Evaluation of Desertification Severity in El-Farafra Oasis, Western Desert of Egypt: Application of Modified MEDALUS Approach Using Wind Erosion Index and Factor Analysis

Land

Mohamed A. E. AbdelRahman¹  Mohamed E. Fadl²  Asim Biswas³  Ahmed S. Abuzaid⁴ 

[1] Division of Environmental Studies and Land Use, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo 11769, Egypt;Division of Scientific Training and Continuous Studies, National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences (NARSS), Cairo 11769, Egypt;School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Alexander Hall 135, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada;Soils and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Benha University, Benha 13518, Egypt;

关键词: desertification;    wind erosion;    El-Farafra Oasis;    modeling;    GIS;    ILSWE;   

DOI  :  10.3390/land11010054

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Desertification is a serious threat to human survival and to ecosystems, especially to inland desert oases. An assessment of desertification severity is essential to ensure national sustainable development for agricultural and land expansion processes in this region. In this study, Index of Land Susceptibility to Wind Erosion (ILSWE) was integrated with a Modified Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use (MEDALUS) method and factor analysis (FA) to develop a GIS-based model for mapping desertification severity. The model was then applied to 987.77 km² in the El-Farafra Oasis, located in the Western Desert of Egypt, as a case study. Climate and field survey data together with remote sensing images were used to generate five quality indices (soil, climate, vegetation, land management and wind erosion). Based on the FA, a weighted value was assigned to each index. Five thematic layers representing the indices were created within the GIS environment and overlaid using the weighted sum model. The developed model showed that 59% of the total area was identified as high-critical and 38% as medium-critical. The results of an environmentally sensitive area index suggested by the original MEDALUS model indicated similar results: 18.37% of the total area was classified as high-critical and 78.73% as medium-critical. However, the sensitivity analysis indicated that weights derived from FA resulted in better performance of the developed spatial model than that derived from the original MEDALUS method. The proposed model would be a suitable tool for monitoring vulnerable zones, and could be a starting point for sustainable agricultural development in inland oases.

【 授权许可】

Unknown