International Journal of Environmental Science and Development
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Abstract—In arid lands, rainwater harvesting can play an
important role in making more water available since most of the
rainfall runoff evaporates. If rainwater can be collected, it will
form a useful resource. Jordan is classified as one of the poorest
countries regarding water resources with an arid and semi-arid
climate. For these limited and vital sources of water, good
estimation of rainfall runoff quantity and quality can enhance
the sustainability of water harvesting projects. The hydrologic
estimations of runoff quantities and qualities are essential, and
several techniques to achieve that exist. Revised Universal Soil
Loss Equation (RUSLE) is one of the widely used techniques to
assess the soil erosion due to runoff, by assessing other physical
factors that affect the soil loss. RUSLE combined five
parameters to identify the soil loss rate: rainfall erosivity,
topographic, soil erodibility, vegetation cover and management,
and land management. Based on RUSLE results, areas are
classified as a highly soil loss rate if the annual rates exceeded 20
tons per hectare. The Asreh watershed is a 196 km2 area that is
mostly wasted land and receives an annual rainfall between 50
and 300 mm per year. The RUSLE equation inputs parameters
for the study area are found and the equation is applied for the
watershed. Results of RUSLE application on the Asreh
watershed showed that the average annual soil loss rate is about
7.8 tons per hectare, about 73% of the area are classified as low
soil loss rate with less than 10 tons per hectare per year, and
only 13% of the area is classified as a high soil loss rate of more
than 20 tons per hectare per year.
Index Terms—Jordan, soil loss rate, rainwater harvesting,
RUSLE, arid land.
Saad M. AlAyyash is with the College of Engineering, Al al-Bayt
University, Mafraq 25113, Jordan (e-mail: saad.a@aabu.edu.jo).
Cite: Saad M. AlAyyash, "Assessment of Soil Loss Rates in Asreh Watershed (North Jordan Badia) Using RUSLE and GIS," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 10-16, 2021.
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