Integrated Watershed Management

Integrated Watershed Management

Evaluating and detecting potential of groundwater resources using Fuzzy-AHP method (Fuzzy-AHP) and remote sensing data (Case study: Bam-Narmashir Plain)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Afsaneh Haghighi 1
Mohamad Nohtani 1
Mohammad Reza Dahmardeh Ghaleno 1
Elham Rafiei Sardooi 2
1 Department of Rangeland and Watershed Management, Faculty of Water and Soil, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran.
2 Department of Ecological Engineering, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Jiroft, Jiroft, Iran.
10.22034/iwm.2023.2001770.1075
Abstract
Extended Abstract
Introduction
Detecting the potential of groundwater resources is one of the most important methods of water exploitation management to deal with water shortage, which is inevitable due to the growing need for water in the country. The first step in managing groundwater resources is to recognize the potential of groundwater. Fuzzy-Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is also recognized as an important tool in decision-making about natural resources management, especially water resources. Bam-Narmashir plain, in Kerman province, is one of the most important plains of the country. This plain plays a very important role in the region in terms of supplying the water resources needed by agriculture, industry and drinking parts.
Materials and methods
In this study, AHP-fuzzy model and GIS were used to identify suitable areas for potential groundwater resources in Bam-Narmashir plain. Criteria such as rainfall, temperature, geographical direction, slope, land use, vegetation cover, distance from the road, distance from the river, distance from the fault, distance from the city and village, distance from wells and springs, soil texture and the permeability of the formation were selected for decision making and the weight of each of them was calculated and prioritized using AHP model. Then, the desired layers were fuzzy and indicator maps were prepared using Arc GIS software. Then, the groundwater potential map was prepared. Finally, the ROC curve was used to validate the groundwater potential map in the region.
Results and Discussion
The result of ROC curve indicated the high accuracy of Fuzzy-AHP method in preparing the groundwater potential map in the study area. The results were consistent with the results of researchers such as Rezaei Moghadam et al. (2017) and Faraji Sabokbar et al. (2011). Also, the results showed that the regions with geological sub-criteria have the highest weight of 0.614 and the climatic sub-criteria have the lowest weight of 0.117. The value of inconsistency ratio was 0.07, which is smaller than 0.1, and it indicates consistency in the opinions and judgments of research decision-makers. Finally, the results showed that about 7.77% of the total area of the plain, equivalent to 755.54 square kilometers, is suitable for the implementation of underground water resources potential detection systems. Also, 1.57, 31.71, 58.98 and 7% of plain lands have very weak, weak, medium, and high potential for finding the potential of underground water resources, respectively.
The results showed a sparse distribution of suitable areas for groundwater potential in Bam-Narmashir plain, which is compatible with the results of Sekar and Randir (2007), who stated that the groundwater recharge potential at the scale of the watershed has non-uniform spatial distribution. The results showed that in the northern and western part of the plain, where the soil is mostly low capacity for groundwater potential and infiltration, which is in line with the results of Akbarpour et al. (2015), who stated in west and north-west of Birjand basin, the soil has a low capacity for groundwater penetration due to the low depth of the soil and high slope.
Conclusions
In recent years, the use of geographic information system (GIS) and its combination with multi-criteria and decision-making methods to obtain more accurate results have increased and played a key role in studies of the finding potential of groundwater resources. Even though it is very difficult and complicated to accurately identify suitable places for the potential of underground water resources, this study showed that the use of GIS makes it possible to identify these suitable places with minimal facilities, which is consistent with the findings of Khairkhah et al. (2013). Overall, according to the results of this study, about 7% of the region has high groundwater potential. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt scenarios to reduce the over-exploitation of groundwater and to apply the measures to improve the irrigation systems, the methods to reduce evaporation and improve the cultivation system.
Keywords
Groundwater potential
Fuzzy-AHP
Remote sensing
Bam-Narmashir Plain
GIS

