Application of GIS to estimate soil erosion using RUSLE

This paper describes the use of the Arc/Info and ArcView GIS tools to estimate soil erosion with Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE).Calculations are be done by using capabilities available.This study start with a digital elevation model(DEM) of Shaanxi,which was created by digitizing contour and spot heights from the topographic map on 1:250000 scale and grid themes for the USLE K and C factors.It is note worthy that USLE K can be obtained by adding the K factor as an attribute to a soil theme‘s table.The C can be obtained from tables or using the information about land use and management given by USLE program.A land use theme can be used to add the C factors as an attribute field.The purpose of this study is to establish spatial information of soil erosion using USLE and GIS and discuss the analysis of the soil erosion and slope failures in GIS and formulate the possible framework.     

Application of GIS to estimate soil erosion using RUSLE

This paper describes the use of the Arc/Info and ArcView GIS tools to estimate soil erosion with Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Calculations are be done by using capabilities available. This study start with a digital elevation model (DEM) of Shaanxi, which was created by digitizing contour and spot heights from the topographic map on 1∶250 000 scale and grid themes for the USLEK andC factors. It is note worthy that USLEK can be obtained by adding the K factor as an attribute to a soil theme's table. TheC can be obtained from tables or using the information about land use and management given by USLE program. A land use theme can be used to add theC factors as an attribute field. The purpose of this study is to establish spatial information of soil erosion using USLE and GIS and discuss the analysis of the soil erosion and slope failures in GIS and formulate the possible framework.     

Risk assessment of soil erosion in semi-arid mountainous watershed in Saudi Arabia by RUSLE model coupled with remote sensing and GIS

Soil erosion is the most important factor in land degradation and influences desertification in semi-arid areas. A comprehensive methodology that integrates revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model and GIS was adopted to determine the soil erosion risk (SER) in semi-arid Aseer region, Saudi Arabia. Geoenvironmental factors viz. rainfall (R), soil erodibility (K), slope (LS), cover management and practice factors were computed to determine their effects on average annual soil loss. The high potential soil erosion, resulting from high denuded slope, devoid of vegetation cover and high intensity rainfall, is located towards the north western part of the study area. The analysis is investigated that the SER over the vegetation cover including dense vegetation, sparse vegetation and bushes increases with the higher altitude and higher slope angle. The erosion maps generated with RUSLE integrated with GIS can serve as effective inputs in deriving strategies for land planning/management in the environmentally sensitive mountainous areas.     

Uncertainty analysis of soil erosion modelling using different resolution of open-source DEMs

The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is one of the important parameters of soil erosion assessment and notable uncertainties are found in using different resolutions of the DEM. Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation model has been applied to analyze the effect of open-source DEMs with different resolution and accuracy on the uncertainties of soil erosion modelling in a part of the Narmada river basin in Madhya Pradesh in central India. Selected open-source DEMs are GTOPO30 (1 km), SRTM (30 and 90 m), CARTOSAT (30 m) and ASTER (30 m), used for estimating erosion rate. Results with better accuracy are achieved with the high-resolution DEMs (30 m) with higher vertical accuracy than the coarse resolution DEMs with lower accuracy. This study has presented potential uncertainties introduced by the open-source DEMs in soil erosion modelling for better understanding of appropriate selection and acceptable errors for researchers.     

Soil erosion modelled with USLE and PESERA using QuickBird derived vegetation parameters in an alpine catchment

