Elsevier

CATENA

Volume 194, November 2020, 104706
CATENA

Factors influencing the relative recovery rate of dunes fixed under different sand-fixing measures in southwest Iran

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.104706Get rights and content

Highlight

  • We draw a comparison between the petroleum mulching-biological fixation (PM-BF), and irrigation practices-biological fixation(IP-BF) for sand dune fixing.

  • Sand-fixing measures have significantly increased the level and diversity of vegetation in this region. Human activities play an important role in the recovery of ecosystems in this region.

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the responses of sand dunes, using different restorative measures on different decadal time-scales in desert lands of southwest Iran. The study was carried out using a factorial experiment with a completely randomized design which was replicated three times. Factors consisted of restoration measures (PM-BF: petroleum mulching-biological fixation, PM: petroleum mulching, IP-BF: irrigation practices-biological fixation), history of fixation (<5, 5–10, 10–20, 30–40, and 40–50 years), and depths (<3, 3–10, and 10–40 cm). The physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of sand dunes were measured. Furthermore, vegetation cover parameters included Shannon’s diversity index, and spectral indices were determined. The relative recovery rate (Rr) of sand dune properties for different decades after fixing sand dunes was investigated. The results of this research disclosed that all three measures of PM, IP-BF, and PM-BF led to the improvement of sand dune properties. However, no significant differences were noticed between the effects of different measures of fixing sand dunes on the properties of the sand dune ecosystem. The Rr coefficient of parameters such as Shannon’s diversity index (3.58), organic matter (4.08), clay (2.8), silt (1.78), electrical conductivity (5.78), sodium absorption ratio (5.38), cation exchangeable capacity (1.48), penetration resistance (11.14), and cohesion (4.12) increased over the time period of 30–40 years compared to the initial years of sand dune stabilization (<5 years). The Rr of sand dune properties decreased from the east to west of sand dunes in this study due to a drop in precipitation as well as mismanagement, including deforestation and overgrazing. Therefore, socioeconomic factors play an important role in the recovery of ecosystems in this region.

Introduction

Desertification is one of the most important environmental and socioeconomic issues in the world (Wang and Zhu, 2003). In southwest Iran, wind erosion and the spread of sand dunes are threatening sustainable agriculture and economic development. However, due to overgrazing, deforestation, and climate change, this region has turned into sand dunes that have threatened and destroyed villages and industrial zones (Ahmady-Birgani et al., 2017). Vegetation restoration is one of the most common methods to recover sand dunes and improve ecological conditions in desert areas (Duran and Herrmann, 2006, Ffolliott et al., 1995, Li, 2014, Wang et al., 2013, Yong et al., 2005, Li et al., 2017). Several studies have shown that artificially planted vegetation in the sand dune ecosystem increases parameters such as organic carbon, nutrient elements, biological diversity, biological crust, and fine particle content of these ecosystems (Azoogh et al., 2018, Li et al., 2017, Zhang et al., 2013, Yang et al., 2014). Although vegetation can lead to the restoration of the sand dune ecosystem, different sand dunes of this region experience a different recovery to the stable state of this ecosystem.

The stable state is similar to the original state, and sand dunes can resist wind erosion and provide a sustainable ecosystem. Sand dunes do not show the same reaction to different stresses (Blanco and Lal, 2008). Several factors influence fixing sand dunes and their recovery to a stable state. These factors include geographic conditions and geomorphology (Gallardo, 2003, Gong et al., 2008, Qi et al., 2008, Miyasaka et al., 2014), vegetation (Jiang et al., 2014, Yang et al., 2009), climate (Li et al., 2017, Zhao et al., 2010, Kammer et al., 2013), and management or anthropogenic factors (Miyasaka et al., 2014, Li et al., 2009). Anthropogenic activities, including deforestation, land degradation, land clearing, overgrazing, and mining are considered to be the influential factors in the disturbance of the sand dune ecosystem and its recovery to the stable state. Moreover, socio-economic and political forces affecting the recovery of the sand dune ecosystem include landowner’s predisposition, land policies, incentives, and education (Blanco and Lal, 2008).

Changes in the biological, physical, and chemical properties of the sand dune ecosystem are used as indicators of the recovery of this ecosystem (Li et al., 2009, Azoogh et al., 2018, Yang et al., 2014, Zhang et al., 2013). These properties should be monitored from the beginning to the end of long-term monitoring in order to determine the magnitude and rate of dune recovery. Based on the conditions of the region, a factor may be more effective than others and, as a result, may be the dominant factor of the fixing sequence of sand dunes and may influence the magnitude and rate of dune recovery of the sand dune ecosystem (Li et al., 2017). It is of utmost importance to understand the causal relationships of the recovery of the sand dune ecosystem for the long-term stability of this ecosystem and the development of landuse and management strategies for improving its functional and structural integrity (Li et al., 2009, Yaghobi et al., 2018, Sefati et al., 2019). Li et al. (2017) found that biological crust was formed in sites where fixing was more than 30 years old. Clay minerals, organic matter, and nutrient elements significantly increased in these sites. Moreover, soil available nutrients had a positive correlation with increasing plant diversity. Yang et al. (2014) observed that increasing the fixing time of sand dunes from 20 to 55 years resulted in an increase in soil organic carbon.

PM-BF (petroleum mulching-biological fixation) and IP-BF (irrigation practices-biological fixation) measures have thus far been the most prevalent method of fixing sand dunes in southwest Iran. At present, these two measures are commonly used for fixing sand dunes in southwest Iran. In these regions, the recovery of the ecosystem to the stable state is different. In some parts of the ecosystem, recovery has become relatively stable, while vegetation has been lost in some other parts with 50 years of fixation, and the sand dune ecosystem has returned to its state before fixing, thus threatening rural and industrial areas and roads. Although a number of case studies have looked into the effects of different measures on the physicochemical properties of sand dunes in Iran (Azoogh et al., 2018, Ahmady-Birgani et al., 2018, Ahmady-Birgani et al., 2017), no studies concentrating on the comparison of different measures of fixing sand dunes and the recovery to the stable state after fixing them have been reported. Therefore, the objectives of this research are as follows: a) determining the factors influencing the relative recovery rate of fixed sand dunes to the stable state and b) comparing the effects of different fixing measures on sand dune attributes in southwest Iran.

Section snippets

The study area

Sand dunes in southwest Iran have an average annual temperature of 24.9 °C, and the maximum and minimum temperature is observed in July (46.2 °C) and January (6.6 °C), respectively. The average annual precipitation is 235 mm, with a minimum monthly rainfall of zero mm and a maximum of 159.79 mm. By considering its average temperature and annual precipitation based on Damarten's classification, it is clear that this region has a dry climate (Iranian institute of forests and rangelands research,

Results and discussion

Based on Fig. 3, sand dunes in Khuzestan province are located in a dry climate, extending from the west to east of this province and are on both sides of the permanent Karkheh river. The average 20-year-old precipitation rates recorded in different stations of this province show that rainfall in the eastern part of this province is 1.3 times more than that of the western part. The dispersion of the eastern sand dunes is much greater than that of the western ones, and the areas are dispersed

Conclusion

It is of utmost importance to understand the factors affecting the recovery rate of sand dune properties for developing sustainable management strategies of the sand dune ecosystem. PM-BF and IP-BF measures are common management strategies for sand dune fixation in southwest Iran. As a result, the physical and chemical properties of sand dunes have significantly improved, significantly evolving the profile of sand dunes in this region. The biological crust, which is an important indicator for

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgment

The Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) and Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan are greatly acknowledged for the financial support of this research.

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