Ecological Capability Investigation for Agricultural and Rangeland Management Using AHP and GIS (Case Study: Gheymaskhan, East Azerbaijan Province)

Qeymas Khan Catchment is one of the most important catchments in East Azarbaijan province is agricultural and rangeland management which has long been used for subsistence residents of this area. The aim of this study is to evaluate ecological potential of Qeymas Khan Catchment for agricultural and rangeland management users and comparing it with the current land users to achieve sustainable development. For this purpose, the parameters used such as slope, elevation, land user, bedrock, soil texture, soil erosion, soil hydrological groups, soil depth, drainage, salinity, fertility, rainfall, temperature, vegetation density and vegetation type. Finally, it was studied to evaluate potential of area for agricultural and rangeland management users by using of AHP model (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and Expert Choice and ArcGIS softwares. Results of this research showed that the area of poor rangelands is 611 ha (14.5%), moderate rangelands 530 ha (12.5%), good rangelands 399 ha (9.5%), poor agricultural land 908.5 ha (21.5%), moderate agricultural land 569.6 (13.5%), good agricultural land 826.8 ha (19.6%) and very good agricultural land 369 ha (8.7%). Therefore this area has good potential for agricultural and rangeland management. The compare of ecological potential map and current land user showed that current land use of this studied area matches with the ecological potential of studied area.