Land Suitability Evaluation Method Research Articles

Soil Suitability Evaluation for Agriculture: New Model Development and Validation

ABSTRACT The evaluation of land suitability for agricultural production is a complex process that requires specialized information and expert analysis. This paper introduces the Soil Suitability Evaluation (SSE) model, a computer program designed to assess land suitability for agriculture. The model considers soil surface conditions (erosion, micro-relief, and slope), physical characteristics (texture and depth), and chemical properties (salinity, sodicity, fertility, and calcium carbonate). It involves calculating these soil characteristics along with their respective weights. Compared to other land suitability evaluation methods, the SSE model provides realistic and practical results including assessments of soil and crop suitability. It serves as a simple and useful tool for decision-makers to determine land quality for agricultural use and proposed some recommendations for land reclamation.

POTENSI LAHAN SAWAH UNTUK PENGEMBANGAN TANAMAN TEMBAKAU DI KABUPATEN BONDOWOSO

The plantation sector, especially tobacco plants, is the biggest contributor to the country's foreign exchange value non-mining through tobacco excise and export. With the increasing number of active smokers in Indonesia, the need for tobacco continues to increase, emphasizing the role of this crop in the economy and providing large profits for farmers. However, along with the growing issue of land use change, recently many tobacco plants have been planted on unsuitable land. The research was conducted on all rice fields in Bondowoso Regency from October 2022 to March 2023. The land suitability evaluation method was used to assess land characteristics that affect tobacco plant growth. The parameters used were soil pH, soil texture, C-organic, electrical conductivity, cations bases (K, Ca, Na, Mg), cation exchange capacity (CEC), base saturation, total N, available and exchangeable K, slope, temperature, and rainfall. Data analysis was carried out by matching techniques, namely matching land characteristics with the growing conditions of tobacco plants to get some suitable land suitability classes for tobacco plants. The results of the analysis showed that the area of ​​land currently planted with tobacco reaches about 12,155.06 hectares, with a suitable class (S2) reaching 897.82 hectares, marginal (S3) reaching 1,614.44 hectares, and not suitable (N) reaching 9,642.79 hectares. Land that has the potential to grow tobacco is S2 (quite suitable) and S3 (marginal).

Comparison of Land Suitability Methods for Estimating Quantity of Maize Yield in Calcareous Soils

ABSTRACT The modeling and assessment of land suitability is a prerequisite for land development and is one of the necessary needs to prevent land degradation. Maize is considered to be the most important crop, covering significant areas of agricultural lands in widely different regions across the world. However, not all available lands are equally suitable for maize cultivation. The main objective of this study was focused on identifying the potentials as well as the limitations of studied calcareous soils for maize cultivation in north Khuzestan province, Iran. Furthermore, some parametric models and multi-criteria land suitability evaluation methods for physical, chemical, fertility, and climatic factors (MC-LSE) were compared in estimating the maize yield. The required samples were taken from 23 land units by excavating control pedons. The necessary physicochemical parameters were then measured in the laboratory. The land indices were calculated by using different methods. The maize potential production of the investigated area was then obtained based on the climatic conditions. Finally, using land indices and the potential production, the estimated yield for each land unit was calculated and compared with the actual yield data. The obtained results indicated that the main limiting factors for maize yield in the region are high soil CaCO3 content, high salinity, high alkalinity and low organic matter. A comparison of predicted and actual yield indicated that the corrected square root method is accurate enough to assess land suitability and to estimate the maize yield with a high coefficient of determination (0.91) and a low RMSE value.

Strategic, Economic, and Potency Assessment of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) Development in the Tidal Swamplands of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

The potency and challenges of sorghum development in tidal swamplands in Indonesia have yet to be well studied. Thus, our study is the first to evaluate the land suitability, economic performance, and strategies for developing sorghum in the tidal swamplands in Central Kalimantan. We use the land suitability evaluation method, a gross margin and profit analysis, a break-even analysis, and a competitive analysis as the methods for assessing the potency and utilization of sorghum in this study. As a tool for decision-making, SWOT was also used, followed by a quantitative strategic planning matrix (QSPM) analysis. The results show that 578,511 ha of arable land is suitable for sorghum development. Economically, sorghum farming can generate IDR 12,894,000 per ha with a revenue-cost ratio of 1.72; the break-even price would be IDR 2447 per kg, around 42% lower than the current market price. Sorghum is also more competitive than cassava (Q = 0.76), sweet potato (Q = 0.58), and soybeans (Q = 0.61) and less competitive than maize (Q = 1.33). Based on the QSPM analysis, five alternative strategies were obtained for developing sorghum in tidal swamplands: (1) optimization of productivity; (2) improvement in the quality of human resources for farmers; (3) facilitation of partnership cooperation; (4) application of site-specific technology; and (5) optimization of waste utilization. These strategies show that the expansion of sorghum planting has potential in the tidal swamplands and economic value for the community.

