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• Spatial pattern of soil erosion using RUSLE model and GIS software at the Saf Saf watershed, Algeria

  31-47

  Kamel Khanchoul

  Zine El Abidine Boukhrissa

  Ouafa Othmani

  Views:

  158

  Soil erosion is one of the problems threatening the Algerian environment. In agriculture, soil erosion leads to the thinning of the topsoil under the effect of the natural erosive forces of water, or under the effect of agricultural activities. The present study aims to estimate average soil loss rate and to identify vulnerable zones. Through the integration of RUSLE model at the Saf Saf watershed, various parameters are utilized such as the rainfall erosivity factor (R), soil erodibility factor (K), slope length - slope factor (LS), crop management factor (C) and practice management factor (P). All these parameters are prepared and processed through a geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing using various database sources. The results reveal that the river basin has an average annual soil loss of 3.9 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, and annual soil loss of 4.53 million tonnes for the period 1975-2017. Meanwhile, eighty five percent of the study area is experiencing acceptable rate of soil erosion loss, which is ranging between 0 to 5 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. The present study of risk assessment can contribute to understand the spatial pattern of soil erosion in order to use appropriate conservation practices for sustainable soil management.

• Estimating soil loss from a watershed in Western Deccan, India, using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation

  13-25

  Veena Joshi

  Nilesh Susware

  Debasree Sinha

  Views:

  396

  USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) is the original and the most widely accepted soil loss estimation technique till date which has evolved from a design tool for conservation planning to a research methodology all across the globe. The equation has been revised and modified over the years and became a foundation for several new soil loss models developed all around the world. The equation has been revised as RUSLE by Renard et al. (1991) and is computed in GIS environment. The Revised equation is landuse independent which makes it a useful technique to apply in a variety of environment. The present paper is an attempt to estimate soil loss from a semi-arid watershed in Western Deccan, India by employing RUSLE. The region is a rocky terrain and sediments are restricted to only a few localities. The result indicates that the region is at the threshold of soil tolerance limit.