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Assessing the potential of soil erosion in Kyrgyzstan based on RUSLE, integrated with remote sensing

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Abstract

Soil erosion is a serious ecological and economic issue occurring in all regions across the biosphere. Soil erosion contributes to land degradation, endangering both the pastoral and natural environments in Kyrgyzstan. This study objective is to identify the potential of soil erosion in Kyrgyzstan and estimate the total soil loss rate. The revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model with remote sensing (RS) was used to show the distribution of risk zones of soil erosion and soil loss. Variables were obtained from Kyrgyz Hydro-Meteorological agency, Harmonized World Soil Data (HWSD), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer-Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (MOD13Q1-MODIS/Terra), Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and Global Land Cover Map (GlobeLand30). The study results display that the average annual soil erosion amount in Kyrgyzstan was 5.95 t ha−1 year−1, with an annual soil loss of 113.7 × 106 t year−1. The entire area was separated into seven erosion risk classes. More than 28% of the territory of Kyrgyzstan is affected by limited soil erosion; the average volume of potential erosion is around 1.0 t ha−1 year−1. The northeastern and central parts of the country mainly experienced low soil erosion, whereas the west and southwestern parts were subject to high-to-extremely high soil erosion rates. This is the first time this method has been used to estimate the potential of soil loss throughout the country; it provides suitable tools for identifying priority areas for considering measures to decrease soil erosion risk. Our findings give valuable implementations for assessing soil loss and protecting the environment.

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Notes

  1. http://www.fao.org/soils-portal/data-hub/soil-maps-and-databases/harmonized-world-soil-database-v12/en/

  2. https://cgiarcsi.community/data/srtm-90m-digital-elevation-database-v4-1/

  3. https://ladsweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/missions-and-measurements/products/MOD13Q1/

  4. http://www.globeland30.org

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Acknowledgements

The Research Centre of Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (Bishkek) and postdoctoral fellowship provided by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University supported this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geography Department, Institute of Geology, National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, 720040, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

    Eldiiar Duulatov, Salamat Alamanov, Rustam Orozbaev & Talant Asankulov

  2. Faculty of Geography, Ecology and Tourism, Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, 720033, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic

    Eldiiar Duulatov & Salamat Alamanov

  3. Research Centre of Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (Bishkek), Bishkek, 720040, Kyrgyz Republic

    Eldiiar Duulatov, Salamat Alamanov & Rustam Orozbaev

  4. Institute of Applied Technology, Thu Dau Mot University, Binh Duong province, Vietnam

    Quoc Bao Pham

  5. Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, 050040, Kyrgyz Republic

    Gulnura Issanova

  6. Research Centre of Ecology and Environment of Central Asia (Almaty), Almaty, 050060, Kyrgyz Republic

    Gulnura Issanova

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  1. Eldiiar Duulatov
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Correspondence to Quoc Bao Pham.

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Duulatov, E., Pham, Q.B., Alamanov, S. et al. Assessing the potential of soil erosion in Kyrgyzstan based on RUSLE, integrated with remote sensing. Environ Earth Sci 80, 658 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09943-6

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