Spatiotemporal variations of ecosystem security pattern in Horqin sandy dune meadow alternating area, China.

The natural and geographical environment of ecologically fragile areas in northern China is complex. Due to heavy human disturbance and impacts of climate change, the sustainable development of ecosystems is facing serious challenges. Constructing ecological security pattern can provide decision-making basis for ecological environment protection in desertification areas. Based on land use change data of Horqin dune-meadow interphase area from 1985 to 2021, we identified ecological sources with the importance of ecosystem services and ecological sensitivity, and constructed the ecological security pattern using the minimum cumulative resistance model. We further analyzed the ecological security pattern and its development trend in 1985, 1995, 2005, 2015 and 2021, and explored the ecological spatial layout adjustment strategy. The results showed that the proportion of source area in the ecological security pattern of the study area was always small and scattered from 1985 to 2021, the network of ecological corridors was low, and the connectivity between ecological patches was lacking. The ecological security pattern had experienced a trend of deterioration first and then gradually improving. Ecological policies such as returning farmland to forest and grassland and afforestation had significantly improved the environmental security. We optimized the study area by combining the cultivated land suitability evaluation method. The ecological security pattern showed a spatial trend of 'dual-core, scattered and semi-surrounded'. The results could provide references for the construction of county-scale ecological security pattern in ecologically fragile areas and the ecological management of Horqin sands.

Optimal Allocation of Slope Ecological Restoration for the Climate Change Mitigation and Natural Function Improvement

The key to dealing with extreme problems at watershed or region scales in the context of climate change is the “de-extremalization” of hydrological processes. The foundation lies in how to optimize the allocation of ecological restoration on slopes to mitigate the extreme impacts of climate change on hydrological processes and improve ecological service functions. Previous studies focused on analyzing the direct effects of slope land use, vegetation distribution, or historical pattern of ecological restoration on runoff processes. This study developed a slope ecological restoration evaluation system to evaluate the naturalness, functional types, and functional coordination of slope ecological restoration at different historical stages and quantitatively identified the mitigation effect on climate change in the future, which was applied to the Huangshui River Basin (above Minhe County) in Qinghai Province, China. Based on the land suitability evaluation methods, a set of layout schemes were constructed. The runoff mutation and ecological function of different schemes under climate change were evaluated, and the highly suitable scheme was selected as the optimal scheme. Compared with the current situation, the coupling coordination degree index of the scheme would increase from 0.32 to 0.59. Meanwhile, the runoff and coefficient of variation would decrease by 30% and 60%, respectively, during the wet season under the high-emission scenario RCP8.5. This study closely links the ecological construction of slopes with the response to extreme climates, which provides technical methods and practical support for the optimization of regional ecological patterns and scientific water governance modes.

Evaluasi Realisasi Rencana Landuse di Kecamatan Pattallassang, Kabupaten Gowa

High population growth in a region commonly pushes the government to fast provide public facilities in order to fullfil the public needs. Along with it, one of the challenges that faced by the urban center of Pattallassang Distric in Gowa Regency is rapid land convertion due to high land demand to provide public facilities. This urban area is highly populated and has intense activities because not only it functions as center of government but also as a Special Economic Zone (KEK) of the region. The aim of this research is to evaluate the landuse realization in Gowa Region, between what is found in reality with what has been planned in regional spatial plan (RTRW), as well as to identify the contributing factors behind the discrepancies. This research was conducted from September 2019 to February 2020 (6 months). The data and information were collected through literature study related to land suitability evaluation methods, influencing factors, and field survey. The research used method of spatial analysis using overlay techniques with the help of software ArcGIS 10.1, scoring analysis to define the suitability value, and qualitative descriptive analysis to determine factors that contribute to the discrepancy between existing landuse and the RTRW document. The results showed that among the many landuse discrepancies, the residential landuse has the lowest value of suitability value of 24%. Economical and environmental factors may play important roles in this discrepancy.

Applicability of Fuzzy and Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) Methods to Determine the Optimum Soil Depth in Land Suitability Evaluation for Irrigated Rice

