Mesopotamian Marshes Research Articles

The Possibilities of the Actual Orientation of the Green Building in Iraq

This research covers the zone between Iraq and Iran. The first investigated region is the 'Mesopotamian Marshes' or Iraqi-Iran Marshes, it's a wetland zone located in southern Iraq and partly in southwestern Iran. The other region is a desert district which includes a prominent part of the southern and western parts of Iraq and part of Iran. The last is the center city of Basra. The building materials were the most important building element that affected the conformation of vernacular habitats In this study, we needed to focus on the effects of ecological and energy-efficiency processes in creating vernacular habitats and the selection of optimal building systems and materials in this part of the world which can be an essential point for sustainable environmental building processes in the future. Reeds, clay, straw, bricks, and wood were the most popular building materials used by builders from this region. The impact of building material on the environment embodies the essential method implicitly significant in this research to effectively determine traditional building materials in the environment in addition to comparative analysis which presents an essential factor of our analysis in addition to the impact of environments on building systems. The main target of this study is to benefit designers and building engineers in their pursuit to find optimal and competent solutions suitable for specific local microclimates using traditional methods in the design process that are sustainable and ecological.

Quantifying the contribution of Middle Eastern dust sources to PM10 levels in Ahvaz, Southwest Iran

The contribution of the Middle East dust storms to PM10 concentrations in Ahvaz, SW Iran, has been evaluated in this study. Daily PM10 concentrations between winter 2015 and autumn 2017 have been acquired from an urban station in Ahvaz, while the dust episodes have been determined using meteorological observation data. A statistical analysis was performed to calculate the change in PM10 concentrations during each dust episode and subtract the non-dusty PM10 amount. In the next step, all the dust-source regions in the Middle East have been divided into 1° × 1° spatial grid resulting in 460 subzones. Using the HYSPLIT model, the proportion of dust particles from each of the 460 subzones has been quantified. The calibration of the HYSPLIT model is mostly influenced by P10F, which determines the threshold friction velocity in dust-source areas.Three statistical indices were considered for evaluation of the HYSPLIT predictions, the fractional bias (FB), root normalized mean square error (RNMSE), and Pearson correlation coefficient (R), which exhibited a range of values from −1.8 to 1.1 (mean of −0.33), 1.1 to 6.6 (mean: 2.64), and 0.3 to 0.9 (mean: 0.62), respectively, signifying a satisfactory alignment between model predictions and PM10 measurements. According to the results, the deserts in Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are the main contributing dust sources in Ahvaz, with mean contributions of 32%, 26%, 16%, and 10%, respectively. The contribution from the dust-source regions to PM10 in Ahvaz during dust-storm episodes can be detailed as follows: 29% from the Mesopotamian Marshes, 19% from Alluvial Plains, 11% from the Empty Quarter, 11% from the Ad-Dahna Desert, 7% from the Khuzestan Plain, while other desert regions in the Middle East contribute lesser fractions.These findings shed light on the complex relation between dust sources and PM10 concentrations, offering a basis for strategic mitigation planning in Ahvaz and informing public health management and policy formulation.

The fragile ecology in Iraq’s Mesopotamian marshlands endangered and restructured by a sharp increase in salinity

In southern Iraq, the Mesopotamian marshes have suffered for decades from a decrease in freshwater input from both rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The Shatt Al-Arab River and East Hammar marsh in southern Iraq were affected by a salt wedge that advanced from the Arabian Gulf during July and August 2018, causing a rapid and sharp increase in salinity levels. A monthly monitoring program has revealed an invasion of saltwater species from the Gulf accompanied by the disappearance of native species of freshwater. Seven submerged aquatic plant species disappeared. Thus, the number of freshwater phytoplankton species decreases. It was found that the quality and quantity of small zooplankton significantly changed, resulting in the disappearance of many freshwater species, and the number of freshwater mollusks significantly decreased. A marsh was invaded by two species of marine shrimp that were previously unrecorded, and native freshwater fish species were drastically affected. East Hammar’s fragile ecology is rapidly shifting from oligosaline to estuarine, devastating an important environmental resource and endangering a culturally unique setting.

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In the 1970s, the world knew the long-tailed nesokia Nesokia bunnii (Khajuria, 1981) (Rodentia, Muridae) from the Mesopotamian marshes of Garden of Eden in Southern Iraq. This distinct rodent was known from only five voucher specimens collected at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq while its occurrence in Southwestern Iran had never been reported. In the 1990s, a large extent of its natural habitat was catastrophically desiccated and the animal was last seen in the 1970s. Since then, the status of this elusive rodent was shrouded in mystery. In 2007, an extraordinary photograph of a carcass of this species came to the light from Hawizeh Marsh which was interpreted as concrete evidence of the species’ persistence in the marshes of southern Iraq after the desiccation in the last century. In 2021, after more than 40 years, exclusive photographic records of living N. bunnii were obtained for the first time from Central Marshes in southern Iraq and from Edhe’am Marsh in southwestern Iran. The new distribution range is highlighted in this note. Furthermore, the first photographs of living N. bunnii are provided along with notes on its ecology and behavior.

