Application of GIS to estimate soil erosion using RUSLE

This paper describes the use of the Arc/Info and ArcView GIS tools to estimate soil erosion with Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Calculations are be done by using capabilities available. This study start with a digital elevation model (DEM) of Shaanxi, which was created by digitizing contour and spot heights from the topographic map on 1∶250 000 scale and grid themes for the USLEK andC factors. It is note worthy that USLEK can be obtained by adding the K factor as an attribute to a soil theme's table. TheC can be obtained from tables or using the information about land use and management given by USLE program. A land use theme can be used to add theC factors as an attribute field. The purpose of this study is to establish spatial information of soil erosion using USLE and GIS and discuss the analysis of the soil erosion and slope failures in GIS and formulate the possible framework.     

Application of GIS to estimate soil erosion using RUSLE

This paper describes the use of the Arc/Info and ArcView GIS tools to estimate soil erosion with Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE).Calculations are be done by using capabilities available.This study start with a digital elevation model(DEM) of Shaanxi,which was created by digitizing contour and spot heights from the topographic map on 1:250000 scale and grid themes for the USLE K and C factors.It is note worthy that USLE K can be obtained by adding the K factor as an attribute to a soil theme‘s table.The C can be obtained from tables or using the information about land use and management given by USLE program.A land use theme can be used to add the C factors as an attribute field.The purpose of this study is to establish spatial information of soil erosion using USLE and GIS and discuss the analysis of the soil erosion and slope failures in GIS and formulate the possible framework.     

Risk assessment of soil erosion in semi-arid mountainous watershed in Saudi Arabia by RUSLE model coupled with remote sensing and GIS

Soil erosion is the most important factor in land degradation and influences desertification in semi-arid areas. A comprehensive methodology that integrates revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model and GIS was adopted to determine the soil erosion risk (SER) in semi-arid Aseer region, Saudi Arabia. Geoenvironmental factors viz. rainfall (R), soil erodibility (K), slope (LS), cover management and practice factors were computed to determine their effects on average annual soil loss. The high potential soil erosion, resulting from high denuded slope, devoid of vegetation cover and high intensity rainfall, is located towards the north western part of the study area. The analysis is investigated that the SER over the vegetation cover including dense vegetation, sparse vegetation and bushes increases with the higher altitude and higher slope angle. The erosion maps generated with RUSLE integrated with GIS can serve as effective inputs in deriving strategies for land planning/management in the environmentally sensitive mountainous areas.     

Analyzing the effects of scale and land use pattern metrics on land use database generalization indices

The generalization index system is one of the critical issues for computer-aided land use database generalization. This paper studies the scale and land use pattern effects on land use database generalization indices and estimates the thresholds of these indices based on a typical land use database sample. The index system of land use database generalization is discussed and constructed from macro and micro perspectives. Six land use pattern metrics, namely, land use diversity index, land use dominance index, land use homogeneity index, land use fragmentation index, the index of land use type dominance, and the index of land use type fragmentation, are designed to characterize land use patterns and are introduced into the analysis of land use pattern effect on land use database indices. The analysis framework of the scale and land use pattern effects on the land use database indices are proposed by employing statistical techniques. Based on the land use database samples at multiple spatial scales collected in various land use regions across China, the study generates rules for both scale and land use pattern effects on the indices, including map area proportion of land use types, total map load, parcel map load, and minimum parcel area. The thresholds of these indices in land use database generalization are produced at the scales of 1:50,000, 1:100,000, 1:250,000, and 1:500,000. An experimental generalization at county level demonstrates how to determine the generalization index values considering scale and land use pattern, and how to evaluate the generalization results using our macro indices.     

A Dutch multi-date land use database: Identification of real and methodological changes

Land cover and land use are important information sources for environmental issues. One of the most important changes at the Earth's surface concerns land cover and land use. Knowledge about the location and type of these changes is essential for environmental modeling and management. Remote sensing data in combination with additional spatial data are recognized as an important source of information to detect these land cover and land use changes.     

