Abstract­-

Soil erosion is the detachment and transportation of soil materials from one place to another, resulting in the removal of the uppermost fertile soil layer, thus decreasing its productivity. Soil erosion was estimated by using Universal Soil Loss Equation in a GIS environment and prioritization of catchments on that basis, the present study Harohalli watershed, Kanakapura Taluk, Ramanagara District area was chosen since it falls in the rocks and granite area. soil and slope maps were prepared from Survey of India maps and NBSS & LUP maps and integrated into GIS database.  Soil  erosion  of  each  of  the  sub catchment  was estimated from the integrated map. The sub catchments were prioritized based on the estimation of erosion. From the study it can be inferred that soil erosion estimation using Remote Sensing  and  GIS  technique  can  be  effectively  used  for prioritization of catchments and this helps in the way the catchments  can  be  taken  for  treatment  for  conservation measures.

Keywords  — erosion, GIS, prioritization, remote sensing, USLE