Production of Environmental Sensitivity Maps for Desertification in Southern Marshes of Iraq

Abstract

The arid and semi-arid regions have faced critical desertification problems in the last decades. This phenomenon is caused either by human actions or natural circumstances. The study aims to identify the sensitive areas of desertification in the marshlands of southern Iraq using the Environmental Sensitivity Areas Index (ESAI) for desertification. The study area is located between longitudes (46.1° to 48.1° E) and latitude (29.55° to 32.55° N), which includes parts of the governorates of Al-Amarah, Al-Basara and Al-Nasiriyah in southern Iraq with an area of about 27,989 km2. Satellite image processing for the Landsat OLI sensor of 2021 was adopted to characterize the general appearance of the interest area. Arc Gis ver.10.7 programs were used to analyze different data and produce the Desertification Sensitivity Index (DSI) and maps for the parameters for evaluating southern marshes’ desertification. Nine parameters are grouped into three orderly indices concerning the behaviour of desertification, and weighting factors are assigned in each index. This study found that the study area highly sensitive to desertification represents (10781.14 km2 of the total area) about 38.52% of the study area. The area sensitive to desertification covers about 38.42%, about 10752.92 km2 of the total area. Areas of low sensitivity to desertification appear throughout the marshes, representing 23.06%, about 6454.67 km2 of the total area. The result shows that the area is suffering from reduced water supplies and the human destruction of natural grazing areas for urban expansion or cultivation of seasonal crops.

Land degradation sensitivity and desertification risk in Harrir region, northern Iraq

“…Declining natural capacity of the soil to support crops or livestock due to poor irrigation practices, lack of water, overgrazing, and urbanization are causing desertification in the country [ 61 , 62 ]. Although no prior assessments on land degradation have been conducted in the study area, our findings are in line with the earlier reports indicating higher sensitivity to degradation [ [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] ]. Reforestation, agricultural area rehabilitation, teamwork, and cutting-edge biotechnological techniques are essential to lessen the negative effects of desertification on communities, economies, ecosystems, and human health.…”

“…Land degradation and desertification are major issues in Iraq that are largely caused by human activity and climate change [ [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] ]. The semi-arid environment, low rainfall, and high evaporation rates in the country are contributing to the increased desertification (39% of the country's area).…”

Innovative trend analysis of annual rainfall in Iraq during 1980-2021

“…The results indicated a significant decrease in vegetation cover in both regions (Bakr et al, 2024). Many studies have evaluated the impact of the decreasing precipitation levels during the last decades on the hydrological situation in different regions of Iraq, especially in the marshes area of southern Iraq, and the results revealed that more than 90% of this area are sensitive to desertification (Al-Yasiry et al, 2023).…”