Evaluation of soil erosion caused by changes in land use and land cover with sustainable land use planning (SLUP) model approach

Erosion is a significant problem that affects the efficient use and sustainability of soil resources in terms of land use and management. The aim of this study is to determine the soil losses and erosion risk classes for the sub-watersheds within the boundaries of Tekkeköy district in Samsun province using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) method for the years 1989 and 2020. Additionally, based on the obtained data, it is planned to identify necessary conservation measures to reduce and prevent soil losses in the sub-watersheds using the Sustainable Land Use Planning (SLUP) Model. In this context, firstly, land use and land cover of the watershed between 1989 and 2020 were determined to reveal the temporal changes during these years. In the scope of the study, the grassland use in the watershed covered an area of 12079 hectares in 1989, which decreased to 10094 hectares in 2020. The largest decrease in the watershed was proportionally related to grasslands, with a decrease of 16 %. The highest increase was observed in artificial areas, nearly doubling in a period of 31 years with a percentage of 86. As a result of the study, soil losses for the years 1989 and 2020 were calculated as 2713778.34 tons ha-1 year-1 and 2733957.12 tons ha-1 year-1, respectively. When the changes in land use and soil erosion degree between 1989 and 2020 are examined, it is observed that a significant portion of the increase in agricultural areas is due to changes in pasture areas. As a result of these changes, it is important to take soil conservation measures and make changes in soil management methods in areas with erosion degrees of 4.0 and 5.0.