Erosion control

Agriculture

Ecology

Biology

Geotechnical engineering

Geomorphology

Topsoil

Archaeology

Economics

Erosion

Spatial distribution

Land cover

Geology

Soil water

Paleontology

Estimation

Soil loss

Management

Geography

Hydrology (agriculture)

Agricultural land

Environmental science

Soil science

Remote sensing

Land use

Soil fertility

Universal Soil Loss Equation

Soil conservation

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH

Background Soil erosion causes topsoil loss, which decreases fertility in agricultural land. Spatial estimation of soil erosion essential for an agriculture-dependent country like Nepal for developing its control plans. This study evaluated impacts on Dolakha using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model; analyses the effect of land use and land cover (LULC) on soil erosion. Results The soil erosion rate categorized into six classes based on the erosion severity, and 5.01% of the areas found under extreme severe erosion risk (&gt; 80 Mg ha −1 year −1 ) addressed by decision-makers for reducing its rate and consequences. Followed by 10% classified between high and severe range from 10 to 80 Mg ha −1 year −1 . While 15% and 70% of areas remained in a moderate and low-risk zone, respectively. Result suggests the area of the north-eastern part suffers from a high soil erosion risk due to steep slope. Conclusions The result produces a spatial distribution of soil erosion over Dolakha, which applied for conservation and management planning processes, at the policy level, by land-use planners and decision-makers.

Spatial estimation of soil erosion using RUSLE modeling: a case study of Dolakha district, Nepal