SCOPE OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AND THEIR INTERRELATIONS

ASSIGNMENT ON

WATERSHED MANAGEMENT

GEOG/3/SC/16B

SUBMITTED BY

LALTANPUIA

ROLL NO. 22

M.SC

DEPT. OF GEOGRAPHY AND RM

Identify the scope of Watershed Management and their interrelationship.

    Watershed Management may be defined as the process of formulating and carrying out a course of action involving manipulation of natural, agricultural and human resources of a watershed to provide resources that are desired by and suitable to watershed community, but under the condition that soil and water resources are not adversely affected. Watershed management must consider the social, economic and institutional factor operating within and outside the watershed. Watershed management practices are those changes in land use, vegetative cover and other structural and non-structural actions that are taken on the watershed to achieve watershed development objectives.

    Watershed management is an integrated and interdisciplinary approach. It generally requires land use adjustment measures which contributed to the reduction in soil erosion rates resulting into increased agricultural production, generation of rural employment and balanced growth of the national economy.

SCOPE OF WATERSHED MANAGEMENT AND THEIR INTERRELATIONS:

    Watershed management usually involves the use, by the people of the watershed area, of the watersheds natural resources, especially the land, water and vegetation, with the active participation of their institutions and organizations and in harmony with the ecosystem. It includes and incorporates watershed activities into regional or area development plans, taking into account the protection and conservation measures necessary and the benefits likely to increase to the people living at the watershed outlet over a period of time.

Scope of Watershed Management includes the following:

INTERRELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL, WATER AND VEGETATION

    Soil, water and vegetation or plants has been interconnected to each other, soil and water, water and vegetation, soil and vegetation, each of them were interconnected and cannot be separated in the study of watershed management.

Soil serves a vital function in nature, providing a medium for plant growth as well as nutrients for plants, and habitat for millions of micro and macro organisms. Healthy soil allows them to flourish, release oxygen, hold water and diminish destructive storm runoff, break down waste materials, bind and breakdown pollutants and serve as the first course in the larger food chain. Soil and vegetation relationship is an interaction that benefits both; typically involves the exchange of substances or services. Dead plants provide energy to soil microbes through the process of decomposition. Plants shelter the soil from winds, decreasing wind erosion; the roots of plants bind the soil together, forming a more solid mass that is less susceptible to both water and wind erosion. Plants support microorganisms in the soil in different ways. Dead plants provide energy to soil microorganisms. In living plants, secretions resulting from metabolic activities of the roots support microorganisms in the root vicinity. Interaction between plants and soil is vital to life. For example, living organisms help with soil development. As a plant grows, its roots obtain mineral nutrients from the soil. The greatest influence on plant nutrition is soil pH—a measure of the hydrogen ion (acid-forming) soil reactivity (a function of the soil materials, precipitation level and plant root behavior). Soil pH strongly affects the availability of nutrients. As roots grow, they move soil particles and break up rock into small particles, helping soil formation. Decomposition returns minerals to the soil as plants die. Vegetation acts as an interface between the atmosphere and the soil, increasing the permeability of the soil to rainwater and thus decreasing runoff. It shelters the soil from wind, resulting in decreased wind erosion, as well as advantageous changes in microclimate. Plant roots bind the soil together by interweaving with other roots, forming a more solid mass that is less susceptible to both water and wind erosion. So, in the study of Watershed management, it is necessary to practice erosion control by doing check dam, embankment, proper drainage, soil conservation, irrigation terraces, regulated grazing, farming, afforestation.

Water-holding capacity is controlled primarily by soil texture and organic matter. Soil texture refers to the composition of the soil in terms of the proportion of small, medium, and large particles (clay, silt, and sand, respectively) in a specific soil mass. Water infiltration is the movement of water from the soil surface into the soil profile. Soil texture, soil structure, and slope have the largest impact on infiltration rate. Water moves by gravity into the open pore spaces in the soil, and the size of the soil particles and their spacing determines how much water can flow in. Wide pore spacing at the soil surface increases the rate of water infiltration, so coarse soils have a higher infiltration rate than fine soils.

Soil is a valuable resource that supports plant life, and water is an essential component of this system. Management decisions concerning types of crops to plant, plant populations, irrigation scheduling, and the amount of nitrogen fertilizer to apply depend on the amount of moisture that is available to the crop throughout the growing season.

Watershed management usually involves the use, by the people of the watershed area, of the watersheds natural resources, especially the land, water and vegetation, further, all the other activities under watershed management scope needs to be practice