Spatial Soil Loss Assessment Using USLE in Lake Ol Bolossat Catchment

Abstract

Erosion by water is one of the most common types of soil degradation which occurs in all climatic regions and is widely considered to be a serious threat to the long-term viability of agriculture in many parts of the world. Lake Ol Bolossat in Nyandarua County, Kenya, is a high altitude lake that was formed on Rift Valley escarpment and faces the challenge of siltation due to increased soil erosion. Over the last few decades, the lake has been encroached and lake area has been overgrazed reducing the vegetation cover around the Lake. An assessment of spatial soil erosion loss was conducted using USLE model and GIS which showed that most parts of the Lake catchment have soil loss beyond tolerable levels of nine tons per year. The soil erosion range was between zero and 22, 525.5 tons per year. The land uses that were more vulnerable to soil loss are croplands, grazing lands with sparse vegetation and barelands which had soil loss ranges of 10–50 tons, 100 to 1000 tons and 500 to 22,525.5 tons per year respectively. The study recommended for immediate interventions by policy makers, researchers and development partners in curbing the soil loss problem.