Abstract
BackgroundSoil erosion causes topsoil loss, which decreases fertility in agricultural land. Spatial estimation of soil erosion essential for an agriculture-dependent country like Nepal for developing its control plans. This study evaluated impacts on Dolakha using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model; analyses the effect of land use and land cover (LULC) on soil erosion.ResultsThe soil erosion rate categorized into six classes based on the erosion severity, and 5.01% of the areas found under extreme severe erosion risk (> 80 Mg ha−1 year−1) addressed by decision-makers for reducing its rate and consequences. Followed by 10% classified between high and severe range from 10 to 80 Mg ha−1 year−1. While 15% and 70% of areas remained in a moderate and low-risk zone, respectively. Result suggests the area of the north-eastern part suffers from a high soil erosion risk due to steep slope.ConclusionsThe result produces a spatial distribution of soil erosion over Dolakha, which applied for conservation and management planning processes, at the policy level, by land-use planners and decision-makers.
Highlights
Soil erosion causes topsoil loss, which decreases fertility in agricultural land
The soil erosion higher than 80% consists of a 5.01% area (Table 4)
It shows that around 10% of high, very high, and severe risk zones need conservation to reduce the risk of soil erosion
Summary
Soil erosion causes topsoil loss, which decreases fertility in agricultural land. In Mountain regions, soil erosion causes severe hazards, such as heavy rainfall, surface water flow on bare lands that contribute to land degradation (Ristić et al 2012; Ashiagbor et al 2013; Tamene and Vlek 2008). The primary soil erosion is onsite consequences impacts on soil fertility loss and degradation of soil resources quality, whereas pollution on water bodies and settling sediments are an offsite (Morgan et al 1984; Blaikie and Brookfield 2015). It directly impacts on the environment, economy, and agriculture in mountain areas (Vanacker et al 2003; Navas et al 2004). One study shows that soil loss of agricultural land in the hills through surface erosion, other finds in 1992 and 1993 of Likhu Khola watershed
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