Comparison of some detachability indices in relation to soil erodibility ( kusle)‎ for calcareous soils

Abstract EN

The objective of this study was to use some indices related to soil aggregate insteadof soil erodibility factor KUSLE of the universal soil loss equation (USLE) for acalcareous soils.

Twelve composite calcareous soil samples from 0 - 15 cm depthwere collected from 12 different locations at Nineveh provenance.

The selected soilswere analyzed and commonly used for five erodibility indices in order to identify soilerodibility.

These indices are; Clay Aggregation Index (CAI), Clay Dispersion Ratio(CDR), Clay Flocculation Index (CFI), Dispersion ratio (DR), and Erosion Index ofBouyoucos (EIB).

The results show a highly significant positive correlation (r = 0.891**) betweenEIB and KUSLE in comparison to the other criteria which pointed a weak correlation.

Also, the results show through variance analysis that the mean of the criterion EIBvalues (3.651) was very close to the mean of the KUSLE values (3.839).

These resultsmean that EIB is more reliable index for prediction the soil erodibility in calcareoussoils.