Project

Predicting Soil Loss and Sediment Yield in Upper Cauvery Sub-Basin: A GIS-Based Approach

Soil erosion is a major environmental threat caused by the combined effect of geo-environmental factors and anthropogenic activity, which can undermine the sustainability of land and water resources. Climate change is considered to be a major factor exacerbating soil erosion. This study focuses on understanding the impact of climate change on soil erosion in the Upper Cauvery Sub-basin using the RUSLE model to identify the soil erosion-prone areas. As a preliminary work, the spatio-temporal estimation of soil erosion and the impact of climate change is quantified using the data from the global climate model (GCM) for the study region. The estimated soil loss in the Upper Cauvery Sub-basin has been classified into five major classes such as very low, low, moderate, severe, and very severe with values less than 20 t/ha coming under very low, and values greater than 1000 t/ha comes under very severe conditions. A slight decline in soil erosion is observed as part of this study. The proposed work also focuses on quantifying the sediment yield to develop proper reservoir management practices and also to identify better practices as a recommendation to the community.  

Amrita Team Mebers

• Mr. Balmukund Singh, Research Associate, WNA
• Mr. Hariprasad KMl, MTech Student, WNA

Name of the International Collaborators : Dr. Roshni Thendiyath, Associate Professor, National Institute of Technology, Patna, India