Landscape Functionality Analysis of Soil Surface Conditions in an Arid Zone: A Case Study of Lajaneh Piosphere, Iran
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Authors
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Eahsan Shahriary
University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968, USA
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Shubhasmita S
University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968, USA
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P Langford
University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968, USA
Abstract
Livestock grazing changes landscape functionality, nutrient availability andsoil structure and surface conditions in dryland rangelands. A piosphere is a zone of
interaction among vegetation, watering point and livestock. This study uses landscape
and soil indicators to evaluate the condition of the soil surface in Lajaneh piosphere,
Shahrood, Iran. Lajaneh is in an arid region, with predominant land cover of Zygophyllum
eurypterum, and grazed by camels, goats and sheep. We used landscape function analysis
(LFA) and trigger-transfer-reserve-pulse (TTRP) to derive eleven soil surface indicators
which were measured and combined to calculate the three indices of infiltration, stability
and nutrient cycling. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s post hoc tests were used to find
the differences in infiltration, stability and nutrient cycling indicators among three
distances 10, 100 and 1000 m. Significant differences were found in infiltration, stability
and nutrient cycling among at 10 m, 100 m and 1000 m from watering point. The three
indices of nutrient cycling, infiltration and stability increased with increasing distance
from watering point. Our study showed the importance of vegetation patches and
runoff/runon processes in soil surface condition, and showed the results of grazing
pressure on soil health centered on the “sacrifice zone†closest to the watering point
and decreasing with distance. We show that the LFA method is an effective measure
for monitoring soil surface health around watering points and piosphere, balancing the
feedbacks and offtakes based on the condition of soil surface indices.
Key words: LFA, piosphere, arid zone, overgrazing, offtakes, feedbacks
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