Geomorphology
maryam bayatikhatibi; maryam bayati khatibi; imad ali; sadra kharimzadeh
Abstract
The Quetta sub-basin is a part of the Pishin River basin, situated in the southwestern region of Pakistan. This study aimed to determine the spatial distribution of annual soil erosion through the utilization of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. To accomplish this, numerous data ...
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The Quetta sub-basin is a part of the Pishin River basin, situated in the southwestern region of Pakistan. This study aimed to determine the spatial distribution of annual soil erosion through the utilization of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. To accomplish this, numerous data mining techniques were employed, along with machine learning algorithms, to produce thematic layers (K, R, LS, C, and P) that served as input parameters for the RUSLE model. According to the resultant model, soil erosion in the study area ranged from 0.00 to 866 tons per hectare per year. The estimated values for rainfall-runoff erosivity (R), soil. erodibility (K), topography (LS), and cover management (C), factors ranged from 147 to 191 (MJ.mm.ha⁻¹.h⁻¹year⁻¹), 0.0229 to 0.0259 (t.ha.MJ⁻¹mm⁻¹), 0.002 to 360.77, and 0.001 to 1, respectively. The statistics revealed that 58% of the land in the study area experiences a very low degree of soil erosion, at an erosion rate less than 13.58 t/ha/year. About 24% of the study area faces low erosion, with an erosion rate spanning from 13.58-44.16 t/ha/year. 13% of the area is demarcated as moderate soil erosion severity, at an erosion rate ranging from 44.16-81.53.14 t/ha/year. On the other hand, 5% of the study area experienced high to very high soil erosion, with an erosion rate of 81.53-866.34 t/ha/year.
