Spatial assessment of forest site quality for afforestation using multi criteria decision analysis
Spatial assessment of forest site quality for afforestation using multi criteria decision analysis
Hakim Shah1, Mamoona Wali Muhammad1 Muhammad Afrasiyab2 and Javed Iqba3
ABSTRACT
Forest resources management at regional scale using traditional techniques is a challenging task especially in rugged terrain mountainous areas. The study area was selected in District Kohistan and District Battagram, of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan using the 1ox1o confluence points as defined in FRA 2010. Cloud free satellite image of Landsat TM acquired in September 2009 was used for achieving the objective. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) procedure was adopted in ArcGIS software for spatial modeling of site quality for afforestation. Analytical hierarchical process (AHP) defined multiple criteria using pairwise comparison matrix and the rating (weight) of each criterion was calculated. The results revealed that, by applying the selected parameters, 42% of land had the potential for afforestation within which 4% was recommended for dense afforestation. MCDA was found useful tool in breaking down the problem of identification and classification of the sites for afforestation in the management of hill forests.
Key words: Afforestation, Confluence Points, MCDA, AHP, Deforestation, AOI.
To share on other social networks, click on any share button. What are these?
June 2012
Vol. 62, Iss. 2
