Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Based Soil Erosion Susceptibility Mapping in Northwestern Himalayas: A Case Study of Central Kashmir Province
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors carried out interesting research. The paper is well structured and technically at a high level with very good illustrations. However, certain concerns should be addressed:
1. The introduction is generally well written with a considerable amount of literature sources cited. However, the new knowledge is not adequately put in the broader scientific context. It should be more clearly explained what are the contributions of this paper, and what is the research gap, why is this research important.
2. Speaking about the methodology, it is not clear who performed the comparison of criteria. Is it done by authors, or by interviewing some experts, who are they? It should be better explained. Based on that, it should be explained which approach is used to determine the final assessments when comparing two elements in the AHP approach, i.e. how the experts’ (or authors’) assessments are aggregated. Is a geometric mean used as a traditional concept (doi: 10.1080/09537325.2016.1180357), or some other such as fuzzy logic (doi: 10.3182/20130522-3-BR-4036.00053) or Saaty’s Scale in the Plane (doi: 10.3846/jbem.2020.12193).
3. The conclusion should be expanded. The limitations of the research should be considered. And the mentioned benefits should be explained in more detail, such as how the obtained results should be used in practice, and what are the managerial implications. What are the future research directions?
Author Response
#Review Report 1 Comments & Suggestions for Authors
Comment: The authors carried out interesting research. The paper is well structured and technically at a high level with very good illustrations. However, certain concerns should be addressed:
Response: First of all, we are grateful to the respected reviewer for encouraging and giving positive comments on our manuscript. We really appreciate the suggestions given by the reviewer for the improvement of our manuscript. In line with the suggestions, we have incorporated the changes in the revised manuscript. The response to the specific comments is given below.
Comment 1: The introduction is generally well written with a considerable amount of literature sources cited. However, the new knowledge is not adequately put in the broader scientific context. It should be more clearly explained what are the contributions of this paper, and what is the research gap, why is this research important.
Response: The introduction has been revised as per the suggestion of respected reviewer.
Elaborate and comprehensive estimate of the soil erosion is not available in the Kashmir Himalayan region; however, a few studies have been conducted which does not address the problem of the entire region (Rashid et al., 2011; Zaz and Romshoo, 2012). There is no gauging station to estimate the soil loss in most Himalayan watershed including Sindh and Dachigam watersheds in the Central Kashmir region (Romshoo et al., 2016). There has not been any sufficient research in the study area, we evaluated various factors as the process of soil erosion in catchments of Sindh and Dachigam watersheds which is not well understood and needs attention. It is important to thoroughly understand the pattern of soil erosion susceptibility for developing better erosion management practices, improved land use policies, and efficient management of natural resources for rehabilitating the degraded land.
A study was carried out in the entire watershed of Sind and Dachigam of central Kashmir Province using a combination of GIS, remote sensing data, and AHP models for assessing Soil Erosion Susceptibility. The study attempted to answer some specific questions viz., What is the spatial distribution pattern of soil erosion severity zones? and what are the prioritized zones of soil erosion risk for planning and implementation of conservation measures? This study explains a simple and inexpensive aid tool for modelling and mapping the areas susceptible to soil erosion, especially for inaccessible areas where field measurements are rare or even non-existent.
Although there are several approaches to assess soil erosion such as RUSLE, SWAT, Morgan-Morgan Finney-model (MMFM), and machine learning based methods; the AHP based method is a structured method which helps in incorporating technical experts review in structured manner which can be used in GIS environment to produce the spatial distribution map thereby giving the best solution to the problem (Begueria 2006; Akgün and Turk 2011; Kachouri et al., 2014).
Comment 2: Speaking about the methodology, it is not clear who performed the comparison of criteria. Is it done by authors, or by interviewing some experts, who are they? It should be better explained. Based on that, it should be explained which approach is used to determine the final assessments when comparing two elements in the AHP approach, i.e. how the experts’ (or authors’) assessments are aggregated. Is a geometric mean used as a traditional concept (doi: 10.1080/09537325.2016.1180357), or some other such as fuzzy logic (doi: 10.3182/20130522-3-BR-4036.00053) or Saaty’s Scale in the Plane (doi: 10.3846/jbem.2020.12193).
Response: The parameters were chosen as evaluation criteria and were prioritized based on literature research, local knowledge of Himalayan terrain and expert opinion. The combined judgement helped to rank the parameters as the most important criterion which may trigger the soil loss. The comparison was carried out based on Saaty’s scale of 1 to 9 where 1 and 9 denotes equal importance between the two factors, and extreme importance of one factor in comparison to the other respectively. Hierarchy of parameters was based on its interdependency and interrelationship between other parameter and hierarchy was done through higher to the lower level. This technique uses both subjective and objective factors in the decision-making processes (Vijith et al. 2012; Yasser et al. 2013).
