Quantitative Classification of Desertification Severity for Degraded Aquifer Based on Remotely Sensed Drought Assessment

Hydrology

Stavros Sakellariou¹  Pantelis Sidiropoulos¹  Nicolas R. Dalezios¹  Nikos Alpanakis¹  Nikitas Mylopoulos¹  Marios Spiliotopoulos¹  Ioannis N. Faraslis²  Athanasios Loukas³ 

[1] Department of Civil Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Thessaly, Pedion Areos, 38334 Volos, Greece;Department of Environmental Sciences, School of Technology, University of Thessaly, 41110 Larisa, Greece;Department of Rural and Surveying Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece;

关键词: desertification;    land degradation;    drought;    erosion;    groundwater;    water quality;   

DOI  :  10.3390/hydrology8010047

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Natural and anthropogenic causes jointly lead to land degradation and eventually to desertification, which occurs in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas. Furthermore, extended drought periods may cause soil exposure and erosion, land degradation and, finally, desertification. Several climatic, geological, hydrological, physiographic, biological, as well as human factors contribute to desertification. This paper presents a methodological procedure for the quantitative classification of desertification severity over a watershed with degraded groundwater resources. It starts with drought assessment using Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), based on gridded satellite-based precipitation data (taken from the CHIRPS database), then erosion potential is assessed through modeling. The groundwater levels are estimated with the use of a simulation model and the groundwater quality components of desertification, based on scattered data, are interpolated with the use of geostatistical tools. Finally, the combination of the desertification severity components leads to the final mapping of desertification severity classification.

【 授权许可】

Unknown