Application of GIS in Hydrology and Estimation of Soil Erosion Using USLE Model

the problem of soil erosion is prevalent over about 53 % of the total land area of India. Soil erosion is a worldwide growing problem especially in agricultural productions where soil erosion not only lead to decrease the productivities of agriculture but also reduces the availability of water. Hence accurate estimation of soil erosion due to water is very important in several environmental aspects, such as the assessment of potential soil loss from agricultural land and evaluation of the loss of water storage capacity in reservoirs due to sediment depositions. The most popular empirical method to estimates the soil erosion is Universal Soil Loss Equations (USLE). This equation was first developed by Wischmeier and Smith in (1960s) of United States Department of agricultural as a field scale model, to predict the long term average soil loss under specified conditions and estimate erosion rates for different combinations of crops and management practices. The soil erosion rate was determined as a function of land, topography, soil texture, lu/lc, rainfall erosivity, crop management and practice management in the watershed.