<p>The conventional Boolean logic models of land suitability assessment disregard the continuity concepts of the soil and landscape which might cause inaccurate evaluation and classification. To overcome this uncertainty and consequent constraints, the fuzzy set theories were introduced. Therefore, the current study was undertaken to estimate the optimum soil depth that is used in land suitability evaluation for irrigated rice through the fuzzy sets theory and analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP) in Guilan Province, Iran. The square root and quantitative land suitability evaluation methods were employed to calculate traditional land suitability indices (for depths, 0-25, 0-50, 0-75, and 0-100 cm). Also, fuzzy and fuzzy AHP methods were used to explore new land indices. The Sarma similarity indices were used to compare the results of traditional and fuzzy methods for different soil depths. The results showed that the compatibility percentage between the representative pedons (0-100 cm) and the findings of this research (0-50 and 0-75 cm) were remarkable. Furthermore, the highest compatibility percentage of land suitability class was related to the comparison of these two former depths and 0 to 100 cm depths in each of the two used fuzzy methods. Besides, except for 0-25 cm depths, actual yield revealed a significant and positive correlation with the rest three soil pedon depths. These findings show that considering 0 to 50 cm soil depth might be a relevant alternative as the optimal depth to evaluate land suitability for rice in paddy fields in the Guilan rice-growing area. </p>

Land suitability evaluation in agricultural landscape planning to support food security of Tomohon City, North Sulawesi

Abstract. Tumbelaka S, Saroinsong FB. 2020. Land suitability evaluation in agricultural landscape planning to support food security of Tomohon City, North Sulawesi. Pros Sem Nas Masy Biodiv Indon 6: 594-599. The transformation of agricultural land into land for trade, tourism and settlement has increased from year to year. This causes the decrease in agricultural land. One effort to limit the transfer rate is the planning of agricultural land in accordance with the potential of land resources by taking into account the target of the national food security program that is diversification of food based on local resources. Evaluation of land suitability in determining types of food crops planted on land in certain locations based on the values ??of land characteristics is needed as a support for decision making in agricultural landscape planning. This study aims to plan and determine the locations of agricultural land in the Tomohon city that are for several types of food crops to support food diversification, using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The long-term goals are sustainable management of natural resources and the environment (SDAL) and food security. This research method uses land suitability evaluation methods. Land suitability classes consist of very suitable (S1), reasonably appropriate (S2), marginal appropriate (S3) and unsuitable (N) classes. The results showed that there were several agricultural commodities that could be cultivated in Tomohon city agricultural land besides rice, in the context of diversifying carbohydrate food, namely sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas), taro (Colocasia esculenta) and banana (Musa paradisiaca) such as pisang goroho, pisang sepatu, etc. The types of food plants that can be sought besides rice are the types of plants that have long been known to the community as local food sources in the city of Tomohon. Based on the land suitability map obtained, the highly land (S1) for rice, sweet potato and taro and sufficiently land (S2) for banana plants needs to be optimized for management to support diversification and food security.

Land Suitability for Cocoa Development in South Sulawesi: An Analysis using GIS and Parametric Approach

In South Sulawesi, the regional program for prime commodity development has been implemented by the provincial government, as part of promoting regional spatial planning program. In some parts of the region, cultivation of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) as prime commodity has long been practiced in different soil environment. Therefore, there is a need for information that will allow land managers to identify both the inherent land suitability, and the spatial distribution of land areas where possible development can be implemented taking into account present land use types. This paper describes a spatial based quantitative suitability evaluation of land for cocoa production. This research was carried out in the one of the cocoa-producing districts in South Sulawesi, District of Luwu Timur. The research project implements land suitability evaluation method based on the spatial-quantitative approaches in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The main sources of data bases used include digital topographic map, land use map, soil map and soil characteristics derived from available data at reconnaissance level and semi detailed survey, climate data, and satellite imagery. The results of analysis of potential development area for cocoa cultivation show that more than 90 percent of study region are suitable (at S2 and S3 classes) for cocoa cultivation. This study reveals that there are some limiting factors in term of chemical and physical soil characteristics that can still be improved, but there will be almost no limitation in terms of land cover type for cocoa development.

A comparative assessment of land suitability evaluation methods for agricultural land use planning at village level

Defining the relationship between soil characteristics and crop requirements must be the first step in planning future agriculture land use. The aim of the present study is to identify the constraints and potentials of major soils in a block of Telangana, India and evaluate them for crop suitability and propose agricultural land use plans (ALUP) at village level. Using IRS P6 LISS IV, Cartosat-I and DEM data, we identified and mapped six soil series through detailed soil survey. Soils varied in depth (<25 to>150 cm), texture, water holding capacity, hydraulic conductivity, pH, organic carbon and other inherent properties. We compared parametric, Storie index and multi-criteria land suitability evaluation (MC-LSE) methods for evaluating land suitability for pigeon pea, maize, cotton, groundnut and rice. The land suitability index (LSI) by the three methods varied for three soil series, but for one series, the methods produced similar results for cotton, maize and pigeon pea. The correlation of LSI with crop yield showed that MC-LSE performed better than other two methods. After analysing the LSE results, existing cropping pattern, potential and adaptability of alternate options through participatory interaction with farmers, ALUP for 19 villages of the study area were developed. Moreover, we also discuss the challenges and opportunities in proposing and implementing ALUP in India. The results of the present study will be helpful for farm managers for making the best use of soils based on their suitability. However, to demonstrate the applicability, practicability, and most importantly, the sustainability of proposed ALUP, coordinated implementation strategies are necessary.

