Site suitability analysis for potential agricultural land with spatial fuzzy multi-criteria decision analysis in regional scale under semi-arid terrestrial ecosystem

The main purpose of this study is to identify suitable potential areas for agricultural activities in the semi-arid terrestrial ecosystem in the Central Anatolia Region. MCDA was performed in a fuzzy environment integrated with GIS techniques and different geostatistical interpolation models. Nine criteria (four terrain properties and five soil features) were used to identify potential agricultural lands in Central Anatolia (≈195,012.7 km²). Criteria weights were assigned using FAHP. Inputs included a 10 m DEM, digital geology and soil maps, CORINE land use/land cover, long-term meteorological data, and 4517 soil samples. Approximately 30.7% of the total area (59,921.8 km²) is very suitable or suitable (S1 and S2) for agriculture, 27% is marginally suitable, and 42.7% is not suitable. Additionally, 34.8% of the area is slightly suitable.