## 1 Introduction  
Soil erosion is one of the most important worldwide issues, which is caused mainly by natural factors (wind, water, and snow) and can be accelerated by anthropogenic activities [1], exceeding in some cases the amount of soil regeneration [2]. Accordingly, in some parts of the Mediterranean region, erosion is reaching an irreversible level, while in other places no more soil is left. In fact, as soil formation is a slow process, any soil erosion exceeding 1 t ha\({}^{-1}\) yr\({}^{-1}\) can be considered irreversible within a time span of 50-100 years [3]. A representative example of the Mediterranean region is the island of Crete in Greece. Due to the intensification of olive culture and improper agricultural management practices by the olive farmers, significant land degradation and reductions in soil fertility have been noticed [4]. The above-mentioned inappropriate agricultural management, in combination with the Mediterranean climate and the topography, can seriously enhance soil erosion. Hence, spatial and quantitative assessments of soil erosion contribute to soil erosion control and conservation practices. Soil erosion is defined by [PERSON] et al. [3] as the natural process of the transportation of soil particles across a given surface. Consequently, the soil loses its nutriments, which leads to poor soil fertility and productivity, significantly affecting the sustainability of agricultural land use. The average amounts of soil erosion all over the world are predicted to be around 12 to 15 t ha\({}^{-1}\) yr\({}^{-1}\)[5]. The major physical factors that influence soil erosion are climate, topography, and soil characteristics. Land in the Mediterranean region is very susceptible to erosion due to its climate, characterized by dry summers, which weakens the soil, and mild to wet winters with heavy rainfall, which considerably erodes the topsoil, essentially in steep slope areas. Since soil erosion is a worldwide concern, a number of models have been developed in the last decades in order to estimate soil erosion rates. Soil erosion modeling delivers both quantitative and qualitative assessments of the phenomenon regarding the different conditions [6; 7]. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) is the one most widely used to assess soil erosion rates. In fact, the RUSLE model integrates largely available data (such as rainfall, topographic maps, and satellites images) and provides consistent results. The application of the RUSLE model in several catchments in Crete, Greece, showed consistent results compared to the findings for other Mediterranean catchments with similar characteristics. Furthermore, the RUSLE results were highly correlated with geomorphic, tectonic, and hydrolithological characteristics of the catchments [3; 8]. Further to the importance of the soil erosion issue, landscape fragmentation has the same significance in terms of environmental issues; thus, it is required to quantify the changes in landscape patterns due to soil erosion over time. Accordingly, landscape metrics represent a useful method to estimate the spatial landscape changes and fragmentation using satellite-based land cover classification. The analyses of the pattern changes through time enable the correlation between landscape patterns and soil erosion rates to be determined. Recent studies have investigated the land cover compositions within catchments to detect variations in soil erosion and sediment yield. In fact, land cover patterns within a catchment can have a significant role in assessing the hydrological connectivity processes and sediment transportation; hence, determining the relationship between land cover patterns and soil erosion processes is essential for catchment management [9]. Since soil, landscape, and geomorphology are closely related, morphometric analysis is a useful method for identifying the major morphometric parameters that influence soil erosion and for defining the most threatened locations. A recent study by [PERSON] et al.