Qualitative Land Suitability Evaluation for Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L. cv Kabkab) Cultivation in Fars Province

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• H. Dialami ¹
• J. Givi ²

¹ Horticulture Research Institute

² Shahrekord University

https://doi.org/10.22067/jsw.v34i4.84162

Abstract

Abstract
Introduction: This research aimed to evaluate the qualitative land suitability for irrigated cultivation of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L. cv Kabkab) using FAO (parametric -the second root formula) and Multi-criteria approaches. The FAO approach has been used by many scholars in different parts of the world and Iran for land suitability assessment. In this approach, the most commonly used method is the parametric method. The FAO approach uses Boolean logic to assess land suitability. This logic has been criticized by a number of land evaluation researchers. Because it does not take into account the continuous nature of the soil variations along the earth's surface and the uncertainty in the measurements. To overcome these shortcomings, the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) was presented to determine the land suitability classes. Land suitability should be determined based on a fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, in which, unlike the Boolean logic, unequal importance of different land characteristics and continuity of soil variations are considered.
Materials and Methods: The studied area is located in Kheshet and Komaroj plain, Kazerun County,  Fars province, southwestern- Iran;  between latitudes 29º 32΄ and 29º 36΄ N and longitudes 51º 20΄ and 51º 22΄ E. Its surface area is 5000 ha. The mean annual rainfall and temperature are 377mm and 23 °C, respectively. The soil temperature and moisture regimes are hyperthermic and xeric, respectively. The physiographic unit is river alluvial plain with a very gently sloping. The entire Kabkab date palm plantation of Fars Province is located in this plain. To fulfill the objectives 10 date palm groves, each with an area of at least 0.5 ha and palm date (Kabkab cultivar) cultivation, aged between 20 and 25 years, identical in soil management and vary soil characteristics were selected. A soil profile was dug randomly in each date palm grove, with dimensions of 1.5 (length), 1(width) and 1.5 (depth) meters and described, using soil profile description (Soil Survey Staff). Soil samples were collected from each horizon. After pre-treatments soil samples were analyzed and some physical and chemical characteristics were measured using standard laboratory methods. The profile site was chosen to have a date palm tree in each of the four corners of the profile. The yield of the four trees in four corners of each profile was measured and their average yield was considered as the yield of the corresponding profile.  Meteorological data was collected for a period of 10 year from the nearest synoptic station (Kazerun). Land indices were calculated, using soil and climatic data and FAO (parametric-second root formula) and fuzzy AHP and AHP methods. Weighted average of the climatic and the soil data were used and a land index was calculated for each soil profile. In the fuzzy AHP and AHP methods, relative weight of each of the studied criteria was determined by analytical hierarchy analysis using a pair wise comparison matrix. In the fuzzy AHP method the membership degree for each soil and climatic criteria was determined through an appropriate membership function and finally, land suitability class for each soil profile was determined. Landscape characteristics such as slope, drainage and soil depth were not considered in the land evaluation, because these characteristics did not show any limitation for the date production in the studied area. Finally the accuracy of the methods was compared.
Results and Discussion: The results of qualitative land suitability evaluation based on FAO (parametric-second root formula) method showed that about 10 and 90 percent of the studied area were classified as S2 and S3, respectively. Based upon fuzzy AHP method, 100 percent of the studied area was classified as S2 and according to AHP method about 90 and 10 percent of the studied area were in S1 and S2, respectively. According to the results, the suitability classes resulted from AHP method was higher than of the fuzzy AHP and FAO methods. Correlation coefficients between the measured yields and the calculated land indexes showed that the fuzzy AHP method results was more correlated to the measured yield than of the other two methods which indicated that the fuzzy AHP was the most appropriate method for land suitability assessment for Kabkab Date palm plantation compared to the FAO (parametric-second root formula) and AHP methods.
Conclusion: According to the results of this research, the fuzzy AHP was the most appropriate method for qualitative land suitability evaluation for Kabkab Date in compared to the other two methods in Fars province, Iran.

