Anticipating Soil Erosivity of Kulfo Watershed in the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift in Response to Changes in Land Use and Land Cover

Abstract

This study evaluates the land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics that play an indispensable role in the degradation and deterioration of soil and water quality affecting the natural resources throughout the Kulfo watershed in Ethiopia. Directed image classification is initiated for satellite images to study the watershed. The image classification is categorized into ten different LULC classes with validation of ground control points. A Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model was used to generate the average soil loss of the watershed. The model involves the Rainfall Erosivity factor (R), Soil Erodibility factor (K), Length and Slope factor (LS), Cover Management factor (C), and Support Practice factor (P). The dynamics of LULC change and rainfall erosivity over the past 30 years have been interpreted using maps from 1990, 2005, and 2020 using the C-factor and R-factor. The remaining factors, like K-factor, LS-factor, and P-factor, were kept constant over the period. The results reveal that the average annual soil loss rate (A) of the watershed is estimated to be 138.8 t ha-1, 161.2 t ha-1, and 173.25 t ha-1 per year, for the selected period intervals. During the past three decades, the soil loss rate in the watershed has increased by 34.4 t ha-1 per year. The watershed and sustainable soil and water conservation practices need special attention to mitigate the severity of soil erosion risks to avoid disaster.