Sub-basins prioritization based on morphometric analysis and geographic information systems: a case study of the Barada river basin, Damascus countryside governorate, Syria

Sub-basins prioritization is considered an essential procedure in ecosystem management and planning on watershed scales. Integrating morphometric parameters and remote-sensing data (RS) in a geographic information system (GIS) environment provides an advanced platform that effectively investigates sub-basins prioritization. In the current study, prioritization in eight sub-basins belonging to the Barada river basin was investigated by utilizing morphometric assessment in order to comprehensively specify the sub-basins prioritization for conservation strategies. The final map evaluates sub-basins prioritization classes: low, moderate, high, and very high. The results also determines the SB8, SB4, SB3, SB7 and SB6 sub-basins have the highest prioritization, which, in turn, refers to the urgent need conserving measures. Totally, the spatial outcomes of the present study constructively proved the efficiency of extracted morphometric layers from RS-data in regard to the spatial evaluation of prioritization in the Barada river basin; they also include an important tool for post-war environmental rehabilitation in river basins in Syria.