Showing 52 results for Gri
S. Youneszadeh Jalili, M. Kamali, P. Daneshkar Arasteh,
Volume 20, Issue 78 (1-2017)
Abstract
Integrated management of watershed basins depends on deep knowledge of basic concepts such as the arrangement of lands and their uses. Location and distribution of agricultural land use help to balance water resources in the watershed basins. In this research with the help of satellite images of Landsat 5 and 8, and the method of maximum likelihood classification algorithm, land use types of water, barren areas and salt lands, and irrigated agriculture were studied in the Urmia watershed in the years 2010 and 2013.Then applications of modis images and product Urmia watershed land cover for years 2010 and 2012 were compared and finally modis and Landsat land covers in 2010 were compared. Results showed that the area of irrigated farmlands of Urmia basin has increased in the years between 2010 and 2013; while, the water zone has declined. Comparison between modis and landsat in 2010 showed that modis can estimate irrigated lands and water zone better than barren areas. The kappa coefficient for years 2010 and 2013 in Landsat images are 0/77 and 0/87, respectively.
S. Moradnia, R. Naderi, M. Najafi,
Volume 21, Issue 2 (8-2017)
Abstract
In order to investigate the persistence of organic amendments, nitrogen and zinc effects on soil characteristics in rapeseed-wheat rotation, a factor analysis was conducted in a complete random design with three replications in two consecutive years in a greenhouse. Treatments in the first year consisted of N fertilizer, municipal waste compost, vermicompost, sheep manure. The control consisted of zinc and two rapeseed cultivars. In the second year of the experiment, two cultivars of durum wheat were sown in the same pots as the first year of the experiment. Results showed that two years after application of cattle manure, a significant increase in soil electrical conductivity (41.81 %), available K (59.45 %) and available Mn (79.82 %) compared to the control were found. Saturated soil moisture (48.57%), total N (94.66 %), available Fe (46.49 %) and available Cu (47.51 %) significantly increased by municipal waste compost compared to the control. Also, Zinc had a significant effect on soil total N (0.28 %), available K (218.4 mg/kg) and available Mn (12.89 mg/kg). Generally, the results showed that application of organic amendments can change many soil characteristics which some of their impacts might last for next upcoming years. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the soil characteristics and nutrients availability of the fields that were treated with organic amendments in the years after application.
E. Chavoshi, M. Afyuni, M. A. Hajabbasi,
Volume 22, Issue 2 (9-2018)
Abstract
This study covers a large agricultural and industrial area of Isfahan province, including three types of land use, i.e., agricultural, uncultivated, industrial and urban types. A total of 275 samples from surface soil (0-20 cm) were collected and water soluble fluoride concentrations of them were measured. The spatial structure of water soluble fluoride in the soils was determined by omnidirectional variogram in the GS+ software. The spatial distribution of water soluble fluoride in the soil was mapped by employing the point kriging method in the SURFER software. The results showed that the mean of the water soluble fluoride concentration in Isfahan soils (0.85 mg L-1) was higher than the mean world soils (0.53 mg L-1). The water soluble fluoride showed moderate spatial dependence, indicating that the spatial variability of water soluble fluoride was mainly controlled by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The mean water soluble fluoride concentration was significantly higher in agricultural and urban areas, as compared with the uncultivated land. This could be due to application of phosphate fertilizer in agricultural areas and the atmospheric fallout of fluoride from the industrial sources such as steel factories. According to the generated kriging map, the higher concentration of fluoride was mainly recorded around the Zayande Rood River and in the central and western parts of the study area.
O. Ahmadi, P. Alamdari, M. Servati, T. Khoshzaman, A. Shahbaee Kootenaee,
Volume 23, Issue 1 (6-2019)
Abstract
Changes in Climate parameters have been accelerated in the coming age, which can affect agricultural activities directly and indirectly. Temperature and precipitation are the most complex climatic factors. Spectral analysis is a scientific and efficient technique used to recognize and detect the hidden behaviors of these variables. In this research, in order to study and analyze the temperature and precipitation return periods using spectral analysis, the statistics of climate parameters (precipitation, mean, maximum and minimum temperature) for a period of 27 years (1989-2015) were used for the sustainable land management. For this purpose, the climatic data of temperature and precipitation entered the MATLAB software environment and Periodogram of each of the climatic parameters was drawn in a separate way. The results of each Periodogram study showed that the absolute minimum of temperature had significant cycles with the return periods of 3.8 and 2.4 years; the absolute maximum of temperature had a significant cycle with a return period of 2.1 years and the mean temperature was significant with a return period of 2.7 years. Also, the review of the Periodogram related to precipitation showed a significant cycle with a return period of 3.4 years. The Results from studying cycles indicated the existence of short-term return periods for climate variables in the region. Given this issue and the need to protect agricultural products, especially garden products, it should be done by applying water and soil resources management methods, including creating terraces and increasing soil roughness; Also, cultivation of appropriate plant species for the suitable regional climatic conditions, Drought resistant and low water requirement, the most optimal conditions could be created for the cultivation of horticultural and agricultural products.
