Land use/land cover (LULC) changes are among the most significant human-caused global variations affecting the natural environment and ecosystems. Pakistan’s LULC patterns have undergone huge changes since the 1900s, with no clear mitigation plan. This paper aims to determine LULC and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) changes as well as their causes in Pakistan’s Southern Punjab province over four different periods (2000, 2007, 2014, and 2021). Landsat-based images of 30 m × 30 m spatial resolution were used to detect LULC changes, while NDVI dynamics were calculated using Modis Product MOD13Q1 (Tiles: h24 v5, h24 v6) at a resolution of 250 m. The iterative self-organizing (ISO) cluster method (object meta-clustering using the minimal distance center approach) was used to quantify the LULC changes in this research because of its straightforward approach that requires minimal human intervention. The accuracy assessment and the Kappa coefficient were calculated to assess the efficacy of results derived from LULC changes. Our findings revealed considerable changes in settlements, forests, and barren land in Southern Punjab. Compared to 2000, while forest cover had reduced by 31.03%, settlement had increased by 14.52% in 2021. Similarly, forest land had rapidly been converted into barren land. For example, barren land had increased by 12.87% in 2021 compared to 2000. The analysis showed that forests were reduced by 31.03%, while settlements and barren land increased by 14.52% and 12.87%, respectively, over the twenty year period in Southern Punjab. The forest area had decreased to 4.36% by 2021. It shows that 31.03% of forest land had been converted to urban land, barren ground, and farmland. Land that was formerly utilized for vegetation had been converted into urban land due to the expansion of infrastructure and the commercial sector in Southern Punjab. Consequently, proper monitoring of LULC changes is required. Furthermore, relevant agencies, governments, and policymakers must focus on land management development. Finally, the current study provides an overall scenario of how LULC trends are evolving over the study region, which aids in land use planning and management.

Improving the accuracy of reference evapotranspiration (RET) estimation is essential for effective water resource management, irrigation planning, and climate change assessments in agricultural systems. The FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (PM-FAO56) model, a widely endorsed approach for RET estimation, often encounters limitations due to the lack of complete meteorological data. This study evaluates the performance of eight empirical models and four machine learning (ML) models, along with their hybrid counterparts, in estimating daily RET within the Gharb and Loukkos irrigated perimeters in Morocco. The ML models examined include Random Forest (RF), M5 Pruned (M5P), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and Light Gradient Boosting Machine (LightGBM), with hybrid combinations of RF-M5P, RF-XGBoost, RF-LightGBM, and XGBoost-LightGBM. Six input combinations were created, utilizing T_max, T_min, RH_mean, R_s, and U₂, with the PM-FAO56 model serving as the benchmark. Model performance was assessed using four statistical indicators: Kling-Gupta efficiency index (KGE), coefficient of determination (R²), mean squared error (RMSE), and relative root squared error (RRSE). Results indicate that the Valiantzas 2013 (VAL2013b) model outperformed other empirical models across all stations, achieving high KGE and R² values (0.95–0.97) and low RMSE (0.32–0.35 mm/day) and RRSE (8.14–10.30%). The XGBoost-LightGBM and RF-LightGBM hybrid models exhibited the highest accuracy (average RMSE of 0.015–0.097 mm/day), underscoring the potential of hybrid ML models for RET estimation in subhumid and semi-arid regions, thereby enhancing water resource management and irrigation scheduling.

Monitoring and understanding Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC) is critical for sustainable development, as it can impact various environmental, social, and economic systems. For example, deforestation and land degradation can lead to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and greenhouse gas emissions, affecting the quality of soil, air, and water resources. The present research examined changes in (LU/LC) within the underdeveloped regions of Balochistan and Sindh provinces, which are situated in Pakistan. In order to monitor temporal variations of LU/LC, we employed Geographic Information System (GIS) technique, to conduct an analysis of satellite imagery obtained from the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) during the time period spanning from 2013 to 2023. In order to obtain an accurate LU/LC classification, we used principal component analysis (PCA) and a supervised classification approach using the maximum likelihood algorithm (MLC). According to the results of our study, there was a decrease in the extent of water bodies (− 593.24 km²) and vegetation (− 68.50 km²) by − 3.43% and − 0.40% respectively. In contrast, the area occupied by settlements in the investigated region had a 2.23% rise, reaching a total of 385.66 square kilometers. Similarly, the extent of barren land also expanded by 1.60%, encompassing a total area of 276.04 square kilometers, during the course of the last decade. The overall accuracy (94.25% and 95.75%) and K value (91.75% and 93.50%) were achieved during the year 2013 and 2023 respectively. The enhancement of agricultural output in Pakistan is of utmost importance in order to improve the income of farmers, mitigate food scarcity, stimulate economic growth, and facilitate the expansion of exports. To enhance agricultural productivity, it is recommended that the government undertake targeted initiatives that aimed at enhancing water infrastructure and optimizing land use to foster a sustainable ecological framework. Integrating the sustainable ecological framework provides a foundation for informed decision-making and effective resource management. By identifying areas of urban expansion, agricultural intensification, or alterations in natural LU/LC, stakeholders can design targeted conservation strategies, mitigating potential environmental degradation and promoting biodiversity conservation. In conclusion, the integration of GIS and Remote Sensing (RS) may effectively facilitate the monitoring of land use patterns over a period of time. This combined approach offers valuable insights and recommendations for the judicious and optimal management of land resources, as well as informing policy decisions.