Identification Of Suitable Sites Research Articles

Identification of Suitable Sites Using GIS for Rainwater Harvesting Structures to Meet Irrigation Demand

This study uses a multi-criteria decision analysis approach based on geographic information system (GIS) to identify suitable sites for rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures (such as farm dam, check dam and contour bund) to meet irrigation demand in Greater Western Sydney region, New South Wales, Australia. Data on satellite image, soil, climate, and digital elevation model (DEM) were stored in GIS layers and merged to create a ranking system, which were then used to identify suitable RWH (rainwater harvesting) areas. The resulting thematic layers (such as rainfall, land use/land cover, soil type, slope, runoff depth, drainage density, stream order and distance from road) were combined into one overlay to produce map of RWH suitability. The results showed that 9% of the study region is ‘very highly suitable’ and 25% is ‘highly suitable’. On the other hand, 36% of the area, distributed in the north-west, west and south-west of the study region, is ‘moderately suitable’. While 21% of the region, distributed in east and south-east part of the region, has ‘low suitability’ and 9% is found as ‘unsuitable area’. The findings of this research will contribute towards wider adoption of RWH in Greater Western Sydney region to meet irrigation demand. The developed methodology can be adapted to any other region/country.

Spatiotemporal characteristics analysis of water saving potential and economic effectiveness of rainwater harvesting system in China

Abstract The financial viability of a rainwater harvesting (RWH) system is highly determined by regional conditions such as rainfall pattern and water prices. Successful implementation of rainwater harvesting systems depends largely on the identification of suitable sites. This paper presents the water saving potential and economic effectiveness of rainwater harvesting systems across eight major cities in China, using a daily water balance model. Results show six to 81 days (or 1.6% to 22.2%) of dependability can be achieved by using a rainwater harvesting system over these cities. The annual water saving efficiency ranges from 10% to 37% and the benefit–cost ratio varies between 0.45 and 1.20 across the studied cities. South China achieves the maximum annual water saving and the highest benefit–cost ratio, while southeast China has the most regular profile of precipitation use. Northwest China was found to be the region with the worst performance, both in yearly water saving and in regularity of rainwater use on a yearly scale. It was also found that the RWH system is not financially feasible in the northeast, southwest and central plains due to the benefit–cost ratios being smaller than 1.0.

Identification of suitable sites for managed aquifer recharge under semi-arid conditions employing a combination of numerical and analytical techniques

Overpumping or overexploitation of groundwater is one of the major threats for aquifer systems in arid and semi-arid areas. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) has been suggested by many researchers as a sustainable and effective method to alleviate negative impacts of overpumping. Optimizing artificial recharge considers the selection of suitable MAR sites in terms of surface and subsurface characteristics. While surface characteristics at potential MAR sites could be modified (e.g. slope, soil texture, etc.), subsurface characteristics cannot be changed through engineering work. Characteristics of the aquifer, such as depth to groundwater, play an important role in determining the capability of an aquifer to store a specific volume of infiltrated water. Currently, only a limited number of quoted researches are available that consider factors related to aquifer characteristics and the range of these factors to identify optimal MAR sites. In this study, a new approach is presented, that employs numerical groundwater modeling to generate MAR suitability maps considering sub-surface characteristics, such as depth-to-groundwater, aquifer transmissivity and specific yield. Multiple model-runs are conducted to simulate groundwater table response with respect to the volume of infiltrated water. Simulation results are used to calibrate a groundwater mound empirical equation that calculates the groundwater level increase as a function of the transmissivity and infiltrated water volume for a given value of aquifer’ specific yield, range of vertical hydraulic conductivities and a specific design and operation conditions of the MAR system. The empirical equation is employed in GIS to spatially calculate the height of groundwater mound beneath a hypothetical MAR site and to generate, based on that, suitability maps for MAR implementation. Assuming that MAR structures capture the median of monthly surface runoff rates at the respective wadi (catchment area), suitability maps are generated for different configurations/scenarios of aquifer hydraulic conductivity in a parameter study. The results highlight the importance of integrating aquifer characteristics (geometry and hydraulic parameters) and expected magnitudes and fluxes of infiltration water in delineating suitable sites for MAR.

