Minimizing the Impacts of Desertification in an Arid Region: A Case Study of the West Desert of Iraq

Khamis Naba Sayl,Sadeq Oleiwi Sulaiman,Ammar Hatem Kamel,Nadhir Al-Ansari,Nur Shazwani Muhammad,Jazuri Abdullah,Yu Qian

doi:10.1155/2021/5580286

Abstract

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.

Highlights

With the rising expectations and needs of local citizens, developing countries are turning to greater resource development to create sustainable projects
As a result of the Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Degradation Index (LDI) analysis, the percentage of land classified as nonvegetation increased, and it is expected to accelerate as a result of the desertification phenomenon in the study region. erefore, rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a significant component for minimizing the risk of desertification. is study aimed to simplify the process of determining suitable sites based on a combination of the weighted linear combination (WLC) method and the Boolean overlay to order the alternate zone according to favorites with respect to valuation criteria
According to the analysis of the potential sites for RWH in the catchment area with the NDVI and LDI changes, it was demonstrated that 65% of highly suitable sites are in areas with a large change of NDVI, and 35% of highly suitable sites are in areas with a small change of NDVI, while 90% of moderately suitable sites are in areas with large change of NDVI, and 10% of moderately suitable sites are in areas with a small change of NDVI, 85% of highly suitable sites are in areas with a moderate change of LDI, 12% of highly suitable sites are in areas with a large change, and only 3% of highly suitable sites are in areas with no change

Summary

Introduction

With the rising expectations and needs of local citizens, developing countries are turning to greater resource development to create sustainable projects. Desertification is a soil degradation issue that represents tremendous environmental challenges and negative impacts, especially in term of future agricultural and socioeconomic development in semiarid and arid regions, many scholars [1,2,3] define the desertification as the land degradation resulting from different factors, containing climatic difference and human activities in semiarid, arid, and dry subhumid areas. Desertification seems once land degradation develops irreparable or when forfeiture of total productivity extents 50% to 66% [6]. Desertification is a major problem in the west desert of Iraq and leads to population displacement. A total of 4,263 families were displaced due to desertification between December 2007 and June 2009 [7]. E total area that is exposed to desertification in Iraq is estimated to be 167,000 km, Advances in Civil Engineering which is amounting to 40% of its entire area of 437,500 km2 [8, 9] Desertification has caused the deterioration of plants and soil covers that has harmfully affected nearly 70% of the dry land. e total area that is exposed to desertification in Iraq is estimated to be 167,000 km, Advances in Civil Engineering which is amounting to 40% of its entire area of 437,500 km2 [8, 9]

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Conclusion