Design and Implementation of Soil
Erosion Assessment System in Erhai Lake Basin
Zhengxian Zhao, Shuangyun Peng" and Enwe i Zhang
School of Tourism and Geography , Yunnan Normal University
Kunming , China
2845789924 @qq.com, frankmei@126.com
Abstra ct-The Er hai Lake basin is locat ed in the Yunna n-
Guizhou Platea u, wit h high altit ude and fragile ecological
envir onment. Fre quent man-made activit ies have aggravated soil
erosion in the Er hai Lake ba sin. To solve thi s problem, ba sed on
Universa l Soil Loss Equation (USLE), th e pap er uses Visual
Stu dio 2010 software, combine s the ArcGIS Engine component
library with the .NET platform and uses C# as programming
lan guage to compl ete th e development of soil er osion assessment
system in Erhai Lake ba sin. The system inclu des fou r modul es:
document man agement, fa ctor calculation, er osion analysis and
th emati c map s. Th e oper ati on r esults show that the system not
only meets the needs of user s for soil er osion a ssessment in Er ha i
Lake basin, but also improves work efficiency and slmplifles t he
evaluation procedures for soil erosion. It is of great significance
to protect the ecological environment, promote t he rational use of
resources in Er ha i region and th e susta ina ble development of the
economy.
Keyw ords-soil erosion; USLE; ArcGIS Engine; evaluation
system
1. I NTR ODUCTION
Soil erosion is the process of destruction, erosion, handling
and deposition of soil and wood under external forces such as
hydraulic force, wind force, freezing, thawing and gravity [1].
With China's modernization and the continuous development
of society, people are also destroying the local soil resources in
varying degrees while developing. The problem of soil erosion
limits the sustainable development of the region. Soil erosion
may lead to a series of environmental problems, such as poor
soil, water pollution, intensified soil erosion and land
desertification and so on. In addition, it will also cause the
deterioration of the ecological environment, its harmfulness
can be extended to the whole basin and even wider scope, thus
posing a serious threat to human survival and development [2].
Therefore, the problem of soil erosion has been received more
and more attention from various departments. Different
organizations have also adopted corresponding analysis models
for different regions to study soil erosion in different regions.
At present, the computer and Geographic Information
System (GIS) are closely integrated, so that the soil erosion
model is changed from the slope model to the basin model [3].
GIS has unique advantages in the analysis and statistics of
spatial data and has a strong ability of spatial and temporal
information processing. Therefore, GIS can display the spatial
differentiation of various factors related to soil erosion and
provide the parameters required by the model. There are three
main ways to combine GIS and soil erosion models: loose
coupling, partial coupling and tight coupling [4]. In the loose
* Shuangyun Peng is the corresponding author (e-ma il: frankmei @126.com)
978-1-5386-65 65-7/18/$3 1.00 (f)2018 IEEE
207
coupling stage, GIS only plays an auxiliary calculation role,
and the relative model is independent. In the partial coupling
stage, GIS is an inseparable part of the model, which reflects
the surface parameters. In the close coupling of soil erosion and
GIS, GIS serves as a platform for model operation and
provides various soil erosion analysis functions. Therefore,
based on actual needs, it is necessary to establish, develop and
improve the soil erosion mode to meet the needs of the
research in various regions [4].
The Erhai Lake basin has the characteristics of high
ecological value and high vulnerability. The basin population is
relatively concentrated and economic development is relatively
rapid. The economic development of the basin has a strong
dependence on the resources. The Erhai Lake basin is also a
region where soil erosion is relatively serious. On the basis of
long-term geological action, with accompanied by
inappropriate human activities, serious water and soil erosi0!1
and reduced fertility are caused. The development of a SOl I
erosion assessment system based on ArcGIS Engine can solve
some problems with traditional methods, such as the difficulty
of acquiring erosion factors and the large amount of manpower
and material resources.
