Estimation of susceptible land area for wood farming in non-forest lands of Guilan province

Identifying suitable land for wood cultivation is essential for future planning. However, it is a sensitive issue that needs to be addressed due to climate change and the dynamics of the issue, both biophysically, socially, and economically. To implement this project, ecological indices of Populus deltoides and Populus euramericana including temperature, precipitation, soil, and physiography were determined. Climate and temperature data were collected from meteorological stations. A climatic information layer, non-forest land layer, soil layer, and the current status of the poplar plantation layer were prepared. By AHP and layers-weighted overlay methods and intersect command, and then weighting each of these ecological indices using interpolation models (kriging), according to the ability of two Populus deltoides and Populus euramericana species to cultivate, they were classified and prioritized into areas with suitable and unsuitable potential for development of poplar cultivation. The results showed that Guilan province's poplar development potential was 63806 ha divided into two types of rainfed and rainfed with supplementary irrigation. Of these, 12335.74 ha are rainfed.