Spatial Distribution of Soil Organic Nitrogen in the Dried-up Beds of Lake Urmia

The drought crisis of Urmia Lake has led to the emergence of dried-up and wind-erosion-prone beds. Therefore, it is necessary to create and accelerate the natural and artificial revitalization of vegetation to stabilize the dried-up beds of Urmia Lake. Hence, this study was planned to measure and prepare the spatial distribution map of the organic nitrogen content of the dried-up beds of Urmia Lake based on field sampling as one of the essential nutrients for the revitalization of vegetation. To this end, 192 soil samples were taken from all dried-up beds of Urmia Lake during the Summer of 2020. We then measured the organic nitrogen content of the soil samples. Then, using the ordinary Kriging method, the content of nitrogen in non-sampled beds was estimated through the values of sampled points, and its spatial variability map was prepared. The minimum, maximum, and average nitrogen content in the dried-up beds of Urmia Lake was 0.010, 0.297, and 0.143%, respectively. The nitrogen content was low (0.117 to 0.153%), and very insignificant in most of the dried-up beds and margins of Lake Urmia, which was observed in the north, northwest, west, east and especially southeast parts of the lake. Whereas, the highest nitrogen percentage was in limited parts from the south to the southwest of Lake Urmia and was 0.189 to 0.297. Based on the findings, the implementation of managerial and technical measures in order to improve the nitrogen content of a large part of the dried beds and barren lands around Lake Urmia is necessary to achieve a successful revitalization of vegetation. However, measuring and preparing the spatial distribution map of other soil components is also suggested for future research.