Effect of Landscape Fragmentation on Soil Quality and Ecosystem Services in Land Use and Landform Types

Abstract

This study was carried out according to the following objectives in the Shoor River Basin in southwestern Iran: (i) Evaluation of ecosystem services (ES) including habitat quality (HQ), carbon storage (CS), nutrient export (NE), and soil export (SE) using the InVEST approach as well as soil quality (SQ) using an integrated quality index; (ii) Assessment of the relationship between ES and SQ with landscape metrics using Pearson correlation test; and (iii) Investigation of the interaction between ES efficiency, SQ and landscape fragmentation using a ternary plot. The results showed that the northern and eastern parts of the region are prioritized for HQ, CS, and SQ but the southern and western parts for NE and SE. The highest ES efficiency and SQ were found for the forests as well as for the ridge/tops landforms. Statistical analysis clarified that there was a positive and significant relationship between HQ and CS (R>0.8) while the relationship of the two with NE was inverse and significant (-0.55<R<-0.50). The correlation between SE and NE was also positive and significant (R>0.50). SQ was also correlated positively and significantly with HQ and CS (0.43<R<0.5) while no relation with NE and SE was found. It was also perceived that increasing the landscape fragmentation decreases HQ, CS, and SQ but increases NE and SE. Besides, the interaction between ES, SQ, and landscape fragmentation across the sub-basins of the study area can change under the influence of the dominant land use and landform types.