GIS-based Multi-criteria Analysis Research Articles

Satellite remote sensing and GIS-based multi-criteria analysis for the assessment of groundwater potentiality in fractured limestone aquifer: Case study of Maknassy Basin, central Tunisia

Satellite remote sensing and GIS-based multi-criteria analysis are used to assess groundwater availability and potentiality of the fractured limestone aquifer of the Maknassy Basin, Central Tunisia. The integration of the multi-source data used (satellite images from Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM +), Digital Elevation Model (DEM), hydrology and borehole data) based on the multi-criteria analysis has led to the production of synthesis maps documents on the areas of hydraulic potentiality of the upper Cenomanian - lower Turonian aquifer in the Maknassy Basin. The distribution of major faults and lineaments was extracted from satellite images processed by several techniques. Lineaments analyses are widely included with geological and hydrogeological data in the selection of groundwater exploration sites. The combination of the four developed thematic maps (availability, accessibility, exploitability and productivity) gives a groundwater potential map of the studied aquifer. This map shows four classes of hydrogeological potential: (i) the poorly class occupies 22% of the total basin area and is concentrated at the West end of the basin; (ii) the moderate class (49%) is found in almost the entire basin; (iii) the good (15%) and (iv) the excellent class (14%) occupy the centre of the basin.

Defining Priority Areas for the Sustainable Development of the Desalination Industry in Chile: A GIS Multi-Criteria Analysis Approach

The climate crisis is rapidly provoking water scarcity in several areas of the planet, where an exponential growth of the seawater desalination industry is expected. In this context, multiple efforts are currently under development to reduce potential impacts and promote the sustainability of this industry. The selection of a suitable site for a desalination plant is critical to ensure operational continuity and the environmental sustainability of its processes, optimizing the plant’s productive performance and thus safeguarding water security for final users. In this study, we apply a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Analysis (GIS-MCA) approach to explore and assess potential areas suitable for the construction and operation of desalination plants in Chile. Different environmental, social, and technical criteria were evaluated and weighted by expert criteria using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology. From a total of 114,450 km2 analyzed, only 4.54% of the territory was classified as highly suitable, demonstrating the scarcity of space available to meet the growth expectations for the industry. These results suggest that GIS-based analysis provides a practical solution to determine suitable areas for developing desalination plants, highlighting the need to define priority areas for the sustainable development of the desalination industry in Chile with the required capacity to reach the national water security goals for the following decades.

Assessment of groundwater vulnerability in coastal zone using SI method and GIS: case study of Bouficha aquifer (northeast Tunisia).

Nowadays, groundwater is under stress due to contamination, over-exploitation, seawater intrusion, climate change, etc. The groundwater contamination is the major problem which can engender the total deterioration of the aquifer. The groundwater vulnerability assessment may contribute to predicate and to delimitate the areas affected by contamination or any future pollution. This research aims to zoning the potential pollution of the Bouficha shallow aquifer, located in the northeast Tunisia, using the SI model and GIS. Five parameters are presented in the SI model: depth to groundwater (D), recharge (R), aquifer media (A), topography (T), and land use (LU). The different parameters were collected from diverse sources for assess groundwater vulnerability. The net recharge map was generated using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis method based on different parameters (slope, lithology, LU, soil, and drainage density). The generated vulnerability map shows three vulnerability classes: low vulnerability (< 45), moderate vulnerability (45-64), and high vulnerability (64-84) which represent 3.14%, 76.8%, and 20.06% of the total area, respectively. The SI vulnerability represent a moderate positive correlation with the measured nitrate concentrations (R2 = 0.76). The sensitivity analysis shows that the land use parameter is the most influential parameter for groundwater vulnerability in BFC.

Morphometric analysis for the assessment of relative tectonic activity using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis (case study: Torbat Heydariyeh Kalshur Basins, Iran)

Morphometric analysis for the assessment of relative tectonic activity using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis (case study: Torbat Heydariyeh Kalshur Basins, Iran)

A GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Framework to Evaluate Urban Physical Resilience against Earthquakes

As complex man-made systems that are home to the majority of the world population, cities have always faced a wide range of risks such as earthquakes. As the backbone of urban systems, physical components, including buildings, transportation networks, communication networks, and open and green spaces, are also vulnerable to disasters. To enhance the capacity to deal with disaster risks, enhancing urban resilience has recently become an essential priority for cities. This study aims to develop and pilot test a framework to evaluate urban physical resilience based on resilience characteristics and associated physical indicators. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) was used to determine the relationships between physical indicators, and Multi-Criteria Decision-Making methods were applied to determine the relative importance of the characteristics. The results showed that the ‘Robustness of Building’, ‘Building Density’, ‘Aspect Ratio’, and ‘Street Width’ are the most important among the twenty physical indicators considered in the proposed framework. Subsequently, the proposed framework was applied to one of the districts of Kerman, a major city located in the southwest, earthquake-prone part of Iran. Overall results indicate low levels of physical resilience. The findings of this study can provide urban planners and decision-makers with more transparent and practical insights into the physical resilience of cities. Results can also be used to design and implement policies and programs to improve the current conditions.

