Quantitative analysis of vegetation feedback on the occurrence of dust in arid ecosystems (Case study: Isfahan province)

Dust event is one of the secondary complications of ecosystem in arid and semi-arid areas. This phenomenon results from system feedback against multiple factors of pressure and destruction. One of the most important foundations of ecosystems is vegetation. Because the vegetation factor reflects many factors in the ecosystem, therefore, the interaction of factors can be understood by studying the relationship between its changes and other factors such as dust phenomena. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vegetation and relationship with dust events in Esfahan province during 2000-2016 using Geographic information system and Normalized difference vegetation index. The data of dusty days in the region synoptic stations were provided from Meteorological Organization and the frequency of dusty days in different years were determined. Using the method of Normal Kriging in GIS; dusty days were zoned. Vegetation map was prepared based on NDVI in July for each year using MODIS image. The regression analysis of annual dust and vegetation index were also performed to quantitatively analyze the effect of vegetation cover on the occurrence of dust.The results showed. Vegetation cover has been the lowest during the study period in the east and center of the province. The NDVI was also the lowest in 2011-2012 and 2015, with a change from 0.69 to -0.19. The results showed significant correlation between the number of dust event and vegetation distribution