A comparative study of soil erosion modelling by MMF,USLE and RUSLE

The quantitative assessment of spatial soil erosion is valuable information to control the erosion. The study area in a part of Narmada river in central India is selected. The main objective is to assess and compare the results obtained from three soil erosion models using GIS platform. Variation in the rate of erosion of the three models is compared considering varying slope, soil and land use of the area. Three models selected are Morgan–Morgan–Finney (MMF), Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). The best fit or the most reliable model for the study area is selected after validation with the observed sedimentation data. The results give –39.45%, –9.60% and 4.80% difference in the values of sedimentation by MMF, USLE and RUSLE, respectively, from the observed data. Finally, RUSLE model has been found to be most reliable for the study area.     

Digital close range photogrammetry for measurement of soil erosion

Many of the processes involved in soil erosion have dimensions on the millimetre scale. Modelling and quantification of such processes require information on soil surface topography with adequate resolution. The purpose of this study was to generate digital elevation models (DEMs) from soil surfaces with high spatial and temporal resolution. Digital photogrammetry was applied for measuring erosion rates on complex-shaped soil surfaces under laboratory rainfall conditions. A total of 60 DEMs were generated, covering a planimetric area of 16 m². The DEMs had a grid resolution of 3 mm. A vertical precision of approximately 1 mm was desired for DEM analysis. A consumer-grade digital camera was used for image acquisition. The camera was calibrated using BLUH software. Homologous points in overlapping images were identified with least squares matching software. Irregularly spaced object coordinates were interpolated to a regular grid in a geographic information system. The resulting DEMs represented the soil surface well. A precision of 1·26 mm in the vertical was attained. The precision of DEM production was limited to camera calibration. Improvements of the setup presented could include the use of better control points and more advanced image matching strategies for identification of homologous points. The DEMs allowed for detailed analysis of soil surface evolution.     

永定河治理区土壤侵蚀时空变化分析

本文利用“北京一号”小卫星32 m多光谱数据提取研究区的植被覆盖信息与土地利用信息,利用1∶50 000DEM数据提取研究区坡度信息,采用中华人民共和国水利部部颁标准“土壤侵蚀分类分级标准SL 190-96”,评价研究区的水蚀风险等级;并结合全国第二次土壤侵蚀遥感(LandsatTM)调查数据,进行土壤侵蚀时空变化分析...     

Geostatistical techniques for incorporating spatial correlation into land use change models

Land use modeling requires large amounts of data that are typically spatially correlated. This study applies two geostatistical techniques to account for spatial correlation in residential land use change modeling. In the first approach, we combined generalized linear model (GLM) with indicator kriging to estimate the posterior probability of residential development. In the second approach, generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was used to simultaneously model spatial correlation and regression fixed effects. Spatial agreement between actual and modeled land use change was higher for the GLM incorporating indicator kriging. The GLMM produced more reliable estimates and could be more useful in analyzing the effects of driving factors of land use change for land use planning.     

Uncertainty analysis of soil erosion modelling using different resolution of open-source DEMs

The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) is one of the important parameters of soil erosion assessment and notable uncertainties are found in using different resolutions of the DEM. Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation model has been applied to analyze the effect of open-source DEMs with different resolution and accuracy on the uncertainties of soil erosion modelling in a part of the Narmada river basin in Madhya Pradesh in central India. Selected open-source DEMs are GTOPO30 (1 km), SRTM (30 and 90 m), CARTOSAT (30 m) and ASTER (30 m), used for estimating erosion rate. Results with better accuracy are achieved with the high-resolution DEMs (30 m) with higher vertical accuracy than the coarse resolution DEMs with lower accuracy. This study has presented potential uncertainties introduced by the open-source DEMs in soil erosion modelling for better understanding of appropriate selection and acceptable errors for researchers.     