Evaluation of threats faced by the Amur leopards in their native habitat and identification of suitable sites for re-introduction into the wild using GIS

Evaluation of threats faced by the Amur leopards in their native habitat and identification of suitable sites for re-introduction into the wild using GIS

Identification of four insertion sites for foreign genes in a pseudorabies virus vector

BackgroundPseudorabies virus (PRV) is a preferred vector for recombinant vaccine construction. Previously, we generated a TK&gE-deleted PRV (PRVΔTK&gE−AH02) based on a virulent PRV AH02LA strain. It was shown to be safe for 1-day-old piglets with maternal PRV antibodies and 4 ~ 5 week-old PRV antibody negative piglets and provide rapid and 100 % protection in weaned pigs against lethal challenge with the PRV variant strain. It suggests that PRVTK&gE−AH02 may be a promising live vaccine vector for construction of recombinant vaccine in pigs. However, insertion site, as a main factor, may affect foreign gene expression.ResultsIn this study, we constructed four recombinant PRV-S bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) carrying the same spike (S) expression cassette of a variant porcine epidemic diarrhea virus strain in different noncoding regions (UL11-10, UL35-36, UL46-27 or US2-1) from AH02LA BAC with TK, gE and gI deletion. The successful expression of S gene (UL11-10, UL35-36 and UL46-27) in recombinant viruses was confirmed by virus rescue, PCR, real-time PCR and indirect immunofluorescence. We observed higher S gene mRNA expression level in swine testicular cells infected with PRV-S(UL11-10)ΔTK/gE and PRV-S(UL35-36)ΔTK/gE compared to that of PRV-S(UL46-27)ΔTK/gE at 6 h post infection (P < 0.05). Moreover, at 12 h post infection, cells infected with PRV-S(UL11-10)ΔTK/gE exhibited higher S gene mRNA expression than those infected with PRV-S(UL35-36)ΔTK/gE (P = 0.097) and PRV-S(UL46-27)ΔTK/gE (P < 0.05). Recovered vectored mutant PRV-S (UL11-10, UL35-36 and UL46-27) exhibited similar growth kinetics to the parental virus (PRVΔTK&gE−AH02).ConclusionsThis study focuses on identification of suitable sites for insertion of foreign genes in PRV genome, which laids a foundation for future development of recombinant PRV vaccines.

Hybrid neurofuzzy investigation of short-term variability of wind resource in site suitability analysis: a case study in South Africa

Energy generation from wind resources is now a mature technology with the ability to compete with traditional energy sources at utility scales in many countries, through the identification of suitable sites. However, beyond site suitability, predicting the wind resource variability of the potentially viable site presents overarching benefits in strategic and operational planning prior to site development. This study, therefore, combines geographical information systems multicriteria decision-making (GIS-MCDM) and hybrid neurofuzzy modeling tools for site suitability and resource variability forecast, respectively, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The GIS model uses two factors (climatological and environmental), and analytical hierarchical process was used for evaluating criteria degree of influence. Wind resource variability using diurnal satellite-based data for the candidate site was used on the models. Adaptive neurofuzzy inference system models hybrid with genetic algorithm (GA-ANFIS) and particle swarm optimization (PSO-ANFIS) were compared with standalone ANFIS and Levenberg–Marquardt backpropagation neural network (LMBP-ANN) using six statistical measures of error, accuracy, and variability. The GA-ANFIS and PSO-ANFIS accurately model the resource with PSO-ANFIS having lesser computational time compared to GA-ANFIS. However, LMBP-ANN is most robust and resistant in modeling the resource variability among the four models. Hence, wind resource variability investigation on a potentially viable site obtained from the GIS-MCDM model can complement on-site investigations prior to site development. Also, tuning ANFIS with evolutionary algorithms offers improved accuracy over standalone ANFIS model for wind resource forecast and further its robustness in predicting variability of the resource. From our findings, cross-boundary wind resource exploration between South Africa and Lesotho could foster regional interconnectivity.

