Katayoon Hojati; Zahra Abedi; Behzad Rayegani; Mostafa Panahi
Abstract
Introduction: In recent years, the phenomenon of dust has become one of the most important environmental challenges around the world, which is one of its negative effects on the agricultural sector. Dust on agriculture can affect the growth and performance of plants by affecting the photosynthesis process ...
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Introduction: In recent years, the phenomenon of dust has become one of the most important environmental challenges around the world, which is one of its negative effects on the agricultural sector. Dust on agriculture can affect the growth and performance of plants by affecting the photosynthesis process and also by increasing the leaf temperature, and by providing favorable conditions for the occurrence of diseases and disrupting the population balance of pests against beneficial and predatory insects and Also, the effect of reducing the efficiency of spraying plants against pests and diseases creates the grounds for causing damage and reducing production in various agricultural and horticultural products. The purpose of this research is to estimate the willingness to pay to reduce the effects of dust on the agricultural sector of the centers of dust production and its surrounding areas in Alborz province.Materials and Methods: In order to achieve the goal of this research, first, according to the map of dust centers prepared in Alborz province, the affected villages were determined. Ahmedabad areas are affected by dust. Then, using the Contingent valuation method (CVM), the willingness of people to pay to prevent and reduce the negative effects of the dust phenomenon on the agricultural sector was calculated using 400 questionnaires. It should be noted that the number of questionnaires was determined by using the Cochrane relationship and the population of the villages affected by dust.Results: According to the results of this research, the correct percentage of the estimated willingness of farmers to pay in order to reduce dust damage is 73% in the derived model. Also, the amount of expected value (WTP) was calculated equal to 165423 rials (approximately equal to 5.5 dollars). According to the population of the affected area, the total value of preserving agricultural products against the phenomenon of dust is equal to 2743375032 rials ($9144.58) per year. The results showed that the variables of age, number of working people, education, income and environmental awareness index have a positive and significant effect on the willingness of farmers to pay to preserve agricultural products against dust. In other words, the increase in age, the number of working people in the family, the increase in the level of education, the increase in income and the increase in awareness of farmers increase their willingness to pay.Discussion: The evaluation of the willingness to pay of farmers in Alborz province in order to reduce the dust damage on the agricultural sector showed that increasing awareness, education and experience (age) increases the willingness of farmers to pay dust control costs. Therefore, it can be said that in order to control and stabilize the sources of dust production in Alborz province, the knowledge and awareness of farmers regarding the negative effects of dust on the agricultural sector should be increased by using advertising training classes and so on. As a result, the willingness to pay farmers will increase. Then, in the form of non-governmental organizations or cooperative projects with the government, he designed and implemented programs to control and stabilize dust production sources with the participation of farmers.
mohammad hossein bagheri; mohammadReza Farzaneh; behzad rayegani
Abstract
AbstractIntroduction: Flood is one of the main natural disasters in Iran, which has caused losses in different regions. The ability to produce accurate and timely flood assessments is an important safety tool for flood mitigation and response. Several methodologies have been developed to indicate the ...
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AbstractIntroduction: Flood is one of the main natural disasters in Iran, which has caused losses in different regions. The ability to produce accurate and timely flood assessments is an important safety tool for flood mitigation and response. Several methodologies have been developed to indicate the risks associated with flooding by using ground measurements. Satellite remote sensing data have been used for flood assessment because of their spatial resolution and capacity to provide information for areas of poor accessibility or lacking in ground measurements. High resolution satellite data is mainly useful for the spatial analysis of water pixels. When flood data (before and after of a flood event) are available, it is possible to classify land cover change, and thus identify which areas are flooded.Materials and Methods: The present study developed a methodology that uses Sentinel 1 images and global products to assess the losses caused by a flood in the province of Khuzestan (2020) and Chabahar-Konarak (2021-2022). In this study, in addition to Sentinel 1 satellite data, Landsat 8 satellite images have been used. The results of this research have turned into the development of a flood application in the Google Earth Engine software.Results: The results showed that the use of optically inactive images of this Landsat 8 or Sentinel 2 in cases where the cloud cover does not bother will increase the accuracy of the output. This issue is one of the specialization features in the conditions of uncertainty in determining the thresholds of changes in radar images. In the field of flood zone and subsequently estimation of losses from flood. Applying the method presented in the Google Earth Engine environment, due to the easy access to satellite images and global products, is a suitable solution for extracting the flood zone and subsequently estimating the agricultural and residential damages caused by floods.Discussion: Combining the information of radar and optical satellites can play an important role in the accuracy of the thresholds and extracting the flood zone. The limitations related to optical images such as cloud cover disturbances led to the use and evaluation of methodology based on radar images (without the use of optical images) in this research. According to the research methodology, there is no need to prepare and collect land information and global products regarding the population and its spatial distribution, land cover, permanent water areas and the digital elevation model of the land, with appropriate spatial accuracy (all information with spatial accuracy less than 100 meters) has been used. Fast access to processed satellite images, as well as general coding and processing of images and the implementation of the considered methodology in the Earth-engine environment are the main advantages of this study.