We believe that soil erosion susceptibility mapping has received less attention compared to other natural hazards in the literature in Himalayan region. In Himalayas there is dearth of literature in context of soil susceptibility using multi criteria analysis as most of the studies are based on USLE, RUSLE, morphometric analysis therefore the studies found most relevant in terms of methodology adopted have been used as literature source. Few of the literature sources are presented here (Rahmana & Chongfaa 2009; Pradeep et al., 2014; Halefom & Teshome 2018; Thomas 2018; Vijith & Dodge-Wan 2019; Das et al., 2020; Aslam et al., 2021).
Comment 3: The conclusion should be expanded. The limitations of the research should be considered. And the mentioned benefits should be explained in more detail, such as how the obtained results should be used in practice, and what are the managerial implications. What are the future research directions?
Response: The points mentioned in comment have been incorporated in the revised manuscript as per the suggestion of respected reviewer.
Reviewer 2 Report
The research on soil erosion in Himalayas area is rare, the topic in this research is very interesting but the paper can not be accepted for publication by now. I recommend a reconsider after serious major revision.
(1) why you choose this area? Is this area typical for Northwestern Himalayas? Why is typical?
(2) The Himalayas area should be presented in the figure 1.
(3) where is the data come from in figure 3?
(4) what is the base of the class range for each scale value in Table 3? Please clarify!!
(5) The results presented bad, difficult to follow!!
(6) where is figure 4?
(7) no discussions? where is discussions? I do not support the publication of papers without any discussion. Please add!!!
Author Response
#Review Report 2 Comments & Suggestions for Authors
Comment: The research on soil erosion in Himalayas area is rare, the topic in this research is very interesting but the paper cannot be accepted for publication by now. I recommend a reconsider after serious major revision.
Response: We have modified the manuscript as per the suggestion of respected reviewer.
Comment 1: why you choose this area? Is this area typical for Northwestern Himalayas? Why is typical?
Response: The reason behind selecting this area is due to the fact that the catchment is eco-sensitive zone, important catchment of Dal Lake, supports important flora and fauna. In the Himalayan region, the Dachigam catchment in the northwestern Kashmir Himalayas is an important tributary to the Dal Lake and forms a highly complex and vulnerable hydrological system. The Dachigam national park (protected area) is located in this catchment and continues to play an important role in supplying clean drinking water to Srinagar residents. As the region lies in the periphery of Srinagar city, it is subjected to an increase in the human population with an increased pressure on natural resources most importantly soil and water. It is crucial to identify, monitor, and analyze the effects of such stressors to provide a proper management policy to preserve, manage, and restore ecosystems.
There has not been any sufficient research in the study area, we evaluated various factors as the process of soil erosion forested catchment of Sindh and Dachigam watersheds is not well understood and needs attention. It is important to thoroughly understand the pattern of soil erosion susceptibility for developing better erosion management practices, improved land use policies, and efficient management of natural resources for rehabilitating the degraded land.
Comment 2: The Himalayas area should be presented in the figure 1.
Response: Figure 1 have been revised showing the Himalayan region and necessary changes incorporated.
Comment 3: where is the data come from in figure 3?
Response: The parameters have been calculated from the satellite data and Indian meteorological data mentioned in section 3 “Materials and Methods”. The details are given in Section 3.1
Comment 4: what is the base of the class range for each scale value in Table 3? Please clarify!!
Response: The class range have been derived from each raster layer after reclassification. The natural break classification was used in ArcGIS to optimize the arrangement of a set of values into "natural" classes. Within each layer a rating from very low (1) to very high (5) was assigned to the classes in the increasing order of their qualitative importance for erosion. Five priority classes were used based on available literature like Pandey et al., 2009; Sunil et al., 2010; Mushtaq & Lala 2017; Ashraf 2019; Yesuph & Dagnew 2019; Amin & Romshoo 2018; Mushi et al. 2019.
Comment 5: The results presented bad, difficult to follow!!
Response: The results have been modified in the revised manuscript.
Comment 6: where is figure 4?
Response: Sorry for the error, now included in revised manuscript.
Comment 7: no discussions? where is discussions? I do not support the publication of papers without any discussion. Please add!!!
Response: Although the discussion was present in previous manuscript but as per the suggestion of reviewer, we have enriched the discussion in support of results in revised manuscript.
Reviewer 3 Report
I must point out that the novelty of this study is very weak. Many previous studies focus on the approach for soil erosion susceptibility mapping. The authors adopted a commonly used approach without any optimization. Aside from the low originality, the manuscript is well-structured and read smoothly. I think the authors should make a major revision before publication.
Introduction. Please extend the description of the approaches adopted in soil erosion susceptibility mapping. Besides the AHP method, many machine learning-based approaches have been used in susceptibility mapping (not limited to soil erosion). You should make a comprehensive conclusion and explain why you used AHP in this study.
Figure 1. Please mark the study area on two left maps
Please give download links to all adopted datasets in this study. The description of datasets is too simple.
