Abstract

AbstractSoil erosion is utmost problem that emerges from drastic changes in land use and land cover by different degrees of anthropological activities. Soil scientists and policymakers are interested to estimate potential volume and spatial variation of soil erosion for useful planning and conservation purposes in the management of a river basin. The Subarnarekha basin (24,196 km2: 85°08′–87°32′ E, 21°15′–23°34′ N) extends over the states of Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal with the maximum length and width of 297 km and 119 km, respectively. The soil erosion through the RUSLE model has been generated by multiplying all the required input thematic maps of the model in GIS platform. The potential soil erosion and the actual soil erosion maps have been derived by multiplication of the thematic maps in raster calculation through Arc GIS using the R, K, LS, C, P-factor maps, respectively. Based on the analysis using RUSLE, GIS, and remote sensing, average potential soil erosion of Subarnarekha river basin was found to be 195.11 metric tons per hectare per year (Mg or tons ha−1 year−1). Obtained average annual soil loss distribution was subsequently grouped into five erosion intensity classes like slight, moderate, high, very high, and severe.KeywordsSubarnarekha river basinSoil erosionRUSLE modelErosion intensity zones

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