II . SY STEM DEVELOPME NT E NVIRONMENT
A. ArcGIS Engine Technology
ArcGIS Engine is a set of embedded GIS component
library and tool library used by developers to build applications.
It contains software development kit (SDK) and runtime. The
former provides developers with tools for client development.
The latter provides the user with a series of component tools
for the development and application environment. The GIS
application developed with ArcGIS Engine can be run without
ArcGIS Desktop. This paper is mainly based on ArcGIS
EnginelO .O to develop a soil erosion assessment system, which
reduces the difficulty of development, ensures the stability of
the system, achieves seamless display of the map, and can be
seamlessly integrated with .NET [5].
B. N ET Framework and C# Programming Language
.NET Framework is a development platform for computer
networks that can meet the functional requirements of different
users for software systems. It can communicate with Web
services to build a software system with excellent performance
and achieve rapid communication between different
technologies [6]. C# is an obj ect-oriented high-level
programming language released by Microsoft. It runs on .NET
Framework [7].
 III . SYSTEM BAS IC THEORY
In this paper, the commonly used general soil erosion
equation (USLE) at home and abroad is used as the theoretical
model. The factor calculation module is used to calculate the
grid maps of each factor, and the factors are superimposed to
calculate the final output soil erosion layer. The model
expression is as follows:
A = R *K *L*S *C * P
In the formula, A-soil erosion, R-rainfall erosivity factor,
C. Slope Length and Degree Factor (LS)
Slope factors affect the formation of surface runoff and the
intensity of soil erosion. In topographic indicators, degree and
slope length have a greater impact on soil erosion. Therefore ,
slope length and degree factor are the external factor which
must be considered in the study of soil erosion force, which
determines the accuracy and reliabi lity of soil erosion research.
The slope length factor is calculated using the formula (4)
(1) proposed by Wischmeier and Smith in 1978.

(22~ 13r
K-soi l erodibility factor, L-slope length factor, S-slope factor,
C-vegetation cover factor, P -water and soil conservation factor. L= (4)
In the formula, L-slope length factor, I-slope length, and m-
A. Rainfall Erosivity Factor (R) slope length index. The value of m is as follows:
The erosion of soils by rainfall mainly includes two aspects:
(1) Rainwater splashes cause different degrees of soil erosion
m O. 2 , j3 < O. 57
during rainfa ll. (2) When the raindrops gather at the surface to m O. 3, O. 5 7 < j3 < 1. 72
form a large runoff, the soil will cause greater erosion. At the
same time, different rainfall, rainfa ll duration, and rainfall
m O. 4, O. 72 < j3 < 2 . 86
patterns are all different for the soil erosion intensity, thus m O. 5 , j3 > 2. 86
rainfa ll erosivity factors playa dominant role in soil erosion. In the formula, ~ is the slope value.
The rainfa ll erosivity mainly measures the potential erosion The slope factor calculation is shown by the formula (5) of
degree of precipitation on the soil. It can use the annual and slope calculation proposed by Zhaolu Zhang et al. in 2007.
