Land Capability Map (Land Use Capability Map)

A land capability map is done to classify different land units in accordance to its fitness for specific
kind of land use. The assumption of land capability is to use land according to its capability, and land is
divided into two groups: suited for cultivation and not suited for cultivation.
A land capability map can also the potential of land to be used in agriculture and potential crops to
be planted. To find it suitability, five physical factors are usually done: lithology (characteristics of rocks),
edaphology (kind of soil and its influences on land use), topography (shape and feature of land) gradient
(slope of the land) and biotic (animal and vegetation presence).
Examples of Land Capability Map
Land Limitation and Potential Land Use Map of Zamboanga del Sur
Description of the Map
Title of the Map – Land Limitation and Potential land Use Map of
Zamboanga del Sur
Coverage – Whole area of Zamboanga del Sur including Pagadian City
and Pagadian Bay
Content – Cultivated and Non – Cultivated lands and Zamboanga del
Sur
Source – Bureau of Soil and Water Management Maps; Department of
Agriculture (Retrieved from www.bswm.maps.da.gov.ph)
The description of the map show the region’s potential in terms of vegetation, land use and potential
hazards presented by the landscape. In the map, the map divided the different areas of Zamboanga del Sur in
terms of their soil type and how can the government utilize it. The first map also showed the different crops
that can be planted based on the type of the oil in the area. Finally, the final map showed the hazards of the
area, like the potentiality of erosion and landslides.
Information Derived from the Maps
The map shows the soil types of the area in terms of fertility, depth in respect to the sea, hazards in
erosion and flooding and the drainage system of the area. It also give information as to what certain crop
should be ideally planted in those area, with crops like upland and lowland rice, corn, cassava, coconut,
coffee and others with suggestions of a fishpond in certain areas. It also show the boundaries of the region
and the limits of its territory and juridical control to the limited territory. The map also presents certain
hazard in certain locations of the region. It shows what the hazards are and why is the area considered a
hazard, like the land is too shallow and is low in fertility.
Use of the Map
In the first map, the map can be used to project the land development of the area. It divided the
different area of the region based on soil type in order to determine which area is suitable for cultivation for
agriculture and which is suited best for commercial and residential use. The map shows the different crops
that can be planted, and it can be used by the people to make the area a place where these crops could be
planted and earn the locals an alternative income source. The map can also be used to develop the areas
hazardous: prone to erosion and flooding. These hazards can be avoided by people by looking into the map
and try to stay away from building infrastructures.