Assessment of soil erosion in a monsoon-dominated mountain river basin in India using RUSLE-SDR and AHP |
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| Authors: | Jobin Thomas Sabu Joseph K P Thrivikramji |
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| Institution: | 1. EWRE, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India;2. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, India;3. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, India;4. Centre for Environment and Development, Thiruvananthapuram, India |
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| Abstract: | The long-term average annual soil loss (A) and sediment yield (SY) in a tropical monsoon-dominated river basin in the southern Western Ghats, India (Muthirapuzha River Basin, MRB; area: 271.75 km2), were predicted by coupling the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) and sediment delivery ratio (SDR) models. Moreover, the study also delineated soil erosion risk zones based on the soil erosion potential index (SEPI) using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique. Mean A of the basin is 14.36 t ha?1 year?1, while mean SY is only 3.65 t ha?1 year?1. Although the land use/land cover types with human interference show relatively lower A compared to natural vegetation, their higher SDR values reflect the significance of anthropogenic activities in accelerated soil erosion. The soil erosion risk in the MRB is strongly controlled by slope, land use/land cover and relative relief, compared to geomorphology, drainage density, stream frequency and lineament frequency. |
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| Keywords: | soil erosion RUSLE sediment delivery ratio analytic hierarchy process (AHP) Western Ghats India |
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