Spatial assessment of soil erosion risk using RUSLE and GIS techniques
Yahya Farhan
Department of Geography, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
Samer Nawaiseh
Department of Geography, Yarmouk University, Irbid, Jordan
Environmental earth sciences, Sep 2015, v.74, no.6, pp. 4649-4669
Soil erosion by water is considered a major cause for land degradation in Jordan, where 0.14 cm of productive top soil is eroded annually. This investigation is intended to estimate the annual soil loss in Wadi Kerak watershed, and to examine the spatial patterns of soil loss and intensity, as an essential procedure for proper planning of conservation measures. To achieve these objectives, the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model has been applied in a geographical information system framework. After computing the RUSLE parameters (R, K, LS, C and P) soil erosion risk and intensity maps were generated, then integrated with physical factors (terrain units, elevation, slope, and land uses/cover) to explore the influence of these factors on the spatial patterns of soil erosion loss. The estimated potential annual average soil loss is 64 ton ha−1year−1, and the potential erosion rates from calculated class ranges from 0.0 to 790 ton ha−1year−1. Soil erosion risk assessment indicates that 54.5 % of the catchment is prone to high to extreme soil losses higher than 25 ton ha−1year−1. The lower and middle parts of the catchment suffer from high, severe, to extreme soil erosion. While 45.5 % of the basin still undergoes slight and moderate levels of soil loss of less than 25 ton ha−1year−1, yet 76.91 % of soil erosion occurred on four different terrain units, and 72.29 % of soil erosion occurred in zones less than 600 m in elevation, with 88 % present on areas of 0°–6°, 5°–15°, and 15°–25° slope categories. 32.6, 30.3, and 33.1 % of soil erosion occurred on rainfed mixed farming and irrigated areas, barren, and rangeland, respectively. The present results provide a vital database necessary to control soil erosion in order to ensure sustainable agriculture in the highland region of Jordan.
Keywords Jordan Wadi Kerak Erodibility Erosivity Terrain units Land use change Landsat ETM Intr
Introduction
Wadi Kerak watershed in southern Jordan (191 km2 ), is considered to be one of the most fragile terrain of the highland regions of the country. The soils of the catchment experienced widespread severe erosion including splash, sheet, rill, gully erosion, and landslides. The average rate of annual soil erosion is predicted to be greater compared to other highland catchments in Jordan. High rainfall intensities are a recurrent phenomenon in the southern highlands. In March 1966 for example, a severe storm was recorded in the Ras En Naqb area, southern Jordan. The average 4 h rainfall intensity was 16 mm h-1 (Central Water Authority 1966; Schick 1971). Following that storm, a small farm fence was exposed 15–20 cm due to water erosion. Again in 1991/1992, the annual rainfall doubled, resulting in excessive soil slumping and shallow landslides and mudflows. Sheet and gully erosion affected the valley on both land units of side slopes and farming areas. During the last four decades, southern Jordan was exposed to several severe storms, with high maximum rainfall intensities in 24 h ranging between 25 and 65 mm (Aqaba Region Authority 1987), which caused serious soil erosion. Rapid population growth since the 1950s has necessitated continuous expansion of rainfed mixed cultivation to secure food production. The expansion of farming was carried out at the expense of forest and rangelands. Consequently, recent land use/cover changes represent a major cause of accelerating soil erosion in the highland catchments (Beaumont and Atkinson 1969; Atkinson and Beaumont 1971; Khresat et al. 2008; Alkharabsheh et al. 2013).
Several studies and reports on soil erosion were carried out in Jordan at local, regional and national scales. Soil erosion loss due to water erosion has been estimated for the surface water catchments east of the rift to be 1.328 million tons year-1 which means, 0.14 cm of the top soil is eroded annually (McDonald Partners and Hunting Technical Services LTD 1965; Shamoot and Hussini 1969). FAO et al. (1979) and Battikhi and Arabiat (1983) reported that part of the highlands of Jordan was classified within soil loss categories of 50–200 tons ha-1 year-1 and [200 tons ha-1 year-1 . Al-Sheriadeh et al. (2000) simulated the annual sediment yield at the King Talal Reservoir, and found that it is about 2.9 MCM, which is similar to the observed value of 2.87 MCM. Al-Ansari and Knutsson (2012) reported recently that W. Alarab Dam (northern highlands of Jordan) will be filled with sediments within 38 years. Consequently, the predicted sediment yield and the estimated high soil erosion rate, will seriously endanger the future of dams under construction such as Wadi Kufranja Dam in the northern highlands, and the proposed dam on Wadi Kerak in the southern highlands (Ministry of Water and Irrigation 2010, 2011).
