Modeling the Sustainable Land-Use Allocation in the Great Isfahan Using Multi-Criteria Evaluation in GIS Environment

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 1 Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

2 Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract

 
Land suitability evaluation plays an important role in environmental sustainable management. Besides, it is a prerequisite for land planning which affects sustainability of the activities and sustainable development. The current study aims to evaluate and model the agricultural, urban and industrial development in Great Isfahan (as the most crowded center of Isfahan province and the most important agricultural and industrial hub of the country) using the data in 2018. Land-use planning is increasingly focusing on the aspects of environmental conservational and sustainable development. Choosing the appropriate areas for this purpose is a complex process which requires lots of effective factors. We use multi-criteria evaluation of the land-use allocation models applying geographic information system. First, the required data (including topographic variables, water resources, geology, land-use, accesses, infrastructure factors, biological resources, soil and climatic parameters) were identified, suitability maps were prepared using fuzzy method, and the weight of the factors was determined employing the analytic hierarchy process. Then, the prepared maps were combined using the weighted linear combination method. Finally, the final maps of land-uses suitability were prepared and classified according to the expert opinions. The findings show that approximately 586.9, 197.2 and 24 km2 (20.3%, 6.9% and 0.08%) of the total area of the region is suitable for agricultural, urban and industrial development, respectively. Besides, the northwest and southeast of the region are in an appropriate area. We conclude that MCE and GIS techniques are effective tools for land evaluation and planning. The results of the present research can be used as a multi-criteria decision analysis to obtain a deep insight into the sustainable use of natural resources. Moreover, three possible scenarios (current ecological and socio-economic trend, conservation of agricultural lands and urban-industrial development) can be designed and modeled based on.
 
Extended Abstract
 
1-Introduction
 
Land suitability evaluation plays an important role in environmental sustainable.Besides, it is a prerequisite for land planning which affects sustainability of the activities and sustainable development. The present study aims to evaluate and model the agricultural, urban and industrial development in Great Isfahan (as the most crowded center of Isfahan province and the most important agricultural and industrial hub of the country) using the data in 2018.Multi-criteria evaluation of land-use allocation is necessary to achieve sustainable utilization of land resources for this sensitive area.
 
2-Materials and Methods
 
A set of criteria (topography, water resources, geology, land-use, accesses, infrastructure factors, biological resources, and soil and climate parameters) was prepared in order to assess land-uses suitability. Raster's digital elevation model was extracted from ASTER satellite images. Irrigation canals from Google Earth images and vegetation density was obtained from the NDVI index extracted from the MODIS sensor.
 
Sentinel-2 satellite Images were used to prepare a land-use map. Land-uses in the area were analyzed well and object-oriented classification was used leading to classification. Applying the fusion process and the decision tree, the results of the different classifications were combined and a land-use map (actual land-use) was prepared. Finally, the precision of the image classification was obtained using ground truth.The standardization of the criteria was achieved based on fuzzy logic. Criterion weights were determined using AHP method and expert opinions. The map of the criteria and weights obtained were combined and the suitable areas of land-uses were designed using the WLC.
 
3-Results and Discussion
 
The results of accuracy assessment of the land-use map with a Kappa coefficient of 88% indicate its acceptable precision. The results of the criteria showed that all parameters do not have the same weight in the assessment model. Groundwater and surface water resources are of key importance in land-uses suitable. Water resources, slope, climate and soil parameters play an important role in determining the suitability of agricultural land. Since urban development and industrial is difficult or impossible without infrastructures such as roads, and water transmission lines, accessing to infrastructures along with ecological criteria such as topography and climate leads to not only a more precise analysis of existing conditions but also more precise results of the conditions and region's potential capacity for these land-uses.
 
The agricultural suitability map shows the values from 0 to 0.8, which indicate the suitability of each pixel unit. Areas with zero value have the least capability and areas with a value of 0.8 have the highest capability. Areas with a value higher than 0.8 do not exist indicating that areas with extraordinary potential are not available in the area. As a result, it has a relatively good potential for agricultural development. The WLC method can be effective in assessment land suitability. In the final maps of land suitability, each pixel has a value that indicates its suitability for land-use.
 
