The Investigation of the Effective Factors on Increasing the Desertification Intensity and Introducing a Regional Model with Emphasis on the Water Erosion (A Case Study: Ghareh Chay Region)

In order to assess the quantitative desertification caused by the water erosion and present a regional model, an area with 42969 hectares in the Ghareh Chay was selected. The FAO-UNEP and ICD models were selected after studying the desertification models and methods. Based on the geomorphological studies, 19 working units were identified and the proposed methods (a combination of the said methods) were evaluated in the region under the study. The desertification was evaluated in 4 classes (low, medium and high and very high in the respective region. The classification of desertification in the current (actual) conditions and potential environment, the categorization of human and natural desert ecosystems and also the possibility of special management on each of the working units are the important features of this model. The results show that the areas under the study are located in 3 classes of low, medium and high desertification intensity which inclued 31.59, 52.40, and 16.01 percent of the total region, respectively.