Abstract:
oil erosion is a long lasting problem in Ethiopia. It has political, environmental, economic and
societal implications for the country as a whole and it is important that potential erosion areas
are identified. The study was conducted in soil erosion and its impact on rain fed agriculture,
Dabat District, Ethiopia. The objectives of the study were to identify factors affecting of soil
erosion based on the inputs for Revise Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) such as erosivity,
erodibility, topographic factors, land cover and management practices factor were generated
based on data collected from GIS information and house hold survey. Topographic factor of
slope length and gradient derived from Digital Elevation Model with measured value. The
RUSLE integrated with Geographic Information System (ArcGIS10.1). GIS is a tool that is
invaluable in the estimation of soil loss through modeling.
Estimating annual soil loss rate using GIS and RS is the simplest way for priority of erosion risk
potential areas, The RUSLE model shows that the annual soil loss was 49,700 tones/year; and
the mean annual soil loss was 13.8 t/ha/yr, ranged from 0 to 103 t/ha/yr. 70.4% of the study
area was categorized very low to low erosion class and the remaining 29.6% was classified
under moderate to very severe class. The Chi-square test result indicates that Education, Fuel
wood energy, soil loss affected vegetation cover and aggravating factors had significant
relationship with soil erosion in farm land. To mitigate erosion rate and to preserve ecosystem
services long and short-term measures should be included for governmental and nongovernmental organizations:
Key words: Soil, soil erosion, impact, agriculture, rainfed and factor.
