JOURNAL OF GEOGRAPHY, sa.41, ss.93-107, 2020 (SCI-Expanded)
Soil is one of the most important natural resources in the world. Determination of soil degradation has been widely attempted all over the world in the last
50 years. This study provides a perspective of comparing the digital elevation model (DEM) in terms of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)
model, which calculates soil loss in Mountain Karadağ - Akçay Basin. RUSLE comprises the topographic (LS), climatic (R), vegetation (C), soil (K), and support
practice (P) parameters. To evaluate soil loss in the Akçay Basin, TanDEM-X12m. DEM was used and compared with ALOS12.5m and SRTM30m. DEM.
Distribution of soil loss has a positive correlation with slope degree (R2
= 0.62) and rainfall and runoff factor (R). As the elevation increases in the short range
(15 km) from south to north in Akçay Basin, the rainfall and runoff increase together with elevation. The tributaries of the trunk river (Akçay) were
characterized by a narrow and incised V-shaped valley, and this gave rise to increase in the LS factor in the short range. This phenomenon shows that the
LS factor is one of the most important factors with regard to triggering factors. According to the TanDEM-X12m-based DEM, the mean annual soil loss is 28
ton ha−1 ya−1 from the basin.
Keywords: Soil Loss, Rusle, TanDEM-X12m DEM