Soil erosion modeling using RUSLE & GIS on micro watershed of J&K

Abstract

A comprehensive methodology that integrates Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques was adopted to determine the soil erosion vulnerability of a micro-watershed in J&K, India. The spatial pattern of annual soil erosion rate was obtained by integrating geo-environmental variables in a raster based GIS method. GIS data layers including, rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), slope length and steepness (LS), cover management (C) and conservation practice (P) factors were computed to determine their effects on average annual soil loss in the area. The resultant map of annual soil erosion shows a maximum soil loss of 2.9246 t h-1 y-1 with a close relation to grass land areas, agricultural lands and orchards (with low LS ). The spatial erosion maps generated with RUSLE method and GIS can serve as effective inputs in deriving strategies for land planning and management in the environmentally sensitive agricultural areas.