Geospatial Assessment and Mapping of Water-Induced Soil Erosion in a Semiarid Region of the MENA Using GIS-Based RUSLE Modeling

Ahmed Gueffaf¹Riheb HADJI^2*Khadeijah Faqeih³Sumaih Alamry³Eman Alamri³Maha Abdullah Aldubehi³Jamilah Yahya Alamry³CHEMSEDDINE Fehdi¹

• ¹Universite de Tebessa Faculte des Sciences Exactes et des Sciences de la Nature et de la Vie, Tebessa, Algeria
• ²Department of Earth Sciences, University Ferhat Abbas of Setif, Sétif, Algeria
• ³Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Soil erosion remains a major environmental challenge across the Middle East and North Africa, where it accelerates land degradation, reduces soil productivity, and increases sedimentation in reservoirs. These issues are particularly pronounced in the Upper-Bousselam Watershed, a region vital for cereal production. This study assesses the spatial distribution and annual magnitude of water-induced soil loss to support more effective mitigation and land-management strategies. A GIS-based application of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation was employed to derive thematic layers representing key erosion drivers: rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, topographic conditions, vegetation cover, and conservation practices. The integration of these factors produced a detailed soil-loss map for the entire basin. Findings indicate that the northern mountainous sector and certain southern slopes are the most vulnerable areas, largely due to steep gradients, weak and easily erodible lithologies, and sparse vegetation. Erosivity decreases from north to south, contributing to marked spatial differences in erosion intensity. Estimated soil losses range from minimal levels to more than 33 t/ha/year. Although nearly two-thirds of the basin falls within the low-erosion class, approximately 9% experiences severe-degradation. These results provide a solid scientific basis for developing targeted soil conservation measures aimed at protecting natural resources and sustaining agricultural productivity.