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Location selection for citrus orchards is an important topic in terms of sustainable agriculture policies, agricultural planning, and community. This study presents a model to evaluate land suitability for cultivation of citrus in Antalya Province of Turkey. The aim of this study is to provide a Geographical Information System-Multi Criteria Evaluation based spatial decision support system, taking into account the viewpoints of local citrus growers and experts. 13 exclusion criteria, 3 main evaluation criteria (13 sub-criteria), and 52 value ranges were determined for citrus land suitability analysis. Analytic Hierarchy Process was utilised to calculate the weights of evaluation criteria. Inverse Distance Weighting interpolation approach was used to estimate the values of meteorological parameters. Thematic maps were presented for each of the criteria and final suitability map was prepared using Weighted Overlay method in Geographic Information System environment. The final suitability thematic map showed that the suitable zones (1281.19 km2) for citrus cultivation were located in the coastal regions of Antalya province. The average temperature in the winter season was determined to be the most important sub-criteria for citrus cultivation, followed by elevation, the average temperature in the flowering period, land use capability, daily average sunshine time, annual average precipitation, proximity to irrigation ponds and dam lakes and others. Most of the cultivated citrus orchards often coincided with the appropriate sites presented as a result of the study, and most of these sites were generally classified as high and moderate suitable zones. This study will be an important and useful regional guideline in terms of agricultural land use planning, citrus orchards management and community.

WOS: 000347290600001 Land suitability analysis is a prerequisite to achieving optimum utilization of the available land resources. Lack of knowledge on best combination of factors that suit production of rice has contributed to the low production. The aim of this study were to determine the most suitable areas for rice crop (Oryza sativa) based on some physic-chemical properties of various alluvial soils in the Gokirmak catchment located on the Sinop-Boyabat district in the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey. To overcome the management and analysis of large volumes of spatial data for land suitability in this study, the geographic information system, geostatistic techniques and multi-criteria assessment using analytical hierarchy approach approaches were used to solve complex geographical problems and to reach reliable results for rice cultivation. According to results, 65.1 % of the study area has highly (S1) and moderately (S2) suitable whereas, 34.9 % of the study area has marginally suitable coded as S3 for rice cultivation.

Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’nin önemli çeltik ekim alanlarının bulunduğu Trakya Yarımadasında yer alan Hayrabolu Deresi Havzası’nda çeltik tarımı için Coğrafi Bilgi Sistemleri CBS destekli arazi uygunluk değerlendirmesinin yapılması amaçlanmıştır. Havza alanı Tekirdağ ilinde çeltik tarımının yapıldığı en önemli sahadır. Bu bakımdan Tekirdağ ilinin Türkiye çeltik üretimine olan katkısını değerlendirmek ve gelecekte yapılacak tarımsal amaçlı planlamalara destek olması açısından çalışmanın önemli olduğu düşünülmektedir. Çalışma amacı kapsamında Dengiz 2013 tarafından kullanılan yöntem içeriğinden yararlanılmıştır. Bu amaçla Ekinci 1990 tarafından bildirilen yöre topraklarının fiziksel ve kimyasal özellikleri kullanılmıştır. Çalışma sonunda Hayrabolu Deresi Havzası’nın % 74.1 oranla çeltik tarımına uygun arazilerden oluştuğu tespit edilmiştir. Türkiye’deki çeltik ihtiyacındaki artışa bağlı olarak yakın gelecekte havzada yeni sahalarında bu tahılın yetiştirilmesi için kullanılacağı anlaşılmaktadır. Bu bakımdan çeltik tarımına açılacak yeni sahaların bu veya buna benzer farklı çalışmalarla tespit edilip, araştırılması doğal kaynakların kullanımının sürdürülebilir olması bakımından oldukça mühim bir husustur. Sonuç olarak CBS teknikleri kullanılarak gerçekleştirilen bu çalışmanın sonuçları, benzer sahalar için aynı yöntemin rahatlıkla kullanılabileceğini göstermiştir, This study aims to generate a Geographic Information Systems GIS based land suitability assessment for rice cultivation in the Hayrabolu Stream Basin located in the Thrace Peninsula where important rice cultivation areas of Turkey situated. The basin area is most important rice cultivation site in Tekirdağ province. In this regard, the study was considered significant attributes for evaluating current contribution of Tekirdağ province to the rice cultivation in Turkey and supporting the future agricultural plans in the region. The method employed by Dengiz 2013 was used in the present study. In addition, the physical and chemical properties of the soils reported by Ekinci 1990 were utilized in the study. It was determined that 74.1% of the Hayrabolu Stream Basin consisted of typical rice cultivation lands. New sites in the basin may be used for the cultivation of this grain in near future due to increasing rice demand in Turkey. Therefore, determination and characterization of possible new rice sites by means of GIS technologies is quite important for sustainable utilization of natural resources. Consequently results of this study indicated that GIS based techniques could be used for similar sites.