A. R. Alipour, S. H. Mosavi, A. Arjomandi,
Volume 23, Issue 2 (9-2019)
Abstract
Increasing the productivity and conservation of limited water resources in the agricultural sector, especially in the agricultural sub-sectors, is closely related to the revision of the traditional approaches of production system in the agricultural sector of developing countries. The aim of this study was to develop the optimal combination of crop production in Varamin Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Complex as one of the leading agricultural units in the agricultural sector of Varamin County with the emphasis on increasing water use efficiency. For this purpose, the statistical data and information of the 2015-2016 crop year of the complex were used in the framework of the multi-criteria decision making model. The results showed that in the optimum crop pattern in this unit, the priorities of maximizing net energy production and the annual profit as the economic goals would be significantly aggregated with the goal of increasing water use efficiency. Accordingly, in the optimum condition, net energy production was increased by 10%, gross profit was improved by 4%, and water use efficiency was promoted by 15%. Therefore, according to the results, it is suggested that, in order to achieve the economic aspirations and increase water use efficiency in Varamin Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Complex, wheat, alfalfa, silage and maize corn, based on the values calculated in this study, constitute the main combination of the crop production pattern.
J. Zahiri, M. Ashnavar,
Volume 23, Issue 4 (12-2019)
Abstract
Hydrodynamic models proposed for simulating flow hydraulic in rivers assume the flow in one direction and simulate the hydraulic parameters based on the one-dimensional Saint-Venant equations. In this research, a two-dimensional HEC-RAS model was used to simulate the flow in the Karun River, between Mollasani and Farsiat stations. Geographic information system (GIS) and river cross sections were used to prepare the altitude map using the satellite image of the study area. Modeling results in river bends showed that the maximum velocity occurred in the outer bend, which coincided with the flow mechanism in the bends. Based on the results, grid type and density have little effect on flow depth modeling. However, the characteristics of the mesh used had a great influence on the velocity distribution, so that the regular high-density mesh had the best accuracy in simulating the flow velocity. Statistical analysis showed that the RMSE for the flow discharge and flow depth were 17.95 m3/s and 0.05 m, respectively. In addition, the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency index was calculated to be above 0.9 for the discharge and flow depth, which could be considered as a desirable value.
V. Rahdari, A. Soffianian, S. Pormanafi, H. Ghayomi Mohammadi, S. Maleki, V. Pormardan,
Volume 23, Issue 4 (12-2019)
Abstract
In this study, to evaluate the rain- fed land capability in the west of Gavkhooni basin and Plasjn sub- basin, a multi- criteria evaluation method was used. First, by reviewing the literature and expert knowledge, proper data were determined. Criteria and constraint were standardized by Fuzzy and Boolean methods repeatedly and the criteria weights were determined using the analytic hierarchy process. Calculated weights showed that soil and climate criteria with 0.27 and 0.26 had the highest weights among other criteria. Criteria and constraints were combined by considering criteria weights and using the weighted linear combination method; then the rain- fed land capability model was prepared. By re- classing the prepared model, the rain- fed land capability map was produced in 6 capability classes. The results showed that 178430 hectares of the study area was related to very high and high rain- fed capability classes. To determine the rain-fed agriculture sustainability, rain- fed agriculture locations were determined in each land rain- fed capability map. The results showed that 19686 hectares of rain- fed areas were located in high and very high capability and 5999 hectares were the in lower classes.
