Introduction

Local biophysical conditions play a critical role in determining which specific crops can be

farmed, fertile soil management and help to identify the main potentials and limitations of the

area (Mendas & Delali 2012; Kazemi, Sadeghi & Akinci 2016). Land suitability evaluation is

a first step in developing and promoting land-use planning and protecting sustainable

agricultural lands (Falasca, Ulberich & Ulberich 2012; Baroudy 2016). The soil properties,

climate and topo-position variation are the main reasons to investigate land suitability for a

certain crop in different parts of the study region. FAO (1990) reported that in the evaluation

of agricultural land units, the most effective parameters i.e. soil, climate and topography data

should be considered at a local scale. In recent decades, human activities have been gradually

degrading land resources in Iran. Therefore, it is necessary that the potential and limitations

of land, on a local scale, are identified and evaluated for farming a specific crop especially in

semi-arid calcareous, saline and sodic soils conditions.

AHP is commonly applied to identify the weights of influencing factors on urban growth on

the basis of the analysis functions of GIS. AHP is also a structured approach that can be used

for complex cases of making decisions that include competing criteria (Javadian et al., 2011).

The weights of factors in AHP can commonly be identified by using driven knowledge and

driven data. The weights of factors can also be calculated by using a questionnaire given to

specialists who have considerable experience in the field of urban growth and can then be

determined by using pairwise comparison method to measure their relative importance vis-à-

vis one another (Javadian et al., 2011; Bagheri, Sulaiman & Vaghefi, 2013; Mohammad,

Sahebgharani & Malekipour, 2013). The main challenge in applying this model is that AHP

needs the right experts with the widest knowledge and experience in the fields of suitability

analysis and application to judge the factors in terms of their importance and weights

1
(Bagheri, Sulaiman & Vaghefi, 2013). Identifying the relative weights of the factors used in

land suitability analysis is generally difficult. Thus, the use of a technique that has a powerful

capability to identify the weights is important. AHP is one of the significant techniques used

in analyzing issues related to spatial nature (Javadian et al., 2011). Research on AHP

continues to grow at present, as supported by the annual increase in journal publications on

AHP in the field of land suitability analysis.

Analytic hierarchy process (AHP) finds extensive use in MCDM techniques in GIS-based

suitability procedures (Yalew et al. 2016a) due to its appropriateness for calculating

weightage for different land-use based on pairwise comparisons of multiple factors according

to their relative significance (Wijenayake et al. 2016; Das et al. 2017; Qureshi et al. 2018).

The weighted overlay technique using AHP in GIS is quite convenient to the hierarchical

structure of multicriteria analysis (Pramanik 2016; Kazemi and Akinci 2018; Negi et al.

2020). AHP-based MCDM integrating the weighted overlay model provides promising

agricultural land suitability assessment (Burian et al. 2018; Hussien et al. 2019; Purnamasari

et al. 2019).

In land suitability evaluation, a geographic information system (GIS) is a helpful tool for

investigating different geographical data with precision and greater flexibility (Mendas &

Delali, 2012). GIS is the best, accurate, and flexible approach for investigating geospatial

data in land suitability researches, and for land evaluation and proper land use decisions, the

multi-criteria decision-making method and GIS have been combined (Malczewski, 2006).

Land Suitability Analysis is a GIS-based technique that is using to assess land suitability.

Unplanned use of land resources, consequent land degradation, water shortage, and climatic

variability are critical constraints for agricultural development of drought-affected sub-humid

areas (Akpoti et al. 2019; Ujoh et al. 2019). The unwise use of land and soil leads to a decline

2
in the health and productivity of global land resources (Cowie et al., 2018; Akbari et al.,

2019). Thus, appropriate land utilization is the principal concern of the world at present

(Vasu et al., 2018; Massawe et al., 2019). Today, land degradation due to improper land use

might lead to severe threats to the sustainability of agricultural systems (Keesstra et al.,

2016). In India, about 44% of agricultural land degraded in the recent past, and the increasing

trend of such degradation of cropland poses a significant challenge to agricultural growth and

food security (Mandal et al., 2017; Naseer & Pandey, 2018). The extension of cropland to

marginal or less productive land, deforestation, and mismanagement of slope, soil, and water

are the principal causes that deplete productivity of rain-fed agriculture (Naseer & Pandey

2018; Kumar et al., 2019). The undulating red and lateritic zones (RLZs) of India are one of

the land degradation hotspots (Pal, 2017; Mahala, 2019; Senapati & Das, 2020) and sub-

humid drought-prone regions (Parida & Oinam, 2015). Therefore, suitable agricultural land-

use practices are necessary to cope with drought and climatic risks by sustainably enhancing

crop productivity.

