IJSRP, Volume 4, Issue 10, October 2014 Edition [ISSN 2250-3153]
Kartic Kumar M, Annadurai R, Ravichandran P.T
Abstract:
Soil erosion is a serious environmental problem in Kothagiri Taluk. Many studies have been carried out to map shifting cultivation and areas susceptible to soil erosion. Mostly, estimated soil loss is taken as the basis to classify the level of soil loss susceptibility of area. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) function is a commonly used erosion model for this purpose in Kothagiri Taluk. This research integrates the RUSLE within a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to investigate the spatial distribution of annual soil loss potential in the Kothagiri Taluk. Both magnitude and spatial distribution of potential soil erosion in the catchment is determined GIS data layers including, rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodability (K), slope length and steepness (LS), cover management (C) and conservation practice (P) factors were computed to determine their effects on average annual soil loss.