Study the Trend of Temporal- Spatial Variation in Mesopotamian Marshlands and Effective Factors

Subject Areas : Water and Environment

Amir hossein  Halabian ¹ (Associate professor, Geography Department, Payame- Noor University, Tehran, Iran *(Corresponding Author).)
Mehran  Shabankari ² (- PhD in Climatology, Geography Department, Islamic Azad University, Ahwaz branch, Iran.)

Received: 2016-01-16 Accepted : 2016-04-06 Published : 2016-12-21

Keywords: Marshland, Mesopotamian, Ecosystem, dust, Variation, satellite images,

Abstract :

The 21 century encounter with many challenges which the most important challenges are environmental topics such as deforestation and marshlands destruction and it’s consequences( flood, drought and dust). The Mesopotamian marshlands as the biggest middle- east aquatic ecosystem has been placed as exoreac basin in south of Iraq and small part of south-western of Iran. These marshlands have been make one of the most dynamic fresh water ecosystems in the world in regional- local scale because of their great area, moist stability and adjancent with permanet rivers. These ecosystems have very important role and position in environmental refining and economical life of region, because of their valuable ecological hydro- climatic potentials. In recent decades, the qualitative changes resulting from undesiable human- natural processes have had the important effects on construction and function of this complex, and the role of marshlands has been coverted from dust stabilization and environmental refining in to origin and center of regional dust. This investigation with analytic- documentary statistical method, study the degradation and instability trend of Mesopotamian marshlands as one of the factors increasing dust in Iran. The result indicated that marshlands have been experienced many gradual and sudden changes. The most important factors foe these changes consist of hydro- climatic changes, infrostructure affairs development( dams and drainage), environmental threats( political and military tensions and drought) and human pollutants types( agricultural, industrial and domestic) which should be consider in regional- local hydropolitic management and planning for improvenental stability of marshlands and consequently, decreasing dust phenomena occurrence. This research indicated that satellite images have capability to reveal and describe the temporal- spatial variation of Mesopotamian marshlands. 

References:

1-      Heyvaert, VMA., Baeteman, C., 2008. A middle to late Holocene avulsion history of Euphrate River, Quaternery Science Review 27, pp. 2401-2410.

2-   شبانکاری، مهران، حلبیان، امیرحسین، بررسی روند فروسایی و ناپایداری تالاب هورالعظیم و تغییرات اکولوژیک آن، فصلنامة محیط زیست، 1385؛ شمارة اول.  

3-      www.grid .unep.ch /activities/sustainable/Tigris/marshlands/marshdoc.php.

4-      Maltby .E., 1994. An environmental and ecological study of marshlands of Mesopotamian. Wetland ecosystem research group, Exeter University, London.

5-      Partow, H., 2001. The Mesopotamian marshlands: demise of an ecosystem. Division of early warning and assessment, United Nations Environment Programme. Nairobi, Kenya.

6-      Partow, H., 2000."The Mesopotamian marshlands: demise of an ecosystem", UNEP/DEWA/TR. 01-3 Rev.1.

7-      Richardson, C., Hussain, N., 2006. Restoring the Garden of Eden: an ecological assessment of the marshes of Iraq. BioScience, 56(6), pp. 477-489.

8-      UNEP, 2008. Project to help manage and restore the Iraqi marshlands: Iraqi marshlands observation system (IMOS), www.grid .unep.ch/.Accessed 8 Sep 2008.

9-   ابریشم­چی، احمد ، بررسیروندتغییراتکمیوکیفیهورالعظیم، مجموعه مقالات پژوهشی دانشکده مهندسی عمران، دانشگاه صنعتی شریف، 1382، تهران، ایران.

10- مختاری، سحر، سلطا نی فر، هادی، یاوری، احمدرضا، خودسازماندهی، درتالابهورالعظیم(هورالهویزه)باتأکیدبراکولوژیسیمایسرزمین، پژوهشهای جغرافیای طبیعی، 1388، شماره 70.

11-  United nations environment programme. (n.d.), 2009. Iraqi marshland observation system website. Accessed May 4, 2009

12-  Zohary M., 1973. Geobotanical foundations of the Middle East. V.1 and 2. Gustav Fisher Verlag, Stuttgart

13-  Rzoska .J., 1980. Euphrate and Tigris, Mesopotamian ecology and density. W. Junk, The Hague.

14-  All-Hilli, M. R.A., Wamer, B.G., Asada, T., Douabul, A., 2009. An assessment of vegetation and environmental controls in the 1970s of the Mesopotamian wetlands southern Iraq. Wetlands Ecology and Management 17, pp. 207-223.

15-  Hamdam M.A., Asada, T., Hassan. F. M., Warner, B. G., Douabul, A., Al-Hilli, M. R. A., 2010. Vegetation response to re-flooding in the Mesopotamian wetlands, southern Iraq, Society of Wetland Scientist, published online: 16 March 2010.

16-  Clark, P, Magee, S., 2001. The Iraqi marshlands a human and environmental study, AMAR International Charitable Foundation, 2001.

17-  Murakami, M., 1995. Managing water for peace in the Middle East: alternative strategies, The United Nations University, 1995.