Geospatial modeling of landscape ecological sustainability level in geo-‎tourism regions

Abstract

Identifying various geomorphologic units with ecotourism attraction and determining the high-quality ‎landscape are important steps in order to improve the quality and protecting natural ecosystems. The ‎present study aims to achieve a more appropriate landscape pattern in the framework of ecotourism ‎development in the geo-tourism region of Bishe Waterfall, in Iran taking into account the landscape ‎quality assessment and landscape ecological indicators. Appropriate ways are proposed to develop ‎ecotourism for achieving sustainable ecotourism. For data analysis, Arc GIS, Idrisi and Fragstats ‎software were used. Also, The area of the study was determined using google earth software, and LAND ‎SAT and NDVI images were used to produce vegetation type and density maps. The landscape quality ‎units were evaluated by the‏ ‏development of landforms, and then 18 areas were selected as scenic ‎landscapes and verified by using questionnaires. To evaluate the visual aspect, the area was divided into ‎‎17 49-hectare cells, and the corresponding metrics were compiled in Fragstats and the corresponding ‎maps were produced for analyzing and evaluating the landscape pattern using Arc GIS. The results ‎showed three levels of landscape quality assessment, which is distinct, ordinary and, poor, where the ‎landscape quality from the horizontal perspective corresponds to the landscape quality from the vertical ‎perspective, but the results of the visual assessment of the area with the landform model showed that ‎there is a conflict between the aesthetics and ecology in the region.