Many methods for assessing the vulnerability of groundwater against anthropogenic pollution have been developed in the past decades. However, if aquifer vulnerability concept is well defined and the methods have been constantly tested and compared, the problem of the choice of the best method remains. The choice of the method depends on a series of factors, including the scale of the problem, the hydrogeological characteristics of the area and data availability. From a pile of a vulnerability assessing methods, the GOD, DRASTIC and SI approaches have been the most extensively tested. This is why, in the present work, we applied them to evaluate the groundwater vulnerability of the Ghiss-Nekkour aquifer, located in North East of Morocco, on its Mediterranean shore. The mapping resulting from the application of the three approaches shows a range of intervals divided into classes corresponding to fluctuating degrees of vulnerability from “very low” to “extreme”. The coincidence rate between the nitrate distribution of the groundwater and the mapped vulnerability classes is higher when the SI approach is applied. Such mapping constitutes basic documents guiding the land planner in decision-making within a framework of territorial intelligence and integrated management of the Ghiss-Nekkour coastal basin.
This study aimed to evaluate the extent and severity of water erosion in the Toudgha river catchment in the Central High Atlas of Morocco using two different erosion models, the Erosion Potential Model (EPM) and the Priority Actions Programme/Regional Activity Centre (PAP/RAC) model. From the modeling results, the catchment was affected by varying degrees of erosion, ranging from “very slight” to “excessive”, with different locations identified under each model. The very high erosion areas were located in the extreme northwest of the catchment area for both of the applied models, covering 9.65% (according to PAP/RAC) and 8.56% (EPM) of the total area primarily driven by factors such as intense rainfall events, limited vegetation cover, high soil erodibility due to low organic matter content and coarser soil texture, and human activities such as overgrazing and land use changes, which exacerbate the effects of these natural factors on water erosion in these semi-arid areas. The study’s findings suggest that erosion is a significant concern in these environmental areas and provide valuable information for designing effective erosion control measures and guiding soil and environmental management practices. Both models effectively simulated the erosion phenomenon and provided useful tools for soil and environmental management. The EPM model can be used to design effective erosion control measures, while the PAP/RAC model can be used to develop a comprehensive strategy for the sustainable management of the catchment area. These results have implications for the implementation of effective erosion control measures in mountainous watersheds and highlight the need for further research in this area.
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