Identification of suitable sites and structures for artificial groundwater recharge for sustainable water resources management in Vamanapuram River Basin, South India

Sustainable groundwater management by artificial recharge of aquifers has become a possible resolution for increasing depletion and deterioration of groundwater in several river basins across the word. The present study identifies suitable sites to adopt possible aquifer recharge structures in the Vamanapuram River Basin (VRB), South India, where water scarcity and groundwater declines caused parts of the basin to fall in the semi-critical category. The potential of the basin for suitable artificial recharge were investigated by analysing the geo-environmental variables using remote sensing, geographical information system and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) technique. The geo-environmental variables considered for the analysis includes plan curvature, profile curvature, land use/land cover, aspect, distance from streams, relative relief, geology, geomorphology, slope angle, available space for recharge, lineament density, sand percent, rainfall and drainage density. The slope stability assessment and potential recharge zonation was carried out using weighted overlay analysis by assigning the comparative weights to different thematic layers with the help of the multi-criteria decision-making tool of AHP technique. The results of the slope stability analysis were validated using existing slope failure data. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under the curve (AUC) value were used as a performance indicator for the validation of slope stability map. Further, suitable locations in the basin for four site-specific recharging mechanisms viz., rainwater infiltration pits, percolation ponds, injection wells and pond-cum-injection wells were identified using a rule-based approach. It is estimated that an annual volume of 2489.3 Mm3 of water is available to recharge groundwater in VRB, which accounts for nearly 19.2% of the precipitation in the basin. The potential for artificial recharge in VRB is found to be controlled significantly by factors such as geology, geomorphology, slope and available space for recharge. The slope stability analysis shows that about 94.3% of the basin fall under stable zone category and are safe for the construction of aquifer recharge structures, which was further validated with a prediction accuracy of 89.2%. It is estimated that 22,17,639.76 (m3/year) volume of water is available for recharge in VRB; however, the average recharge rates in the basin varies spatially. Western and north-central parts of the basin are found to be suitable for the construction of rainwater infiltration pits and injection wells and percolation ponds respectively, whereas the central parts are found to be suitable for the implementation of percolation ponds and pond-cum injection wells. The outcome of this study can be used for the planning of sustainable groundwater development and regional management of the river basin.

Identification of Suitable Sites for Plant Growth Using Multicriteria Technique and Physico-chemical Properties of Soils from Yerala River Catchment area, Western India

Identification of Suitable Sites for Plant Growth Using Multicriteria Technique and Physico-chemical Properties of Soils from Yerala River Catchment area, Western India

Seed Quality in Forage Crops: Current Status and Gaps in Ethiopia

This paper summarizes forage seed quality attributes, stages to be considered for quality seed production, current status, and gaps of forage seed quality in Ethiopia. Seed quality is one of the main factors affecting crop production potential. Seed quality such as genetic quality, physiological quality, physical quality, and pathological quality should be considered during seed production. The pre-planting stage is the first stage to be considered for the production of good quality seed. The environmental conditions under which the forage crop is grown and the cultural practices used for production can affect seed quality. Several environmental factors such as soil conditions, nutrient deficiency, water stresses, extreme temperatures, and pest infestation may affect seed quality by reducing its viability and vigor by the time the seed reaches physiological maturity. Besides, identification of suitable sites, use of proper seedbed preparation, sowing time, seed rates, and planting methods are also considered to affect quality forage seed production. The post-planting stage such as weeding, pest and disease control, time of harvest, and field inspections at different stages is the second stage to be considered for quality seed production. Determination of seed harvesting stage of some forage species is more complex compared to food crops due to unsynchronized seed maturity and seed shattering problems so that identification of optimum seed harvesting stage for species which have indeterminate growth habit is very important. The post-harvesting stage such as drying, threshing, cleaning, packing, storing, transporting, and marketing is the third most important stage to be considered for quality seed production. Forage plants are cultivated mostly for herbage utilization so that seed production does not virtually exist in the country. The price of small-seeded perennial forage species and their cost of production are very high globally due to low seed yield performance, unsynchronized seed maturity, seed shattering problem, and difficulty in postharvesting and handling processes compared to most annual forage species. Some of the beneficial qualities of forage seeds can be stored for a longer time, relatively free of disease, and not attacked by pests like weevils compared to food crops. Some forage seeds have a problem of seed dormancy but the problem can be solved by mechanical, chemical, and hot water scarification. Generation of different forage seed production technologies which are feasible for different agroecologies are extremely important for higher and quality seed production but the technologies are not yet well known for most forage species.

