Soil erosion susceptibility prediction using ensemble hybrid models with multicriteria decision-making analysis: Case study of the Medjerda basin, northern Africa

Soil erosion is considered one of the most prevalent natural hazards in semiarid regions, leading to the instability of ecosystems and human life. The main purpose of this research was to investigate and analyze soil erosion susceptibility maps in the Medjerda basin in northern Africa. This study utilizes four ensemble models based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) multicriteria decision-making analysis, namely, deep learning neural network AHP (DLNN-AHP), frequency ratio AHP (FR-AHP), Monte Carlo AHP (MC-AHP), and fuzzy AHP (F-AHP). Eight predictor variables were considered as inputs to the model, namely, the slope degree, digital elevation model (DEM), topographic wetness index (TWI), distance to river (DFR), distance to road (DFRD), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), rainfall erosivity (R), factor and soil erodibility factor (K). Soil erosion inventory maps were developed from field surveys and satellite images. The dataset was randomly divided into 70% for training and 30% for testing. The performances of the utilized models were compared using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The results highlighted that all the models utilized exhibited good performance, with DLNN-AHP (93.1%) exhibiting slight superiority, followed by FR-AHP (90.9%), F-AHP (88.9%), and MC-AHP (88.5%). Among the influencing factors, the distance to the river and rainfall erosivity had the most significant impacts on the incidence of soil erosion. Moreover, the current findings revealed that 38.3% of the study area is extremely highly susceptible to soil erosion. The results of this study can aid in developing decision-support tools for planners and managers aiming to mitigate the adverse effects of soil erosion.