Assessment of soil erosion using RUSLE, GIS and remote sensing in NW Ethiopia

• Published in: Geoderma Regional Vol. 12; pp. 83 - 90
• Main Authors: Zerihun, Mengesha, Mohammedyasin, Mohammed S., Sewnet, Demeke, Adem, Anwar A., Lakew, Mindesilew
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Alisols; Cambisols; Dembecha District; digital elevation models; Ethiopia; geographic information systems; land cover; land use; rain; remote sensing; Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation; risk; RUSLE; Severity class; Soil and water conservation; soil erosion; Soil loss; Upper Blue Nile; water conservation; Ethiopia; Dembecha District; Soil and water conservation; Severity class; RUSLE; Upper Blue Nile; Soil loss; Alisols
• ISSN: 2352-0094; 2352-0094
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geodrs.2018.01.002

This study integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with GIS and remote sensing techniques to assess soil erosion severity in the Dembecha District, Northwestern Ethiopia. Digital elevation model (DEM), land use/land cover (LU/LC) maps, and rainfall and soil data were used as an input to identify the most erosion prone areas. Accordingly, the district was classified into five soil loss severity classes: very slight (24%), slight (49%), moderate (11%), severe (3%) and very sever (13%) risk classes. Most of the district was characterized by very slight to slight soil erosion rates which is associated with the gentle slope covered by Alisols and Cambisols. The mean annual soil loss in the district is estimated to be 49 t ha−1 yr−1, i.e. total soil loss of 526,996 t yr−1. Hence, soil and water conservation (SWC) measures should prioritize based on soil erosion severity levels. •Soil erosion is a major land gradation problem in Dembecha District, NW Ethiopia•RUSLE, GIS and RS techniques were used to assess soil erosion in the Dembecha Distirct.•Five erosion severity classes were used to prioritize base on severity for soil and water conservation works.•The annual soil loss in the district is 49 t ha−1 yr−1 (total soil loss of 526,996 t yr−1).