Determining Suitable Places for Saffron Planting Using Fuzzy Hierarchical Analysis Process in the City of Torbat Heydarieh

• Main Authors: Mahdieh Rashid Sorkhabadi, Ali Shahidi, Abbas Khashei Siuki
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: University of Torbat Heydarieh 2016-01-01
• Series: Zirā̒at va Fanāvarī-i Za̒farān
• Subjects: Earth facts; FAHP; GIS; Zoning
• Online Access: http://saffron.torbath.ac.ir/article_11900_78099ca154747cc5aca1a030903a08b8.pdf

The city of Torbat Heydarieh located in the central Khorasan is the largest producer of saffron in the world. According to the influence of various environmental factors on the growth and yield of saffron, the process of assessing land ratio for its cultivation requires the use of various detailed spatial and descriptive pieces of information. In this study, first the conditions of cultivating saffron have been studied in detail and suitable regions for planting saffron have been identified using maps of elevation, slope, soil characteristics, water and some climatic factors influencing the cultivation of saffron including effective threshold temperature, rainfall and sunshine hours. For this purpose, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method was applied and modeling and spatial analysis were carried out using Arc GIS software environment based on the lands of the city of Torbat Heydarieh which were evaluated for their suitability for cultivation of saffron. It is worth noting that the final map showed that 43 percent of the central parts of Torbat Heydarieh have the highest potential for saffron cultivation. To evaluate the results and ensure the accuracy of the final map data, plant functions and crop qualities were compared with obtained data from final maps and the accuracy of the results was confirmed that shows the effectiveness of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method  in assessing the potential of lands for saffron cultivation.