Subjects

Abrishamchi, A., Fard, F. K. & Taghavi, A. (2020). Planning for groundwater sustainable use: A case study in Nishapur Plain, Iran. Agricultural Water Management, 229, 105835.
Adiat, K. A. N., Nawawi, M. N. M. & Abdullah, K. (2012). Assessing the accuracy of GIS-based elementary multi criteria decision analysis as a spatial prediction tool–a case of predicting potential zones of sustainable groundwater resources. Journal of Hydrology, 440, 75-89.
Akbarpoor, A., Khashei Siuki, A., Keshavarz, A. & Forooghifar, H. (2016). Determination of the Appropriate Sites to Rain Water Harvesting using Analysis Hierarchical Process (AHP). Journal of Watershed Management Research. 6 (12), 65-74. (In Persian).
Akobeng, A. K. (2007). Understanding diagnostic tests 3: receiver operating characteristic curves. Acta paediatrica, 96(5), 644-647.
Baharvand, S., Amiri Amraei, V. & Soori, S. (2020). Potential of Groundwater Resources Using Remote Sensing Methods, Geographic Information System and Fuzzy Hierarchy Case study: Khorramabad catchment area, Journal of Geography and Development. 60, 181-200. (In Persian)
Castillo, J. L., Martínez Cruz, D. A., Ramos Leal, J. A., Tuxpan Vargas, J., Rodríguez Tapia, S. A. & Marín Celestino, A. E. (2022). Delineation of groundwater potential zones (GWPZs) in a semi-arid basin through remote sensing, GIS, and AHP approaches. Water, 14(13), 2138.
Chaudhry, A. K., Kumar, K. & Alam, M. A. (2019). Mapping of groundwater potential zones using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and geospatial technique. Geocarto International, 1-22.
Chung, C. J. F. & Fabbri, A. G. (1993). The representation of geoscience information for data integration. Nonrenewable Resources, 2(2), 122-139.
Dixon, B. (2005). Groundwater vulnerability mapping: a GIS and fuzzy rule based integrated tool. Applied Geography, 25(4), 327-347.
Duan, H., Deng, Z., Deng, F. & Wang, D. (2016). Assessment of groundwater potential based on multicriteria decision making model and decision tree algorithms. Mathematical Problems in Engineering. vol. 2016, Article ID 2064575. doi.org/10.1155/2016/2064575.
Eskandari, M., Homaee, M. & Mahmodi, S. (2012). An integrated multi criteria approach for landfill siting in a conflicting environmental, economical and socio-cultural area. Waste management, 32(8), 1528-1538.
Faraji Sabokbar, H. A., Nasiri, H., Hamze, M., Talebi, S. & Rafiei, Y. (2012). Identification of suitable areas for artificial groundwater recharge using integrated ANP and pair wise comparison methods in GIS environment, (Case study: Garbaygan Plain of Fasa). Geography and Environmental Planning. 22(4), 143-166. (In Persian)
Hashemi, M., Ghorbani, R. & Kavehai, B. (2004). ROC analysis for comparing medical diagnosis tests. Scientific Journal of Semnan University of Medical Sciences, 6(2), 145-150.
Jasmin, I. & Mallikarjuna, P. (2011). Satellite-based remote sensing and geographic information systems and their application in the assessment of groundwater potential, with particular reference to India. Hydrogeology Journal, 19(4), 729-740.
Jha, M. K., Kamii, Y. & Chikamori, K. (2009). Cost-effective approaches for sustainable groundwater management in alluvial aquifer systems. Water resources management, 23(2), 219.
Kasiri, Z, Habibnejad, M. & Roshan, S. (2020). Finding the potential of underground water resources based on geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) using network analysis process (ANP) research sample: Naz Plain in Sari, Geography and environmental planning. 31(1), 103-120. (In Persian)
Kheirkhah, M., Naseri H. R., Dawoodi M. H. & Salami, H. (2017). Using Hierarchical Analysis Method for prioritizing suitable places for construction of underground Dam (Case Study: Northern Domain of Karkas-Natanz Mountains). Journal of research and construction. 79(1), 1-12. (In Persian)
Kheirkhah, M., Mohebi Tafreshi, GH, Majidi, A. & Asadian, F. (2014). Using Integration GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques by Decision Support System to Locate Suitable Areas construction of Underground Dam (The Case Study of Qazvin province).  Iranian Journal of Watershed Management Science. 8 (26), 35-50. (In Persian).
