جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « تحلیل سلسله مراتبی » در نشریات گروه « آبخیزداری، بیابان، محیط زیست، مرتع »

The integration of a multi-criteria decision-making system and a geographic information system was utilized to select appropriate locations for the construction of ponds. These ponds were intended to facilitate the storage and supply of water for agricultural purposes, the breeding of warm water fish, and the artificial feeding of underground water. This initiative was implemented in the flatlands to the north of the city of Gorgan. Thus, the Boolean model was used to locate the ponds, and the Hierarchical and Copeland analysis process was used to prioritize them. Google Earth was used to determine seven suitable axes for the construction of ponds in potential areas. The Hierarchy and Copeland analysis process was used to prioritize these places based on their main and sub-criteria. The results indicated that in the comparison of criteria with a consistency coefficient (0.03), the hydrometeorological criterion with weight (0.315) and the weighted rainfall sub-criterion (0.485) is the best criterion of hydrometeorology with the consistency coefficient (0.03) and the weighted sub-criterion of the slope of the area (0.394) is the highest criterion of geomorphology with the consistency coefficient (0.03) and the loan resources sub-criterion with weight (0.410) is the highest economic and social criterion with compatibility coefficient (0.004) and the sub-criterion of plant water requirement volume with weight (0.710) is the highest agricultural criterion with compatibility coefficient (0.004) and the sub-criterion of the cost of making a water seal by weight (0.349) is the highest technical criterion of construction with the compatibility factor (0.007) has been recognized as the superior criterion. The result of this work is that by dividing the layers of information with the composition, suitable places for the construction of dams have been selected. The findings of this research showed that the use of geographic information systems and decision support systems and the use of hierarchical analysis method as a powerful and flexible tool to reduce the complexities in identifying suitable places along with field visits in increasing accuracy, reducing costs and Determination has a role Location They are the place of construction of dams.

Locating and building small water projects in hot and dry areas of the country that are facing water shortage is of great importance. These projects are more popular among farmers than other water supply and storage projects due to simple construction technology, low study and implementation costs, public participation, simple operation and maintenance, and environmental effects. The use of new sciences, especially Remote Sensing techniques (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) helps planners to locate water supply and storage projects. Various studies have been conducted in the world in relation to location, analysis of factors affecting the location of water storage and supply plans using different criteria and using RS and GIS techniques. The aim of the present study is to identify and introduce water areas with the potential to create small water supply projects in the southeast of Bushehr province.

This research was conducted in Dayyer City in the southeast of Bushehr Province with an area of ​​2306 Km2 and a mean rainfall of 215 mm. In order to achieve the goal, first, nine flood-producing criteria including the slope, aspect of slope, river density, height, rainfall, runoff, distance from the river, land use and geological formations were considered. Then, using AHP method and weighting and prioritization of effective parameters and taking into account other environmental conditions and the overlap of maps, the final flood map of the city was prepared and classified. After calculating and estimating the degrees of importance, ArcGIS was used as a decision support system for future calculations. Also, Google earth and Arc Scene software have been used for better analysis and better understanding of the results in preparing the 3D space of the study area. After preparing the maps of the distribution and location of the wells and waterways network, the opinions of the relevant experts were also used. Also, other factors such as downstream land use, topography and access roads, drinking water consumption, livestock drinking consumption, the widest points in terms of the storage resource level and the ease of implementation of the structure were also considered as quality and management criteria.

The results showed that the region can be divided into five regions with very low, low, medium, high and very high in terms of flood vulnerability risk. Also, the results of flood zoning showed that the extension of the northern and northeastern elevations to the east of Dayyer City and the middle elevations of the city and its center have high flood potential. According to the area of the study area, 25.2% are in the high vulnerability class and 11.5% in the very high vulnerability class. In addition, the results showed that 25 places in the region are suitable for creating small water supply projects, which, if implemented, can be effective in collecting and supplying water and increasing the profitability of the region in addition to controlling seasonal floods.

