ABSTRACT:Soil erosion is the greatest destroyer of land resources in Indravati catchment. It carries the highest amount of sediment compared to other catchment in India. This catchment spreading an area of 41,285 square km is drained by river Indravati, which is one of the northern tributaries of the river Godavari in its lower reach. In the present study, USLE is used to estimate sediment yield at the outlet of river Indravati catchment. Both magnitude and spatial distribution of potential soil erosion in the catchment is determined. From the model output predictions, it is found that average erosion rate predicted is 18.00 tons/ha/year and sediment yield at the out let of the catchment is 22.31 Million tons per year. The predicted sediment yield verified with the observed data. The Indravathi basin is divided into 424 sub-watersheds and prioritization of all 424 sub-watersheds is carried out according to soil loss intensity for soil conservation purpose. Generated soil loss map will be useful to soil conservationist and decision makers for watershed management. Overall 19.71 % of the area is undergoing high erosion rates which are a major contributor to the sediment yield (78.04 %) in the catchment. This area represents high-priority area for management in order to reduce soil losses, which are mostly found in upstream of the catchment. It is indicated that the areas of high soil erosion can be accounted for in terms of steep unstable terrain, and the occurrence of highly erodible soils and low vegetation cover.
Soil erosion is a serious environmental problem in Indravati catchment. It carries the highest amount of sediments compared with other catchments in India. This catchment spreading an area of 41,285 km 2 is drained by river Indravati, which is one of the northern tributaries of the river Godavari in its lower reach. In the present study, USLE is used to estimate potential soil erosion from river Indravati catchment. Both magnitude and spatial distribution of potential soil erosion in the catchment is determined. The derived soil loss map from USLE model is classified into six categories ranging from slight to very severe risk depending on the calculated soil erosion amount. The soil erosion map is linked to elevation and slope maps to identify the area for conservation practice in order to reduce the soil loss. From the model output predictions, it is found that average erosion rate predicted is 18.00 tons/ha/year and sediment yield at the out let of the catchment is 22.30 Million tons per annum. The predicted sediment yield verified with the observed data.
Satellite-based estimation and evaluation of urban heat islands (UHI) are latest in the field of urban micro climate and environmental management. UHI is one of the serious upcoming climatological issues regarding the development of cities. Conversion of the vegetative area into the impervious surface is the root cause of this problem of development of urban heat. Large-area coverage, quick process, more economical, less energy and other requirements are the attractive features of the satellite-based studies. The present study deals with the formation of UHI in the new capital region of Andhra Pradesh, a recently formed state in India in the year 2015. Satellite images of Landsat-8 are procured and processed to develop LULC and land surface temperature (LST) images. Field data of about 100 points, collected in the study area is also used in this work and the classification accuracy obtained is about 93%. From LULC and LST images it was concluded that the capital region is experiencing severe UHI phenomenon. The two big cities Vijayawada and Guntur are emerged as hot spots. High and low LST obtained are 58 0 C and 23 0 C respectively. The corresponding areas of hot and cold regions were estimated and presented. The outcome of this research can be used as a scientific basis for urban planners in urban planning and management as well as to increase the community awareness in urban heating effect. Urban greening is an essential measure to be adopted by the urban planners to protect the citizens from the ill effects of UHI.
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