Autonomous UAV Photogrammetry for Soil Erosion Mapping: Integrating USLE and GIS in Construction Sites

Abstract

Soil erosion at construction sites poses significant environmental and economic risks, yet its assessment is often neglected due to short project timelines and limited monitoring practices. This study presents an integrated approach combining unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry, the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE), and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to enhance spatially explicit soil erosion assessment and support erosion and sediment control planning (ESCP). High-resolution aerial imagery acquired with a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone was used to derive detailed topographic and land-cover information, while rainfall erosivity and soil erodibility factors were obtained from established literature sources. These datasets were processed in ArcGIS to generate high-resolution soil erosion maps for a 10.5-acre construction site in Port Dickson, Malaysia. The results indicate a 7% reduction in maximum predicted soil erosion following the implementation of targeted control measures, including slope regrading and surface covering. The findings demonstrate that UAV–GIS–USLE integration enables precise identification of erosion-prone zones and provides a quantitative basis for evaluating the effectiveness of erosion control measures. This improves decision-making for construction site management and strengthens compliance with Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) guidelines. Overall, the proposed methodology enhances ESCP effectiveness by enabling data-driven monitoring, improved spatial analysis, and systematic evaluation of soil erosion mitigation strategies.