Changes in Mesopotamian Wetlands: Investigations Using Diverse Remote Sensing Datasets

Early civilizations have inhabited areas with stable water resources that supported living needs and activities. The Mesopotamian marshes have experienced dramatic changes during the past five decades. The aim of this study is to observe, analyse and report the extent of changes in these marshes from 1972 to 2020. Data from various sources were acquired through Google Earth Engine (GEE) including climate variables, land cover, surface reflectance, and surface water occurrence collections. Additionally, streamflow data was also analysed. Methods were based on diagnostic analysis to monitor and evaluate the causes and results of the total environmental dynamism. Results show a clear wetlands dynamism over time, a decrease of incoming flow to the region due to the damming of upstream tributaries, and a significant loss in marshlands extent, even though no significant long-term change was observed in lumped rainfall from 1982, and even during periods where no meteorological drought had been recorded. Human interventions have disturbed the ecosystems, which is evident when studying water occurrence changes. These show that the diversion of rivers and the building of a new drainage system caused the migration and spatiotemporal changes of marshlands. Nonetheless, restoration plans (after 2003) and strong wet conditions (period 2018–2020) have helped to recover the ecosystems, these have not led the marshlands to regain their former extent. Further studies should pay more attention to the drainage network within the study area as well as the neighbouring regions and their impact on the streamflow that feeds the marshes.

Managing food-ecosystem synergies to sustain water resource systems

Measures implemented to restore ecosystem services are widely believed to conflict with food production in the world's irrigated regions because of their competition for scarce water. However, little integrated analysis has been conducted to test this hypothesis. This work tests that hypothesis by presenting results of a basin-scale hydroeconomic analysis linking biophysical, hydrologic, agronomic, ecological, economic, policy, and institutional dimensions of the partially-restored Mesopotamian Marshes of Western Asia. Results serve to partly reject the hypothesis: Here we find that an economically-optimized ecosystem restoration trajectory can be achieved with a minimal loss in food production or farm income where restored wetlands complement important dimensions of food production. Moreover, we find that where water shortage sharing rules can be made more flexible, ecosystem restoration more nearly complements improved food security. Our results point to previously unexplored synergies among food production, ecosystem restoration, and water laws in arid and semi-arid regions internationally.

The Ilisu Dam and Its Impact on the Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq: Implications for the Future Directions of International Water Law

Abstract The law of international watercourses has been successful in providing some measure of assistance in conflict avoidance and resolution. However, evolution of this body of law, which has been gradual in nature, is facing challenges adapting to climate change and its grave consequences. Climate change is causing the glaciers of the world to melt, and resulting in unpredictable shifts in patterns of rainfall, thus seriously impacting shared watercourses. The history and ecology of the Tigris Euphrates Basin, and the issues surrounding Turkey’s recent impoundment of water behind the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris, provide an example highlighting such challenges. This monograph argues that international collaboration over transboundary watercourses is imperative for maintaining peace and stability and should force us to think of new ways to address these newly emerging and growing challenges in this field.

Connecting changes in Euphrates River flow to hydropattern of the Western Mesopotamian Marshes

The Mesopotamian Marshlands are the largest wetland system in the Middle East. Historically, these marshes served as the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and they are currently connected to these rivers via surface water feeder canals. Historically, the Mesopotamian marshes received consistent flood pulses during the spring season from March to May. In recent decades, however, several large dams have been constructed in the Tigris and Euphrates basins for irrigation purposes and power generation, severely altering the flow regime, which along with other direct anthropogenic activities, has severely degraded the marsh ecosystem. This work quantifies changes in the riverine flow regime and how they have affected the hydro-pattern of the western Mesopotamian marshes (focusing on the western Al-Hammar marsh) and describes the role of hydrological drivers that are important for marsh restoration. The total area of the Al-Hammar marshes has been reduced from an average of 2800 km2 before 1970 to a minimum of 240 km2 in recent decades, concomitant with reductions in annual average Euphrates River flow (at Hit) from 967 to 602 m3/s and marked flow regime alteration. While climate warming and reduced precipitation were observed in the basin, changes in the fundamental precipitation-flow relationship implicate infrastructural changes (upstream dams) as the primary reason for these changes. This analysis quantified how flow variability under historic and contemporary conditions have affected wetland area and other hydro-pattern characteristics and suggests that at an annual average of least 70 m3/s of water deliveries to the western Mesopotamian marsh are required to restore 1000 km2 of wetland area. Our hope is that this focus on the river-marsh connection will help inform predictive models and scenario analysis for restoration of this unique social-ecological system.

