The pattern of agricultural plant types based on cultivated land region and soil types in the Mount Patuha area

Abstract

Indonesia is an agrarian country with agrarian society producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Most of the agrarian society in Indonesia is concentrated in the Java island. The Mount Patuha Area in West Java is considered to be a suitable area for agriculture. In May 2017, there has been erosion and major flood lately due to annual crop changed to seasonal crops in the Mount Patuha Area. This study aims to analyze spatially the suitability of agricultural plant types based on the WTU concept and soil types to prevent environmental damage from happening again and maintaining the sustainability of the agricultural sector. The Cultivated Land Region concept is also known as “Wilayah Tanah Usaha” (WTU) in Indonesia is an approach to manage agricultural land properly and sustainably based on the land elevation and slope as limiting factor from soil damage. Soil type also determines the plant suitability. This study is utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) to overlay spatial data in the form of a DEM, soil types, and land use. The results show that WTU category in Patuha Mount Area is dominated by Second Main Area and Second Restricted Area, with soil type dominated by cambisol and the dominant plant type is tea plantation. This study concluded that there are still many agricultural plant types that are not in line with the WTU concept. The WTU concept is suitable to be applied in the Mount Patuha area as long as the farmers can adapt their land management by balancing with soil conservation technique such as make terracing on steep slopes and maintaining the second restricted area in permanent vegetation conditions.