
Rachid MoussadekINRA/ICARDA · Cropping System and Nat.Res. Management
Rachid Moussadek
PhD
About
131
Publications
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Introduction
My research is on Sustainable Soil Management, Soil Mapping, Soil Fertility and Crop Fertilisation. I work on topics connected to Climate Smart Agriculture. I am a Chair of NENA FAO-Global Soil Partnership, with a global network of researchers and practitioners dedicated to soil management to changing the way that people think and act to adapt soil management to climate change.
Publications
Publications (131)
Moroccan agriculture is characterized by the co-existence of both modern and smallholder traditional agriculture. Both types of agriculture are under degradative processes due to mis-use of tillage implements, mis-management of crop residues and inappropriate links between grain and livestock productions. From the research conducted over the last t...
Geostatistical methods were applied to investigate spatial distribution of heavy metals in the soils around the Zaida mining district in Morocco. Soil samples from 51 locations were collected at various distances and directions from tailings. Concentrations of seven heavy metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Cd, Ni, Zn and Pb) were measured using Inductive Coupled...
In Morocco, the Vertisols, known by vernacular name Tirs, are often used for cereal and arboriculture. Because of their difficult physical properties due to their high content of swelling clay and the presence of cracks, Vertisols are generally underutilized at present. This paper presents a state of the art on Vertisols and their distribution in t...
In the Issen irrigated perimeter of the Souss‐Massa Plain, Morocco, under a semi‐arid climate, the use of irrigation is inevitable for most crops. Therefore, groundwater is increasingly being used. Hydrochemical and statistical studies were conducted; they were carried out on the major and secondary elements of water (EC, Ca ²⁺ , pH, Mg ²⁺ , Na ⁺ ,...
Agricultural activities generate substantial quantities of waste, which are often relegated to landfills or incineration. However, these residues can be effectively valorized through composting, which transforms them into valuable organic fertilizers (OF). Composting agricultural waste (AW) mitigates environmental impacts and offers significant ben...
In Morocco, saline irrigation significantly affects soil quality and reduces crop yields. This study evaluates the effect of salt stress on soil properties and the overall performance of the durum wheat variety “Faraj”, aiming to optimize production under saline conditions. A greenhouse experiment was conducted during the 2023–2024 season, using a...
Machine learning (ML) has become a powerful tool for predicting suspended sediment concentration(SSC). Nonetheless, the ability to interpret the physical process is considered the main issue in applyingmost of ML approaches. In this regard, the current study presents a novel framework involving fourstandalone ML models (extra trees (ET), random for...
Assessing groundwater quality is essential for ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and ecosystems. This study evaluates groundwater contamination by heavy metals (HMs) using GIS approaches, multivariate statistical analysis (MSA), pollution indices (heavy metal pollution index (HPI), metal index (MI), degree of contamination (Cd), ecological...
The Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator-Wheat (APSIM-Wheat) model is one of the most widely used agricultural models. It is a powerful simulator that has been successfully calibrated and tested for many locations in the world, especially in Western Australia (WA). However, there is a noticeable lack of a standard guide for realizing the calib...
Organic waste utilization stands as a pivotal approach to ecological and economic sustain-
ability. This study aimed to assess the stability, maturity, and evolution of co-composts comprising
various blends of green waste (GW) and sheep manure (SM). Employing a diverse array of physico-
chemical and biological parameters, we investigated the co-com...
Organic waste utilization stands as a pivotal approach to ecological and economic sustainability. This study aimed to assess the stability, maturity, and evolution of co-composts comprising various blends of green waste (GW) and sheep manure (SM). Employing a diverse array of physico-chemical and biological parameters, we investigated the co-compos...
Accurate assessment of soil quality is crucial for sustainable agriculture and soil conservation. Thus, this study aimed to assess soil quality in the agricultural ecosystem of the Mnasra region within the Gharb Plain of Morocco, employing a comprehensive approach integrating multivariate analysis and geostatistical techniques. Thirty soil samples...
Abstract: Groundwater, an invaluable resource crucial for irrigation and drinking purposes, signifi-
cantly impacts human health and societal advancement. This study aims to evaluate the groundwater
quality in the Mnasra region of the Gharb Plain, employing a comprehensive analysis of thirty sam-
ples collected from various locations, based on thir...