Reconnaissance assessment of environmental degradation for different bioclimatic regions of Jordan has been carried out recently (Karadsheh et al. 2012; Higgitt 2003). It concluded that high rates of wind and water erosion, low germination rate of plants, overgrazing, high rainfall variability and poor distribution of rainfall are the main causes of soil degradation in the steppe region. Continuous woodland cutting and recession of forest areas, rapid urbanization, agricultural intensification, land fragmentation, water erosion, low soil organic matter, and soil compaction are the contributing factors underlying land degradation in the highland region. Recently, field measurements of soil erosion using pegs and field splash cups were carried out in the Shaubak–Wadi Musa area, south of Kerak. The results indicated that using pegs, soil erosion rates range between 0.873 and 1.24 mm year-1 . Splash erosion for the same site is estimated at between 1.39 and 30.15 tons ha-1 - year-1 (Al-Shabatat 2005). Land degradation is not a recent problem for Jordan, it was active prehistorically and historically in the highlands of central and southern Jordan (Cordova 1999, 2000).
Geoarchaeological investigations indicate that historical soil erosion, intensive agriculture, and agricultural terraces were characteristic of the Levantine highlands (including Jordan) since the Iron Age (Christopherson and Guertin 1995). Dating carried out on the alluvial deposits in central Jordan wadis suggest that the destruction of vegetation and the resultant high rates of soil erosion probably date back to the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (Cordova 1999). The incision that occurred in Wadi al-Wala and other comparable wadis in central Jordan towards the end of the third millennium also suggests that there was land deterioration at this time. In later periods, agricultural civilizations, such as the people of the Iron Age and the Nabateans, may have already lived in a landscape that was very similar to the one existing today (Cordova 1999). Similarly, Khairieh and AlMomani (1999) reported the presence of the remains of ancient Nabateans agricultural terraces in the Wadi MusaPetra area buried under eroded materials of 1–3 m of depth coming from the upper marley and clayey slopes. Signs of soil erosion associated with existent old agricultural terraces, indicate that the highlands of Jordan have experienced intense soil erosion at least since the Nabatean period (3000 years ago). Such a conclusion was corroborated recently by Jebari et al. (2012) who investigated historical soil erosion in the Mejerda catchment (Tunisia). They concluded that during the last 3000 years, the Mejerda catchment had witnessed successive agricultural systems which resulted in intensive exploitation of soil resources rather than sustainable management of land resources
Ample geoarchaeological and geomorphological research has been carried out regarding the intensity and rapidity of soil erosion in historical time throughout the Mediterranean basin. Human interventions in such a fragile landscape (Bruckner 1986; Van Andel et al. 1986) are considered the key triggering factor for soil erosion in the region (Garcia-Ruiz et al. 2013). Continuous cultivation on steep slopes and the expansion of agriculture are deemed one of the main agents responsible for landscape changes in the Mediterranean-basin.
A variety of approaches and models were developed to assess soil erosion by water and to predict soil erosion risk and intensity. Each approach or model has its own characteristics and purpose of application. Available quantitative and semi-quantitative models for predicting soil erosion at a basin scale, were reviewed and evaluated in details (de Vente and Poesen 2005; Broadman 2006). Empirical (i.e., USLE and RUSLE), conceptual (i.e., AGNPS and SWAT), and physical-based models (i.e., EROSEM and CREAMS) for soil erosion and sediment transport were recently reviewed and discussed (Merritt et al. 2003) in terms of their structure, the scale of their intended use, assumptions and capabilities, simulation of catchment processes, model input data and output results it provides, the predictive accuracy and limitations, and fi- nally hardware requirements of the model.