Bioenergy is currently regarded as a renewable energy source with a high growth potential. Forest-based biodiesel, with the significant advantage of not competing with grain production on cultivated land, has been considered as a promising substitute for diesel fuel by many countries, including China. Consequently, extracting biodiesel from Jatropha curcas has become a growing industry. However, many key issues related to the development of this industry are still not fully resolved and the prospects for this industry are complicated. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the net energy, CO2 emission, and cost efficiency of Jatropha biodiesel as a substitute fuel in China to help resolve some of the key issues by studying data from this region of China that is well suited to growing Jatropha. Our results show that: (1) Jatropha biodiesel is preferable for global warming mitigation over diesel fuel in terms of the carbon sink during Jatropha tree growth. (2) The net energy yield of Jatropha biodiesel is much lower than that of fossil fuel, induced by the high energy consumption during Jatropha plantation establishment and the conversion from seed oil to diesel fuel step. Therefore, the energy efficiencies of the production of Jatropha and its conversion to biodiesel need to be improved. (3) Due to current low profit and high risk in the study area, farmers have little incentive to continue or increase Jatropha production. (4) It is necessary to provide more subsidies and preferential policies for Jatropha plantations if this industry is to grow. It is also necessary for local government to set realistic objectives and make rational plans to choose proper sites for Jatropha biodiesel development and the work reported here should assist that effort. Future research focused on breading high-yield varieties, development of efficient field management systems, and detailed studies lifecycle environmental impacts analysis is required to promote biologically and economically sustainable development of Jatropha biodiesel and to assist government agencies in setting realistic objectives and appropriate and advantageous policies for the regions and the country.

Bioenergy is currently regarded as a renewable energy source with a high growth potential. Forest-based biodiesel, with the significant advantage of not competing with grain production on cultivated land, has been considered as a promising substitute for diesel fuel by many countries, including China. Consequently, extracting biodiesel from Jatropha curcas has become a growing industry. However, many key issues related to the development of this industry are still not fully resolved and the prospects for this industry are complicated. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the net energy, CO 2 emission, and cost efficiency of Jatropha biodiesel as a substitute fuel in China to help resolve some of the key issues by studying data from this region of China that is well suited to growing Jatropha . Our results show that: (1) Jatropha biodiesel is preferable for global warming mitigation over diesel fuel in terms of the carbon sink during Jatropha tree growth. (2) The net energy yield of Jatropha biodiesel is much lower than that of fossil fuel, induced by the high energy consumption during Jatropha plantation establishment and the conversion from seed oil to diesel fuel step. Therefore, the energy efficiencies of the production of Jatropha and its conversion to biodiesel need to be improved. (3) Due to current low profit and high risk in the study area, farmers have little incentive to continue or increase Jatropha production. (4) It is necessary to provide more subsidies and preferential policies for Jatropha plantations if this industry is to grow. It is also necessary for local government to set realistic objectives and make rational plans to choose proper sites for Jatropha biodiesel development and the work reported here should assist that effort. Future research focused on breading high-yield varieties, development of efficient field management systems, and detailed studies lifecycle environmental impacts analysis is required to promote biologically and economically sustainable development of Jatropha biodiesel and to assist government agencies in setting realistic objectives and appropriate and advantageous policies for the regions and the country.

