Dear Authors,

The article Geospatial assessment of soil erosion intensity and sediment yield using the RUSLE model presents the applicability of the classic RUSLE and GIS in order to identify areas vulnerable to land degradation in an area in Pakistan.

The overall assessment of the paper is good, not earth-shattering. The English of the manuscript needs to be checked by a native English speaker. At this stage, I would recommend Major Revisions; because there are some issues that need to be corrected and are highlighted below:

Introduction section – this section needs to be documented in a much detailed manner. There are plenty of articles that you can cite that refer to soil erosion/land degradation. I could recommend some, but not limited to:

https://doi.org/10.3390/land9010028

https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083417

https://doi.org/10.3390/w10081077

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.11.018

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.124

I do not think it is necessary to make a separate section named “Literature Review”, because this is the whole point of the Introduction section. To make an overall assessment of the existent literature, identify the gaps and propose “methods of mitigation” for that (hence, your study). Try to merge them into the Introduction Section.

L16: after RUSLE, there should be a comma

L19: is that value low or high? Please, mention

L21: correct will be “The very high class represents 8%, 16%....”

L30: correct will be “Soil erosion represents the detachment….”

L33: and how much is by the wind? Please, mention

L50: “M.ha” means a million hectares? If yes, please mention in the beginning, or write “mil. ha” and keep it the same throughout the entire manuscript

L64: correct is “…considered a basic step”

L74: I think that saying “the exact quantity” is a bit too much. What we are doing/calculate are estimates. Please, correct the entire phrase

L77-79: there are some repetitions in this sentence. Please, rephrase

L79: correct is “…with the highest values of soil erosion…”

L80:”…will be useful…”

The Literature Review Section now fits very well starting with line 44, then continue with “According to P. Chuenchum…”

L117: I think you mean “a tributary of Kabul River”

L119: “it has a length of about…”

L122: please, mention the source of your DEM and the resolution. As this is highly relevant for your study

L122-124: rephrase. “Originated”? it does not originate from there anymore?

Figure 1: please, add more details to the map (neighbouring countries, districts/provinces). Mention the 3 separate figures from Figure 1 in the text (as a, b, and c). Also, the upper image in Figure 1, could also be represented as Figure 2. Please, use earth tones (from light green to dark brown). Add the main drainage network, mentioning them in the map. Also, add the names of the main mountain chains that you mention in the Study Area section

L138: “In this study, with the help of…the estimation of soil erosion is made”

It is mandatory that you mention your input data source and their resolution (DEM, Geological data, etc.)

Figures 4 to 8 are to be merged into one single Figure. Please, increase the size of the coordinates on the margins, and the scale (this is valid for figures 4-8, which are to be merged into one figure)

For Figure 8 or 9, please add at least the human settlements as polygons, so that we can have an idea around which cities are the highest values of soil loss

L281: please mention the output resolution of your maps (valid for Fig. 8 and 9)

L332-333: since you are in the Discussion section, please discuss a bit the values that you mention here. Are low, are they high? Compare them with published studies from other parts of Pakistan, if available, and if not available, please compare them with other areas across the globe with similar meteorological conditions. This will offer your study a better context and a higher chance to be cited in the future.

L349: please mention where this watershed is located, compared with the one in this study

L376: not probably, most likely

The References are not formatted according to the instructions for authors of ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf.: titles are not written in italic, the journal name is, there is no p. for pages; and the use od DOI is highly indicated. Therefore, adhere to the Instructions for Authors for References as well!!!

Good luck with the review!

Dear Editor,

The authors have done a good job of reviewing the first version of their manuscript. I am satisfied with the way they did it.

Kind regards.