Semi-arid Landscapes Research Articles

Applications of SAR Interferometric Coherence Time Series: Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Geomorphic Transitions in the South‐Central Andes

AbstractSediment transport domains in mountain landscapes are characterized by fundamentally different processes and rates depending on several factors, including geology, climate, and biota. Accurately identifying where transitions between transport domains occur is an important step to quantify the past, present, and future contribution of varying erosion and sedimentation processes and enhance our predictive capabilities. We propose a new methodology based on time series of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometric coherence images to map sediment transport regimes across arid and semiarid landscapes. Using 4 years of Sentinel‐1 data, we analyze sediment transport regimes for the south‐central Andes in northwestern Argentina characterized by steep topographic and climatic gradients. We observe seasonally low coherence during the regional wet season, particularly on hillslopes and in alluvial channels. The spatial distribution of coherence is compared to drainage areas extracted from digital topography to identify two distinct transitions within watersheds: (a) a hillslope‐to‐fluvial and (b) a fluvial‐to‐alluvial transition. While transitions within a given basin can be well‐constrained, the relative role of each sediment transport domain varies widely over the climatic and topographic gradients. In semiarid regions, we observe larger relative contributions from hillslopes compared to arid regions. Across regional gradients, the range of coherence within basins positively correlates to previously published millennial catchment‐wide erosion rates and to topographic metrics used to indicate long‐term uplift. Our study suggests that a dense time series of interferometric coherence can be used as a proxy for surface sediment movement and landscape stability in vegetation‐free settings at event to decadal timescales.

Effects of precipitation intermittency on vegetation patterns in semi-arid landscapes

Patterns of vegetation are a characteristic feature of many semi-arid regions. The limiting resource in these ecosystems is water, which is added to the system through short and intense rainfall events that cause a pulse of biological processes such as plant growth and seed dispersal. We propose an impulsive model based on the Klausmeier reaction–advection–diffusion system, analytically investigate the effects of rainfall intermittency on the onset of patterns, and augment our results by numerical simulations of model extensions. Our investigation focuses on the parameter region in which a transition between uniform and patterned vegetation occurs. Results show that decay-type processes associated with a low frequency of precipitation pulses inhibit the onset of patterns and that under intermittent rainfall regimes, a spatially uniform solution is sustained at lower total precipitation volumes than under continuous rainfall, if plant species are unable to efficiently use low soil moisture levels. Unlike in the classical setting of a reaction–diffusion model, patterns are not caused by a diffusion-driven instability but by a combination of sufficiently long periods of droughts between precipitation pulses and water diffusion. Our results further indicate that the introduction of pulse-type seed dispersal weakens the effects of changes to width and shape of the plant dispersal kernel on the onset of patterns.

The effect of shrubland and grassland vegetation types on soil fauna and flora activities in a mountainous semi-arid landscape of Iran

The effect of vegetation types at mountainous sites on the relationships between soil biota and environmental variables applicable for the evaluation of soil quality and functions are barely studied and remain almost unknown. With the aim of studying the effect of shrubland and grassland plant coverings on soil fauna and flora activities, a mountainous semi-arid site in northern Iran (Diakooh) was selected for this research. Six vegetation types were selected with dominance in shrub and grassland coverage, i.e., (1) Crataegus microphylla CK. Koch., (2) Berberis integerrima Bunge, (3) Ribes uva–crispa L., (4) Prunus spinosa L., and with dominance in rangeland cover, i.e., (5) dominant Lecokia cretica (Lam.) DC., Orchis mascula L., Cardamine bulbifera (L.) Crantz, and (6) Fragaria vesca L. A total of 15 soil samples (30 × 30 × 10 cm) from each vegetation type were transferred to the laboratory. In addition, seasonal measurements (i.e. summer and autumn) were considered to achieve the temporal patterns of soil fauna and flora activities. Higher populations of soil earthworms (especially epigeic groups), acarina, collembola, nematode, and protozoa were found in the Crataegus site compared to other vegetation types with higher activities in the autumn season. Shrublands, especially with Crataegus cover, had increased activities of soil bacteria and fungi with higher abundances in the summer. Soils with higher fertility indicators and increased biota activities were attributed to the Crataegus and Berberis vegetation types by PCA. Overall, the findings of this study showed that shrubs can improve soil quality at high altitudes of mountainous, semi-arid sites that are often considered as especially fragile and sensitive ecosystems.