Soil erosion prediction based on land cover dynamics at the Semenyih watershed in Malaysia using LTM and USLE models

This study attempts to identify and forecast future land cover (LC) by using the Land Transformation Model (LTM), which considers pixel changes in the past and makes predictions using influential spatial features. LTM applies the Artificial Neural Networks algorithm) in conducting the analysis. In line with these objectives, two satellite images (Spot 5 acquired in 2004 and 2010) were classified using the Maximum Likelihood method for the change detection analysis. Consequently, LC maps from 2004 to 2010 with six classes (forest, agriculture, oil palm cultivations, open area, urban, and water bodies) were generated from the test area. A prediction was made on the actual soil erosion and the soil erosion rate using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) combined with remote sensing and GIS in the Semenyih watershed for 2004 and 2010 and projected to 2016. Actual and potential soil erosion maps from 2004 to 2010 and projected to 2016 were eventually generated. The results of the LC change detections indicated that three major changes were predicted from 2004 to 2016 (a period of 12 years): (1) forest cover and open area significantly decreased at rates of almost 30 and 8 km², respectively; (2) cultivated land and oil palm have shown an increment in sizes at rates of 25.02 and 5.77 km², respectively; and, (3) settlement and Urbanization has intensified also by almost 5 km². Soil erosion risk analysis results also showed that the Semenyih basin exhibited an average annual soil erosion between 143.35 ton ha^?1 year^?1 in 2004 and 151 in 2010, followed by the expected 162.24 ton ha^?1 year^?1. These results indicated that Semenyih is prone to water erosion by 2016. The wide range of erosion classes were estimated at a very low level (0–1 t/ha/year) and mainly located on steep lands and forest areas. This study has shown that using both LTM and USLE in combination with remote sensing and GIS is a suitable method for forecasting LC and accurately measuring the amount of soil losses in the future.     

甘孜州九龙县水土流失评价研究

本文以九龙县为研究区,根据沟壑密度、坡度、植被盖度、土地利用类型和高程5个因子,结合ARC-GIS空间分析功能和MATLAB数学建模编程的功能,应用GA-BP模型(遗传算法优化BP神经网络)对研究区的水土流失进行非线性智能定量评价,并与层次分析法的结果对比分析,阐述了GA-BP模型的优越性。本次研究可以为九龙县水土流失预防和治理提供有益的参考。     

Integrating the system dynamic and cellular automata models to predict land use and land cover change

Land use and land cover change (LULCC) is a widely researched topic in related studies. A number of models have been established to simulate LULCC patterns. However, the integration of the system dynamic (SD) and the cellular automata (CA) model have been rarely employed in LULCC simulations, although it allows for combining the advantages of each approach and therefore improving the simulation accuracy. In this study, we integrated an SD model and a CA model to predict LULCC under three future development scenarios in Northern Shanxi province of China, a typical agro-pastoral transitional zone. The results indicated that our integrated approach represented the impacts of natural and socioeconomic factors on LULCC well, and could accurately simulate the magnitude and spatial pattern of LULCC. The modeling scenarios illustrated that different development pathways would lead to various LULCC patterns. This study demonstrated the advantages of the integration approach for simulating LULCC and suggests that LULCC is affected to a large degree by natural and socioeconomic factors.     

基于RS和USLE的红壤丘陵区小流域水土流失量估算

采用野外调查采样、室内分析测定、遥感(RS)技术、数学模型等研究方法,以湖南省资兴市东江水库上游光河桥小流域为例,计算出了美国通用土壤流失方程(USLE)中各单项因子值,对该流域水土流失量进行了估算.结果表明:该流域的土壤可蚀性因子(K值)介于0.14～0.42 t·hm2.h.hm-2.MJ-1.mm-1之间,平均为0.27 t·hm2.h.hm-2.MJ-1,mm-1,属于中等可侵蚀性土壤;土壤侵蚀模数在0 ～3 817 t·hm-2·a-1之间,平均侵蚀模数为78 t.hm-2.a-1,处于强度侵蚀等级,流域的土壤侵蚀量达到292 266 t·a-1.     

Spatial-temporal impacts of urban land use land cover on land surface temperature: Case studies of two Canadian urban areas

The surface fabric of urbanized areas, (i.e. its constituent land covers and land uses) plays an essential role in the generation of the urban/rural temperature differences, i.e. the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. Land surface information, derived from satellite imagery, and complementary information such as demographics can be used as the basis for an understanding of the atmospheric and surface thermal variations within cities. The results of comprehensive land surface characterizations of two major Canadian urban areas, the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa-Gatineau, are described. Spatial information, including land cover fraction maps, land use and its historic changes, population density maps are compared with intra-urban surface temperature variations derived from satellite thermal imagery. Three aspects of the impacts of land cover and land use on urban land thermal characteristics are addressed, namely, (a) the relationships between surface temperature and subpixel land cover and population density (b) intra-city seasonal temperature variations and (c) the intensification of the urban heat island effect due to urban built-up land growth.     

