A gis-based tool for estimating soil loss in agricultural river basins

Abstract

Soil erosion is a major problem observed in terrestrial ecosystems. Monitoring and identifying potential areas for erosion becomes extremely important for the better management of these areas. The main aim of this study was to develop a Geographic Information System script tool based on the universal soil loss equation (USLE), which calculates soil loss in three large agricultural sub-basins. Algorithms were implemented in the graphical interface of ModelBuilder and later in Python programming language, thus allowing the creation of a specific script to calculate soil loss in an automatic way. The "USLE Paracatu Watershed" script was validated and proved to be effective in estimating erosion in the three sub-basins with an average processing time of half second per km 2 . This can be added via "ArcToolbox" toolbox in ArcGIS software, so that the user only has to add the variables of the USLE equation and the software will process the algorithms in an automatic way, generating the final map with the soil loss value (t/ha.year). The friendly interface of the script allows it to be used in any area, only requiring the user to enter the updated data of parameters that compose the equation.

Global analysis of support practices in USLE-based soil erosion modeling

“…Many studies have reported various tables (Cai et al, 2000; Hurni, 1982; Wischmeier, 1975; Wischmeier and Smith, 1978; Yang, 1999) and formulas (Medeiros et al, 2016; Renard et al, 1997; Villarreal et al, 2016; Wang et al, 2016; Wener, 1981) for P-factor values for the different SPs adopted under different environmental contexts (Panagos et al, 2015a). In addition, in some studies, the P-factor was treated either as a subfactor of the cover-management factor (C-factor) or as a new combined CP-factor (Bhandari et al, 2015; Fujaco et al, 2016; Hurni, 1982; Liu et al, 2016; Ozhan et al 2005). Furthermore, other researchers have developed proxy indicators for the P-factor (Borrelli et al, 2017b; Scherer and Pfister, 2015).…”

Quantification of Soil Erosion by Integrating Geospatial and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation in District Dir Lower, Pakistan

“…Protecting soil by applying suitable and sustainable agricultural practices and land management strategies are the most appropriate method for controlling soil erosion in the world [29]. For this purpose, monitoring and assessment of the potentially vulnerable erosion areas become very important for controlling and managing this problem [30]. Out of numerous erosion models, Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) is used widely around the globe [31], for the better estimation and quantification of soil loss [32].…”

Effects of different management measures on soil conservation and the influence of environmental conditions: a case study involving UAV remote sensing on the Loess Plateau

“…Soil erosion, which is a worldwide environmental problem (Hou et al., 2014), refers to the process in which soil particles are displaced under the influence of an external force such as wind or water and are thereby separated and transported (Ellison, 1947), resulting in soil loss. Soil erosion can induce loss of soil resources, thinning of soil layers, river pollution, sedimentation of dams and reservoirs, and increases in the downstream bed levels of rivers, among other effects, and all of these consequences seriously threaten food and ecological security (Balthazar et al., 2013; Fujaco et al., 2016; Isaurinda et al., 2015; Lu et al., 2016; Singh & Panda, 2017).…”