A forgotten rodent from the Garden of Eden: what really happened to the long-tailed nesokia rat in the Mesopotamian marshes?

Abstract The greater part of expected mammalian extinctions will be of smaller-bodied mammals, including rats which are more generally known only as pests and carriers of pathogens. We address the long-tailed nesokia rat, which is among the least studied Palaearctic mammals. The species is known from merely five specimens, collected between March 1974 and January 1977 within a radius of 30 km around Qurna inside the seasonally flooded Mesopotamian marshes in southern Iraq. In the 1990s, this extensive aquatic habitat has been deliberately reduced to <15% of its original area and the IUCN expressed fear that such a disaster “almost certainly” caused the extinction of the long-tailed nesokia. Although the interventions after 2003 reversed the shrinking trend and marshes started to expand, the continuous presence of the long-tailed nesokia could not be unambiguously confirmed. We provide meagre evidence suggesting that the rat might be still present in the marshes. Next, our habitat modelling shows that the area of the long-tailed nesokia might be more extensive than expected with a highly suitable habitat covering 15,650 km2 of Mesopotamian marshland in Iraq (between Basra and Salah Ad Din provinces) and the Hawizeh Marshes in the adjacent Iranian Khuzestan.

Management of Natural Iraqi Water Resources, Aims And Challenges

There are a number of reasons that contributed to the water scarcity problem in Iraq, represented by the water policy by shared countries with Iraq, climate changes in the last few years and the mismanagement of the water resources in Iraq that faces many challenges such as the increased demand on water due to the abnormal growth of population, as well as the high river sediment and neglecting the sanitation systems and mix them with rainwater, in addition to discharge them directly to the rivers which led to rivers pollution and deteriorate their quality. The drought of Mesopotamian Marshes had a significant effect that resulted in environmental changes and increased the impact of desertification. Thus, solving the problem of water is done through the existence of a strong federal government that develops plans which follows a water policy suits the geography of the area and overcome the Iraqi’s riparian states competition

Anormogomphus kiritshenkoi Bartenev, 1913 (Odonata: Gomphidae) in Iran: some remarks on its biology, ecology and distribution

Anormogomphus kiritshenkoi Bartenev, 1913 was found in Iran in 2019, with more than 20 individuals observed at the Karkheh and Shadegan rivers, Khuzestan Province in SW Iran. In 2019 the first floods for decades occurred in this region with high water levels in the floodplains of the lower Karkheh and Shadegan rivers. We believe that this flooding of the lowland plains promoted the appearance of A. kiritshenkoi, because the species had not been seen for decades in the region. Most of the specimens were resting on plants of Suaeda aegyptiaca growing on small dams close to the riverside, probably creating a favourable microclimate in this saline and hot environment. The region covered by the Karkheh and Shadegan rivers is geographically part of the Mesopotamian Marshes, and A. kiritshenkoi was recorded from the Iraqi part of the marshes in the 1920s.

THE DIURNAL BIRDS OF PREY (RAPTORS) IN THE MESOPOTAMIAN MARSHES OF SOUTHERN IRAQ WITH NOTES ON THEIR CONSERVATION STATUS

Birds of prey (Raptors) are top predator avian species that many migrate annually through Mesopotamian marshes in southern Iraq toward their wintering grounds in Arabia and Africa, while others are breeding residents; however, information on their current status is scarce. From January 2016 to April 2019, a total of 20 field expeditions were conducted in the geographical zone of the Mesopotamian marshes, wetlands of international importance. The survey covered the Central Marshes, Al-Hammar and Hawizeh Marsh. One of the objectives of the field surveys is to list the raptors species that wintering and/or migrating through the Mesopotamian marshes and to understand their current spatial and temporal distribution. In the present study, a total of 32 species of diurnal raptors are recorded through intensive field observations, reviewing literature records, and personal communications of unpublished data. Moreover, eight species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN Red List are recorded which highlight the ecological importance of the Mesopotamian marshes as a major stopover site for globally threatened raptors. Besides species persecution, observed threats such as habitat destruction, climate change, and pollution were severely influencing birds of prey communities in the Mesopotamian marshes which warrant further conservation actions.

