Zoning the Land Areas in Shurrud Basin for the Cultivation of Saffron (Crocus sativus) using Analytic Hierarchical Process (AHP)

As a one of the most valuable commodities of the world agriculture, saffron has a special importance in Iran’s non-petroleum exports. As a result, identifying and locating the suitable sites for cultivating saffron is considered as one of the most significant factors in its sustained production. The purpose of this experiment was using AHP (analytic hierarchical process) for zoning the suitable regions to cultivate saffron in Shurrud basin areas in Neyshabour city by means of the potentials of the geographical information system within a comprehensive spatial analysis framework. In this study, three main criteria, eight subcriteria, and twenty three indices were used to select saffron cultivation zones. After obtaining the overlay weight, the composition of the layers under analysis was accomplished through simple weight mixing procedure and finally the zonation map was produced in three suitable, moderate, and unsuitable levels. The results indicated that about 1000 hectares of basin lands were suitable for the cultivation of saffron, 2000 hectares had moderate suitability, and 5000 hectares were unsuitable.