Predicting of soil erosion with regarding to

rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility

Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 1930, 020054 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5022948
Published Online: 02 February 2018

Zuliziana Suif, Mohd Amirun Anis Ab Razak, and Nordila Ahmad

ARTICLES YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

Stability performance and interface shear strength of geocomposite drain/soil systems

AIP Conference Proceedings 1930, 020049 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5022943

Flexural behavior of the fibrous cementitious composites (FCC) containing hybrid fibres
AIP Conference Proceedings 1930, 020052 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5022946

Implementation of safety signage to ease transportation system in disaster prone area

AIP Conference Proceedings 1930, 020060 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5022954

AIP Conference Proceedings 1930, 020054 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5022948 1930, 020054

© 2018 Author(s).
 Predicting of Soil Erosion with Regarding to Rainfall
Erosivity and Soil Erodibility
Zuliziana Suifa), Mohd Amirun Anis Ab Razakb) and Nordila Ahmadc)

Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Sungai Besi
Camp, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
a)
Corresponding author: zuliziana@upnm.edu.my
b)
amirun.anis@gmail.com
c)
nordila@upnm.edu.my

Abstract. The soil along the hill and slope are wearing away due to erosion and it can take place due to occurrence of weak
and heavy rainfall. The aim of this study is to predict the soil erosion degree in Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia
(UPNM) area focused on two major factor which is soil erodibility and rainfall erosivity. Soil erodibility is the possibilities
of soil to detach and carried away during rainfall and runoff. The “ROM” scale was used in this study to determine the
degree of soil erodibility, namely low, moderate, high, and very high. As for rainfall erosivity, the erosive power caused
by rainfall that cause soil loss. A daily rainfall data collected from January to April was analyzed by using ROSE index
classification to identify the potential risk of soil erosion. The result shows that the soil erodibilty are moderate at MTD`s
hill, high at behind of block Lestari and Landslide MTD hill, and critical at behind the mess cadet. While, the highest
rainfall erosivity was recorded in March and April. Overall, this study would benefit the organization greatly in saving cost
in landslide protection as relevant authorities can take early measures repairing the most affected area of soil erosion.

INTRODUCTION
The soil erosion process is where the soil loss from land it happens in slope or hillside all over the country in the
world. This natural disaster was occurring because of few factors such as water erosion, sheet erosion, rainfall erosivity
and soil erodibility. These natural disaster has been a natural threat to human being all over the world and it give a
bad impact for all the human especially the loss of lives, disruption of infrastructure, the destruction of the landscape
and it will disturb other agriculture system.
Water has been identified as a major cause of soil erosion problems, compared to wind [1]. Malaysia, due to its
tropical rainforest climate relatively has a hot and humid condition throughout the year and thus is identified to be
prone to soil erosion. An average annual rainfall exceeding 2000 mm in Malaysia is above the global average. The
highest annual rainfall ever recorded in the history of Malaysia was 5293 mm [2]. Heavy rainfalls can have adverse
eơects on soil particles because it heightens the ability of raindrops to detach particles. This phenomenon, also known
as rainfall erositivity, greatly depends on rainfall intensity, kinetic energy and seasonal distribution of the rain as an
impetus [3].
The resistance in the soil against erosion is called as soil erodibility and the value depends on several factors such
as the level of infiltration, organic matter content and the structure of soil are all important, as they interact, directly
and indirectly, with rainfall to produce ponding water in soil surface depressions and surface runoff [4]. The best
known model in evaluating the amount of erosion loss is the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). This model
expressed mathematically all variable factors that influenced soil erosion such as rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility,
topography and soil conversion particles. It estimates the total soil loss due to sheet and rill erosion on a single slope.
The main objectives of this study were the following: (1) to estimate the degree of rainfall erosvity factor in
Universiti Pertahanan Nasinal Malaysia (UPNM) area and (2) to estimate the degree of soil erodibility factor in
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) area.

