IMPACT OF LULC ON SOIL EROSION RATES USING RUSLE MODEL AND GIS
TECHNIQUES -- A STUDY OF NAGAVALI RIVER BASIN
Abstract
Soil erosion is the most common type of land degradation, and it has
become a global environmental issue that reduces soil productivity and
water quality. LULC change related with climatic and geomorphologic
states of the area affects land degradation. This study aims at
estimating the annual average soil erosion for the study area, Nagavali
River Basin, and also focuses to analyze the impact of land use land
cover change on the annual average soil erosion rates of the Nagavali
river basin. In this study, the soil properties, elevation, and
topography of the study are considered to be constant. This study was
done by using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model.
This equation includes factors like rainfall, soil, land cover,
cultivation practices, and slope, for the estimation of soil erosion.
Each layer of the factors affecting soil erosion was prepared and
integrated using GIS techniques. By using the RUSLE model, the present
study identified that the soil erosion rates for the years 1990 and 2020
ranged from 0 - 2364.46 t/ha/yr and 0 - 7857.21 t/ha/yr respectively for
the Nagavali river basin. The LULC change analysis for the years 1990
and 2020 revealed that the erosion rate increased from 2364.46 t/ha/yr
to 7857.21 t/ha/yr in the Nagavali river basin. The results also
depicted that the area under very severe erosion class increased
drastically from 1990 to 2020 while the area under very slight erosion
class decreased from 1990 to 2020. This shows that LULC change has a
significant impact on increase of soil erosion rates in Nagavali River
Basin.