Alireza Bagheri; Bita Abbasi; Sadegh Jalilian
Abstract
Recognizing potential areas based on agricultural potentials and determining the suitability of land for specific productivity permits the planning of increased production and sustainable land use, and provides a suitable basis for human activities and land development. Using the Geographical Information ...
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Recognizing potential areas based on agricultural potentials and determining the suitability of land for specific productivity permits the planning of increased production and sustainable land use, and provides a suitable basis for human activities and land development. Using the Geographical Information System (GIS) and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), this study identified areas in Kermanshah province suitable for autumn safflower cultivation. Parameters included Altitude, maximum, average, and minimum temperature, precipitation, slope, and slope direction. From scientific sources, the ecological requirements of safflower were extracted in order to determine the areas suitable for safflower cultivation based on the desired parameters. Then, the maps pertaining to measurements were prepared and classified. In the subsequent step, the weight of each variable was determined using hierarchical analysis. the safflower zoning map was finally extracted from the GIS environment by overlapping and combining the obtained maps. Using the results of the hierarchical analysis procedure, the rainfall gauge and then the maximum temperature had the highest coefficients (0.295 and 0.219). 52%, 33%, 13%, and 2%, respectively, of Kermanshah's total arable land are classified as highly suitable, suitable, semi-suitable, and unsuitable. According to the investigated climatic and topographical variables, 85 percent of the province of Kermanshah's cultivated land is suitable for safflower cultivation. They are predominantly regions with temperate and tropical climates, demonstrating the province of Kermanshah's high potential for safflower cultivation as a crop rotation-friendly plant.
