Hydric Erosion Mapping Enhancement in Korifla Sub-Watershed (Central Morocco)

Abstract

Abstract In recent years quantitative and qualitative methods integration has become common in investigating and modeling hydric erosion. The present study focuses on using a synergistic approach of the Erosion Potential Model (EPM) and Priority Actions Program/Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC) in order to model the potential erosion in the Korifla Sub-watershed, Central Morocco. The combination of remotely sensed data and the EPM parameters demonstrated that the amount of soil estimated loss in the study area is between 0.001 m3/km2/y and 68.26 m3/km2/y. Furthermore, AUC (Area Under Curve) was computed to validate the EPM modeling results by implementing 162 high erosion sites, the AUC value indicates good mapping results (0.76). The PAP/RAC model shows that in the entire study area, the zones of very high and high erosion represent respectively 10.31 % and 14.53 %, whereas the equivalent of these zones by EPM represents 6.31 % and 9.52 %. The distribution of high-erosion areas correlates well with that of moderate to steep slopes, principally in forest and agricultural lands within the study area. However, the employed methods in this study successfully simulated erosion quantitatively as well as qualitatively. The findings of this study imply that hydric erosion can threaten ecological sustainability and agricultural production in several parts of the Korifla sub-watershed. Consequently, the present study results offer valuable insights for planning efficient erosion control strategies as well as redirecting soil and slope management. To sum up, the findings of this research have important implications for implementing efficient erosion control measures in north-western central Morocco, semi-arid area.