The dominant model utilized worldwide and selected for the present investigation is the RUSLE model (Angima et al. 2003; Hoyos 2005; Lim et al. 2005; Yue-Qing et al. 2008; Hlaing et al. 2008; Kouli et al. 2009; Wu and Wang 2011; Abu Hammad 2011; Ozsoy et al. 2012; Prasannakumar et al. 2012; Krishna Bahadur 2012; Kumar and Kushwaha 2013; Chatterjee et al. 2014; Xu et al. 2014). Recently, the RUSLE model has been employed in combination with sediment delivery ratio (SDR) to assess the life expectancy of dams in semi-arid watersheds, Turkey (Saygin et al. 2014). Statistical evaluation and geospatial comparison of four models to predict soil erodibility on the watershed level, revealed that intrinsic soil properties and erodibility factor varied significantly with various land use. In this regard, croplands showed higher susceptibility to erosion than other land use/cover type (Adhikary et al. 2014). The applications of the RUSLE model were extended, first to assess landslide susceptibility due to soil erosion at the northern part of Euboea Island, Greece (Rozos et al. 2011, 2013). A satisfactory agreement was found between soil erosion intensity zones and the distribution of landslides; and second, to evaluate and reduce water environmental pollution in selected reservoirs in China (Wu et al. 2013). The selected RUSLE model, is an empirical one and characterized by several benefits: easy to implement and familiar from a functional perspective, compatible with geographic information system (GIS); the data required to apply within the model are not overly complex and are accessible. Moreover, the approach makes soil erosion estimation and observation of its spatial patterns feasible at a reasonable cost. It provides better accuracy for catchment and regional scales (Wischmeier and Smith 1978; Millward and Mersey 1999; Krishna Bahadur 2009; Prasannakumar et al. 2011). The universal soil loss equation (USLE) and the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) (Wischmeier and Smith 1978; Renard et al. 1997) were adopted to predict potential soil loss caused by water erosion in the Jordan northern highlands (Al-Zitawi 2006; Farhan et al. 2013). The impact of land use and, cover changes on soil erosion risk in northern Jordan was assessed (Khresat et al. 2008; Alkharabsheh et al. 2013). It was concluded that changes from forest and rangeland to rainfed mixed cultivation caused a substantial increase in soil erosion and land degradation.
The objectives of the present investigation are:
1. Estimate annual soil loss potential rate on 30 m 9 30 m cell bases by extracting the values of RUSLE factors using spatial data (i.e., DEM, climatic data, soil map/information, and land use/cover maps) for Wadi Kerak catchment,
2. recognize areas of high-erosion loss and risk in the catchment,
3. explore the spatial relationship between soil erosion and environmental factors such as terrain units, elevation, slope and land use/cover identified in the watershed, and
4. identify areas of critical soil erosion conditions that require urgent conservation measures and land management.
Study area
The present investigation was conducted in Wadi Kerak catchment to the south-east of the Dead Sea, east of the Lisan Peninsula (35300 –35440 E longitudes, and 31140 – 31170 N latitudes). It is located in the middle part of the Kerak Governorate (Fig. 1). The study catchment covers an area of 191 km2 . Elevation varies from 1250 m above mean sea level in the upper catchment close to Mazar town, decreasing towards the west to 1000 m at Kerak city, then dropping to—410 m below mean sea level close to the Dead Sea. The catchment exhibits a typical highland/rift (Ghor) topography. Consequently, climatic variation is prominent across the Kerak watershed. Climate is classified as ‘‘dry Mediterranean’’ in the upper catchment (Mazar and Kerak areas) and arid in the lower part (Ghor Mazra’a) close to the Dead Sea. Mean annual rainfall ranges from 325 mm at Kerak city to 290 mm at Mazar town east of Kerak, and 77.5 mm at Ghor Mazra’a west of Kerak. Rainfall is concentrated in winter (October–March) during the cold season. Severe storms with maximum daily intensity of 2.1–6.66 mm h-1 are common in the highland region (Farhan 1999, 2002). Serious soil erosion is therefore predictable. Repetitive heavy rainstorms are considered the main triggering factor for extreme soil erosion and floods in the Kerak and Wadi Musa—Petra areas. The average maximum and minimum temperatures are 17 and 2 C in the Kerak and Mazar, respectively, while the average maximum temperature in Ghor Mazra’a is 32 C with summer months reaching 40 C. In the Mazar east of Kerak, part of the precipitation falls as snow. Several days of freezing temperatures (below 0.0 C) are recorded between November and February. Geomorphologically, progressive river incision and continuous rejuvenation of Wadi Kerak draining the rift, associated with recurrent lowering of the base level (the Dead Sea), and uplifting of the scarp zone during late Tertiary and Quaternary tectonics produced irregular slope segments (15–35) separated by rocky benches. The wadi profile also display prominent irregularities which probably represent some forms of rejuvenation points. When major breaks of slopes combined with major long profile irregularities, four or five rejuvenation phases can be identified (Farhan 1982). Rejuvenation phases have resulted in deeply dissected topography, dense incised drainage and over steepened slopes which encourage slope instability and soil erosion. Clay loam, silty clay, silty clay loam and silty loam soils dominated most of the catchment (Ministry of Agriculture Jordan 1995) and are characterized by very low permeability. Thus, runoff erosion is expected to be high.
