Wind Tunnel Tests Reveal Aeolian Relocation Processes Related to Land Cover and Surface Characteristics in the Souss Basin, Morocco

Miriam Marzen (), Mario Kirchhoff, Ali Aït Hssaine and Johannes B. Ries
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Miriam Marzen: Department of Physical Geography, Trier University, DE-54286 Trier, Germany
Mario Kirchhoff: Department of Physical Geography, Trier University, DE-54286 Trier, Germany
Ali Aït Hssaine: Department of Geography, Université Ibn Zohr, Agadir MA-80060, Morocco
Johannes B. Ries: Department of Physical Geography, Trier University, DE-54286 Trier, Germany

Land, 2022, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: The Souss Basin is a dryland environment featuring soil, surface and climatic conditions enhancing processes of wind erosion and mineral and organic dust emissions while subject to frequent grazing, tillage and driving. The fine-grained compacted surfaces are covered by physical and biological crusts and stone cover and are sparsely vegetated by open argan woodland and patchily distributed bushes. Wind-tunnel experiments and soil sampling were conducted on the deeply incised alluvial fans originating from High Atlas and Anti-Atlas mountains to investigate the dryland ecosystem, including the open argan woodland, for information on local wind-induced relocation processes and associated dust emission potential. To investigate possible connections between dryland environmental traits and dust emissions, we used two approaches: (a) surface categories (stone cover, crust and cohesionless sand) and (b) Land Cover Classes (wasteland, woodland and wadi). The results indicate omnipresent dynamic aeolian surface processes on a local to regional scale. Wind impact is a powerful trigger for the on-site relocation of available mineral and organic dust and may be crucial to explain the heterogeneous spatial distribution of soil organic carbon and nutrients associated with mineral fines. Aeolian dust flux showed statistically significant relations with surface categories and, to some extent, with Land Cover Classes. While wind erosion processes are key to understanding on-site sediment and nutrient dynamics between fertile dryland islands, the results also indicate a considerable dust emission potential under increasing climate impact and anthropogenic pressure.

Keywords: wind erosion; dust emission; drylands; sediment connectivity; degradation; land use and land cover change (LULCC) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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