Conservation Agriculture (CA) covers more than 205 million hectares in the world. This made it possible to face and mitigate the challenges of climate change, reducing soil erosion and providing multiple ecosystem services. The first elementary factor influenced is the yield evaluation. It has a direct effect on farmers’ choices for sustainable pro...
In this chapter, all studies on 137Cs resampling collected from the literature as well as the recent contributions carried out by the authors of this guidelines are presented. The grouping of assembled studies was based on their geographical provenience. All discussed contributions were arranged into four subchapters: 2.1 North America and Australi...
Morocco, like other North African countries, is in an area qualified as a hotspot in terms of climate change. This phenomenon is associated with the degradation of agricultural land due to the intrinsic conditions of the soils and intensive ploughing coupled with poor agricultural practices that increasingly reduce the fertility of these soils and...
Conservation agriculture (CA), which could contribute to sustainable agriculture, maintains or improves soil nitrogen fertility by eliminating tillage (no-tillage). Quantitative assessment of soil constituents is enhanced by stable isotope techniques such as 15N, which are used to better understand nitrogen dynamics. This study was therefore carrie...
The policy review presented here-in summarizes the most relevant EU policy framework for ecosystem restoration including Sustainable Land and Water Management as well as the policies on the food-water-energy and ecosystem nexus for the south and west Mediterranean or MENA subregion with special case of Morocco. One of the main pillars of the EU env...
A large effort has been devoted over the past century to assessing soil erosion using a variety of methods under a wide range of climatic conditions, soil types, land uses, topography, and others. Thus, we attempt to provide an analysis of national data of several soil erosion modeling and fingerprinting. The methodology adopted for this research i...
Globally the way food and feed are produced is under pressure like never before, and hence many food systems are not fit for purpose. There is a need to rethink these food systems and explore the root causes of non-sustainability. Climate-smart agriculture (CSA), with its components of productivity for food security and climate change mitigation an...
Climate change, drought, erosion, water contamination resources, desertification, and loss of soil quality represent major environmental risks worldwide. Facing these risks is the most important issue for sustainable development. Conventional tillage (CT) practices seem to expose the soils of semi-arid regions, which are initially fragile, to degra...
The aim of this work is to assess the impact of no-till based cropping system on soil erosion using two indicators. The experiment plot was under no-tillage (NT) for four years, adjacent to a plot under conventional tillage (CT) with same other management practices. The two used indicators are Le Bissonnais soil aggregates’ stability test and the a...
In Morocco, cereal production is below the expected potential. The adoption of best agricultural practices that reduce vulnerability to climate is a major requirement. No-tillage (NT) agriculture is a system that could improve cereal production by enhancing soil fertility. Some factors, in combination with no-tillage, can further improve cereal yie...
For better soil management in terms of salinization to ensure sustainable agriculture, a soil salinity mapping and prediction study based on the measurement of apparent electrical conductivity using an electromagnetic instrument (EM38) combined with geostatistical interpolation (kriging) is proposed herein for the soil of the semi-arid region of Be...
The Upper Moulouya region, including the Mibladen (M) and Zaïda (Z) mines, is one of the highest lead (Pb) deposit areas in Morocco. These mines, abandoned without any measure of rehabilitation, constitute the main source of soil pollution by Metallic Trace Elements (MTEs) accumulation in the region. In this study, two greenhouse phytoremediation e...
In Morocco, the intensive use of agricultural land coupled with irregular precipitation is a serious threat to the
country’s food security. Conservation agriculture especially no-tillage (NT) system has shown an important result
in the semi-arid regions of Morocco, but its dissemination to other, more humid, agro-ecological zones (precipitation > 3...
Heavy metals in mine tailings induce severe environmental contamination of terrestrial ecosystems. They are
hazardous to human health and must be cleaned up. However, ex-situ procedures are costly and soil-destroying.
Phytoremediation approaches might be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly option. Phytostabilization of
mine tailings, whic...
