Scholarly record

IMPACTS OF CLIMATE AND LAND USE CHANGES ON THE WATER RESOURCE OF MISSOUR OASES, MOROCCO

Ali Ahmed Salem, Mustapha Amiri, Mohamed Ghzal, Jozsef Deszo

Abstract

Regions with scarce freshwater resources, such as North Africa and the Middle East, face significant challenges today and will face even greater challenges in the future as a result of socioeconomic and climatic changes. The Missour Oases in Morocco is one of many arid Moroccan Ocases grappling with increasing water scarcity, which threatens self-sufficiency in agriculture. Efficient water management is required to sustain people's livelihoods. The main aim of this study is to assess the impact of human activities, climate, and land-use changes on water availability on the Missour Oases in Morocco. Missour Oases has experienced a significant increase in water demand as a result of population growth, which increased from 29840 to 35388 between 2004 and 2014. This study develops an approach for mapping and monitoring land-use changes using Landsat images in two periods (1984 and 2017). The images were classified to detect the evolution of irrigation agriculture that influences water resources. The precipitation and streamflow trends were analyzed to determine the dry and wet years and to improve the strategies of water resources. The results show that Land-use and climate changes have a direct impact on groundwater depletion. Agriculture areas increased from 1975 hectares in 1984 to 3309hectares in 2017. The number of wells in the Missour Oases has also increased from a few in early 1980 to about 110 wells in 2019. The average precipitation is decreased from 80.50 mm to 53.91 mm between the two periods 1932 to 1977 and 1977 to 2016. The reduction in average annual surface runoff and precipitation lead to a decrease in annual groundwater recharge Furthermore, climate trends indicating a significant increase in dryer spring and autumns, which coincide with the cultivation season, are expected to severely disrupt agricultural production. As well as the evolution of the wells that make the groundwater threatened with decay. The aforementioned issues call for intervention to manage the exploitation and also better planning and preparedness under the possible risks and vulnerabilities of climate change and human activities on water resources and ensure sustainability.

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