Using CLUES to find suitable areas for perennial crops
Date
2009-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cape Land Use Expert System
(CLUES)
Abstract
A web-based spatial decision support system (SDSS), called the Cape Land Use Expert System
(CLUES), was developed to demonstrate how the Internet can be used to perform land suitability
analysis in the Western Cape. CLUES consists of five components: a land unit database (LUD),
knowledge base, inference engine, web map service (WMS) and graphical user interface (GUI).
The LUD consists of polygons (land units) and attributes (land properties), while the knowledge
base stores each user’s land use requirement rules. These rules are used by the inference engine
to rate the suitability of each land unit in the LUD. The result is then mapped by the WMS and
presented to the users as suitability maps. Users can direct the entire analysis through a userfriendly
GUI. The capabilities CLUES is demonstrated in this paper by applying it to perennial
crops. Several factors relating to topography, climate, soil and existing land use is combined by
the system to produce a map showing areas of various levels of suitability for producing
perennial crops. Similarly, the system can be used to map suitable areas for other crops. It can
also be used to support decisions about conservation management and urban planning. Although
CLUES was specifically developed to perform land suitability analysis in the Western Cape, the
technology can also be applied to other regions and modified for other applications.
Description
There is no original publication
Keywords
Land suitability analysis -- South Africa -- Western Cape, Perennial crops -- Suitability -- South Africa -- Western cape, Geographical information systems, Land use management -- South Africa -- Western Cape
Citation
Van Niekerk, A . 2009. Using CLUES to find suitable areas for perennial crops in Map Africa Conference, 16-18 September 2009, Johannesburg, South Africa, http://mapafrica.gisdevelopment.net