The northwest of Isfahan County and the south of the region (Mobarakeh County) are suitable for industrial development. Lack of high slope, soil appropriate structure, irrigation canals and wells are the most important factors for agricultural high suitability. The areas around the Zayandeh Rood River have the highest suitability of agricultural. Baharestan and Qahjavaristan regions have a very good capacity for urban development due to their land with good slopes and good soil parameters. The northern and northeastern regions, the suburbs of Isfahan, Najafabad, Khomeini Shahr cities and Zibashahr are suitable for urban development. Scattered development is more prevalent in the north and west of the region.
 
Significant results were obtained due to the high spatial precision of Sentinel data and the accuracy assessment was verifiable. The results showed that approximately 586.9, 197.2 and 24 km2 (20.3%, 6.9% and 0.08%) of the total area of the area are suitable for agricultural, urban and industrial development, respectively.Regarding limited suitable land in the region, the increasing need to land for this land-uses and population increase, the vast part of the land has been allocated to agricultural land-uses and urban development.
 
The results reveal that of total of 2888 square kilometers of the area, 586 square kilometers of land has capability for agricultural land-use, while the area of ​​actual land is 541 square kilometers proving that the amount of the agricultural land-use in the region is less than the capability of the land. It can be attributed to various factors such as the lack of water resources in a part of the region, the release of agricultural land in order to transform them into other land-uses, especially residential and socio-economic changes. 197 square kilometers of land has residential and urban development capacity, while 421 square kilometers of land is currently occupied by this type of land-use indicating that urban development and residential are more than the region's capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the destruction of high quality agricultural land due to urban development, especially on the suburbs and by using comprehensive land use planning, the conflict between different land uses in order to preserve high-quality agricultural land and provide the land needed for urban development, minimized.
 
4-Conclusion
 
According to the findings from present study, MCE and GIS techniques are effective tools for land planning. By land suitability evaluation, it can be concluded that how much development is in harmony with land capability. Conservation of agricultural land, prevention of land-use changes, development of cities considering ecological sustainability, social and proper urban form are the main priorities of planning in this region. Due to the location of agricultural and urban-industrial areas in the region, scenario building is recognized essential for management and prioritization of land-use.It is suggested that in addition to assessing land potential, environmental impact assessment should also be applied for development plans, so that proper planning can be done and reduced the intensity of land destruction.
 






Land suitability evaluation plays an important role in environmental sustainable management. Besides, it is a prerequisite for land planning which affects sustainability of the activities and sustainable development. The current study aims to evaluate and model the agricultural, urban and industrial development in Great Isfahan (as the most crowded center of Isfahan province and the most important agricultural and industrial hub of the country) using the data in 2018. Land-use planning is increasingly focusing on the aspects of environmental conservational and sustainable development. Choosing the appropriate areas for this purpose is a complex process which requires lots of effective factors. We use multi-criteria evaluation of the land-use allocation models applying geographic information system. First, the required data (including topographic variables, water resources, geology, land-use, accesses, infrastructure factors, biological resources, soil and climatic parameters) were identified, suitability maps were prepared using fuzzy method, and the weight of the factors was determined employing the analytic hierarchy process. Then, the prepared maps were combined using the weighted linear combination method. Finally, the final maps of land-uses suitability were prepared and classified according to the expert opinions. The findings show that approximately 586.9, 197.2 and 24 km2 (20.3%, 6.9% and 0.08%) of the total area of the region is suitable for agricultural, urban and industrial development, respectively. Besides, the northwest and southeast of the region are in an appropriate area. We conclude that MCE and GIS techniques are effective tools for land evaluation and planning. The results of the present research can be used as a multi-criteria decision analysis to obtain a deep insight into the sustainable use of natural resources. Moreover, three possible scenarios (current ecological and socio-economic trend, conservation of agricultural lands and urban-industrial development) can be designed and modeled based on.

Keywords

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References

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Geography and Environmental Sustainability
Volume 10, Issue 2 - Serial Number 35
September 2020
Pages 21-35

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