The impact of hydrological changes on hillslope evolution and agriculture in nilgiri hills india

Abstract

The Nilgiri Biosphere is the first biosphere reserve in India; newlineprotecting natural resources is imperative for the sustainability of the newlineecosystem. The natural resources utilized for economic expansion are the newlineexploitation of natural resources. Soil is one such resource exploited by newlinehuman activities. Soil is one of the most priceless natural resources on the newlineplanet. The expansion of agriculture for the increasing population by clearing newlinethe forests, development of roads, construction of resorts and hotels for the newlinedevelopment of the economy from tourism, and construction of residential newlinebuildings for the sprawling population is the root cause of the exploitation of newlinesoil resources in Nilgiri watershed. Soil development is a gradual and newlinecontinual constructive process that takes 500 to 1000 years to form an inch of newlinetopsoil. The devastation of topsoil reduces soil fertility, increases pollution, newlineand causes sedimentation in water bodies. newlineThe study aimed to reduce the loss of topsoil, an essential nutrient newlinefor crop growth. As a prelude, soil loss was estimated using the empirical newlinemethod called Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) for the newlinedecades 1991 2000, 2001 2010, and 2011 2019. The study aimed to newlineestimate the average annual soil loss and classify the spatial distribution of newlinesoil loss as a map for all three decades using the RUSLE method and GIS in newlinethe Nilgiri watershed. The average annual soil loss was estimated with the newlineGIS layers of the RUSLE factors like rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility newline(K), slope length and steepness (LS), cover management (C), and newlineconservation practice (P) in raster data format. According to the classification newlineof the spatial distribution of the soil loss, most of the Nilgiri watershed falls newlineunder the low erosion rates (0 10 t/ha/yr) in all the decades newline