RESEARCH ARTICLE
Integrating sediment connectivity and stream power index with RUSLE for modelling soil erosion dynamics in a large Himalayan basin under modern and future climate scenarios
Shobhit Singh,
Somil Swarnkar,
Rajiv Sinha,
Shobhit Singh
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
Search for more papers by this authorSomil Swarnkar
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, India
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Rajiv Sinha
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
Correspondence
Rajiv Sinha, Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorShobhit Singh,
Somil Swarnkar,
Rajiv Sinha,
Shobhit Singh
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
Search for more papers by this authorSomil Swarnkar
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, India
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Rajiv Sinha
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
Correspondence
Rajiv Sinha, Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorFirst published: 06 March 2025
Funding information: Aqualogus and Oiltech Engineering, Grant Number: TMT/TAWI/001/18.
Abstract
Soil erosion in mountainous catchments is one of the most serious problems and, combined with monsoonal rainfall, triggers several disasters such as landslides, flash floods, debris flows and siltation in river channels. The Himalayan basins are particularly susceptible to erosion because of their unique geological, topographic and geomorphological settings. Human-induced perturbances such as road construction, tunnelling, dams, reservoirs and other infrastructure projects have further increased soil erosion, impacting millions of people in these regions. The Tawi River in the western Himalayas is an important tributary of the Indus River system. It is characterized by a large mountainous catchment prone to severe erosion and a relatively smaller alluvial part that is prone to flooding. We have used an integrated approach of soil erosion modelling (RUSLE) and geomorphic analysis, including sediment connectivity and stream power distribution to compute sediment transport potential (STP). We then combine soil erosion modelling and STP results to compute the Soil Erosion and Transport Index (SETI) for assessing soil erosion dynamics in the Tawi basin. The SETI shows a strong correlation with sediment yield estimates, confirming its reliability in assessing sediment transport dynamics in the study area. In this novel approach implemented in a GIS framework, we have further investigated the impact of climate change on soil erosion and its dynamics. Our results show that the Tawi basin is extremely diverse in terms of erosion and sediment yield owing to variable topographic, geomorphic and landcover characteristics of the subbasins. Topographic steepness (LS factor) has the highest contribution towards soil erosion followed by crop and management (CP) factor in most subbasins. Further, we show that soil erosion rates will be accelerated under future warming climates by 6–67% compared to modern rates for the mountainous and transitional subbasins, whereas the alluvial subbasins will not be impacted much. Accordingly, soil erosion dynamics and associated hazards are likely to be intensified in the mountainous and transitional basins. The alluvial basins will remain unaffected in terms of soil erosion dynamics, but the flood risk is likely to be increased manifold because of accelerated sediment flux and channel aggradation.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Open Research
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
All data used in this study are available in the public domain, and their sources are listed in Table 1. Any further information can be requested from the authors.
Supporting Information
| Filename | Description |
|---|---|
| esp70032-sup-0001-Supplementary.docxWord 2007 document , 18.7 MB | Figure S1: (a) Topographic Ruggedness Index map, (b) Topographic Position Index map, (c) Normalized height map, (d) Hill height map (e) Slope. Figure S2: Correlation analysis between SPI and IC. Figure S3: Results of correlation analysis between LS factor and IC. Figure S4: Showing the classification scheme to prepare Soil erosion transport index (SETI) Maps. Table S1: Definitions of DEM derivatives. Table S2: The distribution of five classes of Soil erosion (Historical) for different sub basins, values represent number of pixels, to calculate area (m2) multiply with (250x250). Table S3: The distribution of five classes of sediment transport potential (STP) for different sub basins, values represent number of pixels, to calculate area (m2) multiply with (250x250). Table S4: The distribution of five classes of Historical soil erosion dynamics (SETI index) for different sub basins, values represent number of pixels, to calculate area (m2) multiply with (250x250). |
Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.
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