The AA. use geological mapping and cluster, principal component, and factor analysis to group soils in the Taleghan Drainage Basin in Iran and subsequently determine their erodibility. Physical and chemical properties that might impact soil
erodibility were used to create a matrix of soil properties and parent material. Application of cluster analysis and factor analysis to the data allowed identification of 3 geological (parent material) clusters. To investigate the mutual effect of land use
and parent material on soil erodibility, a soil erodibility factor was obtained for 3 land use types in each cluster: rangeland, cropland (irrigated), and dry-land farming (nonirrigated). The study suggests that geological and land use maps provide a useful