Geospatial techniques and PCA-based prioritization of reservoir catchments located in Shivalik foot-hills of Indian Punjab for land and water conservation

Abstract

Abstract Nine reservoir catchments (Chohal, Damsal, Dholbaha, Januari, Maili, Nara, Patiaria, Selaran and Thana) located in Shivalik foot-hills of Indian Punjab were prioritized using geospatial techniques and principal component analysis (PCA) for soil and water conservation planning. The selected catchments were demarcated using a digital elevation model (DEM) of 12.5 m resolution (ALOS PALSAR) in ArcGIS 10.4.1 software. The higher values of shape parameters (Ff > 0.78, Re > 0.8 and Cc ≥ 1) indicated circular shapes of Saleran and Nara dam catchments with high peaks for a shorter duration, from where the flood flows cannot be easily managed. These basins indicate coarse drainage density (Dd = 2.0–4.0 km km−2). The relative relief (Rrel) was also computed to the highest (0.124) for Saleran and Nara dam catchments, respectively. The geospatial techniques-based morphometric analysis helped to identify the shapes of the reservoir catchments including the factors affecting hydrological conditions and soil erodibility. The PCA application simplified the prioritization process via a reduction in the number of parameters. Thus, geospatial techniques-based morphometric analysis coupled with PCA-based prioritization is significant to identify the most critical reservoir catchment in a region for conservation planning. The study would be useful for implementing appropriate soil and water management measures in the highly prioritized reservoir catchment.