Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia

Sultan Mohammed Heyder; Abdurahman Ousman Dansa; Solomon Asfaw; Solomon Tekalign

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11

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Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia

Sultan Mohammed Heyder, Abdurahman Ousman Dansa, Solomon Asfaw, Solomon Tekalign

Published in International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 10, Issue 3)

Received: 9 March 2022 Accepted: 21 April 2022 Published: 7 May 2022

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Abstract

Soil erosion is being detected as a risk to human survival by diminishing the food and water availability of the planet Earth in the 21^st century. Assessment and management of this resource are becoming extremely important. This study aimed to investigate Soil Erosion Risk and Prioritize for soil and water conservation measures in the study area. Satellite data, SRTM DEM, Land sat 8 OLI with 30m resolution; rainfall and soil data were used to generate all soil erosion risk factor maps and integrated to generate a composite map of soil loss for the watershed. The RUSLE model in combination with remote sensing and GIS techniques was used to identify the five thematic maps as an input to estimate mean annual soil loss. The results of the spatial distribution of soil erosion risk factors indicated that rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover management, and anthropogenic soil erosion control practices values ranged from 41.365 to 43.793MJ mm ha⁻¹yr⁻¹, 0.26 to 0.31t ha⁻¹MJ⁻¹mm⁻¹, 0 to 220.512, 0.21 to 0.87 and 0.11 to 1 respectively. And the most powerful factor that influences soil erosion risk is topography followed by anthropogenic soil erosion control practices. The results of the study showed that the annual soil loss rate in the watershed ranged from 0 in gentle slopes to 1504 t ha^-1yr^-1 at the steepest slope of the watershed with a mean annual soil loss of 48.5 t ha^-1yr^-1 at Midhagdu watershed level. The soil loss map was categorized into five soil loss numerical ranges and soil loss risk nominal scales: low, moderate, high, very high, and extremely high using Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold level 18 t ha^-1yr^-1. The soil loss risk levels identified at 28 micro watersheds showed that twelve micro watersheds rated as first, eleven micro watersheds as second, and three micro watersheds as the third priority for soil and water conservation measures implementation. Out of 28 micro watersheds, 26 fell above Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold levels. Therefore, the study result indicated that the Midhagdu watershed needs immediate intervention for better for soil and water conservation measures implementation planning by considering identified soil erosion risk areas and priority classes to control soil erosion risk below the national threshold level.

Published in	International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis (Volume 10, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11
Page(s)	45-58
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Erosion Risk, Micro Watershed, Midhagdu, Prioritization, RUSLE Model, Soil and Water Conservation Measures

References

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Sultan Mohammed Heyder, Abdurahman Ousman Dansa, Solomon Asfaw, Solomon Tekalign. (2022). Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 10(3), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11

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ACS Style

Sultan Mohammed Heyder; Abdurahman Ousman Dansa; Solomon Asfaw; Solomon Tekalign. Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2022, 10(3), 45-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11