The prerequisite of land usage plan is to evaluate the land suitability. The mentioned

evaluation provides guidance to the optimal usage of lands by providing information about

opportunities and limits of land usage (Mokarram & Aminzadeh, 2010) and involves the

decision to use the existing resources according to the their evaluated potential

(Bandyopadhyay et al., 2009). For this, first of all the most suitable land use type is

determined with the suitability analyses considering the land features and the user

requirements (Akbulak, 2010; Amiri & Shariff, 2012). The land use suitability analysis is the

determination of the suitability and the suitability level of a land for a particular use

(agriculture, forest, recreation, etc.), and an important step of this determination process is to

define the criteria affecting the suitability of the land (Al-Shalabi et al., 2006). The fact that

there are many criteria considerably complicates the land use suitability analysis. This is

3
because in order to support the long-lasting use, without damage, of a particular land, it is

also required to consider the criteria such as natural features of that land as well as its

socioeconomic and environmental costs and results (Duc, 2006; Bandyopadhyay et al.,

2009).

Land suitability evaluation is one of the most important phases in land-use planning for a

farming a specific crop given local conditions (FAO, 1993). Land suitability evaluation

studies could be considering key factors that determine crop growth so that decision makers

can generate the best management practices for achieving sustainable land productivity. FAO

(1976) developed a framework for land-use planning (Recatal & Zinck, 2008; Fontes et al.,

2009). There are many effective agro-ecological factors which are used for land suitability

evaluation, but using all of these factors increases the complexity of a long term sustainable

management (Bandyopadhyay et al., 2009; Akinci et al., 2013). Hence, it is necessary to

develop an advanced agro-ecological model to manage and determine land-use planning

based on the local soil, climate and topography data to reduce the risk to the food supply

without degradation to the land (Uphoff, 2002). Several studies have applied multi-criteria

evaluation by using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method developed by Saaty

(1980) to evaluate land suitability for a specific crop. In a Geographic information systems

(GIS) framework, the AHP has been used for crops such as for faba bean cultivation in the

Gonbad-Kavous region of northern Iran (Kazemi, Sadeghi & Akinci, 2016), for agricultural

suitability in hilly zones, in India (Zolekar & Bhagat, 2015), for rain-fed farming (Kazemi

and Akinci. 2018), for rapeseed production, in northwest Iran (Ostovari et al. 2019), for

wheat and maize farming in east of Iran (Pilevar et al., 2020) and for the agricultural

suitability in hilly zones, in Turkey (Akinci, Ozalp & Turgut, 2013).

4
By evaluating land's inherent and prospective capabilities for desired purposes

(Bandyopadhyay et al., 2009), land suitability analysis may assist create methods to enhance

agricultural production (Pramanik, 2016). It can also assist in the diagnosis of priority

locations for possible management. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique that

developed by Saaty (2004), with the integration of remote sensing (RS) and GIS. These

techniques have been utilized for land suitability analysis on different studies around the

world for both of general agricultural land suitability analysis and for specific crops as well

(Chandio et al., 2011; Akıncı et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2015; Pramanik, 2016; Yalew et al.,

2016; Bozdağ et al., 2016; Aburas et al., 2017; Roy & Saha, 2018; Dedeoğlu & Dengiz,

2019; Tashayo et al., 2020).

Nigeria with its diverse landscape has soils, which are remarkably distinct from one region

and state to the other because of differences in soil-forming factors. Nigeria has declined in

agriculture to become a major importer and consumer of agricultural products, including rice,

wheat as well as vegetables and fruits. As a result, agricultural land use planning is has

become increasingly necessary to support local agricultural sectors as a channel of increasing

productivity and sustainability as well as food security. Therefore, this study seeks to

examine agricultural land use suitability in Jalingo local government area, Taraba State.