Keywords

• Date palm
• Fars province
• Land suitability

20.1001.1.20084757.1399.34.4.11.5

References

1- Amirian A. 2011. Land suitability spatial modeling using geostatistical techniques and Fuzzy set theory. PhD Thesis, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Iran. (In Persian)

2- Attua E.M., and Fisher J.B. 2010. Land suitability assessment for Pineapple production in the Akwapim south district, Ghana: A GIS-Multicriteria Approach. Ghana Journal of Geography 2: 47-83.

3- Ayag Z., and ozdemir R.G. 2006. A Fuzzy AHP approach to evaluating machine tool alternatives. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing 17: 179-190.

4- Ayoubi Sh., Givi J., Jalalian A., and Amini A.M. 2002. Quantitative evaluation of land suitability for important crops in northern Barran area, Isfahan. Journal of Science and Technology of Agriculture and Natural Resources 3: 105-119. (In Persian)

5- Banaei M.H. 1998. Soil moisture and temperature regime map of Iran. Soil and Water Research Institute, Tehran. (In Persian)

6- Belal A.A., and Al-Ashri K.M.A .2011. GIS Based land evaluation in Baharyia Oasis, western desert, Egypt. Mansoura University Journal of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering 2(1): 11–24.

7- Bouyoucos G.J. 1962. Hydrometer method, improved for making particle size analysis of soil. Agronomy Journal 54: 464-465.

8- Burrough P.A. 1989. Fuzzy mathematical methods for soil survey and land evaluation. Journal of Soil Science 40: 477–492.

9- Burrough P., MacMillan R.A., and Van Deursen W. 1992. Fuzzy classification methods for determining land suitability from soil profile observations and topography. Journal of Soil Science 43: 193- 210.

10- Burt R. 2014. Soil survey laboratory methods manual. United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, 1035p.

11- Dialami H. 2017. Qualitative, Quantitative and Economical Land Suitability Evaluation for Kabkab Date Palm Cultivation in Khuzestan, Fars and Bushehr Provinces, Using Multi- Criteria Evaluation and FAO Methods. PhD thesis, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran. (In Persian)

12- FAO statistic (2014). Available at http// faostat.fao.org/site/567/default.aspx.

13- Ghanavati G., Landi A., and Baneinaama J. 2009. Land Suitability Evaluation for Wheat and Date Palm Cultivation in Shadegan Area. M.Sc. thesis, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran. (In Persian)

14- Givi J. 1998. Qualitative Land Suitability Evaluation for Field and Horticultural crops. Technical Publication No. 1015, Soil and Water Research Institute, Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Organization, Ministry of Agriculture, 100 p. (In Persian)

15- Hamzeh S., Mokarram M., and Alavipanah S.K. 2014. Combination of fuzzy and AHP methods to assess land suitability for barley: Case study of semiarid lands in the southwest of Iran. Desert 19(2): 173-181.

16- Keshavarzi A., Sarmadian F., Heidari A., and Omid M. 2010. Land suitability evaluation using fuzzy continuous classification (A case study: Ziaran region). Modern Applied Science 4: 72-81.

17- Khalifa M.E.A., and Samir M.H.A.R. 2008. Land Potentiality Assessment, East El-Owienat Area, Egypt. Alex University Journal of Agriculture and Environment Science 7(1): 149-171.

18- Knudsen D., Peterson G.A., and Pratt P.F. 1982. Lithium, sodium, and potassium. In: Page A. L. (ed.). Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 2: Chemical and Microbiological Properties. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, USA. pp: 225-246.

19- Metwaly M.M.A., and El-Araby A.M. 2011. Land suitability for some specific crops, using remote sensing and GIS in El-Qaa plain, South Sinai, Egypt. Mansoura University Journal of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering 2(2): 227–238.

