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Degraded land can be rehabilitated by applying vegetative conservation or mechanical conservation or the combination of the two approaches. One technique of vegetative conservation is by arranging mulch on the soil surface. Several factors that cause erosion are climate, soil, topographic, land cover (vegetation) and human. They influence erosion rate simultaneously. This study was aimed to determine Erosion Hazard Class (EHC), Erosion Hazard Level (EHL), relationship between rainfall, surface runoff (SR) and Eroded Soil Mass (ESM) and also to determine the organic-matters content. This research was conducted at Education Forest of Forestry Faculty of Mulawarman University Samarinda. There were four Erosion Measurement Plots (EMP) with the similar size of 10 m 2.5 m were established in the study site. One EMP was arranged without mulch and three others were arranged by applying organic mulching on them, the materials were grass (at EMP II), rice straw (at EMP III) and midrib maize (at EMP IV). The ESM that were measured for each plot were 15.27 ton / ha / year, 3.72 ton / ha / year, 3.08 ton / ha / year and 3.79 ton / ha / year, respectively. The EHC was classified as low rate in EMP I and very low in EMP II, III and IV. The EHL was classified light in EMP I and very light in EMP II, III and IV. The study convinces that the application of organic mulch contributed to the enhancement of organic matters content. Therefore, application of organic mulch in the abandoned land in controlling erosion is recommended since this application is easy, effective and cheap (conservationally and economically good).

Sri Sarminah, Dhony Saputra Perdana Sinaga, Rini Crisdayanti and M. Syafrudin