Effects of Landscape Changes on Soil Erosion in the Built Environment: Application of Geospatial-Based RUSLE Technique

Abstract

The world’s ecosystem is severely affected by the increase in the rate of soil erosion and sediment transport in the built environment and agricultural lands. Land use land cover changes (LULCC) are considered as the most significant cause of sediment transport. This study aims to estimate the effect of LULCC on soil erosion potential in the past 20 years (2000–2020) by using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model based on Geographic Information System (GIS). Different factors were analyzed to study the effect of each factor including R factor, K factor, LS factor, and land cover factor on the erosion process. Maps generated in the study show the changes in the severity of soil loss in the Chitral district of Pakistan. It was found out that 4% of the area was under very high erosion risk in the year 2000 which increased to 8% in the year 2020. An increase in agricultural land (4%) was observed in the last 20 years which shows that human activities largely affected the study area. The outcomes of this study will help the stakeholders and regulatory decision makers to control deforestation and take other necessary actions to minimize the rate of soil erosion. Such an efficient planning will also be helpful to reduce the sedimentation in the reservoir of hydraulic dam(s) constructed on Chitral river, which drains through this watershed.