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The International Conference on Smart and Innovative Agriculture IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 686 (2021) 012024 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/686/1/012024

Soil erosion mapping using GIS based model in agricultural

area of Progo watershed, Central Java, Indonesia.

A N Seika1, C Setyawan1*, Ngadisih1 and R Tirtalistyani1

1
Department of Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural
Technology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia.

*Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract. Soil erosion remains a strenuous problem for agricultural practices, particularly in
tropical regions as happened in Indonesia. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of soil
erosion in agricultural areas of a tropical watershed. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
(RUSLE) model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) was used for soil erosion
assessment. RUSLE model parameters were collected from various sources. Soil erosion was
classified into five classes such as very low (0-15 t ha-1 yr-1), low (15-60 t ha-1 yr-1), moderate
(60-180 t ha-1 yr-1), heavy (180-480 t ha-1 yr-1), and very heavy (>480 t ha-1 yr-1). The result
showed that the average soil erosion in the study site was 71.1 t ha-1 yr-1. More than 50% of the
study site was occupied by very low class soil erosion, while heavy and very heavy class soil
erosion occupied more than 20% of the study site. The finding of this study provides a useful
reference for soil erosion control and studies.

1. Introduction
As an important part of the land, the soil has important roles in crop production. Land cultivations for
farming are massively found in tropical regions, where rainfall is available in a large number.
Frequently, these activities are causing land degradation in the form of soil erosion and reducing land
productivity. Soil erosion has been reported causing many deprivations, especially in tropical countries
[1,2]. Therefore, soil erosion study is necessary as the basis for soil erosion control planning [3,4].
Reliable information on soil erosion distribution provides a fundamental consideration to determine
priorities and types of soil conservation strategies.
Soil erosion studies have been performed in various approaches, depending on geological conditions
and data availability of each country. In Indonesia, soil erosion is commonly investigated by using a
model that provides a faster result. However, most of the model applications for soil erosion assessment
are not completed by model validation. Therefore, the accuracy of the study result cannot be achieved
properly. The lack of field measurement data for model validation has become a challenge for model
application. In this study, the soil erosion model was validated by using reference values from other
studies in Java Island, where the geographical condition of the study sites tends to be the same as
suggested in some previous studies [5,6].

2. Methodology
2.1. Study site
This study was conducted in agricultural areas, north of Progo Watershed. Administratively, the study
site is located in Central Java Province, Indonesia and covers about 417.7 km2 area (Figure 1). Annual

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The International Conference on Smart and Innovative Agriculture IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 686 (2021) 012024 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/686/1/012024

rainfall reaches more than 2,000 mm. Elevation points were scattered from 500 - 1,450 m.a.s.l. The
study site was dominated by farmland, covering more than 80% of the study site.

Figure 1. Map of the Study Site

2.2. RUSLE model

The RUSLE model has been used for soil erosion assessment under various tropical conditions.
Nowadays, RUSLE is mostly combined with GIS and remote sensing technology for soil erosion
assessment [7,8]. The equation of RUSLE is expressed below [9]:
SE = R x K x LS x C x P (1)
−1 −1
where SE is the average annual soil erosion [t ha yr ], R is the rainfall-runoff erosivity factor (MJ mm
ha−1 h−1 yr−1), K is the soil erodibility factor (t h MJ−1 mm−1), LS is the slope length–steepness factor
(dimensionless), C is the cropping management factor (dimensionless), and P is the erosion control
practice factor (dimensionless).
The value of RUSLE parameters was collected from various sources and assigned for five past years
(2015-2019). Those parameters were presented in a raster map in 30 meters of map resolution and
overlaid in map algebra of spatial analyst tool of GIS (software of Arc GIS 10.3). Soil erosion was then
classified into five classes i.e. very low (0-15 t ha-1 yr-1), low (15-60 t ha-1 yr-1), moderate (60-180 t ha-1
yr-1), heavy (180-480 t ha-1 yr-1), and very heavy (>480 t ha-1 yr-1) according to the soil erosion
classification of the Department of Forestry Indonesia in 1998 [10,11].

2.2.1. Rainfall-runoff erosivity factor (R).

Rainfall-runoff erosivity is the potential of soil to be destroyed and flowed by rainwater energy. In this
study, R factor was calculated by using equation 2 as expressed below [12]:
Rm = 2.2 (Rb)1.36 (2)
where Rm is monthly rainfall erosivity, Rb monthly rainfall (cm). Annual Rainfall-runoff erosivity is
the sum of monthly rainfall erosivity. Rainfall data were collected from four rainfall stations in the study
site. R factor values from those rainfall stations were then analyzed by using Inverse Distance Weighting
(IDW) to obtain the mean value of this factor (Figure 2a).

