Drainage morphometry based sub-watershed prioritization of Kalinadi basin using geospatial technology

•Sub-watershed prioritization is crucial for better watershed management.•Morphometric parameters are effectively used for watershed prioritization.•Geospatial technology is essential in watershed management.•The research helped to identify the erosion-prone areas.•The results can be used by decision makers for watershed management. Watershed management is an essential part to achieve sustainability. In the case of large watersheds, management and conservation practices cannot be implemented efficiently over the entire area due to inadequate human resources and financial support. Therefore, prioritizing the sub-watersheds and implementation of management practices would be a viable technique to ensure sustainability within the watershed. In this study, sub-watershed prioritization is carried out for the Kalinadi basin based on erosion susceptibility using morphometric analysis. SRTM DEM is used to extract stream network and delineate the sub-watersheds using ArcGIS software. Further, the Kalinadi basin is divided into eight sub-watersheds and morphometric analysis performed. In the current study, for prioritizing the sub-watersheds, nineteen morphometric parameters are considered which include linear, aerial and relief aspects. The results of linear, aerial and relief parameters of every sub-watershed are given with ranks based on their influence on soil erosion and then subjected to compound parameter analysis which is used to prioritize each sub-watershed. The morphometry-based prioritization findings demonstrate that Sub watershed-8 (SW-8), SW-4 and SW-5 face high risk, SW-6, SW-7 and SW-2 face medium risk whereas SW-3 and SW-1 face a low risk of soil erosion. The results can be used by the decision-making authorities to plan and implement the watershed management practices optimally to control soil erosion.