Soil Loss Evaluation Using GIS and USLE Model

¹ Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia
² Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: zuliziana@upnm.edu.my

Abstract

Surface soil loss is a significant environmental issue due to influences like rainfall, land cover, construction, and deforestation. This will result in sediment yield that impacts nearby water bodies. The goals of the research were twofold: first, to calculate soil loss through the incorporation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) for the National Defence University of Malaysia (NDUM) catchment; and second, to determine annual spatial erosion. USLE is an empirical method that includes five parameters: erosivity due to rainfall (R), erodibility of soil (K), length and steepness of slope (LS), land cover management (C), and support practices (P). The ultimate map of soil erosion is generated utilizing ArcGIS’s raster calculator. The research findings indicate that soil erosion was approximated to be 1.74177 tons/hectare/year in 2016 and 1.14178 tons/hectare/year in 2021. Moreover, slope angle and steepness are greatest in northeastern region of the catchment, where the highest soil erosion values were observed. The overall findings outline yearly soil erosion’s regional distribution in NDUM. Therefore, the proposed approach assists decision-makers and land managers in recognizing critical regions for controlling erosion and implementing targeted interventions.