Identification of Suitable Aquaculture Sites Using Large-Scale Land Use and Land Cover Maps Factoring the Prevailing Regulatory Frameworks: A Case Study from India

Identification of a suitable site is a crucial step for the sustainability of an aquaculture venture. This study shows a framework for identifying areas suitable for freshwater and brackishwater aquaculture in India while integrating the governing regulations. Land use and land cover (LULC) maps at 1:10,000 scale derived from high-resolution imagery were used as base maps, along with allied layers. Site selection criteria were identified through review. Multi-criteria evaluation technique was used to select the technically suitable sites. Coastal regulation zone and coastal aquaculture authority guidelines, which form the regulatory framework governing brackishwater aquaculture in India, were spatially applied on the technically suitable sites to locate sites complying with regulations. The analysis was carried out using layers in the vector geographical information system format. The study was done in one coastal block each from two coastal states along the east coast of India, viz. Odisha and Tamil Nadu. The study identified areas suitable for brackishwater aquaculture in the selected blocks of Odisha (Ersama block: 86 ha) and Tamil Nadu (Pattukottai block: 343 ha). Areas suitable for freshwater aquaculture in Ersama and Pattukottai were 4286 ha and 6265 ha, respectively, while the areas suitable for freshwater aquaculture with interventions, in the respective blocks, were 487 ha and 2467 ha. In context of scarce land availability for aquaculture and stringent laws governing it, we demonstrate utility of large-scale LULC maps for identifying sites suitable for freshwater and brackishwater aquaculture, through a multi-criteria approach.

Site Suitability Analysis of Water Harvesting Structure in Ghaggar River Basin Using Analytical Hierarchical Process and Geographical Information System Approach - A Case Study

The increase in water demand due to increase in anthropogenic activities and changes in the hydrological phenomenon has led to water scarcity. The groundwater exploration, utilization, management and recharging by creation of appropriate water harvesting structure is an important aspect for its sustainable management. This current study was carried out for Ghaggar river basin to delineate groundwater potential zones using analytical hierarchical process based multi criteria decision analysis followed by identification of suitable sites and structures for water harvesting. The thematic layers for Landuse landcover, drainage density, soil texture, geomorphology, slope, lineament density and runoff were prepared and weights were assigned to each thematic layer. The weights were than normalized using the analytical hierarchical process based on their characteristic and relationship with groundwater recharge. Finally, the groundwater prospect zones were delineated by integrating the thematic maps using the weighted sum overlay analysis tool in ArcGIS 10.5. The areal distribution of the groundwater potential reveals that 0.02, 36.55, 43.18, 19.29 and 0.96 % falls under very poor, poor, moderate, good and very good groundwater potential category, respectively. The groundwater potential map was validated using the existing well data. The resultant groundwater potential zones falling in good to very good zones were integrated with slope and stream order as per the Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development (IMSD) guidelines and three types of water harvesting structures were suggested i.e. check dam (24), percolation tank (27) and farm ponds (50).

Potential Site Suitability Analysis for Wind Farm Development Using GIS and Multi-Criteria Analysis

The energy consumption of most developing countries like Ethiopia highly depends on biomass and imported fuels. These sources of energy have imposed severe impacts on the environment.Recently, Ethiopia has begun to harness electricity from renewable energies mainly from hydro- dams to meet its energy need. However, the existing energy production of the hydro-dams declines during dry season due to shortage of river waters. So, it is important to look for other renewable energy sources like wind to compliment the energy decline. This study presents an identification of suitable site for wind farm development in selected districts of Tigray Region. Ten major biophysical, environmental and socio-political factors were identified that influence the wind farm development. These major factors were delineated from the different spatial datasets which were collected from various sources. ArcGIS 10.3 and ERDAS 9.2 software were used to prepare factor maps for all variables. The pair wise comparison associated with Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to weigh the factors then weighted overlay model was applied. The findings of the overlay showed that there are sufficient lands suitable for grid- based and off-grid wind farms development in the study area. About 140.5 km2 i.e. 6.5% is highly suitable and about 1103.1 km2 which means 51.0% is moderately suitable for wind farm development. A land of area 25 km2 entirely laid under highly suitable category was identified for wind farm design. The site has excellent wind speed and is located entirely in close proximity to the main roads and grid transmission lines. Keywords: Wind farm, GIS, multi-criteria analysis, renewable energies, AHP, Ethiopia

Identification of suitable sites and structures for artificial groundwater recharge for sustainable groundwater resource development and management

