KEYWORDS: Remote sensing, Geographic information systems, Vegetation, FDA class I medical device development, Roads, Global Positioning System, FDA class II medical device development, Forestry, Digital imaging, Soil science
Ecotourism may be defined as voluntary travels to intact natural areas in order to enjoy the natural attractions as well
as to get familiar with the culture of local communities. The main factor contributing to inappropriate land uses and
natural resource destruction is overaggregation of ecotourists in some specific natural areas such as forests and
rangelands; while other parts remain unvisited due to the lack of a proper propagation about those areas. Evaluating
the ecotourism potentials of each area would lead to a wider participation of local people in natural resource
conservation activities. In order to properly introduce the ecotourism potential areas, at first, we carried out land
preparation practices using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) techniques; then, the
maps of height, slope and orientation were produced using the digital elevation model (DEM) of the study area.
Afterwards, we overlaid these maps and the ecotourism potential areas were identified on the map. These specified
areas were classified into two land uses of mass and alternative ecotourism, with three subclasses (including class1,
class2 and an inappropriate class) considered for each land use. To classify the image, the training areas determined
on the ground using a GPS device (Ground Positioning System) were transferred on the RS image. Subsequently,
the ecotourism potential areas were determined using a hybrid method. At the final phase, these areas were
compared with the areas determined on the ecotourism potential map; as a result of this comparison, the overlaid
ecotourism potential areas were distinguished on the Geographic information System.
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