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Investigating the ability of Micro-catchment to provide water for plants in arid regions and reduce their establishment costs (Case study: Shahre Sokhte region, Sistan)
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Mansour Jahantigh *    , Moien Jahantigh |
| Department Soil Conservation and Water Management, Sistan Agriculture and edition Natural Resources Research Center, AREEO, Zabol, Iran |
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Abstract: (98 Views) |
Adapting to climate change to protect against floods and droughts, while providing safe drinking water and food security, is a major challenge for developing countries, especially in drylands. Using efficient methods to utilize natural capacities plays an effective role in improving the ecological conditions of drylands to overcome existing challenges. The purpose of this research is to investigate the ability of micro-catchment to provide water needed by plants in drylands and reduce their establishment costs. To do this study, 12 ex-situ rainwater harvesting (RWH) pond located near the road construction site were selected based on field inspections, and their dimensions and the volume of water they yielded were measured. Soil samples were collected from the basins of rainwater harvesting (RWH) pond to analyze properties such as salinity, acidity, and texture; the vegetation cover within the basins was also examined. The vegetation cover of these reservoirs was also examined. The results indicated that the average length, width, and depth of the excavated pits were 6.6, 4.2, and 1.1m respectively. Measurement of the water collected in the pond showed that the volume of water stored within them is 404.1 m3. An analysis of the economic value of the harvested water volume revealed that the highest water supply cost was associated with water transfer from other regions (269,400,000 Rials); however, the construction of these micro-catchment surfaces reduced this cost 3.46-fold (to 77,452,500 Rials) a difference that is statistically significant at the 5% level. Overall, the results indicate that constructing small-scale water-harvesting structures on gentle slopes creates a suitable basis for capturing rainfall runoff in arid regions; by meeting the plants' water requirements, this facilitates the establishment of vegetation in these areas.
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Article number: 2 |
| Keywords: Food security, Micro-catchment, soil erosion, vegetation cover and water infiltration. |
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
Special
Received: 2026/06/22 | Revised: 2026/09/22 | Accepted: 2026/08/21 | ePublished ahead of print: 2026/09/17
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