Currently, desertification is a major problem in the western desert of Iraq. The harsh nature, remoteness, and size of the desert make it difficult and expensive to monitor and mitigate desertification. Therefore, this study proposed a comprehensive and cost-effective method, via the integration of geographic information systems (GISs) and remote sensing (RS) techniques to estimate the potential risk of desertification, to identify the most vulnerable areas and determine the most appropriate sites for rainwater conservation. Two indices, namely, the Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Degradation Index (LDI), were used for a cadastral assessment of land degradation. The findings of the combined rainwater harvesting appropriateness map, and the maps of NDVI and LDI changes found that 65% of highly suitable land for rainwater harvesting lies in the large change and 35% lies in the small change of NDVI, and 85% of highly suitable land lies in areas with a moderate change and 12% lies in strong change of LDI. The adoption of the weighted linear combination (WLC) and Boolean methods within the GIS environment, and the analysis of NDVI with LDI changes can allow hydrologists, decision-makers, and planners to quickly determine and minimize the risk of desertification and to prioritize the determination of suitable sites for rainwater harvesting.

中文翻译：

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尽量减少干旱地区荒漠化的影响：伊拉克西部沙漠的案例研究

目前，荒漠化是伊拉克西部沙漠的主要问题。沙漠的恶劣性质、偏远地区和规模使得监测和缓解荒漠化变得困难且成本高昂。因此，本研究提出了一种综合且具有成本效益的方法，通过整合地理信息系统（GIS）和遥感（RS）技术来估计荒漠化的潜在风险，确定最脆弱的地区并确定最合适的地点。用于雨水保护。两个指数，即归一化差异植被指数 (NDVI) 和土地退化指数 (LDI)，用于土地退化的地籍评估。联合雨水收集适宜性图的结果，NDVI和LDI变化图发现，65%的高度适宜集雨土地在NDVI变化大的地区，35%在变化较小的地区，85%的高度适宜的土地在中度变化和变化的地区。 12% 在于 LDI 的强烈变化。在 GIS 环境中采用加权线性组合 (WLC) 和布尔方法，以及对 NDVI 与 LDI 变化的分析，可以让水文学家、决策者和规划者快速确定和最小化荒漠化风险，并优先确定确定适合雨水收集的场地。