Use of the Be-7 in the evaluation of an agroforestry system to control erosion in a Mediterranean climate semi-arid region of northern Algeria

The use of the 7 Be isotope in erosion studies provides important insights on short events and on land use. The present study illustrates an application of this isotope in the evaluation of new system of plantation (agro forest system) initiated in 2019 in an area of Tifiles watershed located in the province of Chlef (north western Algeria). Two different investigation sites were used: the first one with a plantation of the agro forest type and a second one without plantation. In each site a reference area was selected for comparison purposes. 7 Be activity in the reference planted site was estimated at 434 ± 22.67 Bq·m − 2 whereas in the unplanted reference site it was 497 ± 25.61 Bq·m − 2 . Nevertheless, the relaxation mass depth is equal to 8.33 kg·m − 2 in the first site and 5.55 kg·m − 2 in the second one. The results show that the planted site is exposed to reduced land losses compared to the unplanted site. This reflects the positive effect of the green cover (plantation) in controlling erosion.