Integrated GIS-based soil erosion assessment and conservation planning for sustainable watershed management in the Comoro Basin, Timor-Leste
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55749/ijewre.v1i1.168Keywords:
GIS, Land conservation, MUSLE, RUSLE, Soil erosion, Watershed managementAbstract
Soil erosion and land degradation have become critical environmental challenges in Timor-Leste due to rapid land-use change, deforestation, and unsustainable watershed management practices. The Comoro Watershed, one of the priority river basins in Timor-Leste, has experienced increasing surface runoff, erosion, and sedimentation that threaten water resources sustainability and ecosystem stability. This study aimed to assess spatial soil erosion rates and develop integrated land conservation strategies based on water resource management using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), and the Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation (MUSLE). Spatial analyses were conducted using rainfall, topography, soil type, and land-use data for the 2021 land-use condition in the Comoro Watershed. The estimated annual soil erosion rate reached 27.1 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, with the RUSLE model providing the most representative erosion estimation. Areas with steep slopes, sparse vegetation cover, and intensive land conversion exhibited the highest erosion susceptibility. To reduce erosion risk, integrated watershed conservation measures were developed through vegetative and mechanical approaches within an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) framework. Vegetative conservation strategies included the designation of protected areas, buffer zones, perennial crop cultivation, and agroforestry-based land management. Mechanical conservation was proposed through the construction of a check dam in the Comoro River. The conservation scenario significantly reduced the estimated erosion rate to 0.73 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, indicating the effectiveness of integrated land conservation planning for erosion mitigation. The study demonstrates that GIS-based erosion modeling combined with integrated watershed conservation planning provides an effective approach for sustainable land and water resource management in tropical watershed systems, particularly in developing countries such as Timor-Leste.
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