Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion

Climate change (CC), along with changes in land use and land cover (LULC), is among the primary forces driving soil erosion. Deforestation and anthropogenic activities have led to excessive soil erosion in the Ketar watershed. This study aimed to map the consequences of climate and LULC changes on s...

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Main Authors: Wondifraw Nigussie, Husam Al-Najjar, Bahareh Kalantar, Worku Nega, Teshale Bizelk, K. V. Suryabhagavan, Niguse Adane
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2025-12-01
Series:Geomatics, Natural Hazards & Risk
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Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19475705.2025.2520374
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author Wondifraw Nigussie
Husam Al-Najjar
Bahareh Kalantar
Worku Nega
Teshale Bizelk
K. V. Suryabhagavan
Niguse Adane
author_facet Wondifraw Nigussie
Husam Al-Najjar
Bahareh Kalantar
Worku Nega
Teshale Bizelk
K. V. Suryabhagavan
Niguse Adane
author_sort Wondifraw Nigussie
collection DOAJ
description Climate change (CC), along with changes in land use and land cover (LULC), is among the primary forces driving soil erosion. Deforestation and anthropogenic activities have led to excessive soil erosion in the Ketar watershed. This study aimed to map the consequences of climate and LULC changes on soil erosion using soil loss equation factors integrated with Landsat imagery and geographic information systems. A maximum likelihood classifier was employed to categorize LULC classes, namely agricultural land, bareland, shrubland, forest, grassland, settlement, wetland, and waterbody. Rainfall data were derived from the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) dataset, and rainfall erosivity (R factor) was calculated for 1990–2020. The R factor, linked to rainfall intensity and amount, influences runoff and soil detachment. Cover management (C) and conservation practice (P) factors were derived from LULC and slope. LULC change significantly altered these factors. Results showed that between 2000 and 2020, cultivated land increased by 7.92%, while forest and wetland declined by 4.61%. The findings indicate that very high soil loss of 382.48 t ha−1 yr−1, 368.8 t ha−1 yr−1, and 412 t ha−1 yr−1 occurred in 2000, 2010, and 2020, respectively. These findings support evidence-based watershed management, guiding sustainable land use planning and conservation interventions to protect livelihoods.
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spelling doaj-art-67ca0dd4b0e84be694656e725ffe1d552025-08-20T03:16:13ZengTaylor & Francis GroupGeomatics, Natural Hazards & Risk1947-57051947-57132025-12-0116110.1080/19475705.2025.2520374Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosionWondifraw Nigussie0Husam Al-Najjar1Bahareh Kalantar2Worku Nega3Teshale Bizelk4K. V. Suryabhagavan5Niguse Adane6Department of Land Administration and Surveying, Remote Sensing and Geo-informatics stream, Injibara University, Injibara, EthiopiaSchool of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaRIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, Disaster Resilience Science Team, Tokyo, JapanInstitute of Land Administration, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaDepartment of Geography, Dilla University, Dilla, EthiopiaSchool of Earth Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, EthiopiaInstitute of Land Administration, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaClimate change (CC), along with changes in land use and land cover (LULC), is among the primary forces driving soil erosion. Deforestation and anthropogenic activities have led to excessive soil erosion in the Ketar watershed. This study aimed to map the consequences of climate and LULC changes on soil erosion using soil loss equation factors integrated with Landsat imagery and geographic information systems. A maximum likelihood classifier was employed to categorize LULC classes, namely agricultural land, bareland, shrubland, forest, grassland, settlement, wetland, and waterbody. Rainfall data were derived from the Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS) dataset, and rainfall erosivity (R factor) was calculated for 1990–2020. The R factor, linked to rainfall intensity and amount, influences runoff and soil detachment. Cover management (C) and conservation practice (P) factors were derived from LULC and slope. LULC change significantly altered these factors. Results showed that between 2000 and 2020, cultivated land increased by 7.92%, while forest and wetland declined by 4.61%. The findings indicate that very high soil loss of 382.48 t ha−1 yr−1, 368.8 t ha−1 yr−1, and 412 t ha−1 yr−1 occurred in 2000, 2010, and 2020, respectively. These findings support evidence-based watershed management, guiding sustainable land use planning and conservation interventions to protect livelihoods.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19475705.2025.2520374Climate changeenvironmentland use and land coverRUSLEsoil loss
spellingShingle Wondifraw Nigussie
Husam Al-Najjar
Bahareh Kalantar
Worku Nega
Teshale Bizelk
K. V. Suryabhagavan
Niguse Adane
Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion
Geomatics, Natural Hazards & Risk
Climate change
environment
land use and land cover
RUSLE
soil loss
title Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion
title_full Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion
title_fullStr Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion
title_short Evaluating the impact of land use/land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion
title_sort evaluating the impact of land use land cover and rainfall changes on regional soil erosion
topic Climate change
environment
land use and land cover
RUSLE
soil loss
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/19475705.2025.2520374
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