Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methods

The degradation of land (LD) is a major concern for the health and sustainability of natural resources. It is primarily caused by the deterioration of vegetation and soil. In this study, we focus on assessing the risk of LD in the Bakhtegan basin in Iran, one of the arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Ou...

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Main Authors: Ehsan Moradi, Hassan Khosravi, Pouyan Dehghan Rahimabadi, Bahram Choubin, Zlatica Muchová
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014043
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author Ehsan Moradi
Hassan Khosravi
Pouyan Dehghan Rahimabadi
Bahram Choubin
Zlatica Muchová
author_facet Ehsan Moradi
Hassan Khosravi
Pouyan Dehghan Rahimabadi
Bahram Choubin
Zlatica Muchová
author_sort Ehsan Moradi
collection DOAJ
description The degradation of land (LD) is a major concern for the health and sustainability of natural resources. It is primarily caused by the deterioration of vegetation and soil. In this study, we focus on assessing the risk of LD in the Bakhtegan basin in Iran, one of the arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Our objective is to predict LD hazard and vulnerability maps, and then combine them to identify areas at high risk. To predict LD hazard, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm was used with 179 LD locations and twelve variables, including land use, lithology, rainfall, temperature, distance to the stream, elevation, aspect, slope, curvature, distance to the road, Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), and population density. The LD hazard map was evaluated using five error statistics extracted from the contingency table. For LD vulnerability mapping, eight criteria were deployed, including land use, population density, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), livestock density, groundwater quantity and quality, Salinity Index (SI), and migration. These criteria were weighted using the integrating eDPSIR framework and Analytic Network Process (ANP) methods. The results show that low-altitude areas which have low rainfall and high temperatures face the highest LD hazard. Additionally, the western and northwestern regions of the basin are more vulnerable compared to other areas due to factors such as land use and vegetation cover. Lastly, the LD risk map reveals that some 7.56 % of the region falls into the high-risk classification, totaling 2413.37 km2. Notably, salt lands emerge as the most at-risk land use, with 77 % under high risk, with rain-fed agricultural land following as the second-highest risk class. These findings underscore the importance of considering LD risk in land management strategies.
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spelling doaj-art-beec1dd8c53842079848868a34c0137d2024-12-16T05:35:39ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2024-12-01169112947Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methodsEhsan Moradi0Hassan Khosravi1Pouyan Dehghan Rahimabadi2Bahram Choubin3Zlatica Muchová4Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Hospodárska 7, 949 76 Nitra, SlovakiaDepartment of Reclamation of Arid and Mountainous Regions, University of Tehran, Karaj 31585-3314, Iran; Corresponding authors at: Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Hospodárska 7, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia.Department of Reclamation of Arid and Mountainous Regions, University of Tehran, Karaj 31585-3314, IranSoil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Department, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Isfahan, IranInstitute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Hospodárska 7, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia; Corresponding authors at: Institute of Landscape Engineering, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Hospodárska 7, 949 76 Nitra, Slovakia.The degradation of land (LD) is a major concern for the health and sustainability of natural resources. It is primarily caused by the deterioration of vegetation and soil. In this study, we focus on assessing the risk of LD in the Bakhtegan basin in Iran, one of the arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Our objective is to predict LD hazard and vulnerability maps, and then combine them to identify areas at high risk. To predict LD hazard, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm was used with 179 LD locations and twelve variables, including land use, lithology, rainfall, temperature, distance to the stream, elevation, aspect, slope, curvature, distance to the road, Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI), and population density. The LD hazard map was evaluated using five error statistics extracted from the contingency table. For LD vulnerability mapping, eight criteria were deployed, including land use, population density, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), livestock density, groundwater quantity and quality, Salinity Index (SI), and migration. These criteria were weighted using the integrating eDPSIR framework and Analytic Network Process (ANP) methods. The results show that low-altitude areas which have low rainfall and high temperatures face the highest LD hazard. Additionally, the western and northwestern regions of the basin are more vulnerable compared to other areas due to factors such as land use and vegetation cover. Lastly, the LD risk map reveals that some 7.56 % of the region falls into the high-risk classification, totaling 2413.37 km2. Notably, salt lands emerge as the most at-risk land use, with 77 % under high risk, with rain-fed agricultural land following as the second-highest risk class. These findings underscore the importance of considering LD risk in land management strategies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014043Hazard predictionVulnerability mappingAnalytic network process (ANP)Land managementSupport vector machine (SVM)
spellingShingle Ehsan Moradi
Hassan Khosravi
Pouyan Dehghan Rahimabadi
Bahram Choubin
Zlatica Muchová
Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methods
Ecological Indicators
Hazard prediction
Vulnerability mapping
Analytic network process (ANP)
Land management
Support vector machine (SVM)
title Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methods
title_full Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methods
title_fullStr Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methods
title_full_unstemmed Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methods
title_short Integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi-arid Ecosystems: Applying SVM and eDPSIR/ANP methods
title_sort integrated approach to land degradation risk assessment in arid and semi arid ecosystems applying svm and edpsir anp methods
topic Hazard prediction
Vulnerability mapping
Analytic network process (ANP)
Land management
Support vector machine (SVM)
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014043
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