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 (CaCO 3 ) 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 CaCO 3 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 CaCO 3 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.