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AMA Style

Sultan Mohammed Heyder, Abdurahman Ousman Dansa, Solomon Asfaw, Solomon Tekalign. Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2022;10(3):45-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11,
  author = {Sultan Mohammed Heyder and Abdurahman Ousman Dansa and Solomon Asfaw and Solomon Tekalign},
  title = {Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {10},
  number = {3},
  pages = {45-58},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20221003.11},
  abstract = {Soil erosion is being detected as a risk to human survival by diminishing the food and water availability of the planet Earth in the 21st century. Assessment and management of this resource are becoming extremely important. This study aimed to investigate Soil Erosion Risk and Prioritize for soil and water conservation measures in the study area. Satellite data, SRTM DEM, Land sat 8 OLI with 30m resolution; rainfall and soil data were used to generate all soil erosion risk factor maps and integrated to generate a composite map of soil loss for the watershed. The RUSLE model in combination with remote sensing and GIS techniques was used to identify the five thematic maps as an input to estimate mean annual soil loss. The results of the spatial distribution of soil erosion risk factors indicated that rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover management, and anthropogenic soil erosion control practices values ranged from 41.365 to 43.793MJ mm ha−1yr−1, 0.26 to 0.31t ha−1MJ−1mm−1, 0 to 220.512, 0.21 to 0.87 and 0.11 to 1 respectively. And the most powerful factor that influences soil erosion risk is topography followed by anthropogenic soil erosion control practices. The results of the study showed that the annual soil loss rate in the watershed ranged from 0 in gentle slopes to 1504 t ha-1yr-1 at the steepest slope of the watershed with a mean annual soil loss of 48.5 t ha-1yr-1 at Midhagdu watershed level. The soil loss map was categorized into five soil loss numerical ranges and soil loss risk nominal scales: low, moderate, high, very high, and extremely high using Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold level 18 t ha-1yr-1. The soil loss risk levels identified at 28 micro watersheds showed that twelve micro watersheds rated as first, eleven micro watersheds as second, and three micro watersheds as the third priority for soil and water conservation measures implementation. Out of 28 micro watersheds, 26 fell above Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold levels. Therefore, the study result indicated that the Midhagdu watershed needs immediate intervention for better for soil and water conservation measures implementation planning by considering identified soil erosion risk areas and priority classes to control soil erosion risk below the national threshold level.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia
AU  - Sultan Mohammed Heyder
AU  - Abdurahman Ousman Dansa
AU  - Solomon Asfaw
AU  - Solomon Tekalign
Y1  - 2022/05/07
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 45
EP  - 58
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11
AB  - Soil erosion is being detected as a risk to human survival by diminishing the food and water availability of the planet Earth in the 21st century. Assessment and management of this resource are becoming extremely important. This study aimed to investigate Soil Erosion Risk and Prioritize for soil and water conservation measures in the study area. Satellite data, SRTM DEM, Land sat 8 OLI with 30m resolution; rainfall and soil data were used to generate all soil erosion risk factor maps and integrated to generate a composite map of soil loss for the watershed. The RUSLE model in combination with remote sensing and GIS techniques was used to identify the five thematic maps as an input to estimate mean annual soil loss. The results of the spatial distribution of soil erosion risk factors indicated that rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover management, and anthropogenic soil erosion control practices values ranged from 41.365 to 43.793MJ mm ha−1yr−1, 0.26 to 0.31t ha−1MJ−1mm−1, 0 to 220.512, 0.21 to 0.87 and 0.11 to 1 respectively. And the most powerful factor that influences soil erosion risk is topography followed by anthropogenic soil erosion control practices. The results of the study showed that the annual soil loss rate in the watershed ranged from 0 in gentle slopes to 1504 t ha-1yr-1 at the steepest slope of the watershed with a mean annual soil loss of 48.5 t ha-1yr-1 at Midhagdu watershed level. The soil loss map was categorized into five soil loss numerical ranges and soil loss risk nominal scales: low, moderate, high, very high, and extremely high using Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold level 18 t ha-1yr-1. The soil loss risk levels identified at 28 micro watersheds showed that twelve micro watersheds rated as first, eleven micro watersheds as second, and three micro watersheds as the third priority for soil and water conservation measures implementation. Out of 28 micro watersheds, 26 fell above Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold levels. Therefore, the study result indicated that the Midhagdu watershed needs immediate intervention for better for soil and water conservation measures implementation planning by considering identified soil erosion risk areas and priority classes to control soil erosion risk below the national threshold level.
VL  - 10
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Sultan Mohammed Heyder

School of Geography and Environmental Studies, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Program, West Hararghe Agriculture and Natural Resource Office, Chiro, Ethiopia
Abdurahman Ousman Dansa

College of Social Science and Humanities, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management Program, West Hararghe High Court of Oromia Regional State, Chiro, Ethiopia
Solomon Asfaw

College of Social Science and Humanities, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia
Solomon Tekalign

College of Social Science and Humanities, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, Haramaya University, Dire Dawa, Ethiopia

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APA Style

Sultan Mohammed Heyder, Abdurahman Ousman Dansa, Solomon Asfaw, Solomon Tekalign. (2022). Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia. International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis, 10(3), 45-58. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11

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ACS Style

Sultan Mohammed Heyder; Abdurahman Ousman Dansa; Solomon Asfaw; Solomon Tekalign. Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia. Int. J. Environ. Monit. Anal. 2022, 10(3), 45-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11

