An assessment to prioritise the critical erosion-prone sub-watersheds for soil conservation in the Gumti basin of Tripura, North-East India

Abstract

Erosion-induced land degradation problem has emerged as a serious environmental issue across the world. Assessment of this problem through modelling can generate valuable quantitative information for the planners to identify priority areas for proper soil conservation measures. The Gumti River basin of Tripura falls under humid tropical climate and experiences soil erosion for a prolonged period which has turned into a major environmental issue. Increased sediment supply through top soil erosion is one of the major reasons for reduced navigability of this river. Thus, the present study is an attempt to prioritize the sub-watersheds of the Gumti basin by estimating soil loss through the USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) model. For that purpose, five parameters of the USLE model were processed, computed and overlaid in a GIS environment. The result shows that potential mean annual soil loss of the Gumti basin ranges between 0.03 and 114.08 t ha year. The resultant values of soil loss were classified into five categories considering the minimum and maximum values. It has been identified that low, moderate, high, very high and severe soil loss categories occupy 68.71, 8.94, 5.86, 5.02 and 11.47% of the basin respectively. Moreover, it has been recognised that sub-watersheds like SW7, SW8, SW12, SW21, SW24 and SW29 fall under very high priority class for which mitigation measures are essential. Therefore, the present study recommends mitigation measures through terrace cultivation, as an alternative of shifting cultivation in the hilly areas and through construction of check dams at the appropriate sites of the erosion prone sub-watersheds. Moreover, proper afforestation programmes that have been implemented successfully in other parts of Tripura through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Joint Forest Management, and National Afforestation Programme should be initiated in the highly erosion-prone areas of the Gumti River basin.

Soil Erosion Modeling and Comparison Using Slope Units and Grid Cells in Shihmen Reservoir Watershed in Northern Taiwan

“…Due to the amount and intensity of the rainfall, the rainfall erosivity value of Taiwan is many times higher than the global average obtained by Borrelli et al [2], making water erosion a very serious concern in Taiwan. In fact, not just in Taiwan, the concern of soil erosion has been evident in many published studies in different parts of the world, including Europe [3,4], the US and Mexico [5,6], mainland China [7,8], India [9,10], Africa [11,12], Australia [13,14], etc. A steady increase in the number of studies on soil erosion in the last few years has also prompted a few regional and global studies that provide a bigger picture of the emerging crisis [2,[15][16][17].…”

Restoring Riparian Ecosystems During the UN-Decade on Ecosystem Restoration: A Global Perspective

“…The breaks in the canopy of the riparian corridor will lead to species isolation, especially of arboreal wildlife. Integrating topo-hydrological factors and riverine morphometric data into the NDVI and temporal changes in the vegetation is effective in prioritising the potential zones for watershed management and restoration activities (Sinha et al 2008;Aher et al 2014;Ahmed et al 2017;Arabameri et al 2018;Rahmati et al 2019;Huylenbroeck et al 2020). In the restoration phase, hydrological modeling provides information on the intensity of discharge, possible flood areas, and sedimentation.…”

Soil Loss and Reservoir sedimentation assessment of Kaddam watershed using Geographical Information systems and Remote sensing Techniques

“…According to a literature analysis, the USLE or RUSLE model, which incorporates RS and GIS data sets, is used to predict soil erosion in various places around India by Vipin Joseph Markose and Jayappa (2016) employed in the Kali River basin, Karnataka, India, Kulhan Watershed, Chattisgarh by (Devatha et al, 2015), Jhagrabaria watershed, Uttar Pradesh In India by (Rawat et al, 2016), Gumati River basin by (Ahmed et al, 2017), Brahmani River Basin Altuma Catchment, Odisha, India by (Dash et al, 2021), plateau fringe region of the tropical environment by (Mahala, 2018). However, it is not limited to India; various researchers have conducted several studies to evaluate soil erosion and watershed prioritisation utilising remote sensing and GIS employing USLE or RUSLE and Sediment Yield Index (SYI).…”