Based on the results of this research, it is concluded that more than one third of the region (36.7%) has a high to very high risk of flooding, so these areas should be the focus of urban management planning. Also, 25 places in the region were suitable for creating small water supply projects, which need to be considered by regional managers and planners to reduce the effects of water shortage of the region. In addition, this research showed the good performance of GIS and AHP method in flood risk zoning and locating of small water supply projects in Dayyer City. Another noticeable point is that there are about 4217 hectares of land under dry wheat cultivation in the 23 proposed points of downstream, and currently the harvest of rainfed wheat is 1.3 tons per hectare on average. If appropriate water supply plans are implemented, the total harvest amount can reach about 16,000 tons per year. Therefore, making suitable water supply plans can result in an increase in production.

Drought and population increase are important factors that have caused more attention to ground water. Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources that affect human health, economic development and environmental diversity. Due to several inherent characteristics, these waters have become a very important and reliable source of water supply in developed and developing countries. Over the years, the importance of ground water due to the ever-increasing need for water has led to unscientific exploitation of ground water and the creation of water stress conditions. This alarming situation requires a cost-effective technique for proper assessment of groundwater resources and planning for the management of these resources. Geographic information system (GIS) and hierarchical analysis are samples of these tools. The purpose of this research is to prepare the ground water potential map using hierarchical analysis in the Ilam Dam watershed.

For this purpose, seven criteria of geology, slope, land use, soil, drainage density, lineament and precipitation were selected to identify the potential areas of ground water. The selection of these parameters is due to the effect that each of these factors has on the ground water. Geological features are important in controlling the infiltration of water into the ground due to the weathering, porosity and fracture that occur in them. On the other hand, increasing the slope of the land causes an increase in runoff. As drainage density increases, permeability decreases. Agricultural, forest and pasture land use can increase infiltration, but residential areas increase runoff due to impervious surfaces. Sandy and loamy soils have a high permeability coefficient, and finally, the higher the rainfall in the region, the higher the groundwater level. In order to prepare these layers, ArcGIS and remote sensing (RS) were used. First, by using the digital elevation model (DEM), the slope of the area, the drainage density in five classes were prepared. By using Landsat 8 satellite images of 2020 and in the environment of RS software, the land use of the region was created in five classes of agriculture, forest, pasture, bare soil and residential areas using a supervised classification method. Kappa coefficient confirmed 93% classification accuracy. The rainfall map of the watershed was also obtained from the synoptic and rain gauge station that existed in and around the basin. Finally, the geology map was prepared from the digital geological map in the GIS environment and the soil map from the Natural Resources Organization. After preparing these layers in the GIS, using the opinion of experts regarding the valuation of these criteria, each of these criteria was given grades from 1 to 9. Then, this valuation was transferred to Expert Choice software to determine the weight, and the weight of each criterion was obtained. Then, using these weights as well as raster layers created in the GIS environment and using the weighted overlay method, these layers were superimposed and the ground water potential map was obtained.

The results showed that geology criteria and land use have the most weight with 0.347 and 0.191, respectively, and soil and precipitation with 0.062 and 0.054 have the least importance for ground water potential. A big part of the watershed has medium to high potential for ground water. This part has a lot of forest and pasture cover, moderate slope (20-40 degrees) and high drainage density and high amount of precipitation, which is consistent with the results of Suri et al. (2016). A significant part of the basin has loam and sand soil, which have high permeability and can absorb water and increase the groundwater level. Kazhdomi formation has medium to high potential and Bangestan group formation has low potential.

In general, the final map has four potentials, including very low, low, medium to high, and very high, which respectively account for 0.98%, 41.8%, 55.9%, and 1.32% of the study area. Medium to high potential has the largest area. In general, the north of the watershed has medium to high potential, the south of the watershed has low potential, and a small part of the east of the study area has high potential of ground water. Preparing a map of ground water potential in watersheds can be a suitable strategy for exploiting these resources.

Social and economic studies are important in investigating rangeland destruction. Investigating the role of social and economic issues in rangeland destruction can reduce destruction in this ecosystem. For this reason, this research has been done to identify the most important socioeconomic factors affecting rangeland destruction in the Niyuk region and prioritize the mentioned criteria using an Analytical Hierarchical process to provide complete information about the causes of rangeland destruction in the region. Considering that no research has been done in this area so far, it increases the necessity of conducting the present research.

