An Assessment of the Land Degradation Potential Using the TOPSIS Method (Case Study: Rangelands Overlooking the City of Eshtehard, the Province of Alborz)

Document Type : Research

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

3 Instructor, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO) Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Land degradation in different climates drastically disturbs natural ecosystems and reduces the biological production potential of the resources. To investigate the role of geological criteria on land degradation in rangelands surrounding Eshtehard, the map of units was prepared by overlaying and crossing maps of slope classes, land uses, and geological formations using the ArcGIS 10.3 software. Three indices of erodibility, salinity and permeability for each unit were considered and classified. The weights of criteria and consistency ratios were calculated by the AHP method. The TOPSIS method was used to prioritize the alternatives. The weighted normalized values, Euclidean distances, and the relative closeness to the ideal solution were calculated and top priority was given to the land degradation potential (DP) of the units. The results indicated that the relative closeness to the ideal solution obtained from the AHP-TOPSIS technique ranged from 0.002 to 0.991. Accordingly, the study area contains four categories of potential or severity of land degradation, namely: 20872.709 ha (37.97%) of the area with low DP, 1470.297 ha (2.67%) of the area with moderate DP, 1844.861 ha (3.36%) of the area with high DP, and 30788.02 ha (56.00%) of the area with high DP.

Keywords


Agassi M, Bloem D, Ben Hur, M. 1994. Effect of drop energy and soil and water chemistry on infiltration and erosion. Water Res. 30(1): 1187–1193.
Ahmadi H. 2012. Applied geomorphology, vol 1 (water erosion), University of Tehran Press, Tehran.
Ahmadi H, Peimaninejad B, Kosar A, Mahdavi M. 2010. A dictionary of agriculture and natural resources. Vol. 12, University of Tehran Press, Tehran.
Ajaj QM, Pradhan B, Noori AM, Jebur MN. 2017. Spatial monitoring of desertification extent in western Iraq using landsat images and GIS. Land Degradation & Development. 28(8): 2418–2431.
Asadi Nalivan O, Rostami Khalaj M, Mohseni Saravi M, Sour A. 2015. Prioritizing of watershed management planning using Topsis method in the watershed (case study: Zydasht-Taleghan).  Journal of Watershed Management Research. 6 (12): 98–107.
Bano A, Fatima M. 2009. Salt tolerance in zea mays (l.) following inoculation with rhizobium and pseudomonas. Biol. Fertility Soils. 45: 405–413.
Bombino G, Denisi P, Gómez JA, Zema DA. 2019. Water infiltration and surface runoff in steep clayey soils of olive groves under different management practices. Water. 11(2): 240–252.
Bouwer, H. 1976. Groundwater hydrology, McGraw-Hill Inc. New York, 569 P.
Eskandari H, Borji M, Khosravi H, Mesbahzadeh T. 2016. Desertification of forest, range and desert in Tehran province, affected by climate change. Solid Earth. 7(3): 905–915.
Feiznia, S. 1997. Effect of salt domes of Iran on natural resources degradation, spread of salt land and desertification, (case study: Hable-Rood of Garmsar), Proceedings of second conference of desertification and kinds of methods of desert combating, Kerman, institute of Jungles and Rangelands researches, pp. 185–192.
Feiznia S, Nosrati K. 2007. The effect of parent material and land-use on soil erosion (case study of the Taleghan drainage basin, Iran), Proceedings of Symposium HS2005 at IUGG2007, Perugia, Water Quality and Sediment Behavior of the Future: Predictions for the 21st Century. IAHS Publ, Perugia, Italy. pp. 310.
Grau, JB, Corrales A, Tarquis Alfonso AM, Colombo F, Rios LDL, Cisneros JM. 2010. Mathematical model to select the optimal alternative for an integral plan to desertification and erosion control for the Chaco area in Salta province, Argentine, Biogeosciences. 7(2): 2601–2630.
Hwang, CL, Yoon, K. 1981. Multiple attributes decision making methods and applications. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg.
Karimpour Reihan, M, Salehpour Jam A, Kianian MK, Jahani D. 2007. Investigation of pedological criterion on land degradation in quaternary rock units (Case Study: Rude-Shoor watershed area), Desert. 12: 77–84.
