Abstract
The Kabul basin is a plateau situated in the east-central part of Afghanistan, covering its capital. Groundwater has a vital role in drinking purposes and agricultural activities in the basin. Accordingly, to fulfill the drinking water and irrigation requirements and address sustainable water resources management for future development, discovering the groundwater recharge potential zones (GWRPZs) is essential. An attempt was undertaken to delineate the GWRPZs combined with the application of remote sensing (RS), geographic information system (GIS) integrated with analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Various influential variables, including geology, geomorphology, soil, lineament and drainage density, precipitation, land use and land cover, slope, elevation, and water depth, were utilized to produce different thematic maps. The raster formats of different thematic features were prepared in the ArcGIS environment. A statistical analysis was done based on the AHP methodology to determine the weights and ratings of various themes. Based on the results, eventually, five categories of the GWRPZs have been recognized. Very poor (8 km2, less than 1%), poor (187 km2, 7%), moderate (610 km2, 23%), good (1084 km2, 42%), and very good (715 km2, 27%). The validation of outcomes was done with the utilization of water level records. The kappa coefficient (0.81), and overall accuracy (88.57%) indicate a moderate to good correlation between the result outcomes and the well’s water level records. Results offer further insights. The GWRPZs map can be utilized by local authorities to develop sustainable water resources management and artificially recharge groundwater.
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Singh, S.K., Noori, A.R. Delineation of groundwater recharge potential zones for its sustainable development utilizing GIS approach in Kabul basin, Afghanistan. Arab J Geosci 15, 213 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-09410-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-09410-3