M. Noshadi, A. Ahadi,
Volume 23, Issue 4 (12-2019)
Abstract
Groundwater supplies a major portion of two basic human needs: drinking and agricultural water. Forecasting, monitoring, evaluating the performance and planning of this vital resource require modelling. The lag time of the groundwater level fluctuations against the rainfall is one of the essential data of the models. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the piezometers behaviour by using the Pearson cross-correlation method between SPI and GRI indices in the Shiraz alluvial plain in order to determine the mentioned lag time. The results showed a similar behaviour for 86.2% of the piezometers. In 79.3% of the piezometers, groundwater level was declined one month after the rainfall event. The best correlation coefficient between the aforementioned indices was observed along the southwestern to the northeastern axis of the plain. The northern alluvial plain has a better correlation, as compared to the southern section because of the northern-southern slope of the plain. The central area of the plain had the highest correlation coefficient. The maximum correlation coefficients occurred at a time scale of 48 months. Also, since 2004, due to the decline in the atmospheric precipitation in the Shiraz plain, the SPI index has surpassed the drought level, although the trend has not been significant. However, the GRI does not follow this trend, showing a significant hydrological drought. The reason can be the disproportionate water extraction to recharge ratio in the alluvial aquifer of the plain.
K. Mohammadi Babadi, A. Nikbakht Shahbazi, H. Fathian,
Volume 24, Issue 2 (7-2020)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between time and spatial features of meteorological, hydrological and agricultural droughts in Karoon 1 Dam basin. Meteorological and statistical data were accordingly selected to evaluate the drought situation between 1993 and 2016. The results showed that hydrological droughts occurred in the meteorological drought and had a very high correlation with this year's meteorological drought. The most severe droughts occurred between 2006 and 2011. Studies also showed that every three years, the basin was accompanied by a meteorological drought and then a hydrological drought. The results also showed that the highest correlation was observed with the 12-month meteorological index, with a delay of 3 months, and the 6-month meteorological and hydrological index with a delay of 3 months and a three-month hydrological drought index with a delay of two months. Therefore, it could be concluded that hydrological droughts showed a delay of almost two to three months in the entire catchment area; since this period was 4 months or more, the correlation between these two indicators was eliminated and decreased. Also, due to drought zones, during the period from 1993 to 2009, most of the droughts were caused by rainfall reduction in the southwest of the province, and this was associated with a reduction in runoff in its hydrometric stations. Of course, in 2009-2012, the runoff status had been temporarily improved, and from 2012 to 2017, the drought situation had again returned spatially to the previous routine.
H. Fazlolahi, R. Fatahi, K. Ebrahimi,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
Water is the most crucial factor for agricultural development. Therefore, the economic evaluation of water resources is critical. The purpose of this paper was to determine the economic value of water resources, to evaluate the financial efficiency and to decide on the price of agricultural water in Arak plain. For this purpose, the economic value of water resources for wheat, barley, alfalfa and corn was identified in 2015- 2016, using the mathematical model developed in this research. The results showed that the financial efficiency was calculated for three alternatives: free-cost water, water cost equal to the 10% of the calculated price and water cost equal to the exact calculated price. The irrigation efficiency of 40% financial efficiency was 2.38%, 1.68% and 0.47% , respectively, for the aformentioned methods, and the irrigation efficiency of 70% financial efficiency was 2.07, 1.92 and 0.71, respectively. Also, the sensitivity analysis of the financial efficiency was performed, with 10% change in the farmers income and costs. The results also revealed that irrigation efficiency and financial efficiency were not aligned when farmers had free water; however, they were aligned when the farmer paid 10% of the calculated price. Financial efficiency was more sensitive to changes in the farmers income when compared to the changes in costs.
S. Moghim, J. Rahmani,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
Improper water managements and overuse of surface water and groundwater mainly for agricultural purposes in Iran have led to the drying of many rivers and groundwater. Climate change adds an extra pressure on the water resources. These changes indicate the necessity of adjustment in water management plans. This study used hydroclimatic variables including precipitation and temperature in Urmia Plain to find appropriate crops that needed the minimum irrigation water. In addition, the best time for planting each crop is determined. To find the proper crops for the region, the daily water, as required for each crop, was calculated based on climate condition, crop type, and crop growth stage. The results indicates that grape could be the best crop for the region. In addition, early planting (e.g. in spring) reduced the irrigation water needed due to more rain and soil moisture in spring than summer, which could provide crop water requirement. On the other hand, the increased temperature in spring could satisfy heat units required for the fully grown plants like barley.
