| dc.description.abstract | Soil erosion is the most important soil degradation process in Morocco and a major
environmental and economic concern that threatens the sustainability of dam reservoirs
and agricultural lands. Moroccan soils face high erosion rates which exceed tolerable
thresholds. In order to develop a comprehensive plan for soil and water conservation, it
is crucial to describe the rate of soil erosion and sediment transport in the watershed
over spatial and time scales. In this study, The GeoWEPP model was used for the first
time in Wadi El Malleh watershed to glean useful information to guide soil conservation
planning and management. The most susceptible soil units to erosion were identified
along with the land use/management types associated with extremely high erosion rates.
The analysis of onsite and offsite erosion assessment results across the different
watershed allowed us to identify the most critical sub watersheds. The hillslopes
dominated with the couple winter wheat, conventional till management/soil unit 15
(Vertisol) on the steepest slopes were associated to the highest erosion rates between
88.9 t/ha/yr and 135 t/ha/yr in the four sub watersheds identified as most critical and
prioritized for soil conservation strategy assessment. A 90% reduction of soil loss rates
was achieved by changing the hillslope land uses/management from winter wheat,
conventional till to alfalfa with cuttings. Important insights that were gleaned from the
use of GeoWEPP model in this study have the potential to increase the effectiveness of
soil conservation planning in Wadi El Malleh watershed. | en_US |
