Land Suitability Planning for Sustainable Mango Production in Vulnerable Region Using Geospatial Multi-Criteria Decision Model

Abstract

The land suitability in the Ratnagiri district (India) for mango crop has been assessed using a combination of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) with GIS-based analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and sensitivity analysis. Five criteria are applied in this study to analyze land suitability affecting the mango production, viz., topography, climate, soil properties, soil erosion risk, and soil and water conservation practices, all affecting mango production. To prepare the land suitability maps for the mango plants, weights of criteria were identified through expert opinions and a pairwise comparison matrix. A weighted overlay tool available in ArcGIS software was applied in this study for the weighted overlay analysis. The most sensitive parameters were identified by developing and testing a total of 26 weighting schemes. After analyzing the sensitivity of parameters, the parameters related to soil and erosion such as terracing, contour trenching, stone bund, etc. were found as the most significant factors, before and after implementing the conservation measures. As a result, it was observed in this study that after conservation practices were implemented, the area in the highly suitable (19.4%) and moderately suitable (68.8%) classes was expected to rise, while the area in the marginally suitable (7%) class was expected to decrease. This research revealed that combining MCDM with GIS-based AHP as well as sensitivity analysis techniques increased the reliability of MCDM output for each criterion.