Assessment of ecological capability and decline of Quercus castaneifolia C.A.M habitat in Hyrcanian forests (Case study: Savadkooh)

Abstract

One of the ways to implement practical plans in planning and protecting them is to be aware of the ecological potential of these resources and to investigate the factors affecting their degradation. In this Hyrcanian forest study in northern Iran, a study was conducted to determine the ecological capability of the forest based on three methods: AHP, fuzzy gamma and regression based on GIS and weighting of factors with AHP model. Then, using field data and stepwise regression model, a region decline map was constructed. The validation results of the three methods using the ROC model showed that the fuzzy gamma estimates the region capability with the highest accuracy and only 27% of the region has high and very high capability. Livestock grazing, climate change, land use change and diseases have played the most important role in the decline. The decline map developed along with the capability map can be helpful to any management of oak forests in the area to reduce decline factors and prioritize areas for conservation and support programs.