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Landscape and Ecological Engineering
Published in:

18-07-2022 | Original Paper

Assessing the long-term impact of land-use and land-cover changes on soil erosion in Ethiopia’s Chemoga Basin using the RUSLE model

Authors: Wubeshet Getachew, Dongyeob Kim, Qiwen Li, Song Eu, Sangjun Im

Published in: Landscape and Ecological Engineering | Issue 4/2022

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Abstract

Soil erosion is one of the primary causes of environmental degradation worldwide. The Chemoga Basin—the highlands region in northwestern Ethiopia—has experienced accelerated soil erosion due to changes in land-use and land-cover (LULC) in recent decades. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model was used to quantify the impact of LULC changes on soil loss in the study area. Satellite images from 1987 and 2017 were used to characterize the spatial patterns of LULC changes. All RUSLE factors were mapped on a 30 m × 30 m grid to reflect the natural and environmental conditions of the study area. An expansion of agricultural lands occurred between 1987 and 2017, while the area of natural vegetation cover such as woodlands and grasslands declined. Forest cover has recovered in recent years as a result of afforestation and eucalyptus plantations. Reflecting LULC changes, the total soil loss in the study area was estimated at 2,087,894 t year–1 in 1987, which increased to 2,112,093 t year–1 in 2017. Agricultural lands accounted for 89.3% and 90.1% of the total soil loss in 1987 and 2017, respectively. The results showed that slope gradient and elevation are important factors in agricultural land conversion, and thereby influence soil erosion. An understanding of the impact of LULC changes on soil erosion potential is crucial for establishing government policy and action plans to conserve natural resources in erosion-prone areas of the Ethiopian highlands.
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Metadata
Title
Assessing the long-term impact of land-use and land-cover changes on soil erosion in Ethiopia’s Chemoga Basin using the RUSLE model
Authors
Wubeshet Getachew
Dongyeob Kim
Qiwen Li
Song Eu
Sangjun Im
Publication date
18-07-2022
Publisher
Springer Japan
Published in
Landscape and Ecological Engineering / Issue 4/2022
Print ISSN: 1860-1871
Electronic ISSN: 1860-188X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-022-00518-6

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