GIS approach for assessment of land suitability for different land use alternatives in semi arid environment in Jordan: Case study (Al Gadeer Alabyad-Mafraq)

The semi arid lands of Jordan are fragile and severely degraded due to low rainfall and mismanagement of natural resources. As human demands increase, sustaining the productivity of land becomes more and more important. Land suitability evaluation can contribute towards better land management; mitigation of land degradation; and designing land use pattern that prevents environmental problems through segregation of competing land uses. Suitability analysis allows identifying the main limiting factors for the agricultural production and enables decision makers to develop crop managements able to increase the land productivity. The purpose of this study was to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) based approach for land use suitability assessment in order to assist land managers to identify areas with physical limitations for different land use alternatives based on research criteria developed by FAO and modified by stakeholders. This study was conducted using various data and maps incorporated within (GIS) in order to derive potential suitability for different Land Utilization Types (LUTs). Land suitability mapping was developed using an innovative approach that integrates soil and climatic data for land suitability assessment. Suitability maps for each land use were developed to show the suitability classes and display the spatial representation of soils suitable for agriculture. The output of suitability analyses provided not only the type of land use for which the land was suitable, but also information about the type of limitation (s) facing the utilization of the land. Optimum land use alternatives (scenarios) were formulated to improve and optimize the agricultural production in the study area.