Simulations are used to generate plausible realisations of soil and climatic variables for input into an enterprise land suitability assessment (LSA). Subsequently we present a case study demonstrating a LSA (for hazelnuts) which takes into account the quantified uncertainties of the biophysical model input variables. This study is carried out in the Meander Valley Irrigation District, Tasmania, Australia. It is found that when comparing to a LSA that assumes inputs to be error free, there is a significant difference in the assessment of suitability. Using an approach that assumes inputs to be error free, 56% of the study area was predicted to be suitable for hazelnuts. Using the simulation approach it is revealed that there is considerable uncertainty about the ‘error free’ assessment, where a prediction of ‘unsuitable’ was made 66% of the time (on average) at each grid cell of the study area. The cause of this difference is that digital soil mapping of both soil pH and conductivity have a high quantified uncertainty in this study area. Despite differences between the comparative methods, taking account of the prediction uncertainties provide a realistic appraisal of enterprise suitability. It is advantageous also because suitability assessments are provided as continuous variables as opposed to discrete classifications. We would recommend for other studies that consider similar FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations) land evaluation framework type suitability assessments, that parameter membership functions (as opposed to discrete threshold cutoffs) together with the simulation approach are used in concert.

WOS: 000321226800009 The main objective of this study was to develop a spatial model for land suitability assessment for rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation using geographic information system (GIS) techniques. The land mapping units, resulting from the overlay of the selected theme layers, have unique land quality information, on which land suitability is based. Results showed that 55.5% of the study area is highly or moderately suitable for rice cultivation, whereas 34% of that area is unsuitable for rice cultivation due to soil and topographic conditions. The model was also validated with field studies. According to the statistical analysis, there was a significant, positive relationship between land suitability classes and grain yields. Grain yield was significantly affected by land suitability class at the level of P < 0.001. The highest grain yield was obtained from rice plots in the 51 class (7287 kg ha(-1), followed by S2 (6872 kg ha(-1)) and S3 (3928 kg ha(-1)) classes. Scientific and Technological Research Council of TurkeyTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [TUBITAK-107O443] The author gratefully acknowledges the scientific research grant (TUBITAK-107O443) from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey. In addition, the author thanks Gregory T Sullivan of OYDEM at Ondokuz Mars University in Samsun, Turkey, for editing the English in this manuscript.

