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Prioritization of soil erosion-prone sub-watersheds using fuzzy-based multi-criteria decision-making methods in Narmada basin watershed, India

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Abstract

Every year, soil erosion causes significant damage to humans by reducing soil productivity and filling reservoirs from sediment deposition in the Manot watershed in the Narmada basin, India. Hence, it is important in this basin to recognize soil erosion-prone areas for preventive steps. In this research, prioritization of sub-watersheds of the Manot watershed has been done using fuzzy MCDM approaches such as Fuzzy-SAW, Fuzzy-VIKOR and Fuzzy-TOPSIS methods. For this purpose, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)-generated Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was used to extract and analyze 12 morphometric parameters, including linear, aerial, and relief parameters. A fuzzy MCDM was successfully implemented for prioritizing watersheds in terms of soil erosion. Overall, the descending order in terms of susceptibility to erosion is found to be MN8 > MN7 > MN2 > MN10 > MN1 > MN9 > MN12 > MN4 > MN5 > MN6 > MN14 > MN3 > MN13 > MN11. The findings showed that morphometric parameters and the fuzzy MCDM approach have high efficiency in recognizing areas that are vulnerable to erosion.

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Water Resources and Applied Mathematics Research Lab, Nagpur, 440027, India

    S. G. Meshram

  2. Botswana International University of Science and Technology, P. Bag 16, Palapye, Botswana

    S. Tirivarombo

  3. Department of Mathematics, Jaywanti Haksar Government P. G. College, College of Chhindwara University, Betul, M.P., India

    C. Meshram

  4. Department of Watershed Management, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

    E. Alvandi

Authors
  1. S. G. Meshram
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  2. S. Tirivarombo
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  3. C. Meshram
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  4. E. Alvandi
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Correspondence to S. G. Meshram.

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Editorial responsibility: Chenxi Li.

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Meshram, S.G., Tirivarombo, S., Meshram, C. et al. Prioritization of soil erosion-prone sub-watersheds using fuzzy-based multi-criteria decision-making methods in Narmada basin watershed, India. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 20, 1741–1752 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04044-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-022-04044-8

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