Assessment of soil redistribution rate using beryllium-7 in a semi-arid region of northern Algeria

The present study evaluates the efficiency of a system of plantation in mitigating erosion. It was initiated in 2019 in Tifilès watershed (province of Chlef, north-western Algeria). Two investigation sites in a steep semi-arid area were used: the first plot was planted with an agroforestry system, while the second was kept bare ground. A reference area was selected in both sites for comparison purposes. 7Be activity in the planted reference site was estimated to be 434 ± 22.67 Bq m−2, whereas it was 497 ± 25.61 Bq m−2 in the unplanted reference site. The relaxation mass depth was found equal to 8.33 kg m−2 in the planted site and 5.55 kg m−2 in the unplanted one. The results show that the planted site is characterized by a lower amount of soil loss than the bare ground plot. This reflects the positive effect of the agroforestry system in controlling erosion in steep areas.