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Identification of Critical Watershed for Soil Conservation Using Game Theory-Based Approaches

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Abstract

Soil erosion causes significant damage to humans by reducing soil productivity and filling reservoirs from sediment deposition in Narmada Basin, India; hence, it is important to recognize soil erosion prone areas for preventive steps in this basin. In this research, prioritization of sub-watersheds of Narmada Basin has been done using game theory-based approaches such as Condorcet and Fallback bargaining. For this purpose, Digital Elevation Model (DEM) generated by Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) was used to extract and analyze 12 morphometric parameters including linear, aerial, and relief parameters. Based on the Condorcet and Fallback bargaining methods, the Mohgaon watershed came at the first priority ranking, that means it’s the most vulnerable watershed from the point of soil erosion (SE). Game theory was successfully implemented for prioritizing watersheds in term of SE. The findings showed that morphometric parameters and game theory approach have a 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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Acknowledgements

The Authors extend their thanks to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University for funding this work through the large research groups under grant number RGP. 2/173/42.

Funding

This research work was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Khalid University under Grant number RGP. 2/173/42.

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Contributions

Conceptualization: Sarita Gajbhiye Meshram, Maryam Adhami; Data curation: Sarita Gajbhiye Meshram; Formal analysis: Maryam Adhami; Investigation: Sarita Gajbhiye Meshram, Maryam Adhami; Methodology: Maryam Adhami, Chandrashekhar Meshram; Resources: Sarita Gajbhiye Meshram; Software: Maryam Adhami; Supervision: Ozgur Kisi, Khaled Mohamed Khedher; Validation/ Visualization: Sarita Gajbhiye Meshram, Maryam Adhami; Writing – original draft: Sarita Gajbhiye Meshram, Chandrashekhar Meshram; Writing -review & editing: Ozgur Kisi, Khaled Mohamed Khedher.

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Correspondence to Sarita Gajbhiye Meshram.

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Meshram, S.G., Adhami, M., Kisi, O. et al. Identification of Critical Watershed for Soil Conservation Using Game Theory-Based Approaches. Water Resour Manage 35, 3105–3120 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-021-02856-w

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