Geographic information system and multi-criteria decision analysis for the determination of groundwater recharge potential: systematic review

The groundwater recharge area is one of the crucial components in regional development. Many studies in determining groundwater recharge areas with a combination of Geographic Information System and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis have been carried out. The development of studies over the last ten years is reviewed in this paper using the PRISMA systematic review method to find out the study’s progress. A total of 31 studies were found in the previous ten years based on the review results. Information about the country of origin of the study, dominant geology, climatic conditions, criteria used, decision-making and weighting methods, and the validation process for each study were extracted. The results show 12 countries researching this topic, with five dominant geological classes and nine classes of climatic conditions, and 33 criteria are used in the 2011–2021 range with eight dominant criteria used. Four decision rules and the weighted method are used, and a validation process is commonly used with well data. From systematic review and meta-analysis, we conclude: India has become the country that has most researched this topic. Hard-rock-class geology is dominant and arid and semi-arid climate conditions have become the main focus of studies. The variability of criteria is up to 33 with 18 criteria still used only once in each study, and eight dominant criteria have been used. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Multiple Influence Factor (MIF) have become the most-used methods for assigned weight, and Frequency Ratio (FR) is the newest method for assigned weight. Lithology has the highest weight compared with the other seven dominant criteria, and well data has become the most common data for verification of groundwater recharge.