Soil Erosion Vulnerability Mapping and Implication on Vegetation in Parts of Oshun River Basin, Nigeria

Soil erosion caused by water has been identified as a threat washing away top soil nutrients needed for healthy plant growth. It is thus required to identify and map areas vulnerable to erosion for effective conservation of the natural resources and maintain vegetation health. This research thus analysed soil erosion vulnerability and its implication on vegetation in parts of Oshun river basin, Nigeria. Data used for this research included: Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), LandSat Image, Soil Map, Topographic Map, Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Global Positioning System. All the dataset were integrated into GIS enabled software where Multi-criteria Analysis was used to map soil erosion vulnerability. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was used to assess basin vegetation. The result showed that 86.38% of the basin soil is moderately vulnerable and soil under dense vegetation are less vulnerable to erosion.