Aagw2010 June 10 Kibet Stephen Soil Erosion Prediction Using Rusle

AFRICA AGRICULTURE GIS WEEK
2010
NAVIGATING THE CHANGE:
Taking a closer look at the
role of spatial information
and analysis in supporting
improved agricultural
research and development
Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

E.R.M.I.S AFRICA NAKURU
TOPIC:SOIL EROSION PREDICTION
USING RUSLE(REVISED UNIVERSAL
SOIL LOSS EQUATION) INTEGRATED
WITH GIS
PRESENTER: KIBET STEPHEN
INSTITUTION: MOI UNIVERSITY
Attaché: environmental research
mapping & information systems
(ERMIS) Africa
CLUSTER 3: UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
OBJECTIVES OF THIS
PRESENTATION
1. To explaining how variables in
RUSLE can be obtained and
analyzed using ArcGIS software
2. To show how the model can be
applied in predicting soil erosion
in Agricultural farms

Soil Erosion: A Great Concern
• Soil erosion is a major environmental threat to
the sustainability and productive capacity of
agriculture
• Soil erosion is a concern for farmers,
development agencies, and governments
throughout the world.
• Since the early 20th century, soil erosion, by
wind and water, has been recognized as a major
factor for decrease in both soil fertility and land
value.

Erosion result to great
Losses

Erosion can be destructive!!
• .

Effects of erosion on farms

Rates of soil erosion
Rates of erosion depends on several
factors:
• These include percent ground cover,
soil texture, soil structure, soil
porosity/permeability, and
topography/slope.
• Humans can influence the dynamics of
each of these and thus, improper
human land management can
accelerate rates of erosion
Soil erosion models
• Modeling soil erosion provides a
sophisticated tool for selection of
appropriate soil conservation practices.
• There are many soil erosion models,
including the European Soil Erosion Model
(EUROSEM), the Water Erosion Prediction
Project (WEPP), the Limberg Soil Erosion
Model (LISEM), and the Chemical Runoff and
Erosion from Agricultural Management
System (CREAMS) to name but a few.
The Revised Universal Soil
Loss Equation (RUSLE)
• RUSLE is a revision of the Universal Soil
Loss Equation (USLE), which was originally
developed to predict erosion on croplands in
the United States.
• With the revision, the equation can be
employed in a variety of environments
including rangeland, mine sites, agricultural
lands, etc.
• The RUSLE is an empirical equation that
predicts annual erosion (tons/acre/yr)
resulting from sheet and rill erosion in
croplands.
Advantages of RUSLE
The most extensively used model is the Revised
Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE).
RUSLE model has advantages because
• Its data requirements are not too complex or
unattainable,
• It is relatively easy to understand, and it is
compatible with GIS
• RUSLE model can isolate locations of erosion on
a cell by cell basis, determine the role of
individual variables on the rate of erosion, and
identify the spatial patterns of soil loss within a
watershed
RUSLE EQUATION
A = R * K * L * S* C* P
• The RUSLE is factor-based, which means
that a series of factors, each quantifying
one or more processes and their
interactions, are combined to yield an
overall estimate of soil loss.
• A = Average annual soil loss (tons/acre)
resulting from sheet and rill erosion.
• This is the predicted value resulting from
the execution of the equation above.
R-Rainfall
Runoff erosivity factor
• This factor measures the effect of
rainfall on erosion.
• The R factor is a summation of the
various properties of rainfall including
intensity, duration, size etc.
• Rainfall erosivity can be mapped for
the entire country by using data from
local weather stations
Computing R-factor
• Load the R-factor.shp. Containing rainfall
measurements
• Add a new field labeled R_factor.
• Calculate the R-Value for the drainage
basin using Modified Fournier Index (MFI)
• MFI=Pi^2/p
• Where Pi is monthly rainfall yearly
averages (mm), P represent yearly
averages (mm)
Computing R-factor
• Enter this value in the new column of the
R-factor table.
• Now convert the R-factor Shapefile to a
Grid by highlighting on the R-factor
shapefile in the table of contents and
going to Spatial Analyst > Convert >
feature to grid.
• Select R_factor for the field.
• Name your grid R_factor.
K-Soil Erodibility factor
• The soil erodibility factor measures the
resistance of the soil to detachment and
transportation by raindrop impact and surface
runoff.
• Soil erodibility is a function of the inherent soil
properties, including organic matter content,
particle size, permeability, etc.
• Because these properties vary within a given
soil, erodibility (K values) also varies.

K Factor Data
Textural Class Average Less than 2 More than2%
Clay 0.22 0.24 0. 21
Clay Loam 0.30 0.33 0.28
Coarse Sandy Loam 0.07 -- 0.07
Fine Sand 0.08 0.09 0.06
Fine Sandy Loam 0.18 0.22 0.17
Heavy Clay 0.17 0.19 0.15
Loam 0.30 0.34 0.26
Loamy Fine Sand 0.11 0.15 0.09
Loamy Sand 0.04 0.05 0.04
Loamy Very Fine Sand0.39 0.44 0.25
Sand 0.02 0.03 0.01
Sandy Clay Loam 0.20 - 0.20
Sandy Loam 0.13 0.14 0.12
Silt Loam 0.38 0.41 0.37
Silty Clay 0.26 0.27 0.26
Silty Clay Loam 0.32 0.35 0.30
Very Fine Sand 0.43 0.46 0.37
Very Fine Sandy Loam 0.35 0.41 0.33
Source: www.omafra.gov.on.ca

Symbology of K-factor
• .

