Adapting the RUSLE to model soil erosion potential in a mountainous tropical watershed

This research integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to model erosion potential for soil conservation planning within the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve (SMBR), Mexico. Mountainous topography and a tropical uni-modal precipitation regime characterize this region. These unique climatic and topographic characteristics required a modification of the standard RUSLE factors and their derivation. The resulting RUSLE–GIS model provides a robust soil conservation planning tool readily transferable and accessible to other land managers in similar environments. Future pressure to expand agriculture and grazing operations within the SMBR will unquestionably accentuate the already high rate of soil erosion and resultant sediment loading of watercourses occurring in this region. Until recently there did not exist a reliable or financially viable means to model and map soil erosion within large remote areas. An increase in the reliability and resolution of remote sensing techniques, modifications and advancements in watershed scale soil erosion modelling techniques, and advances in GIS, represent significantly improved tools that can be applied to both monitoring and modelling the effects of land use on soil erosion potential. Data used in this study to generate the RUSLE variables include a Landsat Thematic Mapper image (land cover), digitized topographic and soil maps, and tabular precipitation data. Soil erosion potential was modelled within Zenzontla, a sub-catchment of the Rı́o Ayuquı́la, located in the SMBR, and the results are presented as geo-referenced maps for each of the wet and dry precipitation seasons. These maps confirm that high and extreme areas of soil loss occur within the Zenzontla sub-catchment, and that erosion potential differs significantly between wet and dry seasons.