Identifying the Potential Dam Sites to Avert the Risk of Catastrophic Floods in the Jhelum Basin, Kashmir, NW Himalaya, India

In September 2014, Kashmir witnessed a catastrophic flood resulting in a significant loss of lives and property. Such massive losses could have been avoided if any structural support such as dams were constructed in the Jhelum basin, which has a history of devastating floods. The GIS-based multicriteria analysis (MCA) model provided three suitability zones for dam locations. The final suitable dam sites were identified within the highest suitability zone based on topography (cross-sections), stream order, high suitable zone, minimum dam site interval, distance from roads, and protected area distance to the dam site. It was discovered that 10.98% of the total 4347.74 km2 area evaluated falls in the high suitability zone, 28.88% of the area falls in the medium suitability zone, and 60.14% of the area falls in the low suitability zone. Within the study area, four viable reservoir sites with a holding capacity of 4,489,367.55 m3 were revealed.

Prioritizing Bus Routes for Electrification: GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Considering Operational, Environmental, and Social Benefits and Costs

Society today is enjoying an unprecedented level of human mobility but is also confronting environmental degradation resulting from fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The electrification of bus transit systems is recognized as one of the practical solutions to mitigate air pollution and other externalities of increased mobility. However, the implementation of an e-bus system requires the purchase of e-buses and the development of charging infrastructure. To reduce costs and maximize benefits, it is crucial to develop an integrated strategy during the planning stage. This study applies a GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis approach to determine the candidate bus routes to convert from diesel-powered to electric-driven. This framework appraises not only the characteristics of bus routes but also the possibility of deploying charging infrastructures in bus terminals. Fourteen common criteria are used to evaluate the main considerations of bus electrification, including economic, environmental, and social benefits and costs. The analytic hierarchy process and the technique of order preference similarity to the ideal solution are employed to determine the criteria weights and the route ranking, respectively. The bus network of Twin Cities, MN, U.S., is used as a study case to present the proposed approach. Sensitivity analysis is included to identify the overall top 10 bus routes. The result shows that this method can use widely available open data to select top candidate routes that meet multiple criteria.

Integration of GIS-based Multi-criteria Analysis Techniques for the Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones in Oyo state, Nigeria using Bayes’ Approach

Groundwater is the world’s most extracted raw material due to its incessant need for human consumption. This study was carried out to delineate groundwater potential zones in Oyo state, Nigeria using the integration of two GIS-based multi-criteria analysis techniques – Multi influencing factor (MIF) and Analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The Bayes’ integration approach for the recalculation of criteria weights was used. Eight groundwater potential contributing factors such as land cover, drainage density, lineament density, soil texture, geology, geomorphology, slope, and rainfall were processed and the multi-criteria analysis techniques were employed in assigning weights to each thematic layer and sub-classes. The thematic layers were overlaid in ArcGIS 10.4 software environment using the groundwater potential index equation for the generation of groundwater potential maps. The criteria weights of the MIF and AHP techniques were further integrated using Bayes’ approach to obtain an optimum groundwater potential map. In this study, the groundwater potential maps from the three techniques were validated using the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curve methods. The validation of the groundwater potential zonation maps from the MIF, AHP and the Bayes’ integration was also executed by evaluating the depths and yields from 1425 boreholes distributed across the study area. The Bayes’ approach shows that the groundwater percentage distributions within the study area are: very low (36%), low (34%), Moderate (14%) and high (16%). The maximum yields of 200m3 were observed in Akinyele, Atisbo and Egbeda LGA with minimum borehole depths of 24.20m, 30.30m and 30.00m. The Area under the Curve (AUC) results are: MIF (69.4%), Bayes’ (69.0%) and AHP (67.6%) respectively. The Bayes’ integration approach further shows better consistency as the average borehole yields across the groundwater potential zones positively correlates i.e. high potential zone has the highest average borehole yield, followed by the moderate, low and very low.

