Land Use Suitability Model for Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) Cultivation Using the Best Worst Method: A Case Study from Ankara/Türkiye

Abstract

The product of grapes with the highest added value is wine. Wine grapes play an important role in the evaluation of barren lands, where no other plants generally grow. Viticulture in Türkiye is generally conducted on small areas of agricultural land. In order to develop viticulture, it is important to determine suitable areas. This study presents a model for assessing land suitability for cultivation of grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) in the Ankara region (Türkiye). The aim is to provide a spatial decision support system based on geographic information system multi-criteria assessment, taking into account the perspectives of expert agricultural engineers and local product growers. In this study, 11 criteria were evaluated to determine the most suitable locations for grapevine cultivation. The best worst method was used to calculate the weights of the determined evaluation criteria. When the spatial distribution of the areas suitable for grapevine cultivation was examined from the resulting map produced, it was seen that 1879.29 km2 (7%) of highly suitability areas, 5062.03 km2 (20%) of medium suitability areas, 4706.20 km2 (18%) of low suitability areas, and 8355.36 km2 (33%) of unsuitable areas were detected. According to the results obtained, the southern parts of the study area are more suitable for grapevine cultivation. This study will be an important and useful regional guide for agricultural land use planning and the cultivation of grapevines.