Assessment of soil erosion and land use land cover change using RUSLE model, GIS and remote sensing: a case study of Wombeya watershed, Awash basin, Ethiopia

Soil erosion is a natural phenomenon, where environmental determinants, such as climate, soil, topography, and vegetation affect the extent and magnitude of soil loss. Human impact on the natural system through deforestation, intensive land cultivation, uncontrolled grazing, and construction activities are often accelerating the rate of soil erosion. Spatial and temporal change of land use/land cover (LULC) is increasingly recognized as an important driver of environmental change such as soil degradation. Soil erosion models, for instance, RUSLE integrated into GIS has used to assess the spatial distribution of soil loss and identify areas of concern. This study was aimed at assessing the LULC change and soil erosion trends in the Wombeya watershed between 1986 and 2017. This study applies the RUSLE model to explore soil erosion in the watershed. In the last four decades, soil erosion has been increased from 146 t ha-1yr-1to 214 t ha-1yr-1. Crop field and homestead show an increase in the expenses of forest and grassland. However, for the complete understanding of soil erosion causes exploring other impacts such as climate change is essential.