Phytoplankton diversity recovers slowly and cyanobacterial abundance remains high after the reflooding of drained marshes

Wetland restoration with the goal of restoring natural ecosystem functioning is receiving attention worldwide. Mesopotamian marshes, which had been suffering from a water shortage since the 1970s, were reflooded in 2003, and have been assessed to be at least partly recovered from certain physical, chemical, or biological point of views. Our focus was in the phytoplankton community and through that in the aquatic food web in order to understand the recovery of the normal functioning of the marsh ecosystem. We sampled eight separate marshes that formed a continuum from a wet to a desertified area during the desiccation period. Three to five years after the reflooding, we measured the biomass, diversity and structure of the phytoplankton community and its controlling physical and chemical factors 11 times irregularly. In most cases, the dried and reflooded marshes had a less diverse phytoplankton community than the marsh that had never dried up. The community structure of the latter differed from all dried marshes and was the most divergent from the marshes that had been succumbed to desertification and were situated farthest away from the freshwater rivers. We conclude that the aquatic food web and thus the natural wetland ecosystem functioning recover more slowly than single physical or chemical factors. Cyanobacteria species abundance may be of concern from a management point of view for a long period of time.

Comparison of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Derived from Landsat, MODIS, and AVHRR for the Mesopotamian Marshes Between 2002 and 2018

The Mesopotamian marshes are a group of water bodies located in southern Iraq, in the shape of a triangle, with the cities Amarah, Nasiriyah, and Basra located at its corners. The marshes are appropriate habitats for a variety of birds and most of the commercial fisheries in the region. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) has been derived using observations from various satellite sensors, such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), and Landsat over the Mesopotamian marshlands for the 17-year period between 2002 and 2018. We have chosen this time series (2002–2018) to monitor the change in vegetation of the study area since it is considered as a period of rehabilitation for the marshes (following a period when there was little to no water flowing into the marshes). Statistical analyses were performed to monitor the variability of the maximum biomass time (month of June). The results illustrated a strong positive correlation between the NDVI derived from Landsat, MODIS, and AVHRR. The statistical correlations were 0.79, 0.77, and 0.96 between Landsat and AVHRR, MODIS and AVHRR, and Landsat and MODIS, respectively. The linear slope of NDVI (Landsat, MODIS, and AVHRR) for each pixel over the period 2002–2018 displays a long-term trend of green biomass (NDVI) change in the study area, and the slope is slightly negative over most of the area. Slope values (−0.002 to −0.05) denote a slight decrease in the observed vegetation index over 17 years. The green biomass of the marshlands increased by 33.2% of the total area over 17 years. The areas of negative and positive slopes correspond to the same areas in slope map when calculated from Landsat, MODIS, and AVHRR, although they are different in spatial resolution (30 m, 1 km, and 5 km, respectively). The time series of the average NDVI (2002–2018) for three different sensors shows the highest and lowest NDVI values during the same years (for the month of June each year). The highest values were 0.19, 0.22, and 0.22 for Landsat, MODIS, and AVHRR, respectively, in 2006, and the lowest values were 0.09, 0.14, and 0.09 for Landsat, MODIS, and AVHRR, respectively, in 2003.

First record of colour aberration in Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis (Hartlaub, 1891) (Passeriformes: Acrocephalidae) from Central Marshes of southern Iraq, with notes on its intraspecific/interspecific behavior

Pigment disorders such as albinism, leucism and progressive greying, which cause the absence of melanin pigments in all or parts of the plumage and bare parts, have been reported in many wild bird populations including Acrocephalus warblers. Basra Reed Warbler Acrocephalus griseldis (Hartlaub, 1891) is a restricted-range species confined to the extensive reed beds of Mesopotamian marshes. It is listed as Endangered due to breeding habitat degradation, water scarcity and climate change. In April 2018, a partly white plumaged Basra Reed Warbler was sighted in Central Marshes in southern Iraq. This is the first report of such a plumage aberration in this species. The nature of the aberration involved an intraspecific/interspecific behavior of the white plumaged Basra Reed Warbler are described.

Water deprivation as military strategy in the Middle East, 3.700 years ago

Oil, which sparked the first Gulf War, is not the only liquid resource that may trigger global crises from within a Middle Eastern theater. Water - or the lack of it - could be a cause of future conflicts because it is the most precious natural resource that can be manipulated and controlled by humans. Here, we report the written evidence for the diversion of the Tigris for repression purposes in Iraq, 3700 years ago, during a period marked by precipitation decline. Our study shows the perverted role of human control over water in the Middle East, using freshwater supplies as a weapon of war, especially at times when drought may have affected the inhabitants, leaving them weak and vulnerable. The translation of 75 cuneiform tablets from the Cornell Archive has revealed the development of military forts for the protection of the Babylonian heartland, and has highlighted one of the oldest known attempts to dry up the Mesopotamian marshes to starve the southern lowlands. Independent palaeoenvironmental data and climate modelling show that relatively drier conditions may have increased the efficiency of this military strategy.