The focus of soil erosion research in the Alps has been in two categories: (i) on-site measurements, which are rather small scale point measurements on selected plots often constrained to irrigation experiments or (ii) off-site quantification of sediment delivery at the outlet of the catchment. Results of both categories pointed towards the importance of an intact vegetation cover to prevent soil loss. With the recent availability of high-resolution satellites such as IKONOS and QuickBird options for detecting and monitoring vegetation parameters in heterogeneous terrain have increased. The aim of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of QuickBird derived vegetation parameters in soil erosion models for alpine sites by comparison to Cesium-137 (Cs-137) derived soil erosion estimates. The study site (67 km²) is located in the Central Swiss Alps (Urseren Valley) and is characterised by scarce forest cover and strong anthropogenic influences due to grassland farming for centuries. A fractional vegetation cover (FVC) map for grassland and detailed land-cover maps are available from linear spectral unmixing and supervised classification of QuickBird imagery. The maps were introduced to the Pan-European Soil Erosion Risk Assessment (PESERA) model as well as to the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Regarding the latter model, the FVC was indirectly incorporated by adapting the C factor. Both models show an increase in absolute soil erosion values when FVC is considered. In contrast to USLE and the Cs-137 soil erosion rates, PESERA estimates are low. For the USLE model also the spatial patterns improved and showed “hotspots” of high erosion of up to 16 t ha⁻¹ a⁻¹. In conclusion field measurements of Cs-137 confirmed the improvement of soil erosion estimates using the satellite-derived vegetation data.     

区域尺度海河流域水土流失风险评估

借鉴USLE的因子选择及综合方法,在遥感和GIS的支撑下对海河流域的水土流失风险进行评估,并对其空间分布特征进行分析.结果表明:海河流域山区水土流失风险显著高于平原地区,北三河山区水土流失风险最低,太行山区最高,永定河上游介于两者之间;水土流失风险"很低"等级主要分布在小于5°的平坦地区,"中"、"高"水土流失风险面积...     

基于DEM的USLE土壤侵蚀方程地形因子获取与分析

坡长和坡度是研究水土流失问题中必须要考虑的重要地形因子,坡长的空间分布特征和规律、地貌发育对坡长的影响,以及坡长与坡度之间的关系,是研究水土流失、侵蚀规律的重要条件之一。利用GIS以及相关软件为平台,在黑龙江省通河地区建立USLE水土流失方程模型,研究LS因子在水土流失中的影响以及作用,并探讨DEM数据分辨率变化对LS值的影响。     

基于RS和USLE的红壤丘陵区小流域水土流失量估算

采用野外调查采样、室内分析测定、遥感(RS)技术、数学模型等研究方法,以湖南省资兴市东江水库上游光河桥小流域为例,计算出了美国通用土壤流失方程(USLE)中各单项因子值,对该流域水土流失量进行了估算.结果表明:该流域的土壤可蚀性因子(K值)介于0.14～0.42 t·hm2.h.hm-2.MJ-1.mm-1之间,平均为0.27 t·hm2.h.hm-2.MJ-1,mm-1,属于中等可侵蚀性土壤;土壤侵蚀模数在0 ～3 817 t·hm-2·a-1之间,平均侵蚀模数为78 t.hm-2.a-1,处于强度侵蚀等级,流域的土壤侵蚀量达到292 266 t·a-1.     

Simulating the effects of land use changes on soil erosion using RUSLE model

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impacts of land use change on soil loss. Soil loss was quantified using the revised universal soil loss equation model in Darabkola catchment. Land use maps of 1992, 1998 and 2012 were derived from Landsat Thematic Mapper data. The mean annual soil loss was therefore determined for these years. The results showed open-canopy forest area decreased by 36% between 1992 and 1998. Likewise, the decreasing trend of forest lands which are near to residential areas has continued from 1795 ha in 1998 to 1765 ha in 2012. Also the results indicate that the maximum annual soil loss ranged from 5.06, 6.19 and 15.23 ton h^?1 y^?1 in 1992, 1998 and 2012, respectively. Also, by assuming that all watershed conditions and land uses be constant in the future, then the area of close- and open-canopy forest and dry agricultural lands will be 23.23, 2.88 and 29.89 ha in 2040, respectively.     