20- Mohammadi J., and Givi J. 2001. Qualitative Land Suitability Evaluation for Wheat in Falavarjan Region (Isfahan), using Fuzzy set theory. Journal of Science and Technology of Agriculture and Natural Resources 1: 103-115. (In Persian)

21- Mousavi S.A., Sarmadian F., and Taaty A. 2016. Comparison and analysis of hierarchical process method of FAO to assess the suitability of the land for dryland wheat in kuhin area. Journal of Soil Research 30: 367-377. (In Persian)

22- Mukhtar E., Comber A., and Fisher P. 2010. Land evaluation techniques, comparing Fuzzy AHP with TOPSIS method. 13th AGILE International Conference on Geographic Information Science, 10-14 May, Guimarães, Portugal.

23- Nelson R.E. 1982. Carbonate and gypsum. In: Page A.L. (ed.). Methods of Soil Analysis. Part2: Chemical and Microbiological Properties. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, USA. pp: 181-197.

24- Nouri S.H., Sadaei S.H., Keaie S., Soltane Z., and Nowruze Avaregane A. 2010. Evaluation of ecological environment for determining suitable areas, using geographic information systems in the central part of the Kiyar county. Journal of Geography and Linear Programming 37: 33-47. (In Persian)

25- Peech M. 1965. Hydrogen ion activity. In: Black, C.A. (ed.), Methods of soil analysis. Part 2: Chemical and Microbiological Properties. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, USA. pp: 914-926.

26- Prakash T.N. 2003. Land suitability analysis for agricultural crops. Fuzzy multicriteria decision making approach. M.Sc. thesis. International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation. Enschede, Netherlands.

27- Roades J.D. 1996. Salinity: electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids. In: Sparks D.L. (ed.). Methods of Soil Analysis. Part 3: Chemical methods. American Society of Agronomy and Soil Science Society of America, Madison, WI, USA. pp: 417-437.

28- Romeijn H., Faggian R., Diogo V., and Sposito V. 2016. Evaluation of deterministic and complex Analytical Hierarchy Process methods for agricultural land suitability analysis in a changing climate. International Journal of Geo-Information 5(99): 1-16.

29- Saaty T.L. 1980. The Analytic Hierarchy Process. McGraw Hill, New York, USA, 346p.

30- Salah A. 2018. Evaluation of land suitability for main irrigated crops in North- Western Region of Libya. Eurasian Journal of Soil Science 7(1): 73-86.

31- Salah A., Van Ranst E., and Hisham El. 2001. Land suitability assessment for date palm cultivation in the Eastern Nile delta, Egypt, using an automated land evaluation system (ALES) and GIS. Second International Conference on Date Palm, 25-27 March, Al-Ain, UAE.

32- Schoeneberger P.J., Wysocki D.A., Benham E.C., and Broderson W.D. 2012. Field book for describing and sampling soils. Version 3: Natural Resources Conservation Service and National Soil Survey Center, Lincoln, NE, 300 p.

33- Sharififar A., Ghorbani H., and Sarmadian F. 2016. Land suitability evaluation for crop selection, using fuzzy sets methodology. Acta Agriculturae Slovenica 107(1):159-174.

34- Sys C., Van Ranst E., and Debaveye J. 1991a. Land evaluation. Part I: Principles in land evaluation and crop production calculations. Agricultural Publication No. 7, GADC, Brussels, Belgium, 274p.

35- Van Laarhoven P.J.M., and Pedrcyz W. 1983. A fuzzy extension of Saaty’s priority theory. Fuzzy Sets and Systems 11: 229-241.

36- Van Ranst E., Tang H., Groenemans R., and Sinthurahat S. 1996. Application of fuzzy logic to land suitability evaluation for rubber production in peninsular Thailand. Geoderma 70: 1–19.

37- Wakley A., and Black I.A. 1934. An examination of degtjareff method for determining soil organic matter and a proposed modification of chromic acid method in soil analysis. Experimental Soil Science 79: 459-465.

38- Zabihi H., Ahmad A., Vogeler I., Norsaid M., Golmohammadi M., Golein B., and Nilash I.M. 2015. Land suitability procedure for sustainable citrus production, using the application of the analytical network process approach and GIS. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture 117: 114–126.