Artificial recharge is the process of augmentation of the natural infiltration of precipitation or surface water into aquifers by some methods of construction, spreading of water or by artificially changing natural conditions. Upper Betwa watershed, has been taken under study is a semi-arid region, part of Obedullahganj block, Raisen district, M.P., India. The area is hard rock terrain with rugged topography and varying geology. Long term analysis of groundwater level conducted by CGWB, Bhopal has shown sharp decline in groundwater level from past one decade. To increase the groundwater potential of the area, action plan for artificial groundwater recharge has been developed using remote sensing and GIS techniques. Survey of India toposheet no's 55 E/8, 55 E/12, 55 F/5 & 55 F/9, GSI, 2002 resource map, LANDSAT 8, and SRTM (DEM) satellite data and NBSS&LUP soil map were processed in ArcGIS to prepare the various thematic layers viz. Geology, geomorphology, topography, soil, land use/land cover, slope, lineament, drainage and drainage density. Sub-watershed wise action plan of the area has been developed for the area using these thematic layers following the criteria given by NRSA, 1995. In the action plan, development of water harvesting structures (Check dam, Nala bund, Contour bund, Gully plug etc.) were proposed. These structures will provide a measure of artificial recharge in this hard rock terrain by collecting of the surface runoff and increasing the surface area of infiltration. Further, the developed action plan addresses identification of sites for groundwater recharge, through the anticipated artificial recharge structures. Thus, it is suggested that execution of the proposed sub-watershed wise action plan will help in development and management of groundwater resources of the area. Excavation of the proposed structures at their suitable sites identified will enhance the groundwater recharge potential of the area.

The place of geoinformatics in waste management, sanitation and health risks prevention in Ado-odo/Ota local government area

Increasing population growth, lack of suitable waste treatment and disposal sites, in addition to inadequate equipment for waste recycling, poor town planning, accumulation of waste beside the roads and canals caused by inadequate waste collection and lack of enough data and information on waste generation could be observed as palpable causes of inadequate waste management in our societies, as well as sources of environmental pollution. This paper considered the applications of Geographic Information Systems in the selection of suitable land fill sites in Ado-Odo/Ota LGA. Geospatial data of the study area were obtained, buffer, overlay and intersection analysis were carried out to exclude non-suitable locations and identification of suitable sites. The suitable locations for landfill were selected, and we concluded that GIS is a veritable tool in qualitative decision making in environmental management and sustainable development.

Field Study of Gregarious Flowering and Use of ENM in Conservation Strategies for Gigantochloa andamanica (Kurz) Kurz in Andaman Islands (India)

Gregarious flowering in bamboo species is a periodic event which affects the habitat’s ecology, since the whole population die within same time frame. The phenomenon sets effects on the social economy too as bamboo is one of the most important natural resources people depends on. In this paper gregarious flowering and mass seeding in Gigantochloa andamanica (Kurz) Kurz, an economically important bamboo species of Andaman Islands have been reported with effective conservation strategies to balance the population in natural habitat. This also includes the description, illustration, photo plates of the species for the easy identification, the ENM map based on the GPS data collected for the distribution area and data relevant to traditional and economic uses of the species. This study more importantly shows the application of ENM for the identification of suitable sites for field reintroduction of the seedlings in natural habitats aimed at their better growth and survival.

Application of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to apiculture potential assessment: A case study of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Kerala, India

Apiculture now emerged as an important segment of agriculture in rural as well as urban areas. The prompt identification of beekeeping suitability areas is strategic for maximizing productivity. The Analytical Hierarchy Process is a tool to support decision-making in the identification of suitable sites with utmost potential for various agricultural practices. This study tested a GIS based AHP tool to assess urban beekeeping suitability zones in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Kerala state. Furthermore, the study utilized data, which were completely retrieved from various public sector repositories. The resulting map indicates, over 65% of the land area of the corporation have a high or very high potential of apiculture. The map can also be utilized by Government agencies to implement various promotional measures and also the beekeepers to identify suitable sites for apiary location and relocation for maximizing their profit. The study also created a model for utilization of public data domains for decision making, using GIS. Keywords: Apiculture; multi-criteria decision analysis; GIS; AHP classification

A GIS-based approach for identifying potential sites for harvesting rainwater in the Western Desert of Iraq