2
The International Conference on Smart and Innovative Agriculture IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 686 (2021) 012024 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/686/1/012024

2.2.2. Soil erodibility factor (K).

Soil erodibility is the susceptibility of soil particles for destruction by rainwater energy. The study site
is covered by latosolic red-yellow soil (Figure 2b). In this study, K value was determined by using a
reference value for some soil types in Java Island [13], where for the study site, the value of K was 0.36
t h MJ−1 mm−1. The soil map was obtained from the water resources office of serayu opak, Indonesia.

(a) (b)

Figure 2. RUSLE R (a) and K (b) factor of the study site

2.2.3. Slope length–steepness (LS) factor.

LS factor reflects the effect of length and steepness of slope on soil erosion. In this study, LS factor
(Figure 3a) was generated from the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) by using equation 3 in Arc Hydro
Tools of GIS [14,15]. DEM SRTM 1 Arc-second in 30 meters resolution gained from the United States
Geological Survey (USGS) was used for LC factor calculation.
LS = (flow acc. × map resolution/22.13)0.5 × (sin slope/0.0896)1.4 (3)
where flow acc. is the accumulated slope effect on the cells, map resolution is the dimension of map cell
size and sin slope is the slope degree of land in sin. Flow accumulation was calculated using the Arc
hydro tool which is available in GIS.

2.2.4. Cropping management (C) and erosion control practice (P) factor.
C and P factors reflect the effect of cropping management and erosion control practice on soil erosion.
In this study, C and P were calculated as CP factors, where the value of this factor was determined from
the reference value of the CP factor of Java Island for some types of land use [12]. Based on the land
use map was obtained from Indonesian Earth Surface Map, there were five types of land use in the study
site such as shrub (CP= 0.1), settlement (CP= 0.2), forest (CP= 0.05), mixed farmland (CP= 0.51) and
rice field (CP= 0.02) as shown in Figure 3b.

(a) (b)

Figure 3. RUSLE LS (a) and CP (b) factor of the study site

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The International Conference on Smart and Innovative Agriculture IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 686 (2021) 012024 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/686/1/012024

3. Results and Discussions

Soil erosion mapping by using GIS enables a quick assessment with more accurate results. RUSLE
parameters were presented in raster map form for soil erosion assessment in spatial analyst tools (map
algebra) of Arc GIS 10.3. GIS divides a raster map into a grid cell (square form) with a map resolution
as the cell size. Quantitative assessment of soil erosion by using the RUSLE model in Arc GIS 10.3
showed that average annual soil erosion in the study site was 71.1 t ha-1 yr-1. This result was a small
difference with soil erosion assessment in Kalikonto watershed, East Java Province (model validation
by using erosion plot) which was resulting in 72.0 t ha-1 yr-1 average annual erosion [16]. While, another
soil erosion assessment study in the Wadaslintang watershed, Central Java Province (model validation
by using field measurement data of soil sediment) was resulting in 67.61 t ha-1 yr-1 average annual
erosion [17]. Kalikonto and Wadaslintang watershed have a similar physical condition (the area is
dominated by farmland) as found in the study site. Soil erosion distribution in the study site in five
different classes is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Soil erosion distribution in the study site

Figure 4 showed that soil erosion with heavy and very heavy was scattered in the northeast and
southwest of the study site. This pattern indicated a dominant effect of land slope on soil erosion
distribution as reported in some previous studies [18,19]. Spatially, the study site was dominated by
areas with very low (53.6% of total area) and low class soil erosion (15.1% of total area). Whereas,
heavy and very heavy classes covered about 8.9% and 1.9% of the total area, respectively. The
distribution of soil erosion in five classes is shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Soil erosion distribution in five different classes
Range (t ha-1 yr-1) Category Area (km2) %
0-15 Very low 223.82 53.6
15-60 Low 63.15 15.1
60-180 Moderate 85.49 20.5
180-480 Heavy 37.08 8.9
>480 Very heavy 8.14 1.9

In general, average annual soil erosion in the study site is in the moderate category (71.1 t ha-1 yr-1).
This finding indicated the increase of soil erosion to heavy and very heavy categories can occur rapidly.
Hence, soil erosion control in the area with heavy and very heavy erosion is required. Soil erosion

4
The International Conference on Smart and Innovative Agriculture IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 686 (2021) 012024 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/686/1/012024

control can be applied easier by focusing on the area with a high land slope. Long-term conservation
scenarios by increasing forest vegetation cover in hilly areas can be applied for soil erosion control in
the existing condition.

4. Conclusions
The present study revealed that the average annual soil erosion in the study site was 71.1 t ha-1 yr-1
(moderate category). Soil erosion with heavy and very heavy was scattered in the northeast and
southwest of the study site where the land slope tended to high. The effect of the land slope factor on
soil erosion was more dominant than the other factors such as rainfall distribution, soil type, and land
use type. The map of soil erosion distribution can specifically show the location of critical areas. Hence,
the priority area for conservation practices programs can be recognized.

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The International Conference on Smart and Innovative Agriculture IOP Publishing
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Directorate of Research Universitas Gadjah Mada for providing fund of this
study through RTA Research Grant 2020.