TITLE:
Characterisation of the Erodibility of Agricultural Soils Upstream of the Bandama Blanc Watershed, Northern Côte d’Ivoire
AUTHORS:
Dramane Bamba, Léréya Coulibaly, Ismael Ouattara, Mohamado Ouedraogo, Tehua Kouassi Pascal Angui
KEYWORDS:
Water Erosion, Erodibility, USLE, Agricultural Watershed, Bandama Blanc
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Soil Science,
Vol.16 No.10,
October
20,
2026
ABSTRACT: This study focused on characterising the erodibility of agricultural soils in the Bandama Blanc watershed in northern Côte d’Ivoire. The objective was to assess the susceptibility of soils to erosion based on farming practices. Soil data from the world and soil profiles were used to determine the physical and chemical parameters of the soils in the study area. These parameters were used to classify soil types using the Kohonen map and determine their erodibility. The erodibility map of the study area was obtained by inverse distance weighting (IDW). Analysis of the results showed Ferric Acrisol and Lixic Ferralsol in the agro-industrial environment (SUCAF 1 and 2) in Ferkessédougou. These soils have an average cation exchange capacity of 6.15 cmolc/kg and a high concentration of coarse elements. Ferric Lixisol is found in the rural environment, with an average cation esssssssssssxchange capacity of 10.29 cmolc/kg, covering the departments of Korhogo and Sinématiali. In addition, the erodibility of soils in the basin has shown that the agro-industrial environment is more susceptible to water erosion, with an average K value of 0.32 t·ha·h/MJ·mm, compared to 0.12 t·ha·h/MJ·mm in the farming environment. Finally, the greater vulnerability of soils in the agro-industrial environment to water erosion could be partly associated with agricultural practices, particularly when the intrinsic properties of the soils are relatively comparable.