An Investigation of the factors affecting Land-Use and Land-Cover Changes in Damavand city Using Q-Methodology

Damavand city in the east of Tehran province, due to its special features, experiences changes in various aspects. One of these the most common of these changes is in the usage and the coverage of urban land. If these changes occur, regardless of their consequences, they will deplete the earth's resources. Therefore, being aware of the views of elite people in discussing the factors affecting land-use and land-cover changes in Damavand city is one of the important issues in planning and policymaking. In this paper, the applicability of Q-methodology is investigated to understand the causes of land-use and land-cover changes in Damavand. Q-methodology is a research method that is used to rank the factors using a Likert-like scale and check the correlation between the responses of different individuals. In this study, we intend to examine the features and stages of the Q-methodology to identify the factors influencing land-use and land-cover changes in Damavand City from the perspective of different informed individuals and groups. We also seek to answer this question: How can we move forward in presenting a strategic zoning model to optimize the usage of Damavand city space within the framework of extracted factors via Q-methodology?

In this research, the discourse space includes a valid thesis and all scientific research articles (with topics of land-use change discovery). To avoid bias, the unstructured Q-sample was used. Depending on the dimensions of the Q-factors or expressions, a spectral scaled diagram was designed. The participants were selected from the researchers who were informed about the subject. The KMO index (0.783 in the case) was used to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Q-method. The identified factors were interpreted based on the rotated factor matrix and the highest factor scores were calculated by the comparative analysis method. To identify participants' mental patterns, exploratory factor analysis was performed using a correlation matrix. The principal components method, which is the most common factor extraction method in Q-factor analysis, was applied.

According to the method used and the steps mentioned above, four factors were extracted with a 75.074% variance. To examine these factors carefully, ranking the factor arrays of the determinants of the land-use and land-cover changes were performed. Extracted factors include: A. Urbanization attractions and weaknesses of agricultural economy foundations in the area: People in this group believe that the low prices of agricultural products and the added value of changing land-use are two important measures in land-use and land-cover changes in the region. B. Management and planning factor: Members of the group believe that cross-sectoral urban policies, as well as lack of comprehensive management of natural resources, are among the most fundamental aspects of land-use and land-cover changes in Damavand. C. Physical-Environmental factor: People in this group believe that the physical-environmental factor is the main factor in the changes. In this regard, factors such as the physical and geographical potentials of the region and communication network system are the most important factors of the changes from the perspective of this group. D. Urban infrastructure availability factor: People in the group believe that the availability of urban infrastructure is the most important factor of the changes in land-use and land-cover.

The result of the discoveries indicates the need for effective planning to prevent damage to the urban environment. After analyzing the trend of land-use changes and the affecting factors in Damavand city, suggestions can be made to control the current trends. The results of the Q-methodology, the main factors, and comments on the proposed changes were used as a framework for presenting a strategic activity zoning model. Also, the proposed model was developed based on the standard land-use classification system with an emphasis on the activity dimension.