Niuk area is located in Yazd province according to country divisions. In this research, first, by studying the sources and consulting with the relevant experts, the most important socioeconomic criteria involved in the destruction of rangelands in the area were determined, and a questionnaire was designed to score and calculate the weight and priority of these criteria. Enough experts completed it. The region's socioeconomic indicators, criteria, and sub-criteria were identified using experts' opinions and research records, and a hierarchical structure was formed. The main criteria include economic and social indicators. Economic indicators are divided into three sub-criteria: livestock and animal husbandry, cutting and harvesting, and change of land use and plans.The sub-criteria considered for the standard of livestock and livestock farming includes a large number of livestock, indiscriminate grazing of rangelands, type of livestock, change of livestock farming method from traditional to industrial, non-observance of livestock entry and exit time, improper distribution of livestock in the rangelands and improper grazing system. Three main sub-criteria of population, poverty, and institutional factors were identified for social indicators. Three main criteria and 14 sub-criteria were identified for social indicators.

A paired comparison between economic and social indicators showed that economic indicators weighing 0.667 have the priority in destroying rangelands. Social indicators with a weight of 0.333 have second priority. Among the main criteria examined by economic indicators, the sub-criterion of change of use and plans with a weight of 0.683 has been allocated the most. It is below the livestock and animal husbandry standard with a 0.200 weight. It was ranked third for cut and harvest with a 0.177 weight.Among the main criteria of social indicators, the criterion of institutional factors with a weight of 0.637 is the priority, and the factors of poverty and population are in the next ranks with weights of 0.258 and 0.105. The results showed that the sub-criteria of converting rangelands into mines, building access roads to mines, and political interference in natural resources were ranked first to third with weights of 0.176, 0.083, and 0.082. The first two sub-criteria of economic indicators and the third criterion of social indicators are the destruction of rangelands in the Newek region. The sub-criteria of literacy status and age composition of the population with weights of 0.004 and 0.003 were placed in the last priority. These sub-criteria were related to social indicators.

It can be concluded that the most important factors of the region's destruction are the change of land use and conversion of rangelands to mines, construction of access roads to mines, institutional factors and interference with natural resources, and lack of integrated management of natural resources. To prevent the destruction of rangelands in the region, it is necessary to minimize the construction of any mines and communication ways related to mines, and it is suggested that considering the activity of mines, the customary rights of pastoralists should be considered and the participation of ranchers in decision-making should be expanded to maximize the possibility of the success of projects with the support of stakeholders.

In Iran, the economic and social dependency of pastoralists on pasture fodder has intensified due to population growth among pastoral communities. Rangeland managers are concerned about the imbalance between livestock and available pastures. In response, decision-makers have sought to alleviate pressure on rangelands by promoting alternative livelihoods and implementing multiple-use projects. However, the successful implementation of multiple-use projects in Golestan and Azadshahr provinces has faced challenges, even after five years of project review service announcements. This study aims to investigate the reasons for the non-acceptance of multiple-use projects in the rangelands of Azadshahr and Gonbad.

The study was conducted in three stages: discovery, evaluation and analysis, and the development of the final structure. Various ecological, economic, and social indicators were used to assess the acceptance of multiple-use projects among rangeland users. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews, and the reasons for non-acceptance were compared using pairwise comparisons on the Likert scale. The selection of representatives was based on the reputation approach and targeted sampling, considering criteria such as work history, experience, and literacy level. Hierarchical analysis was performed using Expert Choice 11, and judgments on the acceptance or rejection of given ranks were made based on pairwise comparisons and compatibility rates.

The results indicated that economic, political-institutional, and environmental criteria were the primary factors contributing to the non-acceptance of multiple-use projects. Insufficient economic stability, lack of job security, inappropriate timing and location of project implementation, and inadequate government support were cited as some of the key indicators. Respondents also highlighted top-down management approaches and a lack of attention to user participation in decision-making and planning as significant issues.

Overall, the findings suggest that pastoralists have a low acceptance of multi-purpose plans, indicating the failure of planners and decision-makers to effectively engage stakeholders in these projects. It is recommended to enhance participation at various levels of decision-making, planning, and implementation. This can be achieved through increased training programs and the establishment of non-governmental organizations, fostering greater user involvement in future projects.

