Landslide susceptibility mapping using GIS-Based-MCDM Method in Arabdagh forests of Iran

Landslide hazards are relatively frequent in the mountainous regions of Northern Iran. This research aimed to utilize the potential application of a GIS-based multi-criteria decision-making model (MCDM) to evaluate and map landslide susceptibility in the Arabdagh forests, Golestan Province, Northern Iran. A ground truth landslide map including 78 points was prepared using aerial photographs and high-resolution satellite images and field surveys. The landslide influencing factors maps were produced and used as independent layers in the analysis. The landslide susceptibility map of the study area was produced by weighted linear combination (WLC) model based on AHP weights of factors. The resulting landslide susceptibility map was classified into five relative susceptibility zones according to the natural break method very low, low, moderate, high, and very high with an area of 5.1%, 26.1%, 31.7%, 24.4%, and 12.8% of the total study area, respectively. The validation of the susceptibility map was performed using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC). The validation results showed an AUC of 0.852 (85.2%) with a standard error of 0.036. The susceptibility risk in the areas covered by shrub and herb where high and very high, respectively.