Combining pedometrics, remote sensing and field observations for assessing soil loss in challenging drylands: A case study of Northwestern Somalia

Abstract

AbstractSoil loss is a major concern for land managers due to its influence on biomass production, surface water quality and landscape beauty. In Somalia, the risk of soil loss is accelerated by the removal of vegetation, bad land use practices and negative impacts of urbanization. The political upheavals and consequent insecurity in the country are major limitations for detailed database and research in soil loss. This study tested opportunities in pedometrics, remote sensing, limited field data collection and the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) to model the risk of soil loss in northwestern Somalia. The approach successfully predicted the risk of soil loss with accuracy of 79 per cent. It also showed that RUSLE is only relatively accurate and stable in identifying areas with low risk of soil loss and therefore is useful in modelling early warning signs of erosion. About 24 per cent of northwestern Somalia was depicted to have no significant human‐induced soil loss while 68 per cent of the region is in threat of soil loss if no action is taken against the removal of vegetation, land use practices and policies on land tenure systems. About 8 per cent of the area is at high risk of soil loss due to negative effects of urbanization and lack of proper management of steep slopes. It is anticipated that this approach can be integrated in the assessment of soil erosion in areas with poor database. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.