Soil Erosion Assessment in Kondoa Eroded Area in Tanzania using Universal Soil Loss Equation, Geographic Information Systems and Socioeconomic Approach

Ligonja, Paul J.; Shrestha, Rajendra P.

doi:10.1002/ldr.2215

Cited by 117 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The RUSLE conserves the same mathematical structure of the USLE, the revision being limited to the estimating procedure of some of the involved factors. Currently, the USLE/RUSLE is widely applied in Europe and in many other Mediterranean countries for practical purposes (e.g., Larson et al, 1997;Huang, 1998;Rejman et al, 1999;Bagarello and Ferro, 2004;Morgan, 2005;Parsons et al, 2006;Bagarello et al, 2008Bagarello et al, , 2010Bagarello et al, , 2011Bagarello et al, , 2012Ligonja and Shrestha, 2013). The process-based models characterized by low computational efforts fail to produce better results than the USLE/RUSLE model (Tiwari et al, 2000).…”

Section: F Todisco Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of satellite and modeled soil moisture data for predicting event soil loss at plot scale

Todisco

Brocca

Termite

et al. 2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. The potential of coupling soil moisture and a Universal Soil Loss Equation-based (USLE-based) model for event soil loss estimation at plot scale is carefully investigated at the Masse area, in central Italy. The derived model, named Soil Moisture for Erosion (SM4E), is applied by considering the unavailability of in situ soil moisture measurements, by using the data predicted by a soil water balance model (SWBM) and derived from satellite sensors, i.e., the Advanced SCATterometer (ASCAT). The soil loss estimation accuracy is validated using in situ measurements in which event observations at plot scale are available for the period 2008-2013. The results showed that including soil moisture observations in the event rainfall-runoff erosivity factor of the USLE enhances the capability of the model to account for variations in event soil losses, the soil moisture being an effective alternative to the estimated runoff, in the prediction of the event soil loss at Masse. The agreement between observed and estimated soil losses (through SM4E) is fairly satisfactory with a determination coefficient (log-scale) equal to ∼ 0.35 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of ∼ 2.8 Mg ha −1 . These results are particularly significant for the operational estimation of soil losses. Indeed, currently, soil moisture is a relatively simple measurement at the field scale and remote sensing data are also widely available on a global scale. Through satellite data, there is the potential of applying the SM4E model for large-scale monitoring and quantification of the soil erosion process.

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Section: F Todisco Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of satellite and modeled soil moisture data for predicting event soil loss at plot scale

Todisco

Brocca

Termite

et al. 2015

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Soil erosion by water is the greatest factor limiting agricultural productivity in the humid tropical regions (Sunday et al, 2012). The high erosion rates are mainly affecting the developing countries due to intensive cultivation, deforestation, plowing of marginal lands and extreme climate hazards (Biswas et al, 2015;Colazo and Buschiazzo, 2015;Ligonja and Shrestha, 2015). Soil erosion is further aggravated by environmental land-use conflicts (ELUCs), as recently recognized by Pacheco et al (2014) and Valle et al (2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Estimating soil erosion risk and evaluating erosion control measures for soil conservation planning at Koga watershed in the highlands of Ethiopia

Molla¹,

Sisheber²

2017

Solid Earth

140

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Abstract. Soil erosion is one of the major factors affecting sustainability of agricultural production in Ethiopia. The objective of this paper is to estimate soil erosion using the universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model and to evaluate soil conservation practices in a data-scarce watershed region. For this purpose, soil data, rainfall, erosion control practices, satellite images and topographic maps were collected to determine the RUSLE factors. In addition, measurements of randomly selected soil and water conservation structures were done at three sub-watersheds (Asanat, Debreyakob and Rim). This study was conducted in Koga watershed at upper part of the Blue Nile basin which is affected by high soil erosion rates. The area is characterized by undulating topography caused by intensive agricultural practices with poor soil conservation practices. The soil loss rates were determined and conservation strategies have been evaluated under different slope classes and land uses. The results showed that the watershed is affected by high soil erosion rates (on average 42 t ha −1 yr −1 ), greater than the maximum tolerable soil loss (18 t ha −1 yr −1 ). The highest soil loss (456 t ha −1 yr −1 ) estimated from the upper watershed occurred on cultivated lands of steep slopes. As a result, soil erosion is mainly aggravated by land-use conflicts and topographic factors and the rugged topographic land forms of the area. The study also demonstrated that the contribution of existing soil conservation structures to erosion control is very small due to incorrect design and poor management. About 35 % out of the existing structures can reduce soil loss significantly since they were constructed correctly. Most of the existing structures were demolished due to the sediment overload, vulnerability to livestock damage and intense rainfall. Therefore, appropriate and standardized soil and water conservation measures for different erosion-prone land uses and land forms need to be implemented in Koga watershed.

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“…Until recently, most of the research in soil erosion has been done in areas occupied by cereals. These annual crops show high erosion rates due to intense tillage and a lack of vegetative cover (Cerdà et al, 2009a(Cerdà et al, , 2009bStevens et al, 2009;Rodríguez-Blanco et al, 2013;Ligonja and Shrestha, 2015). High erosion rates result in the loss of soil, and with that the loss of services soils provide for society (Brevik, 2009;Keesstra et al, 2012;Berendse et al, 2015;Brevik et al, 2015;van Leeuwen et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

Keesstra

Pereira

Novara

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

401

217

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Soil erosion is extreme in Mediterranean orchards due to management impact, high rainfall intensities, steep slopes and erodible parent material. Vall d'Albaida is a traditional fruit production area which, due to the Mediterranean climate and marly soils, produces sweet fruits. However, these highly productive soils are left bare under the prevailing land management and marly soils are vulnerable to soil water erosion when left bare. In this paper we study the impact of different agricultural land management strategies on soil properties (bulk density, soil organic matter, soil moisture), soil water erosion and runoff, by means of simulated rainfall experiments and soil analyses. Three representative land managements (tillage/herbicide/covered with vegetation) were selected, where 20 paired plots (60 plots) were established to determine soil losses and runoff. The simulated rainfall was carried out at 55 mm h-1 in the summer of 2013 (<8% soil moisture) for one hour on 0.25 m2 circular plots. The results showed that vegetation cover, soil moisture and organic matter were significantly higher in covered plots than in tilled and herbicide treated plots. However, runoff coefficient, total runoff, sediment yield and soil erosion were significantly higher in herbicide treated plots compared to the others. Runoff sediment concentration was significantly higher in tilled plots. The lowest values were identified in covered plots. Overall, tillage, but especially herbicide treatment, decreased vegetation cover, soil moisture, soil organic matter, and increased bulk density, runoff coefficient, total runoff, sediment yield and soil erosion. Soil erosion was extremely high in herbicide plots with 0.91 Mg ha-1 h-1 of soil lost; in the tilled fields erosion rates were lower with 0.51 Mg ha-1 h-1. Covered soil showed an erosion rate of 0.02 Mg ha-1 h-1. These results showed that agricultural management influenced water and sediment dynamics and that tillage and herbicide treatment should be avoided

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Soil Erosion Assessment in Kondoa Eroded Area in Tanzania using Universal Soil Loss Equation, Geographic Information Systems and Socioeconomic Approach

Cited by 117 publications

References 23 publications

Use of satellite and modeled soil moisture data for predicting event soil loss at plot scale

Use of satellite and modeled soil moisture data for predicting event soil loss at plot scale

Estimating soil erosion risk and evaluating erosion control measures for soil conservation planning at Koga watershed in the highlands of Ethiopia

Effects of soil management techniques on soil water erosion in apricot orchards

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