APPLYING GIS TECHNOLOGY IN LAND ADAPTABILITY EVALUATION FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN HOA VANG DISTRICT, DA NANG CITY

Abstract

Researching into land evaluation with GIS assistance is highly essential for the improvement of the accuracy of the research as well as the proper and sufficient evaluation of land potential, which serve as bases for orientating sustainable agricultural production development and establishing measures to improve land use efficiency. With two thirds of its area being mountainous and midland, Hoa Vang is considered an area of diverse land potential with unused land covering a large area; the majority of the population work in the agricultural sector. However, identifying and locating suitability, which is a scientific basis for the implementation of land planning for agricultural development, still remains unfulfilled. This research has applied FAO’s land evaluation method, GIS and AHP technologies to evaluate and classify land adaptability for the agricultural development of Hoa Vang district, which includes evaluation of natural, current and general adaptability. This has resulted in the birth of single-feature maps, and land-unit maps with 94 land units and adaptibility classification maps, maps orientating the agricultural development of the district. The research results show that, for agricultural land, the less adaptable type (S3) and the non-adaptable type (N) occupy a huge area; for example, ​​rice accounts for 92.2%, yearly plants 91.9%, perennial trees 96%. The causes are as follows: for natural adaptability evaluation, the drawback - a slope of more than 8⁰ - occupies over 70% of the area of the whole district; for current adaptability evaluation, the area of 11 types land use with no evaluation like residential land, woodland, etc. account for 90% of the area. The study also proposes an orientation for agricultural development and specific distribution for each communal administrative unit.