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AMA Style

Sultan Mohammed Heyder, Abdurahman Ousman Dansa, Solomon Asfaw, Solomon Tekalign. Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia. Int J Environ Monit Anal. 2022;10(3):45-58. doi: 10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11,
  author = {Sultan Mohammed Heyder and Abdurahman Ousman Dansa and Solomon Asfaw and Solomon Tekalign},
  title = {Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia},
  journal = {International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis},
  volume = {10},
  number = {3},
  pages = {45-58},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijema.20221003.11},
  abstract = {Soil erosion is being detected as a risk to human survival by diminishing the food and water availability of the planet Earth in the 21st century. Assessment and management of this resource are becoming extremely important. This study aimed to investigate Soil Erosion Risk and Prioritize for soil and water conservation measures in the study area. Satellite data, SRTM DEM, Land sat 8 OLI with 30m resolution; rainfall and soil data were used to generate all soil erosion risk factor maps and integrated to generate a composite map of soil loss for the watershed. The RUSLE model in combination with remote sensing and GIS techniques was used to identify the five thematic maps as an input to estimate mean annual soil loss. The results of the spatial distribution of soil erosion risk factors indicated that rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover management, and anthropogenic soil erosion control practices values ranged from 41.365 to 43.793MJ mm ha−1yr−1, 0.26 to 0.31t ha−1MJ−1mm−1, 0 to 220.512, 0.21 to 0.87 and 0.11 to 1 respectively. And the most powerful factor that influences soil erosion risk is topography followed by anthropogenic soil erosion control practices. The results of the study showed that the annual soil loss rate in the watershed ranged from 0 in gentle slopes to 1504 t ha-1yr-1 at the steepest slope of the watershed with a mean annual soil loss of 48.5 t ha-1yr-1 at Midhagdu watershed level. The soil loss map was categorized into five soil loss numerical ranges and soil loss risk nominal scales: low, moderate, high, very high, and extremely high using Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold level 18 t ha-1yr-1. The soil loss risk levels identified at 28 micro watersheds showed that twelve micro watersheds rated as first, eleven micro watersheds as second, and three micro watersheds as the third priority for soil and water conservation measures implementation. Out of 28 micro watersheds, 26 fell above Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold levels. Therefore, the study result indicated that the Midhagdu watershed needs immediate intervention for better for soil and water conservation measures implementation planning by considering identified soil erosion risk areas and priority classes to control soil erosion risk below the national threshold level.},
 year = {2022}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Soil Erosion Risk Assessment and Prioritization of Midhagdu Micro Watersheds for Conservation Measure Using RUSLE, GIS, RS and SPSS in Eastern, Ethiopia
AU  - Sultan Mohammed Heyder
AU  - Abdurahman Ousman Dansa
AU  - Solomon Asfaw
AU  - Solomon Tekalign
Y1  - 2022/05/07
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11
T2  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
JO  - International Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Analysis
SP  - 45
EP  - 58
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-7667
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijema.20221003.11
AB  - Soil erosion is being detected as a risk to human survival by diminishing the food and water availability of the planet Earth in the 21st century. Assessment and management of this resource are becoming extremely important. This study aimed to investigate Soil Erosion Risk and Prioritize for soil and water conservation measures in the study area. Satellite data, SRTM DEM, Land sat 8 OLI with 30m resolution; rainfall and soil data were used to generate all soil erosion risk factor maps and integrated to generate a composite map of soil loss for the watershed. The RUSLE model in combination with remote sensing and GIS techniques was used to identify the five thematic maps as an input to estimate mean annual soil loss. The results of the spatial distribution of soil erosion risk factors indicated that rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, slope length and steepness, cover management, and anthropogenic soil erosion control practices values ranged from 41.365 to 43.793MJ mm ha−1yr−1, 0.26 to 0.31t ha−1MJ−1mm−1, 0 to 220.512, 0.21 to 0.87 and 0.11 to 1 respectively. And the most powerful factor that influences soil erosion risk is topography followed by anthropogenic soil erosion control practices. The results of the study showed that the annual soil loss rate in the watershed ranged from 0 in gentle slopes to 1504 t ha-1yr-1 at the steepest slope of the watershed with a mean annual soil loss of 48.5 t ha-1yr-1 at Midhagdu watershed level. The soil loss map was categorized into five soil loss numerical ranges and soil loss risk nominal scales: low, moderate, high, very high, and extremely high using Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold level 18 t ha-1yr-1. The soil loss risk levels identified at 28 micro watersheds showed that twelve micro watersheds rated as first, eleven micro watersheds as second, and three micro watersheds as the third priority for soil and water conservation measures implementation. Out of 28 micro watersheds, 26 fell above Ethiopian highland maximum soil loss threshold levels. Therefore, the study result indicated that the Midhagdu watershed needs immediate intervention for better for soil and water conservation measures implementation planning by considering identified soil erosion risk areas and priority classes to control soil erosion risk below the national threshold level.
VL  - 10
IS  - 3
ER  -

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