Land suitability classification for development of Glycyrrhiza glabra using ANP Fuzzy model

Economic and therapeutic value of medicinal plants have encourage the people to increase cultivation of these plants in the world. Glycyrrhiza glabra is one of Iranian native plants which is used in the food, pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. The aim of this research is to identify suitable lands for cultivation of Glycyrrhiza glabra using ANP Fuzzy method in Ligvanchay watershed, Ardabil. Eleven criteria in four clusters including climate, soil, physiography and socio-economic were weighted using expert’s opinion in Super Decision software. Land use map was prepared using Landsat image and support vector machine method. Also, Fuzzy method was used to prepare same scale layers in Idrisi Selve software. Finally, potential map was prepared using weighted linear combination method in ArcGIS. Based on results, Altitude, slope, soil depth and soil fertility factors were the most important layers respectively. Results showed that 1936.85 ha (26.96%) of area have high or very high potential for the task. Based on results by changing the pattern of farming from cereal dryland to licorice can create a better economic benefits.