Spatial prioritization of wind-erosion-prone areas in the dried-up beds of Lake Urmia; using field sampling and in-vitro measurement

Preparing wind erosion susceptibility maps and prioritizing the susceptible areas in the dried-up lakebeds is essential through field sampling data and in-vitro measurement, which has so far received less attention. Accordingly, this study aimed to identify and prioritize the wind-erosion-prone dried-up beds of Lake Urmia, Iran. Therefore, 190 composite soil samples (from 1520 points) were taken. Then the soil texture, organic matter (OM), and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) content of the samples were measured. Afterward, the equation-based wind-erodible fraction of soil (EF-e) and soil crust factor (SCF) were used to calculate the wind-erosion susceptibility. Sieving-based wind-erodible fraction of soil (EF-s) obtained from the flat sieve. Wind-induced soil loss (WE) measured using a fixed wind tunnel to validate the results of EF-e, SCF and EF-s methods. Then, the spatial distribution maps of EF-e, EFs, SCF and WE values, and OM and CaCO3 content in the non-sampled beds were estimated using the ordinary Kriging method. The results indicated that, in the dried-up beds of Lake Urmia, the EF-e, EF-s, SCF and WE indices varied from 1% to 55.98%, 4.16% to 55.25%, 0.034 to 0.996, and 1.27 to 15.56 g m(-2) min(-1), respectively. There was a strong significant correlation (P < 0.01) between EF-e and EF-s with WE. The high content of CaCO3 had the most effect on decreasing the susceptibility to wind erosion on the dried-up beds of Lake Urmia. We also found that the dried-up beds located in the southeastern (WE = 9.03-15.56 g m(-2) min(-1)) and northwestern (WE = 7.89-15.56 g m(-2) min(-1)) parts of Lake Urmia had the highest susceptibility to wind erosion. In addition, the southwestern (WE = 5.72-7.89 g m(-2) min(-1)) of Lake Urmia had the lowest susceptibility. The technical and managerial measures can be developed the priorities highlighted in this study to stabilize dust-salt hotspots in the dried-up beds of Lake Urmia.