Prioritization of the Baitarani River Basin by Using WSA and PCWSA Based on Morphometric Parameters

A study was conducted on the soil erosion process in the Baitarani River Basin in peninsular India, using two distinct methodologies based on drainage basin morphometry. The study covered 16 sub-basins, and evaluated the soil erosion dynamics using sixteen linear, areal, shape, and relief features. Weighted sum analysis (WSA) and a hybrid model named principal component based weighted sum analysis (PCWSA) were used to analyse the morphometry data and establish the likelihood of soil erosion occurrence. The results showed that based on the WSA approach six, four and six sub-basins had low, moderate and high flood priorities respectively, while based on the PCWSA technique five, six and five sub-basins had low, moderate and high flood priorities respectively. For quantitative validation MLR models were obtained using these two approaches based on USLE model based annual average soil erosion magnitude, and the derived values exhibit acceptable accuracy (48.2% and 55.2% respectively) in modelling soil erosion. The results showed that the PCWSA approach could produce better accuracy with only six principal components, compared to the WSA method with six uncorrelated factors. For qualitative validation, satellite data based Modified soil-adjusted vegetation index (MSAVI) map was applied which confirmed satisfactory agreement with the proposed approach.