Applying fuzzy inference system and analytic network process based on GIS to determine land suitability potential for agricultural

Determining soil characteristics and land limitations through the land suitability assessment process is a very important step, due to its important role in sustainable management and reducing the effects of land degradation for the continuous production of agricultural crops. In this study, land suitability potential for wheat cultivation was determined by analytic network process (ANP)-fuzzy and traditional parametric methods including Storie and square root in lands with an area of about 4300 ha located in northwestern Iran. For this purpose, according to the land use maps, topography, slope, geology, and satellite image of the study area, the initial soil units were identified and soil was sampled by digging profiles in these units from the soil horizons of the profiles. According to the results, the ANP-fuzzy method had a more accurate evaluation in determining the land suitability potential, based on the determination coefficient (R-2) value between wheat yield and land suitability index compared to parametric methods. The application of ANP-fuzzy method determined 2328.05 ha, 53.79% of land highly suitable (S1), 1577.69 ha, 36.45% moderately suitable (S2), 419.6 ha, 9.69% marginally suitable (S3), and 3.02 ha, 0.07% currently unsuitable (N1). The most important limiting characteristics were slope, soil depth, ESP, Gypsum, pH, and soil salinity. Therefore, due to optimal weighting of characteristics, determining suitable limits of critical points, and applying ideal fuzzy membership functions, the ANP-fuzzy method can be applied as a superior method for assessing land potential for sustainable agricultural crop production in other parts of the world.