Abstract
The concept of erodibility has gained a great importance in the field of soil erosion modelling and applications of soil conservation. Soil erodibility factor has become one of the key factors which determine soil particles resistance to be detached by water erosion. This study was performed to determine soil erodibility factor and assess spatial variability of soil erodibility using geostatistics at El Hammam catchment. In this study 51 samples of surface soil (0-20cm) were collected across the study area of 1000 Ha by preparing point map at GIS. Sampling points were identified in field by a Global Positioning system. Some soil properties and organic matter were measured at laboratory, and permeability and structure were determined using soil texture analysis. Amount of soil erodibility changed from 0.16 to 0.66. The variability analysis has shown that soil properties and erodibility factor have varied significantly in cropland and have ranged from 63% in organic matter and 39% in K factor. The statistical analysis indicated negative correlations of erodibility with clay, organic matter and permeability and negative correlations of this factor with silt, sand and soil str ucture. Based on kriging interpolation method, soil erodibility factor map was generated using Ordinary Kriging. The spherical model has given the best model to predict spatial variability of soil erodibility which root-mean-square error and mean error values of interpolated map were very low. The range of the spatial dependency was equal to 460 m. The study basin has been classified as highly erodible and ecologically vulnerable.
Highlights
Soil is one of the most important natural resources of each country
As indicated by the coefficient of variation (CV), the largest variations were exhibited by the clay content (53.04%), intermediate − the sand content (48.91%), and the lowest − the silt content (27.56%)
According to the classification proposed by Dahiya et al [52], CV values were medium (1575%) for all the soil properties
Summary
Soil is one of the most important natural resources of each country. One of the main and effective parameters in soil erosion is the natural characteristics of the soil which is erodibility [1,2]. The productive capacity of the soil is the most important resource for human food supply [3,4]. Depletion in productive capacity and an increase of soil erosion rates are progressing with the growth of population and agricultural intensification. We can prevent various disadvantages resulting from soil erosion or reduce them through better recognition and evaluation. Water erosion causes soil degradation, on hillsides and hills, and deterioration of infrastructure
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
