Soil erosion is most severe in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, especially in developing countries like Ethiopia. Estimating the extent of soil loss and understanding the spatial distribution of erosion‐prone areas are critical for planning and effectively implementing soil conservation measures with limited resources. Accordingly, this study was mainly proposed to determine the soil loss rate and its spatial pattern and identify hotspot areas using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model in Haro Bake Watershed. The result of annual soil loss in the Haro Bake Watershed ranged from 0 to 146.91 t ha −1 yr −1 with a mean annual value of 3.9 t ha −1 yr −1 . The RUSLE model was highly sensitive to the C factor, followed by the P factor. A 20% increase in the C factor reduced its value from 0.28 to 0.22, resulting in a 21.28% decrease in mean annual soil loss (3.07 t ha −1 yr −1 ). Besides, a 20% decrease in the P factor (from 0.34 to 0.27) led to a 20.51% reduction in soil loss (3.10 t ha −1 yr −1 ). Based on mean annual soil loss, SW‐1, SW‐3, SW‐12, SW‐7, SW‐9, SW‐8, SW‐2, SW‐11, SW‐4, SW‐10, SW‐6, and SW‐5 got 1 to 12 priority levels. Two subwatersheds, SW‐1 and SW‐3, with a total area of 9325.49 ha (26.69% of the total watershed area), have been identified as hotspot areas of the watershed since the mean annual soil loss rate surpassed the maximum tolerable soil rate. Particularly, SW‐1 covers an area of 4625.07 ha with a mean annual soil erosion rate of 19 t ha −1 yr −1 , whereas SW‐3 consists of 4700.42 ha and a mean annual soil erosion of 18.4 t ha −1 yr −1 . These two values exceed the maximum tolerable soil loss rate of 11 t ha −1 yr −1 . Therefore, these two subwatersheds require prior intervention to prevent soil erosion and maintain agricultural production.
Tola et al. (Thu,) studied this question.