Methodologies, Tools and Best Practices for Managing Information for Decision-Making on Sustainable Development in Caribbean SIDS

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Methodologies, Tools and Best Practices for
Managing Information for Decision-Making on
Sustainable Development in Caribbean SIDS

• AUTOMATED LAND INFORMATION SYSTEM (ALES)

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STRUCTURE

• The development of ALES
• Components
• Capabilities
• Outputs
• Importing outputs into GIS

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ALES

• Automated Land Evaluation System is a computer
  program developed at Cornell University that
  allows land evaluators to build expert systems to
  evaluate land according to the guidelines
  presented in the FAO Framework on Land
  Evaluation.
• It automates the procedures for land evaluation

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Land Evaluation Approach in ALES

• A two-stage approach
• Physical land evaluation is first conducted
  matching soils, climate and land use with crop
  requirements (this eliminates land units which
  are not physically suitable.
• Socio-economic evaluation conducted next to
  derive the suitability of the land unit for
  specific land utilization types e.g rain fed
  agriculture with low inputs or commercial
  agriculture with high inputs, etc.

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Components of ALES

• A framework for a knowledge base describing
  proposed land uses in both physical and economic
  terms
• A framework for a database describing the land
  areas to be evaluated
• An inference mechanism to relate these two,
  thereby computing the physical suitability of a
  set of map units for a set of proposed land uses

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Components of ALES (Contd)

• An explanation facility that allows model
  builders to understand and fine tune their models
• A consultation mode that allows a casual user to
  query the system about one land use at a time
• A report generator (on-screen, to a printer or to
  a disk file)
• An import/export module that allows data to be
  exchanged within external databases, geographical
  information systems and spreadsheets.

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APPLICATIONS OF ALES

• Regional TCP Project - Assistance in the
  Development of Land Use Planning and Agricultural
  Production Zoning in the OECS
• Executed in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica,
  Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St.
  Vincent and the Grenadines from January 2001 to
  January 2003.

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Objectives of the Regional TCP Project

• To assist the Governments in reviewing existing
  land use policies and to develop modified or new
  policy options that will facilitate the
  acceleration of the regional diversification
  programme.
• To strengthen planning and management of land
  resources through improved systems of land
  evaluation in the OECS member states.
• To assist the Governments of the OECS Member
  States in the evaluation of their land resource
  base in specific areas in each country, with a
  view to developing policy options and programmes
  for the rationalisation of land use, the zoning
  of production and utilization of idle lands.

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STATUS

• As part of Objective 1, all countries were
  provided with computer hardware and software to
  establish a Land Resources Information System
  (LRIS) in the MOA.
• In Grenada, Dominica and St. Lucia, ALES was
  introduced to conduct the land evaluations.

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USEFULNESS OF ALES

• A measurable indices for sustainable land
  management (results are given in degrees of
  suitability per crop).
• Decision-support system for the allocation of
  land.
• Selection of agricultural land use alternatives.
• Identification of under-utilized land and crops
  suitable for these lands.

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USEFULLNESS OF ALES

• Aid in the development approval process of the
  town and country authorities.
• Aid in developing agricultural zones

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STRUCTURE OF THE LAND SUITABILITY CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM

• Land Suitability OrdersS, N
• Reflects kinds of suitability
• Land Suitability ClassesS1, S2, S3, S4, N1, N2
• Reflects degrees of suitability within orders
• Land Suitability Subclasses m, o, n, t, e, a, h,
  p, c, l, v,I.
• Reflects kinds of limitations or main kinds of
  improvement measures required within classes.
• Land Suitability Units -1, -2
• Reflects minor differences in required
  management within subclasses.

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Land Qualities and Diagnostic Characteristics
Used in the ALES Crop Model
SYMBOL DESCRIPTION LAND CHARACTERISTICS DIAGNOSTIC LAND CHARACTERISTICS
c Temperature regime T-an T-GP Mean annual temperature
e Erosion hazard Es-s S1 sd Soil erosion status Dominant slope class Effective soil depth
f Flooding hazard F1 Frequency of flooding
k Soil workability Text-t Texture of the top soil (0-30 cm)
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Land Qualities and Diagnostic Characteristics
Used in the ALES Crop Model
SYMBOL DESCRIPTION LAND CHARACTERISTICS DIAGNOSTIC LAND CHARACTERISTICS
m Moisture regime LGP P-an DM Tex-p sd Reference length of the growing period Mean annual precipitation Mean number of dry months per year Texture of the profile(0-150 cm) Effective soil depth
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Land Qualities and Diagnostic Characteristics
Used in the ALES Crop Model
SYMBOL DESCRIPTION LAND CHARACTERISTICS DIAGNOSTIC LAND CHARACTERISTICS
n Soil nutrient availability N P K Nitrogen (0-50 cm) Phosphorus (0-50) Potassium (0-50)
r Rooting condition Sd Rmf Effective soil depth Rock and mineral fragments in the profile
t Nutrient retention capacity CEC Cation exchange capacity (0-50cm)
w Oxygen availability Dr Soil drainage class
x Soil reaction pH Mean soil reaction (0-50 cm)
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LAND UTILIZATION TYPES IN ALES
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LAND UTILIZATION TYPES IN ALES