Identifying the appropriate places for implementing various management actions in the watershed is a challenging issue. Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) is an approach to assist managers in solving this problem. This study aimed to determine appropriate places for gabion check dams, earth embankments, and stone and mortar dams using the MCA technique in the Dorahan watershed in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. First, a criteria tree was developed to integrate some ecological maps (flooding, erosion, channel number, slope, and geomorphology) with economic variables (distance to villages and roads) and spatial restriction variables (stream order, slope, geomorphology, and elevation). Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) was used to compare and weight the variables and management options. The eigenvalue vectors were measured for all criteria used in AHP. According to the AHP, the eigenvalues of flooding and erosion as the most important variables were 0.36 and 0.32, respectively. The management options against all criteria were then compared and earth embankment with an eigenvalue of 0.494 was recognized as the best management option in the watershed. Stone and mortar dams and gabion check dams were the two later management options with eigenvectors of 0.316 and 0.126, respectively.  All criteria maps were produced in a raster format by ILWIS software and were then imported into the Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) model. The appropriate areas for the construction of these management options (different kinds of small dams) were then mapped in the watershed. Sub-watersheds 6 and 7 were identified as the most suitable area for implementing these management options. A similar approach can be used to identify the best management practices for suggesting other bio-mechanical projects.

The COVID-19 crisis was first regarded as a threat to public health, but it gradually started to threaten different sectors. One of the sectors influenced by this crisis, which is the topic of this research on the effects of COVID-19, is the fisheries sector in the coastal cities of Sistan and Baluchistan province. Diverse hazards jeopardize these cities and most have environmental origins. The present research was an applied study in terms of the goal and aimed to investigate the factors related to the improvement of environmental resilience in the coastal cities of Makran. The statistical population was composed of all residents of the studied areas (Chabahar, Konarak and Dashtiari), Fisheries experts, and environmental activists. The factors underpinning the improvement of environmental resilience were determined with factor analysis, and the environmental resilience of the study site was assessed with a combination of maximum entropy and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Based on the results of factor analysis, the factors were divided into three categories named “pollution control”, “waste management”, and “access to services and conservation of resources”. “Pollution control” was found to be the main factor in accounting for the variables of coastal pollution, so it was recognized as the first factor in improving the environmental resilience of the coastal cities against COVID-19. The next factors were “waste management” and “access to services and conservation of resources” with the weights of 0.347 and 0.141, respectively. Also, the results of the combined maximum entropy and AHP revealed that the coastal areas of Makran were, in total, lowly resilient and that among the coastal cities, Konarak had the highest environmental resilience (0.46).

This study was performed to explore the 2020 agricultural sustainability through studying the environmental indicators in Golestan Province, Iran, using data and information acquired from the Agricultural Jihad Organization, Golestan Provincial Water and Wastewater Organization, Iran Meteorological Organization, and the Governorate of Golestan Province. According to the results, chemical pesticide and fertilizer usages, as well as nitrate concentration in groundwater, showed a negative effect whereas the cropping area, rainfall, conservation tillage practices, and cropping diversity showed a positive effect on the environmental indicators. Meanwhile, the highest and lowest weights were obtained respectively for conservation tillage practices (0.16) and cropping area (0.11) based on the application of analytical hierarchical analysis (AHP). Having prioritized the study area, Gonbad Kavus (89%) and Bandar-e-Turkmen (56%) were respectively the best and worst counties in terms of environmental indicators. In addition, conducting a sensitivity analysis with a shifting range of 1-5% showed the indicators have constancy with no priority changes. Finally, the counties of Golestan province were classified into stable, relatively stable, and unstable categories. Taking the findings into account, the sustainability of agriculture in Golestan province can be enhanced by implementing the proposed environmental indicators into the planning process.

