The following code calculates soil loss due to water erosion using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), tailored for application in West Africa. RUSLE estimates soil erosion by multiplying five key factors: A = R × K × LS × C × P, where:
R represents rainfall erosivity, computed following the methodology outlined by Roose (1977).
K denotes soil erodibility, based on the equations developed by Auerswald et al. (2014, 2016).
LS refers to the topographic factor, calculated using the approach described by Desmet and Govers (1996) and Renard et al. (1997).
C is the cover-management factor, determined according to Durigon et al. (2014).
P corresponds to the conservation practice factor; in this analysis, a value of 1 is used to represent the absence of conservation measures, allowing for the evaluation of a worst-case erosion scenario.
This formulation provides a comprehensive framework for modeling potential soil erosion risk, facilitating targeted land management strategies to mitigate degradation in vulnerable regions.
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