Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Spatial Planning of Soil and Water Conservation Measures in a Semi-Arid Watershed Maliwadgaon of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Site-specific planning of water harvesting and soil and water conservation (SWC) measures is important for improving water availability and watershed resilience in semi-arid regions. This study aimed to identify and prioritise suitable locations for SWC structures in the 43 km² Maliwadgaon watershed of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, Maharashtra, India, using an integrated remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) approach. A 30 m Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model and Landsat-8 imagery were used to derive terrain, drainage, land use/land cover (LULC), and vegetation characteristics. Elevation, slope, drainage density, stream order, dissection index, LULC, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were integrated through multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) for site-suitability assessment. The watershed has an elevation range of approximately 509–591 m and a dendritic, fourth-order drainage network with a drainage density of 0.991 km/km². The MCE identified 40 potential conservation structures: 13 farm ponds, 13 cement nala bunds, 5 percolation tanks, 4 underground barriers, and 5 gully plugs. The proposed locations provide a spatial basis for runoff interception, erosion control, water storage, groundwater recharge, and agricultural water management. The findings demonstrate the practical utility of RS–GIS-based MCE as a decision-support approach for prioritising site-specific SWC interventions in a semi-arid watershed.