Suitable Land for Potato Cultivation in the Västra Nyland Region - A GIS Method Template for Field Selection
Grisales Jaramillo, Eduardo (2020)
Grisales Jaramillo, Eduardo
2020
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020051912219
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2020051912219
Tiivistelmä
The Västra Nyland Region, located in the south of Finland, is known for the early-potato production. The region aims to strengthen the Food Strategy Plan by consolidating existing areas dedicated to potato cultivation and finding suitable alternatives for the same purpose. Suitable fields for potato cultivation require certain soil and climatic conditions.
The current work proposes a methodology for identifying highly suitable soils for potato cultivation in the Västra Nyland region. The method applied is a multicriteria analysis based on literature review that will support threshold values definition for the physical conditions of the soils such as land use, soil type, slope and aspect.
Geographical data of the study area was collected for performing land suitability and selection.
The data processing software produced maps with highly suitable areas for potato cultivation. Some of those areas were already in use for agricultural purposes which confirms, to some extent, the chosen criteria and thresholds as a valid methodology for site selection.
Data on detailed climatic conditions would significantly improve the accuracy of this work. For instance, the variables with significant impact on microclimates such as rainfall, temperature, wind, etc., could positively influence an area, making it highly suitable. Another improvement can be derived from soil tests, in order to identify patterns in the chemical composition of soils with great conditions for growing potatoes and include them as criteria in the site selection methodology.
The current work proposes a methodology for identifying highly suitable soils for potato cultivation in the Västra Nyland region. The method applied is a multicriteria analysis based on literature review that will support threshold values definition for the physical conditions of the soils such as land use, soil type, slope and aspect.
Geographical data of the study area was collected for performing land suitability and selection.
The data processing software produced maps with highly suitable areas for potato cultivation. Some of those areas were already in use for agricultural purposes which confirms, to some extent, the chosen criteria and thresholds as a valid methodology for site selection.
Data on detailed climatic conditions would significantly improve the accuracy of this work. For instance, the variables with significant impact on microclimates such as rainfall, temperature, wind, etc., could positively influence an area, making it highly suitable. Another improvement can be derived from soil tests, in order to identify patterns in the chemical composition of soils with great conditions for growing potatoes and include them as criteria in the site selection methodology.