Predicting soil erosion hazard in Lattakia governorate (W Syria)

Abstract The main objective of this study is to predict soil erosion in the Lattakia Governorate (W Syria) using the Water Erosion Prediction Project model (WEPP) and to compare the result with that of the RUSLE. Field survey and data collection were carried out, and 44 soil samples were analyzed. In addition, all the necessary input files were prepared for use in the WEPP model and RUSLE. Results show that more than of 80% of the locations studied experience slight to moderate erosion (less than 5 t/ha/y), whereas the rest of the locations experience severe soil erosion hazard. Moreover, the volume of runoff estimated by the WEPP model is in the range of 51–321 mm, and the R2 between the simulated soil erosion and the predicted runoff reached 0.68. Interestingly, the R2 between the WEPP model and RUSLE is 0.56, which indicates a good correlation between the two models.