Using a Fuzzy AHP approach to identify the affective parameters on development of Mangroves (A case study: Avicennia marina stands of Hormozgan Province)

This survey aimed to identify a set of crucial parameters which contribute to form the suitable sites for developing mangroves in Hormozgan Province. Therefore, a systematic literature review on 25 studies in Iran and comparable regions was conducted to identify the potentially-influential factors. It led to the subsequent selection of 3 main criteria and 9 sub-criteria. These were examined across the study site by means of Delphi method. The entire criteria were also weighted by Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results indicate that the climate, the seawater properties and the physiographic properties (as main criteria) as well as the precipitation, the air temperature, the climate type, the sea waves, the tidewater quality and the physiochemical properties of land (as sub-criteria) play the most vital roles in the formation of optimal sites for Avicennia marina establishment. The physiographic property was the most crucial criterion, whereas the physical properties of land and precipitation were the most and least significant criteria, respectively. The results also returned a compatibility index of less than 0.1 in fuzzy hierarchical cluster analysis, which indicates the compatibility of judgments.