GIS Multi-Criteria Analysis by Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA): Toward an Integrated Citrus Management Strategy

Hasan Zabihi, Mohsen Alizadeh, Philip Kibet Langat, Mohammadreza Karami, Himan Shahabi, Anuar Ahmad, Mohamad Nor Said and Saro Lee
Additional contact information
Hasan Zabihi: Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Mohsen Alizadeh: Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Philip Kibet Langat: School of Environmental and Rural Science, University New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
Mohammadreza Karami: Department of Social Science, University of Payam Noor, Tehran 19395-4697, Iran
Himan Shahabi: Department of Geomorphology, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj 66177-15175, Iran
Anuar Ahmad: Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Mohamad Nor Said: Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Saro Lee: Geoscience Platform Research Division, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), 124, Gwahak-ro Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34132, Korea

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: This study proposes a site location assessment model for citrus cropland using multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) and the combination of a set of factors for suitability mapping and delineating the suitable areas for citrus production in Ramsar, Iran. It defines an incorporated method for the suitability mapping of the most appropriate sites for citrus cultivars with an emphasis on the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) process. The combination of geographic information system (GIS) and a modified version of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on the ordered weighted averaging (OWA) technique is also emphasized. The OWA is based on two principles, namely: the weights of relative criterion significance and the order weights. Therefore, the participatory technique was employed to outline the set of standards and the important criterion. The results derived from the GIS–OWA technique indicate that the cultivation of citrus is feasible only in limited areas, which make up 6.7% of the total area near the Caspian Sea. This investigation has shown that the GIS–OWA model can be integrated into MCDA to select the optimal site for citrus production. The present research highlights how multi-criteria in GIS can play a considerable role in decision making for evaluating the suitability of selected sites for citrus production.

Keywords: citrus mapping; multi-criteria analysis (MCA); GIS; AHP; ordered weighted averaging (OWA); land evaluation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/4/1009/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/4/1009/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:1009-:d:206238

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().