Fig. 1 The study area
The vegetation cover in the southern highlands occurs under more arid conditions compared with northern highlands. Here, lower rainfall and greater marginality are characteristic. Population densities are lower, and nomads from the eastern Jordanian desert occasionally visit the southern highlands with their herds of camels, sheep and goats (Atkinson and Beaumont 1971). Anthropogenic factors accelerating soil erosion are: long and continuous human interference with land resources, deforestation, overgrazing in the past and present, farming practices, and poor conservation measures.
Geologically, the watershed accommodates a wide range of rock types ranging from late Cambrian sandstone to Quaternary deposits including lacustrine Lisan Marl, alluvial fan of Ghor Mazra’a and the fluvial terraces of W. Kerak. The Kurnub sandstone (Lower Cretaceous) is exposed along the heavily incised middle course of Wadi Kerak. The sandstones are overlain by the Turonian– Cenomanian Ajlune group which consists of two lithological units: the nodular limestone unit, or the marly clay unit,which is predominantly marls and clays interbedded with marly limestones, limestones, nodular limestones and dolomites. Differential erosion acting on intensely jointed and weathered marls and clays has caused slope instability (Farhan 1999). The echinoidal limestone unit, or the limestone–marl unit consists of limestones, dolomitic limestones,marl, sandy limestones, marly limestones, and chert nodules. The third lithological unit (Eocene–Senonian rocks) dominated the catchment to the east of Kerak. Innumerable outcrops of limestones, marls, chalk,chert, phosphate,shales and clays are present (Burdon 1959). The spatial distribution of these ‘‘weak rocks’’ represent a major factor influencing slope instability and soil erosion loss.
W. Kerak is considered a part of the Kerak-Al-fiha fault system and the subsidiary dense branching faults to the North and South of the W. Kerak main course. The major fault (early Miocene) is often obscured under the materials pertaining to old degraded landslide complexes (Bender 1975).
Discussion
This investigation attempts to assess soil erosion loss rates, and to generate soil erosion loss and soil erosion risk maps for the W.Kerak watershed. Following the computation of RUSLE parameters R, K, LS, C, and P, the resultant layers, were integrated within the GIS environment to generate soil erosion loss and soil erosion risk maps, thus, the spatial distribution of soil erosion patterns across the watershed has been established. The present results of the RUSLE model has revealed a serious soil erosion problem over the W. Kerak watershed. The generated maps and the associated information indicate that soil erosion is active in different zones of the basin: the upper catchment and lower catchment, highlands and lowlands, different terrain units and slope categories, and different land use and agricultural practice. The estimated erosion rates ranged from 0 to 790 ton ha-1 year-1 , with an average annual loss of 64 ton ha-1 year-1 . The recognized soil erosion loss categories were slight (0–12 ton ha-1 year-1 ), moderate (12–25 ton ha-1 year-1 ), high (25 ton ha-1 year-1 ), very high (60–150 ton ha-1 year-1 ), and extremely high ([150 ton ha-1 - year-1 ). Soil erosion risk assessment indicates that 54.5 % of the catchment is prone to high to extremely high soil losses higher than 25 ton ha-1 year-1 . The lower and middle reaches of the watershed suffer from high, very high, to extremely high soil erosion risk. While 45.5 % of the catchment still undergoes slight and moderate levels of soil loss of less than 25 ton ha-1 year-1 . 76.91 % of soil erosion is encountered on four terrain units. Thus, the denudational slopes, landslide zone, remnants of plantation surfaces and glacis are the most erosion-vulnerable terrain units suffering from high soil erosion rates. 72.29 % of soil erosion occurred in zones less than 600 in elevation, while 88 % were present in areas of 0–6, 5–15 and 15–25 slope categories. Spatial relationship exists between soil erosion loss and morphological variation across the upper, middle and lower reaches of W. Kerak catchment. Slight to moderate soil erosion persists in the upper catchment. Moderate to extremely high soil erosion characterized the middle reaches, and moderate to extremely high soil erosion dominated most of the lower catchment. 32.6, 30.3 and 33.1 % of soil erosion occurred on rainfed mixed farming and irrigated areas, barren land, and rangeland respectively. Frequency ratio statistical analysis reveals a satisfactory correlation between soil erosion zones, and landslide events in the W. Kerak catchment.
