Development of a GIS-based decision support system for assessing land use status

The objectives of this study are to assess land suitability and to predict the spatial and temporal changes in land use types (LUTs) by using GIS-based land use management decision support system. A GIS database with data on climate, topography, soil characteristic, irrigation condition, fertilizer application, and special socioeconomic activities has been developed and used for the evaluation of land productivity for different crops by integrating with a crop growth model ― Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC). International food policy simulation model (IFPSIM) is also embedded into GIS for the predictions of how crop demands and crop market prices will change under alternative policy scenarios. An inference engine (IE) including land use choice model is developed to illustrate land use choice behavior based on logit models, which allows to analyze how diversified factors ranging from climate changes, crop price changes to land management changes can affect the distribution of agricultural land use. A test for integrated simulation is taken in each 0.1 ° by 0.1 ° grid cell to predict the change of agricultural land use types at global level. Global land use changes are simulated from 1992 to 2050. Results can be concluded that decision support system described here are useful for assessing and predicting the spatiotemporal probability of land use types, and can be used by policy makers or land use planners to develop effective management strategies