Timing of erosion and satellite data: A multi-resolution approach to soil erosion risk mapping

Erosion reduces soil productivity and causes negative downstream impacts. Erosion processes occur on areas with erodible soils and sloping terrain when high-intensity rainfall coincides with limited vegetation cover. Timing of erosion events has implications on the selection of satellite imagery, used to describe spatial patterns of protective vegetation cover. This study proposes a method for erosion risk mapping with multi-temporal and multi-resolution satellite data. The specific objectives of the study are: (1) to determine when during the year erosion risk is highest using coarse-resolution data, and (2) to assess the optimal timing of available medium-resolution images to spatially represent vegetation cover during the high erosion risk period. Analyses were performed for a 100-km² pasture area in the Brazilian Cerrados. The first objective was studied by qualitatively comparing three-hourly TRMM rainfall estimates with MODIS NDVI time series for one full year (August 2002–August 2003). November and December were identified as the months with highest erosion risk. The second objective was examined with a time series of six available ASTER images acquired in the same year. Persistent cloud cover limited image acquisition during high erosion risk periods. For each ASTER image the NDVI was calculated and classified into five equally sized classes. Low NDVI was related to high erosion risk and vice versa. A DEM was used to set approximately flat zones to very low erosion risk. The six resulting risk maps were compared with erosion features, visually interpreted from a fine-resolution QuickBird image. Results from the October ASTER image gave highest accuracy (84%), showing that erosion risk mapping in the Brazilian Cerrados can best be performed with images acquired shortly before the first erosion events. The presented approach that uses coarse-resolution temporal data for determining erosion periods and medium-resolution data for effective erosion risk mapping is fast and straightforward. It shows good potential for successful application in other areas with high spatial and temporal variability of vegetation cover.     

Modelling monthly soil losses and sediment yields in Cyprus

The aim of this study was to map soil erosion on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The G2 model, an empirical model for month-time step erosion assessments, was used. Soil losses in Cyprus were mapped at a 100?m cell size, while sediment yields at a sub-basin scale of 0.62?km² mean size. The results indicated a mean annual erosion rate of 11.75?t?ha^?1?y^?1, with October and November being the most erosive months. The 34% of the island's surface was found to exceed non-sustainable erosion rates (>10?t?ha^?1?y^?1), with sclerophyllous vegetation, coniferous forests, and non-irrigated arable land being the most extensive non-sustainable erosive land covers. The mean sediment delivery ratio (SDR) was found to be 0.26, while the mean annual specific sediment yield (SSY) value for Cyprus was found to be 3.32?t?ha^?1?y^?1. The annual sediment yield of the entire island was found to be 2.746?Mt?y^?1. This study was the first to provide complete and detailed erosion figures for Cyprus at a country scale. The geodatabase and all information records of the study are available at the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) of the Joint Research Centre (JRC).     

长江上游小流域土壤侵蚀动态模拟与分析

以长江上游甘肃省尚沟流域为研究区,在遥感影像和GIS空间分析技术支撑下,根据USLE因子算法生成各因子栅格图,借助地图代数运算,估算了尚沟流域1998年和2004年的土壤侵蚀量,并对2004年土壤侵蚀与其环境背景因子进行叠加和空间统计分析。在此基础上,构建了与GIS软件平台集成的地理元胞自动机,模拟了该流域2004年、2010年和2020年土壤侵蚀空间演化情形。结果表明:研究区平均侵蚀量从1998年的6598.1t/km2下降到2004年的5923.3t/km2,侵蚀面积净减少172.3hm2,输沙量减少9.15×104t;1300～1400m的海拔高程带、25～35°坡度带、南坡和旱耕地是发生水土流失的主要区域;经模拟,2010年总侵蚀面积为93.49km2,侵蚀总量73.15×104t,侵蚀模数为5126t/km2,土壤侵蚀状况总体上将有所减缓。     

Soil erosion prediction based on land cover dynamics at the Semenyih watershed in Malaysia using LTM and USLE models

