Estimation of soil erosion risk within a small mountainous sub-watershed in Kerala,India,using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation(RUSLE) and geo-information technology

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 vulner- ability of a forested mountainous sub-watershed in Kerala, 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 erodability （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 17.73 t h-1 y i with a close relation to grass land areas, degraded forests and deciduous forests on the steep side-slopes （with high 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 mountainous areas.

大伙房水库控制流域土壤侵蚀评价及其影响因素分析

以大伙房水库控制流域为研究区域,采用修正的通用土壤流失方程（RUSLE）为评价模型,以地理信息系统软件Arcview3.3为分析平台,通过数字高程模型、土地利用类型和土壤类型等空间数据与属性数据,获取基于栅格数据的小流域土壤侵蚀量和侵蚀强度,对大伙房水库控制流域的土壤流失量进行了定量化分析;采用土壤侵蚀综合指数评价了研究区土地利用、坡度及土壤类型对区域土壤流失的影响程度。结果表明：大伙房水库控制流域大部分地区土壤侵蚀模数小于50t·km^-2·a^-1,总体上水土保持良好;不同用地类型上,旱地的土壤侵蚀最为严重,水田次之;不同坡度等级中,0°-3°的土壤侵蚀强度最强,25°以上的土壤侵蚀强度最弱;各种土壤类型中,水稻土的侵蚀强度最重,暗棕壤最轻。

Dynamic Monitoring of Soil Erosion for Upper Stream of Miyun Reservoir in the Last 30 Years

The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation （RUSLE） was applied to assess the spatial distribution and dynamic properties of soil loss with geographic information system （GIS） and remote sensing （RS） technologies. To improve the accuracy of soil-erosion estimates, a new C-factor estimation model was developed based on land cover and time series normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） datasets. The new C-factor was then applied in the RUSLE to integrate rainfall, soil, vegetation, and topography data of different periods, and thus monitor the distribution of soil erosion patterns and their dynamics during a 3o-year period of the upstream watershed of Miynn Reservoir （UWMR）, China. The results showed that the new C-factor estimation method, which considers land cover status and dynamics, and explicitly incorporates within-land cover variability, was more rational, quantitative, and reliable. An average annual soil loss in UWMR of 25.68, 21.04, and 16.8o t ha-1 a-1 was estimated for 1990, 2000 and 2010, respectively, corroborated by comparing spatial and temporal variation in sediment yield. Between 2000 and 2010, a 1.38% average annual increase was observed in the area of lands that lost less than 5 t ha-1 a^-1, while during 1990-2000 such lands only increased on average by o.46%. Areas that classified as severe, very severe and extremely severe accounted for 5.68% of the total UWMR in 2010, and primarily occurred in dry areas or grasslands of sloping fields. The reason for the change in rate of soil loss is explained by an increased appreciation of soil conservation by developers and planners. Moreover,we recommend that UWMR watershed adopt further conservation measures such as terraced plowing of dry land, afforestation, or grassland enclosures as part of a concerted effort to reduce on-going soil erosion.

GIS-based Effect Assessment of Soil Erosion Before and After Gully Land Consolidation: A Case Study of Wangjiagou Project Region, Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau is one typical area of serious soil erosion in the world. China has implemented ′Grain for Green′(GFG) project to restore the eco-environment of the Loess Plateau since 1999. With the GFG project subsidy approaching the end, it is concerned that farmers of fewer subsidies may reclaim land again. Thus, ′Gully Land Consolidation Project′(GLCP) was initiated in 2010. The core of the GLCP was to create more land suitable for farming in gullies so as to reduce land reclamation on the slopes which are ecological vulnerable areas. This paper aims to assess the effect of the GLCP on soil erosion problems by studying Wangjiagou project region located in the central part of Anzi valley in the middle of the Loess Plateau, mainly using the revised universal soil loss equation(RUSLE) based on GIS. The findings show that the GLCP can help to reduce soil shipment by 9.87% and it creates more terraces and river-nearby land suitable for farming which account for 27.41% of the whole study area. Thus, it is feasible to implement the GLCP in places below gradient 15°, though the GLCP also intensifies soil erosion in certain places such as field ridge, village land, floodplain, natural grassland, and shrub land. In short, the GLCP develops new generation dam land and balances the short-term and long-term interests to ease the conflicts between economic development and environmental protection. Furthermore, the GLCP and the GFG could also be combined preferably. On the one hand, the GFG improves the ecological environment, which could offer certain safety to the GLCP, on the other hand, the GLCP creates more farmland favorable for farming in gullies instead of land reclamation on the slopes, which could indirectly protect the GFG project.

Modeling spatial and temporal change of soil erosion based on multi-temporal remotely sensed data

In order to monitor the pattern, distribution, and trend of land use/cover change （LUCC） and its impacts on soil erosion, it is highly appropriate to adopt Remote Sensing （RS） data and Geographic Information System （GIS） to analyze, assess, simulate, and predict the spatial and temporal evolution dynamics. In this paper, multi-temporal Landsat TM/ETM＋ re- motely sensed data are used to generate land cover maps by image classification, and the Cellular Automata Markov （CA_Markov） model is employed to simulate the evolution and trend of landscape pattern change. Furthermore, the Re- vised Universal Soil Loss Equation （RUSLE） is used to evaluate the situation of soil erosion in the case study mining area. The trend of soil erosion is analyzed according to total/average amount of soil erosion, and the rainfall （R）, cover man- agement （C）, and support practice （P） factors in RUSLE relevant to soil erosion are determined. The change trends of soil erosion and the relationship between land cover types and soil erosion amount are analyzed. The results demonstrate that the CA_Markov model is suitable to simulate and predict LUCC trends with good efficiency and accuracy, and RUSLE can calculate the total soil erosion effectively. In the study area, there was minimal erosion grade and this is expected to con- tinue to decline in the next few years, according to our prediction results.