One of the common and growing perspectives on achieving sustainability is to formulate its indicators based on local data alongside with a guided and experimental approach. On this basis, designing and prioritization of rangeland sustainability indicators from the experts perspectives in the nomadic rangelands of Kham Namdan in Eghlid county, Robat Sarvestan and Dogush Naderi of Khanj county were done. These three regions were considered as the representatives of seasonal nomadic rangelands, cold, temperate and warm, of Fars province, respectively. In this study, multivariate decision-making methods, fuzzy Delphi, hierarchical analysis (AHP) and TOPSIS method were used. The questionnaire criteria were divided into four categoris: climate and meteorology, crop production, soil and anthropogenic. Analysis of the results at the level of indices showed that anthropogenic and soil indices with a weight of 0.480 and 0.330 were the highest, respectively, and crop production and climate and hydrological indices with relative weights of 0.134 and 0.056 were fallen in the next rank. At the level of options or criteria, all unapproved options were related to the anthropogenic index, while in the indicators of climate and hydrology, crop production and soil, all options were approved by experts. Paired comparison of the options also shows that the options of income and capital, ownership and types of visible soil erosion with relative weights of 0.16, 0.13 and 0.11 have the highest priority. On the contrary, for drought index, average annual temperature and access to alternative forage with relative weights less than 0.005 have the lowest priority. The results of TOPSIS method showed that options: finance (income, savings, loans and insurance), ownership (land, livestock, housing and car) and types of erosion are superior to other options.

Knowledge of the flood discharge rate is of the utmost importance in water resources utilization and flooding damage mitigation studies. Therefore, the aim of the current research was mainly to assess the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to predict the flooding susceptibility of the Amughin Basin, located in the Province of Ardabil. The basin¢s area is approximately 78 km2. The curve number (CN) of the basin was found by integrating the land use maps with the soil hydrologic groups namely: B, C, D. The CN was estimated 78.7 the year for 2015. Different effective factors, namely: the slope percentage, land curvature, distance from the river, topographic wetness index, stream power index (SPI), and the CN were used in the application of the AHP method, and the effective layers were classified into nine classes. A flooding into susceptibility map was constructed and classified into five classes with very low, low, moderate, high, and very high susceptibility. The results indicated that the CN was the most prominent in flooding susceptibility; the distance to the river and the amount of rain occupied the next priorities. The lowest factor in the flooding susceptibility was related to the plan curvature. Moreover, the results indicated that about 0.64% and 4.4% of the study area were categorize with high and very low sensitivities, respectively.

Wetlands are valuable ecosystems that provide a variety of environmental services such as water storage and supply, erosion and flood control, and biodiversity conservation. Migratory birds including waterfowls and shorebirds are among wetland-dependent species whose survival depends on wetlands. Ecological conditions and water quality of a wetland depend on the characteristics of its surrounding environment, including the type and ratio of land use and land covers. Miangharan wetland is one of the valuable wetlands in Iran, located in the southwest of the country in Khuzestan province. The current study was conducted to monitor land cover changes in Miangharan wetland over a period of 30 years and to rank destructing factors of this wetland. Satellite images were utilized from the mid-winter of 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2018 and land use maps of different years were produced and analyzed. Five land use classes including urban area, agricultural area, wetland, rocky outcrop and forests were identified using supervised classification. Destruction factors were identified through field observation and reports. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to rank the destruction factors of the wetland. A questionnaire was designed and completed by 20 environmental experts in Khuzestan province and analyzed, using Expert Choice software. Result showed that the wetland area has been decreased up to 80% from 1990 to 2018 and agricultural and urban areas have increased by 40%. Based on the results, the highest calculated weights were related to three threatening factors including sewage inflow (0.35), agricultural activities near the wetland (0.16) and natural drought (0.15). A correct and accurate understanding of the process of changes in a wetland and its threatening factors, provide a basis for preventing and dealing with these factors, as well as the prevention and accurate implementation of wetland conservation plans.

