Soil Erosion Susceptibility in the Gopad River Basin: An Interactive Geospatial and Statistical Approach for Effective Sub-Watershed Prioritisation

Abstract

Rivers are dynamic hydro-geomorphological systems that shape landscapes, transfer energy, and sustain ecosystems. Although the Gopad River Basin (GRB) is a significant tributary of the Son River in central India, it remains largely underexplored, even as it faces growing pressures from soil erosion, land degradation, and climate variability. Addressing this gap, the present study aims to assess and prioritise erosion-prone sub-watersheds to support sustainable watershed management. An integrated methodology combining morphometric analysis, hypsometric assessment, and principal component analysis-weighted sum approach (PCA-WSA) was employed. Essential morphometric parameters, including drainage density, form factor, bifurcation ratio, and rho coefficient have been recognised as significant indicators of erosion risk. Findings reveal that sub-watersheds 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, and 16 are critically susceptible to erosion, necessitating urgent soil and water conservation measures. Other sub-watersheds exhibit moderate to low risk, reflecting spatial heterogeneity in erosion vulnerability. The study offers a novel, data-driven, and spatially explicit framework that integrates geomorphometric parameters with statistical optimisation, moving beyond conventional single-method approaches. This contributes significantly to regional watershed planning by enabling targeted resource allocation, evidence-based prioritisation, and improved erosion mitigation strategies, while also providing a transferable framework for comparable basins. © 2025 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.