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

摘要

Withtheeverincreasinghumanpopulationandtheindustrialcomplexescateringfortheneedofthispopulation,naturalresourceshavebeenputunderhugepressure.Forestsarenoexception;henceattemptstorebuildandrehabilitatethedestructedanddegradedforestedareasareofhighimportance.ReplantationofforestisapracticalmethodforreversingthedowngradingtrendsinthenorthernforestsofIran.EucalyptusgrandisisbelievedtobeoneofthemostsuitablespeciesforafforestationinthenorthofIran.Weusedafuzzymulti-criteriaapproachtowardslandsuitabilityassessmentforplantationofEucalyptusgrandisinGharnavehWatershedoftheGolestanProvinceofIran.Intheprocess,climatic,edaphicandtopographicfactorswereemployedasthecriteriaforsuitabilityassessment.Membershipfunctionswereusedtostandardizefactorsandtheanalyticalhierarchyprocess(AHP)wasalsoappliedforassigningweightstothecriteria.Themostimportantfactorsforplantationofthetreespecieswasrecognizedasrainfall,slopeandpH.Theresultsshowedthataround3570hectares,closeto58%ofthetotalareaofthestudysitewassuitableforplantationwithEucalyptusgrandis.Theapproachusedherecanbeutilizedinothersimilarstudiesasanexemplaryworkforscientificsiteallocationfordifferentplantspecies.Knowledgeoftheattemptstowardsafforestationthatincludestheecologicalneedsofthespeciesusedforafforestationisthekeyforthesuccessofsuchefforts.