Modification of Land Use/Land Cover and Its Impact on Groundwater in Peshawar City, Pakistan

Land use and land cover modifications have been undergoing at a hasty pace across the world. The dynamics of growth and change in land use in Peshawar City during the period 1991–2014 was studied utilizing GIS and remote sensing technologies. Using Landsat TM imageries, this study examined land use alterations in urban and peri-urban Peshawar and their impact on ground water. Beside this, the study used temporal and spatial dataset of water table for the year 1991 and 2014 that were gathered from Water and Works Department Peshawar, Pakistan. This study also used Cellular Automata–Markov (CA–Markov model) to predict the future change in built up area up to 2044 on the basis of past trend (1991–2014) and its impact on the encroachment or loss of agricultural land as well as the level of ground water. The past trend of fluctuation of groundwater (in feet) with the expansion in size of built-uses was also used to predict future trend in ground water depletion. The most severe impact in terms of groundwater depletion will take place in the southern parts of the city. The sharp decrease of groundwater table was observed in the central parts of the city compared to the peripheries. If this declining trend of groundwater level continues that might put an amplified stress on underground aquifers and may trigger to land subsidence or other environmental hazards.