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Assessment of geodiversity of Parbati River Basin in North-Western Himalayan region, India

2022; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 37; Issue: 26 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10106049.2022.2082557

1752-0762

Vishal Bajala, Madhuri S. Rishi, Lakhvinder Kaur, Gaurav Sharma,

Landslides and related hazards

In light of structural and functional linkages between the geodiversity and biodiversity, mapping geodiversity becomes more important in highly pristine and diverse regions such as Hindu Kush Himalayas as it could lead to better nature conservation strategies. This study represents pioneering efforts in the field of quantitative assessment of geodiversity and its mapping in Parbati River Basin (PRB) using grid overlay. Geodiversity index (GI) so generated was finally interpolated using inverse distance weighting (IDW) model, which resulted in the generation of an isoline map showing spatial distribution of various geodiversity classes in the PRB. The higher GI in the Lower basin is mainly due to rich lithological elements whereas the very high values in the Upper basin can be attributed to geomorphological richness. All these features are facing constant threat due to continuous degradation and damage caused by various anthropogenic activities in the PRB.