Study on Soil Erosion Characteristics in Maoming Based on USLE and InVEST Models

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the characteristics of soil erosion in Maoming City. Based on the USLE and InVEST models, annual precipitation, soil texture, 12.5m, and 30m DEMs, and global land use data in 2020 were used to output data on precipitation erosion factor R, soil erosion factor K, land use, watershed range, surface cover management factor C, and soil conservation measure factor P, which were input into the InVEST model to obtain the actual soil erosion modulus and potential soil erosion modulus. The results show that the city is basically in a state of actual soil micro-erosion, accounting for 99.27% of the city; potential soil erosion is strong, extremely strong, and severe, accounting for 4.63% of the city’s total. Soil erosion is closely related to precipitation, soil texture, and human factors, mainly occurring in forests, grasslands, and cultivated land. It is recommended to use different protection measures for cultivated land with different slopes and take effective measures such as water conservancy engineering, biological engineering, and agricultural technology to prevent and control soil erosion.

KEYWORDS: Integrate Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs(InVEST) model; Universal Soil Loss Equation(USLE; land Use-Cover Change,(LUCC); Soil erosion; Soil erosion modulus