During the last century, a great deal of effort has been directed toward determining soil erosion rates using various methods under a wide range of climatic conditions, soil types, land uses, topography, and among others. Therefore, to better understand soil erosion studies in Morocco, a country with diverse physiography and climatic variations we...
This study was conducted to assess the impact of soil temperature, moisture, and microbial activity on the mineralization and dissipation rate of Carbofuran on a typical sugar beet clayey soil in the Loukkos area in order to predict the fate of Carbofuran in soil and environment (Northwest Morocco). The results of incubation investigations demonstr...
This article aims to provide a review of major challenges and research needs for the diffusion of conservation agriculture (CA) and the improvement of crop–soil–water conditions in Southern Europe and Northern Africa. A multidisciplinary study and a participatory approach are at the basis of an international project of research and innovation actio...
Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the central issues in dealing with soil fertility as well as environmental and food safety. Due to the lack of relevant data sources and methodologies, analyzing SOC dynamics has been a challenge in Morocco. During the last two decades, process-based models have been adopted as alternative and powerful tools for...
Conventional tillage coupled with monocropping and limited recycling of crop residues along with increased pressure from human and livestock population has led to the degradation of the soil, water resources, and the environment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Conservation Agriculture (CA) considered as “climate-smart” agriculture, stri...
Climate change, food system complexity and changing international demands are creating new realities, challenges and opportunities. In this respect, unlocking Africa’s agricultural potential is both a vital and a daunting aspiration to achieve commitments to the climate and development of the visionary and optimistic framework of Agenda 2063. In re...
The study of soil quality in irrigated areas is necessary to evaluate the sustainability of the agricultural production system. Indeed, the assessment of this quality is based on the physicochemical and biological characterization of soil parameters, as well as the knowledge of their spatial distribution and their evolution over time. This work aim...
This work deals with the digital soil mapping as a time and cost effective alternative for soil type characterization. The e-Soter (Soil and terrain) approach was used and validated for in the Khouribga-Kasbat Tadla semi-arid rainfed agricultural area of Central Morocco, covering 217.000 ha. The GIS processing included physiography and parent mater...
This work deals with the digital soil mapping as a time and cost effective alternative for soil type characterization. The e-Soter (Soil and terrain) approach was used and validated for in the Khouribga-Kasbat Tadla semi-arid rainfed agricultural area of Central Morocco, covering 217.000 ha. The GIS processing included physiography and parent mater...
Despite several efforts for its dissemination, adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is low – causing some to wonder if an incremental approach for adoption of its three components would prove more effective. In this paper, we apply the endogenous switching regression model to a nationally repre...
Recent studies on vulnerability to climate and land use change show a trend towards increased aridity accelerating soil erosion which is the primary factor to be considered by decision makers in the environmental field. Furthermore, to reduce the soil erosion intensity, it is required to clarify the sources zones of sediment yield where soil conser...
Conservation agriculture (CA) is characterized by three principles: minimum tillage, even the total absence of tillage in the case of direct seeding (NT), permanent soil cover by mulch, and diversification of crops. Its main objective is to control soil degradation by conserving the physical and biological properties and fertility of the soil, whic...
Farming management practices are of paramount importance for soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in carbon (C) cycling at different scales. However, due to a lack of proper methodologies, estimating the impacts of different soil management practices on overall SOC stock remains inadequately quantified. In this paper, a process-based model, Deni...
The Bouregreg watershed is a space for rain-fed agriculture. This agricultural characteristic of the basin is part of the agricultural policy implemented after independence. Certain areas of Morocco have in fact benefited from the irrigation policy to the detriment of other areas, such as that to which the Bouregreg watershed belongs. Although rain...
The hydrological regime of all the basins is characterized by a great inter-annual variability
marked by the alternation of wet and dry sequences, inter-bedded by years of strong
hydraulicity or severe drought. Most watersheds have water deficits. This situation is likely to
deteriorate as a result of climate change and the worsening of extreme eve...
Morocco is basically a semiarid country with limited rainfall reducing the opportunities for rainfed agriculture. For feeding its ever growing population, irrigation is required. This study aims to evaluate the groundwater quality for irrigation in the Benslimane region by studying the main influencing chemical elements and characteristics. The mai...
