Landslide Susceptibility Mapping Using GIS-Based-MCDM Method In Arabdagh Forests of Iran

Abstract

Landslide hazards are relatively frequent in the mountainous region of Northern Iran. This paper aimed to utilize the potential application of a GIS-based multi-criteria decision-making model (MCDM) to evaluate and landslide susceptibility mapping in the Arabdagh forests, Golestan Province, northern Iran. A ground truth landslide map was prepared using aerial photographs and high-resolution satellite images interpretation, and field surveys. The landslide influencing factors maps were produced and used as thematic layers in the analysis (criteria and sub criteria). The landslide susceptibility map of the study area was produced by weighted linear combination (WLC) model based on AHP weights of factors. The resulting landslide susceptibility map was classified into five relative susceptibility zones according to the natural break method: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high with an area of 5.1%, 26.1%, 31.7%, 24.4%, and 12.8% of the total study area, respectively. The validation of the susceptibility map was performed using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC). The validation results showed the area under the curve of 0.852 (85.2%) with a standard error of 0.036. The susceptibility risk rate in the areas where are mainly shrub and herb lands is high and very high.

Keywords

• landslide susceptibility
• multi-criteria decision making (mcdm)
• ahp
• arabdagh region