The efficiency of Analytic Network Process to estimate the flooding potential watershed (Case study: Kakhk Paired Watershed of Gonabad)

Nowadays, multi-criteria decision-making methods have found wide application in various sciences. Integrating GIS and multi-criteria decision-making methods has been lead to provide spatial multi-criteria decision-making methods. In this study, using analytic network process (ANP) the flooding spatial potential was determined. At first for this purpose topography, climatic, geology, soil, hydrology, landuse and vegetation factors identified as important factors affecting on flooding and were prepared related classes layers with these factors. Then the criteria and their classes were weighted by using analytic network process and was flooding spatial potential map in Ilwis 3 software was calculated through the combination of weighting layers. Our results showed that the average of flooding potential in Control subbasin was calculated 0.25 and in Sample subbasin 0.21. So the curve number factor have the greatest impact on flooding and has a direct relationship with that. Also the north slope has the lowest impact on flooding. This results showed the analytic network process can be used as a way to estimate the flooding potential and displaying the spatial variations in watershed.