Analyzing the impacts of changing agronomic land use to orchard from the viewpoint of orchardist in the west of Urmia lake basin

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD. Candidate and Associate Professors, Agricultural Extension and Education, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran

2 Professor, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Tarbiat Modares University, Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze the impact of agronomic land use change to orchard in the west of Urmia Lake basin. The target population was about 12000 consisting of all the farmers in the west of Urmia Lake basin that changed their agronomic land use to orchard. Using Cochran’s formula and stratified random sampling method, 150 apple and grape growers were chosen. Required data were gathered using questionnaire instrument and face to face interview technique. Validity and reliability of questionnaire determined using agricultural extension, environment and soil sciences experts’ viewpoints and the Cronbach alpha coefficient (0.83), respectively. Results showed that irrigated and rain-fed agronomy lands were changed to orchards in 1972 and 1994, respectively. Using exploratory factor analysis, 65 % of the variance of land use change impacts could be explained by profitability and welfare, improving the air and soil quality, promoting the social status and roles, reducing workload, increasing the use of nutrients, improving marketing skills and eco-toxicity of aquatic and terrestrial systems.

Keywords


Arabi, A., Alizadeh, A., Rajaee, Y.V., Jam, K., Niknia, N., 2012. Agricultural Water Foot Print and Virtual Water Budget in Iran Related to the Consumption of Crop Products by Conserving Irrigation Efficiency. Journal of Water Resource and Protection 4, 318-324.
Azizpour, M., Esmaeelpour, N., 2009. Change of agricultural land use and relative increase of temperature in Yazd due to its rapid growth. Journal of Geography and Regional Development 12, 5.
Beheshti, A., Raiesi, F., Golchin, A., 2011. The Effects of Land Use Conversion from Pasturelands to Croplands on Soil Microbiological and Biochemical Indicators. JOURNAL OF WATER AND SOIL.
Celik, I., 2005. Land-use effects on organic matter and physical properties of soil in a southern Mediterranean highland of Turkey. Soil and Tillage Research 83, 270-277.
Di Gregorio, A., 2005. Land Cover Classification System: Classification Concepts and User Manual: LCCS. FAO.
Emadi, M., Baghernejad, M., Memarian, H.R., 2009. Effect of land-use change on soil fertility characteristics within water-stable aggregates of two cultivated soils in northern Iran. Land Use Policy 26, 452-457.
Fathian, F., Morid, S., Arshad, S., 2013. Trend Assessment of Land Use Changes Using Remote Sensing Technique and its Relationship with Streamflows Trend (Case Study: The East Sub-Basins of Urmia Lake) Journa of Water and Soil (In Farsi) 27, 642-655.
Ghafari, G., Ghodousi, J., Ahmadi, H., 2009. Investigating the hydrological effects of land use change in catchment (case study: Zanjanrood Basin). Journal of Water and Soil Conservation.
Guo, L., Gifford, R., 2002. Soil carbon stocks and land use change: a meta analysis. Global change biology 8, 345-360.
Habibpour Gatabi K. and Safari Shali R., 2009. Comprensive Mannual for Using SPSS In Survey Researches. Tehran: Loupeh Press.
Henson, R.K., Roberts, J.K., 2006. Use of Exploratory Factor Analysis in Published Research Common Errors and Some Comment on Improved Practice. Educational and Psychological measurement 66, 393-416.
Houghton, R., 1995. Effects of land-use change, surface temperature, and CO2 concentration on terrestrial stores of carbon. Biotic Feedbacks in the Global Climatic System, GM Woodwell and FT Mackenzie (eds), Oxford University Press, New York, 333-366.
