The application of GIS in the selection of suitable areas for afforestation of Konya

Abstract

In order for the land management to be applied correctly and effectively, importance should be given to the location selection studies. Determining the most suitable area according to the purpose and initiating studies will provide social and economic gain for our country. As forest areas occupy large lands, it is actually a necessity to determine the areas to be afforested by site selection. In the study, Konya province, which has an arid and semi-arid climate, afforestation area selection was made using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Six different criteria were determined as precipitation, land use capability (LUC), large soil groups (LSG), rainfall, slope, aspect, and erosion. It has been determined that 15% of the study area is the most suitable for the afforestation area, 25.52% is suitable, 28.95% is medium, 12.76% is low and 17.77% is very low. The fields obtained were presented to the public with the help of the website created. The spatial appearance of these areas, which are deemed suitable for tree planting, is expected to increase tree planting activities.