Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers
Abstract Small streams in the large river basins are disappearing, and there is no update on their historical and current morphometric status. Field inventory and visual inspections quantified the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on the reference year morphometry (1970–1977) of seven...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| author | Anshumali Rahul Kumar Pandey Govind Kumar Narendra Prasad Amit Kumar Sanjay Gogoi Roja Eliza Sanchit Kumar |
| author_facet | Anshumali Rahul Kumar Pandey Govind Kumar Narendra Prasad Amit Kumar Sanjay Gogoi Roja Eliza Sanchit Kumar |
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| description | Abstract Small streams in the large river basins are disappearing, and there is no update on their historical and current morphometric status. Field inventory and visual inspections quantified the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on the reference year morphometry (1970–1977) of seven watersheds and fifty-six subwatersheds, using drone imagery and Global Positioning System-based ground control points to refine the reference map and generate the current map (2021–2024). The decreasing stream number (Nu), stream length (Lu), and drainage density (Dd) (1) explained the mechanism of disappearing and shrinking large rivers; (2) classified seven watersheds and fifty-six subwatersheds into near threatened (NT), vulnerable (VU), endangered (EN), critically endangered (CR), and extinct (EX) categories; and (3) emphasized rejuvenation of 9,84,068 km of lost streams to restore Dd ≥ 2 km/km2 in the Ganga River basin (GRB). From these empirical estimates, the UN’s commitment to restoring 300,000 km of degraded rivers thus needs ~ 150,000 km2 of watershed area to delineate ex-situ and in-situ restoration and conservation of disappearing three intrinsic morphometric attributes, i.e., Nu, Lu, and Dd. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-e28a9a11828147228e5eff3d3db3df8e2025-08-20T03:37:22ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-08841-2Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary riversAnshumali0Rahul Kumar Pandey1Govind Kumar2Narendra Prasad3Amit Kumar4Sanjay Gogoi5Roja Eliza6Sanchit Kumar7Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Laboratory of Biogeochemistry, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines)Abstract Small streams in the large river basins are disappearing, and there is no update on their historical and current morphometric status. Field inventory and visual inspections quantified the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on the reference year morphometry (1970–1977) of seven watersheds and fifty-six subwatersheds, using drone imagery and Global Positioning System-based ground control points to refine the reference map and generate the current map (2021–2024). The decreasing stream number (Nu), stream length (Lu), and drainage density (Dd) (1) explained the mechanism of disappearing and shrinking large rivers; (2) classified seven watersheds and fifty-six subwatersheds into near threatened (NT), vulnerable (VU), endangered (EN), critically endangered (CR), and extinct (EX) categories; and (3) emphasized rejuvenation of 9,84,068 km of lost streams to restore Dd ≥ 2 km/km2 in the Ganga River basin (GRB). From these empirical estimates, the UN’s commitment to restoring 300,000 km of degraded rivers thus needs ~ 150,000 km2 of watershed area to delineate ex-situ and in-situ restoration and conservation of disappearing three intrinsic morphometric attributes, i.e., Nu, Lu, and Dd.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08841-2MorphometryStream orderDrainage densityRRLCCWater policy |
| spellingShingle | Anshumali Rahul Kumar Pandey Govind Kumar Narendra Prasad Amit Kumar Sanjay Gogoi Roja Eliza Sanchit Kumar Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers Scientific Reports Morphometry Stream order Drainage density RRLCC Water policy |
| title | Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers |
| title_full | Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers |
| title_fullStr | Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers |
| title_short | Impact of LULC changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers |
| title_sort | impact of lulc changes on small watershed morphometry and delineation of sustainable conservation strategies for degraded transboundary rivers |
| topic | Morphometry Stream order Drainage density RRLCC Water policy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-08841-2 |
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