Morphometric and principal component analysis–based prioritization of reservoir catchments using geospatial techniques for land and water conservation aspects in North-West India

Abstract

A study was undertaken to prioritize the six reservoir catchments, viz. C1: Chohal dam, C2: Dholbaha dam, C3: Thana dam, C4: Janauri dam, C5: Damsal dam and C6: Patiaria dam, located in Shivalik foothills of North-West India, using morphometric and principal component analysis (PCA), remote sensing and GIS techniques for land and water conservation aspects. The selected catchments were delineated using high-resolution ALOS PALSAR digital elevation model (DEM) in ArcGIS 10.4.1 software (Archydro tool). The morphometric analysis was found suitable for identifying catchment shapes and the factors affecting hydrologic conditions and erodibility. The lower values of elongation ratio (0.59–0.79), circularity ratio (0.23–0.36) and form factor (0.28–0.64) indicated higher soil erosion potential in the catchments. Moreover, the higher values of stream frequency, drainage density, drainage texture and bifurcation ratio indicated higher runoff potential, which would intensify the soil erosion. The results indicated a successful enactment of both approaches in catchment prioritization. PCA used only highly correlated parameters, thereby reducing the prioritization time. The morphometric analysis followed by PCA-based prioritization was witnessed to be consistent for better decision-making in conservation planning. Thus, remote sensing and GIS-based morphometric analysis followed by prioritization can be highly useful in identifying the critical issues related to water distribution, erosion pattern and groundwater recharge in the most critical reservoir catchment (s). Moreover, in the reservoir catchments where the sediment inflow significantly reduces their storage capacities, such study can be useful in maintaining the maximum reservoir storage volumes through appropriate land and water conservation measures.