International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167

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International Soil and Water Conservation Research

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Original Research Article

Soil erodibility mapping using three approaches in the Tangiers

province –Northern Morocco
Hamza Iaaich a,d,n, Rachid Moussadek a, Bouamar Baghdad b, Rachid Mrabet a,
Ahmed Douaik a, Derradji Abdelkrim c, Abdelhak Bouabdli d
a
National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA), Rabat, Morocco
b
Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (IAV Hassan II), Rabat, Morocco
c
Société Nationale des Autoroutes du Maroc (ADM), Rabat, Morocco
d
IbnTofail University, Faculty of Science, Department of Geology, Kenitra, Morocco

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Soil erodibility is a key factor in assessing soil loss rates. In fact, soil loss is the most occurring land
Received 15 September 2015 degradation form in Morocco, affecting rural and urban vulnerable areas. This work deals with large scale
Received in revised form mapping of soil erodibility using three mapping approaches: (i) the CORINE approach developed for
24 May 2016
Europe by the JRC; (ii) the UNEP/FAO approach developed within the frame of the United Nations
Accepted 7 July 2016
Available online 16 August 2016
Environmental Program for the Mediterranean area; (iii) the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) K factor.
Our study zone is the province of Tangiers, North-West of Morocco. For each approach, we mapped and
Keywords: analyzed different erodibility factors in terms of parent material, topography and soil attributes. The
Erodibility thematic maps were then integrated using a Geographic Information System to elaborate a soil erod-
Soil
ibility map for each of the three approaches. Finally, the validity of each approach was checked in the
Mapping
field, focusing on highly eroded areas, by confronting the estimated soil erodibility and the erosion state
Tangiers
Morocco as observed in the field. We used three statistical indicators for validation: overall accuracy, weighted
Kappa factor and omission/commission errors. We found that the UNEP/FAO approach, based principally
on lithofacies and topography as mapping inputs, is the most adapted for the case of our study zone,
followed by the CORINE approach. The USLE K factor underestimated the soil erodibility, especially for
highly eroded areas.
& 2016 International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and
Power Press. Production and Hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-
ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

