Identification and prioritization of sub-watersheds for land and water management using InVEST SDR model: Rmelriver basin, Tunisia

ICIEM 2016
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Part of the following topical collections:
  1. Water Resource Management for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Tunisia presents many favorable conditions for the outbreak of water erosion because of its climatic and physical characteristics. This phenomenon represents a serious threat to the natural resources of soil and water. The aim of the present study is to identify the most vulnerable areas in order to help managers implement an effective management program. Thematic layers and parameters were integrated in the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Trade-offs) SDR (Sediment Delivery Ratio). Soil loss and sediment yield were calculated by the model and compared to observed data. The Rmel river basin was divided into 17 sub-watersheds using the dam axis as the main outlet. Results reveal that approximately 60% of the basin presents soil loss more than 5 ton/ha/year. Soil erosion map demonstrates that soil erosion risk increases with increased slope gradient, especially in agricultural lands. Sub-catchment prioritizations have been fixed based on soil erosion risk. Results show that sub-catchment 16 presents the highest soil loss with a value of 65 ton/ha/year. Sub-catchment presenting high soil erosion risk needs to give a high priority in conservation planning.

Keywords

Soil loss InVEST SDR model Sub-catchments Prioritization 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the helpful funding from the European project BEWATER, 7th Framework program, Science in Society [Grant No.612385], and from the INtegrated research on FOrest Resilience and Management in the mEDiterranean (INFORMED) project. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Perrine Hamel (Natural Capital Project).

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Copyright information

© Saudi Society for Geosciences 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.National Institute of Agronomy of TunisiaTunisTunisia
  2. 2.National Research Institute for Rural Engineering, Water and ForestryTunisTunisia

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