Rapid Assessment of Soil Erosion in the Rio Lempa Basin, Central America, Using the Universal Soil Loss Equation and Geographic Information Systems |
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Authors: | John B Kim Peter Saunders John T Finn |
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Institution: | (1) Field Station Programs, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, California 92182-4614, USA;(2) MWH Global Inc, 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, USA;(3) Department of Natural Resources Conservation, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA |
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Abstract: | Soil erosion is a severe problem for many developing regions that lack adequate infrastructure to combat the problem. The
authors established a first-order method for prioritizing areas to be examined and remediated using preexisting data and expert
knowledge where data are lacking. The Universal Soil Loss Equation was applied to the Rio Lempa Basin in Central America using
geographic information systems and remote sensing technologies, and the estimated erosion rates were compared with sediment
delivery ratios. Spatial analysis indicates that agriculture on very steep slopes contributes only a small fraction to the
total estimated soil erosion, whereas agriculture on gentle and moderately steep slopes contributes a large fraction of the
erosion. Although much of the basin is in El Salvador, the greatest estimated amount of erosion is from Honduras. Data quality
and availability were impaired by a lack of coordination among agencies and across countries. Several avenues for improving
the authors’ methods are described. |
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Keywords: | Soil Erosion GIS Remote sensing Basin Watershed Universal Soil Loss Equation Delivery ratio Rio Lempa El Salvador Honduras Guatemala Central America |
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