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