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) -- İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, 2013, Thesis (M.Sc.) -- İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and Technology, 2013, Bu çalışma, Küçükçekmece ilçesi yerleşim alanında bulunan jeolojik ortamların mühendislik özelliklerinin belirlenmesi ve bu özelliklerin yerleşime olan etkisinin Coğrafi Bilgi Sistemleri kullanılarak değerlendirilmesini amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma amacına ulaşmak için; öncelikle inceleme alanının jeolojik ve mühendislik jeolojisi modeli oluşturulmuştur. Mühendislik jeolojisi modelinin oluşturulmasında önceki çalışmalar kapsamında yapılan toplam 550 adet araştırma kuyusu verileri derlenmiş, ve jeolojik birimlerin mühendislik özelliklerine ait veri tabanı hazırlanmıştır. İnceleme alanında bulunan zeminlerin yapılaşma ve yerleşime olan etkisinin belirlenebilmesi için; öncelikle yerleşime uygunluğu yönlendiren etki faktörleri belirlenmiştir. Bu etki faktörleri; kütle hareketleri, sıvılaşma, taşkın, eğim, yeraltı suyu, zeminlerin SPT N30 değerleri ve depremsellik olarak seçilmiştir. Bu etki faktörleri doğrultusunda inceleme alanı için sayısal tematik tehlike haritalar oluşturulmuştur. Yerleşime uygunluğu denetleyen parametrelerin karşılıklı etkileme ağırlıkları atanarak karar matrisi oluşturulmuştur. Coğrafi Bilgi Sistemleri yardımıyla üst üste çakıştırılarak yerleşime uygunluk haritası hazırlanmıştır. Yapılan değerlendirmeler sonucunda, inceleme alanının %43.50’si yerleşime uygun (YU),%29.48’si yerleşime önlemli uygun-1 (ÖA-1,% 6.94’ü yerleşime önlemli uygun-2 (ÖA-2) ve %20.08’i uygun olmayan alan (UOA) olarak sınıflandırılmıştır. İnceleme alanında 17 Ağustos 1999 Kocaeli (M:7.4) ve 12 Kasım 1999 Düzce (M:7.2) depremlerinde hasar gören mühendislik yapılarının bulundukları bölgeler belirlenmiş ve bu bölgelerde zeminlerin yapı hasarlarına olan etkisi tartışılmıştır, The aim of this study is to determine of the engineering properties of soils in Küçükçekmece settlement area and to prepare of geotechnical maps using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). A geographic information system (GIS) can be used in many areas to determine land-use problems. System can be integrates, stores, edits, analyzes, shares, and displays different type geographic information to make true decision for areas. Also system gives advantage to users to produce their maps with diffrent parameters and applications tools. In this study, land-use map which is the special type of engineering geological maps were prepared using GIS applications to plan the field according to the field measurements and office works. The study started with determine the effects which are more important for land-use planning. These effects are determined as the slope, formations which carries the groundwater, earthquake, mass movements, flood susceptibility, liquefaction potential and SPTN values for different depth were prepared for the chosen area. Consist of weight, scoring and sorting of criteria for each effect is used in settlement suitability analysis. Multi-criteria decision of weighted overlay analysis were used to combine effects. Finally, Unsuitable Settlement Areas, Slightly ristricted Area (ÖA-1), Severely ristricted Area (ÖA-2) and Suitable Settlement Areas are shown on the land-use map of the study area. The artificial fill area which was known as before Halkalı dump area not used during overlay analysis and directly classified as “Unsuitable Settlement Areas” formed according to the land-use planning in the study area., Yüksek Lisans, M.Sc.

Analizirano je ukupno 17.404 uzoraka tla (2003.-2009. god.) i to na prostoru istočne Hrvatske. Najveći broj uzoraka tla je na području Osječko-baranjske županije, koja pored obje istočno-hrvatske šećerane (Osijek i Županja), financira kontrolu plodnosti tala (~4.200 uzoraka/god.). Računalni model procjene pogodnosti za usjeve, podržan GIS-om, pokazao se brzim i efikasnim uz dovoljnu pouzdanost. Vizualizacija poljoprivrednog prostora i predikcija njegovih proizvodnih svojstava GIS- om omogućava detaljnu analizu (ukljucujuci i ekonomske efekte), planiranje i rajonizaciju poljoprivredne produkcije. Uz više točnih podataka o tlu (zemljišnih i klimatskih kao i pouzdaniju Digitalnu pedološku kartu RH), model bi, uz prihvatljiv rizik, mogao relativno točno, ne samo procijeniti pogodnost za uzgoj različitih usjeva, već i potrebu njihove gnojidbe, potrebnu mehanizaciju, potrebu za popravcima tla (kalcizaciju, humizaciju i druge mjere uređenja tla) i drugo, kako bi se uklonili ili umanjili efekti limitirajućih faktora u primarnoj poljoprivrednoj produkciji. Procjena relativne pogodnosti tla opisanim računalnim modelom za uzgoj usjeva uz vizualizaciju rezultata krigingom, na području Osječko-baranjske županije pokazala je: a) prosječna pogodnost tla iznosi 60, 06% b) krigingom je utvrđeno kako je 51.751 ha (17, 16%) ograničenog potencijala (N1) za uzgoj usjeva dok c) 86.142 ha (28, 57%) ima ograničenu pogodnost (S3) d) 132.789 ha (44, 04%) je umjereno pogodno (S2) e) 30.772 ha (10, 28%) nema ograničenja u biljnoj proizvodnji (S1) Nakon provedenog testiranja na velikom broju zemljišnih podataka istočne Hrvatske, smatramo kako je prikazani računalno- geostatistički model procjene pogodnosti tala za uzgoj usjeva automatiziran, brz i jednostavan za uporabu zbog implementacije GIS- a

