Impact of land-use and land-cover change on soil erosion using the RUSLE model and the geographic information system: a case of Temeji watershed, Western Ethiopia

The impact of land-use land-cover (LULC) change on soil resources is getting global attention. Soil erosion is one of the critical environmental problems worldwide with high severity in developing countries. This study integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation model with a geographic information system to estimate the impacts of LULC conversion on the mean annual soil loss in the Temeji watershed. In this study, LULC change of Temeji watershed was assessed from 2000 to 2020 by using 2000 Landsat ETM+ and 2020 Landsat OLI/TIRS images and classified using supervised maximum likelihood classification algorithms. Results indicate that the majority of the LULC in the study area is vulnerable to soil erosion. High soil loss is observed when grassland and forest land were converted into cultivated land with a mean soil loss of 88.8 and 86.9 t/ha/year in 2020. Results revealed that about 6,608.5 ha (42.8%) and 8,391.8 ha (54.4%) were categorized under severe classes in 2000 and 2020, respectively. Accordingly, the soil loss severity class is directly correlated with the over-exploitation of forest resources and grasslands for agricultural purposes. These results can be useful for advocacy to enhance local people and stakeholder's participation toward soil and water conservation practices.

Automated summary

This study evaluates the impact of land-use change on soil erosion in the Temeji watershed, finding that the conversion of grassland and forest into cultivated land leads to high soil loss, and over-exploitation of forest and grasslands for agricultural purposes is directly related to the severity of soil loss.