Assessing Soil Erosion Hazards Using Land-Use Change and Rill Erosion Frequency Ratio Method: Case Study of Rmel Watershed, Northern Tunisia

Abstract

This study aims to identify the vulnerable landscape areas using rill erosion frequency ratio and land-use change associated soil erosion hazard by employing geo-informatics techniques and the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model. Required datasets were collected from multiple sources, such as multi-temporal Landsat images, soil data, rainfall data, land-use land-cover (LULC) maps, topographic maps, and details of the zones affected by rill erosion. Landsat satellite images from 2000, 2010, and 2020 were used to assess the land-use change. Geospatial input data on rainfall, soil type, terrain characteristics, and land cover 19 were employed for soil erosion hazard classification and mapping. Landscape vulnerability was examined on the basis of land-use change, erosion hazard class, and rill ersion frequency ratio. Then the erodible hazard areas were identified and prioritized at the scale of the watershed.