The results of the present investigation in the W.Kerak catchment are comparable with similar studies carried out in northern Jordan (Al-zitawi 2006; Al-Alawi and Abujamous 2009; Farhan et al. 2013, 2014; Alkharabsheh et al. 2013), where similar terrain, climatic conditions, farming practices, and land mismanagement are dominant. Al-Alawi and Abujamous (2009) estimated the average annual soil loss of 78 ton ha-1 year-1 for a part of the Belqa district before installation of soil conservation structures. Twenty years following this construction and tree-planting, the predicted average soil loss decreased considerably to an average of
Table 12 Estimated soil erosion loss (ton ha-1 year-1 ) for selected watersheds in the eastern and western Mediterranean
33 ton ha-1 year-1 . Such encouraging results, therefore, emphasize the need for well-executed research on soil erosion and improved conservation techniques. The estimated soil loss in Wadi Kerak is also consistent with values achieved recently in the eastern Mediterranean (Irvem et al. 2007; Erdogan et al. 2007; Efe et al. 2008; Ozsoy et al. 2012; Demirci and Karaburun 2012; Abu Hammad 2011; Kouli et al. 2009; Alexakis et al. 2013; Saygin et al. 2014), south-eastern Serbia, not far from the Mediterranian (Perovic et al. 2013) and the western Mediterranean watersheds (Panagopoulos and Ferreira 2010; Trabucchi et al. 2012; Issa et al. 2014) with similar environmental conditions and agricultural landscapes. Table 12 illustrates the ranges of annual soil loss estimated for different watersheds in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. It is clear that some of these watersheds are exposed to excessive rates of soil loss due to high soil erodibility, steep slopes, poor conservation controls, low vegetation cover, and misuse of land resources. More comparable results on soil erosion potential with W.Kerak and the northern highland catchments of Jordan, were obtained for the Foupana river watershed in southern Portugal (Panagopoulos and Ferreira 2010). The estimated potential soil erosion loss was between 76 and 79 ton ha-1 year-1 . Between 1953 and 2010, excessive changes in land use/cover took place across Wadi Kerak (Nawaysa 2006). Subsequently, soil erosion becoming more serious on moderate and steep slopes transformed into cultivated land. The expansion of cultivated cereals east and northeast of Kerak city, increase the susceptibility of soils to erosion. It has been reported recently, that the expansion of rainfed mixed farming (especially cereals cultivation) in northern Jordan has resulted in an increase of soil erosion susceptibility, thus cultivated lands with poor conservation measure exhibit a higher rate of soil erosion and decline in soil fertility (Alkharabsheh et al. 2013). Minimal vegetation cover dominated the steep and long slopes in the middle and lower reaches of the watershed. Slopes exceeding 15 are surprisingly cultivated, and ploughing with animals has been observed on steep slopes at 25 and more. Unfortunately, ploughing is performed in the direction of the slope of the land instead of following contour lines. This practice resulted in soil erosion and removal of the fertile surface layer, and thus, degraded and nonproductive areas have increased. It is concluded elsewhere that the RUSLE factors can be altered significantly by human activities (Mhangara et al. 2012). The C and P factors can be improved to reduce soil erosion loss through afforestation and shifting community environmental practice. The LS factor can also be modified by shortening the length and steepness of slopes by the construction of contour walls and stone terraces. The installation of check dams, drop structures or weirs (i.e., concrete drop structure and chute, gabion structures) along the gullies and ravines can decrease runoff coefficients and soil erosion under various land uses (Rozos et al. 2013). Soil conservation measures should be integrated with technologies enhancing farming practices (i.e., rotation and contour ploughing) of rainfed cultivation to reduce soil loss and to improve crop productivity. However, expected benefits of enhancing soil and water conservation across the W. Kerak catchment could be illustrated in the following: control of soil erosion especially in the lower and middle parts of the catchment; reduction in sediment load of W. Kerak; and reducing the peak flows of the wadi (El-Swaify and Hurni 1996). The protection of the present natural vegetation cover is essential as plant roots increase the cohesion and shear strength of soil, thus, preventing recurrent soil slumping, shallow landslides and minor mudflows. The integration of trees in farmland and rangeland will act as appropriate coverage and protect the soil from rainfall energy, and can stabilize the soil structure against sheet and gully erosion. It is essential to redevelop the natural vegetation cover by means of seeding these areas with appropriate grasses, and planning for better rangeland and grazing management. A great opportunity is possible to expand bush and forest plantation on large areas across steep