Statement of the Problem

About 80% of the total land mass of Nigeria is fertile (World Bank, 2011); but is declining

due to degradation, erosion, and conversion to other more competitive land uses like built-up

areas (Oni, 2013). Hence, the need to increase agricultural production, by raising productivity

per unit land area through ALS evaluation, which also mitigates degradation and erosion as

well (FAO, 2007). This ensures that the best crop is planted on the best land which will

support its optimum growth at minimum cost of inputs (fertilizer, irrigation, implements), for

5
maximizing output and yield (Olaniyi et al., 2007; FAO 2007; Keshavarzi, 2011). Hence, the

need for faster and holistic methods like the digital techniques (Al-Mashreki et al., 2011).

Though, many studies used digital techniques for ALS evaluation including Rossiter (1996),

De la Roasa et al., (2002), Belal et al., (2014), Ayine et al., (2015), and Widiatmaka et al.,

(2015). While in the study of Widiatmaka et al., (2015) Automated Land Evaluation System

(ALES) was used to carry out land suitability analysis to establish local specific inputs for

paddy fields (rice) in Subang, West Java, Indonesia. However, ALES software handles only

the matching process that requires programming dexterity which is difficult for non-computer

programmers, and has no mapping functions to map the suitability. Therefore, the study

mapped the land mapping units and the existing paddy fields using remote sensing (SPOT 6),

in Erdas Imagine and ArcGIS 10.2 software. Hence, in order to have a holistic and simple

ALS evaluation a GT based ALS evaluation is required, where the matching and mapping are

all carried out in a single system. Hence, this is identified as a gap which is envisaged to be

addressed by the GT.

According to Crop Production Manual (CPM, 2015) most farmers are harvesting far less than

the potential yield. Amongst the reasons is the selection of unsuitable crop(s) for their farms:

as they rely on local, traditional, and sometimes trial-and-error methods. Hence, there is need

for accurate crop selection and evaluation of agricultural land suitability through scientific

approach using the geospatial mapping. Hence, many studies used conventional methods in

evaluating ALS including Aondoakaa and Agbakwuru (2012), Chukwu ett al., (2014), Abah

and Petja (2016), Agber et al., (2017), Jimoh et al., (2018).

Agricultural activities in Jalingo as well as other parts of the state are carried out haphazardly

without appropriate analysis of the suitability of the agricultural lands. In cases where certain

portions of lands or areas are earmarked for agricultural practices, there was neither soil

6
quality analysis nor any spatial mapping of the agricultural land suitable for agricultural use.

Therefore, there is little or no information on agricultural land use suitability in Taraba State

especially Jalingo, the state capital, which results in urban encroachment on agricultural

lands, vice-versa. This has dare consequences on crop yield, land use sustainability and

environmental degradation.

The continuous advancement in Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems

(GIS) has enabled the assessment of suitable areas for oil palm growth on a global, regional

and local scale. RS and GIS offer quick, cheap, accurate and effective techniques for

determining how suitable an area is for oil palm growing. Area suitability assessments are

very important in the planning process before the oil palm is actually cultivated because they

provide a viable basis for making effective decisions as to where to plant in order to obtain

optimum growth and promote sustainable agricultural land use. This study seeks to assess the

sites suitable for agricultural activities in Jalingo by integrating the tools of remote sensing

and GIS.

Research Questions

The following research questions are raised to guide the study:

i. What is the location of suitable land for agriculture?

ii. What is the soil quality of the suitable land for agricultural activities?

iii. What is the spatial distribution of suitable land for agriculture?

Aim and Objectives

The main aim of this work is to analyse agricultural land use suitability using GIS and AHP

techniques in Jalingo Local Government Area, Taraba State. The specific objectives of the

study include:

7
 i. To determine the location of suitable land for agriculture.

ii. To determine the soil quality of the suitable land for agricultural activities.

iii. Ascertain the spatial distribution of suitable land for agriculture.

Significance of the Study

Current information on nutrient status of soils is needed to develop appropriate integrated

nutrient management packages for sustainable maize production within the area. This

research will integrate the GIS and AHP techniques to analyse the suitable areas for

agricultural use in Jalingo LGA of Taraba State.

The finding will provide a good database and information for planners considering crop

substitution to get better agricultural production. The finding will provide information on

nutrients in the soils, making appropriate recommendations for fertilizer application where

necessary to increase soil fertility rating, and soil management recommendations, which will

include use of organic fertilizer, mulching and leguminous cover crops to enhance soil

quality.

