Abstract
Soil erosion is one of the most dangerous natural dangers, causing a great deal of harm in many parts of the world. In the presented study, the Gusru river watershed in Indi was divided into 14 sub-watersheds, and then 14 morphometric parameters were calculated, including drainage density (Dd), bifurcation ratio (Rb), streams frequency (Fs), average slope (Sa), form factor (Rf), circulatory ratio (RC), elongation ratio (Re), relative relief (Rh), ruggedness number (RN), bifurcation ratio (Rb), texture ratio (T), length of the overland flow (Lo) compactness coefficient (CC) and hypsometric integral (HI) were derived for each sub- watershed. Afterward, the combination of picture fuzzy-analytic hierarchy process and picture fuzzy-linear assignment model were used to assign weights to selected morphometric criteria and to rank the sub-watersheds based on the level of soil erosion susceptibility. The results of the study showed that sub-watersheds 11 and 2 were the most susceptible sub watersheds, while sub-watersheds 13 and 14 had the lowest susceptibility to soil erosion. Prioritization and ranking of sub-watersheds from the perspective of soil erosion susceptibility can be used as a powerful tool for prevention and mitigation measures.
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Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgement
The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University, Abha, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for funding this work through small research groups under grant number RGP. 1/113/43.
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This research work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University under Grant number RGP. 1/113/43.
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Meshram, S.G., Sepheri, M., Meshram, C. et al. Prioritization of watersheds based on a picture fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and linear assignment model. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 37, 735–748 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-022-02280-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-022-02280-5