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Desertification hazard zoning in Sistan Region, Iran

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Abstract

Desertification process as a great problem affects most of the countries in the world. This process has a high rate in arid and semiarid areas. Today, human societies are encountering the desertification phenomenon as a serious problem which causes various irreparable damages to economic and social sectors. In order to assess desertification results in production of different regional models for their application in another region the indices should be re-investigated and adjusted to local conditions. Several models have been developed for desertification evaluation. The present study, attempts to assess quantitatively the desertification process has in an area located at Sistan plain of Iran (Niatak region as a case study) by using Modified MEDALUS method. The obtained results indicated that of the whole studied region (comprising 4819.6 acres), 2651.56 acres (55%) are located in medium desertification intensity class, 1269.48 acres (26.34%) are positioned in severe desertification intensity class, and 898.54 acres (18.64%) are placed in vary severe desertification intensity class.

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Correspondence to Sahar Sadrafshari.

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Author: Seyed Mahmood Hosseini, Master, specialized in desertification.

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Hosseini, S.M., Sadrafshari, S. & Fayzolahpour, M. Desertification hazard zoning in Sistan Region, Iran. J. Geogr. Sci. 22, 885–894 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-012-0970-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-012-0970-x

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