Evaluation and zoning the desertification destructive effects using IMPDA model and clustering (case study: Normashir and Rahmatabad plain)

Practical activities in controlling desertification must be based on current desertification situation and its severity. Based on this theory, in this study, the destructive ability of desertification was analyzed for the Bam Normashir and Rahmatabad (Kerman Province) plain aquifer using the IMDPA model and geographical information system (GIS). In this study, using the quantitative (water table depth) and qualitative (Electrical conductivity (EC), Cl and SAR) indicators as well as the soil erosion magnitudes in the studied locations, severity classes of degradation were evaluated. Then, the destruction map of the studied region was prepared by taking into consideration the maximum limitation in qualitative indices. Cluster analysis Ward and K-means method were utilized for testing the models. The results indicated that the desertification destructive in 90.81% and 8.61% of the aquifer is at severe hazard and very severe hazard class, respectively. Overall, 62% of the model results (IMDPA) was reported significant with clustering.