A Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Assessment of Land Suitability for Land Plantation with Eucalyptus grandis

Abstract

With the ever increasing human population and the industrial complexes catering for the need of this population, natural resources have been put under huge pressure. Forests are no exception; hence attempts to rebuild and rehabilitate the destructed and degraded forested areas are of high importance. Replantation of forest is a practical method for reversing the downgrading trends in the northern forests of Iran. Eucalyptus grandis is believed to be one of the most suitable species for afforestation in the north of Iran. We used a fuzzy multi-criteria approach towards land suitability assessment for plantation of Eucalyptus grandis in Gharnaveh Watershed of the Golestan Province of Iran. In the process, climatic, edaphic and topographic factors were employed as the criteria for suitability assessment. Membership functions were used to standardize factors and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was also applied for assigning weights to the criteria. The most important factors for plantation of the tree species was recognized as rainfall, slope and pH. The results showed that around 3570 hectares, close to 58% of the total area of the study site was suitable for plantation with Eucalyptus grandis. The approach used here can be utilized in other similar studies as an exemplary work for scientific site allocation for different plant species. Knowledge of the attempts towards afforestation that includes the ecological needs of the species used for afforestation is the key for the success of such efforts

Keywords

• Eucalyptus grandis, Spatial Analysis, Fuzzy logic, AHP