The effect of drought in the source area of dust storms on vegetation change (case study: western parts of Iran)

Abstract

Water scarcity is one of the factors limiting plant growth and development. More than one<br />third of the global terrestrial ecosystems is located in arid and semi-arid regions. The most<br />important limiting factor for plant growth is water shortage. Drought could significantly<br />change the natural vegetation cover. Rainfall reduction in Iraq, Turkey and Syria has<br />reduced vegetation cover so that dust storms have increased. Therefore, these areas have a<br />high potential to increase dust particles in the environment. To investigate the temporal<br />changes of vegetation, we focused on the source of dust particles between Tigris and<br />Euphrates rivers and some parts of the west bank of these rivers in Iraq. The Normalized<br />Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used. In addition, the standard precipitation index<br />was calculated to assess drought events in the region. The results show that the vegetation<br />and rainfall indexes are inversely correlated in the study area.