An Appraisal of Soil Erosion in Dehradun Valley

Abstract

In the recent past, there has been a very rapid increase in the developmental activities in the Himalayas in general and Dehradun Valley in particular. These comprise large-scale construction, roads, mining activity, overgrazing, and deforestation etc. leading to the land degradation. A near exponential population growth has placed a further heavy demand on already limited natural resources. High rainfall coupled with fragile rocks and good relief provides a dense network of stream system. The debris from landslides and mine waste cause inequilibrium in flow regime causing meandering in both mountain and valley streams. These problems pose serious threat to environmental and ecological balance in an already fragile eco-system. Landslide, river sedimentation, disruption to communication lines and depletion of water sources are some of the direct consequences of mass erosion problem. The effect of majority of casualties and other natural hazards due to mass erosion often disrupts economic and social fabric over a much wider area than the hazard site and prompt action is required in order to minimize these losses. There are several mass erosion problems but landslides, mine spoil stabilization and stream bank erosion problems are dominant and therefore selected for the present study.