Investigating the Effect of Vegetation Restoration on Morphometric Components of Nebaka and Its Role in the Stabilization of Sand Dunes in Nimroz Area of Sistan Province

Existing challenges in arid regions have caused climatic and environmental problems such as low rain, winds with high speed and intensity as well as lack of vegetation. These problems happen by destroying and transporting particles leading to the influx of sand flowing into agricultural lands and residential centers. This is one of the most concerns of residents in the arid and desert region of the country. Because, it causes a lot of life and financial losses, the move of sands, and the formation of sand dunes are influenced by interactions between wind flow, the site of deposition, and the morphology of the sedimentation site that gives rise to wind landforms. The vegetation cover plays an important role in determining the morphology and dynamicsby influencing transportation conditions and trapping the sand carried by the winds. This process takes the form of creating a wind vision during a natural reaction, with the creation of the Nebaka phenomenon. The phenomenon appears in desert areas to neutralize wind erosion stress. Accordingly, the presence of vegetation is a prerequisite for Nebakas and controlling the flow of sand flows in arid and desert areas due to the specific climatic conditions in these areas. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of vegetation factors on Nebaka formation. The volume of Nebakas is influenced by the vegetative form. The volume of its constituents is different from each other. Vegetation factors have played an important role in the development of Nebakas. Studies have shown that the vegetation cover has the main role in the formation and development of Nebakas so that vegetation reduces sediment replacement and limits its source. Among the critical areas that are referred to as the main focus of wind erosion, the Sistan region has always been affected by wind erosion. The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of vegetation restoration on morphometric components of Nebaka and its effect on sand dunes stabilization in the Nimroz area of Sistan province.

To achieve the purpose of the present study, after floodwater spreading and forestry operations in the Nimroz area of Sistan during 2003, parameters of Nebaka including Nebaka high, Nebaka base diameter, Nebaka volume, vegetation cover, plant height, wind direction, and back to the wind in 45 Nebakas to the Tamarix species were measured at different time intervals in a 16-year period by restoration vegetation and installing 5 linear transects with a length of 50 m randomly in the area. Then, by measuring the morphometric properties of Nebakas, the correlation of morphometric components was investigated using correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis.

In the correlation analysis regarding the morphometric characteristics of Nebaka, the findings showed that a significant correlation (at the level of 0.99) of the plant characteristics such as vegetation cover and high plant parameters such as Nebaka high, Nebaka base diameter, Nebaka volume, wind direction, and back to the wind. The multiple regression analysis approved 92.9 percentage of the volume changes of the Nebaka with the vegetation cover. Investigating the amount of sediment stabilized in the Nebaka also showed that increasing vegetation wills increased the volume of Nebaka in such a way that with increasing vegetation, the volume of Nebakas on average increased from .0.53m3 in 2008 to 15.69m3 in 2018 with the amount of stabilized sediments increased from 184.97 ton to 879.79 ton. The statistical comparison of the measured data showed that there is a significant difference (at the level of 0.01) between the mean stabilized sediments in Nebakas during the research process. According to the results of the study, the restoration of vegetation in the study area shows a good background for the formation of Nebakas. As a result, a considerable amount of sands has stabilized in these Nebakas.

In this study, the role of wind activity in the formation and development of Nebaka areas where wind power was low was confirmed. Based on the result of this research, a significant amount of wind sediments has been stabilized in Nebakas. As a result, the Sistan area is always affected by wind erosion and the problem of sand dunes. The method of restoring vegetation by doing flood and forestry plans in susceptible areas is effective to stabilize the sand with the creation of the Nebaka phenomenon in the study area. Re-vegetation in the study area has provided a good basis for the creation of Nebakas in the region.