Role of Surface Melt and Icing Events in Livestock Mortality across Mongolia’s Semi-Arid Landscape

Livestock production is a socioeconomic linchpin in Mongolia and is affected by large-scale livestock die-offs. Colloquially known as dzuds, these die-offs are driven by anomalous climatic events, including extreme cold temperatures, extended snow cover duration (SCD) and drought. As average temperatures across Mongolia have increased at roughly twice the global rate, we hypothesized that increasing cold season surface melt including soil freeze/thaw (FT), snowmelt, and icing events associated with regional warming have become increasingly important drivers of dzud events as they can reduce pasture productivity and inhibit access to grazing. Here, we use daily brightness temperature (Tb) observations to identify anomalous surface melt and icing events across Mongolia from 2003–2016 and their contribution to dzuds relative to other climatic drivers, including winter temperatures, SCD, and drought. We find a positive relationship between surface melt and icing events and livestock mortality during the fall in southern Mongolia and during the spring in the central and western regions. Further, anomalous seasonal surface melt and icing events explain 17–34% of the total variance in annual livestock mortality, with cold temperatures as the leading contributor of dzuds (20–37%). Summer drought showed the greatest explanatory power (43%) but overall had less statistically significant relationships relative to winter temperatures. Our results indicate that surface melt and icing events will become an increasingly important driver of dzuds as annual temperatures and livestock populations are projected to increase in Mongolia.

Was the Central Pampean Dunefields of Argentina Occupied during the Late Pleistocene? A Reappraisal of the Evidence

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we integrate different lines of archaeological evidence to generate a model of early human peopling for the Central Pampean Dunefields (an aeolian system of central Argentina), based on several sites found in the area. The first traces of human occupations date back to ∼10,000 calendar years ago, and they correspond to burials. During the middle Holocene, the archaeological signal increases and subsistence included a wide variety of faunal resources. The archaeological evidence is representative of hunter-gatherer adaptations to semi-arid landscapes, which involved high residential mobility, broad-spectrum foraging, and an elevated degree of technological flexibility. We also discuss the lack of occupations in the Central Pampean Dunefields during the late Pleistocene, when neighboring areas were already inhabited.

Biodiversity and climate change perceptions in arid lands-implications for sustainable development in Botswana

The paper considers the biodiversity and climate change perceptions in the semi-arid landscape of Botswana. Ecosystem services are essential to the planet’s equilibrium/wellbeing. However, anthropogenic influences, including climate change remain a stressor to the biodiversity resources. For Botswana, the land degradation and droughts, climate change and livelihoods are intertwined to divulge distinctive vulnerabilities and impacts. The existing action plans such as National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), the Botswana National Action Programme to Combat Desertification (BNAP-CCD) and climate change’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) point to the need for synergies. Research projects highlight increased vulnerabilities for various sectors, which challenge the country’s sustainability initiatives to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), National Development Plan 11 (NDP11) and the Vision 2036 imperatives. The perception study reveals the general public’s interpretations of what is good and what are challenges, at district levels. These reveal that biodiversity or climate change are not perceived to contribute much to the ‘good’ of the country, except for 2 district groups in northern Botswana. The national challenges hinge much on biodiversity loss and climate change – hence restricting attainment of the national development priorities.

Status of Endangered La Graciosa Thistle Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis (Asteraceae) in Coastal Southern California

La Graciosa thistle Cirsium scariosum var. loncholepis (Asteraceae) is a biennial or short-lived perennial plant (usually 10 to 100 cm tall) that is endemic to southwestern San Luis Obispo County and western Santa Barbara County in coastal southern California, and little has been published regarding it. The taxon was listed as threatened under the California Endangered Species Act in 1990 and endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2000. At Federal listing in 2000, La Graciosa thistle was known from 17 occurrences, 8 of which were likely extirpated. As of 2019, it is known from 21 occurrences of which five are extant, 15 are likely extirpated and 1 has unknown status. La Graciosa thistle exists as groups of individuals in wetland habitats in an arid and semi-arid landscape, and the five extant occurrences are associated with the Callender Dunes and Guadalupe Dunes in San Luis Obispo County. The plants flower once and then die, with a probable life span of 2 to 6 yr. Seed dispersal is by wind and also likely by water, and the taxon appears to have only a minimally persistent soil seed bank. The primary threat to La Graciosa thistle in 2019 is reduced water/lack of water, with groundwater decline as the likely major cause, along with hydrological alteration, drought and climate change. The groundwater decline appears to result primarily from extraction for urban, agricultural and industrial uses, and it is exacerbated by drought and climate change. In 2019, La Graciosa thistle meets the IUCN criteria for endangered.

