Degradasi Lahan Akibat Erosi pada Areal Pertanian di Kecamatan Lembah Seulawah Kabupaten Aceh Besar

The Evaluation of Land Degradation by Erosion in Agricultural Area at Lembah Seulawah Sub-distrik Aceh Besar Abstract: Land has a large potential in supporting human life activities. It can be used as agricultural areas or settlements; however, by the time it changed functionally. This research was aimed at finding out levels of agricultural land degradation treatment caused by erosion on agricultural land and defining the proper conservation measures for sustainable land utilization, and especially analyzing levels of land degradation caused by erosion in agricultural land on Lembah Seulawah, Aceh Besar District. Land mapping unit was developed based on land utilization map, soil type map, and topography map with scale 1 : 60.000, then overlaid to find out Land Utilization Type (LUT), based on uniformity of land-forming variables. Results showed that there were 4 classifications of erosion hazard levels, i.e. light hazard erosion level (L) found in LUT 5,6,7 and 8, medium hazard erosion level (M) found in LUT 4, heavy hazard erosion level (H) found in LUT 2 and 3, and very heavy hazard erosion level (VH) found in LUT 1. Land use referrals in maintaining preservation actions are by applying vegetative and mechanical methods of conservation. Selection and management of planting pattern, cover crop planting, and uses of plant waste as mulch are recommended on the L and M levels. Development of tree crops (estate and industrial crops) and no agricultural uses are recommended on H and VH levels, respectively.Abstrak: Lahan memiliki potensi besar dalam menunjang aktivitas hidup manusia. Lahan tersebut bisa dijadikan sebagai areal pertanian maupun pemukiman penduduk, sering kali dalam perkembangannya terjadi perubahan fungsi-fungsi lahan dimaksud. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui tingkat degradasi lahan akibat erosi pada lahan pertanian dan menentukan arahan korservasi yang tepat sehingga pemanfaatan lahan dapat berkelanjutan di Kecamatan Lembah Seulawah Kabupate