Application of AHP - GIS Model to Assess the Ecological Suitability of <i>Codonopsis javanica</i> in Kon Plong District, Kon Tum Province, Viet Nam

Abstract

The Kon Plong district is located in the northeast area of the Kon Tum province, where ethnic people, such as Xo Dang and Hre, are dominant. With the portion of the poor families accounting for more than 50% of the total households, the improvement in the livelihood of ethnic is an emergency. Among the approaches to enhance the economical situation in the mountainous area like Kon Plong, the sustainable utilization of natural resources to produce valuable products is a possibility. The Codonopsis javanica (Blume) Hook.f. & Thomson (native name in the Vietnamese language is Dang Sam) is a precious medicinal plant with many benefits in pharmacological uses for human health. In nature, C. javanica is favorably distributed in the template climate and high mountain area. On the basis of the multi-criteria analysis using AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) integrated GIS, the influence of climate factors and soil features in the Kon Plong district on the growth of C. javanica was evaluated. Using AHP evaluation, the four classes of adaptation thresholds (very suitable, suitable, less suitable and not suitable) between the C. javanica growth and climate or soil factors were determined and expressed in weight values. These adaptation values (weight values) were then exported to ecological adaptation maps using the GIS mapping system. The results showed that the most suitable area (called S1 and S2) for the cultivation of C. javanica could be an area of 77 ha, accounting for 55.8% of the study area. The area with high adaptability (S1) for growing C. javanica is mainly located in the Mang Den town and Mang But commune (the south area of the Kon Plong district). These study findings suggested that the growth of C. javanica is suitable in several places in Kon Plong and the production process of C. javanica probably promotes the exploitation of sustainable utilization of local medical plant biomass in the study area.

Quercus mangdenensis, a new species of Quercus (Fagaceae) from Kon Tum Province, Vietnam

“…1 ). In this area, the annual temperature range is 18.7–24.9 °C and the average annual rainfall is around 1780–2200 mm with the rainy season from August to February ( Tri et al 2022 ). In the region, 273 woody plants have been recorded (265 angiosperms and 8 gymnosperm species).…”