H. Babajafari, Sh. Paimozd, M. Moghaddasi, M. Hosseini Vardanjani,
Volume 26, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Drought is one of the most complex natural disasters due to its slow onset and long-term impact. Today, the use of remote sensing techniques and satellite imagery has been considered a useful tool for monitoring agricultural drought. The objective of the present study was to evaluate spatial and temporal monitoring of agricultural drought in the lake Urmia catchment area with the ETDI drought index which is calculated from Nova satellite images based on actual evapotranspiration from the SEBS algorithm and compared with the ground index SPI. For this purpose, 248 AVHRR sensor images and NOAA satellites during the statistical period of 1998-2000 and 17 meteorological stations with a statistical period of 30 years were used to calculate the indicators. To determine agricultural lands, six thousand points were marked for different uses and their actual evapotranspiration was calculated using the SEBS algorithm. The results showed that with the onset of the drought period in 1998, the ETDI index indicated 9.4% in weak drought conditions in May and 90.6% in normal conditions. Over time, in June of 1998, the situation was different with 95% in a weak drought situation and 5% in a normal situation for the city of Tabriz. In July, the entire catchment area experiences a slight drought. Then, in August, 84% of the basin is in normal condition and 16% in Tabriz and Urmia are declared weak drought. It was also founded that the ETDI drought index due to the combination of visible and infrared bands and its combination with terrestrial data has a physical meaning and has high certainty and predicts drought faster and more accurately.
R. Mousavai, M. Rasouli Sadaghiani, E. Sepehr, M. Barin,
Volume 27, Issue 1 (5-2023)
Abstract
can provide useful information about P adsorption and the factors affecting it. A batch experiment was performed with phosphorus concentrations (0 to 35 mg/L) in two soils with different electrical conductivity (EC) (2 and 15 dSm-1) by a variety of biochar treatments including simple apple-grape biochar (BC), rock phosphate- biochar (BC-RP), enriched-biochar (BC-H3PO4-RP), enriched-biochar (BC-HCl-RP), triple superphosphate (TSP), and control (Cont). The results indicated that phosphorus sorption capacity varied between the soils. Biochar treatments were effective in reducing the phosphorus adsorption of both soils. Due to BC-H3PO4-RP and BC-HCl-RP treatments, the maximum phosphorus adsorption of soils decreased in S1 soil by 14 and 23 % and in S2 soil by 26 and 19%, respectively. Also, the use of these treatments decreased the parameters of Langmuir absorption intensity (KL) of S1 soil to 0.085 and 0.066, respectively and S2 soil to 0.11 and 0.15, L/mg respectively, and Freundlich absorption capacity (KF) of S1 soil decreased to 19.2 and 22.5 and S2 soil to 28.2 and 28.1 L/kg, respectively. Enriched biochars significantly reduced the buffering indices of both soils indicating phosphorus adsorption decreased and increased the availability of phosphorus for the plant. The standard phosphorus requirement of S2 soil was lower than S1 soil by both equations. Therefore, enriched biochar can be an effective strategy to increase phosphorus availability and reduce the use of chemical fertilizers in saline and non-saline conditions; however, more field studies are needed for a clear understanding of the potential of P-enriched biochar as a fertilizer alternative.
F. Meskini-Vishkaee, A. Tafteh, M. Goosheh,
Volume 27, Issue 1 (5-2023)
Abstract
Salinity and water scarcity are limiting factors for sustainable agricultural production. The cultivation of resistant plants to environmental stresses is one of the important management factors for sustainable production. The objective of this study was to determine the water requirement and plant response coefficients to water deficit stress (Ky) in different growth stages under the Khuzestan province climate. This study was performed on the quinoa cultivar Titicaca in Ahvaz City in 2019 in a randomized complete block design with 13 treatments and three replications. Treatments include full irrigation and application of three levels of water deficit stress (30, 50, and 70% of allowable soil moisture depletion) at four different stages of plant growth. The duration of the initial, developmental, middle, and late growth stages of quinoa was 24, 28, 32, and 18 days, respectively (total growth period=102 days). The highest quinoa yield was obtained in full irrigation treatment (3700 kg ha-1) with a water requirement of 312 mm. Plant response coefficient to water deficit stress in the initial, developmental, middle, and late stages were 0.8, 0.65, 0.74, and 0.47, respectively. Although quinoa is a drought-resistance plant, it should be noted that the water stress in the two initial and middle stages (quinoa sensitive growth stages to water stress) reduces the quinoa yield significantly that should be considered in the planning of deficit irrigation.
