Abstract
Soil erosion is a global environmental challenge that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) #15 wants to address, and the topographic factor, according to the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) model, is one of the most critical factors causing soil erosion. In this study, we employed three separate digital elevation models of Taiwan, with horizontal resolution ranging from 20 to 90 m, to compute the LS factors based on the upslope contributing areas and multiple flow directions, utilizing the methodologies used by the European Soil Data Centre. This is the first study to create a map of Taiwan’s island-wide LS factors without using a fixed slope length of 40 m. To compare European Union countries with Taiwan, we also calculated their LS means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation of LS factors. As a result, Taiwan’s high LS values are readily noticeable as compared to the EU. Taiwan’s LS factor is greater than that of any EU country and the United Kingdom, at 2.69 times the EU average. To put it another way, while all other erosive factors are held equal, Taiwan’s average soil erosion is about 2.69 times that of the EU. With an LS factor of 6.95, Austria has the highest average LS in the EU, yet it is 91 percent of Taiwan’s. The findings demonstrate that Taiwan has a far higher mean LS factor than any EU country or the United Kingdom, which helps to partially explain why soil erosion in Taiwan is substantially higher than in the EU.
Highlights
Soil erosion is a global environmental concern that the United Nations SustainableDevelopment Goal (UN SDG) #15 aims to address by protecting, restoring, and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems; managing forests sustainably; preventing desertification; and stopping and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss
The population of Taiwan is concentrated in the west side of Taiwan, where the LS factors are smaller than one
When the grid size of digital elevation model (DEM) varies in Taiwan, it is evident that the LS factor value changes as well
Summary
Loss Equation), in their various forms and applications, are by far the most commonly used soil erosion prediction models in the world, with over 1200 applications in the last. The RUSLE model has the most overall citations in absolute numbers [2]. Demonstrates the use of a modified version of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE2015) model to predict soil loss in Europe [3]. This study has the highest normalized number of citations in the Global Applications of Soil Erosion Modelling Tracker (GASEMT) database [2]. It highlights the importance of modeling water erosion using
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
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
