Assessment of Spatial Variability in Soil Erodibility Factor (K) for Dhule District

Abstract

Soil erosion is a critical environmental challenge that threatens agricultural productivity and land sustainability, particularly in semi-arid regions of India. The soil erodibility factor (K) is a key parameter of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) that quantifies the inherent susceptibility of soil to detachment and transport by rainfall and runoff. This study was conducted to examine the spatial variation of the soil erodibility factor (K) across Dhule district, Maharashtra, using soil physico-chemical data and geospatial techniques. A total of 1,110 soil samples were obtained from the District Soil Testing Laboratory, supplemented by field validation samples, to determine soil texture, organic matter, structure, and permeability. The K values were computed following the Wischmeier and Smith (1978) method and spatially interpolated using the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) technique in ArcGIS. The results showed that the K factor values in Dhule district ranged from 0.02 to 0.69 t·ha·h/ha·MJ·mm, with an overall mean of 0.33, indicating moderate to moderately high erodibility. Across all four tehsils (Dhule, Sakri, Shindkheda, Shirpur), the majority of soils (65-70% of the area) fell into the moderately high erodibility class (0.30-0.40). Moderate erodibility (0.20-0.30) covered about 20-25% of the area, while high to very high erodibility (>0.40) occurred in localized pockets (6-8%). Areas of low erodibility (