Kashki, MT. 1997. Investigation of salinization trend of playa wetlands, (case study: Roodab, Sabzevar). M.Sc. thesis, Desert research institute, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Lamchin M, Lee WK, Jeon SW, Lee JY, Song C, Piao D, Lim CH, Khaulenbek A, Navaandorj I. 2017. Correlation between desertification and environmental variables using remote sensing techniques in Hogno Khaan, Mongolia. Sustainability. 9(4): 581–597.
Masoudi M, Jokar P, Pradhan B. 2018. A new approach for land degradation and desertification assessment using geospatial techniques. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 18(4): 1133–1140.
Negaresh H, Rakhshani Z, Firoozi F, Alinia H. 2016. Desertification assessment using the analytic hierarchy process and GIS in southeast Iran. Geografiska Annaler. 1: 1–14.
Neave M, Rayburg S. 2006. Salinity and erosion: a preliminary investigation of soil erosion on a salinized hillslope. IAHS Publication. 306–531.
Paul, D. 2012. Osmotic stress adaptations in rhizobacteria. Basic Microbiol Journal. 52: 1–10.
Peyrowan HR, Shariat Jafari M. 2013. Presentation of a comprehensive method for determining erodibility rate of rock units with a review on Iranian geology. Journal of Watershed Engineering and Management. 5(3): 199–213.
Pishyar S, Khosravi H, Tavili A, Malekian A. 2016. Ranking effective desertification indices using Topsis and analytic hierarchy process. Journal of Environmental Hazards. 5(8): 83–96.
Rączkowska Z, Bucała-Hrabia A, Prokop P. 2018. Geomorphological and sedimentological indicators of land degradation (M eghalaya P lateau, NE I ndia). Land degradation & development. 29(8): 2746–2759.
Rajabi Aleni, M. 2001. Investigation of geological role on desertification (Case study: Mond watershed area). M.Sc. thesis, Arid Mountain Zone Reclamation Group, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Saaty T.1980. The Analytical hierarchy process, planning, priority, Resource Allocation, Rws pub, USA.
Sadeghiravesh MH, Zehtabian G, Khosravi H. 2014. Application of AHP and ELECTRE models for assessment of dedesertification alternatives. Desert. 19(2): 141–153.
Salehpour Jam A. 2006. Investigation of geological criterion on land degradation in geomorphological units, rude-shoor watershed area, M.Sc. thesis, , Arid and Mountain Zones Reclamation, , Faculty of Natural resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Salehpour Jam, A, Tabatabaei, M, Sarreshtehdari, A. 2017. Pedological criterion affecting desertification in alluvial fans using AHP-ELECTRE I technique (Case study: southeast of Rude-Shoor watershed area). ECOPERSIA. 5(1): 1711–1729.‏
Salvati L, Zitti M, Perini L. 2016. Fifty years on: long‐term patterns of land sensitivity to desertification in Italy.Land degradation & development. 27(2): 97–107.
Sarabian L. 2002. Investigation of cause of salinization of water and soil in Gonbad plain, desert combating Msc. thesis, Arid and mountain zones reclamation, faculty of Natural resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
SCWMRI. 2008. Watershed Atlas, Final Report, Tehran, Iran.
Sepehr A, Zucca C. 2012. Ranking desertification indicators using Topsis algorithm. Natural hazards. 62(3): 1137–1153.
Staff USL. 1954. Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils. Agricultural Handbook 60. USAD, Washington, D.C, USA.
Stolte J. 2003. Effects of land use and infiltration behaviour on soil conservation strategies. Alterra Green World Research, Wageningen, Netherlands.
Tahmasebi A. 1998. Investigation of influence causes on salinization of water and soil and desert spreading in Rude-Shoor area, Eshtehard, Msc. thesis, Desert combating, Faculty of Natural resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Topping, J. 2012. Errors of Observation and their Treatment (Vol. 62). Springer Science & Business Media.
Vieira RMSP, Tomasella J, Alvalá RCS, Sestini MF, Affonso AG, Rodriguez DA, Barbosa AA, Cunha APMA, Valles GF, Crepani E, De Oliveira SBP. 2015. Identifying areas susceptible to desertification in the Brazilian northeast. Solid Earth. 6(1): 347–360.
Xu EQ, Zhang HQ, Li MX. 2015. Object-based mapping of karst rocky desertification using a support vector machine. Land Degradation & Development. 26(2): 158–167.
Yuniwati I. 2016. Correlation test application of supplier’s ranking using Topsis and AHP- Topsis method. Cauchy. 4(2): 65–73.