Application of remote sensing in drought monitoring and impact analysis on rangeland ecosystems : a case study in Qazvin, Iran | |
| Author | Abesht, Abolfazl |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.DM-10-03 |
| Subject(s) | Droughts--Remote sensing--Iran--Qazvin Rangelands--Effect of drought on--Iran--Qazvin |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Disaster Preparedness Mitigation and Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. DM-10-03 |
| Abstract | Iran is considered as a drought prone country due to its geographical location and drought impacts such as land degradation, desertification and soil erosion are showing an increasing trend during last few decades particularly due to human population growth and its consequent over exploitation of natural resources. Among all natural resources, rangelands are providing forage for 38 million livestock in the country and livelihood for almost one million families. Besides, other benefits of rangeland ecosystems such as soil and water conservation as well as bio-diversity protection is estimated to be 4 to 8 times more than its forage production benefit. Therefore, monitoring drought impacts on rangeland ecosystems and its different plant communities using remote sensing as an effective tool to improve rangeland management is the main objective of this study. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) is used to analyze drought frequency and magnitude and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is used to analyze vegetation change over rangeland ecosystems. Pearson Correlation Coefficient () analysis between drought hazards of different time spans derived from meteorological data with NDVI values of different plant communities derived from remote sensing data over a long period of time demonstrates the level of vulnerability for different plant communities posed by drought hazard of different time span. The results of this study demonstrate that, different plant communities respond quite differently to drought hazards of different time spans. Besides, unlike the general perception of drought risk, the impact of one month drought occurring at the first month of growing season is considerably more than that of long term (24 month) drought on rangeland flora. It implies that the availability of water during the first month of growing season (in this study, May) is very critical for all plant communities. Keywords: Drought monitoring, Drought impact assessment, Rangeland ecosystems, Remote sensing |
| Year | 2010 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. DM-10-03 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Clemente, Roberto S.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Lal Samarakoon;Sutat Weesakul; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Korean Endowment Fund; |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2010 |