An applied statistical method to identify desertification indicators in northeastern Iran

Geoenvironmental Disasters

Table 1 Main criteria affecting desertification and considered indicators for quality degree of criteria

Criterion	Indicators representing quality
climate	precipitation, aridity index^a
geology	geology, slope index, land use change
soil	electrical conductivity (EC), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), soil depth
vegetation	vegetation state, vegetation utilization, vegetation restoration
agriculture	cropping pattern, crop yield, use of machinery
erosion	wind erosion, water erosion
groundwater	EC, SAR, water declination
social-economic	poverty status
technology development	technology development

^aAridity index was calculated by ratio of annual rainfall to potential of evapotranspiration proposed by FAO/UNEP for global desertification map AI=P/ETP (UNEP 1992)