10.57647/j.ijes.2024.1604.21

RUSLE-based model for soil loss modeling and water erosion susceptibility mapping in the Issen basin (west-central of Morocco)

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  • Mohamed Ait Haddou*1,
  • Belkacem Kabbachi2,
  • Ali Aydda2,
  • Youssef Bouchriti2,
  • Jamal Mabrouki3,
  1. Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco
  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco
  3. Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Mohammed V University, Agdal, Rabat, Morocco
RUSLE-based model for soil loss modeling and water erosion susceptibility mapping in the Issen basin (west-central

Received: 2023-12-21

Revised: 2024-01-16

Accepted: 2024-02-01

Published in Issue 2024-11-04

Copyright (c) 2024 Mohamed Ait Haddou, Belkacem Kabbachi, Ali Aydda, Youssef Bouchriti, Jamal Mabrouki (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Haddou, M. A., Kabbachi, B., Aydda, A., Bouchriti, Y., & Mabrouki, J. (2024). RUSLE-based model for soil loss modeling and water erosion susceptibility mapping in the Issen basin (west-central of Morocco). Iranian Journal of Earth Sciences, 16(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.57647/j.ijes.2024.1604.21
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Abstract

The Issen basin is the largest sub-catchment area in the southern edge of the Western High-Atlas
(WHA) Mountain of Morocco. This basin is characterized by flood flows, orographic and climatic
contrast and friable substrate sparsely wooded and covered by heterogeneous vegetation making
it vulnerable to soil water erosion. This study aims to evaluate soil loss and to determine the
areas susceptible to water erosion in this basin based on the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
(RUSLE). The RUSLE model was achieved by integrating ancillary and remote sensing data in a
Geographic Information System (GIS). The analysis of the obtained map indicates that the erosion
rate in the studied basin ranges from 0 to 401 t/ha/yr, with an average of 53 tons/ha/year and a total
sheet erosion of 6,886825.87 (tons/year). These results are concordant with the results obtained
from other parts of High-Atlas Mountain. Spatially, the erosion differs from a zone to another,
where 61.2% of the total study area is lowly to moderately susceptible to erosion (subcritical
zones), while the rest (38.8%) is highly to very highly susceptible to erosion (critical zones).
The current study indicates that the soil loss in the study area has reached an alarming level and
demands fast intervention. Consequently, the identification of critical zones in this work can be
useful to prioritize these zones in future environmental planning for treatment against soil loss.

Keywords

  • Water erosion,
  • Soil loss,
  • RUSLE model,
  • Remote sensing,
  • Issen Basin,
  • Morocco
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