Identification of erosion-prone watersheds for prioritizing soil and water conservation in a changing climate using morphometric analysis and GIS

Natural and human-induced hazards, such as soil erosion, have significant impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, and water quality worldwide. Prioritizing watersheds is essential for effective hazard mitigation, as managing large areas simultaneously is often impractical and costly due to limited resources. Evaluating morphometric parameters and identifying erosion-prone areas are key to managing hydrological responses, such as surface runoff, which are closely tied to watershed characteristics. This study assessed soil erosion susceptibility in seven sub-watersheds (SWs) within the Jemma sub-basin (JSB) of the Abbay Basin, Ethiopia, using morphometric parameter analysis and GIS. A Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with a 12.5 × 12.5-meter resolution was used to delineate watershed boundaries and extract the stream network through ArcMap 10.8.2 software. The SWs were ranked based on a compound value derived from various morphometric parameters. The analysis ranked the SWs as follows: SW-5, SW-2, SW-1, SW-7, SW-3, SW-6, and SW-4, with SW-5 and SW-2 requiring the highest priority for soil and water conservation measures, while SW-4 showed relatively good resilience. In the most erosion-prone SWs, structural and non-structural conservation practices should be implemented, guiding decision-makers to allocate resources effectively based on these priorities.