Integrated Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS techniques based Soil Erosion Susceptibility Mapping in Chite Watershed, Mizoram, India

Soil erosion is a significant form of land degradation that profoundly affects agricultural and ecosystem sustainability. The present study aimed at addressing this issue by developing precise and feasible erosion susceptibility map in Chite watershed, India, using integrated approach combining the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) with Geographic Information System (GIS). To evaluate erosion susceptibility conditions, multiple causative factors including elevation, slope, drainage density, distance from streams, land use / land cover, rainfall intensity, normalized difference vegetation index, lithology, soil texture and lineament density were selected. These factors and their sub-classes were prioritized by AHP method based on their relative influence on soil erosion. Subsequently, the calculated AHP weights were utilized for generating a spatial dataset of soil erosion susceptibility through GIS technology. Accuracy assessment by the area under the ROC curve (AUC) reveals considerably acceptable results for the predicted map when compared to erosion inventory, producing an accuracy level of 0.812 (81%) and 0.922 (92%) for erosion and non-erosion points respectively. Thus, the present study manifests the efficiency of integrating the AHP and GIS techniques for erosion susceptibility mapping in the Chite watershed and this may serve as a valuable tool for sustainable land management and erosion control.