Wind Erosion Potential of Kerman Province using Seasonal Analysis of Wind Rose and Sand Rose

Wind erosion is one of the most important destructive phenomena leading to land degradation and desertification, which occurs due to blowing of erosive winds over a susceptible soil surface or a smooth land. Iran is mostly located in arid and semiarid climates; consequently, wind erosion dominates large parts of the country due to the climate and land mismanagement. In this regard, Kerman as the largest province in Iran has been under influence of erosive winds with high damaging potential. Wind erosion is a function of two agents including erosivity and erodibility. As wind velocity increases, the rate of wind erosion increases as well, while an increase in threshold friction velocity results in sand drift potential reduction. On the other hand, soil properties can control wind erosion rate through affecting both soil erodibility and threshold velocity. In addition, wind erosion is directly influenced by the direction and velocity of wind. Therefore, for better understanding of this phenomenon, analysis of wind erosivity based on meteorological data is of importance. The aim of this study was to analysis wind erosivity in Kerman province and the wind erosion potential in different parts of the province. This study was conducted to investigate the potential of wind erosion in different parts of Kerman province based on seasonal wind data obtained for the period from 2006 to 2010. For this purpose, eight synoptic stations were selected and wind rose and sand rose were plotted for each station using WR Plot View.8 and Sand Rose Graph 3. For each season and for the whole period, erosive wind speed classes, prevailing wind direction, and the sand rose components including drift potential, sediment load and uni-directional index were obtained for each station. This study results indicated that the intermediate wind speed class i.e. 7.7 to 9.8 m s-1 with the west and southwest directions had the highest frequency at most stations. The most erosive winds occurred during winter and summer, while the lowest ones were found in autumn. In winter, the highest wind speed class i.e. >13 m s-1 was the most frequent class. However, precipitations mostly occurring during winter can moderate the sand transport potential, since the higher precipitation causes a higher soil moisture level and enhanced threshold velocity. In addition, Jiroft station had the most frequent calm winds, whereas Lalehzar station exhibited the least frequency of these winds as this site is located in a mountainous region. Among the stations, the highest potential of sand transport (1637 vector unit) and the greatest sediment discharge (102.62 kg m-1 s-1) were observed at Rafsanjan station. However, the lowest sediment discharge was found at Jiroft station with 22.40 kg m-1 s-1. In all stations, the values of DPt were more than 400 indicating high wind erosion potentials in most areas of the province. The assessment of the uni-directional index illustrated that the investigated wind properties varied for different seasons and regions. Analysis of this index showed that Zarand and Jiroft had multi-directional winds, while other stations with a uni-directional index ranging from 0.3 to 0.8 experienced bi-directional winds with moderate variations. Furthermore, the analysis of resultant drift direction implied that the sand transport direction in Kerman, Jiroft, Sirjan, Rafsanjan and Shahrbabak sites was from west to east, at Lalehzar station was from southwest to northeast, at Bam station was from north to south, and at Zarand station was from northwest to southeast. The highest values of total drift potential in Bam, Jiroft and Zarand were obtained in summer season, while the maximum total drift potential was recorded in wintertime for Kerman, Rafsanjan, Shahrbabak, Sirjan and Lalehzar locations. The findings of this study revealed the significance of wind erosivity analysis in order to make a better understanding of wind erosion processes and achieve a more suitable strategy to combat this environmental threat. It was concluded that due to climate conditions, Kerman province as the largest province of Iran has experienced high potentials of wind erosion and sand transport. In addition, the prevailing direction and most frequent velocity classes of winds differ among different parts of the province demonstrating the possibility of the formation of different features of wind erosion. Finally, the high values of DPt (> 400) were obtained for most stations, showed a high wind erosion potential in the province.