SOIL EROSION PREDICTION AT THE BASIN SCALE USING THE REVISED UNIVERSAL SOIL LOSS EQUATION (RUSLE) IN A SONGBE’S BASIN

Abstract

Soil water erosion is a serious environmental problem affecting large areas of the agricultural ecosystem in Nambo Eastern. Soil erosion not only affects soil quality, in terms of agricultural productivity, but also reduces the availability of water in reservoirs. This study was conducted in the Song Be watershed in Nambo Eastern, to predict potential annual soil loss using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE). The RUSLE factors were calculated for the Song Be watershed: using survey data and rain gauge measurement data. TheRfactor was calculated from annual precipitation data. The K-factor was calculated from soil map scale 1/100000. The LS topographic factor was calculated from a 90 m digital elevation model. The C-factor was calculated from Landsat image. P-factor in absence of detailed data, were set to 1.