Assessment of LULC Change and Its Impact on Soil Erosion Using GIS and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation Model

Abstract

Land use is one of the vital factors in estimating soil erosion over an area. Significant changes in spatio-temporal land use distribution might lead to water runoff which causes soil erosion events. It is important to assess the soil erosion risk for hydropower reservoir as part of sediment management activities. This study aims to assess the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes on soil erosion risk at Chenderoh catchment in Perak. LULC distribution within the study area was mapped for 2008, 2010 and 2015 by using land use maps obtained from Department of Agriculture, Malaysia. The soil loss rate was measured using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) utilizing spatial data of rainfall factor, soil erodibility, topographical factor, conservation factor, and support practice factor. Average soil loss was calculated according to sub-catchment of Chenderoh, and it is found that the soil loss trend marginally increases from year 2008 to 2015. Based on soil erosion risk map results, it is found that conversion of forest land to agriculture is the main contributor to soil loss, which might be due to land clearance and agriculture practice activities.