The SIAT is a specialist system for Land Evaluation derived from the MicroLEIS - Land Evaluation Information System developed in Spain. In its first version the 12 variables were adapted and adjusted for tropical conditions as well as the program structure and databank. In that time the field tests showed that the best results were obtained for scales near 1:100.000. In this second version the ranges for each variable were redefine and a communication interface with the GIS IDRISI was introduced, which allowed the exchange of data between the two programs.

Urban construction land suitability evaluation (UCLSE) is a complex system engineering and the basis for rational use of the limited urban land resources in China. It has an important practical value on urban construction land use planning and management from the angle of methodology. As a widely used technique, traditional multi-criteria evaluation based on GIS (MCE-GIS), is not suitable for UCLSE. This study develops an improved MCE-GIS method which could be more suitable for UCLSE based on urban complex ecological system theory and the summary of the shortcomings of traditional MCE-GIS.

Selection of rural buildings’ site is a complex process to solve a discordant relation with other components of rural landscapes and needs many diverse criteria to deal with its situation. This paper presents a multi-criteria spatial decision analysis approach using geographic information system (GIS) technique for evaluating the suitability of rural buildings site selection with a case study in Hervás (northern Extremadura region), Spain.

Two strategies are assessed to increase wheat production in the water-scarce Karkheh River Basin (KRB) in Iran to meet targets by the year 2025. The strategies proposed are (a) to increase yields in the current irrigated and rainfed wheat areas and (b) to increase the area under rainfed wheat through land conversion. Crop water consumption, based on satellite remote sensing and crop yield data, was used to estimate crop water productivity (CWP) in irrigated and rainfed wheat areas in five sub-basins.

Agricultural land suitability evaluation for crop production is a process that requires specialized geo-environmental information and the expertise of a computer scientist to analyze and interpret the information. This paper presents ALSE, an intelligent system for assessing land suitability for different types of crops in tropical and subtropical regions (e.g. mango, banana, papaya, citrus, and guava) based on geo-environmental factors that automates the process of evaluation and illustrates the results on an attribute table.

Following up the rather sobering results of the biofuels boom in Tanzania, we analyze the preconditions that would make large-scale oil production from the feedstock Jatropha curcas viable. We do this by employing an economic land evaluation approach; first, we estimate the physical land suitability and the necessary inputs to reach certain amounts of yields. Subsequently, we estimate costs and benefits for different input-output levels. Finally, to incorporate the increased awareness of sustainability in the export sector, we introduce also certification criteria.

The objective of this paper is to present a way of complementing empirical results with farmers' perceptions in defining limiting biophysical land properties in a land suitability evaluation using the FAO framework methodology. The farmers' perceptions were identified using rapid and participatory rural appraisal (RRA/PRA) tools. The study catchment, having a semiarid continental climate and located on the Loess Plateau in northern China, covered an area of 3.5 km2. Most of the land users were dependent on subsistence agriculture.

The present study demonstrated the methodology to assess agro-climatic suitability of the soybean crop through integration of crop suitability based on FAO framework of land evaluation and biophysical (water limited) yield potential in the rainfed agro-ecosystem. A long term climatic database (1980–2003) was prepared to compute decadal rainfall and temperature variations of 13 IMD stations in part of Madhya Pradesh state.

Including a diverse set of stakeholders in collaborative land use planning processes is facilitated by data and maps that communicate and inform an array of possible planning options and potential scenarios of future land use change. In northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has engaged stakeholders and the DRC Government to lead a participatory zoning process in the Maringa–Lopori–Wamba (MLW) Landscape.

The aim of this study was to determine suitable lands for agricultural use in the Yusufeli district of Artvin city (Turkey), where the current agricultural land in the district center and 3 villages will be completely inundated while the land in 22 villages will be partially inundated due to three large dams currently being constructed. The “Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)” method, commonly used in land use suitability analysis, was utilized in this study.

Increasing world population and the depletion of natural resources due to imbalances in development necessitates a new approach to development and the use of natural resources. Controlled adaptive planning, design, and judicious management of these precious resources seem to be a more logical approach towards resource conservation and sustainable development. This requires careful consideration and understanding of all attributes of a proposed site in order to suggest the appropriate form of development that will be in harmony with existing natural forces acting on the site.

Bumi Nabung district consists of 6 villages with a total area of 7,810 ha which are divided into 251 ha of rain fed rice lands, 4,908 ha of dry land, 1,317 ha of lowland, 1,158 ha of yards and 176 ha of others. Rumbia district consists of 14 villages which has a total area of 22,696 ha of land consisting of 2,728 ha of yards, 17,358 ha of dry land, 326 rainfed paddy field, 839 ha of swamp land, 1,470 ha of lowland and 4,232 ha of others.