Land Suitability Evaluation using Analytical Hierarchy Process Technique in Zarrinshahr and Mobarakeh (Isfahan)

This study was conducted to evaluate land suitability in Zarinshahr and Mobarakeh areas located in Isfahan Province using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique. The hierarchy structure for evaluation was established to select the proper land use for 32 land units. Two alternative land utilization types (the cultivation of wheat and rice) were selected at the lowest level. The intermediate levels of the hierarchy were comprised of seven criteria for evaluating the alternative land uses including soil، climate، gross income، water resources، market، physical environmental impacts and chemical environmental impacts. The weight for each element was calculated using 30 questionnaires which were completed by experts and software EXPERT CHOICE 2000. Then the overall weight for each land use was obtained by multiplying standardized attributes and local weights. The results showed that maximum and minimum calculated land indices for wheat cultivation were 77. 4 (unit 2-3) and 18. 86 (unit 4-9) and for rice 26. 85 (unit 4-10) and 7. 43 (unit 4-11)، respectively. The climate suitability was the most important factor for selecting the proper land use، followed by soil suitability. The least importance was contributed to market accessibility. The inconsistency ratio related for all the matrices was 9 percent. The results of this study showed that the cultivation of wheat has higher performance for production in all land units.