I'm working in a research project whose objective is to predict annual soil erosion using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE). I have calculated all the factors of RUSLE model except K-factor with the data provided by the respective department. Now it seems much challenging to calculate the K-factor as I only have the soil data related to soil texture classes. But according to the equation below the proportions of different soil particles (%silt, %fine sand, %clay )are of course needed to calculate the K-factor
K-factor formula: К = 2.77 10-7 M 1.14 (12 – a) + 0.0043 (b – 2) + 0.0033 (4 – c)
where: M = {%(silt + fine sand)} . {100 - %clay}, a is %OM, b is the soil structure class and c is the soil profile permeability class)
Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can calculate the K- factor?
Renard et al. (1997) has an equation where you can estimate K based on the geometric mean particle size. Soil texture information gives you the ability to quantify the GM particle size in a relative sense.
Md Rabiul Islam Let me assume that you are making an assessment of soil erosion using RUSLE and you are calculating the parameters with the help of GIS or if you are not working with GIS, either way this answer is going to help you.
Just visit the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation, U.S.A.) database and download digital soil map of the world (DSMW) from there. This is a global map with soil classification all over the world. Extract your study area and look for the soil type and the FAO code for the soil, also you will get an excel file containing all the information about the soil type, for eg; %sand, %silt, %clay, and %OM etc.
If you are familiar with the soil type of your study area then check for the FAO classification code and take the values from the file I have attached with this answer. I hope it will help you.
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@Kaushik you may find the following article useful.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10661-020-08688-2
Article Assessment of Water-Induced Soil Erosion as a Threat to Natu...
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