ABSTRACT

Soil erosion is considered as one of the serious worldwide environmental problems due to its economic implications. Assessment of soil erosion in the watershed is cumbersome due to its uneven pattern and quantifying the soil loss is imperative for conservation, planning, and management of natural resources. There are several models to estimate the soil loss. They are employed based on costs, areal extent, data availability, time, and required accuracy. In the present study, the USLE model is used to estimate the total soil loss in the Zuari River basin with the help of geospatial tools as the region is subjected to soil erosion. Thematic layers of R-factor, K-factor, LS factor, C factor, and P factors are generated and multiplied in a raster calculator to estimate the total soil loss in the basin. The soil loss in the region varies from 0.63 to 23.05 t/ha-1/yr-1.The region is categorized as low, moderate, severe, and extreme soil erosion areas based on the amount of soil loss. Zuari watershed is also divided into ten sub-watersheds to estimate the soil loss in each sub-basins for better assessment of soil erosion. Results illustrate that the soil erosion in SW6 and SW7 is higher. These basins are in the eastern part of the study area that forms the Western Ghats with rugged and dissected, highly elevated topography, whereas the region close to the mouth of the river with low altitude constitute SW1 and SW10 experience lesser amount of soil erosion. These results will assist decision-makers to frame the appropriate policies to conserve soil resources. Keywords: Zuari River Watershed, USLE Model, Remote sensing and GIS, Soil erosion
Publication date: 15/01/2022

https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2022/January/MS_IJBPAS_2022_JAN_SPCL_1041.pdf

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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2022/11.1.1041