Integrated Morphometric and Land Use/Land Cover-Based Prioritization of Sub- Watersheds in the Kamlang River Basin, Eastern Himalaya, India Using GIS and Remote Sensing

Watersheds constitute integrated hydrological and geomorphological units and provide an effective framework for land and water resource management, particularly in erosion-prone and data-scarce mountainous regions. This study applies Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to evaluate morphometric characteristics and land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics of the Kamlang River watershed for sub-watershed prioritization. Linear, areal, and shape morphometric parameters, along with LULC indicators related to erosion susceptibility, were computed for eighty sub-watersheds. A compound parameter (Cp) was derived for each sub-watershed, where lower Cp values represent higher erosion risk and management priority. Morphometric analysis identified sub-watersheds SW64 and SW65 as high-priority zones due to unfavorable drainage density, stream frequency, and basin shape parameters, indicating enhanced runoff and erosion potential. LULC-based prioritization classified a larger set of sub-watersheds (including SW1, SW6, SW8, and SW12) under high priority, primarily owing to the dominance of erosion-prone land use classes such as barren land, sparse vegetation, and exposed surfaces. Integrated prioritization of morphometric and LULC parameters revealed that sub-watershed SW65 consistently ranked as high priority across both approaches, highlighting its critical vulnerability driven by combined terrain configuration and land use pressures. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating morphometric and LULC analyses for objective sub-watershed prioritization and provides a scientifically robust basis for identifying critical erosion hotspots. The findings underscore the urgent need for targeted soil and water conservation measures in sub-watershed SW65 to support sustainable watershed management and land-use planning in mountainous river basins.