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

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

Identification of Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZ) Using Geospatial Techniques and AHP Method: a Case Study of the Boudinar Basin, Rif Belt (Morocco)

The present study aims to delineate the groundwater potential zones (GWPZ) in the Boudinar Basin using geospatial techniques and through an analytical hierarchal process (AHP) method. For multi criteria decision analysis, fifteen thematic layers were integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) environment. In this analysis, each thematic layer is calculated for normalized weights. Furthermore, the consistency index and consistency ratio were calculated to ensure that the result was significant and reliable. The GWPZ map has been categorized into three classes: poor (50.82%), moderate (49.06%), and good (<1.00%). To compare the result, we used four other scenarios of the GWPZ. Two of them are the most similar to our result. Finally, predictive groundwater production and management strategies that ensure long-term sustainability are highly needed