Author(s): Lizbeth Rocio Caycho Torres; Nestor Montalvo Arquinigo

Linked Author(s):

Keywords: RUSLE; GIS; Water erosion

Abstract: Soil degradation due to water erosion is a recurrent problem that affects the Andean zone of Peru because, each year during the wet season, rainfall and runoff increase to a very high level, causing loss of fertile soil, harming the ecosystems, and damage to human and agricultural infrastructure, among others. This research was conducted in the Huarmey River basin in northwestern Peru. The objective was to calculate the potential soil loss using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools. As a result, a geospatial model was obtained that indicated five categories to classify the levels of soil loss (stable, low, moderate, high, and very high). The very high-level zones, characterized by soil loss from 200 t/ha. year and beyond, covered an area of 114.5 km2 because of the higher precipitation in this region compared to the rest of the basin. In addition, the areas with stable levels of soil loss, ranging from 0 to 5 t/ha. year, covered a total area of 1026.1 km2, and they are situated in the valleys and coastal plains characterized by limited precipitation and gentle slopes.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/978-90-833476-1-5_iahr40wc-p1379-cd

Year: 2023