2026-06-18T02:44:42Zhttps://riubu.ubu.es/oai/request

oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/117722026-06-02T00:05:30Zcom_10259_6168com_10259_5086com_10259_2604col_10259_6169

Assessing Recharge Zones for Groundwater Potential in Dera Ismail Khan (Pakistan): A GIS-Based Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach Tabassum, Anwaar Sajjad, Asif Sajid, Ghayas Haider Ahmad, Mahtab Iqbal, Mazhar Khan, Aqib Hassan Ali Groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) Hydrological remote sensing Water resource monitoring Sistemas de información geográfica Gestión del agua Geographic information systems Water resources development Groundwater constitutes the primary source of liquid freshwater on Earth and is essential for ecosystems, agriculture, and human consumption. However, rising demand, urbanization, and climate change have intensified groundwater depletion, particularly in semi-arid regions. Therefore, assessing groundwater recharge zones is essential for sustainable water resource management in vulnerable areas such as Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. This study aims to delineate groundwater potential zones (GWPZs), using an integrated approach combining the Geographic Information System (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Twelve factors were identified in a study conducted using GIS-based AHP to determine the groundwater recharge zones in the region. These include land use/land cover (LULC), rainfall, drainage density, soil type, slope, road density, water table depth, and remote sensing indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), Moisture Stress Index (MSI), Worldview Water Index (WVWI), and Land Surface Temperature (LST). The results show that 17.52% and 2.03% of the area have “good” and “very good” potential for groundwater recharge, respectively, while 48.63% of the area has “moderate” potential. Furthermore, gentle slopes (0–2.471◦ ), high drainage density, shallow water depths (20–94 m), and densely vegetated areas (with a high NDVI) are considered important influencing factors for groundwater recharge. Conversely, areas with steep slopes, high temperatures, and dense built-up areas showed “poor” potential for recharge. This approach demonstrates the effectiveness of integrating advanced remote sensing indices with the AHP model in a semi-arid context, validated through high-accuracy field data (Kappa = 0.93). This methodology offers a cost-effective decision support tool for sustainable groundwater planning in similar environments The authors gratefully acknowledge the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for providing the data used in this study, accessed via http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ on 15 December 2024. We also express our sincere thanks to the University Research Fund (URF) of Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, for the partial financial support of this research 2026-06-01T09:17:04Z 2026-06-01T09:17:04Z 2025-06 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11772 10.3390/w17111586 2073-4441 eng Water. 2025, V. 17, n. 11, 1586 https://doi.org/10.3390/w17111586 Atribución 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess application/pdf MDPI https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/11772/4/Tabassum-WATER_2025.pdf.jpg Hispana TEXT http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ RIUBU. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11772