Identification of dust sources in Ilam province

Dust storm phenomenon is one of the most damaging natural disasters in arid and semi-arid regions of the world especially in Iran caused problem on human health and environment. The main reason of dust storm event can be climate change, destruction of natural ecosystems, deforestation, and destruction of rangelands in Iran and neighbor countries like Iraq. Ilam province due to adjacent to vast deserts such as the Iraq Sahara is exposed to severe dust storm continuously. The aim of this study was to identify the critical points of dust sources in Ilam province. At first step, long-term climate data (8 synoptic weather stations), vegetation cover, and physiography of study area were collected. In the second step, soil sampling was carried out at 0-30 cm soil depths in some places in Ilam province and then these soil samples were transferred to the soil laboratory for chemical and physical analyses. In the third step, by using USEPA model, soil and the maps of climatic parameters were prepared and finally critical and high critical dust source points were mapped through integration of different maps in Ilam province. The results showed that the Bahram Abad area in the central Mehran and Abu-Ghoraib and Abu-Ghovayr areas in Musian part, Dehloran city were selected as high critical sources of dust storm in Ilam province due to the highest corresponding with dust storm identification criteria. This project could be useful for prevention and control of dust storm via identification and dust storm maps.