Effect of Yazd-Ardakan afforested Haloxylon aphyllum on groundwater resources

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD. Graduate, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Payam Noor University, Yazd, Iran

3 Senior Expert, Natural Resources and Watershed Management Office of Yazd province, Yazd, Iran

Abstract

Due to some factors such as limitation of water resources, increasing demands in all aspects and also the impact of climate changes, the optimal management of water resources and their efficient use is an essential task. To achieve this effective management, appropriate water resources planning can be utilized. One of the basic parameters of the water management is the accurate calculation of water balance components. Present study was conducted to determine the effects of Haloxylon aphyllum artificial forest on groundwater extraction from Yazd-Ardakan aquifer. To achieve this, numbers of Haloxylon aphyllum shrubs were counted using JMicrovision software on the preprocessed Google Earth images. Then considering annual water needs of Haloxylon aphyllum- obtained from lysimetric data of previous studies- and number of Haloxylon aphyllum counted from Google Earth images, water extraction of planted forest was calculated. In next step, using GMS 8.3 and Modflow model, the aquifer balance and effective storage coefficient were obtained for calculating groundwater extraction of Haloxylon aphyllum in Yazd-Ardakan aquifer. The results showed that the 4423640 Haloxylon aphyllum existed in the Yazd-Ardakan plain and there is 56 million cubic meters of shortage in reservoir capacity. The amounts of groundwater extraction by Haloxylon aphyllum forest was estimated about 1.614 million cubic meters per year. The positive role of reforestation in relation to the dust storm damage reduction rounded and included the use of water should not be ignored. The results of the research are applicable for water resources and water use management of plantation forests.

Keywords

Desert Management
Volume 5, Issue 10 - Serial Number 10
9 Articles
March 2018
Pages 87-98

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 12 July 2017
  • Revise Date: 17 October 2017
  • Accept Date: 10 January 2018

Share

How to cite

Statistics