Growing rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the northern Gangetic plains of India. How suitable are they? A GIS-based multi-criteria analysis

Effect of Wild and Mutant Strain of Lasiodiplodia Pseudotheobromae Mass Produced on Rice Bran as a Potential Bioherbicide Agents for Weeds under Solid state FermentationAdetunji C. O.a, Oloke J.Kb

A GIS-Based Multicriteria Analysis of Land Suitability for Groundnut Crop in Nghe An Province, Vietnam

This study focuses on identifying the potential lands for growing groundnut in Dien Chau district of Nghe An province (Vietnam), where groundnut is one of the major crops and brings high income for farmers. Based on the ecological requirements of groundnut, six criteria, including Soil Type, Soil Texture, Soil Depth, Slope, Average Temperature, and Average Total Rainfall in the planting season, were used. The Analytic Hierarchy Process method, commonly used in agricultural land use planning, was utilized to determine each criterion's weights via experts’ opinions. A pairwise comparison matrix was established to support this assessment process. The results revealed that Soil Texture showed the highest weight (0.31727) for groundnut farming, which was followed by Average Temperature (0.21131), Soil Type (0.17426), and Soil Depth (0.13982). Slope and Average Total Rainfall were the lowest weight factors, with 0.08122 and 0.07612, respectively. The weighted sum overlay analysis was implemented by ArcGIS software to generate the spatial distribution of land suitability of groundnut. The land suitability map indicated that 6830.07 ha (22.26%) of the studied area was highly suitable (S1), 10413.85 ha (33.95%) was moderately suitable (S2), 4336.76 ha (14.14%) was marginally suitable (S3), and 424.99 ha (1.39%) was not suitable (N). The total area of constrained area, including Waterbody and Built-up Land, was 8671.39 ha, accounting for 28.27% of the total area. Finally, the proposed land for groundnut cultivation was 12928.69 ha. The outcomes of this study may be regarded as a good reference for local government in agricultural land use planning.

Land suitability determination for citrus cultivation using a GIS-based multi-criteria analysis in Mersin, Turkey

Determination of suitable locations for agricultural products is an important subject to study, as it is essential to identify optimal areas for crop productivity and sustainable farming activities. This study proposes a site selection assessment model for citrus cultivation using Geographic Information System (GIS) Based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) in the Mersin province of Turkey. The purpose of the study is to create a Multi-Criteria Assessment-Based Spatial Decision Support System which takes into account the opinions of local citrus farmers as well as those of experts. 14 preference factors and 10 exclusion factors were determined for the analysis of land suitability for citrus farming. The weighting of preference factors for citrus cultivation was determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process, and a land suitability map was generated using the weighted overlay method in the GIS environment. Based on the opinions of farmers and experts, higher weights were assigned to the average temperature in the flowering period, the average temperature in the winter season, and elevation, as compared to all other preference factors. The results also demonstrate that WorldClim, a global climate dataset, is an essential source of data in such studies, as climate conditions play a crucial role in potential citrus expansion. The final land suitability map shows that the most suitable and moderately suitable areas for citrus cultivation have surface areas of 85 824 ha and 85 430 ha, respectively. The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate validation of the land suitability for citrus and the Area Under the Curve (AUC) value was calculated at 0.87, indicating substantial consistency. This study proposes a methodology for the determination of suitable sites for citrus cultivation which relies on realistic data. The land suitability map produced in the study will be essential for the creation of sustainable agriculture strategies in the eastern Mediterranean region.

GIS-based multi-criteria analysis of offshore wind farm development in Morocco

• GIS-based model using the FAHP for offshore wind farm site suitability analysis. • Different technical, socio-economic and environmental criteria are considered. • Morocco has a great potential for offshore wind farm development. This investigation focuses on offshore wind resource assessment in Morocco using an integrated methodology consisting of Geographic Information System and the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process. Following the published literature and regional necessities, a set of suitability criteria is defined including eight different site selection criteria and six exclusion factors. A weighted overlay analysis is conducted in order to map the ideal locations for offshore wind energy development in Morocco. The study results highlight a wide offshore area that is most suited for wind farm development. Three high suitable areas are shortlisted within the Atlantic Ocean boundary of Morocco, in proximity to the cities of Essaouira, Boujdour, and Dakhla. The three selected areas are capable of generating around 13.3 GW of electrical power. The suggested methodology can be of immense aid for locating the most suitable areas for offshore wind farms in different regions having equivalent geo-factors.

