Morphometric analysis and prioritization of sub-watersheds in a hilly watershed using weighted sum approach

Abstract

In this study, morphometric analysis of 14 hilly sub-watersheds (SWs) of Naula watershed located in upper Ramganga River basin, Uttarakhand State, India, was done using remote sensing (RS) and geographical information system (GIS). The morphometric parameters used for sub-watersheds prioritization were watershed area, perimeter, stream order, mean stream length, basin length, bifurcation ratio, drainage density, stream frequency, texture ratio, mean length of overland flow, form factor, circularity ratio, compactness coefficient, and elongation ratio. The cross-correlation analysis between morphometric parameters was performed and tested at 5% level of significance. The priority rank and category (very high, high, moderate, low, and very low) for each sub-watershed were assigned based on compound factor value. The value of compound factor for each sub-watershed was calculated using weighted sum approach (WSA). The results of this analysis illustrated that the 20.34% area under highly susceptible sub-watersheds (SW-5 and SW-10) needs appropriate soil and water conservation measures for its development and management.