1. Introduction Morocco, it reaches 60 t/ha/year (Ait Fora, 1995. in Elbouqdaoui

Water erosion is one of the most occurring forms of land de-
gradation in the Mediterranean basin (Lahmar & Ruellan, 2007)
and the highest rates are reported in Rif Mountains of Morocco
(Sabir, Maddi, Naouri, Barthès, & Roose, 2002). It is commonly
defined as the displacement of soil surface material due to the
action of rain and runoff. In different parts of the world, water
erosion leads to several other forms of land degradation: remove
of the soil's most fertile layer, pollutants and heavy metals
spreading, dams siltation and damaging of roads and various
constructions. As an example of the soil surface layer loss rates in
n
Corresponding author at: National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA),
PoBox 415 R.P., Rabat, Morocco.
E-mail address: hamza.iaaich@gmail.com (H. Iaaich).
Peer review under responsibility of International Research and Training Center
on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and Power Press.
et al., 2005).
Soil loss is a major obstacle to agricultural and infrastructure
development in North Morocco. Soil erodibility is one of the main
factors for erosion risk assessment. It represents the soil vulner-
ability, expressed through various intrinsic and extrinsic char-
acteristics, to boost or reduce the effect of the rain erosivity, the
slope and the land use.
In Morocco, research works dealing with soil erodibility and
erosion risk were undertaken at different scales. For large scale
mapping, Elbouqdaoui et al. (2005) used the expert-based model
LEAM (Land Erodibility Assessment Model), based on the USLE and
satellite imagery to evaluate soil loss rates at the Oued Srou Basin.
Bachaoui, Bachaoui, El Harti, and et El Ghamri (2007) used an
expert-based approach integrating topography, geology and land
use for evaluating soil loss in the Beni Mellal region (Central
Morocco), quoting that the output map was validated at 80%.
El Garouani, Merzouk, Jabrane and et Boussema (2005) used the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.iswcr.2016.07.001
2095-6339/& 2016 International Research and Training Center on Erosion and Sedimentation and China Water and Power Press. Production and Hosting by Elsevier B.V. This
is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
160 H. Iaaich et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167
USLE in the Oued Jemaa basin (Pre-Rif zone in the North of Mor-
occo). At site-specific scale, studies were generally undertaken for
validation or calibration purposes and correlating soil erodibility
to various physical and chemical soil characteristics. In fact,
Moussadek et al. (2011) studied the effect of various crops residues
rates under conservation agriculture on runoff and soil erodibility
for a Central Moroccan Vertisol. In the Central Rif Mountains loa-
my soils, Al Karkouri, Laouina, Roose, and et Sabir (2000) corre-
lated soil erodibility at micro-parcel scale to soil texture, organic
matter content, ameliorating prediction by adding surface char-
acteristics such as stoniness, roughness and vegetation cover. In a
larger context, Merzouk and Blake (1991) used rainfall simulation
to study interrill soil erodibility for various Moroccan soils, cor-
relating it to forty-two soil individual/combined characteristics. In
other parts of the Mediterranean basin with pedolandscapes si-
milar to our study zone, several authors mapped soil erodibility
using different approaches. The CORINE approach was used
at regional scale (Bayarmin, Erpul & Erdogan, 2006; Dogan,
Küçükçakar, Özel & Yıldırım, 2000) and at larger scale (Grimm,
Jones, & Montanarella, 2002).
Through this work, we studied soil erodibility through large
scale mapping in the Tangiers province of Morocco. We tested the
Fig. 1. Situation map of the study area.
three most used mapping approaches in order to know the ap-
propriate one for similar landscape context in the North and
Central Morocco. With regard to the fact that data on soil erod-
ibility are limited, we seek a standard soil erodibility mapping
method for more effective large scale erosion mapping and
modeling.
2. Materials and method
2.1. Description of the study area
The Tangiers province is located at the North-West of Morocco
(Fig. 1), covering of 1350 km2. The geographic longitudinal extents
are 5°33'W and 6°05'W, latitudinal extents are 35°19'N and
35°51'N. The landscape of the province is of four main domains.
The northern part is of low-hilly marls landscape, while the north-
east part is of accidental relief with marls and sandstone flysch
escarpments. The central part of the zone is a lowly slopped al-
luvial area with loose alluviums. The southern part is a medium
sloppy area where marl deposits reoccur along with sandstones.
The Fig. 2 shows the main soil Reference Groups according to the
 H. Iaaich et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167 161

Fig. 2. Major soil types of the study area.

Table 1
UNEP/FAO approach lithofacies classes.

Class Main lithofacies

(a) Compact material

(b) Fractured material
(c) Slightly compact sedimentary material
(d) Weathered material
(e) Loose material

Table 2
UNEP/FAO approach slope classes.

Class Slope gradient (%)

