Sediment Yield Assessment, Prioritization and Control Practices in Chambal River Basin Employing SYI Model

Abstract

Sediment yield is the result of all sediment production and transport processes. Recent technological developments and increasing availability of global environmental datasets, including earth observation data, provide an opportunity to systematically examine the relationship between sediment yield and controlling catchment variables by employing geographic information system (GIS). The Sediment yield index (SYI) method is employed using soil texture, topography, rainfall erosivity, geomorphology and landuse-landcover parameters to compute the spatial distribution of sediment yield rate and plan soil conservation and prioritize watershed in the Chambal river basin. The model does not provide absolute sediment yield value and can be only used for qualitative purposes. The present study estimated the sediment yield rate between 560-2625 ton/ha/yr with an average value of 1608.89 ton/ ha/yr and severe, very high, high, moderate, and low priority zones. The priority levels are determined based on average sediment yield values and conservation approaches are proposed for all the catchments.