Soil erosion assessment in arid region: A case study in Wadi Naghamish, Northwest Coast, Egypt

Abstract

Wadi Naghamish is located at a distance of 20 km east of Matrouh City. It occupies an area of about 9000 ha. Wadi Naghamish suffers from seasonal floods that can remove the surface layers, cut off the natural cover, destroy the infrastructures, and cause many natural disasters as well as cause a great economic loss. The study aimed at evaluating soil erosion in Wadi Naghamish, Northwest Coast of Egypt using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) based integration soil chemical, physical properties, and topographic factors. Geomorphological units of Wadi Naghamish were identified based on the integration of sentinel 2 image and Digital Elevation Model (DEM). The Geomorphological units were classified into: Tableland 77%, Escarpment 1.3%, Basin 2.1%, Alluvial terraces 5.6%, Wadi 8.98%. Sandy beach 0.03% of the total area. The results indicated that soil erosion values were associated with the geomorphic feature of the study area where, the highest values were observed in Tableland unit, where it has average soil erosion ranging between 0.42 ± 0.21 to 55 ± 39 t h−1 y−1. Meanwhile the lowest values were observed in Wadi, alluvial terraces and Basin where, the overall average of soil erosion were 0.41 ± 0.23, 0.26 ± 0.09 and 0.19 ± 0.13 t h−1 y−1 sequentially. The highest values were found in the sloping areas where slope length value reaches 2.8 and the erodibility values ringing between 0.3 and 0.5 Mg h MJ−1 mm−1. Therefore, the study emphasized the importance of relying on scientific study in preparing an appropriate management plan including a suitable potential crop system, increasing the organic matter, and implementing a no-till or direct sowing system to preserve the soil from erosion.