Where is figure 4?? It is the most crucial figure in this study. Unfortunately, it needs to be included in the current manuscript.
The conclusion is too simple. Besides discussing the details in your study area, You’d better add more findings or suggestions for readers who want to use this approach in other regions.
Author Response
#Review Report 3 Comments & Suggestions for Authors
Comment: I must point out that the novelty of this study is very weak. Many previous studies focus on the approach for soil erosion susceptibility mapping. The authors adopted a commonly used approach without any optimization. Aside from the low originality, the manuscript is well-structured and read smoothly. I think the authors should make a major revision before publication.
Response: We believe that soil erosion susceptibility mapping has received less attention compared to other natural hazards in literature in Himalayan region. There has not been any sufficient research in the study area, we evaluated various factors as the process of soil erosion forested catchment of Sindh and Dachigam watersheds is not well understood and needs attention. It is important to thoroughly understand the pattern of soil erosion susceptibility for developing better erosion management practices, improved land use policies, and efficient management of natural resources for rehabilitating the degraded land.
A study was carried out in the entire watershed of Sind and Dachigam of central Kashmir Province using a combination of GIS, remote sensing data, and AHP models for assessing Soil Erosion Susceptibility. The study attempted to answer some specific questions viz., What is the spatial distribution pattern of soil erosion severity zones? and what are the prioritized zones of soil erosion risk for planning and implementation of conservation measures? This study explains a simple and inexpensive aid tool for modelling and mapping the areas susceptible to soil erosion, especially for inaccessible areas where field measurements are rare or even non-existent. Although this technique presents a simplified approach, it provides a fair assessment in spite of lack of resources. The advanced techniques need a lot of computing space, specialized software, besides a lot of data inputs. Based on our literature review, complexity and time required for the analysis are the major limitations of advanced methods. Thus, the simplicity, comparative accuracy, and GIS compatibility of statistical methods has seen it become one of the more frequent geo-hazard analytic techniques. Moreover, its performance is rapid and output accuracy is high.
The manuscript has been revised as per the suggestion of respected reviewer.
Comment: Introduction. Please extend the description of the approaches adopted in soil erosion susceptibility mapping. Besides the AHP method, many machine learning-based approaches have been used in susceptibility mapping (not limited to soil erosion). You should make a comprehensive conclusion and explain why you used AHP in this study.
Response: Revised the introduction part as per the suggestion of respected reviewer.
Comment: Figure 1. Please mark the study area on two left maps
Response: Study area marked on left two maps.
Comment: Please give download links to all adopted datasets in this study. The description of datasets is too simple.
Response: The satellite datasets like Cartosat and LISS have been purchased/procured from the National Remote Sensing Centre on payment basis. Likewise, IMD data have been obtained from Indian Meteorological Department of J&K, Srinagar. The Landsat 8 OLI and SRTM DEM have been downloaded from USGS. The links for datasets have been incorporated in revised manuscript. The description has been revised as per the suggestion.
Comment: Where is figure 4?? It is the most crucial figure in this study. Unfortunately, it needs to be included in the current manuscript.
Response: Sorry for the error. We have incorporated Figure 4 in revised manuscript.
Comment: The conclusion is too simple. Besides discussing the details in your study area, You’d better add more findings or suggestions for readers who want to use this approach in other regions.
Response: Revised as per the suggestion.
Reviewer 4 Report
The proposed method is very interesting and incorporates the parametric methods used in the evaluation of the vulnerability of aquifers which greatly influenced hydrogeological research in the past. Of course the method needs a lot of data and I don't know how applicable it is in situations where there is a lack of data. Anyway congratulations. Just a notification: Fig. 4 is missing
Author Response
#Review Report 4 Comments & Suggestions for Authors
Comment: The proposed method is very interesting and incorporates the parametric methods used in the evaluation of the vulnerability of aquifers which greatly influenced hydrogeological research in the past. Of course, the method needs a lot of data and I don't know how applicable it is in situations where there is a lack of data. Anyway congratulations. Just a notification: Fig. 4 is missing.
Response: We are thankful to respected reviewer for encouraging comments in favor of our manuscript. There is a severe gap in knowledge of the short- and long-term implications of the hydrological changes and hazards in the Himalayas, and their downstream river basins. Most studies have excluded the Himalayan region because of its extreme and complex topography and the lack of adequate rain gauge data, and other related datasets. We agree with the reviewer that any study or research can be improved with lot of datasets. Many researches have mentioned about the data scarcity as the biggest problem for scientific research related to hydrology and climate studies in the Great Himalayas region. High-quality precipitation data are difficult to obtain due to a sparse network, cold climate and high heterogeneity in topography. Keeping in view the dearth of data in the region we tried to come up with this study to form a baseline for further research with more datasets. Incorporated Figure 4 in revised manuscript.
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
The author made a good revision.