La qualité des sols du sous bassin versant Oued Amlil appréciée à travers les paramètres physico-chimiques a permis de conclure que: Le pH reste semblable dans les différentes stations et oscille entre 8 et 8.9, ce qui montre une dominance des sols alcalins. La texture est de type argileuse-marneuse à marneuse. Le carbonate de calcium s'étale...
The basin of Moulouya Oued is a region where mining industry has been developed early in the 20th century. As a consequence, residues generated from past mining activities over the years have been dumped as piles of tailings. Zaida is one of the most affected region in this basin because of lead mine exploitation for long time. The aim of this stud...
In Morocco, agriculture is an important sector of the economy, accounting for 15 to 20% of Gross Domestic Product. However, it has faced several challenges: intensive tillage of land that has accelerated water erosion, seriously threatening water and soil potential, low plant cover density and misuse of traditional agricultural practices, causing a...
The Gharb plain is the largest agricultural area in Morocco. It is characterized by fertile soils and the availability of water either from surface or groundwater which allowed intensive agriculture. The aim of this research work is to study the impact of this land management on the quality of water and soil. The study was done for the irrigated pe...
The origin of the landscape spreading across NW Morocco (Meseta, Atlas Mts. Foreland) is geodynamically controlled by two collisional and one extensional regime, while climate changes had only a minor impact on the shaping the landscape. The existing landscape pertains to the series characterized by highly to partially eroded mountain blocks of Pal...
Au Maroc, les effets des changements climatiques couplés à la dégradation des ressources en sol constituent des facteurs majeurs limitant le développement socio-économique. Parmi ces facteurs, le labour intensif pratiqué par les agriculteurs marocains provoquent l’appauvrissement des sols en matière organique (MO) et affectent leurs propriétés phys...
This study aims to describe the meteorological conditions of the Bouregreg watershed, in order to answer the problematic dealing with the effect of climatic fluctuations on the forest resources, and also to describe the meteorological conditions of the sites favorable to the development of the forests, in order to address the issue dealing with the...
A promising way of addressing the issue of growing water scarcity is through wider use of drip irrigation, which delivers water and fertilizer to crops in a slow, targeted manner, and has been shown to increase yields and water use efficiency. Yet, drip irrigation system adoption is low, primarily due to the high capital cost of the pressurized pip...
The hydrological regime of all the basins is characterized by a inter-annual variability marked by the alternation of the wet
and dry episodes, intercalated by years of high hydraulic or severe drought. Most hydraulic basins faced water deficits. This situation is
likely to deteriorate as a result of climate change and extreme events, particularly...
Soil erosion from agricultural fields is a worldwide problem, to influence water quality, soil fertility and reservoir sedimentation especially in Mediterranean countries such as Morocco. In fact, this work assesses the effects of Best Management Practices (BMPs) on sediments using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model in the Kalaya water...
Legacy soil data have been produced over 70 years in nearly all countries of the world. Unfortunately, data, information and knowledge are still currently fragmented and at risk of getting lost if they remain in a paper format. To process this legacy data into consistent, spatially explicit and continuous global soil information, data are being res...
In Morocco, land degradation under a changing climate is a major factor limiting agricultural and
economic and social development, especially in semi-arid and arid regions. Indeed, Morocco is a hot
spot for soil erosion and organic matter depletion. The situation is worsening with climate change
as well as a lack of the use of the best management m...
Proceedings of the Global Symposium on Soil Organic Carbon 2017. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy, pp : 501-505. ISBN 978-92-5-109838-7.
The aim of this study was to estimate water requirements for stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni)
crop. This research was conducted in the Regional Center of Agronomic Research of Rabat in
Morocco (INRA). The data were collected daily at 8 am, from 10 June to 28 August 2014. The crop
maximum evapotranspiration (ETm) was obtained from the water balanc...
An efficient design for erosion-control structures of any watershed in the world is entrusted with the delicate forecasting of sediment yields. These outlook yields are usually inferred by extrapolations from past observations. Because runoff, as the transporting vehicle, is more closely correlated with sediment yields than any other variable. So,...