In natural resources, economic evaluation is poor in terms of study due to the uncertainty of non-consuming value of resources. In the present study, the evaluation of water, soil and plant resources in watershed management projects and expert questioning was done to enable the projects to be evaluated and prioritized economically. Three sub-watersheds were selected from the Parcel A watershed of Gheshlagh Dam basin in Sanandaj, that the mechanical, biological and biomechanical operations in each of them was executed. The amount of water, soil and plant resources of each project according to the guidelines of Forests, Rangeland and Watershed Management Organization was estimated. The ratio of income to cost and the cost of each unit of resources were obtained by calculating the value of each unit of resources and calculating revenues and costs in each project. Then, water, soil and plant economics as criteria and watershed projects as sub criteria were determined with paired comparison matrix questionnaires. A project has priority that protects more resources at a lower cost than another. Questionnaires were distributed among experts and data were analyzed by Analytical Hierarchy Process. The results of the expert questionnaire and the valuation of the sources were compared. The results showed that, the cost per cubic meter of water in the mechanical project is higher than biological projects, although experts prioritize mechanical methods economically but biological with an income-to-cost ratio of 2.2 is the top priority .The cost of water in the mechanical, biological projects was respectively 1.4, 1.2 times the price per cubic meter of water in the area. Soil and plant prices were also calculated and the biological project became the top economic priority. Therefore, priority should be given to biological projects that have less cost and more impact on resources, contrary to watershed experts and detailed-executive studies. As well as the mechanical projects should be limited to areas in critical flood situations, provided that operate biological projects in upstream.

Water shortage in the arid and semi-arid regions has necessitated subsurface dam construction for groundwater storage. The aim of this study was to determine the appropriate locations for subsurface dam construction using a set of field, laboratory and software methods in the arid and semi-arid regions of the provinces of Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad. Six axes were selected by examining the topographic maps and the drainage network. The most important factors influencing the subsurface dam construction were selected. Using the average expert opinion benefitting from a questionnaire and employing the FUZZY-AHP method, suitable places for subsurface dam construction were prioritized. Considering the geophysical studies, the characteristics of the affected strata were determined. The results of prioritization of suitable locations for subsurface dam construction showed that the Tang Nayab with a weight of 0.41 holds the top ranking. The study of the results of the most important factors affecting in subsurface dams construction indicated that water supply and bed-rock with a combined weight of 0.25 is the most effective factor in subsurface dam construction. The results of geophysical surveys also indicated that the alluvium strata had an electrical resistance of 300 to 400 ohm-meter. The results of geophysical surveys indicated that the alluvium thickness in selected site is 5 m.

This study was conducted to identify and analyze the effects of some invasive/undesirable plants on rangeland ecosystems. To analyze the risk of invasive species presence, on livelihood of the local people, a hierarchical analysis method was used. Factors used included 3 main criteria, 8 sub-criteria and 5 options. The main criteria were impact, invasion and growth potential. A linguistic scale was used to weight the criteria and options using the hierarchical analysis process. Questionnaires distributed among rangeland experts to express the degree of importance of the factors for evaluation. To check the accuracy of the criteria, compatibility ratio of each criterion was calculated in Expert Choice software. The results showed that Stipa capensis, Echinops dichrous, Alhaji mannifera, Peganum harmala and Carthamus lanatus had more destructive effects, respectively. The results of this study may be used for the control of invasive plants in rangeland ecosystems.

The aim of this research is to assess and compare the sustainability of agricultural products at the regional level in Gorgan County. In this study to assess agricultural sustainability, data are collected by using face to face questionnaires (110) and Gorgan agriculture-jahad management. Also, for weighting the criteria and sub-criteria determining sustainability were used views of the specialist in agricultural economics, agricultural extension and education, environment and agronomy. The weight of sustainability criteria (economic, social and environment) based on specialist views were considered 0.35, 0.25 and 0.4 respectively. The results indicated that potato with a score of 0.276 is the most sustainable crop. In addition, wheat, rice and irrigated soybean respectively with the scores of 0.249, 0.245, and 0.23 are in the next priorities. Also, according to the social indicator, rice with a score of 0.266, according to the environmental indicator, irrigated wheat with a score of 0.421 and according to economic indicator; potato with a score of 0.412 had the highest sustainability level. Generally, economic sustainability was lower than social and environmental sustainability in the agronomy sector in Gorgan County. Based on the performance sensitivity analysis of sustainability by changing the weights of the environmental criteria over 0.46, the sustainability level of irrigated wheat will increase. Regarding research results to increase the sustainability level suggest the selection species with higher yield and the biologic strategies for pest management.

