Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Soil Water Erosion Using Remote Sensing and Gis (Rusle): Case of the Aghien Lagoon Watershed (Côte D'ivoire), 1987-2023

Ouedraogo Mamadi^1, , Dao Amidou¹, Diallo Seydou¹, Kamagate Bamory¹ and Noufe D. Djibril¹

¹Geosciences and Environment Laboratory, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Management, NANGUI ABROGOUA University, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

Cite this paper:
Ouedraogo Mamadi, Dao Amidou, Diallo Seydou, Kamagate Bamory and Noufe D. Djibril. Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Soil Water Erosion Using Remote Sensing and Gis (Rusle): Case of the Aghien Lagoon Watershed (Côte D'ivoire), 1987-2023. American Journal of Water Resources. 2026; 14(3):55-62. doi: 10.12691/ajwr-14-3-1

Abstract

The Aghien Lagoon watershed belongs to the hydrographic system supplying drinking water to the Abidjan metropolitan area in southern Côte d'Ivoire. This study aims to quantify and map the dynamics of soil water erosion in this watershed over the period 1987-2023, using remote sensing and geographic information systems. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was applied, combining five factors: rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), slope length and steepness (LS), vegetation cover (C) and support practices (P). The R factor was estimated from CHIRPS data for four dates (1987, 2003, 2015 and 2023), and the C factor from the corresponding land-use maps. The results show a continuous worsening of erosion: the mean soil loss rises from 22.8 to 59.8 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, while the area subject to extreme erosion expands from 1.2% to 13.7% of the watershed. This dynamic coincides with the retreat of dense forest from 32.4% to 9.0% of the watershed, the fourfold increase of bare soils from 6.6% to 26.8%, and the rise of the mean C factor of emerged land (from 0.26 to 0.44), combined with record rainfall erosivity in 2023 (R = 368.17 against about 228 over 1987-2015): vegetation cover degradation appears as the main driver of erosion, amplified by recent rainfall forcing. These results help identify priority areas for erosion control, within a perspective of sustainable management of a strategic peri-urban watershed.