The urgent dissemination of the findings of the present study to stakeholders and farmers will

make them understand the capacity and limitation in range of suitability of their farmlands.

Land parcel use potential, limitations and management measures will clearly be conveyed to

land users so that the real use of the research will be seen.

The findings of the study will further enrich existing body of knowledge in the field of soil

and spatial analysis and geography as a whole. It will also serve as resource material for

future research and researchers in this or similar fields.

8
Study Area

Location: Jalingo LGA is roughly located between latitudes 8º 47’ to 9º 01’N of the equator

and longitudes 11º 09’ to 11º 30’E of the Greenwich Meridian (Fig. 1). It is bounded to the

North by Lau Local Government Area, to the East by Yorro Local Government Area, to the

South and West by Ardo Kola Local Government Area. Jalingo town was founded in 1893,

as a convenient and suitable site for the relocation of the administrative capital of the Muri

emirate. The town developed as a war camp established eight miles south of Kona village

(Oruonye, 2014). It was a military base for the operation of the Emir of Muri. Hamman

(2007) observed that since its establishment in 1895, Jalingo has continued to witness

phenomenal growth as a result of its being the seat of the new Muri Emirate government and

a trading centre. Following the creation of Taraba State in 1991, it was made the state capital.

It has a total land area of about 195km.

Relief and Drainage: Jalingo town lies on gently sloping land that leads to the great Muri

plains. The town lies between 305m to 610m above sea level. The ground level rises to a

peak of about 914 meters above sea level in the south-east (Jalingo Town Master Plan, 2000).

The Lamurde River and its tributaries drain the town into the Benue River forming watershed

from this peak. There are a number of hills and rock outcrops as high as 323meters in the

northern part of the town. Some of these hills include the Jauro Shadi Hill, Jalingo Hill, Jauro

Ashe Hill, Hosere Waligo and Danbature Hills. The topographical characteristics of Jalingo

are well suited for effective storm water drainage. The southern part of the town slopes

southward and drains into River Lamurde. The northern part of the town drains into River

Mayogwoi, the tributary to River Lamurde and are intersected by many other natural drainage

water courses (Oruonye, 2014).

9
The topography within 2 miles of Jalingo contains significant variations in elevation, with a

maximum elevation change of 541 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 675 feet.

Within 10miles contains significant variations in elevation (2,192 feet). Within 50 miles

contains large variations in elevation (5,177 feet).The area within 2 miles of Jalingo is

covered by cropland (45%), grassland (23%), trees (19%), and shrubs (12%), within 10 miles

by cropland(56%) and shrubs (16%), and within 50 miles by cropland (48%) and shrubs

(25%) (Oruonye, 2014).

Temperature: In Jalingo, the wet season is oppressive and overcast, the dry season is partly

cloudy, and it is hot year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies

from 61°F to 99°F and is rarely below 56°F or above 105°F. Based on the beach/pool score,

the best time of year to visit Jalingo for hot-weather activities is from early November to late

February. The hot season lasts for 2.3 months, from February 4 to April 14, with an average

daily high temperature above 96°F. The hottest day of the year is March 15, with an average

high of 99°F and low of 74°F. The cool season lasts for 3.4 months, from June 24 to October

5, with an average daily high temperature below 86°F. The coldest day of the year is

December 30, with an average low of 61°F and high of 91°F (Oruonye, 2014).

Clouds: In Jalingo, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences

significant seasonal variation over the course of the year. The clearer part of the year in

Jalingo begins around October 29 and lasts for 4.2 months, ending around March 5. On

January 4, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 54% of

the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 46% of the time. The cloudier part of the year begins

around March 5 and lasts for 7.8 months, ending around October 29. On May 6, the cloudiest

day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% of the time, and clear, mostly clear,

or partly cloudy 16% of the time (NIMET, 2015).

10
Wind: The average hourly wind speed in Jalingo experiences significant seasonal variation

over the course of the year. The windier part of the year lasts for 7.9 months, from December

21 to August 18, with average wind speeds of more than 6.5 miles per hour. The windiest day

of the year is April 16, with an average hourly wind speed of 8.7 miles per hour. The calmer

time of year lasts for 4.1 months, from August 18 to December 21. The calmest day of the

year is October 23, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.4 miles per hour (Oruonye, 2014).

