Research on sensitivity evaluation of soil erosion based on GIS in Jixi County

Abstract

Sensitivity of soil erosion is the representative of the possibility of occurring soil erosion under natural conditions. Sensitivity evaluation of soil erosion is the reliable method to identify the highly sensitivity areas and evaluate the sensitivity degree in a particular area. This paper uses the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) and GIS technique which has powerful space analysis functions for extracting the factors of soil erosion, making thematic maps and building the model to research the sensitivity of soil erosion in Jixi County. According to the characteristics of geography in study area, the key sensitivity factors of the soil erosion were defined, which include rainfall erosivity factor, soil erodibility factor, slope factor and vegetation cover factor. The aim of the article is to explore the space distribution characteristics of soil erosion in Jixi County.