Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology

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Zarandian A, Ramezani Mehrian M, Mohammadyari F, Mousazadeh R, Azizi N. Assessment and Economic Valuation of Ecosystem Services for Soil Erosion Prevention and Sediment Retention in the Khorkhoran International Mangrove Wetland. Iranian Journal of Applied Ecology 2024; 13 (4) :1-20
URL: http://ijae.iut.ac.ir/article-1-1251-en.html

Mangrove ecosystems play a crucial role in reducing soil erosion and retaining sediment. This study evaluates and economically values the ecosystem services related to prevention of soil erosion and sediment transfer in the Khorkhoran International Mangrove Wetland in Hormozgan province. The SDR model (from the InVEST suite) and the RUSLE equation was applied to simulate the spatial distribution of erosion, sediment accumulation, and retention. The modeling results showed that annual soil loss in the study area ranged from 0 to 350 tons per hectare, with the potential to increase up to 430 tons per hectare in the absence of vegetation cover. The findings indicated that vegetation prevents approximately 42,112 tons of soil erosion and 48,937 tons of sediment transfer to water bodies annually. The economic value of these services was estimated at 43.37 billion IRR for soil erosion prevention and 196.6 billion IRR for sediment transfer prevention, totaling approximately 240 billion IRR annually. These results emphasize the importance of preserving vegetation cover in natural resource management and suggest the SDR model as an effective tool for quantitative assessment and mapping distribution of the ecosystem services in question.