Modelling and Mapping of Soil Erosion Susceptibility of Murree, Sub-Himalayas Using GIS and RS-Based Models
, Hammad Tariq Janjuhah 3,*, Matee Ullah 4, Ijaz Ul Islam 5, George Kontakiotis 6, Hariklia D. Skilodimou 7 and George D. Bathrellos 7Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The main aim of the work was to identify possible zones for soil erosion and to prevent the consequences of soil erosion in the Murree region of the Sub-Himalayas.
The subject of the work is very interesting. The research design is appropriate, the methods are adequately described. English is fine and the quality of manuscript is high. However, prior to publication, the manuscript should be improved. For this purpose, please, see a few comments below:
1. The Introduction is too short. Indeed, it does not provide sufficient background. Moreover, the novelty of the work should be highlighted. In addition.
2. The Authors cited only 46 works. It indicated that a review of recent literature should be performed.
3. Tables 1 and 2 are not in line of the Journal template.
4. Discussion of the results obtained is poor. The obtained results should be compared with those presented in the literature.
5. The manuscript should be reviewed to eliminate minor editorial mistakes.
Author Response
Author’s Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
Reviewer-1 Comments to authors:
The main aim of the work was to identify possible zones for soil erosion and to prevent the consequences of soil erosion in the Murree region of the Sub-Himalayas.
The subject of the work is very interesting. The research design is appropriate; the methods are adequately described. English is fine and the quality of manuscript is high. However, prior to publication, the manuscript should be improved. For this purpose, please, see a few comments below:
- The Introduction is too short. Indeed, it does not provide sufficient background. Moreover, the novelty of the work should be highlighted. In addition,
Answer: The authors have extended the Introduction section to provide detailed background related to soil erosion literature review and highlighted the novelty of the work in the last paragraph. See Line 45-51, Line 76-89, Line 93-102.
- The Authors cited only 46 works. It indicated that a review of recent literature should be performed.
Answer: The authors have added more citations to the revised manuscript. Please review the updated manuscript.
- Tables 1 and 2 are not in line of the Journal template.
Answer: Thanks for highlighting this issue. Authors have followed the journal template for table formatting and revised tables 1 and 2.
- Discussion of the results obtained is poor. The obtained results should be compared with those presented in the literature.
Answer: The authors revised the discussion section (Line 364-404), the conclusion (Line 430-434), and the introduction section, and compared the findings of this study to those of other research articles discussed in the literature.
- The manuscript should be reviewed to eliminate minor editorial mistakes.
Answer: The authors have reviewed the article thoroughly to eliminate any editorial mistakes and updated the revised manuscript.
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript "Modelling and Mapping of Soil Erosion Susceptibility of Murree, Sub-Himalayas Using GIS and RS Based Model" is another publication dealing with the dangerous phenomenon of soil erosion. The primary objective of the research carried out is to identify possible soil erosion zones and prevent the consequences of soil erosion in the Murree region of the Sub-Himalayas.The impact of elevation, slope, aspect, curvature, stream, precipitation, LULC, soil and road network on soil erosion was assessed. Potential soil erosion inventory map was developed in Google Earth Engine (GEE) using machine learning. The obtained results are interesting and worth recommending for publication.
However, I have a few remarks concerning issues related to the organization of the manuscript rather than the content:
- the numbering of points should be corrected (repeated numbering),
- the caption under figure 5 should be corrected,
- the discussion point is rather a summary of the results obtained, I propose to reword it or rename it to discussion and summary.
- conclusions are modest, it would be advisable to extend them with methods limiting soil erosion.
Author Response
Author’s Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
Reviewer 2: Comments to Authors
The manuscript "Modelling and Mapping of Soil Erosion Susceptibility of Murree, Sub-Himalayas Using GIS and RS Based Model" is another publication dealing with the dangerous phenomenon of soil erosion. The primary objective of the research carried out is to identify possible soil erosion zones and prevent the consequences of soil erosion in the Murree region of the Sub-Himalayas. The impact of elevation, slope, aspect, curvature, stream, precipitation, LULC, soil and road network on soil erosion was assessed. Potential soil erosion inventory map was developed in Google Earth Engine (GEE) using machine learning. The obtained results are interesting and worth recommending for publication.
However, I have a few remarks concerning issues related to the organization of the manuscript rather than the content:
- the numbering of points should be corrected (repeated numbering),
Answer: Thanks for highlighting this issue. The authors have checked the manuscript overall for repeated numbering issues. For example, Line73 and Line86 have the same number 2. have been updated in the revised file.
- the caption under figure 5 should be corrected,
Answer: A correction has been made, and the caption on Line 232 has been corrected. - the discussion point is rather a summary of the results obtained, I propose to reword it or rename it to discussion and summary.
Answer: Authors have changed heading to discussion and summary in revised manuscript.
- conclusions are modest, it would be advisable to extend them with methods limiting soil erosion.
Answer: Authors have extended the methods limiting soil erosion in revised manuscript. Line 430-434
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript has been improved, hence, I recomment it for publication.