S. Ghasemi Pirbaloti, S. Soodaee Moshaee,
Volume 28, Issue 1 (5-2024)
Abstract
Since the long-term sustainability of garden ecosystems is dependent on maintaining the soil quality, knowing the condition of the soils and investigating the effects of the activities on the soil properties is very important and effective in ecosystem management. To investigate the soil quality index of almond (Prunus dulcis) orchards under different managed methods in ChaharMahal va Bakhtiari province, soil samples were collected from three points in each orchard and finally classified into 6 groups (Saman, Ben, Shahrekord, Kiar, Ardel, and Farsan). To determine the soil quality index, soil characteristics including pH, EC, total and water-soluble organic carbon, basal and substrate-derived respiration, rhizosphere microbial population, and available soil P and K were analyzed. The results showed that almond orchard management in different regions affected the soil characteristics and the processes evaluated in this study. The monitoring of soil properties showed that pH 7.05 - 8.48, EC 0.23 - 2.91 dS/m, microbial respiration 0.44 - 8.57 mg CO2.100 g-1.day-1, organic carbon 2.09 - 44.79 g/kg, available phosphorus 1.5 - 122.3 mg/kg, and available potassium were between 91.2 - 3038 mg/kg. Soil quality index components including chemical components, microbial activity, microbial population, and soil organic carbon were determined. The contribution of soil salinity to soil quality obtained using factorial analysis was the highest (31%), followed by microbial carbon mineralization coefficient (27%), rhizosphere microbial population (24%), and water-soluble organic carbon (18%). The soil quality index values for Saman, Ben, Shahrekord, Kiar, Ardal, and Farsan almond orchards were 0.46, 0.40, 0.51, 0.67, 0.54, and 0.37, respectively. These values showed that the evaluated soils are suitable for almond production in Shahrekord, Kiar, and Ardal, and for Saman, Ben, and Farsan, there is a need for serious management measures to improve soil quality and increase the sustainability of these agricultural ecosystems.
A. Salar, M. Shahriari, V. Rahdari, S. Maleki,
Volume 28, Issue 2 (8-2024)
Abstract
Unbalanced development of different land use/cover in basins without considering the contribution of all components, can cause serious damage to the stability of the entire basin. The development of agricultural areas by increasing the amount of water use and creating dams upstream of rivers are the most important threats to wetlands in many places. Jazmorian wetland is one of the seasonal wetlands in the south-east of Iran. The most important source of water supply for this wetland is the Halil-Rood River. To investigate the land use/cover changes of Jazmurian wetland and
Halil-Rood River, the time series of Landsat satellite data for the years 1354, 1374, 1387, and 1401 were used in the present research. The Landsat satellite images were classified using a hybrid classification method and the land use/cover of the study area maps were prepared. The accuracy of the prepared maps for the latest image was calculated by preparing the error matrix, calculating the kappa index, and the overall accuracy of more than 0.8 and 9%, respectively. The investigation of the prepared maps showed that the area of land under water increased from 1354 to 1374 and then decreased from 119,552 hectares in 1374 to 723 hectares in 1401. The area of agricultural land increased from 2131 hectares in 1354 to 133913 hectares in 1387 and declined to 105795 hectares in 1401. The results of this study show that in this period, with the construction of a dam upstream of the Halil-Rood River, and the development of agricultural lands, the water volume level of the wetland decreased, and the wetland completely dried up in 1401. The present study indicates the necessity of considering different components of a watershed in development planning to achieve sustainable development.
I. Saleh, S. Zandifar, M. Khazaei,
Volume 29, Issue 2 (7-2025)
Abstract
Groundwater resources are affected by long-term drought conditions and have received less attention than other issues. The current research was carried out to investigate and zone the quantitative fluctuations of groundwater as well as the temporal analysis of groundwater drought using GRI in the study area of Shiraz in the Maharloo-Bakhtegan watershed. The zoning of groundwater table variations was done in the ArcGIS environment, and a representative hydrograph of the aquifer was prepared using 15-year data (2003-2018) of groundwater resources divided into three five-year periods. Also, the drought of the groundwater resources of the studied plain was investigated using the GRI index. According to the results, the highest level of the groundwater table is related to the northwestern area of the plain by 1810.1 m in October 2007, and the lowest water table was observed in the southern study area with the amount of 1423.6 m in October 2017. Also, the results showed that the groundwater table faced a drop of 6 m and an average annual drop of 0.5 m during the studied 15 years. The volume changes of the reservoir also indicated that, in addition to consuming the entire renewable reserve, a large part of the fixed reserve has also been exploited in the past years. The descending trend of GRI and its intensification in the last years of the studied period is one of the most important results of this research, which occurred due to population growth and increasing cultivated area, a decrease in precipitation, and climate change.
