Water erosion results in sedimentation, which reduces storage capacities in reservoirs and lowers their productive life. To effectively develop strategies for the mitigation of reservoir sedimentation, an assessment of the spatial variation of erosion is necessary. In data-scarce areas, soil erosion proxies such as aggregate stability can be used to map erosion hotspots. To assess the potential of using aggregate stability as a proxy for soil erosion, 90 sampling sites in the Ruiru catchment (Kenya) were selected using conditioned latin hypercube-based sampling. Aggregate stabilities were determined based on mean weight diameter (MWD). Thereafter, digital soil mapping (DSM) of MWD was applied to identify erosion-prone areas. Correlation analysis between MWD, soil properties and covariates revealed that organic carbon had the highest influence (27.9%) on MWD. When comparing the MWDs under different land-uses, areas under cropland and tea plantations had lower MWDs (2.54 ± 0.39 mm and 2.83 ± 0.36 mm, respectively) than forested areas (3.18 ± 0.09 mm) and were more susceptible to aggregate breakdown. A spatial map created using DSM revealed that earthen roadsides had the lowest MWD of 2.07 ± 0.27 mm; thus, highlighting their potential role in contributing to erosion. From our findings, the prediction of aggregate stability appears to be a valuable resource tool to identify erosion ‘hotspots’ and might be used for the development of catchment management plans aiming at mitigation of soil degradation.

水蚀导致沉积，这会降低储层的储存能力并降低其生产寿命。为了有效地制定缓解水库泥沙淤积的策略，必须对侵蚀的空间变化进行评估。在数据稀少的地区，土壤侵蚀代理（例如骨料稳定性）可用于绘制侵蚀热点图。为了评估使用聚集体稳定性替代土壤侵蚀的潜力，使用了条件性拉丁超立方采样法，在瑞茹流域（肯尼亚）选择了90个采样点。根据平均重量直径（MWD）确定总体稳定性。此后，MWD的数字土壤测绘（DSM）用于识别易侵蚀区域。MWD，土壤性质和协变量之间的相关分析表明，有机碳的影响最大（27。9％）。在比较不同土地利用下的MWD时，农田和茶园下的MWD值（分别为2.54±0.39 mm和2.83±0.36 mm）比林区（3.18±0.09 mm）低，并且更容易受到聚集体分解的影响。使用DSM创建的空间图显示，土质路边的MWD最低，为2.07±0.27 mm；因此，强调了它们在侵蚀中的潜在作用。根据我们的发现，对骨料稳定性的预测似乎是识别侵蚀“热点”的宝贵资源工具，可用于制定旨在减轻土壤退化的流域管理计划。09毫米），并且更容易发生聚集体破裂。使用DSM创建的空间图显示，土质路边的MWD最低，为2.07±0.27 mm；因此，强调了它们在侵蚀中的潜在作用。根据我们的发现，对骨料稳定性的预测似乎是识别侵蚀“热点”的宝贵资源工具，可用于制定旨在减轻土壤退化的流域管理计划。09毫米），并且更容易发生聚集体破裂。使用DSM创建的空间图显示，土质路边的MWD最低，为2.07±0.27 mm；因此，强调了它们在侵蚀中的潜在作用。根据我们的发现，对骨料稳定性的预测似乎是识别侵蚀“热点”的宝贵资源工具，可用于制定旨在减轻土壤退化的流域管理计划。