Development of a land suitability model for citrus cultivation using GIS and multi-criteria assessment techniques in Antalya province of Turkey.

• The meteorological, t opographical, land use capability, environmental, infrastructural, and irrigation conditions were considered. • Elevation, slope, land use capability, land cover, and average temperature were the main constraint factors for citrus cultivation. • AHP, IDW, WO, and GIS approaches offer methodological framework to evaluate land suitability for citrus cultivation. • The coastal regions of the study area are the most convenient. • The 6.22 % of study area are suitable for citrus production. Location selection for citrus orchards is an important topic in terms of sustainable agriculture policies, agricultural planning, and community. This study presents a model to evaluate land suitability for cultivation of citrus in Antalya Province of Turkey. The aim of this study is to provide a Geographical Information System-Multi Criteria Evaluation based spatial decision support system, taking into account the viewpoints of local citrus growers and experts. 13 exclusion criteria, 3 main evaluation criteria (13 sub-criteria), and 52 value ranges were determined for citrus land suitability analysis. Analytic Hierarchy Process was utilised to calculate the weights of evaluation criteria. Inverse Distance Weighting interpolation approach was used to estimate the values of meteorological parameters. Thematic maps were presented for each of the criteria and final suitability map was prepared using Weighted Overlay method in Geographic Information System environment. The final suitability thematic map showed that the suitable zones (1281.19 km2) for citrus cultivation were located in the coastal regions of Antalya province. The average temperature in the winter season was determined to be the most important sub-criteria for citrus cultivation, followed by elevation, the average temperature in the flowering period, land use capability, daily average sunshine time, annual average precipitation, proximity to irrigation ponds and dam lakes and others. Most of the cultivated citrus orchards often coincided with the appropriate sites presented as a result of the study, and most of these sites were generally classified as high and moderate suitable zones. This study will be an important and useful regional guideline in terms of agricultural land use planning, citrus orchards management and community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]