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Caesium-137 re-sampling approach and excess Lead-210 sediment dating to assess the impacts of climate change and agricultural practices on soil erosion and sedimentation in Northwest Morocco

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Abstract

This study aims to evaluate changes in soil erosion and sedimentation processes in the Northwest region of Morocco based on the use of fallout radionuclide techniques. The Caesium-137 technique was combined with the re-sampling approach to assess soil erosion rates associated with two periods (1954–2000/2001 and 1954–2017/2018) in four agricultural fields located in El Hachef and Raouz watersheds, and excess Lead-210 was used to estimate the temporal variation of the sedimentation rate in a water reservoir named “9th of April 1947”, located in this region, downstream from El Hachef watershed. The results show that the net soil erosion rates had decreased in the two study fields of El Hachef watershed, from 26.3 to 20.2 t ha−1 year−1 and from 50.8 to 42.7 t ha−1 year−1, respectively, and in one field of Raouz watershed, from 19.4 to 16.1 t ha−1 year−1, due to some beneficial changes in land use consisting of more frequent fallow periods combined with natural vegetation and crop rotation practice. However, in one of the two fields of the Raouz watershed, where agricultural practices were not changed, the net soil erosion rate increased from 4.5 to 5.7 t ha−1 year−1 between the two periods, which could be due to climate change impact on soil erosion in this area. Taking into account the relative uncertainties on the 137Cs inventories and the period elapsed between the two sampling campaigns, the results obtained by the re-sampling 137Cs method can be considered statistically significant in particular for fields with high changes in soil erosion rates. The results also indicate an increase of the sedimentation from 18.9 t ha−1 year−1 in 1950 to 79.8 t ha−1 year−1 in 2015 in the downstream water reservoir, which can be attributed to the combined impacts of both climate change and agriculture practices in the region.

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Acknowledgements

This study was carried out within the framework of a research contract between Centre National de l’Energie, des Sciences et des Techniques Nucléaires (CNESTEN), Rabat; and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vien, which partially funded this research work within the project CRP D1.50.17 entitled “Nuclear Techniques For a Better Understanding of the Impact of Climate Change on Soil Erosion in Upland Agro-ecosystem". This study was performed within the framework of Ph.D. thesis preparation at Faculty of Sciences and Techniques of Tangier, supported by the Scholarship of Excellence awarded by Centre National pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (CNRST) in Morocco. Our appreciation goes to “Direction Régionale des Eaux et Forêts du Rif” and “Agence du Bassin Hydraulique du Loukkos” for providing us with the required data. Many thanks to Mr. Mohammed Sebbar, Mr. Mohammed Kourrouch, Mr. Mostapha Amghar, Dr. Anis Zouagui, and Mr. Hicham Chaji from CNESTEN for their valuable contributions during the re-sampling campaigns. Thanks also to Dr. Haytam MESRAR from DT2C Advising, Dr. Maarten WYNANTS from the University of Plymouth, UK, and Dr. Yassine Al Masmoudi from Chouaib Doukkali University for their precious support.

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  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, Tangier, Morocco

    Meryem Moustakim & Brahim Damnati

  2. Division of Water, Soil and Climate, Centre National de L’Energie, Des Sciences Et Des Techniques Nucléaires, Rabat, Morocco

    Moncef Benmansour, Asmae Nouira & Azouz Benkdad

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Moustakim, M., Benmansour, M., Nouira, A. et al. Caesium-137 re-sampling approach and excess Lead-210 sediment dating to assess the impacts of climate change and agricultural practices on soil erosion and sedimentation in Northwest Morocco. Environ Earth Sci 81, 278 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-022-10409-6

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