Prioritization of Sub-Watersheds for Soil and Water Conservation in Parts of Narmada River through Morphometric Analysis Using Remote Sensing and GIS

GIS-based prioritization of sub-watersheds of Hoshangabad and Budhni industrial area, Madhya Pradesh, India were carried out to describe the importance of morphometric parameters in the field of water and soil conservation. In the study, four sub-watersheds were prioritized through geomorphologic analysis for soil and water conservation. Topographic maps 55 F/9, 55 F/10 and 55 F/13 on scale 1:50,000 were used to evaluate the drainage characteristics of watershed. SRTM DEM data has been processed for slope analysis and delineation of sub-watersheds. LISS-III, IRS data was processed for land use/land cover analysis. Soil map has been generated by processing of NBSS & LUP soil map. The various morphometric parameters evaluated in each sub-watershed includes drainage network, drainage geometry and texture analysis and relief parameters in ArcGIS. Each sub-watershed has been prioritized by assigning ranks using compound parameter. After prioritization, land use, soil type and slope classes of each sub-watershed were integrated to propose suitable soil and water conservation structures at appropriate places. It has been suggested that the proposed soil and water conservation structures must be executed on priority basis to reduce the adverse effect on the land and environment. The study shows that classification and prioritization of sub-watersheds are very relevant, supportive and useful in the watershed, where there is high diversity in agricultural practices, soil texture and land cover. Thus, priority wise execution of the proposed soil and water conservation structures will not only reduce the soil erosion but also increase the surface and groundwater availability in the area. Therefore, prioritization of these sub-watersheds is found very helpful for soil conservation and management of groundwater in the watershed.