Assessment of soil erosion risk in land uses using Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (Case Study: Sikan Basin)

In this study, quantitative assessment of soil erosion and sediment was done using the famous RUSLE model in the framework of GIS and remote sensing technology. The results showed the erosion values ​​of the basin vary from 0.001 to 257 (t ha-1y-1) at the pixel level and the average erosion in the study basin is 17.62 (t ha-1y-1). Medium rangelands have high average erosion values for two reasons; One is due to the steep slope and consequently the runoff speed in the destruction and transport of particles, which intensifies the role of LS factor and weakens the vegetation factor and the other is the high values of precipitation, which shows the role of rain erosion factor (R). Classification of erosion values showed that about 42% of the study basin with value higher than 16 (t ha-1y-1) is in a severe situation in terms of soil loss. Therefore, due to the erosion situation in the study basin, the role of watershed management, soil protection, and watershed management operations with a focus on the upstream basin and in areas with high slopes is more necessary.