Khalighi Sigaroodi, S., Ebrahimi, S., 2010. Effects of land use change on surface water regime (case study Orumieh Lake of Iran). Procedia Environmental Sciences 2, 256-261.
Lichtfouse, E., 2012. Sustainable agriculture reviews. Springer.
Mahdipour, L., Landi, A., 2010. Comparison of the Different Land Use on the Emission of Greenhouse Gases. Water and Soil Science (Journal of Science and Technology of Agriculture and Natural Resources).
Mokhtari Karchegani, P., Ayoubi, S., Mosaddeghi, M., Malekian, M., 2011. Effects of Land Use and Slope Gradient on Soil Organic Carbon Pools in Particle-Size Fractions and Some Soil Physico-Chemical Properties in Hilly Regions, Westen Iran. Electronic Journal of Soil Management and Sustainable Production.
Motaghian, H., Mohammadi, J., 2011. Comparison of Some Soil Physical Quality Indices In Different Land Uses In Marghmalek Catchment, Shahrekord (Chaharmahal-Va-Bakhtiari Province). Journal of Water and Soil.
Mouron, P., Heijne, B., Naef, A., Strassemeyer, J., Hayer, F., Avilla, J., Alaphilippe, A., Höhn, H., Hernandez, J., Mack, G., 2012. Sustainability assessment of crop protection systems: SustainOS methodology and its application for apple orchards. Agricultural Systems 113, 1-15.
Niknahad Gharmakher, H., Maramaei, M., 2011. Effects of Land Use Changes on Soil Properties (Case Study: The Kechik Catchment). Electronic Journal of Soil Management and Sustainable Production.
Pishdad Soleymanabad, L., Najafi, N.A., Salman Mahini, A., Khaledian, H., 2008. A study on the effects of changing land use on soil erosion in Cheragh Veis watershed using geographical information systems (GIS). Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.
Salehia, A., Taghdis, A., Nour S.H. 2013. The Impact of Social-Economic Level Development on Agricultural Land Use Changes at the Metropolitan Area of Isfahan. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research. 3(7) 317- 321
Shamsi Mahmoudabadi, S., Khormali, F., Ghorbani Nasrabadi, R., Pahlavani, M., 2010. Effect of Vegetation Cover and the Type of Land Use on the Soil Quality Indicators in Loess Derived Soils in Agh-Su Area (Golestan Province). Journal of Water and Soil Conservation (Journal of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources).
Sharma, A., Tiwari, K.N., Bhadoria, P., 2011. Effect of land use land cover change on soil erosion potential in an agricultural
watershed. Environmental monitoring and assessment 173, 789-801.
Solaimani, K., Modallaldoust, S., Lotfi, S., 2009. Soil erosion prediction based on land use changes (a case in neka watershed). American Journal of Agricultural and Biological Sciences 4, 97.
Tabatabaei, S.H., Lalehzari, R., Nourmahnad, N., Khazaei, M., 2010. Groundwater Quality and Land Use Change (A Case Study: Shahrekord Aquifer, Iran). J Res Agric Sci 6, 39-48.
Talebpoor, A.D., Khezry, S., 2010. Study of the Relation between Land use and Slope with Sediment Yield in the Southern Watersheds of Mahabad River. Journal of Range and Watershed Management (Iranian Journal of Natural Resources).
Tanrivermis, H., 2003. Agricultural land use change and sustainable use of land resources in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. Journal of Arid Environments 54, 553-564.
Wang C., and Maclaren V. 2012. Evaluation of economic and social impacts of the sloping land conversion program: A case study in Dunhua County, China. Forest Policy and Economics, 14 (1): 50-57.
Zeinalzadeh, K., Kashkuli, H., Naseri, A., Dadmehr, R., Eivazi, R., 2010. Variability of soil hydraulic parameters under different agricultural land uses. Iranian Journal of Water Research In Agriculture (Formerly Soil And Water Sciences) 24, 1-1.
Zhang, Y., Li, Y., Jiang, L., Tian, C., Li, J., Xiao, Z., 2011. Potential of perennial crop on environmental sustainability of agriculture. Procedia Environmental Sciences 10, 1141-1147.