An Alternative Process for Determining Erosion Risk: The Fuzzy Method

This study reveals the status of erosion risk, which is a very important soil and environmental problem, in Gaziantep in order to test the reliability of the fuzzy method. The study evaluates vegetation cover, lithological structure, slope, and precipitation as erosion indicators to determine the effectiveness of the frequently used analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Fuzzy methods at identifying erosion risk. A weight value was assigned to each parameter using both the AHP and fuzzy methods; afterwards, mapping and analysis were carried out in the program Geographic Information System (GIS). The compatibility of both methods has been provided by comparing the values at 100 geographic points that had been selected. In accordance with these results, the AHP and fuzzy methods were determined to be highly compatible with each other. When considering the evaluation obtained as a result of the methodological comparison, while values were observed to be very similar in the categories of medium and high erosion, the similarity rates decreased in the categories of low and very low erosion. As a result, the fuzzy method has been revealed to be able to be used exclusively for evaluating erosion risk in areas with semi-arid climate characteristics and to even be an effective tool for guiding actions at preventing erosion.