Study the effect of physiographic and anthropogenic factors on the spatial distribution of Pestacia atlantica using GIS in Dareh Shahr forests

This study aimed to predict the potential distribution of Pistacia atlantica on an area of 7319.63 ha in Dareshahr Region forests (west of Iran). The database composed of 200 samples based on the presence or absence of this species was used to determine the spatial distribution. In each plot, various physiographic factors were measured as well as the distance to the nearest residential areas. We then modeled the Pistacia A. distribution with a stepwise (odds ratios) logistic regression using 80% of the database whereas 20% was kept for validation. The results showed that the distribution of Pistacia was adequately modeled. There was a good correlation between dependent and independent variables based on the Roc curve with an amount of 0.7. In particular, the aspect of hillside was determined as the most important factor to explain the distribution of Pistacia A. In contrast, the height above sea level inversely correlated with the presence of Pistacia A. According to the final model, more than 45% of the study area is potentially favourable to the Pistacia A.’s presence. The results of modeling indicated that the logistic regression can be an adapted method to evaluate the impact of various factors on the spatial distribution of tree species.