MODELING APPROACH IN SOIL EROSION RISK ASSESSMENT AND CONSERVATION PLANNING IN HILLY WATERSHED USING REMOTE SENSING AND GIS

The present study was employed within Geographic Information System (GIS) environment to predict erosion risk following semi-empirical Morgan, Morgan & Finney (MMF) model. The digital elevation map (DEM) derived from SRTM was used as the base for topographic- related analyses in the model. The soil, land use, and other related input parameters of the model were derived using remote sensing data. In the watershed, 36.9 percent of area is under agriculture whereas 35.7 per cent areas covered with forest. The croplands were predicted to the average soil loss of 10.5 to 21.1 t/ha/yr whereas in Shiwalik hills it ranges from 25.3 to 44.32 t/ha/yr. Area under soil erosion risk with moderate, high and very high was estimated to 33.4 %, 26.0 % and 2.92 %, respectively. The erosion risk assessment was used as input to assess the land capability in the watershed. Shiwalik hills were assessed to land capability class of VI, VII and VIII whereas most of the piedmont plains were assessed to land capability class III. Spatial distribution map suggesting appropriate conservation measures was generated to prevent the soil erosion and further degradation of land. 1