This study attempts to identify and forecast future land cover (LC) by using the Land Transformation Model (LTM), which considers pixel changes in the past and makes predictions using influential spatial features. LTM applies the Artificial Neural Networks algorithm) in conducting the analysis. In line with these objectives, two satellite images (Spot 5 acquired in 2004 and 2010) were classified using the Maximum Likelihood method for the change detection analysis. Consequently, LC maps from 2004 to 2010 with six classes (forest, agriculture, oil palm cultivations, open area, urban, and water bodies) were generated from the test area. A prediction was made on the actual soil erosion and the soil erosion rate using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) combined with remote sensing and GIS in the Semenyih watershed for 2004 and 2010 and projected to 2016. Actual and potential soil erosion maps from 2004 to 2010 and projected to 2016 were eventually generated. The results of the LC change detections indicated that three major changes were predicted from 2004 to 2016 (a period of 12 years): (1) forest cover and open area significantly decreased at rates of almost 30 and 8 km², respectively; (2) cultivated land and oil palm have shown an increment in sizes at rates of 25.02 and 5.77 km², respectively; and, (3) settlement and Urbanization has intensified also by almost 5 km². Soil erosion risk analysis results also showed that the Semenyih basin exhibited an average annual soil erosion between 143.35 ton ha^?1 year^?1 in 2004 and 151 in 2010, followed by the expected 162.24 ton ha^?1 year^?1. These results indicated that Semenyih is prone to water erosion by 2016. The wide range of erosion classes were estimated at a very low level (0–1 t/ha/year) and mainly located on steep lands and forest areas. This study has shown that using both LTM and USLE in combination with remote sensing and GIS is a suitable method for forecasting LC and accurately measuring the amount of soil losses in the future.     

Estimating vegetation parameter for soil erosion assessment in an alpine catchment by means of QuickBird imagery

Soil erosion rates in alpine regions are related to high spatial variability complicating assessment of risk and damages. A crucial parameter triggering soil erosion that can be derived from satellite imagery is fractional vegetation cover (FVC). The objective of this study is to assess the applicability of normalized differenced vegetation index (NDVI), linear spectral unmixing (LSU) and mixture tuned matched filtering (MTMF) in estimating abundance of vegetation cover in alpine terrain. To account for the small scale heterogeneity of the alpine landscape we used high resolved multispectral QuickBird imagery (pixel resolution = 2.4 m) of a site in the Urseren Valley, Central Swiss Alps (67 km²). A supervised land-cover classification was applied (total accuracy 93.3%) prior to the analysis in order to stratify the image. The regression between ground truth FVC assessment and NDVI as well as MTMF-derived vegetation abundance was significant (r² = 0.64, r² = 0.71, respectively). Best results were achieved for LSU (r² = 0.85). For both spectral unmixing approaches failed to estimate bare soil abundance (r² = 0.39 for LSU, r² = 0.28 for MTMF) due to the high spectral variability of bare soil at the study site and the low spectral resolution of the QuickBird imagery. The LSU-derived FVC map successfully identified erosion features (e.g. landslides) and areas prone to soil erosion. FVC represents an important but often neglected parameter for soil erosion risk assessment in alpine grasslands.     

Temporal and spatial relationships between soil erosion and ecological restoration in semi-arid regions: a case study in northern Shaanxi,China

ABSTRACT

To assess the effects of the Grain for Green Program (GGP) on soil erosion is essential to support better land management policies in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Studies on the evaluation of the effects of the GGP on soil erosion have garnered heightened attention. However, few studies examined the efficiency of GGP on soil erosion control through spatial relationship analysis. Thus, this study focuses on analyzing the spatial variation relationship between soil erosion and GGP in northern Shaanxi, Chinese Loess Plateau, from 1988 to 2015. The Universal Soil Loss Equation was used to quantify changes in soil erosion at the regional and watershed scales, and the Geographically Weighted Regression model was used to analyze the spatial relationships between land use and land cover (LULC) and soil erosion. Our results indicated that the major characteristic of LULC change during the GGP was a rapid increase of vegetation area and a rapid decrease of cropland. Bare lands contributed to the most serious soil loss, followed by croplands and sparse grasslands. The GGP had a globally positive influence on the decrease in soil erosion over the study area, but the amount of soil erosion in western and northern regions maintained a severe level. Spatial heterogeneity in the nature of the relationships among different vegetation, croplands, and soil erosion was also observed. The change rate of wood and the change rate of soil erosion in northern sub-watershed represented a negative relationship, while the change rate of sparse grassland was negatively correlated to the change rate of soil erosion in 21 sub-watersheds, account for 72% of the study area. The GGP implemented in northern sub-watersheds were more effective for soil erosion control than southern sub-watersheds. We propose that current areas of vegetation can support soil erosion control in the whole northern Shaanxi, but local-scale ecological restoration can be considered in northern sub-watersheds.     

