Physical Habitat Assessment of the Ganjal and Morand River Using GIS Techniques

Abstract

Physical habitat is the living space of in-stream biota which is an important factor that can affect both the quality and quantity of available habitat and the structure and composition of resident biological communities. It is a spatially and temporally dynamic entity determined by the interaction of the structural features of the channel and hydrological regime. Ganjal River is a left bank tributary of River Narmada and Morand river is the major tributary of it. At these rivers Physical Habitat Assessment was carried out using USEPA Rapid Bioassessment Protocols to know habitat suitability conditions in rivers for aquatic life thrive in. In the study habitat assessment parameters were scored according to the existing conditions for each section of the rivers and were categorised under four conditions i.e. optimal, suboptimal, marginal and poor. On the basis of result obtained from the study Habitat Suitability Map (HSM) was generated using GIS as an interface and it suggests that the habitat quality of both rivers is suitable for aquatic life.