Prioritization of sub-watersheds for conservation measures based on soil loss rate in Tikur Wuha watershed, Ethiopia

Abstract

Soil erosion is unquestionably the trickiest land degradation that adversely agricultural productivity. Since resources are scarce, in developing countries like Ethiopia, implementing soil and water conservation practice at a time on the entire watershed is not feasible. Therefore, recognizing erosion-prone areas (the priority watersheds) based on the magnitude of soil loss rate is indispensable. The purpose of this study is to delineate priority sub-watersheds of the Tikur Wuha watershed in Ethiopia based upon the soil loss rate. A universal soil loss equation under the geographic information system environment was employed to estimate the soil loss rate. The result revealed that the average soil loss rate from the watershed is 14.13. It is resulting in a gross soil loss of 962,083 from the entire watershed. A small portion of the watershed (9.22%) is suffering from severe and very severe soil loss rate (> 25). A total of 14.41% of the watershed have soil loss rates above the maximum soil loss tolerance of the area (> 12). Among the seven sub-watersheds in the watershed, four sub-watersheds (SW_3, SW_1, SW_2, and SW_4) are falling under the top priority zone. Soil and water conservation measures should be executed rapidly in the Tikur Wuha watershed, consistent with the rank of the priority watersheds.