slopes, rangeland (\250 mm of annual rainfall), and highlands receiving [250 mm of annual rainfall respectively. Moderate and slightly steep slopes could be utilized for tree crops, and the wadi narrow floodplain for irrigated farming (i.e., vegetable cultivation). A considerable amount of water is available from springs issuing at the middle part of the wadi, and suitable for irrigated farming. The flat summits and gently sloping structural benches may be allocated for cereals farming. The results of soil erosion losses and risk, and land use/cover-type can assist decision makers in the department of agriculture (Kerak Governorate) in formulating conservation plans for terrain units of high vulnerability towards erosion such as: steep denudation slopes, landslide zone, and the glacis (piedmont slopes) which contributed approximately 50 % of the total erosion area. Since the location of the proposed dam is chosen downstream of the wadi, south of Kerak city, watershed management and appropriate soil conservation prioritization for the catchment must be carried out. GIS and RS techniques can be integrated with selected geomorphological and geological factors, and employed successfully in combination with erosion hazard appraisal, for proper analysis of geoenvironmental hazards exposed along the Kerak-Al-fiha fault system. Among these hazards are: landslide susceptibility assessment (i.e., shallow and deep landslides, and instability caused by severe gully erosion), flooding risk assessment and and seismic intensity (Rozos et al. 2011, 2013; Youssef and Maerz 2013). The Kerak city area is located only 17 km east of the Jordan-Dead Sea transform. Thus the area is relatively vulnerable to seismic hazard. The future sustainable development of urban and rural settlements, and agricultural land use planning can be guided through terrain analysis and evaluation (using GIS and RS tools) in order to avoid development across unfavorable terrain, or sites that might be affected by undesirable hazards (Bathrellos et al. 2012, 2013).
Conclusions
The present investigation illustrates the spatial patterns of soil erosion loss and soil erosion risk, vulnerable terrain units towards soil erosion, weak jointed and fissured rocks, and landslide zone where high rates of erosion occur within the watershed. Historical and present-day human intervention, coupled with the absence of conservation measures, and improper farming practice, have exercised a negative effect on soil erosion. Under the pressing need for food production during the 1960s and 70s, and high population growth rate (&3 % annually), farmers were obliged to cultivate marginal areas where the average annual rainfall is less than 250 mm. Such areas lie in the highland regions in southern and northern Jordan. The transformation of rangeland to agricultural utilization accelerates soil erosion. Overgrazing, together with frequent drought, gradually damaged the grazing capacity of the land. Since the 1960s soil erosion by water is reported to be a serious problem in the Jordan highlands. The recorded high rates of soil loss recently are disturbing if they continue at the same rate in the future. If this occurs, soils will no longer be useful for crop production in a country suffering from food and water shortages. Despite the fact that several dams had been already built, integrated watershed management including maintenance operations and reduction of siltation rates, are still not up to the proper standards. High annual sediment yield originating in the highland watersheds threaten the reservoirs already in existence over the highland region, and the old rainwater harvesting systems constructed on the marginal areas. Moreover, the estimated soil loss and sediment yield seriously endanger the future life of constructed dams (i.e., W.Alarab Dam), or, the dams under construction (i.e., W.Kufranja Dam), and the proposed dam on W.Kerak. The RUSLE model provides an efficient tool for soil erosion loss and soil erosion risk estimation, and therefore, areas vulnerable to soil erosion and landslides must be prioritized for conservation. The outputs of the present study (maps and information) could be employed for immediate applications in soil conservation planning and implementation. However, further research is highly recommended on soil erosion factors in the rainfed highland regions of Jordan. More data on rainfall and its duration and intensity provided the basis for calculating rainfall erosivity. In addition, direct field measurements of soil erosion by water, or by simulated rainfall must be executed, and the results should be compared by the RUSLE and other predictive models. The adopted model can also be implemented locally by land developers on the Kerak governorate level, where the data and software needed are available. The techniques adopted in this investigation demonstrate that GIS, RS tools, and the RUSLE model are simple and lowcost techniques for modeling and assessing soil erosion risk in other comparable watersheds in the southern Jordan highlands.
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