GIS-Based Spatial Modeling of Soil Erosion and Conservation Priority Mapping Using RUSLE in the Diko Watershed, Northeastern Ethiopia.

GIS-Based Spatial Modeling of Soil Erosion and Conservation Priority Mapping Using RUSLE in the Diko Watershed, Northeastern Ethiopia. | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article GIS-Based Spatial Modeling of Soil Erosion and Conservation Priority Mapping Using RUSLE in the Diko Watershed, Northeastern Ethiopia. hamid Mekonenn Fante, Endalkachew Fekadu, Assefa Deginew, Yishak Yiferu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9600423/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Soil erosion remains a major environmental challenge affecting sustainable agriculture and land resource management in Ethiopia, particularly in highland regions. This study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of soil loss and prioritize sub-watersheds for targeted soil and water conservation in the Diko watershed, northeastern Ethiopia. An integrated approach combining Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was applied. Multi-source datasets, including Sentinel-2 imagery, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), rainfall records (2002–2023), and field-based soil data, were used to derive key erosion factors. The estimated annual soil loss ranged from zero to 154.409 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ levels to 154.409 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, with a mean value of 3.06 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹. Although the average soil loss is below the tolerable threshold, significant spatial variability was observed, with severe erosion concentrated in steep slopes and poorly managed lands. Sub-watersheds were categorized into priority classes to guide conservation planning. The findings highlight the importance of spatially explicit erosion assessment for effective resource allocation and sustainable watershed management. Agricultural Engineering Ethiopia GIS Remote sensing RUSLE Soil erosion Watershed prioritization Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9600423","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":633630926,"identity":"8e7db6c3-3cac-44ea-8672-9f822a8fae31","order_by":0,"name":"hamid Mekonenn Fante","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABD0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAyA+wAOhgaCiRo4fRCcUEK3lzDFjyQaQFgP8WhjgWhjbmBM3HICLYwfm7KcTD7zNsTHml24+9riwjc3Y+PzqxA8PDBjk+cUOYNVi2ZO74eDcbWlmknOOpRvPOCcjZ3bj7WYJoMMMZ85OwO6wA7kbDvNuO2xjcCPHTJqnjM3Y7MbZDSAtCQa3cWg5/xak5T9QS/43aR425sTNM85u/oFXyw2wLQfMgLawSfOAvM/fuw2/LTfegvySbCw5Iw3oMGAgS9zg3WaRYCCB2y/nczd/eLvNzrBfIvmZNA8oKvvPbr75o8JGnl8auxYsQAKsUoJY5SDAf4AU1aNgFIyCUTACAAAR9mYa3wNE6wAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4539-4021","institution":"Woldia University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"hamid","middleName":"Mekonenn","lastName":"Fante","suffix":""},{"id":633630927,"identity":"cec9af5d-06e6-4112-b984-72ecc6dd6e8a","order_by":1,"name":"Endalkachew Fekadu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4059-0976","institution":"Woldia University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Endalkachew","middleName":"","lastName":"Fekadu","suffix":""},{"id":633630928,"identity":"8397272d-a4cc-4b48-b3e1-401827f8e517","order_by":2,"name":"Assefa Deginew","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1159-3103","institution":"Woldia University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Assefa","middleName":"","lastName":"Deginew","suffix":""},{"id":633630929,"identity":"288df96e-310b-4619-8fc2-f890e7316854","order_by":3,"name":"Yishak Yiferu","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0001-7311-0601","institution":"Woldia University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yishak","middleName":"","lastName":"Yiferu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-05-03 14:00:44","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":true,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9600423/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9600423/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108493778,"identity":"3ef052e4-e355-47fe-87c8-2976cffc15e3","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 10:01:39","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":686132,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscrpit.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9600423/v1_covered_f06961c0-6d10-4552-8355-acce2c828a42.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGIS-Based Spatial Modeling of Soil Erosion and Conservation Priority Mapping Using RUSLE in the Diko Watershed, Northeastern Ethiopia.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Woldia University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Ethiopia, GIS, Remote sensing, RUSLE, Soil erosion, Watershed prioritization","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9600423/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9600423/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSoil erosion remains a major environmental challenge affecting sustainable agriculture and land resource management in Ethiopia, particularly in highland regions. This study aimed to assess the spatial distribution of soil loss and prioritize sub-watersheds for targeted soil and water conservation in the Diko watershed, northeastern Ethiopia. An integrated approach combining Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was applied. Multi-source datasets, including Sentinel-2 imagery, Digital Elevation Models (DEM), rainfall records (2002\u0026ndash;2023), and field-based soil data, were used to derive key erosion factors. The estimated annual soil loss ranged from zero to 154.409 t ha⁻\u0026sup1; yr⁻\u0026sup1; levels to 154.409 t ha⁻\u0026sup1; yr⁻\u0026sup1;, with a mean value of 3.06 t ha⁻\u0026sup1; yr⁻\u0026sup1;. Although the average soil loss is below the tolerable threshold, significant spatial variability was observed, with severe erosion concentrated in steep slopes and poorly managed lands. Sub-watersheds were categorized into priority classes to guide conservation planning. 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