Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

EVALUATION OF MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS AND PRIORITIZATION OF THE OUED JOUMOUAA WATERSHED

Fartas Najia, El Fellah Bouchta, Mastere Mohamed1 and Benzougagh Brahim

Abstract

This paper aims to evaluate the adequacy of morphometric parameters (linear, shape and relief) for watershed management. The main objectives of this study include the estimation and prioritization of the subwatersheds of the Oued Joumouaa basin using reliable methods. The morphometry of the watershed gives an apparent picture of the basin and its evolution. A morphometric analysis attempts to prioritize twelve sub-watersheds of the Oued Joumouaa which is a tributary of the Oued Ouergha. The hydrographic network was divided into twelve sub-basins which were delimited from a DTM based on the open-source software. The following parameters were calculated for each sub-watersheds: the length of stream (lu), the mean length of stream (Lsm), the ratio of length of flow (Rl), the constant of maintenance of the channel (C), the ratio of biffurcation, the texture of drainage (Dd), the density of drainage (T), the frequency of stream (Fs), the ratio of elongation (Re), the ratio of circularity (Rc), the factor of form (Ff), the relief and the relief ratio. By combining the values of these parameters, we have classified the sub-watersheds into three prioritization classes: the high class in sub-watersheds (02, 03, 05, 07, 08, 10 and 12) are susceptible to maximum soil erosion, the medium class in sub-watersheds(04, 06 and 09) and the low class in sub-watersheds (01 and 11).