Principles

The basic principles of land evaluation are

1. Land suitability assessed and classified with respect to specified

king of use:

This principle involve different king of land use have different

requirement

Ex. An alluvial flood plain with impeded drainage might be highly

suitable for rice cultivation but not suitable for many forms of
agriculture or for forestry.

The concept of land suitability is only of land suitability is only

meaningful in terms of specific kinds of land use each with their own
requirements, e.g. for soil moisture rooting depth etc.

Land and use are equally fundamental to land suitability evaluation.

2. Evaluation requires a comparison of the benefit obtained and the

input needed on different type of land

Land, without input produce a productive potential, suitability for

each use is assessed by comparing the required input such as
labor, fertilizers or road construction with the goods produced or
other benefits obtained.

3. Multidisciplinary approach
Multidisciplinary approach encompassing studies of land, land
use, social aspects and economic remains.
4. The she physical economic and social context of the area
concerned
 Evaluation differ from one country to another country and to
some extent between different area of the same country.
Many factors are assume to avoid misunderstanding and to
assist in comparisons between different areas.
5. Suitability refers to use on a sustained basis
The aspect of environmental degradation is taken into account
when assessing suitability portable consequence for the
environment should be assessed as accurately as possible and
such assessment taken into consideration in determining
suitability
6. Evaluation involves comparison of more than a single kind of use
Evaluation is only reliable if benefits and inputs from any given
kind of use can be compared with at least one and usually several
different alternatives if only one use is considered there is the
danger that whilst the land may indeed be suitable for that use
some other and more beneficial use may be ignored .

Land capability classification

Definition: land capability classification is an interpretative grouping of

soils mainly based on

1. The inherent soil characteristics

2. External land feature and
3. Environmental factors that limit the use of land
The information on first two can be derived from standard soil
survey report however the details about the third is the
 environmental factor such as climate and vegetation, derived
form soil bulletin.
The capability classification consist three categories
1. Capability classes
2. Capability subclasses
3. Capability units

Capability classes

There are eight capability classes are recognized. The soils having
greatest capability for response to management and least limitations
are grouped into class. I and those having least capability and greatest
limitation are grouped in class viii.

The classification is given as follows and broadly grouped into

arable and nonarable land classes.

Land capability classification (USDA)

A. A. Kingbiet and Montgomery (1966)

Capability classification is one of number of interpretative
groupings made primarily for agricultural purpose it is designed.
1. To help land owners and other users and interpret the soil maps.
2. To introduce uses to the details of the soil map it self.
3. To make possible broad generalization based on soil potentialities,
limiting in use and management problems.
 Criteria that limit the land use or that impose rise to yield and to
manage potential criteria area.
a. Stop and erosion hazaras for wind and water.
b. Soil depth
c. Drainage.
d. Workability
e. Stoniness and rockiness
f. Water holding capacity
g. Permeability
h. Nutrient availability
i. Fertilizer status
j. Salinity & alkalinity hazards
k. Climate

Advantages

1. Division into small number of sankeel categories is easily

understood .
2. It is qualitative than quatative
3. It is realistic approach under limited available information.
4. Can be applied easily by any worker
5. It stresses the adverse effect and suggest soil conservation
6. It reflects the current suitability to a land use
7. It is useful way of forming for practical forming
8. Reasonably acceptable results can be obtained.
Limitations

1. The system lead to general appraisal and does not give the growth
and production of specific crop (wet land rice, verses maize,
sorghum)
2. Parameter which are taken into consideration are exclusively soil
characteristics and do not play much attention to climate, growth
requirement and not suitable for crop species.
3. The capability rating here by obtained give indeed, not a
productivity scale for crop, but consistitute a general appraisal a
broad land use planning.
4. The definition of the criteria is not always enough, so as to
avoided different interpretation by different people.

Assumptions
1. The capability classification is an inter pretative classification
based on affects of combination of climatic and perment soil
characteristics.
2. Land C.C. similar with respect to degree of limitation is soil use for
agriculture purpose and hazard to the soil use include many soil
3. C.C. is not productivity rooting
4. It is not groping of soil according to most profitable use eg: III X IV
land
5. C.C. J to I differ in kind of management and yield may be different
in soils within class.
6. Excess waters, adequate water, stoniness, suitable salt are not
permanent limitation
7. Soil suited to cultivation are also suited for pasture, forest & wild
life.
Land irritability y classification

Physical and socio- economic factors in addition to soil irritability

classes play an impotent part in determining the suitability of land
under irrigation.

Quality and quantity of water available, drainage requirement, water

table depth and socioeconomic consideration are taken into account.
Equilibrium salinity levels , equilibrium sodium percentage level and
availability of water to the land in relation to water requirement of
crops permeability of strata and feasibility of providing needed
drainage, cost of providing drainage, land development costs, crop
production costs and yield potentials and other costs affecting cost-
benefit ratio are considered

Specifications for land irritability

Suitability sub classes:

These are division of suitability classes which indicate not only the
degree of suitability but also the nature of limitation that make the land
less than completely suitable (so suitability classes ‘s’ , has no
subclasses)

Suitability unit

These are division of suitability subclass by numbers within subclass.

Eg. S3E3 the units having minor difference in management requirement

indicated by arebie number.
Use of fuzzy logic in land evaluation

Fuzzy set theory is a mathematical logic are two type

1. Bullion
2. Fuzzy
1. Bullion : means bivalent logic
0 x 1 ie yes & no
2. Fuzzy set approach relatively, recons introduced into the process
of land suitability assessment introduced to overcome some pro
that are considered as typical for convention (bullion) method.

The most important problems are

i. Sharp limitation between the suitability class

ii. Influence of land characteristic or quality on land suitability
often defined.
iii. Impact of each of the land characteristic and land qualities on
crop performance not evidently combined into a final land
classify
iv. The theory of fuzzy says originally proposed ‘zadeh’ (1965) in a
body of concepts and technical that give a form of
mathematical precision human thorough processes. That are
impress and ambiguous in many ways.

It was developed to define express classes or categories like, important

and less important land classes, moderately and merge suitability
classes.

Fuzzy set have more flexible men requirements. That allow for particle
members set with a fuzzy set there is gradual tramped