| Abstrakt: |
Soil erosion is one of the major environmental issues influencing productivity and soil deterioration. Various erosion agents have contributed to soil erosion in recent years, but flowing water continues to be the primary cause. This study used ten key factors, including the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) methodologies, to assess erosion risk in the Siddheswari River basin. The final erosion map is produced by integrating ten factors within the ArcGIS environment. Results indicate that the extreme soil erosion zone covers 168.70 km2area (19.30%) and scattered over the upper and middle catchment; the high soil erosion region covers 172.58 km2(19.75%) area of the upper, middle, and lower catchment; low and very low erosion vulnerable zones covering 201.07 km2(23.01%) and 100.47 km2(11.50%) areas respectively of the basin’s total area and mainly located near the western boundaries of a watershed and some neglected portions of the upper and middle catchment of the basin. Moderate soil erosion region covering 231.06 km2areas (26.44%) characterized by moderate slope steepness and low-to-moderate vegetation. Spatial predicted soil erosion rate using the RUSLE method also shows a higher erosion rate. The high annual soil loss is observed in the high altitude and sloping regions, precisely in the side slope plateau fringe and denudational slope. The predicted results using AHP and RUSLE methods show that higher altitude areas near upper and upper–middle catchments are more vulnerable to erosion. The conclusion demonstrates that the Siddheswari basin's upper and upper–middle catchment areas have the highest soil erosion concerns. |
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