Study on Low Hilly Cities Land Suitability Evaluation Method Based on Ecological Considerations—A Case Study of Longfeng New Town in Sichuan

Attention to the development of low hilly cities increases, in order to guide their development towards efficient and ecological land use. This paper takes eco-safety into consideration in the future layout of land for construction, and incorporates ecological security factors into traditional methods of land suitability evaluation based on topographic conditions. Taking the Longfeng New Town in Suining City as an example, the GIS platform is used to superimpose various evaluation factors. The evaluation index system is determined using the combination of the Delphi Technique and AHP. The result of correcting traditional land suitability evaluation is obtained, which provides decision support for improving the scientificity of land use planning and layout.

Analysis on Land-Use Expansion in the Process of Urbanization in Shiyang River Basin

The Shiyang River Basin is one of the key research areas of sustainable economic and social development in the river basins of China. In order to figure out the mechanism of land-use expansion in the process of urbanization of Shiyang River Basin, the paper intends to carry out the evaluation of land-use expansion because of urbanization from the perspectives of social economy, regional transportation and ecological environment. By taking advantage of the land suitability evaluation method, it makes out the spatial framework of possible areas for urban expansion so as to provide suggestions for the further coordinative development of urbanization in the basin area as well as of the ecological zones.

Land suitability evaluation methods for urban green space system planning based on GIS in Changzhou city

Land suitability evaluation has been widely used in the filed of agriculture,forest,urban expansion land and so on.This paper is a case study of the green space suitability evaluation theory and methods in Changzhou.Some evaluation factors are selected under the principle of dominance,stability,independence and typical,the weights of factors used for evaluation are decided by the method of Delphi,and the management of the various layers(factors) space attribute information database is created in GIS.By multi factors-overlay analysis in ArcGIS9.2,found the suitability and constrain distribution of green space in Changzhou city,which can be determined Changzhou green space system planning and development direction in future.Compared with the traditional planning methods,the results demonstrate that land suitability evaluation based on Geography Information System(GIS) is effective and feasible.

An approach for land suitability evaluation using geostatistics, remote sensing, and geographic information system in arid and semiarid ecosystems

This study was undertaken to incorporate geostatistics, remote sensing, and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to improve the qualitative land suitability assessment in arid and semiarid ecosystems of Arsanjan plain, southern Iran. The primary data were obtained from 85 soil samples collected from tree depths (0-30, 30-60, and 60-90 cm); the secondary information was acquired from the remotely sensed data from the linear imaging self-scanner (LISS-III) receiver of the IRS-P6 satellite. Ordinary kriging and simple kriging with varying local means (SKVLM) methods were used to identify the spatial dependency of soil important parameters. It was observed that using the data collected from the spectral values of band 1 of the LISS-III receiver as the secondary variable applying the SKVLM method resulted in the lowest mean square error for mapping the pH and electrical conductivity (ECe) in the 0-30-cm depth. On the other hand, the ordinary kriging method resulted in a reliable accuracy for the other soil properties with moderate to strong spatial dependency in the study area for interpolation in the unstamped points. The parametric land suitability evaluation method was applied on the density points (150 x 150 m(2)) instead of applying on the limited representative profiles conventionally, which were obtained by the kriging or SKVLM methods. Overlaying the information layers of the data was used with the GIS for preparing the final land suitability evaluation. Therefore, changes in land characteristics could be identified in the same soil uniform mapping units over a very short distance. In general, this new method can easily present the squares and limitation factors of the different land suitability classes with considerable accuracy in arbitrary land indices.

Practical application of a land resources information system for agricultural landscape planning

This paper addresses a multi-criteria analysis approach to agricultural landscape planning. The case study was conducted in the Cianjur watershed, West Java, Indonesia, which has experienced soil erosion problems in recent years. The planning process consists of erosion hazard, land suitability, and economic feasibility analyses. Land resource information was developed as a GIS database from topographic maps, Landsat TM images, soil maps, and climatic data. Using these data, the universal soil loss equation was applied to erosion hazard analysis. In land suitability analysis, the land requirement of plants, and land resources characteristics were compared on the basis of Food and Agriculture Organization's land suitability evaluation methods. Production cost profiles and price data for each crop were used in the economic feasibility analysis. On the basis of the integrated results of the three analyses, proposed agro-ecological land-use was planned under which the land-utilization types would not cause more than tolerable soil loss, would be at least marginally suitable with regard to land resources quality, and would be economically feasible. When compared with current agricultural land-use, the proposed agro-ecological land-use would reduce total soil loss in the area by about 75%, with a reduction in total profit from agricultural production of just 3.1%.