Desert Ecosystem Engineering

Desert Ecosystem Engineering

Developing a Framework for Ecosystem Health Assessment in Arid Lands based on the CVOR Model: A Case Study of Abarkuh, Iran

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Mohammad Hossein Dadkhodaei 1
Parastoo Parivar 2
Hamidreza Azimzadeh 2
Ahad Sotoudeh 3
Ali Zare 4
1 Environmental planning MSc graduated, Environmental Sciences Department, Natural Resources and Desert Studies Faculty, Yazd University
2 Environmental Sciences Department, Natural Resources and Desert Studies Faculty, Yazd University
3 Department of Natural Resources and Desert Studies, Yazd University, Yazd, iran
4 Yazd Province Natural Resources and Watershed Management, Carbon Sequestration Service
Abstract
Being highly vulnerable, arid ecosystems require conscious management worldwide. Therefore, as health assessment studies on such ecosystems can help landscape planners develop effective strategies in this regard, the current study sought to localize an ecosystem health assessment model for arid lands using the CVOR model to assess the health of Abarkuh city, an arid (desert) region located in the central part of the Iranian plateau. To this end, a set of criteria reflecting the ecological conditions of the study area in particular and arid lands, in general, was selected, including C (Water and wind erosion, quantity and quality of water resources), V (the amount of primary production under natural conditions and soil organic carbon), O (landscape heterogeneity and connectivity), R (vegetation percentage, changes in underground water level, and soil salinity).
The results of the study revealed that the quantity and quality of groundwater, water erosion, and wind erosion were of greatest importance in the health status of arid ecosystems. On the other hand, the result of the ecosystem health assessment in the study area specifically showed that the development of land uses in the area had posed great challenges to its ecosystem’s health conditions, with 48% and 9% of the region's area being marked with a relatively unhealthy condition and unhealthy condition, respectively. Moreover, the status of land use in the region indicated that many gardens and agricultural lands had been left under the influence of such an unhealthy ecosystem, aggravating the health of the region. Therefore, the region has turned into the origin of dust phenomenon at the local level.  
Keywords
Ecosystems Condition
Ecosystems Vigor
Landscape Structure
Resiliency
Vulnerability
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Desert Ecosystem Engineering
Volume 11, Issue 9 in English
August 2023
Pages 66-49