Identifying Suitable Areas for Sugar Beet Growing in Accordance with the Ecological Needs of Ardebil Province

Sugar beet is one of the strategic corps of Iran. Based on climatic and environmental conditions in Ardabil province, growing sugar beet plays an important role in economic boom of local farmers. The objective of this study is to determine the ecological needs in order to identify the prone areas of the sugar beet growing and more efficient use of arable lands in Ardabil province. To this end, elements of climate were studied in the statistical period of 1988-2008 in local weather stations such as annual temperature, the temperature during the growth period (April – October), the annual precipitation, the precipitation of growth period (April – September). Also maps were drawn for layers of elevation levels, slope, orientation and the soil depth. The research process includes data collection, evaluation of layers using AHP, data entry into the GIS system, data integration and preparation of the final map. The research findings show that the province in terms of favorable condition for growing sugar beet, can be zoned into three areas: suitable (approximately 37%), average (25%), and unsuitable (38%).