Minimizing the Impacts of Desertification in an Arid Region: A Case Study of the West Desert of Iraq

Table 2

Weights, classification, appropriateness scales, and scores for each criterion for RWH in semiarid and arid areas [45, 46, 50, 51].

Criteria	Weights	Class	Value	Score
Slope (%)	8	Very high	2-3	9
		High	3-4	8
		Medium	<2	6
		Low	4-5	3
		Very low	>5	1
Runoff (mm)	9	Very high	>35	9
		High	30–35	8
		Medium	25–30	7
		Low	20–25	3
		Very low	7–20	1
Land use/cover	7	Farmed and grass	Very high	9
		Moderate	High	7
		Bare soil	Medium	5
		Mountain	Low	1
		Water body and urban area	Restricted	Restricted
Soil texture	6	Very high (clay)	>20%	9
		High (silty clay)	15–20%	7
		Medium (sandy clay)	11–15%	4
		Low (sandy clayey, loam, and sandy loam)	8–11%	3
		Very low (others)	<8%	1
Distance from irrigated lands	5	Very high	8	9
		High	7	8
		Medium	6	7
		Low	5	5
		Very low	4	3
Distance from roads	4	Very high	8	9
		High	7	8
		Medium	6	7
		Low	5	5
		Very low	4	3