The Moul El Bergui area has been known since the 1980s for its high agricultural potential and its permanent irrigation systems. Recently, this area has suffered significant material damages due to collapse dolines that still threaten the population, infrastructures, and agricultural lands. Accordingly, this study was carried out aiming at identifying the mechanism and triggering factors of their occurrence through field inventory and geophysical survey. In the first phase of this study, a collapse dolines inventory was established using geomorphological approach. From the nine inventoried collapse dolines, five have occurred before 1962 and four have occurred after this date. They were found to be aligned following the main tectonic structures characterizing the study area. Moreover, the comparison of aerial photographs revealed that their diameters have expanded from 1962 to 2010. In the second phase, six electrical resistivity tomography profiles (ERT) were performed between the identified collapse dolines. The ERT profiles highlighted the different hydrogeological karst components and proved the presence of underground cavities as well as fractured zones. The obtained results demonstrate that the collapse dolines around the study area occur as a result of various associated processes, including dissolution of carbonated bedrock and presence of fractures and/or faults that facilitate the infiltration of meteorological and irrigation waters. Therefore, the heavy rainfall, consolidated dunes barriers, and irrigation may be considered as the main triggering and aggravating factors to collapse dolines occurrence. For this reason, using collapse dolines as outlets for any irrigation canal or floodwaters will necessarily lead to a faster and significant erosion process. In this case, catastrophic collapse and significant subsidence may occur in areas subject to water flows from irrigated plains. •Collapse dolines occurrence was assessed using electrical resistivity tomography.•Collapse dolines were aligned following the main tectonic structures.•ERT profiles proved the presence of underground cavities and fractured zones.•Results indicated that hydrologic and geologic factors promote ground collapsing.•Using collapse dolines as outlets for excess water accelerated the erosion process.