L and S Factors
(slope length and slope
steepness factor)
L= Slope length factor.
• This factor accounts for the effects of slope
length on the rate of erosion.
S = Slope steepness factor.
• This factor accounts for the effects of slope
angle on erosion rates.
• All things being equal, higher slope values
have greater erosion rates.
L and S Factors
(slope length and slope steepness
factor)
• LS can be computed using DEM (Digital
Elevation Model)
• DEM is then delineated beginning with
the drainage basin then the stream
• In order to compute LS factors you
require slope and flow accumulation
• This is then computed as follows

Digitital Elevation Model-DEM

Delineated drainage basin
• .

Catchment streams delineated
• .

Computing LS using DEM and
GIS
• With DEM as our active theme we go to Spatial Analyst
> Surface Analysis and use the Slope tool to calculate a
slope surface for the area.
We shall name our result Area_slope .
• Next we need to derive the flow accumulation one of the
inputs required to compute the RUSLE.
• The flow accumulation (Fac) was created when we
delineated the Drainage Basin in Arc Hydro.
• This will give us the flow accumulation for the actual
Drainage Basin.
• Name the new theme flowacc

Flow Accumulation feature
• .

Computed LS factors
• Lastly we have all the themes necessary
to generate the LS factor using the DEM.
• Using Raster calculator build the following
expression.
• 1.6 * Pow(([flowacc] * resolution) / 22.1, 0.6) *
Pow(Sin([area_slope] * 0.01745) / 0.09, 1.3
• The value for resolution used corresponds
to the cell size of the DEM.

C-Factor
cover management factor
• C is the crop/vegetation and management
factor.
• It is used to determine the relative
effectiveness of soil and crop management
systems in terms of preventing soil loss.
• The C Factor can be determined by selecting
the crop type and tillage method that
corresponds to the field and then multiplying
these factors together.

Crop type factor
• Crop Type Factor
• Grain Corn 0.40
• Silage Corn, Beans & Canola 0.50
• Cereals 0.35
• Seasonal Horticultural Crops 0.50
• Fruit Trees 0.10
• Hay and Pasture 0.02

Tillage method factor
Tillage Method Factor
Fall Plow 1.0
Spring Plow 0.90
Mulch Tillage 0.60
Ridge Tillage 0.35
Zone Tillage 0.25
No-Till 0.25

C-Factor
cover management factor
• The C-factor was derived from landuse/ land
cover types above.
• Load the C-factor.shp, examine the attribute
table, and change the symbology.
• Convert the C-factor shape file to a grid.
• C-factor as the attribute to use in generating
the grid.
• Name the new grid C_facgrid.
P-FACTOR
(supporting practices)
Support Practice P Factor
Up & Down Slope 1.0
Cross Slope 0.75
Contour farming 0.50
Strip cropping, cross slope 0.37
Strip cropping, contour 0.25

P-FACTOR
(supporting practices)
Load the P-factor.shp into GIS
Convert to grid following the procedure we
adopted in generating the C_facgrid.
 Name the output P_facgrid.

Run the RUSLE equation
Now you have all the factors necessary for

executing the RUSLE.
Use the map calculator to simply execute the
following expression:
• ([ R-factor]*[LS]*[K-factor]*[C-facgrid]*[P-facgrid])
The result is Soil loss.
• This is the annual soil loss (tons/acre) for the
given drainage basin.

Raster Calculator
calculating ‘a’

Soil loss tolerance Rates
Soil Erosion Class Potential Soil Loss
(tons/acre/year)
Very Low (tolerable) <3
Low 3–5
Moderate 5 – 10
High 10 – 15
Severe >15

Management strategies to
reduce soil loss
Factor Management strategies
R The R Factor for a field cannot be altered
K The K Factor for a field cannot be altered.
LS Terraces may be constructed to reduce the slope
length resulting in lower soil losses.
C The selection of crop types and tillage methods
that result in the lowest possible C factor will
result in less soil erosion.
P The selection of a support practice that has the
lowest possible factor associated with it will result in
lower soil losses.

Conclusion
• The presentation is just an overview of how
erosion can be computed
• Since it is a model with several variables, it
requires sufficient time to understand how to
derive the variables and apply.
• In addition it has got its limitation like other
models.
• Indeed it is possible to compute and predict
erosion in a give area using RUSLE together
with GIS.

Remarks from the
Audience
Thanks and God

Bless.


Aagw2010 June 10 Kibet Stephen Soil Erosion Prediction Using Rusle

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AFRICA AGRICULTURE GIS WEEK

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Now you have all the factors necessary for

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

Thanks and God

Thursday, June 17, 2010 Kibet Stephen: Moi University//

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