Morphometric Analysis and Prioritization of Muvur Sub-Basins for Soil Erosion Vulnerability in the Muvur Watershed, Mubi, Northeastern Nigeria.

Soil erosion is a major environmental and land use problem that poses serious threats to most socioeconomic productivities in many parts of the world. In this paper, the vulnerability of the Muvur Sub-Basins to soil erosion was analyzed using GIS based Watershed Morphometric Analysis and Prioritization Approach. The study aimed at identifying the most erosion-prone sub-basins in the watershed. Seven delineated Sub-Basins (MSB1, MSB2, MSB3, MSB4, MSB5, MSB6 and MSB7) of the Muvur Watershed were assessed using thirteen (13) morphometric parameters that have either direct or inverse relationships with soil erodibility. Prioritization of the Sub-Basins with respect to soil erosion vulnerability using Composite Rating (CR) values was employed. Results revealed that four of the sub-basins (MSB3, MSB4, MSB6 and MSB7) had high vulnerability tendencies to soil erosion, while MSB1 and MSB5 had moderate vulnerability. Field study results showed that rills and gullies are the most common types of soil erosion operating in the watershed area, posing serious devastation to farmlands, roads and residential infrastructure. It was recommended that urgent attention from concerned agencies towards mitigating the menace of soil erosion in the most vulnerable Sub-Basins is required. Further studies in aspects of soil loss assessment as well as assessment of morphological characteristics of soil erosion features in the watershed were equally recommended.