Land Use Planning Using a Quantitative Model and Geographic Information System (GIS) In Sistan Region, Iran

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Background: Land use planning is a science that determines the type of land use through studying the ecological and socio-economic characteristics of the land. Materials and Methods: A systematic method known as the Makhdoom Model was used for the analysis of maps to evaluate the land use and natural resources for future sustainable land planning of an area in Sistan region, using GIS as a tool. For this purpose, the ecological capability maps of different land uses, including forest and range, agriculture, ecotourism, rural and urban development were initially prepared by overlaying geographical maps in GIS for the study area. Then, the prioritization of land uses was assessed using a quantitative model by considering the ecological and socio-economic characteristics of the study area. Results: The results indicated that the maximum area of the proposed uses (28.7%) was related to conservation, showing this land use had high potential in the study area. Also, the minimum area of proposed uses was related to dry farming. Discussion and Conclusions: This research proved that quantitative methods can be more useful than classic methods (qualitative).