Ecological land suitability analysis through spatial indicators: An application of the Analytic Network Process technique and Ordered Weighted Average approach

Multicriteria-Spatial Decision Support Systems (MC-SDSS) are increasingly popular tools in decision-making processes and in policy making, thanks to their significant new capabilities in the use of spatial or geospatial information.Many spatial problems are complex and require the use of integrated analysis and models. The present paper illustrates the development of a MC-SDSS approach for studying the ecological connectivity of the Piedmont Region in Italy. The MC-SDSS model considers ecological and environmental spatial indicators which are combined by integrating the Multicriteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) technique named Analytic Network Process (ANP) and the Ordered Weighted Average (OWA) approach. The ANP is used for the elicitation of attribute weights while the OWA operator function is used to generate a wide range of decision alternatives for addressing uncertainty associated with interaction between multiple criteria. The usefulness of the approach is illustrated by different OWA scenarios that report the ecological connectivity index on a scale between 0 and 1. The OWA scenarios are intended to quantify the level of risk taking (i.e., optimistic, pessimistic, and neutral) and to facilitate a better understanding of patterns that emerge from decision alternatives involved in the decision-making process.The purpose of the research is to generate a final map representing the ecological connectivity index of each area in the region under analysis, to be used as a decision variable in spatial planning. In particular, by using the resulting index map as a means of analysis, it is possible to identify, for the sake of nature conservation, some critical areas needing mitigation measures. In addition, areas with high ecological connectivity values can be identified and monitoring procedures can therefore be planned. The study concludes highlighting that the applied methodology is an effective tool in providing decision support for spatial planning and sustainability assessments.