Abstract:
Ethiopia is one of the severely affected countries of the world by soil erosion. Soil and water conservation (SWC) measures have been implemented to minimize soil erosion since the 1980s without priority-based and scientifically quantified state of soil erosion in the study watershed. Therefore, this study was aimed to estimate spatially distributed potential soil loss in the Nazero watershed and prioritize its sub-watersheds ready for SWC planning, using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Geospatial techniques. Input parameters were derived from FAO and open access geospatial database. The result indicated that the mean annual estimated soil loss rate in the district was 17 t ha−1y−1 with a standard deviation of 62 t ha−1 y−1. Priority sub-watersheds, based on soil loss SW4, SW8. SW10, and SW9, were labeled as a high priority while, SW5, SW6, and SW7 were categorized under medium priority, and SW3, SW2, and SW1 were categorized under least priority based on the average degree of severity of drainage density and bifurcation ratio SW9, SW7, SW5, SW6, and SW8 were the first priority of sub-watershed but for Soil and water conservation planning and implementation use priority of soil loss. The soil erosion process in the study area was not as damaging. Reduction of the present soil erosion status of Nazero watershed by prioritizing at sub-watershed level can provide on-time responses to sub-watersheds exposed to potential erosion and help use limited resources. , Integration application of geospatial technics with the RUSLE model could be vital in other parts of the country for soil loss severity level-based watershed partitioning.
