PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF OSMANSAGAR WATERSHED FOR SUSTAINABLE LAND AND WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT USING REMOTE SENSING AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS)

摘要

Land and water are the primary natural resources required for various purposes like agriculture, forestry, rangeland, urbanization and many other developmental activities satisfying human needs. Understanding these two resources of a given watershed with the help of remote sensing and GIS tools could be helpful in getting the precise and valuable spatial information in understanding the present scenario contemplating with the past data and predicting the future trends. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the physical characteristics and the natural resources in Osmansagar watershed and to develop methods for its efficient utilization and sustainable management utilizing remote sensing and GIS. The thematic layers are derived from IRS-ID PAN + LISS-Ⅲ merged satellite imagery and Survey of India (SOI) topomaps using visual interpretation technique. These maps are converted to digital format using AutoCAD software and further integrated using Arc/Info and Arc View GIS software for the generation of final outputs. Physical characterization helps for water and land resources development, which are optimally suitable to the terrain and to the development of water resources. This study recommends effective soil and water conservation measures to increase the subsurface aquifer capacity and identifies suitable cropping patterns, which help in reduced soil erosion, increased moisture conservation and improved productivity of the soil. The physical characterization of an area is also useful to plan the basic minimum needs of farmers, thereby improving their socio-economic conditions, and in evolving abroad national policy which can be applied by decision makers for sustainable development of any given watershed area.