Insights into the importance of ecosystem services to human well-being in reservoir landscapes

Smallholder famers in West Africa use multiple ecosystem services (ES) in their day-to-day lives. The contribution that these services make to human well-being (HWB), and therefore to development outcomes, is not well understood. We analyse smallholder farmer perceptions of ES, ecosystem disservices (ED), and their HWB importance around community-managed reservoirs in four semi-arid landscapes in West Africa, using participatory mapping, focus groups and face-to-face surveys. Farmers identified what nature-based benefits (ES) and problems (ED) they perceived across each landscape and rated the importance of each service and disservice for their HWB. Our results indicate that ES make an important contribution to HWB in our study sites. More than 80% of farmers rated benefits from plant-based foods, domestic and agricultural water supplies, biofuel, medicinal plants, and fertile soil, and problems associated with human disease vectors, as of high or very high importance for HWB. Multiple ES were identified as contributing to each dimension of HWB, and ED as detracting from health and material well-being. Perceptions of the importance of several ES and ED varied significantly with socio-economic group, highlighting the need for careful consideration of trade-offs between HWB outcomes and stakeholders in ecosystem management decisions to support sustainable development.

Range-wide genetic structure of a cooperative mouse in a semi-arid zone: Evidence for panmixia.

Landscape topography and the mobility of individuals will have fundamental impacts on a species' population structure, for example by enhancing or reducing gene flow and therefore influencing the effective size and genetic diversity of the population. However, social organization will also influence population genetic structure. For example, species that live and breed in cooperative groups may experience high levels of inbreeding and strong genetic drift. The western pebble-mound mouse (Pseudomys chapmani), which occupies a highly heterogeneous, semi-arid landscape in Australia, is an enigmatic social mammal that has the intriguing behaviour of working cooperatively in groups to build permanent pebble mounds above a subterranean burrow system. Here, we used both nuclear (microsatellite) and mitochondrial (mtDNA) markers to analyse the range-wide population structure of western pebble-mound mice sourced from multiple social groups. We observed high levels of genetic diversity at the broad scale, very weak genetic differentiation at a finer scale and low levels of inbreeding. Our genetic analyses suggest that the western pebble-mound mouse population is both panmictic and highly viable. We conclude that high genetic connectivity across the complex landscape is a consequence of the species' ability to permeate their environment, which may be enhanced by "boom-bust" population dynamics driven by the semi-arid climate. More broadly, our results highlight the importance of sampling strategies to infer social structure and demonstrate that sociality is an important component of population genetic structure.

Amphibians of the Oriental Region and the Moulouya River Basin of Morocco: distribution and conservation notes

Monitoring amphibian populations, especially over fragile ecosystems such as arid and semiarid landscapes, helps to detect demographic trends and ecological risks. During several campaigns carried out between 2013 and 2017 across the Moulouya River Basin and the Oriental Region of Morocco, we identified nine amphibian species from the 11 previously recorded. Amphibian population threats were also detected. In this work, we focused on the amphibians of the Oriental Region of Morocco with the aims to (1) update their distribution providing new records, (2) confirm the prevalence of some vulnerable species in the region, and (3) provide an overview of the ecology and conservation status of each species at a regional level.

Impacts of meteorological factors and land use pattern on hydrological elements in a semi-arid basin.

