Soil erosion is one of the primary causes of environmental degradation worldwide. The Chemoga Basin—the highlands region in northwestern Ethiopia—has experienced accelerated soil erosion due to changes in land-use and land-cover (LULC) in recent decades. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model was used to quantify the impact of LULC changes on soil loss in the study area. Satellite images from 1987 and 2017 were used to characterize the spatial patterns of LULC changes. All RUSLE factors were mapped on a 30 m × 30 m grid to reflect the natural and environmental conditions of the study area. An expansion of agricultural lands occurred between 1987 and 2017, while the area of natural vegetation cover such as woodlands and grasslands declined. Forest cover has recovered in recent years as a result of afforestation and eucalyptus plantations. Reflecting LULC changes, the total soil loss in the study area was estimated at 2,087,894 t year^–1 in 1987, which increased to 2,112,093 t year^–1 in 2017. Agricultural lands accounted for 89.3% and 90.1% of the total soil loss in 1987 and 2017, respectively. The results showed that slope gradient and elevation are important factors in agricultural land conversion, and thereby influence soil erosion. An understanding of the impact of LULC changes on soil erosion potential is crucial for establishing government policy and action plans to conserve natural resources in erosion-prone areas of the Ethiopian highlands.

土壤侵蚀是全球环境退化的主要原因之一。近几十年来，由于土地利用和土地覆盖 (LULC) 的变化，埃塞俄比亚西北部的高地 Chemoga 盆地经历了加速的土壤侵蚀。修订后的通用土壤流失方程 (RUSLE) 模型用于量化 LULC 变化对研究区土壤流失的影响。1987 年和 2017 年的卫星图像用于表征 LULC 变化的空间模式。所有 RUSLE 因子都绘制在 30 m × 30 m 的网格上，以反映研究区域的自然和环境条件。1987年至2017年间，农业用地扩张，林地、草地等自然植被覆盖面积减少。近年来，由于植树造林和桉树人工林，森林覆盖率有所恢复。反映 LULC 变化，研究区的土壤总流失量估计为 2,087,894 吨/年^{1987年- 1} ，2017年增至2112093吨- ¹年。1987年和2017年农用地分别占水土流失总量的89.3%和90.1%。结果表明，坡度和海拔是农用地转化的重要因素，进而影响水土流失。了解 LULC 变化对土壤侵蚀潜力的影响对于制定政府政策和行动计划以保护埃塞俄比亚高地易受侵蚀地区的自然资源至关重要。