Drought Risks and Impacts on Ecosystems in Salahaddin Governorate

Abstract

Environmental systems: are functional units of permanent life on Earth, the environment is a well-defined structure and dimensions have all the characteristics and standards of the systems are as a system consists of a group of elements such as land, water, air, energy and living creatures and this together constitutes an integrated unit characterized by continuity and equilibrium. Due to the continuous changes in the internal factors of the structure of this system, ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions are highly sensitive to environmental variables such as extremes in climatic and soil characteristics, different terrain and depletion of water resources. As well as the role of the human factor as an influence, the indicators show that in many ways, including the decline of vegetation cover and the expansion of barren and desert areas and areas of salinization and weak economic systems, which creates a state of unbalance and imbalance in them. Comprehensive destruction of agricultural crops and increase their prices in the market, which leads to the creation of hotbeds of tension, especially for poor areas.

 The dominance of the study area due to the prevalence of the continental character resulting from the low amount of rainfall and fluctuations and the low relative humidity in the air and thermal extremes and water deficit make it one of the areas at risk of drought, which focuses on this study.