Cropland Suitability Assessment Using Satellite-Based Biophysical Vegetation Properties and Machine Learning

The determination of cropland suitability is a major step for adapting to the increased food demands caused by population growth, climate change and environmental contamination. This study presents a novel cropland suitability assessment approach based on machine learning, which overcomes the limitations of the conventional GIS-based multicriteria analysis by increasing computational efficiency, accuracy and objectivity of the prediction. The suitability assessment method was developed and evaluated for soybean cultivation within two 50 × 50 km subsets located in the continental biogeoregion of Croatia, in the four-year period during 2017–2020. Two biophysical vegetation properties, leaf area index (LAI) and a fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), were utilized to train and test machine learning models. The data derived from a medium-resolution satellite mission PROBA-V were prime indicators of cropland suitability, having a high correlation to crop health, yield and biomass in previous studies. A variety of climate, soil, topography and vegetation covariates were used to establish a relationship with the training samples, with a total of 119 covariates being utilized per yearly suitability assessment. Random forest (RF) produced a superior prediction accuracy compared to support vector machine (SVM), having the mean overall accuracy of 76.6% to 68.1% for Subset A and 80.6% to 79.5% for Subset B. The 6.1% of the highly suitable FAO suitability class for soybean cultivation was determined on the sparsely utilized Subset A, while the intensively cultivated agricultural land produced only 1.5% of the same suitability class in Subset B. The applicability of the proposed method for other crop types adjusted by their respective vegetation periods, as well as the upgrade to high-resolution Sentinel-2 images, will be a subject of future research.

Integrated GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis for Groundwater Potential Mapping in the Euphrates’s Sub-Basin, Harran Basin, Turkey

The Harran Basin is an important region where agricultural activities have been conducted for millennia. The agricultural water needs of the basin are largely met with surface irrigation through the GAP (South-Eastern Anatolian Project), while groundwater is used in some regions as potable water, tap water, and irrigation water. In this study, the groundwater potential of the Harran Basin was determined through the “GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM)” Method. Ten criteria were considered: Land Use, Soil, Geomorphology, Geology, Aquifer, Drainage Density, Rainfall, Slope, Lineament Density, and Terrain Class. The weights of these criteria were determined through the AHP method, and the operations were performed in the ArcGIS environment. As the results of this study, the Groundwater Potential Index (GWPI) values were obtained, and five regions were determined based on their Groundwater Potential Zone (GWPZ) classifications: very poor GWPI: 0.10% (5.14 km2); poor GWPI: 29.20%; moderate GWPI: 38.20%; good GWPI: 30.90%; and very good GWPI: 1.50%). We determined that the region is a plain with a low slope and geologically consists of limestone. Notably, areas with poor water potential are mountainous and hilly, and the slopes over these areas are high.

GIS-based multi-criteria analysis to identify site suitability of flood shelters in Kuantan, Malaysia

The aim of this paper was to identify site suitability of flood shelters in Kuantan by using GIS based multi-criteria analysis integrated with Analytic Hierarchy Process. Based on the developed criteria range, result shows that, 21% of flood shelters in Kuantan are located at unsuitable places; 32% of the shelters are located at moderate to more suitable site; 39% of the flood shelters are located at very suitable site; and 8% of the shelters are located at extremely suitable site.

GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis Method for Assessment of Lake Ecosystems Degradation-Case Study in Romania.

In general, the elaboration of the synthesis of water quality in Romania is based on the processing of a large volume of information coming from primary analytical data collected with a constant frequency by the organisms with a specific role in water quality monitoring. This study proposes a novel methodology for multi-criteria analysis aiming to evaluate the degradation state of lake ecosystems. The cornerstone of the newly presented methodology is a geographic information system (GIS) automated tool, involving the assessment of potential degradation sources affecting the watershed that supply the lakes with water. The methodology was tested by performing an analysis on 30 lakes in Romania. The lakes belong to different geographical areas, owing various natural specific conditions and were selected to fit to various types and specific local conditions. The calculation of the WRASTIC-HI (Wastewater–Recreation–Agriculture–Size–Transportation–Industry–Cover–Hazard Index) revealed that, out of 30 lake ecosystems selected as the case study, two lakes were fully degraded, 24 lakes were semi-degraded, and four were in a natural state. The four lakes characterised by a natural state are located in mountainous regions or in the Danube Delta. The results obtained on the selected lakes proved that the proposed index calculation corresponded in all case studies to the real field situation, highlighting thus the accuracy of the assessing process and increased advantages of the assessment’s automation.

