Groundwater Potential Mapping of the Al-shtar Plain Using Evidential Belief Function Model

The lack of information on the majority of catchment areas has motivated scholars to use spatial analysis of Geographical Information System (GIS) for hydrological studies and potential detection of the groundwater resources. This paper is focused on studying the performance and efficiency of the evidential belief function (EBF) method for groundwater potential mapping in Alshtar plains, Lorestan province. Moreover, parameters of slope, elevation, land use, curvature, Topography Wetness index (TWI) and Stream Power Index (SPI) were utilized. The digital maps of the all parameters were obtained via AcrGIS 10.1 and SAGA GIS 2 software with Raster Format. The geographical location of 28 wells within the region was provided. These points were randomly divided into the groups consist of 20 wells (70%) and 8 wells (30%) for modelling process (calibration) and validation, respectively. The results indicated that the EBF method possesses a proper efficiency for potential detection of the groundwater resources. With regard to the final zoning map, it can be deduced that the western parts of the plain have the higher potential and the center of the plain has the low groundwater potential.