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An alternative soil erodibility estimation approach for data-scarce regions: a case study in Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake Basin

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Abstract

Soil erodibility (K) is an essential factor for erosion prediction, conservation planning and assessment of sediment-related environmental problems. K estimation methods have been developed in many soil erosion and water quality models, which are developed for soil data-rich areas and pose a challenge for areas with limited data. Unlike others, using the erosion productivity impact calculator (EPIC) model, the required soil parameters for calculating K can be extracted from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) world database. To verify the FAO soil database and develop an alternative K method (KET) by mimicking the equation of K used in the EPIC model, we collected 203 soil samples from different soil units in the Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake Basin (ERVLB). Unlike the K of EPIC model, KET is developed based on the physical properties of soils that can be easily measured in a laboratory. The results from KET were compared with those from the EPIC-K. Statistically, the performance of KET is excellent and the soil analysis result of ERVLB deviates from the FAO soil database on lower altitude areas of the basin. When KET is projected for the overall soil units of the country, it predicts 35.7% of the country’s soil with less than ± 5% relative error. On average, the KET can be applied to overall country soils with a relative error of − 9.88% with a standard deviation of 6.4. By applying KET, the ERVLB and the country K map were produced. The developed K map of ERVLB and the country can be used for sediment-related studies since it is validated using field measured soil data’s.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Ethiopia Ministry of Water and Electricity for providing the soil laboratory analyzed data free of charge.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Works Construction Technology, Faculty of Civil Technology, Ethiopia Technical University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Alemu Osore Aga

  2. Department of Earth and Environment, Florida International University, Miami, FL, 33199, USA

    Assefa M. Melesse

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  1. Alemu Osore Aga
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Contributions

A.O.A. conceived the study. He has also participated in the design of the study, carried out the data collection, analysis of data, and performed the statistical analysis. A.M.M. participated in the sequence alignment of the draft manuscript. He also participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft and edit the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alemu Osore Aga.

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Aga, A.O., Melesse, A.M. An alternative soil erodibility estimation approach for data-scarce regions: a case study in Ethiopian Rift Valley Lake Basin. J. Sediment. Environ. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43217-024-00179-5

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