Spatial Modeling of Water Erosion in the Shiwah Jo Wadi Basin (Northern Iraq) Using the SLEMSA Model

Abstract

The study aimed to estimate the amounts of soil erosion in the Shiwah Jo Wadi Basin, located in the northern region of Iraq, specifically in the Shiwah Jo Wadi Basin of Erbil Governorate, and to identify the areas most susceptible to erosion in order to implement appropriate measures. I used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques to calculate the components of the global soil erosion equation., were employed to calculate the components of the universal soil loss equation and to enable modeling of the amount of soil lost due to water erosion in the basin, which has an area of 231 km², in northeastern Erbil Governorate. This was based on the SLEMSA model, which relies on multiple indicators, including slope, vegetation cover, soil or surface formations, rainfall, and temperature. The results indicated that five erosion categories were identified: very slight erosion covered an area of 46 km² (19.91%) and was concentrated in the western part of the basin, while very severe erosion was concentrated in the eastern and southeastern parts of the basin, covering 30 km² 12.98.