Generating a Vegetation Map in Mountainous Region of Sabzkouh Using a Digital Elevation Model

The analysis of the relationship between spatial distribution of environmental factors and vegetation types is crucial for understanding mountainous ecosystems. In this research a GIS based approach was used to produce a vegetation map for Sabzkouh protected area in the Chaharmahal-Va-Bakhtiari province. To identify environmental parameters affecting the vegetation cover، 6 primary and secondary environmental parameters including hypsometric، slope steepness، slope direction، annual precipitation، temperature and sun radiation maps were derived from the study area DEM. To investigate the relationship between these factors and the spatial distribution of vegetation cover، quantitative analyses using statistical techniques like Principal Components Analysis (PCA) were undertaken. Then، the spatial distribution of vegetation types was predicted using a multi-logistic regression. Results showed that topographic variables derived from the DEM were very useful for indicating habitats of range and forest types. Although lack of information on the anthropogenic effects led to some uncertainties in the interpretation of spatial pattern of vegetation types، the topographic and climatic variables، derived from the DEM، were considerably effective in modelling the spatial distribution of vegetation types.