International Conference on Engineering and Technology (IntCET 2017)

AIP Conf. Proc. 1930, 020054-1–020054-6; https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5022948
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-1622-2/$30.00

020054-1
 STUDY AREA
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) is located at Kem Perdana Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. The
earth surface of the study area is hilly. Hilly surface normally has a high probability for the soil erosion to occur. There
are many factors that cause the soil erosion to happen. However, there are two major factors stressed in the study are
rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility.
The soil sample taken at four different places in UPNM. First location at the slope of the Maktab Tentera Diraja
(MTD) hill’s against the Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) field, the second location was at behind
of Lestari block and the third location was on the slope of the hill located at the behind of the Mess Cadet. Forth
location was located at the landslide MTD Hill. Figure 1 shows the four different locations.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

FIGURE 1. Locations for soil ample (a) Slope of MTD, (b) Behind of Lestari Block, (c) Mess Cadet, (d) Landslide at MTD hill

METHODOLOGY
This experimental study will focus on the soil erosion. For this study, it involves two major factor which is rainfall
erosivity and soil erodibility. Data that needs to be collected are the sample of soil and the rainfall data. The rainfall
data obtained by collecting at the weather station for four months starting from January 2017 until April 2017. While,
soil data were collected from four locations. Soil from these four locations will be taken to the lab for two tests which
is sieve analysis test and hydrometer analysis test. The rainfall data were collected from UPNM weather station to
relate the soil erodibility and rain erosivity. The data collected are used to interpret the factor of soil erosion.

Soil Erodibility
Sample soil from every location will be taken and brought to the soil lab for being tested. Figure 2 shows the
procedures for determining the soil erodibility assessment.

020054-2
 Select the locations

Collect samples of soil at each location

Carry out the experiment of sieve

analysis and hydrometer test

Observe and record the data

Use the EIROM Equation and "ROM"

l

Observe and record the data

FIGURE 2. Steps of Soil erodibility

Based on an equation used to determine Bouyoucos erodibility index [5] has led to the development of EIROM
equation.

The new Equation (2) [6] is developed based on Equation (1). The new equation is more realistic and
significant value of the soil erodibility index can be used simultaneously with its risk category as shown in Table 1,
to indicate the degree of soil erodibility.

TABLE 1. ROM scale soil erodibility category

ROM Scale Category
< 1.5 Low
1.5 – 4.0 Moderate
4.0 – 8.0 High
8.0 – 12.0 Very High
> 12.0 Critical

TABLE 2. Design scale of soil erodibilty

Own Design Scale Category
< 15 Low
15.0 – 25.0 Moderate
25.0 – 35.0 High
35.0 – 45.0 Very High
> 45.0 Critical

020054-3
 Soil erodibility for UPNM area was classified according to the suitability of land using its own scale to classify
the occurrence of landslides in the area because of the ‘ROM” scale produce high data that is not appropriate in the
UPNM. equation still uses only scale to measure probability occur landslides using own design scale in UPNM
area.

Rainfall Erosivity
The next method was collecting the data of rainfall at the weather station UPNM. The data will be collected twice
a month. The data will be collected during two seasons which is the rainy season and the dry season. This method was
conducted to prove the kinetic energy of the rain contributed the major cause of soil detachment and enhancing erosion
process. The product of total rainfall energy of a storm and its maximum 30 minutes rainfall amount is used to
determine the best single rainfall related to the soil loss. All the data are collected and be observed for the determine
soil erosion. Figure 3 shows the procedure in determining the rainfall erosivity values.

Rainfall event (amount & duration)

Rainfall parameters analysis

Rainfall Intensity, I

Rainfall energy, E

Maximum 30 minutes rainfall amount, I30

Rainfall erosivity, R

FIGURE 3. Steps of rainfall erosivity

Equation (3) [6] is used to calculate the rainfall intensity, I of a certain rainfall event

By using Equation (4), the particular rainfall kinetic energy, E can be calculated by obtaining the rainfall
intensity of a rainfall event.

where, I = rainfall intensity (cm/h).

The rainfall erosivity value of a certain rainfall event will need the maximum 30 minutes, rainfall amount is to
be taken into account. This 30 minutes rainfall amount is defined as the most critical amount of rain that falls within
30 minutes interval which generated the maximum rainfall intensities in a rainfall event.
The rainfall erosivity can be finally determined in equation 5 by multiplying the product of rainfall kinetic energy
and maximum 30 minutes rainfall amount of the rainfall event.

020054-4
where E = rainfall kinetic energy (tonne m/ha.cm) and = 30 minutes maximum rainfall amount (cm).
The final outcome of this analysis would be the rainfall erosivity value in tonne.m 2/ha.hr which represents the
amount of soil loss caused by the rainfall effect on the surface of the soil. This method clearly shows the significant
threshold of rainfall that can contribute to the erosion included landslide occurrence. The rainfall erosivity categories
with respect to ‘ROSE’ Index [5] are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3. Rainfall erosivity category (‘ROSE’ index)

‘ROSE’ Index (MJ.mm/ha.hr) Category
< 5000 low
5000-10000 moderate
10000-15000 high
15000-20000 very high

