factor) had a more pronounced impact than the C-factor (crop/vegetation and management factor) in mitigating erosion. These findings suggest the potential for utilizing a scenario-based framework to evaluate the impact of management scenarios on erosion and prioritize soil and water management measures and strategies.

Keywords

  • Watershed management,
  • Land use change,
  • Management scenarios,
  • Conservation practices,
  • Scenario Analysis
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