Summary Land use capability systems do not present any considerations regarding recharge zones ( RZ s). To improve conservation planning, the objective of this study was to present a parametrization method for the land use capability of recharge zones ( LUC ‐ RZ ). RZ s were characterized as the upper thirds of the elevations of all slopes with rectilinear, concave and/or convex features in the terrains. The LUC ‐ RZ were parameterized based on the slope of the middle third of the elevations. The proposed methodology was applied to the Doce River basin ( DRB ) in Brazil, and 27.9% of the total area was characterized as RZ s. It was found that 61.9% of the RZ s area could be exploited through agricultural and livestock use; however, the usability of most of these areas was conditional on the adoption of rigorous soil and water conservation techniques. The remaining 38.1%, which was equivalent to 10.6% of the DRB , was restricted to native forest cover. Of the 61.9% of RZ s area that could be used for agriculture and livestock, 18.2% was occupied by native vegetation. These areas are protected by law and are responsible for several ecosystem services and thus must be preserved. The parameterization of the LUC ‐ RZ was sensitive to pedogeomorphological characteristics. The methodology used for the determination of the recharge zones has a strong theoretical basis and was simple to implement and therefore has great potential for use in multicriteria analyses for determining recharge zones.