As a consequence of population growth and increasing water demands, the importance of groundwater resources, as one of the vital fresh water supplies in arid regions, becomes plainly evident. In the current research, seven factors namely mean annual precipitation, drainage density, fault density, lithology, slope, and land use/land cover were chosen to identify groundwater potential zones. The thematic factor maps were created and the corresponding class and factor weights were assigned to factor maps using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The groundwater potential map was created by superimposing the weighted thematic maps. The final potential map was validated by discharge data corresponding to 88 wells and springs located in the study area. The results indicate that the accuracy of the AHP method is about 78%. HHHGThe zones with high groundwater potential are situated in the regions covered with conglomeratic attached sediments, sandstone, old river traces, and areas with higher fault density. Moreover, mean annual precipitation has the highest contribution (0.355) to modeling process while the geomorphology (0.059) factor has the lowest importance. A total of around 49 percent of the study area identified to have moderate to high ground water potential. The results suggest that the AHP method has a high capability in identifying groundwater potential zones in the Hable-rud River Basin.

Flood is one of the natural hazards that causes numerous financial and life damages each year. Therefore, flood potential prioritizing is crucial to reduce the damages caused by it. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in flood potential prioritizing of Barajin sub-catchments. So, flood potential of sub-catchments was determined using AHP and the results are compared with the outputs of the HEC-HMS model as observed data. The results showed that in addition to full compliance of the two maps, there is a significant correlation (0.9299 and 0.934) between flooding potential ranks and peak flood discharge ranks with the return periods of 25 and 50 years of sub-catchments. The weights of AHP were also showed that in the flood of sub-catchments, generally, hydro-climatic criteria (weight = 0.65) is more important than morphometric criteria (weight = 0.35); and the rainfall intensity is the most important sub-criteria (weight = 0.373). Based on the final ranking, sub-catchments of 5, 3, and 4 that are located in upland and mountainous areas, have high flood potential due to the high weight of tow sub-criteria, one rainfall intensity, and the other 25-years rainfall. The results of this study could be a good guide for controlling floods of the study area in addition to understanding the processes governing the watershed.

Since the most consumed water is in the agricultural sector, available water resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, are the main limiting factor for agricultural production. Therefore, by rain water harvesting systems and its proper management, it is possible to compensate part of water shortage in the mentioned region. The purpose of this study was to select the most suitable rain water harvesting techniques based on multi-criteria decision-making system using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and investigation of its effectiveness in supplying the water demand of pistachio gardens. The results of the AHP analysis indicated that the environmental impact criterion with a weight of 0.342 and permanency criterion with a weight of 0.284 were the most effective criteria for selecting of the best rain water harvesting system. Finally, the rain water harvesting system with geomembrane insulator with a weight of 0.371 was selected as the most suitable insulator cover, and two other rain water harvesting systems with plastic and isogam insulator were weighted with the weight of 0.350 and 0.279, respectively in the following priorities. Also, the results showed that from the insulated surface with an area of 800 m2 and an average annual rainfall of 300 mm, it is possible to harvest at least 200 m3 rainwater per year. With this volume of harvested water and the choice of drip irrigation with gravel filter, the annual irrigation water demand of 200 fruitful pistachio trees will be supplied during a crop season. Therefore, due to rainwater harvesting techniques, some parts of irrigation water demands of gardens will be provided in arid and semi-arid regions, as well as maintaining sustainability of production and increasing gardeners' revenues, the double pressure on surface water and underground water will also be reduced.

The success of the artificial recharge projects of aquifers need to recognition the appropriate points. The aim of this investigation is finding appropriate points for artificial recharge in “Kavir Meighan” basin in Markazi province. Because of that the Geographical Information System (GIS) is used. In this investigation. the method“Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)” is used to find suitable points. By using the opinion of the experts, the necessary criterion to choose suitable points are: Water Quality, Water Depth, Slope, Land use, Geology, Soil texture and the position of wells, springs and Qanats. In AHP methods the raster layer of used criterion was prepared. Then by using double comparison and Expert choice software, the weight of the any layers was made. In this method the maps were put together by overlap methods. After that, inappropriate points those are too close to wells, springs and qanats, were showed. Finally, the potential map of artificial recharge zone was prepared. In AHP method the potential map contents 29 zones, the total area of them is 14,770,183 square meters.