From the results, shows that the factor of the rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility play an important role of the
degree of soil erosion.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Rainfall Erosivity Assessment

Based on the rainfall data collected for 4 months, it can be seen that the highest possible risk of rainfall erosivity
based on daily rainfall amounts are in March and April whereby the lowest risk is during January and February.
Rainfall erosivity assessment done based on based on 60 minutes interval of rainfall data which has been categorized
as low, moderate, high and very high. The erosivity of rainfall seriousness was determined by summation of high and
very high rainfall erosivity. It can be seen that the total percentage of high and very high rainfall erosivity for during
4 months is 2.57 and 0.63 respectively shows in the Fig. 4. It shows that the possibility of soil erosion with regard to
rainfall erosivity is lower because percentage of low rainfall erosivity is very higher than percentage of high and very
high rainfall erosivity.

Monthly Rainfall Erosivity

100
Percentage of Category

80
60
(%)

40
20
0
Low Moderate High Very High

Category

FIGURE 4. Percentage of monthly rainfall erosivity

Soil Erodibility Assessment

Meanwhile, the soil textural composition and degree of erosion value in UPNM area are summarized in Fig. 5.
The data show that the degree scale of erosion in UPNM area was categorized as 30.9, 25.12, 117.55, 22.8 of high,
high, critical and moderate classification for behind a block of Lestari, landslide of MTD’s hill, behind mess cadet
and MTD’s hill respectively. Based on the data, it clearly shows that the area behind the mess cadet experienced higher
erosion risk compared to three other places. The result clearly stated that smaller particle size and large surface area

020054-5
of soils allow it to hold more water. In another explanation, a soil in higher percentages with silt and clay particle or
named fine soil which has a higher water holding capacity has a greater erodibility than sandy soil.

Soil Erodibility Scale

140 Critical
[]
120
Degree Scale of Erosion
100
80
60 High
40 High [] Moderate
[] []
20
0
Behind of Landslide of Behind of MTD's Hill
block bestari MTD'S Hill Mess Cadet

Sample of each location

FIGURE 5. Soil erodibility scale based on “ROM” scale

The erosion risk of the location behind the mess cadet according to the “Rom” scale can be seen in Fig. 5. The data
stated that the degree of erosion of the area behind the Mess Cadet was classified as a critical risk of erosion. Besides,
there was no low risk of erosion category found in UPNM area. The reason for this occurrence is because the type of
soil contains a higher percentage of sand. Sandy soil is also known for its low cohesive force and thus more prone to
detach and transported by water. In addition, high sandy soil encourages higher rate of water permeability into the soil
so, as a concluded, the sandier the soil, the easier it will erode.

CONCLUSION
The research concludes that soil has more percentage of sand could have a higher hazard failure. That is justified
and confirmed by way of "ROM" scale equation in which maximum of the soil samples had been categorized as
excessive and vital in the degree level of soil erodibility consequently leading to certain area failure.
Consequences also display that for rainfall erosivity values recorded low, moderate, excessive and very excessive,
the soil erosion potential in UPNM area is at risk and vice versa. To erosiveness of rainfall displays the degree of soil
erosion in regards to rainfall erosivity evaluation. It may be used as a device in indicating the degree of soil erosion at
the UPNM vicinity.
In addition to this, suitable rehabilitation program and mitigation degree may be proposed to prevent severe
circumstance on the UPNM area in the near future particular soil erosion. With this significant finding, appropriate
mitigating measures can be proposed to avoid extending serious condition of the UPNM area particular in preventing
soil erosion failure. Thus, it would assist the university in phrases of cost saving in soil protection. Besides that, the
relevant government to the respective challenging soil erosion regions can take early measures to overcome soil
erosion failure.

REFERENCES
1. M. J. Singer and D. N. Munns, Tropical Ecology 49, 113-119 (1999).
2. National Hydraulic Research Institution of Malaysia (NAHRIM), “Derivation of probable maximum
precipitation for design floors in Malaysia,” Technical research publication no. 1, NAHRIM, 2008.
3. C. Caracciola, M. Napoli, F. Porcu, F. Prodi, S. Ditrich, C. Zanchi and S. Orlandini, Journal Irrigation
Engineering 138, 461-469 (2012).
4. Y. Naimah and Z. A. Roslan, Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur Research Journal 1, 46-52 (2013).
5. G. J. Bouyoucos, Agronomy Journal, 54, 464-465 (1962).
6. Y. Naimah and Z. A. Roslan, WIT Transactions on the Built Environment 150, 67-77 (2015).

020054-6