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

Abstract

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%. Keywords: Multi-criteria analysis; Erosion hazard; Land suitability; Economic feasibility; Mountainous topography