Abstract
Geographic Information System tools, combined with mathematical methods for complex geospatial scientific investigations, are essential for environmental zoning. Among these tools, environmental fragility models evaluate criteria related to the physical attributes of the landscape to ensure multi-disciplinarity of the information plans used in a study. However, questions are raised on the priority allotted to each criterion or environmental factor within a multi-criteria analysis model. In this sense, the analytic hierarchy process is another mathematical model that is used in decision theory, which sorts criteria hierarchically. This study aims to use the AHP method as a tool to support multi-criteria decision making as applied to environmental fragility mapping, using the Jequitinhonha River Basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as a case study. The application of the AHP method provided a hierarchy of five important environmental criteria for the environmental fragility mapping. The use of AHP allowed the modeling of empirical evaluations in mathematically consistent results, to provide better conciseness in geospatial processes. Therefore, it is an adequate method to minimize subjectivity in environmental and territorial planning. It can also help the management of priority zones for conservation, preservation, or ecological restoration.
Highlights
The demand for strategies that provide for significant time saving, improved productivity, and lower costs in the analyses of processes for environmental planning, land, and forest management is increasing
We applied the methodology of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method to plan information from the Jequitinhonha river basin located in the northeast portion of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil
Its application allows the organization of hierarchically complex problems involving several criteria
Summary
The demand for strategies that provide for significant time saving, improved productivity, and lower costs in the analyses of processes for environmental planning, land, and forest management is increasing.
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