Competition between Clay Brick and Farming for Agricultural Lands in Fars Province

Recently، concerns about conversion of agricultural lands to brick factories have come to the fore. In Iran، few studies have been focused on this issue. This study was conducted to (1) determine the areal extent and magnitude of agricultural lands which have been converted to brick factories in Marvdasht and Kavar plains in Fars Province، and (2) investigate the environmental consequences of brickworks. The aerial photos of the study areas acquired in 1993 and 1955 were used to verify the status of land under brick factories in the past. Google Earth facilities were used to locate the brick factories and map their geographic distribution in 2011. To determine the capacity of the converted lands، several soil profiles were studied in the converted agricultural lands. Data integration was done using Arc GIS software. The number of brick factories and the land areas they occupy have grown dramatically in recent years. Currently، the land swallowed by brick factories covers 560 and 740 ha in Marvdasht and Kavar plains، respectively. The converted land areas show a three-time growth in Marvdasht plain and an eight-time growth in Kavar plain since 1993. Soil survey investigations during fieldwork revealed that most of the converted surfaces belong to class II land with slight limitations for farming. The opportunity to annually produce about 8000 tons of wheat on about 1300 ha of the converted lands has been lost، as a result of improper land use change in Marvdasht and Kavar plains. Land use change by brick factories is a threat to agricultural production in Fars Province. Moreover، intensified brick production has increased adverse environmental effects by augmenting land، water and air pollution. If continued، brickworks not only will consume vast areas of prime agricultural lands، but also، the added value of the agricultural lands will persuade the farmers to sell their lands and immigrate to big cities.