People living in arid and semi-arid areas with highly variable rainfall and unforeseeable periods of droughts or floods are severely affected by water shortages and often have insecure livelihoods. The construction of dams in wadies to harvest rainwater from small watersheds and to induce artificial groundwater recharge is one of the solutions available to overcome water shortages in the Western Desert of Iraq. The success of rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems depends heavily on their technical design and on the identification of suitable sites. Our main goal was to identify suitable sites for dams using a suitability model created with ModelBuilder in ArcGIS 10.2. The model combined various biophysical factors: slope, runoff depth, land use, soil texture, and stream order. The suitability map should be useful to hydrologists, decision-makers, and planners for quickly identifying areas with the highest potential for harvesting rainwater. The implementation of this method should also support any policy shifts towards the widespread adoption of RWH.

Assessment of Hybrid Concentrated Solar Power-Biomass Plant Generation Potential in Sahel: Case Study of Senegal

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) is non-existent in Sahel. Such a situation arises from the high investment costs required by these energy infrastructures and from a lack of information on the identification of suitable sites to accommodate them. Conversely, CSP-biomass plants due to lower investment may be an option for CSP penetration in Sahel where Direct Normal Irradiation (DNI) is between 1400 kWh/m2/year and 2000 kWh/m2/year and significant biomass potential. This work presents the results of an identification of suitable sites for hybrid CSP-Biomass in the Sahel, case study of Senegal, taking into account the Direct Normal Irradiation, the availability of water, space and biomass potential. The identified sites have a DNI > 1600 kWh/m2/year. The biogas production capacity is equivalent to 5,096,563 m3/year. The quantity of Typha Australis, invasive plant in Senegal river valley available is estimated at more than 3 million tons. The capacity of electrical energy in this zone is estimated at 6.89 GWe for an installation surface estimated at 275.61 km2. The establishment of CSP/hybrid plants can also contribute to combat the proliferation of Typha Australis.

Using GIS and Remote Sensing Technique for Zoning of Wastewater Drainage of Allahabad City

The present study is aimed to develop a GIS based method for “Divide (zoning) the Allahabad city into different wastewater zones to optimize the drainage length using the GIS and Remote sensing”. The study was performed at three different levels of analysis viz. land use/land cover analysis, site suitability analysis and hydrological analysis using remote sensing data to develop the zones. These analyses were carried out using ARCGIS 10 and ERDAS IMAGINE softwares. Land use/land cover (LULC) analysis was performed by supervised classification method using the maximum likelihood classifier. The site suitability analysis was carried out by considering technical feasibility, environment sustainability and social acceptability. Factors such as ground slope, land use, distances from surface water, roads, railway network and dwelling place were considered for site selection analysis. Buffer analysis was performed at these layers and converted it into raster format. Raster data of these layers were overlaid in the GIS and weighted overlay method was performed. The above analysis resulted in identification of suitable site for wastewater treatment plants (WTPs). Hydrological analysis was carried out for determining the slope, flow direction, flow accumulation, drainage network using digital elevation model. The analysis resulted in identification of watershed and its natural drainage network. Finally, these results were combined together to identify the zones for wastewater drainage of the city and suitable sites for wastewater treatment plants.

Rapid estimation of potential yield for data-poor Tapes philippinarum fisheries in North Adriatic coastal lagoons

We show how a simple species distribution model can be used for the rapid estimation of potential yield and for the identification of suitable sites for farming of Tapes philippinarum in two North Adriatic lagoons (Caleri and Marinetta-Vallona, Italy) in the face of limited data. We used a two-part species distribution model with sediment type, hydrodynamism, dissolved oxygen, and salinity as predictors of T. philippinarum potential yield. The first model component uses logistic regression to identify the areas in which clams occur, while the second component uses a weighted geometric mean of suitability values to estimate the potential annual yield (kg m−2 year−1) for the sites where T. philippinarum is predicted to be present. We used site-specific yield data from Caleri and Marinetta-Vallona to estimate the weights of the geometric mean by constrained linear regression. We validated the two-part model on an independent set of yield data (Radj2 = 0.82), and we then estimated the spatial distribution of potential yield in the two lagoons. The calibration and application of a simple species distribution model are useful tools for objectively identifying the most suitable sites for farming of T. philippinarum in North Adriatic lagoons.