Soil and Vegetation: The soil type in Jalingo is mainly loamy sand except for eastern part of

the local government, which has some indications of sandy-loam (Osujieke et al., 2018).

Jalingo is generally clay loam with particle- size distribution of 36.40% sand, 25.40% silt and

37.15% clay with moderate porosity (43.66%), high water holding capacity (79.33), slight

acid reaction and moderate organic matter which does not encourage excessive leaching and

loss of basic cations in the soil. The soils of the Jalingo floodplain are generally considered

moderately suitable (S2s) for the cultivation of sugarcane production. The soils are generally

limited by unfortunate organic matter, Mg, P, N, and K contents (Osujieke et al., 2018).

According to the USDA soil taxonomy, Jalingo has an iso-hyperthermic temperature, ustic

moisture regimes, argillic horizons and a base saturation above 35 % which qualified it as an

Alfisol. Considering the soil moisture regime, they fall under the sub-order Ustalfs. The

pedons have kandic horizon, high base saturation and low effective cation exchange capacity

which qualified them as Kandiustalfs (Soil Survey Staff, 2014).

Jalingo is located within the Guinea Savanna zone characterised by grasses interspersed with

tall trees and shrubs; some of the trees include locust bean, shea butter, eucalyptus, baobab

and silk-cotton trees (Oruonye and Abbas, 2012). The climate allows for the cultivation of a

wide variety of staple food crops (NAERLS, 2011). The vegetation of the area is

predominantly grassed with sparse trees and shrubs (Areola et al., 1992).

11
Between February and April, when the rains are about to start, and after the annual bush fires,

the trees produce new flowers. It is quite surprising to see the way many plants produce their

new flowers and foliage at the driest part of the year and often several weeks before the

coming of the first rain. At about the same period also the burnt grass shoots with the bare

ground between them occupied by numerous flowering geophytes monocotyledons.

The tree canopy is denser, and the grasses grow in abundance during the rainy season. From

September to October, the grasses bring forth flowers in the mist of the mist of the many

composites and other discount herbs. As the dry season approaches, the grasses become dry

and are burnt sooner or later. Furthermore, it could be said that the period of the early rains

when the grasses are green and short, the monocotyledons are in flower, and the trees are in

young foliage and flower is the most beautiful time in Jalingo LGA (Oruonye & Abbas,

2012).

Population, Economic Activities/Land Use: The population of the region according to the

2006 National population Census was 139,845 with the growth rate of 2.9%. The population

of Jalingo is projected to be 208,790 persons for 2020 (National Population Commission of

Nigeria (NPC) 2020).

Jalingo is an urban area and administrative capital of Taraba state. Jalingo residents are

predominately civil servants both indigene and non-indigene. They also engage in farming

activities such as fishery and poultry. Lager scale farming is hardly seen in the area because

of the expanding nature of the city. Irrigation farming is practices along river Mayogwoi and

river Lamurde flood plain mostly crops farm are vegetables for commercial and subsistent

purposes. Important crops cultivated in the Jalingo include maize, beans, yam, cassava,

millet, sweet potatoes, and vegetables (Oruonye, 2014).

12
Some of the residents are public servants who engage in mechanic arts, city transport

business, building constructions, carpentry, shoe making, table water production and

hawking, fresh and smoked fish hawking, fruit hawking, vegetable hawking, soft-drinks

hawking, guesthouse business, beer parlours, fuel retailing, restaurant business etc. There are

none or few companies in Jalingo. The known companies are Table water companies,

commercial banks, Taraba Gas Company, Taraba Cassava Company, Green House and

telecommunication companies in the State. Some residents of Jalingo works with this

companies. Therefore, a significant number of the population is engaged in the civil service

(local, state and federal government). Others include; shop-keepers, provider of services like

Barbing Saloons, Hairdressers, Restaurants, hotels, GSM and Recharge card business,

transportation, business centres, fruits and vegetable trade and petroleum products business.

In addition, because of the agrarian nature of Jalingo and its environs and the increasing rate

of urbanisation, a significant part of the population is engaged in produce and livestock trades

to cope with the demand for food and meat product (Oruonye, 2014).

