Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on soil erosion susceptibility of Jhelum basin in Kashmir Himalayas
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Assessing the influence of watershed characteristics on soil erosion susceptibility of Jhelum basin in Kashmir Himalayas Muzamil Ahmad Rather 1
&
J Satish Kumar 1 & Majid Farooq 2 & Humayan Rashid 2
Received: 27 February 2016 / Accepted: 11 January 2017 # Saudi Society for Geosciences 2017
Abstract Soil erosion, a serious environmental problem, is a global challenge. Once a portion of a fertile soil is lost, it is very difficult to replace it, and this leads to decrease in crop production, damage to drainage networks, and siltation of dams and reservoirs. Human practices like intensive agriculture, overgrazing, and deforestation have intensified the rate of soil erosion all over the world. The Jhelum basin which forms the north-western part of the complex mountain system Himalayas is not only highly vulnerable to natural hazards like earthquakes, landslides, and floods but is also highly susceptible to soil erosion. There is an immediate need to device strategies to reduce adverse impacts of soil erosion and to conserve natural resources like soil, water, and forests by means of proper watershed management programs in the Himalayan region. The present study is carried out for eight upper watersheds of Jhelum basin, an area which are facing serious issues like boulder extraction, deforestation, and unplanned urbanization. The present work demonstrates the use of morphometry, land use, and slope coupled with the multicriteria analytical (MCA) framework to estimate the soil erosion susceptibility of these watersheds using Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System techniques. The present study revealed that out of eight upper watersheds, Arapal, Lidder, and Bringi fall in high priority and need immediate attention and measures to reduce soil erosion in the
* Muzamil Ahmad Rather [email protected]
1
Department of Civil Engineering, SRM University, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu 603203, India
2
Department of Environment and Remote Sensing, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 190008, India
area. Sandran, Rembiara, and Romshii fall in medium priority. Kuthar and Vishav fall in the low-priority category and are least susceptible to soil erosion. Keywords Morphometry . Land use . MCA . Jhelum basin . Susceptibility . GIS
Introduction The soil erosion is a process in which soil particles are detached, transported from original location, and deposited at new areas by means of water and wind. It is a serious environmental problem worldwide affecting the life and property of the millions of people. The soil erosion is a slow natural process; however, at the present time, it has greatly intensified (Lal and Stewart 1990; Morgan 2009). Soil erosion of a cultivated land is a serious threat to the economy of a region (Altaf et al. 2014). The threat increases in mountainous areas like the Himalayas where soil erosion leads to some other natural hazards like landslides and debris flows that lead to huge loss of life and property (Huggel 2004). About 75 billion metric tons of soil is removed every year by wi
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