Model application in evaluating land suitability for OAK and PINE forest plantations in Northeast of Iran

Abstract

In the present study, land suitability evaluation by parametric and AHP approaches was evaluated for two forest plantations including oak (Quercus robur) and pine (Pinus silvestris) in Toroq watershed, northeast of Iran. Over 416 grid points were studied by exact climate, soil and terrain requirements of tree species. The land suitability indices by parametric approach ranged from 23.49 to 72.02 and 28.27 to 69.67 for oak and pine, while by AHP approach the values varied between 34.48–87.11 and 37.98–78.20, respectively. The most limiting factors for developing plantation of two species in the study area were altitude, aspect, soil depth, and soil texture. The spatial distribution of land suitability demonstrated a similar pattern for the two species, where from the east toward the west of the plain the values of limitations increase and the suitability classes persistently decrease. The regression coefficient (R2) of land suitability indices by two models varied between 0.876 and 0.753 for oak and pine species, respectively.

Keywords

• forest plantation
• suitability indices
• parametric
• ahp
• gis