Soil Erosion Estimation of Palasbari in Northeast India by RUSLE Model

Soil erosion is a serious problem and its estimation at a large scale is an urgent need. This study aims to estimate the annual soil loss in Palasbari town (639 km²) applying the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model on a GIS platform. The study area comprising Palasbari town is located in the state of Assam in Northeast India. The annual soil loss rate varies from 0 to 3779t ha^-1 yr¹ and the mean annual rate of soil loss is 42 t ha^-1 yr^-1. The soil loss values are categorised into four classes of severity i.e. slight, moderate, severe and extreme soil erosion. Based on spatial analysis, it is found that areas with high slope length and steep slope with heavy and high intensity precipitation are more prone to soil erosion. It is concluded that steep slopes, frequent flooding, sandy soil, destruction of vegetation cover are the main causes of soil erosion in the study area.