Using the PAP/CAR model to measure potential water erosion of the soil of the Ceuta Basin within Dohuk Governorate by Employing artificial intelligence techniques in GIS

The soil of the study area is exposed to water erosion processes as a result of water flow in river beds, which vary spatially for lithological and pedological reasons and variation in the density of vegetation cover, in addition to variation in terrain characteristics represented by degrees of slope and direction of slope and variation in total rainfall and snowfall. The PAP/CAR methodology was developed to reduce river erosion processes of soil. The study was applied to the Ceuta Basin in northern Iraq within the administrative borders of Dohuk Governorate, which is a secondary basin part of the Shiran Valley Basin in the Mirka Sur District, Bazian Sub-district, and its sources are located outside the political borders of Iraq in Turkey. The area of ​​the study area was (389.38/ km2). The problem of the study was to determine the effect of natural factors and to reveal the effect of morphometric and hydrological characteristics in activating water erosion processes, and whether such processes in the study area will lead to a loss in soil volume. The research aims to build a qualitative assessment model for water erosion processes and then provide proposals to reduce their effects on the soil. In this study, preparing the PAP/CAR model requires several stages, namely deriving the stratigraphic and slope maps. After merging both maps, a soil erosion susceptibility map is produced, then deriving the NDVI and LULC maps. After merging them, a soil protection map is derived, in addition to selecting the effectiveness of the artificial intelligence program operating within the GIS software environment and its effectiveness in detecting, diagnosing and predicting the water erosion process by building a model applicable in similar environments. The study reached the identification of the natural characteristics that affected the activation of channel erosion processes.