2026/5/27
Saeed Sharafi

Saeed Sharafi

Academic rank: Associate Professor
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2644-5924
Education: PhD.
H-Index:
Faculty: Agriculture and Environment
ScholarId:
E-mail: s-sharafi [at] araku.ac.ir
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Research

Title
Balancing Productivity and Ecosystem Services in Major Crops Under Intensive Management in a Semi-Arid Region, Iran
Type
JournalPaper
Keywords
agroecosystem services valuation; ecosystem disservices; nonlinear regression modeling; semi-arid agriculture; sustainable crop management
Year
2026
Journal Land
DOI
Researchers Saeed Sharafi

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive economic valuation of ecosystemservices and environmental impacts across four major agroecosystems—wheat, barley, sugar beet, and coriander—under intensive management in the semi-arid Nahavand County, Iran. Soil properties, ecosystem service provision, and environmental disservices such as greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion, and nutrient leaching were systematically assessed using field surveys, farmer questionnaires, and established ecological models. Coriander exhibited the highest net ecosystem service value, ranging from $115,840 to $154,750 ha−1, driven by superior provisioning services (39.77% of total value) and the lowest environmental costs. In contrast, sugar beet presented the greatest ecological burden, with environmental costs exceeding $22,000 ha−1, leading to the lowest net benefits ($51,940–$79,300 ha−1). Nonlinear Gaussian regressionmodels demonstrated strong predictive capacity (R = 0.91 to 0.99) formarketable value based on yieldmetrics, highlighting the importance of biomass productivity in economic valuation. These findings underscore the multifunctionality of coriander and emphasize the pivotal role of crop selection in optimizing agroecosystem sustainability, balancing food security, ecosystem health, and environmental conservation in semi-arid agricultural landscapes.