PRIORITIZATION OF WATERSHEDS FOR PERSPECTIVE LANDUSE PLANNING USING REMOTE-SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION-SYSTEM

Present study envisages the usefulness of soil information, derived fr om enhanced geocoded digital remote sensing data of IRS LISS II (Scale 1: 50,000), in combination with terrain slope, and watershed informat ion generated from topographical maps (1: 50,000), and aerial photogra phs (1: 25,000) for assessment of severity of sail erosion in 125 micr o-watersheds of Kishanganj tehsil of Rajasthan. Thematic maps on soil, watershed and slope were digitized using AutoCAD software and convert ed to image file for working at ARC/INFO GIS environment. Area weighte d averages of different soil types within the watersheds were ranked a ccording to their erodibility and integrated with slope information an d delivery ratio to arrive at Sediment Yield Index (SYI) values, which were further grouped into four categories (very high, high, medium an d low). Terrain physiography and soil data obtained from interpretatio n and analysis of remotely sensed data can be effectively used in the framework of land evaluation for qualitatively assessing soil erosion hazard and priority watersheds.