The objective of this paper is to exploit the potential application of weighted index overlay analysis for assessing groundwater potential mapping at Dhungeta-Ramis sub-basin, Wabi Shebele basin, Ethiopia using remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) technique. For this purpose, seven groundwater occurrences and movement controlling factors, including, lithology, slope, land use land cover (LULC), rainfall, lineaments, soil, and drainage density were mapped. Then, weight was assigned to thematic maps, and the groundwater prospective of the sub-basin is qualitatively classified into five classes, namely, very good, good, moderate, poor, and very poor which account for 2.22%, 26.93%, 56.74%, 13.84%, and 0.26% landscape, respectively. The cross-validation of the resultant model was carefully carried out using spring, hand-dug, and deep well data. The result reveals that 89% of springs were overlaying good and/or very good groundwater potential zones and 58% of deep well shows the same scenario, whereas 42% of deep well overlays moderate zone. As a result, the map generated using this platform could be used as a preliminary reference in selecting suitable sites for groundwater resource exploitation.

Land use and land cover (LULC) analysis is crucial for understanding societal development and assessing changes during the Anthropocene era. Conventional LULC mapping faces challenges in capturing changes under cloud cover and limited ground truth data. To enhance the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the descriptions of LULC changes, this investigation employed a combination of advanced techniques. Specifically, multitemporal 30 m resolution Landsat-8 satellite imagery was utilized, in addition to the cloud computing capabilities of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. Additionally, the study incorporated the random forest (RF) algorithm. This study aimed to generate continuous LULC maps for 2014 and 2020 for the Shrirampur area of Maharashtra, India. A novel multiple composite RF approach based on LULC classification was utilized to generate the final LULC classification maps utilizing the RF-50 and RF-100 tree models. Both RF models utilized seven input bands (B1 to B7) as the dataset for LULC classification. By incorporating these bands, the models were able to influence the spectral information captured by each band to classify the LULC categories accurately. The inclusion of multiple bands enhanced the discrimination capabilities of the classifiers, increasing the comprehensiveness of the assessment of the LULC classes. The analysis indicated that RF-100 exhibited higher training and validation/testing accuracy for 2014 and 2020 (0.99 and 0.79/0.80, respectively). The study further revealed that agricultural land, built-up land, and water bodies have changed adequately and have undergone substantial variation among the LULC classes in the study area. Overall, this research provides novel insights into the application of machine learning (ML) models for LULC mapping and emphasizes the importance of selecting the optimal tree combination for enhancing the accuracy and reliability of LULC maps based on the GEE and different RF tree models. The present investigation further enabled the interpretation of pixel-level LULC interactions while improving image classification accuracy and suggested the best models for the classification of LULC maps through the identification of changes in LULC classes.

The significant natural energy sources for reducing the global usage of fossil fuels are renewable energy (RE) sources. Solar energy is a crucial and reliable RE source. Site selection for solar photovoltaic (PV) farms is a crucial issue in terms of spatial planning and RE policies. This study adopts a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based Multi-Influencing Factor (MIF) technique to enhance the precision of identifying and delineating optimal locations for solar PV farms. The choice of GIS and MIF is motivated by their ability to integrate diverse influencing factors, facilitating a holistic analysis of spatial data. The selected influencing factors include solar radiation, wind speed, Land Surface Temperature (LST), relative humidity, vegetation, elevation, land use, Euclidean distance from roads, and aspect. The optimal sites of solar PV power plant delineated revealed that ‘very low’ suitability of site covering 4.866% of the study area, ‘low’ suitability of site 13.190%, ‘moderate’ suitability of site 31.640%, ‘good’ suitability of site 32.347%, and ‘very good’ suitability of site for solar PV power plant encompassing 17.957% of the study area. The sensitivity analysis results show that the solar radiation, relative humidity, and elevation are the most effective on the accuracy of the prediction. The validation of the results shows the accuracy of solar PV power plant prediction using MIF technique in the study area was 81.80%. The integration of GIS and MIF not only enhances the accuracy of site suitability assessment but also provides a practical implementation strategy. This research offers valuable insights for renewable energy policymakers, urban planners, and other stakeholders seeking to identify and develop optimal locations for solar energy power farms in their respective regions.

Land degradation and desertification have recently become a critical problem in Ethiopia. Accordingly, identification of land degradation vulnerable zonation and mapping was conducted in Wabe Shebele River Basin, Ethiopia. Precipitation derived from Global Precipitation Measurement Mission (GMP), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST), topography (slope), and pedological properties (i.e., soil depth, soil pH, soil texture, and soil drainage) were used in the current study. NDVI has been considered as the most significant parameter followed by the slope, precipitation and temperature. Geospatial techniques and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach were used to model the land degradation vulnerable index. Validation of the results with google earth image shows the applicability of the model in the study. The result is classified into very highly vulnerable (17.06%), highly vulnerable (15.01%), moderately vulnerable (32.72%), slightly vulnerable (16.40%), and very slightly vulnerable (18.81%) to land degradation. Due to the small rate of precipitation which is vulnerable to evaporation by high temperature in the region, the downstream section of the basis is categorized as highly vulnerable to Land Degradation (LD) and vice versa in the upstream section of the basin. Moreover, the validation using the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis shows an area under the ROC curve value of 80.92% which approves the prediction accuracy of the AHP method in assessing and modelling LD vulnerability zone in the study area. The study provides a substantial understanding of the effect of land degradation on sustainable land use management and development in the basin.