1. 0–3: flat to gentle

2. 3–12: moderate
3. 12–20: steep
4. 20–35: very steep
5. 435: extreme
Fig. 3. CORINE approach soil erodibility determination chart.
162 H. Iaaich et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167
Fig. 4. Soil erodibility map – CORINE approach.
world reference base for soil resources (FAO, 2006). The climate of
the province is sub-humid, with an average annual precipitation of
700 mm. Precipitation mainly occurs during winter season, a dry
season taking place from May to October. The mean annual tem-
perature is of 17.5 °C, the mean maximum is of 28.3 °C and the
mean minimum is of 9 °C.
2.2. Methodology
We proceeded to soil erodibility mapping using three mapping
approaches: (i) the CORINE (Coordination of Information on En-
vironment) approach developed by the European Commission as a
framework for water erosion risk assessment in Europe and the
Mediterranean basin (EC, 1994). As shown by the determination
chart (Fig. 3), this approach estimates soil erodibility from its in-
trinsic characteristics, with soil texture, depth and coarse elements
content as inputs.
(ii) the UNEP/FAO approach developed within the frame of the
UNEP Priority Action Program and tested in different Mediterra-
nean countries (UNEP, 1997). It is a landscape approach based on
lithofacies and slope. Tables 1 and 2 show the lithofacies and slope
classification used in this approach.
(iii) the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) developed by
Wischmeier and Smith (1978), similar to the CORINE approach
being an intrinsic soil characteristics based approach, with the K
factor representing the soil erodibility calculated as:
(
K = 2.77M1.14 10−7 ) ( 12 − OMC ) + 4.28( 10 ) ( SS − 2)
−3
(
+ 3.29 10−3 ) ( PP − 3)
where M¼(loam% þ fine sand%) (100 clay%); OMC: Soil organic
matter content (%); SS: Soil structure code; PP: Soil permeability
code.
Using mapped input factors of each approach, we delineated
soil erodibility maps with the help of spatial analysis and the use
of a GIS software (ArcGIS©).
We proceeded then to the validation of the three soil erodibility
maps, using field observation and legacy data on soil erosion
status in 29 field check sites, representing the landscape variety of
the study zone. We took the agreement between the soil
 H. Iaaich et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167
Fig. 5. Soil erodibility map – UNEP/FAO approach.
erodibility and the erosion state as observed in the field. We used a
statistical approach based on three indicators: overall accuracy,
weighted Kappa factor and omission/commission errors.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Soil erodibility maps
The CORINE mapping approach uses soil texture, depth and
surface and sub-surface stoniness as main factors. We note that
soils of the zone are of clayey and clay-loamy texture, affecting
moderately the soil erodibility. Soil depth is generally higher than
the 25 cm threshold, leading to a low to moderate erodibility de-
gree. Concerning the soil surface and sub-surface stoniness, 52% of
the zone's soils are of stoniness higher than 10%. As a result, the
CORINE erodibility map (Fig. 4) shows a moderate to high ten-
dency of the soil erodibility that 33% of the soils are of high
erodibility, while 54% are of moderate and 13% are of low
163
erodibility. The UNEP/FAO uses lithofacies (a combined description
of the soil type and parent material characteristics) and landscape
as main factors. The lithofacies of our study is of dominant loose
sedimentary rocks that highly support soil erodibility. The high
vulnerability of the lithofacies is slightly softened by the slope,
especially in the western and southern areas, where slope gradient
is generally lower than 12% surrounding the mountains and the
hilly part of the zone. Meanwhile, the hills and mountains of the
central and northeast part are of high to extreme slope gradient.
This results to an erodibility tendency that is moderate in the West
and South of the study zone, while high to extreme in the central
and northeast (Fig. 5). 26% of the zone's soils are of high to ex-
treme erodibility, 43% are of medium erodibility and 31% are of
low to moderate erodibility. Finally, the calculation and spatial
representation of the K factor of the USLE was based on soil test
data of representative soil samples from different soil map units.
As result (Fig. 6), we note that 71% of the zone's soils are of low
erodibility and 29% are of medium erodibility. The calculated va-
lues of the K factor are all below 0.1.
164 H. Iaaich et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167
Fig. 6. Soil erodibility map – USLE approach.
In fact, our study zone represents a typical landscape of the
Mediterranean Basin, with calcareous and stony soil landscapes.
Studies on similar areas showed that the widely used USLE K factor
underestimated soil erodibility, due to the lack of CaCO3 compo-
nent in the equation, especially for Calcaric Regosols and Calcaric
Chernozems, widely present in our study zone et in the Medi-
terranean basin (Silleos, 1981; Imeson & Verstraten, 1985; Gaiffe,
1990). Dealing with stoniness, Dumas (1965) proposed an erod-
ibility index including a stoniness rate (percent of soil material
with diameter 42 mm) for Tunisian soils.
3.2. Validation
Validation of the three soil erodibility maps was based on field
magnitude at various sites of the study zone. A total of 29 field
observations were used for validating the veracity of the mapping
approaches in different situations of erosion magnitudes and
forms. The field sites (Fig. 7) erosion status was determined taking
the spread of clear surface spots and pebble presence in case of
sheet erosion; and taking the width and depth in case of rills and
gullies. The Table 3 presents the comparison of the field data with
those of each soil erodibility map.
Three statistical indicators were chosen for further validation:
overall accuracy, weighed Kappa factor and omission/commission
errors. The overall accuracy results show that the UNEP/FAO ap-
proach gave the highest accuracy rate, with 62% of concordance
with field magnitude. The CORINE approach concurred at 41% and
overestimated 42%. The USLE approach only concurred at 31%,
with an underestimation of 55%. Concerning high field magni-
tudes, both the UNEP/FAO and CORINE approaches had an accu-
racy of 54%, while the USLE approach had no concurring value. For
low field magnitudes, the UNEP/FAO approach was valid for 77% of
the sites, while the CORINE approach overestimated the soil
erodibility for 85%. The weighted Kappa factor confirms the good
concurrency of the UNEP/FAO approach, with a value of 0.518. The
CORINE approach was moderately concurring, with a weighted
Kappa factor value of 0.212. This factor was not calculated for the
USLE approach due to the lack of the “high erodibility” class. Fi-
nally, the Table 4 presents the omission/commission errors for the
three approaches. It results that the UNEP/FAO approach had a
 H. Iaaich et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167
Fig. 7. Repartition map of the field check sites.
good accuracy for both low and high field magnitudes, and a
moderate accuracy for the high erodibility class and a moderate to
poor accuracy for the other classes. The CORINE approach had a
good accuracy for medium magnitude. The USLE approach had no
accuracy for both medium and high erodibility classes and a
moderate accuracy for the low erodibility class.
The statistical validation shows the divergence of the mapped K
factor, particularly the underestimation part due to the lack of
some important soil components in the K equation. Added to the
reported similar studies, Auerswald, Fiener, Martin, and Elhaus
(2014), using a set of 20.000 soil tests, owe this to the nuance
between the classical K equation and the initial erodibility no-
mograph developed by Wischmeier, Johnson, and Cross (1971)
with respect to some soil properties. The authors note that the
classical K factor equation should be done with care and take ac-
count of restrictions related especially to silt fraction, organic
matter content and rock fragments rate.
165
4. Conclusion
Of the three soil erodibility mapping approaches, the UNEP/FAO
one gave the most concurring mapping output. We owe this to its
expert-based criteria regarding the soil type/parent material
complex, plus the slope effect taken into account. Less hetero-
geneous zones with regard to soil types and with less sloppy
landscapes might be more likely suitable for the CORINE approach,
taking intrinsic soil characteristic for the derivation of soil erod-
ibility index. More studies on variant landscapes of northern and
central Morocco should provide the suitable environments for
each mapping approach. Such studies should determine also the
accuracy of each approach with regard to the mapping scale. For
instance, the K factor of the USLE, being a pure arithmetic factor,
might be more likely suitable to the in-site assessment rather than
the large-scale mapping.
166 H. Iaaich et al. / International Soil and Water Conservation Research 4 (2016) 159–167

