Soil erosion assessment and watershed prioritization using GIS-based RUSLE in lower Shivaliks of Northwest India

Abstract

Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and Geographic Information System were used to evaluate the soil erosion in Rupnagar district located in Shivaliks of north-west India. Input layers including rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), slope length and steepness (LS), cover management (C), and conservation practice (P) factors were developed in ArcGIS. The R factor was obtained from gridded rainfall data of IMD, K factor from FAO soil map, LS factor from ALOS PALSAR DEM, and C from ESRI LULC map. The study area was delineated into seven watersheds (WS-1 to WS-7) based on the map of Soil and Land Use Survey of India. The delineated watersheds were prioritized based on the estimated average annual soil loss (AASL). The AASL of Rupnagar is about 15.43 t ha-1 year-1 with total soil erosion of about 2.1 million tonnes. About 80% of the area experienced very slight erosion, while as 7.15% area experienced severe and very severe erosion. WS-2 experienced highest soil loss of about 274846.5 t ha-1 year-1, hence was assigned first rank for execution of soil conservation measures. The results of the study shall act as a guide for adopting relevant measures for effective control of soil erosion in Rupnagar district.