A redescription of the Long-tailed Nesokia, Nesokia bunnii, and designation of a neotype (Rodentia: Muridae).

Long-tailed Nesokia, Nesokia bunnii, is a large rat restricted to the Mesopotamian marshes in Basra Province in southern Iraq. The species is known from five museum vouchers collected between March 1974 and January 1977. The type and the paratype, deposited in the Natural History Research Centre and Museum, University of Baghdad, Iraq, were destroyed during War on Iraq in 2003. By studying morphological details on three museum specimens in the Senckenberg Institution, Frankfurt a. M., Germany, we show that N. bunnii is unique among the Bandicoot rats (Nesokia and Bandicota) in having (1) rufous dorsal pelage, (2) facial mask of rufous, dark brown, grey and whitish areas, (3) whitish belly which is clearly demarcated along flanks, (4) ventral hairs white to bases, (5) woolly underfur, (6) long front claws, and (7) large tail annulation. Similar to N. indica, but in contrast to Bandicota, N. bunnii displays short incisive foramina, posterior margin of hard palate which terminates at the level of the third molar, and robust, hypsodont and laminate molars which lack posterior cingula. To objectively define the taxon we designate a neotype, which was collected at Saraifa, 30 km north of Qurna, Iraq. Our study highlights the importance of museum collections in documenting biodiversity and the indifference of decision makers and international institutions regarding their safe future.

Index and statistical methods in water management. A case study from the Mesopotamian marshes, Iraq

Index and statistical methods in water management. A case study from the Mesopotamian marshes, Iraq

Reconstructing the historical water regime of the contributing basins to the Hawizeh marsh: Implications of water control structures.

The Hawizeh marsh, a unique wetland which is part of the Mesopotamian marshes, is recognized as a wetland of international importance. The marsh has been shrinking and there has been little research into its degradation. This study aims to reconstruct historical water regimes in the contributing basins (Tigris and Karkheh river Basins, TKRB) to investigate factors that have affected the wellbeing of the marsh. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used for this study. The model was calibrated and validated using nine river gauging stations. Results indicated that inflows to the marsh decreased by 65% and 80% in the '90s and 2000s, respectively, compared to the '80s. The reductions in streamflow were caused by decrease in precipitation and water abstraction. The annual precipitation decreased by 14% and 38% in the '90s and 2000s, respectively, compared to the '80s. Highest water abstraction was seen in Karkheh dam which caused a reduction of 45% in the annual streamflows. Average annual evaporative losses from Tharthar lake (2700km2) were very high (2260hm3 [cubic hectometer]). Although the Hawizeh marsh has been shrinking for the last three decades, recent satellite images (2013) have shown that the marsh has been reviving, mainly due to increased precipitation from 2011 to 2013. The revival of the marsh is promising; however, if the planned dams on TKRB are implemented, the future of the marsh remains uncertain. The sustainability of the Hawizeh marsh will require integrated water resources management among the riparian countries to rehabilitate and maintain this unique wetland.

Effects of mesopotamian marsh (iraq) desiccation on the cultural knowledge and livelihood of marsh arab women

In this study, we evaluate ecological and cultural resiliency in response to desertification of the Mesopotamian Marshes of Southern Iraq. Our research illustrates that the desiccation of the marshes has caused a drastic change in how Marsh Arab women interact with their environment; specifically, in comparison to the predesiccation period, women’s roles are increasingly limited to domestic rather than marsh‐dependent activities. With the exception of raising water buffalo and limited horticulture activities, most families today have little opportunity to utilize women’s ability to generate income by applying their traditional ecological knowledge and skills. Furthermore, these women are no longer transmitting their marsh‐specific knowledge and skills to the next generation, and these valuable and ancient cultural memories are being lost. Upstream dam construction, drought, and regional climate change is depriving Marsh Arab communities of marsh ecosystem services such as potable water, water buffalo forage, fish yields, and reed production. In marsh areas, where enough water remains to sustain ecosystem services (such as in Chibayish and the Iraq Marshlands National Park), cultural knowledge has been retained and passed on to the next generations. We recommend that programs be implemented to preserve these traditional skills, to develop a market for handicrafts to support women and their families, and to support cultural knowledge. Otherwise, with the passing of the older generation, these remnants of ancient Sumerian knowledge systems and traditional ways of life will soon be forgotten.