The allocation of water resources to meet both human wellbeing and environmental requirements is a critical challenge in a semi-arid landscape. Hydrological models are widely used to understand the influence mechanism of hydrological elements, which is helpful for optimizing water resources management. However, the spatial heterogeneity of hydrological dynamics has been largely omitted in prior studies, partly because it's difficult to correctly simulate the spatial distributions of hydrological elements due to roughly representing the surface biophysical parameters in the hydrological model. In this study, the Distributed Hydrological Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) was incorporated with the high-resolution remotely sensed leaf area index (LAI) data in a semiarid basin, located in the upstream of the Xar Moron River Basin, to explore the impacts of meteorological factors (i.e., air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, shortwave radiation, and precipitation) and LAI on hydrological processes of forests, grasslands, and farmlands. Our results show that the spatial distribution of LAI slightly improves the accuracy of streamflow simulations and significantly promotes the model performance of spatial hydrological element simulations. For the area in study, precipitation, LAI, and relative humidity are the three major influential factors in the forest hydrological dynamics. The hydrological elements of grasslands and farmlands are mainly affected by shortwave radiation, relative humidity, air temperature, and LAI. Compared with grasslands and farmlands, LAI has greater negative influence on forest water availability. To mitigate the negative effects of drying and warming climate and promote ecosystems sustainability, the forest area should be converted into grassland while the native grassland should be maintained for soil water conservation.

Ecohydrological threats to Colophospermum mopane in southern Zimbabwe.

Rapid ecohydrological changes in semi-arid landscapes are increasingly threatening humanity’s life-support systems and eroding many of the ecosystem services (ESs) upon which humans occupying such regions depend. Knowing which services and ecohydrological changes to be most concerned about is indispensable to maintaining the general health of such ecosystems and for developing effective ecosystem management practices. In the semi-arid regions of southwestern Zimbabwe where a large population of rural households depend on ESs extracted from the Colophospermum mopane tree, such understanding may be critical in reversing potential ES losses that may have catastrophic effects on the lives of many. We surveyed a total of 127 rural households who occupy the semi-arid landscapes of the Colophospermum mopane belt in southern Zimbabwe. We assessed the ecohydrological conditions characterising ecosystems where they obtain ES provisioning goods using a number of ecohydrological variables commonly cited in the literature on ecohydrology. Building on principal component analysis (PCA), we employed a hierarchical agglomerative clustering method to create unique clusters of households that depicted different levels of risks or threats associated with their ES provisioning harvesting practices. Multiple regression analysis was further performed to identify significant ecohydrological cluster-defining variables. Our results showed that spatial differences in ecohydrological parameters resulted in four distinct ES resource thresholds depicting four categories of risks that households face in extracting such resources in nearby landscapes. We concluded by proposing a number of landscape restoration or management practices targeted at reversing potential ES losses and subsequently safeguarding the livelihoods of many who depend on ESs.

Multi-sensor mapping of honey bee habitats and fragmentation in agro-ecological landscapes in Eastern Kenya

Extensive land transformation leads to habitat loss, which directly affects and fragments species habitats. Such land transformations can adversely affect fodder availability for bees and thus colony strength with consequences for rural communities that use bee keeping as a livelihood option. Quantification of the landscape structure is thus critical if the linkages between the landscape and honey bee colony health are to be well understood. In this study, a random forest algorithm was used on dual-polarized multi-season Sentinel-1A (S1) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and single season Sentinel-2A (S2) optical imagery to map honey bee habitats and their degree of fragmentation in a heterogeneous agro-ecological landscape in eastern Kenya. The dry season S2 optical imagery was fused with the S1 data and class-wise mapping accuracies (with and without radar) were compared. Relevant fragmentation indices representing patch sizes, isolation and configuration were thereafter generated using the fused imagery. The fused imagery recorded an overall accuracy of 86% with a kappa of 0.83 versus the SAR imagery only, which had an overall accuracy of 76% with a kappa of 0.68. However, the S1 imagery had slightly higher user’s and producer’s accuracies for under-represented but important honey bee habitat classes, that is, natural grasslands and hedges. The variable importance analysis using the fused imagery showed that the short-wave infrared and the red-edge waveband regions were highly relevant for the classification model. Our mapping approach showed that fusing data generated from S1 and S2 with improved spectral resolution, could be effectively used for the spatially explicit mapping of honey bee habitats and their degree of fragmentation in semi-arid African agro-ecological landscapes.

