University of Tabriz Journal of Hydrogeomorphology 2383-3254 13 46 2026 03 21 Identifying the most suitable locations for watershed constructions in humid and semi-humid areas using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach Identifying the most suitable locations for watershed constructions in humid and semi-humid areas using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach 137 117 20795 10.22034/hyd.2025.68534.1810 FA Babak Ghaderi Vangah PhD Student, Department of Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kashan, Iran Reza Ghazavi Associate Professor, Department of Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kashan, Iran Siamak Dokhani Assistant Professor, Department of Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kashan, Iran Omid Asadi Nalivan Assistant Professor, Department of Soil Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran Journal Article 2025 08 08 Locating watershed constructions traditionally and based on field visits requires a lot of money and time. In this study, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach was used to identify suitable locations for implementing watershed constructions. Three watersheds of Aqevlar Talesh, Masouleh Fouman, and Totkabon Rudbar in Gilan Province were selected for the study. Then, using expert opinions, 21 criteria affecting the location of watershed constructions were identified in 8 general categories and compared binary, and final maps were prepared with three classes of no potential, medium potential, and high potential for the construction of structures. The results showed that the criteria of discharge, precipitation, runoff height, and slope are of great importance in locating suitable areas for constructing structures. The accuracy of this method was determined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) for the Aqevlar, Masouleh and Totkabon basins was 0.945, 0.958 and 0.788, respectively. Comparing the location of the structures with the research results showed that 90 and 99.5 percent of the Masonry wall and gabion structures were located in the medium and high potential classes of the maps obtained from this method, respectively, which confirms the accuracy of this method in determining the appropriate location for the construction of watershed constructions. Therefore, it is recommended that the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization of the country use this model systematically for locating watershed constructions. Locating watershed constructions traditionally and based on field visits requires a lot of money and time. In this study, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach was used to identify suitable locations for implementing watershed constructions. Three watersheds of Aqevlar Talesh, Masouleh Fouman, and Totkabon Rudbar in Gilan Province were selected for the study. Then, using expert opinions, 21 criteria affecting the location of watershed constructions were identified in 8 general categories and compared binary, and final maps were prepared with three classes of no potential, medium potential, and high potential for the construction of structures. The results showed that the criteria of discharge, precipitation, runoff height, and slope are of great importance in locating suitable areas for constructing structures. The accuracy of this method was determined using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) for the Aqevlar, Masouleh and Totkabon basins was 0.945, 0.958 and 0.788, respectively. Comparing the location of the structures with the research results showed that 90 and 99.5 percent of the Masonry wall and gabion structures were located in the medium and high potential classes of the maps obtained from this method, respectively, which confirms the accuracy of this method in determining the appropriate location for the construction of watershed constructions. Therefore, it is recommended that the Natural Resources and Watershed Management Organization of the country use this model systematically for locating watershed constructions. https://hyd.tabrizu.ac.ir/article_20795_339b9fa8ef592dcfe32b1d54fc09c9ac.pdf