There are ranches, gardens, mango trees, baobabs, bushes and various grasses. Nonetheless,

expansion in the human populace with its attending requests for lodging, fuelwood and Poor

land management affects the natural vegetation, in this way lessening its potentials radically

(Ojeh & Semaka, 2021). Jalingo, as a growing commercial centre, is a market town for the

encompassing territory; it is the home of various craftsmen, from customary artworks print

shops, computer operators and furniture makers. There are a number of commercial activities

from trading, hawking, commercial cycling, but to mention a few. Banking, educational,

recreational, hotels are some of the tertiary economic activities.

Methodology

13
Types and Sources of Data: The data required for this study are both primary and secondary

data. The secondary data will comprise of scholarly articles in journals, textbooks and online

blogs. While the primary data will comprise of data from the field such as soil samples,

coordinates of the sampling sites and sampling points.

Sampling Procedure: Multi-stage sampling will be adopted for the study. First, purposive

sampling will be used to identify the slope variation and fertility gradients of the study area.

Secondly, a random sampling technique will be adopted to select sampling points at distances

of 50m between sampling points.

Method of Data Collection

Field data collection and soil sampling will be carried out by considering the slope variation

and fertility gradients of the study area. The soil samples will be collected from each

sampling site, and soil profiles will be opened to measure soil depth conditions. Besides,

representative soil samples from a depth of 0 to 30 cm will be collected to examine the soil’s

physical and chemical properties.

At each sampling site, a GPS (Global Position Systems, Garmin 76x model) reading will be

used in taking the coordinates. For each sampling site, a minimum of 10 to 15 subsamples

will be collected and composited within 50 m distance between two sampling points using a

random sampling technique. As a result, a total of eight composite soil samples will be

collected, using Edelman auger at the surface layer (0–30 cm), for agricultural land use

suitability evaluation purposes. Then the collected soil samples will be air-dried, gently

crushed with mortar and pestle, mixed well and passed through a 2-mm sieve. For the

determination of total nitrogen (N) and organic carbon (OC), a 0.5-mm sieve will be used.

Then, approximately one kg of the composited fine soil sample will be transported for

analysis following the standard procedures.

14
Method of Data Analysis

The agricultural land suitability test will be conducted utilizing GIS techniques and the

Shuttle Radar Topographic Motor (SRTM Data).

Laboratory Analyses: Soil texture will be specified depending on the particles size

distribution (PSD) analysis by hydrometer method as described by (Gee & Bauder, 1986).

Very fine sand will be determined depending on (Gee & Bauder, 1986). Soil organic matter

(OM) will be determined by wet combustion using potassium dichromate as an oxidizing

agent (Issam & Antoine, 2007). The results of all these analyses will be used in order to find

soil loss magnitude in the study area through the methodology proposed by Wischmeier &

Smith (1965).

AHP: The AHP will be used for determining the weights for each criterion. For this purpose,

the following steps will be applied based on the methodology proposed by Mu and Pereyra-

Rojas (2017). The first step for an AHP analysis is to build a model, which determines the

three levels of the model including GOAL, CRITERIA, and ALTERNATIVES. In the first

level (GOAL) which is the land suitability classification for this study, while in the second

level (CRITERIA) the factors or criteria that are influencing land suitability. Third level

(ALTERNATIVES) including the types of land suitability (S1, S2, S3, N1, and N2).

GIS Analysis: The spatial statistical tool in ArcGIS 10.1, Nearest Neighbor Analysis (NNA),

will be used to compute and determine the spatial pattern that exists between suitable

agricultural land in the study area. Nearest Neighbor Analysis compares the mean distance

(Do) of the phenomena in issue to the same expected mean distance (De), usually under a

random distribution, to uncover patterns in location data. The analysis usually produces the

Nearest Neighbor Ratio (Rn) result between 0 – 2.15. If the Rn value result falls between a

range of 0-0.49, the pattern is said to be significantly clustered, while a range of 0.5 – 1.5
15
indicates a significant random distribution; if the Rn value falls within 1.56 – 2.15, the pattern

is said to be significantly dispersed or regular depending upon the number of points per

pattern. A Negative Z score indicates clustering, while a positive Z score means dispersion or

evenness (Getis and Ord, 1998).

16
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