Effect of slope steepness parameter computations on soil loss estimation: review of methods using GIS

In the analysis of soil loss equation, the researchers have suggested two methods of deriving the slope steepness parameter. One method is having percentage slope term, while the other method is having sinθ as its term. In this paper, both the methods were analysed and compared in soil loss computation using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, over a Gangapur catchment area in India, having steep slopes. The soil loss rates derived were 0.98 million tonnes per year in case of steepness parameter derived by sinθ and 1.226 million tonnes per year in case of steepness parameter derived by percentage slope term. The observed rate of soil loss is 1.23 million tonnes per year. This methodology of soil loss estimation was also validated with similar catchment of Punegaon dam. It is concluded that for medium to steep terrain, percentage slope method estimates more accurate soil loss than other empirical methods for slope steepness estimation.     

Estimating soil erosion using MODIS and TM images based on support vector machine and à trous wavelet

To date, there is little work concerning the application of fusing images with significantly different spectral and spatial resolutions. In this paper, a novel method based on support vector machine (SVM) is proposed to quickly estimate soil erosion using the fused results produced from fusing such multisensor images by à trous wavelet transform (AWT). In the proposed method, the AWT is used to derive the high-resolution vegetation coverage image (HVCI) while the SVM overlays the HVCI and the slope image to derive the soil erosion map. By taking MODIS and TM images as an example, the potential of the proposed method is evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results show that it is feasible to perform the fusion of MODIS and TM images and the soil erosion map produced from the fused images by the proposed method can be achieved with an accuracy level comparable to that solely from the TM images. The merging of MODIS and TM images partly solves the constrains associated with the TM data availability which is caused by the lower revisit frequency and narrower spatial coverage.     

Applications of AnnAGNPS model for soil loss estimation and nutrient loading for Malaysian conditions

The study evaluated the performance and suitability of AnnAGNPS model in assessing runoff, sediment loading and nutrient loading under Malaysian conditions. The watershed of River Kuala Tasik in Malaysia, a combination of two sub-watersheds, was selected as the area of study. The data for the year 2004 was used to calibrate the model and the data for the year 2005 was used for validation purposes. Several input parameters were computed using methods suggested by other researchers and studies carried out in Malaysia. The study shows that runoff was predicted well with an overall R² value of 0.90 and E value of 0.70. Sediment loading was able to produce a moderate result of R² = 0.66 and E = 0.49, nitrogen loading predictions were slightly better with R² = 0.68 and E = 0.53, and phosphorus loading performance was slightly poor with an R² = 0.63 and E = 0.33. The erosion map developed was in agreement with the erosion risk map produced by the Department of Agriculture, Malaysia. Rubber estates and urban areas were found to be the main contributors to soil erosion. The simulation results showed that AnnAGNPS has the potential to be used as a valuable tool for planning and management of watersheds under Malaysian conditions.     

甘孜州九龙县水土流失评价研究

本文以九龙县为研究区,根据沟壑密度、坡度、植被盖度、土地利用类型和高程5个因子,结合ARC-GIS空间分析功能和MATLAB数学建模编程的功能,应用GA-BP模型(遗传算法优化BP神经网络)对研究区的水土流失进行非线性智能定量评价,并与层次分析法的结果对比分析,阐述了GA-BP模型的优越性。本次研究可以为九龙县水土流失预防和治理提供有益的参考。     

近景摄影测量在土壤侵蚀监测中的应用

针对当前近景摄影测量技术对影像采集设备以及操作人员专业性要求高的特点,该文在总结前人研究的基础上,提出了一种基于普通数码相机的近景摄影测量技术方法,并将其应用于微区土壤侵蚀监测试验中。通过该方法在人工水冲试验和天然降雨试验前后的土壤侵蚀动态监测得到:与传统土壤侵蚀监测方法相比,采用该方法测得的土壤侵蚀量精度分别可以达到75%和83.11%,单次测量精度最高可达94.33%。通过分析误差来源,结果表明:在一定条件下,可以实现基于普通数码相机的近景摄影测量技术在生产建设项目土壤侵蚀监测中的应用。