monthly rainfall data of the study area to interpo late the spatial
distribution of rainfall erosivity in the whole area. Ra infall S = (65. 41 * s i n" e + 4. 56 si n e + 0.065) (5)
erosivity is calculated using the following formula:
Where 8 is the slope value. Based on the above calcu lations,
R =O.44488p o.96982 (2) the slope length and degree factor calculation equation can be
In the formula, the R-rainfall erosivity coefficient is given obtained as follows:
in units of (Ml.mmj '(hmt.h.a); P -annual average rainfa ll, unit
is mm. LS = (_t._)m *
22. 13
(65.4 1 * s i n'' e + 4.56 si n e + 0.065)
(6)
B. Soil Erodibility Factor (K)
D. Vegetation Coverage Factor (C)
As an intrinsic determinant of soil and water loss intensity,
soil has some properties such as : coarse grain, cohesive force, Vegetation coverage factors play an important role in
grain size, water permeab ility and so on, which affect soil supporting soil and water conserva tion. They are represented
erodibility factor (K) . K reflects the difficu lty of separation, by the following aspects: On the one hand, the branche s and
erosion and transportation of soil by rainfall erosivity [8]. leaves of vegetation can greatly reduce the splash ing effect on
Using the soil type map of Yunnan Province to extract the soil soil caused by the falling of raindrops. On the other hand, the
type map of the Erhai Lake basin, the Wishchmeier and Shirazi root system of vegetation plays a great role in fixing the soil,
EPIC (Erosion-productivity impact calculator) [9] were used to which makes it difficult for the soil to be washed away. Finally,
calculate the K value. The EIPC model is: the litter of vegetation also has a certain weakening effect on
the size and velocity of surface runoff. In the USLE model, the

~~~ J]}
vegetatio n coverage factor is calculated as follows:
K = O. 1317 { O. 2 + 0. 3 exp [-0. 0256SADd ( 1-
l' C = 0

0.25C } ]0,3 (3)

c = c, o < c ~ 0.783
1 0 _ *[ SIL.1 {
0, c > 0 .783 U)
{ . C+ exp ( 3. 72 - 2. 59C) CLA j + SILj
In the formula, C-vegetation coverage factor and c-
0 0.25C } [ S IL. ]0,3 Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI value).
{ 1. - C+ ex p (3 .72 - 2. 59C) * CLAj + 'S I Lj Through data preprocessing, the vegetation coverage area of
the Erhai Lake basin is 1,262 krrr', accounting for 47.89% of
It. 0 - SN1 + ex p (~;.S:{ + 22 . 9NJ } the total area of the Erhai Lake basin, and the C factor
calculation formula is obtained c=o. 6 508-0. 3436 19 c .
S~l = 1 - SAN / 100
In the formula, SADd, SIL i, CLA i and C are sand, powder,
clay, and organic carbon content (%).

208
 IV. O VERALL DESIGN OF SOIL EROSION ASSESSMENT
E. Soil and Water Conservation Factor (P)
SYSTEM
The soil and water conservation measure factor (P) is also
called the erosion prevention measure factor, which is the ratio A. Structural Design of Soil Erosion Assessment System
of the soil loss amount under the protective measures and the
The system structure includes: data layer, technology layer,
unprotected measures under the slope cultivation. The value is
and display layer. The data layer includes: Digital Elevation
between 0 and 1 Between [10]. Based on the research of Wei lin
Model (DEM) data, Remote Sensing (RS) data, soil type data,
Wang et al. [8], P values were assigned to different land types
rainfall data; technology layer includes: development platform,
in the Erhai Lake basin.
development environment and language; display layer includes:
file management, map basic operations , soil erosion analysis.
The structural design of the soil erosion assessment system for
the Erhai Lake basin in Yunnan Province is shown in Figure 1.
r···················································· ·········1
! Erhai Basin Soil Erosion Assessment System ~. I
;, ..
-e I
I

I. !.:~~~.:~.~~~~:~:~:~.::L.~ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.L_.~_.~~_.~~~_.~._::~_~~._:.:_:~:._~_.L_L._::::~.:.~~.:~::
, _ _ _ _ _ _ _._~~::.~.~.~:.~~~=::~~ _ _ _ _ _ . , !...l
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. l
II Development Platfonn II Development environment II Devclopment language I Teclmica1layer ~
r L ·· ·J -i
~ I DEM data II RS data II Soil data I[ Rainfall data I Data layer I
l.•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• J
Figure 1. Soil erosion assessment system

meteorological factor (R), soil erodibility factor (K), degree

B. System Function Design
Using the soil assessment system developed by the U SLE
model for the Erhai Lake basin, various factors can be quickly
calculated, and the amount of soil erosion, annua l sediment
production, and annual erosion intensity can be analyzed and
superposition analysis can be performed. System functions
include four modules: file management module, factor
calculation module, erosion analysis module and thematic map
module . The file management module includes new, open, save,
save as and exit functions. According to the USLE soil erosion
equation, the factor calculation module contains six factors:
factor (S), slope length factor (L), vegetation coverage factor
(C), soil and water conservation factor (P). Erosion analysis
module developed AO 1 potential erosion model, A02 potential
erosion model , Al soil erosion model and A2 soil erosion
model , and annual erosion Intensity, annual sediment
production and overlay analysis; Thematic map module include:
DEM maps of the Erhai Lake basin, ND VI maps of the Erhai
Lake basin, results curves and results reports. System function
design is shown in Figure 2.

