Useful indicators and models for assessing erosion control ecosystem service in a semi-arid forest landscape
Künye
Vatandaşlar, C., Yavuz, M. Useful indicators and models for assessing erosion control ecosystem service in a semi-arid forest landscape. Environ Monit Assess 195, 208 (2023).Özet
Forests provide a large array of ecosystem
services (ESs) such as wood supply, extreme natural
event prevention, and ecotourism opportunities. The
quantitative characterization of ESs is a crucial but
costly task for environmental managers. The aim of
this study was to develop easily applicable models
and indicators for assessing erosion control ES in a
semi-arid landscape. In order to accomplish this, 107
randomly selected plots were visited for field measurements
and topsoil sampling. Several parametric
tests were then used to analyze the field data. The
findings revealed that (i) normalized difference vegetation
index (NDVI), (ii) cover management (C)
factor of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
(RUSLE), (iii) soil organic matter content, (iv) canopy
cover ratio, and (v) land use/land cover (LULC)
types could be used as useful performance indicators
of erosion control ES. Two regression models were
developed based on these indicators and compared
to RUSLE results for the study area. Using the first
model, we were able to estimate the soil protection
performance of different LULC types by NDVI at the
pixel level (R2
adj = 0.90, p < 0.05). The second model
estimated annual potential soil loss using NDVI and
ground slope values (R2
adj = 0.57, p < 0.05). Based
on the ES indicators framework, a practical approach
was proposed in this study for rapid assessment of
the soil erosion problem without running RUSLE.
Thus, environmental managers are expected to make
well-informed landscape planning decisions and
improve their ES provision application capabilities at
a reduced cost.