Abstract

NIETO CANARTE, Carlos Alberto; GUERRERO CHUEZ, Norma María; DIAZ PONCE, Mariela Alexi  and  PARRAGA BORJA, Eloysa Mariana. Application of geomatics tools for the identification and assessment of water erosion risk in the Vinces River basin, Ecuador. e-Rev. Multidiscip. Saber [online]. 2025, vol.3, e-RMS09112025.  Epub Dec 10, 2025. ISSN 2960-2467.  https://doi.org/10.61286/e-rms.v3i.297.

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in the Vinces River Basin requires an accurate assessment of water erosion, an environmental challenge intensified by anthropogenic pressure and the geomorphological conditions of the territory. The objective of this research was to apply geomatic tools, specifically Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to implement the empirical model of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and determine both potential and actual erosion, identifying and mapping risk zones. The methodology focused on the geospatial quantification of the five RUSLE factors (R, K, LS, C, and P), through the processing of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) for the Topographic Factor (LS) and the classification of satellite images for the Cover and Management Factors (C and P). The modeling generated two contrasting scenarios: Potential Erosion (absence of cover) and Actual Erosion (real land-use conditions). Results from the potential scenario revealed high geomorphological fragility, with 34% of the basin classified as Extreme Risk (>200 t/ha/year), dominated by the strong influence of the LS Factor (steep slopes). In contrast, the Actual Erosion scenario showed that risk is significantly mitigated by vegetation cover, resulting in 66% of the basin presenting a Very Low risk (<5 t/ha/year). Nevertheless, geospatial analysis precisely identified critical hotspots of active degradation, comprising 1% of the total area (4,716.94 ha), located in the highland-lowland transition zones where steep slopes combine with inadequate agricultural management.

Keywords : water erosion; geomatics; RUSLE; Vinces river basin; GIS.

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