Estimation of Sediment Yield and Selection of Suitable Sites for Soil Conservation Measures in Ahar River Basin of Udaipur, Rajasthan using RS and GIS Techniques

• DOI: 10.1007/s12524-011-0081-7
• Publication Date: 2011-02-11T14:18:14Z
• Authors: Deepesh Machiwal; S. K. Srivastava; Sadhna Jain
• Keywords: Drainage density; Elevation (ballistics)

The present study aimed at quantification of sediment yield for Ahar River basin of Udaipur district in Rajasthan, India by a regional empirical model using RS and GIS techniques. The land use/land cover (LULC) map of the study area was prepared by supervised classification using satellite imagery of IRS-P6 LISS III. Overall accuracy of the prepared LULC map was 90.78%. The major portion of the study area (49%) is covered with rangeland. Slope map for the study area was developed using digital elevation model. The slope in most of the study area (40% of the total area) ranges from 1% to 4%. In addition, drainage density map of the study area was generated on micro-watershed basis. The study area is covered by a dendritic pattern of drainage which shows that rocks in the area are homogeneous and uniformly resistant to water flow. The drainage density in the study area is 1.11 km km−2. Annual sediment yield of the study area was quantified by Garde model. The mean annual runoff and sediment yield for the area was 37.58 million m3 and 8,760 m3/year, respectively. Finally, appropriate sites for construction of soil conservation measures are suggested using Boolean logic analysis method on combined slope and drainage maps.