Assessing the vulnerability to soil erosion of the Ukai Dam catchments using remote sensing and GIS

The investigation of basins for planning soil conservation requires a selective approach to identify smaller hydrological units, which would be suitable for more efficient and targeted conservation management programmes. One criterion, generally used to determine the vulnerability of catchments to erosion, is the sediment yield of a basin. In India, sediment yield data are generally not collected for smaller sub-catchments and it becomes difficult to identify the most vulnerable areas for erosion that can be treated on a priority basis. An index-based approach, based on the surface factors mainly responsible for soil erosion, is suggested in this study. These factors include soil type, vegetation, slope and various catchment properties such as drainage density, form factor, etc. The method is illustrated with a case study of subcatchments immediately upstream of the Ukai Reservoir located on them River Tapi in Gujarat State, India. The area is divided into 16 watersheds and different soil, vegetation, topography and morphology-related parameters are estimated separately for each watershed. Satellite data are used to evaluate the soil and vegetation indices, while a GIS system is used to evaluate the topography and morphology-related indices. The integrated effect of all the parameters is evaluated to find different areas vulnerable to soil erosion. Two watersheds were identified as being most susceptible to soil erosion. Based on the integrated index, a priority rating of the watersheds for soil conservation planning is recommended.