Soil erosion assessment using RUSLE model in the Congo Nile Ridge region of Rwanda

ABSTRACT

This research assessed the soil erosion threat in the Congo Nile Ridge Region of Rwanda. The study forecasted erosion by applying the Revised Universal Soil Erosion (RUSLE) with five factors (rainfall, soil, topography, cover management, and support practices) and spatial data. About 85.5% of the area under investigation was predisposed to erosion with unsustainable average soil loss rates of > 1 t/ha/yr. The outcomes of the research highlighted that the average rate of estimated soil loss in the region prone to erosion was > 63.62 t/ha/yr, resulting in an overall annual predicted soil loss of approximately 44 × 10⁶ t in 2016. All of the districts studied have steep slope gradients (30.4%–36.1%) and high annual rainfall totals (1199–1484 mm/yr), except Rubavu district. More than 88.8% of croplands had unsustainable average soil loss rates of > 1 t/ha/yr. The analysis indicated that both terracing and strip cropping have the potential to reduce rates of soil loss in the farmland, by 64.4% and 10.4%, respectively. The results of this study will serve as a baseline for soil erosion mitigation and land-use planning in the study area and Rwanda at large.

KEYWORDS:

• Congo Nile Ridge
• RUSLE
• land use/cover
• soil erosion
• remote sensing

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express sincere gratitude to the USGS and NASA team for the provision of data. The study was funded by the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.