Assessing the ecological potential of Khodaafarin City using Dr. Makhdoom ecological model and Geographic Information System

The protection and management of each user in different areas should be based on ecological conditions, which can be achieved by assessing the ecological potential in each area. Assessing ecological potential means examining the potential power of the land and determining its natural use by humans. The main purpose of this study is to identify the ecological potential in Khodaafarin City with an area of ​​161,607 ha, using the multi-criteria assessment method, the common land management model of Dr. Makhdoom and using GIS. In this study, after identifying ecological resources (sustainable and unstable), the resources were analyzed and summarized. Then, in the software environment (ArcGIS 10.6), the information layers were combined and then the maps were evaluated. Finally, according to the existing values, the potential strengths and bottlenecks of the region were estimated and the permitted uses were prioritized in the region. As a result, after combining the necessary maps and correcting them, the environmental capacities and ecological potential of the region were estimated as area (percentage) in Khodaafarin City. According to the objectives of the research, areas prone to segregation of aquaculture-agriculture (2.65), aquaculture-rangeland management (0.14), aquaculture-urban and rural development (0.2), aquaculture-extensive tourism (0.049), conservation-extensive tourism (0.45), conservation-forestry (0.12), centralized tourism-forestry (0.021), aquaculture (6.34), extensive tourism (12.61), centralized tourism (2.64), rangeland management (33.1), agriculture (7.51), conservation (13.57), urban, rural and industrial development (1.8), forestry (18.8) were zoned and identified. The results also showed that the highest potential is related to the rangeland management with an area of 61567.55 ha of which less than 50% (30457 ha) is consistent with the current conditions.