التقييم المكاني لمخاطر انجراف التربة في منطقة جبل شيرين (أربيل، العراق) باستخدام نموذج RUSLE ونظم المعلومات الجغرافية

Abstract

This study aims to conduct a spatial assessment of soil erosion risk in the Shirin Mountain area, Erbil Governorate, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) within a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) environment. The analysis integrates the principal factors controlling water-induced soil erosion, namely rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), topographic factor (LS), vegetation cover factor (C), and conservation practice factor (P), based on remote sensing data, a digital elevation model (DEM), rainfall records, and soil maps.

The results indicate that annual soil loss rates range between 1.79 and 41.2 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, with high-risk erosion classes concentrated mainly on the northern and eastern slopes characterised by steep gradients and sparse vegetation cover. Conversely, low-risk erosion classes (1.79–5.19 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹) dominate approximately 30.41% of the total study area, whereas high-risk classes account for only 5.89% of the overall area.

The findings contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) by supporting the protection of agricultural land, SDG 13 (Climate Action) by mitigating land degradation associated with intense rainfall events, and SDG 15 (Life on Land) through the conservation of soil resources and fragile mountainous ecosystems. The study confirms that the integration of the RUSLE model with GIS provides an effective decision-support tool for environmental planning and sustainable land management in mountainous regions