Table 3
Comparison of field erosion magnitude to soil erodibility assessed by the three approaches.

Site Field observations Risks from generated maps

Intensity Form CORINE UNEP/FAO USLE

1 High Gully – Landslide Medium High Low

2 High Gully – Landslide Low High Low
3 High Gully – Landslide Medium High Low
4 High Gully Low Low Low
5 High Gully – Landslide High Medium Low
6 High Gully High Medium Low
7 High Gully High Low Low
8 High Gully High Medium Low
9 High Gully High High Low
10 High Gully Medium High Low
11 High Gully – Landslide High High Medium
12 Low Sheet Medium Low Low
13 Low Sheet High Medium Medium
14 Low Sheet Low Low Low
15 Low Sheet Medium Low Low
16 Low Sheet Medium Low Low
17 Low Sheet Medium Low Low
18 Low Sheet Medium Low Low
19 Low Sheet Medium Low Medium
20 Low Sheet Medium Medium Low
21 Low Sheet Low Low Low
22 Low Sheet Medium Low Low
23 Low Sheet High Low Medium
24 Low Sheet Medium Medium Medium
25 Medium Sheet – Rills Medium Low Low
26 Medium Sheet – Rills Medium Low Low
27 Medium Rills Medium Medium Low
28 Medium Sheet – Rills High Medium Low
29 Medium Rills Medium Low Low

Table 4
Omission/commission errors for the three approaches.

Field magnitude Omission/Commission errors

Mapping approach Erodibility class Low Medium High Omission (%) Commission (%)

CORINE Low 2 0 2 85 50
Medium 9 4 3 20 75
High 2 1 6 46 33

UNEP/FAO Low 10 3 2 23 33
Medium 3 2 3 60 75
High 0 0 6 45 0

USLE Low 9 5 10 31 63
Medium 4 0 1 100 100
High 0 0 0 100 100

Acknowledgment
This work was undertaken within the frame of an on-going
research project on soil erosion risk assessment surrounding the
Moroccan highways. The authors kindly thank the financing
partners, the Moroccan Highways Public Company (ADM) and the
German Federal Foundation GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Inter-
nationale Zusammenarbeit). The authors also kindly thank the
scientific partner of the project, IPROconsult from Dresden –
Germany.
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