Analyzing the Impacts of Changing Agronomic Land Use to Orchard from the viewpoint of orchardist in the West of Urmia Lake Basin

The purpose of this research was to analyze the impact of agronomic land use change to orchard in the west of Urmia Lake basin. The target population was about 12000 consisting of all the farmers in the west of Urmia Lake basin that changed their agronomic land use to orchard. Using Cochran’s formula and stratified random sampling method, 150 apple and grape orchardists were chosen. Required data were gathered using questionnaire instrument and face to face interview technique. Validity and reliability of questionnaire determined using agricultural extension, environment and soil sciences experts’ viewpoints and the Cronbach alpha coefficient (0.83), respectively. Results showed that irrigated and rain-fed agronomy lands were changed to orchards in 1972 and 1994, respectively. Using exploratory factor analysis, 65 % of the variance of land use change impacts could be explained by profitability and welfare, improving the air and soil quality, promoting the social status and roles, reducing workload, increasing the use of nutrients, improving marketing skills and eco-toxicity of aquatic and terrestrial systems.