U. Asif, A. M. Ahmad, M. A. Javed, M. Nasar-u-Minallah, S. R. Ahmad, N. Parveen
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Irrigated agriculture is the major determinant of economic growth potential as it accounts for 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. The current study focuses on the qualitative and quantitative assessment of groundwater in three districts i.e., Okara, Sahiwal and Khanewal of the Punjab province of Pakistan, which are considered highly fertile for agriculture production. The data were acquired from the Punjab Irrigation Department (PID) for 10 years (2010-2020) to assess the spatio-temporal patterns. The spatiotemporal mapping and variability of depth to the water table, electrical conductivity (EC), sodium absorption ratio (SAR), and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were done as per the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Punjab Irrigation Department using inverse distance weighting (IDW) statistical approach of GIS Techniques. The finding of the study revealed that overall water quality in the study area was reported as “fit” by following the WHO standards, whereas as per Punjab Irrigation Department standards, it was observed, as “Moderately fit”. Moreover, in Sahiwal, Okara, and Khanewal districts, the average depth of the water table declined from 2010 to 2015 by 0.619, 1.286, and 0.164 metres and then increased from 2016 to 2020 by 1.698, 1.421 and 0.830 metres, respectively. Although currently the quality and quantity of groundwater were not in critical condition, with continued carelessness and the release of additional water from aquifers, these conditions could deteriorate in the near future. So, developing a suitable mechanism for supplying surface water to farmers, and adapting environmentally acceptable methods of recharging aquifers is much needed.
期刊介绍:
Journal “GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY” is founded by the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University, The Russian Geographical Society and by the Institute of Geography of RAS. It is the official journal of Russian Geographical Society, and a fully open access journal. Journal “GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY” publishes original, innovative, interdisciplinary and timely research letter articles and concise reviews on studies of the Earth and its environment scientific field. This goal covers a broad spectrum of scientific research areas (physical-, social-, economic-, cultural geography, environmental sciences and sustainable development) and also considers contemporary and widely used research methods, such as geoinformatics, cartography, remote sensing (including from space), geophysics, geochemistry, etc. “GEOGRAPHY, ENVIRONMENT, SUSTAINABILITY” is the only original English-language journal in the field of geography and environmental sciences published in Russia. It is supposed to be an outlet from the Russian-speaking countries to Europe and an inlet from Europe to the Russian-speaking countries regarding environmental and Earth sciences, geography and sustainability. The main sections of the journal are the theory of geography and ecology, the theory of sustainable development, use of natural resources, natural resources assessment, global and regional changes of environment and climate, social-economical geography, ecological regional planning, sustainable regional development, applied aspects of geography and ecology, geoinformatics and ecological cartography, ecological problems of oil and gas sector, nature conservations, health and environment, and education for sustainable development. Articles are freely available to both subscribers and the wider public with permitted reuse.