Kumar, R. & Indrayan, A. (2011). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for medical researchers. Indian pediatrics, 48(4), 277-287.
Mahmudian, M. (2013). Groundwater hydraulics, Publications of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz. 2, 574. (In Persian)
Minh, H. V. T., Avtar, R., Kumar, P., Tran, D. Q., Ty, T. V., Behera, H. C. & Kurasaki, M. (2019). Groundwater Quality Assessment Using Fuzzy-AHP in a Giang Province of Vietnam. Geosciences, 9(8), 330.
Monavari, M. M., Hassani, M., Farshchi, A. H. P. & Rossta, Z. (2012). Environmental effects of artificial recharge of aquifers in Yazd (Case Study: Yazd-Ardekan plain drainage basins). Journal of Environmental Sciences and Technology, 14(2), 27-36.
Murmu, P., Kumar, M., Lal, D., Sonker, I. & Singh, S. K. (2019). Delineation of groundwater potential zones using geospatial techniques and analytical hierarchy process in Dumka district, Jharkhand, India. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 9, 100239.
Musavi, S. J., Chitsazan, M, Mirzayi, Y. & Shaban, M. (2003). Integration of remote sensing and GIS for finding the potential of suitable areas for groundwater feeding (Case study: Kamestan anticline area), First National Conference on Geomatic, Tehran, April 21 (In Persian)
Oh, H. J., Kim, Y. S., Choi, J. K., Park, E. & Lee, S. (2011). GIS mapping of regional probabilistic groundwater potential in the area of Pohang City, Korea. Journal of Hydrology, 399(3-4), 158-172.
Prasad, R. K., Mondal, N. C., Banerjee, P., Nandakumar, M. V. & Singh, V. S. (2008). Deciphering potential groundwater zone in hard rock through the application of GIS. Environmental geology, 55(3), 467-475.
Rahaman, M. H., Sajjad, H., Masroor, M., Bhuyan, N. & Rehman, S. (2022). Delineating groundwater potential zones using geospatial techniques and fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) ensemble in the data-scarce region: evidence from the lower Thoubal river watershed of Manipur, India. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 15(8), 677.
Rezaei Moghaddam, M. H., Rahimpour, T. & Nakhostinrouhi, M. (2017). Potential Detection of the Groundwater Resources Using Analytic Network Process in Geographic Information System (Case Study: Basins Leading to Tabriz Plain). Iranian Journal of Eco Hydrology. 3(3), 379-389. (In Persian).
Rezayi, M, Tahtani, M, Moghadamnia, A. & Abkar, A. (2013). Investigating the effectiveness of the statistical exponential microscale model in predicting precipitation in two arid and ultra-arid climates. Water and Soil Journal (Agricultural Sciences and Industries), 28(4), 836-845. (In Persian)
Sadeghi, B. & Khalajmasoumi, M. (2015). A futuristic review for evaluation of geothermal potentials using fuzzy logic and binary index overlay in GIS environment. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 43, 818-831.
Sekar, I. & Randhir, T. O. (2007). Spatial assessment of conjunctive water harvesting potential in watershed systems. Journal of Hydrology, 334(1-2), 39-52.
Shahbazi, E., Tahmasbipour, N., Zainiwand, H. & Haqizadeh, A. (2013). Finding the potential of groundwater resources using the frequency ratio (RF) model. First National Conference on Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development, Tehran, Iran. January 1. (In Persian)
Soltani, A. (2017). Feasibility of areas prone to rainwater harvesting using hierarchical analysis in GIS environment (Case study: Khosroabad watershed, Sanghar city), Rain catchment surface systems. 5(2), 65-76.
Soori, S., Baharvand, S. & Amiri, V. (2017). Delineation of groundwater potential using AHP-Fuzzy (A Case Study: Romeshgan plain). Scientific Research Journal of Environmental Geology, 11(40), 11-26. (In Persian)
Testa, S., Soudani, K., Boschetti, L. & Mondino, E. B. (2018). MODIS-derived EVI, NDVI and WDRVI time series to estimate phenological metrics in French deciduous forests. International journal of applied earth observation and geoinformation, 64, 132-144.
Zadeh, L. A. (1973). Outline of a new approach to the analysis of complex systems and decision processes. IEEE Transactions on systems, Man, and Cybernetics, (1), 28-44. 

  • Receive Date 11 May 2023
  • Revise Date 03 June 2023
  • Accept Date 12 June 2023