Optimal dates for assessing long-term changes in tree-cover in the semi-arid biomes of South Africa using MODIS NDVI time series (2001–2018)

The varying proportions of tree and herbaceous cover in the grassland and savanna biomes of Southern Africa determine their capacity to provide ecosystem services. The asynchronous phenologies e.g. annual NDVI profiles of grasses and trees in these semi-arid landscapes provide an opportunity to estimate percentage tree-cover by determining the period of maximum contrast between grasses and trees. First, a 16-day NDVI time series was generated from MODIS NDVI data, i.e. MOD13A2 16-day NDVI composite data. Secondly, percentage tree-cover data for 100 sample polygons (4 × 4) pixels for areas that have not undergone change in tree cover between 2001 and 2018 were derived using high resolution Google Earth imagery. Next, a time series consisting of the coefficients of determination (R2) for the NDVI/tree-cover linear regression were computed for the 100 polygons. Lastly, a threshold R2 > 0.5 was used to determine the optimal period of the year for mapping tree-cover. It emerged that the narrow period from Julian day 161–177 (June 10–26) was the most consistent period with R2 > 0.5 in the region. 18 tree-cover maps (2001–2018) were generated using linear regression model coefficients derived from Julian day 161 for each year. Kendall correlation coefficient (tau) was used to determine areas of significant (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01) increasing or decreasing trend in tree-cover. Areas (polygons) that showed increasing tree-cover appeared to be more widespread in the trend map as compared to areas of decreasing tree-cover. An accuracy assessment of the map of increasing tree-cover was conducted using Google Earth high resolution images. Out of 330 and 200 mapped polygons verified using p < 0.05 and 0.01 thresholds, respectively, 180 (54% accuracy) and 132 (65% accuracy) showed evidence of tree recruitment. Farm abandonment appeared to have been the most important factor contributing to increasing tree-cover in the region.

Soil Degradation Mapping in Drylands Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Data

Arid and semi-arid landscapes often show a patchwork of bare and vegetated spaces. Their heterogeneous patterns can be of natural origin, but may also indicate soil degradation. This study investigates the use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery to identify the degradation status of soils, based on the hypothesis that vegetation cover can be used as a proxy for estimating the soils’ health status. To assess the quality of the UAV-derived products, we compare a conventional field-derived map (FM) with two modelled maps based on (i) vegetation cover (RGB map), and (ii) vegetation cover, topographic information, and a flow accumulation analysis (RGB+DEM map). All methods were able to identify areas of soil degradation but differed in the extent of classified soil degradation, with the RGB map classifying the least amount as degraded. The RGB+DEM map classified 12% more as degraded than the FM, due to the wider perspective of the UAV compared to conventional field mapping. Overall, conventional UAVs provide a valuable tool for soil mapping in heterogeneous landscapes where manual field sampling is very time consuming. Additionally, the UAVs’ planform view from a bird’s-eye perspective can overcome the limited view from the surveyors’ (ground-based) vantage point.

Seascapes and fresh water management in rural Greece: the case of the Mani peninsula, 1261–1821 CE

The Mani peninsula is a semi-arid landscape with few natural sources of fresh water, yet it supported a dense population during the Late Byzantine and Ottoman periods. This paper reviews the archaeological and historical evidence for water management practices in Mani, concentrating on its domestic-scale hydraulic infrastructure (cisterns and saltpans) and the ports and harbours along its coasts. The data point to a critical shift in household-level social organization at the turn of the 18th century, underscoring the fact that people living in supposedly ‘peripheral’ regions like Mani nevertheless engaged in far-reaching networks of contact and exchange.

Sustainable Valorization of Halophytes from the Mediterranean Area: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Their Fatty Acid Profile and Implications for Human and Animal Nutrition

Halophytic plants can provide an economical and environmentally sustainable source of products for human and animal feeding, in the context of the increase of worldwide emergent semi-arid landscapes. This work reports a comprehensive evaluation of the qualitative and quantitative composition of fatty acids (FA) of nineteen Mediterranean halophytes collected in southern Portugal, with the purpose of establishing their possible uses as food and feed. For FA determination, lipids and free FA were converted to the corresponding fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and analyzed by GC-MS. Beta maritima had the highest FAME levels (7.3 mg/g DW) while Suaeda vera had the lowest content (1.0 mg/g DW). The most common saturated fatty acid (SFA) across all studied species was palmitic acid. The most prevalent monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) was oleic acid. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) levels were led by linoleic acid. Less common FAMEs were also detected, namely eicosadienoic and hexadecatrienoic acids. Cotula coronopifolia, Phragmites australis and Suaeda vera displayed the best FA nutritional profiles. These species also showed bioactivities relevant for both human and animal health according to the literature and thus, collectively with this study, they could be further explored as food and feed.