Le piantagioni governate a ceduo a turno breve (short rotation forestry – SRF) rappresentano il modello di arboricoltura da legno maggiormente idoneo alla produzione di biomassa lignocellulosica da destinare a usi energetici. Si tratta di impianti di specie arboree caratterizzati da un’elevata densità di impianto, variabile circa da 2000 a 15000 alberi ha-1, da una notevole intensità colturale e da cicli produttivi di durata variabile da 1 a 5 anni. La limitata disponibilità di risorse e la rete sempre più complessa di relazioni che coinvolgono l’uso del territorio pongono l’esigenza di un’attenta programmazione territoriale di questo tipo di interventi. Gli obiettivi di questo studio sono stati volti a: i) descrivere e caratterizzare i diversi moduli SRF, in termini di specie e tecniche colturali idonee per la produzione di biomassa; ii) descrivere l’attuale scenario produttivo potenziale delle colture SRF a scala nazionale; iii) sviluppare un modello innovativo di classificazione del territorio volto a delineare, da un punto di vista dei requisiti ambientali, le unità territoriali maggiormente vocate; iv) stimare la quantità di biomassa potenzialmente detraibile dalla realizzazione di impianti di cedui da biomassa a fini energetici. In questi ultimi anni sono stati messi a punto tecniche colturali ad hoc da impiegare in funzione delle caratteristiche pedo-climatiche e degli obiettivi produttivi. Il modello di valutazione qui elaborato si riferisce alla metodologia generale della land suitability/land capability, implementato tramite analisi multicriteriale con logica sfocata fuzzy in ambiente GIS. Nel complesso, gli ambiti territoriali idonei e marginalmente idonei per colture SRF in Italia risultano, rispettivamente, pari a circa 1098551 ha e 4277164 ha. II modello di valutazione costituisce un utile strumento informativo a disposizione e supporto dei soggetti responsabili della programmazione agricolo-forestale e della pianificazione del territorio rurale. Short rotation forestry (SRF) systems imply the use of fast growing hardwoods, with high planting density (2000-15000 trees for hectar) and harvesting cycle beetween 1 to 5 years. Limited financial resources and the complex network of socio-economical and ecological constraints which affect land uses in Italy require a careful selection of farmland areas where short rotation forestry can be fostered and, hence, the adoption of adequate planning tools. The aims of this study were: i) to illustrate SRF models, in terms of species and tending techniques for producing biomass; ii) to describe the features of land physical suitability for this kind of plantations; iii) to develop a spatial model for assessing the physical suitability of the Italian territory to grow short rotation coppice plantations for energy biomass production; iv) to estimate wood energy biomass omount from SRF plantations. The model is based on a land suitability/land capability approach implemented within a GIS-based fuzzy MultiCriteria Evaluation process. Results show that in Italy suitable farmland for short rotation coppice plantations amounts to 1098551 ha and marginally suitable farmland to 4277164 ha. The model outcome in form of digital maps can be exploited as a decision support tool by the agricultural and forest managers and rural planning decision makers. Dottorato di ricerca in Ecologia forestale