Keywords:
Erosion Remote sensing GIS RUSLE Aghien Lagoon Côte d'Ivoire

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	J. Poesen, "Soil erosion in the Anthropocene: research needs," Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 43(1), 64-84, 2018.
[2]	E. Roose, Érosion et ruissellement en Afrique de l'Ouest : vingt années de mesures en petites parcelles expérimentales, Travaux et Documents ORSTOM No. 78, ORSTOM, Paris, 1977.
[3]	C.K. Kouakou and A.T.B. Zamblé, "Cartographie et modélisation de l'érosion hydrique dans le bassin versant du N'zi (Côte d'Ivoire) par la méthode RUSLE," Revue Hybrides, 3(5), 162-172.
[4]	A. Traoré, G. Soro, E.K. Kouadio, B.S. Bamba, M.S. Oga, N. Soro and J. Biémi, "Évaluation des paramètres physiques, chimiques et bactériologiques des eaux d'une lagune tropicale en période d'étiage : la lagune Aghien (Côte d'Ivoire)," International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences, 6(6), 7048-7058, 2012.
[5]	K.R. Effebi, A.T.B. Zamblé, J.Y. N’Tain and F. Nguetta, "Analyse et répartition spatiale des principales sources de pollution potentielle de la lagune Aghien, Sud-Est Côte d'Ivoire," Afrique Science, 13(6), 417-434, 2017.
[6]	E.S. Koffi, A. Dao, D.D. Noufé, M. Ouedraogo, N.B. Yeo, L. Seguis and L.D. Gone, "Dynamics of Water Erosion in the Aghien Lagoon Catchment," ESI Preprints (European Scientific Journal, ESJ), 20(33), 187, 2024.
[7]	A. Vrieling, "Satellite remote sensing for water erosion assessment: a review," CATENA, 65(1), 2-18, 2006.
[8]	W.H. Wischmeier and D.D. Smith, Predicting Rainfall Erosion Losses: A Guide to Conservation Planning, USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 537, Washington DC, 1978.
[9]	K.G. Renard, G.R. Foster, G.A. Weesies, D.K. McCool and D.C. Yoder, Predicting Soil Erosion by Water: A Guide to Conservation Planning with the RUSLE, USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 703, Washington DC, 1997.
[10]	C. Funk, P. Peterson, M. Landsfeld, D. Pedreros, J. Verdin, S. Shukla, G. Husak, J. Rowland, L. Harrison, A. Hoell and J. Michaelsen, "The climate hazards infrared precipitation with stations," Scientific Data, 2, 150066, 2015.
[11]	T. Hengl, J. Mendes de Jesus, G.B.M. Heuvelink, M. Ruiperez Gonzalez, M. Kilibarda, A. Blagotić, W. Shangguan, M.N. Wright, X. Geng, B. Bauer-Marschallinger, M.A. Guevara, R. Vargas, R.A. MacMillan, N.H. Batjes, J.G.B. Leenaars, E. Ribeiro, I. Wheeler, S. Mantel and B. Kempen, "SoilGrids250m: Global gridded soil information based on machine learning," PLoS ONE, 12(2), e0169748, 2017.
[12]	H.M.J. Arnoldus, "An approximation of the rainfall factor in the Universal Soil Loss Equation," in Assessment of Erosion, M. De Boodt and D. Gabriels, Eds., Wiley, Chichester, 127-132, 1980.
[13]	K.G. Renard and J.R. Freimund, "Using monthly precipitation data to estimate the R-factor in the revised USLE," Journal of Hydrology, 157(1-4), 287-306, 1994.
[14]	P.J.J. Desmet and G. Govers, "A GIS procedure for automatically calculating the USLE LS factor," Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 51(5), 427-433, 1996.
[15]	D.K. McCool, L.C. Brown, G.R. Foster, C.K. Mutchler and L.D. Meyer, "Revised slope steepness factor for the Universal Soil Loss Equation," Transactions of the ASAE, 30(5), 1387-1396, 1987.
[16]	A. Kamagaté, S. Diallo and K.E. N’Goran, "Quantification of Soil Erosion Using Remote Sensing and GIS: The Case of the Anguededou Watershed," American Journal of Environmental Protection, 15(2), 51-59, 2026.
[17]	J.P.A. Déguy, A.Y. N'Go, H.K. Kouassi, E.G. Soro and A.T.B. Goula, "Contribution of a Geographical Information System to the Study of Soil Loss Dynamics in the Lobo Catchment (Côte d'Ivoire)," Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 6(9), 183-197, 2018.
[18]	L.K. Coulibaly, Q. Guan, T.V. Assoma, X. Fan and N. Coulibaly, "Coupling linear spectral unmixing and RUSLE2 to model soil erosion in the Boubo coastal watershed, Côte d'Ivoire," Ecological Indicators, 130, 108092, 2021.
[19]	N. Coulibaly, B.T.A. Goula, L. Coulibaly and I. Savané, "Modélisation spatio-temporelle de l'érosion hydrique à partir de l'USLE en zone de savane tropicale humide : cas du bassin versant du Bâoulé (Côte d'Ivoire)," European Journal of Scientific Research, 16(2), 213-221, 2007.
[20]	T.M. Akplo, F. Kouelo Alladassi, P. Houngnandan, A. Saïdou, M. Benmansour and H.A. Azontonde, "Mapping the risk of soil erosion using RUSLE, GIS and remote sensing: a case study of the watershed of Zou in central Benin," Moroccan Journal of Agricultural Sciences, 1(4), 2020.
[21]	T.A. Adongo, W.A. Agyare, F.K. Abagale and N. Kyei-Baffour, "Spatial soil loss estimation using an integrated GIS-based Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) in selected watersheds in northern Ghana," International Journal of Engineering, Science and Technology, 11(4), 58-74, 2019.
[22]	A. Aldrees, S.J. El-pateh, S. Dan'azumi and S.I. Abba, "Spatio-temporal soil loss modelling using RUSLE and sediment delivery into a reservoir in a semi-arid region of northern Nigeria," Heliyon, 10(20), e38887, 2024.