云蒙湖流域不同坡度的土壤侵蚀特征

针对定量分析土壤侵蚀在各坡度等级上的空间分布研究较少的现状,该文选用通用的土壤流失预报方程,对云蒙湖流域1986—2010年间的土壤水力侵蚀状况进行了定量的估算,以探讨不同坡度上的土壤侵蚀特征,并进一步分析了土壤侵蚀变化与人类活动的关系。分析得出:土壤侵蚀强度发生在人类活动比较频繁的区域上(8~25°坡度)更为严重;2010年比1986年强度以上所占比例在15°坡度等级上相对更低,在15°坡度等级上有所增加;云蒙湖流域主要土壤侵蚀量发生在25°坡度上;2010年比1986年耕地面积减少、林地和居民用地面积增加是土壤侵蚀降低的主要因素。     

基于CLUE-S模型的南京市土地利用变化模拟

本文以南京市为研究区,以南京市1986年的土地利用现状图为基础,分析研究区概况并根据数据的可获取性,选取13类土地利用变化驱动因素,利用逻辑斯蒂回归分析求解土地利用变化驱动因素作用系数矩阵。在此基础上运行CLUE-S模型,对南京市1996年的土地利用空间格局进行模拟。将模拟结果与南京市1996年土地利用现状图与进行对比,结果较为理想,模拟正确率达88.57%,KAPPA指数0.86。这说明CLUE-S模型具有成功模拟区域土地利用时空动态变化的能力,对土地利用预测、规划具有重要的指导作用。     

Analysis of coastal land use/land cover changes in the Indian Sunderbans using remotely sensed data

The world’s largest mangrove ecosystem, the Sunderbans is experiencing multidimensional threats of degradation. The present study was aimed to understand these problems and search for proper remedies by applying suitable remote sensing technologies. South-western parts of Indian Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve had been chosen for assessment of land use/land cover changes in between 1975 and 2006 by using multitemporal Landsat data. Results indicated considerable reduction of open mangrove stands and associated biodiversity mainly in the forest-habitation interference zones of Sunderbans. On the contrary, increase in the coverage of dense mangroves in the reserved forests had been observed indicating the existence of proper centralized management regimes. Overall, a cumulative loss of approximately 0.42% of its original mangrove cover in between 1975 and 2006 had been estimated for this part of the Sunderbans which was at parity with the findings of other studies in the Sunderbans or similar mangrove ecosystems of the tropics. Expansion of non agricultural lands in the last two decades was found to be related with the growth of new settlements, tourism infrastructure, and facilities. This transformation was attributed to the shifting of local peoples’ interest from traditional forestry and subsistence farming towards alternative occupations like shrimp culture, coastal tourism, and commercial fishing although environmentally hazardous livelihood activities like collection of prawn seeds along the riverbanks were still persistent.     

基于DEM的龙口市土地利用空间格局与时空变化研究

本文以龙口市为例,在ARCG IS软件的支持下,分别从高程、坡度与坡向三个方面,对研究区内的耕地、园地、林地和建设用地四种土地利用类型,进行了空间格局与时空变化研究。研究结果表明:从1989年到2005年的17年间,耕地总数在减少,但其分布仍主要集中于低地形等级上。园地的面积增加较多,空间分布上,有向地形高等级发展的趋势,说明园地对各地形因子的适应性较强。林地主要分布于高海拔,大坡度的区域,这有利于防止水土流失。建设用地基本上不受地形的限制,其分布主要是人类活动的结果,因此它在各地形等级的变化表现不明显。通过对土地利用空间格局指标及参数特征的定量分析,将有助于优化该区土地利用结构,实现不同地形上土地利用类型的合理布局,促进区域持续发展。