Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, vol. 16, no. 2

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Vol. 16 No. 2 (2022): Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

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Submitted
Sep 22, 2021
Accepted
Feb 3, 2022
Published
Feb 20, 2022
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

An Estimation of Soil Erosion Rate Hot Spots by Integrated USLE and GIS Methods: a Case Study of the Ghiss Dam and Basin in Northeastern Morocco

https://doi.org/10.7494/geom.2022.16.2.95
Morad Taher
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, The Faculty of Sciences and Technique of Al-Hoceima, The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Tétouan, Morocco
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9273-2764
Touafik Mourabit
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, The Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Tanger, The Department of Geology, Tétouan, Morocco
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5542-7074
Abdelhak Bourjila
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Al Hoceima National School of Applied Sciences, Laboratory of Water and Environmental Engineering, Tétouan, Morocco
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2592-6179
Omar Saadi
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Al Hoceima National School of Applied Sciences, Laboratory of Water and Environmental Engineering, Tétouan, Morocco
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1635-5784
Ali Errahmouni
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, The Faculty of Sciences of Tétouan, The Department of Geology, Tétouan, Morocco
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0303-8971
Fouad El Marzkioui
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, Al Hoceima National School of Applied Sciences, Laboratory of Engineering and Application Sciences, Tétouan, Morocco
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5656-6156
Mhamed El Mousaoui
Abdelmalek Essaâdi University, The Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences of Tetouan, Department of Geography, Tétouan, Morocco
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3864-3135

Corresponding Author(s) : Morad Taher

geomorad@gmail.com

Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, Vol. 16 No. 2 (2022): Geomatics and Environmental Engineering

Abstract

Soil erosion is a major factor leading to dams´ siltation and reducing their storage capacity. This study mapped the hot spots of soil erosion areas to predict the soil erosion/siltation in the Ghiss basin/dam (northeastern Morocco). In this context, various data has been prepared in the geographical information system for the estimation of soil erosion by integrating the universal soil loss equation (USLE). The result of this study revealed that soil loss rate ranges between 0 and 19 t∙ha^(−1)∙yr^(−1). Therefore, the hot spots in the soil erosion area are to be found upstream, potentially leading to dam siltation over time. To avoid Ghiss dam siltation, we suggest terrace farming and reforestation in the soil erosion area hot spots.

Keywords

reforestation Rif risk soil loss terrace farming
Taher, M., Mourabit, T., Bourjila, A., Saadi, O., Errahmouni, A., El Marzkioui, F., & El Mousaoui, M. (2022). An Estimation of Soil Erosion Rate Hot Spots by Integrated USLE and GIS Methods: a Case Study of the Ghiss Dam and Basin in Northeastern Morocco. Geomatics and Environmental Engineering, 16(2), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.7494/geom.2022.16.2.95
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