Snow avalanche risk mapping using GIS-based multi-criteria decision analysis: the case of Van, Turkey

This study presents a Geographic Information System-based (GIS-based) multi-criteria decision analysis for avalanche risk mapping using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in Van province of Turkey. Essential parameters for avalanche occurrence such as slope, elevation, aspect, curvature, and land cover are used in this study. Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) is used to generate slope, elevation, aspect, and curvature layers; Corine Land Cover data is used as a land cover map, and Landsat 8 OLI satellite imagery was used to extract snow-covered areas. The GIS-based multi-criteria analysis was used to assess the areas’ risk susceptibility; thus, 29% of the study area is classified as having a very low risk, 46% low risk, 18% moderate risk, 5% high risk, and 2% very high risk. The resulting avalanche risk map will create a clear view of the riskiest areas. It can be useful for taking emergency measures in the area and artificially trigger avalanches before they naturally start to form.

Identifying Potential Sites for Artificial Recharge in the Plain Area of the Daqing River Catchment Using GIS-Based Multi-Criteria Analysis

As an essential component for the development of the Xiong’an New Area, China’s second capital, groundwater in the area has been overexploited, resulting in ecological and environmental geological problems. Therefore, artificial groundwater replenishment measures are urgently required, for which the evaluation of the recharge potential is an important prerequisite. In this study, a GIS (Geographic Information System)-based multi-criteria evaluation system was constructed, considering the source water conditions, recharge infiltration conditions, aquifer storage conditions, and environmental conditions. In addition, factors such as the distance to a canal, source water quality, slope, vadose zone infiltration rate, drainage density, groundwater depth, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, aquifer thickness, groundwater quality, soil quality, and distance to sensitive areas were also analyzed. GIS was used to draw and calculate potential artificial recharge sites. The results showed that the potential recharge sites in the study area are mainly distributed in the alluvial plains on both sides of the river, with a total area of 2103.9 km2, accounting for 15.8% of the total study area. In the Xiong’an New Area, the potential sites are mainly distributed in the alluvial–proluvial plains on both sides of the Baigou River in the north-central area, with a total area of 39.4 km2, accounting for approximately 2.2% of the total area of the Xiong’an New Area.

Faecal sludge treatment facility site selection using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis and AHP: Case study of Bogor Regency

Sanitary condition is one of the components that influencing public health. Bogor Regency has total area 2,663.81 km2, with total population 5,965,410 in 2019. The sanitation of Bogor Regency nearly 100% is using on-site systems. Utilization of septic tank reduces the level of contamination of surface water and groundwater. However, the sludge still containing high E. Coli that potentially caused diarrhea, vomiting disease, and others, so that the handling of the sludge needs Faecal Sludge Treatment Facilities (FSTF). Before 2016, Bogor Regency already had 10 units of faecal suction truck services, but the disposal process still was done in Kalimulya FSTF, Depok City. So, this study aims to find a feasible FSTF site location which fulfils the spatial plan, technical, and non-technical criteria. The process on the determining feasible FSTF location was employing multicriteria analysis by using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Several spatial data such as the land slope, the soil type, distance from water bodies/river, the administration of Bogor Regency, as well as land use and land capability were used for FSTF site selection. Spatial analysis using GIS results in 22 locations in 15 different districts. By reconsidering the area, only 8 selected locations were surveyed and evaluated using AHP. Based on the weighting, the locations which chosen for the eastern, central, and western parts of Bogor are Cileungsi, Cibinong, and Cigudeg districts respectively.

An integrated approach to identify suitable areas for built-up development using GIS-based multi-criteria analysis and AHP in Siliguri planning area, India

Unplanned and haphazard built-up growth due to immense pressure of population is a common problem for maximum cities of developing countries which paves to create urban sprawl by capturing spacious areas of natural environment. For this, selection of suitable places for built-up development by maintaining ecological balance has become inevitable part for proper urban planning. Siliguri planning area, which has witnessed a tremendous growth in built-up features after the 1990, has been chosen for this work to find out best places for future built-up development with minimum effects on different natural features and also calculates the amount of different types of suitability which will be transferred from different land use and land cover categories in near future which is a novelty of this work. The work has been executed through GIS-based multi-criteria analysis, and a total of nine criteria have been taken to locate best places for built-up development. Analytic hierarchy process or AHP has been used to calculate weights of each criterion by using pair wise comparison matrix. Final site suitability map has been prepared with four different classes: high suitable, moderate suitable, less suitable and restricted area and the percentage of land is high in moderate suitable category that is 52.33% which covers the intermediary portion, mainly wastelands and agricultural land of the study area with higher facility of accessibility. Results from this work would be helpful for the planners, stakeholders, policy makers by identifying best locations for the intensive developmental projects in near future.