{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,10]],"date-time":"2026-01-10T03:54:36Z","timestamp":1768017276940,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"22","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]],"date-time":"2025-11-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1763337600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology","award":["UIDB\/04020\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/04020\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sustainability"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In the S\u00e3o Br\u00e1s de Alportel municipality, water scarcity poses a significant constraint on agricultural activities. This study utilises Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information Systems (GISs) to identify existing irrigated areas, delineate catchment basins, and select the most suitable sites for the installation of new surface water reservoirs. First, the principal territorial components were characterised, including physical elements (climate, geology, soils, and hydrography) and anthropogenic infrastructure (road network and high-voltage power lines). Summer Sentinel-2 satellite imagery was then analysed to calculate the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), enabling the identification and classification of irrigated agricultural parcels. Flow directions and accumulations derived from Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) facilitated the characterisation of 38 micro-catchments and the extraction of 758 km of the drainage network. The siting criteria required a minimum setback of 100 m from roads and high-voltage lines, excluded farmland currently in use, and favoured mountainous areas with low permeability. Only 18.65% (2854 ha) of the municipality is agricultural land, of which just 4% (112 ha) currently benefits from irrigation. The NDVI-based classification achieved a Kappa coefficient of 0.88, indicating high reliability. Three sites demonstrated adequate storage capacity, with embankments measuring 8 m, 10 m, and 12 m in height. At one of these sites, two reservoirs arranged in a cascade were selected as an alternative to a single structure exceeding 12 m in height, thereby reducing environmental and landscape impact. The reservoirs fill between October and November in an average rainfall year and between October and January in a dry year, maintaining a positive annual water balance and allowing downstream plots to be irrigated by gravity. The methodology proved to be objective, replicable, and essential for the sustainable expansion of irrigation within the municipality.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/su172210276","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]],"date-time":"2025-11-17T14:04:07Z","timestamp":1763388247000},"page":"10276","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["GIS-Based Site Selection for Agricultural Water Reservoirs: A Case Study of S\u00e3o Br\u00e1s de Alportel, Portugal"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6910-9882","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olga","family":"Dziuba","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"GeoPole-Engineering Surveying, Kievskaya Street, Building 16, Apt. 26, 121165 Moscow, Russia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-6363-0875","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Cust\u00f3dio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"C\u00e2mara Municipal de S\u00e3o Br\u00e1s de Alportel, 8150-151 S\u00e3o Br\u00e1s de Alportel, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2862-6841","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos Otero","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"},{"name":"MED Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research, Universidade de \u00c9vora, 7000-083 \u00c9vora, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2709-804X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fernando Miguel","family":"Granja-Martins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"},{"name":"Centre for Research in Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being (CinTurs), Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7753-3767","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rui","family":"Lan\u00e7a","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3677-1064","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Helena Maria","family":"Fernandez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Engenharia Civil, Instituto Superior de Engenharia, Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"},{"name":"Centre for Research in Tourism, Sustainability and Well-Being (CinTurs), Universidade do Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2298","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2486.2011.02396.x","article-title":"Agroclimatic conditions in Europe under climate change","volume":"17","author":"Trnka","year":"2011","journal-title":"Glob. 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