Site-Specific Land Resource Inventory for Scientific Planning of Sujala Watersheds in Karnataka

Land resource inventory for site-specific planning and development of watersheds on scientific basis under Sujala-III project sponsored by the Watershed Development Department of Karnataka and funded by the World Bank is being implemented in 11 districts covering 9.66 lakh ha across 2531 microwatersheds benefiting 7.02 lakh households in the state. The analysis and interpretation of the spatial and non-spatial database generated so far in 1600 microwatersheds covering 5 lakh ha has revealed that most of the watersheds suffer from major problems. In many watersheds, soil erosion and alkalinity affected even up to 75% of the watershed area, thus reducing the production potential and crop choices. The soils are either moderately or highly suited for growing most of the agricultural and horticultural crops. By interfacing land resource data with RS, GIS and GPS, different management scenarios were analysed to arrive at the best management alternatives (optimum land use plans) that would be most suitable. This data handling system will be useful for making land use decisions and providing proactive advice to farmers on a real time basis protecting the health of natural resources.