The New Island-Wide LS Factors of Taiwan, with Comparison with EU Nations

Walter Chen and Kieu Anh Nguyen
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Walter Chen: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan
Kieu Anh Nguyen: Department of Civil Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: Soil erosion is a global environmental challenge that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (UN SDG) #15 wants to address, and the topographic factor, according to the RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) model, is one of the most critical factors causing soil erosion. In this study, we employed three separate digital elevation models of Taiwan, with horizontal resolution ranging from 20 to 90 m, to compute the LS factors based on the upslope contributing areas and multiple flow directions, utilizing the methodologies used by the European Soil Data Centre. This is the first study to create a map of Taiwan’s island-wide LS factors without using a fixed slope length of 40 m. To compare European Union countries with Taiwan, we also calculated their LS means, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation of LS factors. As a result, Taiwan’s high LS values are readily noticeable as compared to the EU. Taiwan’s LS factor is greater than that of any EU country and the United Kingdom, at 2.69 times the EU average. To put it another way, while all other erosive factors are held equal, Taiwan’s average soil erosion is about 2.69 times that of the EU. With an LS factor of 6.95, Austria has the highest average LS in the EU, yet it is 91 percent of Taiwan’s. The findings demonstrate that Taiwan has a far higher mean LS factor than any EU country or the United Kingdom, which helps to partially explain why soil erosion in Taiwan is substantially higher than in the EU.

Keywords: LS factor; upslope contributing area; Taiwan; European Union; soil erosion; SAGA GIS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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