Soil Loss Estimation for Conservation Planning in the Dolago Watershed Central Sulawesi, Indonesia

Soil loss assessment in watersheds is useful in developing plans for the protection and conservation of soil and water in a sustainable manner. This study aimed to determine erosion hazard classification and erosion hazard map using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) as the basis of a soil and water conservation planning program. The RUSLE model was used to assess soil loss and guide the soil conservation efforts. Annual rainfall data, digital elevation model (DEM), land use map were used to generate the RUSLE parameters, namely rainfall-runoff erosivity factor (R), soil erodibility factor (K), slope length and steepness factor (LS), cover-management factor (C), and support practices factor (P). Erosion hazard is classified into five classes, namely very low, low, medium, high, and very high. On the basis of the results, at the Dolago watershed, very high erosion hazard was found in dryland of 577.95 t/ha/yr. Meanwhile, very low erosion hazard was found in the rice field of 2.22 t/ha/yr. The results help in planning and implementing soil and water conservation, both vegetatively and mechanically, to minimize the damage to watershed ecosystems. Validation and testing of the RUSLE model should be carried out in future studies because this is a strategic step to develop modeling of sediment yields effectively in an effort to mitigate major land damage in watersheds