Assessment of rainfall-induced soil erosion rate and severity analysis for prioritization of conservation measures using RUSLE and Multi-Criteria Evaluations Technique at Gidabo watershed, Rift Valley Basin, Ethiopia

Soil erosion due to rainfall is the most dominant form of land resources deterioration in many parts of the world, including Ethiopia. Hence, assessing soil rate and understand-ing its major drivers are vital to implementing management interventions. This study in-tended to assess soil erosion rate, severity analysis of hotspot areas and prioritize it using Geographic Information System (GIS) based Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and multi-criteria Evaluation analysis Methods for Gidabo watershed, Rift Valley basin, Ethiopia. The Rainfall, Soil, land use/cover, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and support practice data were used as input parameters of this study. The result revealed that the mean annual soil loss of the watershed was 44.2 t ha -1 yr -1,and it was found to be above the tolerable soil erosion rate. The outcome indicated that 6.8% (21909.6 ha) of the water-shed categorized under high to severe ( > 10 t ha -1 yr -1) and need urgent mitigation mea-sures. The study also demonstrated that the upstream parts of the watershed were more threatened by soil erosion risk due to the area's steep slope and rugged landforms. There-fore, mapping erosion hotspot areas would be helpful to watershed management planner and decision makers for prioritization of watershed management plan. It is too early to say that the finding would help policymakers plan and implement erosion mitigation measures to curb land degradation and support sustainable development in the Gidabo watershed and the Rift Valley basin in general.(c) 2022 European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.