Effect of drought on temporal-spatial changes of the Efin Watershed health

Today, drought has become one of the hot topics of global concern, but its impact on the provision of services and functional health of watersheds in the face of this natural disaster has been less evaluated. Accordingly, in this study, the effect of drought on the Efin Watershed health has been evaluated based on changes in Reliability (Rel), Resilience (Res) and Vulnerability (Vul) indicators in the period 2005-2019. Based on this, the rainfall data of three rain gauge stations were interpolated using Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) for the watershed and sub-watersheds. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was then determined based on the mean and standard deviation of monthly data and was used to calculate the Rel, Res and Vul indicators. Finally, the overall health status of the watershed was determined by calculating the geometric mean of these indicators. The annual results showed that Efin Watershed in terms of Rel, Res and Vul indicators extends between 0.83-0.92, 0.17-0.33 and 0.24-0.54, respectively. The RelResVul index also has values between 0.37-0.53. The average watershed health indicator in this period was also calculated to be 0.42, which indicates mean watershed health condition. Spatial variations of watershed health also showed that Rel, Res and Vul indicators fluctuated between 0.85-0.86, 0.21-0.24 and 0.76-0.78 in different sub-watersheds. The results of rainfall analysis of the region, indicate that due to the relative stability of rainfall, the impact of human intervention and intensification of watershed health threatening factors, more than ever effect on the current situation and if not addressed will have harmful effects.