Prioritization of sub-watersheds based on morphometric and land use analysis using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Abstract

Watershed prioritization has gained importance in natural resources management, especially in the context of watershed management. Morphometric analysis has been commonly applied to prioritization of watersheds. The present study makes an attempt to prioritize sub-watersheds based on morphometric and land use characteristics using remote sensing and GIS techniques in Kanera watershed of Guna district, Madhya Pradesh. Various morphometric parameters, namely linear and shape have been determined for each sub-watershed and assigned ranks on the basis of value/relationship so as to arrive at a computed value for a final ranking of the sub-watersheds. Land use/land cover change analysis of the sub-watersheds has been carried out using multi-temporal data of IRS LISS II of 1989 and IRS LISS III of 2001. The study demonstrates the significant land use changes especially in cultivated lands, open scrub, open forest, water bodies and wastelands from 1989 to 2001. Based on morphometric and land use/land cover analysis, the sub-watersheds have been classified into three categories as high, medium and low in terms of priority for conservation and management of natural resources. Out of the seven sub-watersheds, two sub-watersheds viz., SW1 and SW6 qualify for high priority, whereas SW7 has been categorised as medium priority based on the integration of morphometric and land use change analysis.

Assessment of morphometric characteristics of Chakrar watershed in Madhya Pradesh India using geospatial technique

“…It shows overall steepness of a drainage basin and is an indicator of the intensity of erosion processes operating on slopes of the basin (Javed et al 2009). The Rr value of CW is 0.01 while values of 9 SW are given in Table 4.…”

Hydrological investigations in the semi-arid Makhawan watershed, using morphometry

“…For these reasons, the first-order streams called ''fingertip'' by Horton (1945) or ''exterior links'' by Shreve (1966) and Tarboton et al (1991) should be included in drainage network studies. Many authors pointed out this in their studies (Horton 1945;Melton 1957;Lubowe 1964;Krumbein and Shreve 1970;Mark 1983;Javed et al 2009;Khanday and Javed 2016). Because of this, an attempt has been made in the present study to use remote sensing and SRTM data for updating these fingertip drainages.…”

Geomorphological analysis and prioritization of sub-watersheds using Snyder’s synthetic unit hydrograph method

“…Standard geocoded false color composite of the Indian remote sensing satellite (IRS-1C) LISS III (PathRow 096-055) having spatial resolution 23.5 m was procured from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad. Besides, secondary information/data were collected from Javed et al (2009), Thakkar and Dhiman (2007) and Biswas et al (1999). Limited ground truth verification was carried out in some areas of the watershed.…”

“…Morphometric analysis could be used for prioritization of sub-watersheds by computing linear and shape parameters (Biswas et al 1999). Several studies in the recent past have been done on prioritization of watersheds (Aher et al 2013;Allen et al 2001;Arun et al 2005;Bera and Bandyopadhyay 2013;Javed et al 2009;Katiyar et al 2006;Khan et al 2001;Martin and Saha 2007;NookaRatnam et al 2005;Rashid and Sahu 2014;Reddy et al 2004;Shrimali et al 2001;Singh et al 2014;Suresh et al 2004;Thakkar and Dhiman 2007;Tripathi et al 2013;Vittala et al 2008). For assessment of erosion, several empirical models based on the geomorphological parameter were developed in the past for quantifying the sediment yield (Chowdary et al 2013;Jose and Das 1982;Misra et al 1984).…”