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Multivariate erosion risk assessment of lateritic badlands of Birbhum (West Bengal, India): A case study

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Each geomorphic hazard involves a degree of risk which incorporates quantification of the probability that a hazard will be harmful. At present, the categorization of sub-watersheds into erosion risk is considered as the fundamental step to conserve the soil loss. Development of badlands over the laterites of Birbhum district is an indicative of excessive soil loss in the monsoonal wet-dry type of climate. Slope erosion and channel erosion have generated huge amount of sediment from the small watersheds during intense monsoonal rainfall (June–September). The adjoining areas of Rampurhat I Block, Birbhum (West Bengal) and Shikaripara Block, Dumka (Jharkhand) have lost the lateritic soil cover at a rate of 20–40 ton/ha/year (Sarkar et al. 2005). In order to estimate the progressive removal of soil particles from the gully-catchments of the above-mentioned area, different morphometric parameters, soil parameters, hydrologic parameters and empirical models are employed. Side by side, the study is carried out to categorize the gully-catchments into different magnitude of erosion risk using several multivariate statistical techniques.

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  1. Post-Graduate Dept. of Geography, The University of Burdwan, Burdwan 713 104, West Bengal, India

    SANDIPAN GHOSH & KAMALA BHATTACHARYA

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  1. SANDIPAN GHOSH
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  2. KAMALA BHATTACHARYA
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Correspondence to SANDIPAN GHOSH.

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GHOSH, S., BHATTACHARYA, K. Multivariate erosion risk assessment of lateritic badlands of Birbhum (West Bengal, India): A case study. J Earth Syst Sci 121, 1441–1454 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-012-0243-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-012-0243-1

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