Determination of Babolrood basin Capability for Various Land Uses Using Multi Criteria Decision Making Methods

Determination of land capability for optimal use of land to prevent land degradation and improper use of lands is an effective step towards sustainable development strategy. Regarding the importance of subject, in this study in first; ecological potential for usual land uses in Iran (forestry, ecotourism, agriculture, range management, residential areas development and conservation) in Babolrood basin was evaluated using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographic Information System (GIS). Then land uses were ranked using MOLA technique and land use planning map of study area was created. The results showed that 59.49 percent of the area was allocated to forestry and 21.82, 17.73, 0.05, 0.106 and 0.804 percent of the area were allocated to ecotourism, agriculture, range management, residential areas development and conservation respectively.