Display layer
I
File management module I Factor Ca kulation module I Erosion analysis module Thematic map module
II I
~ .L ,L ,L -l ,L -l ,L I \
.L ~,L ~~ .L ~ -l .i .L
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Figure 2. System function design

eliminates other complex functions and user interfaces of

V. SYSTEM FU NCTION IMPLEMENTATION ArcGIS software. It is easy to operate. It not only meets the
C# language, Visual Studio 2010 software and ArcGIS needs of users in document management, but also achieves the
Engine component library are used to develop the soil erosion effect of watershed soil erosion assessment. At the same time,
assessment system. The system achieves the versatility of the it will provide reference for future developers in developing
function and improves the work efficiency. The system

209
watershed information system. The soil erosion assessment GIS spatial analysis method are applied to realize the
system interface is shown in Figure 3. development of soil erosion system in Erhai Lake basin. The

-
.
system meets the needs of general users, and continuously
improves various functions in the subsequent use ofthe system.

-
__ • _ . 1-_'-::= \ ..-
,- This study is mainly embodied in the following three aspects:
(k -

_::::: \ ..
,, 1lI · ... .. .. t" n :: " .. ~ , ,, . :: I) Analysis of soil erosion in the Erhai Lake basin was
carried out to clarify the follow-up application value of this
: ::::._ .. _ 1'1 O D D ..

system, and the ULSE model was selected as the theoretical

-
basis for the design ofthe soil erosion assessment system in the
.-..- ........ Erhai Lake basin .
Figure 3. Soil erosion assessment system interface
2) Choose the right platform and development language.
With the maturity of programming languages and software
technologies, this system has chosen C# language, which is
VI. ApPLICATION EXAMPLES widely used and has more complete functions.
In order to test the actual application effect of the system, 3) The system developed factor calculation modnle and
the Erhai Lake basin in Dali, Yunnan Province was used as the erosion analysis module. This laid the foundation for
research area. The DEM data and remote sensing data of the subsequent soil overlay analysis and output of results.
Erhai Lake basin were obtained from the geospatial data cloud; The paper mainly focuses on the Erhai Lake basin. It can
the rainfall data were collected from the China Meteorological also be expanded and improved in the following areas:
Data Sharing Service Network, and the land-use data and soil I) The study area is currently confined to the Erhai Lake
type data were collected. Firstly, the data of each factor data basin and can be extended to other watershed soil erosion
are preprocessed, then the factor calculation module is used to studies through functional refinement and performance
calculate each influence factor figure. Finally, the output optimization. This will increase the versatility of the system
erosion figure is calculated by the erosion analysis module. The and expedite the users' efficiency in soil erosion analysis.
meteorological factor is shown as Figure 4. The soil erosion 2) The system can also add other functions based on
figure is shown as Figure 5. After each factor calculation and subsequent user requirements.
erosion calculation, the results need to be visualized. The DEM
map window of the Erhai Lake basin can provide users with ACKNOWLEDGMENT
various thematic maps: Thematic maps of rainfall erosivity in
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
the Erhai Lake basin, Soil Erosion Factor Thematic Maps,
Foundation of China under Grant No. 41561068.
Vegetation Coverage Factor Thematic Maps, Soil and Water
Conservation Factor Thematic Maps, Slope and Slope Length
Factors Maps; The NDVI map window ofthe Erhai Lake basin REFERENCES
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