Impact of Urban Growth and High Residential Irrigation on Streamflow and Groundwater Levels in a Peri‐Urban Semiarid Catchment

AbstractThe impact of urbanization on groundwater is not simple to understand, as it depends on a variety of factors such as climate, hydrogeology, water management practices, and infrastructure. In semiarid landscapes, the urbanization processes can involve high water consumptions and irrigation increases, which in turn may contribute to groundwater recharge. We assessed the hydrological impacts of urbanization and irrigation rates in an Andean peri‐urban catchment located in Chile, in a semiarid climate. For this purpose, we built and validated a coupled surface–groundwater model that allows the verification of a strong stream–aquifer interaction in areas with shallow groundwater, higher than some sewers and portions of the stream. Moreover, we also identified a significant local recharge associated with pipe leaks and inefficient urban irrigation. From the evaluation of different future scenarios, we found a sustainable water conservation scenario will decrease the current groundwater levels, while the median flow reduces from 408 to 389 L/s, and the low flow (Q95%) from 43 to 22L/s. Overall, our results show the relevance of integrating the modeling of surface and subsurface water resources at different spatial and temporal scales, when assessing the effect of urban development and the suitability of urban water practices.

Luminescence dating of sediment mounds associated with shaft and gallery irrigation systems

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) techniques, supported by geomorphological analysis, have been applied to date the construction of shaft and gallery irrigation systems, more commonly referred to as qanats, falaj and foggara. The approach developed was tested on four hydraulic systems located in semi-arid landscape settings, three in Murcia, Spain, and the fourth in the Sus Tekna region, Morocco. Excavation of the characteristic sediment mounds that surround each ventilation shaft enabled a detailed examination of strata containing upcast deposits and their assignment to the main stages in the construction and use of the hydraulic feature. OSL techniques with single grain resolution applied to samples taken from the key strata provided age estimates for their deposition on the mound and, from these, dating of the construction and use of the system. Of the four irrigation systems analysed, the OSL dates indicated that the youngest had been constructed in the 19th century AD and the oldest, located in Murcia, was dated to the Roman period. The latter is of archaeological significance because the introduction of this particular form of hydraulic technology to Spain is widely identified as an Islamic innovation of the early 8th century AD.

Evaluating the desertification vulnerability of a semiarid landscape under different land uses with the environmental sensitivity index

AbstractThe objective of this study was to evaluate the desertification vulnerability of an approximately 1,000‐ha area in Anatolia, Turkey, comprising semiarid oak (Quercus spp.) and pine (Pinus spp.) forests and the adjacent cultivated lands by using the environmental sensitivity index (ESI). We calculated the ESI values for 632 randomly selected sites in the study area by entering the desertification indicators vegetation cover, plant type, soil depth, rock fragments, soil texture, slope gradient, drainage, parent material, mean annual precipitation, slope aspect, aridity index, land use intensity, and policy enforcement into the web‐based model Desertification Indicator System for Mediterranean Europe. The spatial structure of the ESI values was then evaluated using semivariograms and kriging‐interpolated surface maps. The mean ESI value was significantly greater in the cultivated areas (1.47; range = 1.25–1.61) than in the pine (1.32; 1.03–1.45) and oak (1.28; 1.18–1.57) forests (P &lt; 0.01). The ESI was moderately spatially dependent in the oak forests and cultivated areas and strongly spatially dependent in the pine forests, as evidenced by the corresponding semivariograms. The ordinary kriging‐interpolated maps showed that most of the cultivated areas were critically vulnerable to desertification, whereas the majority of the forested areas were moderately vulnerable. We examined how the ESI values varied with soil organic matter (OM) content as an independent variable and found that the OM content was significantly moderately correlated with the ESI (n = 632, r = −0.51, P &lt; 0.01), suggesting that the ESI could be used to evaluate the desertification vulnerability of similar landscapes across Turkey.