J. Ghaneiardakani, S.a. Mazhari, F. Ayati,
Volume 29, Issue 2 (7-2025)
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of agricultural activities on the soils of southern Mehriz by analyzing their geochemical composition and comparing the physicochemical properties of pistachio orchard soils (agricultural soils) with those of undisturbed natural soils. The results indicate that agricultural practices have led to an increase in Total Organic Carbon (TOC), averaging 1.5%, and a reduction in soil acidity. Additionally, phosphorus concentrations have risen in agricultural soils. These soils also exhibit enrichment in elements such as cadmium (Cd), antimony (Sb), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), scandium (Sc), and rare earth elements (REE) compared to natural soils, with a more homogenized REE distribution pattern. Although the concentrations of these trace elements remain within national environmental standards and below critical thresholds, the study highlights a significant increase in the bioavailability of heavy metals due to agricultural activity. This finding underscores a potential environmental risk if such changes are not properly managed in the future.
Sanaz Moghim, Amirabbas Samavaki,
Volume 29, Issue 4 (12-2025)
Abstract
The effect of climate change on agricultural productivity and efficiency is a major concern and challenge for the agricultural industry. Different hydrometeorological variables, such as extreme temperature, precipitation, and their variations, affect the growth and yield of agricultural products. Saffron is one of the most important agricultural products in Iran. Iran produces the largest amount of Saffron globally, and Hamadan Province is one of the major saffron-producing regions in Iran. This study uses different Artificial Intelligence methods not only for clustering and sensitivity analysis of the hydroclimatological variables but also for evaluating the impacts of climate change on Saffron yield in Hamadan Province. Results indicated that the Random Forest algorithm performs the best for sensitivity analysis among all algorithms. Extreme climate change indices, particularly those related to the monthly maximum and minimum temperatures, have the highest negative impact on saffron yield compared to other hydroclimatological indices. Furthermore, the minimum temperature has a more significant negative impact on saffron yield compared to the maximum temperature. Additionally, the counties of Malayer, Nahavand, and Asadabad, located in the south and west of Hamadan Province, exhibited the highest accuracy in sensitivity analysis. The findings suggest that monthly extreme temperatures can be used to assess the risk of saffron production, increase agricultural productivity, and improve decision-making for the cultivation of this product.
Homa Chegini, Chooghi Bairam Komaki, Majid Owneq, Hamidreza Asgari, Khalil Ghorbani,
Volume 30, Issue 1 (3-2026)
Abstract
This study aimed to analyze the spatial–temporal correlation between the Vegetation Health Index (VHI) and climatic variables, including precipitation, potential evapotranspiration (PET), and mean temperature, in Golestan Province during the period 2000–2024. MODIS satellite products were used for vegetation and land surface temperature data, while the TerraClimate dataset provided precipitation and PET variables. After spatial–temporal alignment, the Cross-Correlation Function (CCF) was applied to identify optimal time lags, and the Random Forest model was employed to assess the relative importance of the climatic drivers. Turning to the results, increasing trends in mean temperature and PET were observed, alongside a significant decrease in precipitation, which led to intensified climatic stress and reduced VHI across the province, especially during summer in croplands and rangelands. The relationship between VHI and precipitation was positive (maximum correlation of 0.299 in croplands), negative with PET (−0.287), and non-linear with temperature (0.275). Notably, VHI responded to precipitation with short-term lags (0–1 month), whereas PET and temperature effects emerged with longer lags (2–4 months). The Random Forest analysis highlighted precipitation as the most influential factor on VHI, followed by PET and temperature, achieving strong predictive performance (R² = 0.78, RMSE = 0.09). Overall, these findings emphasize precipitation as the immediate driver of vegetation health, while PET and temperature act as secondary, cumulative stressors. The results provide valuable insights for developing climate adaptation and sustainable resource management strategies in agriculture and natural ecosystems of Golestan Province.
