Identifying the most appropriate of combat desertification alternatives by using the Eigenvector Method and the Vikor Model

Abstract

Desertification is defined as land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid that caused as a result of various factors including climatic variations and human activities. Desertification causes many restrictions in terms of agriculture, food security, livestock rising, industry and providing service costs. This phenomenon is a process that gradually developed and accelerated and adjustment costs are increasing exponentially, so according to resource constraints and the desert area sensitivity, providing optimal Combat desertification alternatives natively is necessary to achieve success in controlling and reducing the effects of this phenomenon among different regions. Therefore, this study was performed to provide a systematic and optimal alternative in a group decision-making model. To this aim, at the first in the framework of Multiple Attribute Decision-making (MADM), indices priority was determined using the Eigenvector model. Then, alternatives priority was evaluated by the VIKOR model. Assessing selecting conditions of optimal alternatives in the context of the mentioned model showed that Prevention of unsuitable land use changes (A18), vegetation cover development and reclamation (A23) and modification of groundwater harvesting (A31) with VIKOR index of =0, 0.3083 and 0.6241were selected as the main desertification hazards control alternative in the study area​​, respectively. Therefore, it is suggested that the obtained results and ranking should be considered in projects of controlling and reducing the effects of desertification and rehabilitation of degraded land plans.

Keywords

• desertification hazards control
• eigenvector technique
• multi-attribute decision making (madm)
• vikor model
• pairwise comparison