1 Methodologies, Tools and Best Practices for Managing Information for Decision-Making on Sustainable Development in Caribbean SIDS AUTOMATED LAND INFORMATION SYSTEM (ALES)

2 STRUCTURE  The development of ALES  Components  Capabilities  Outputs  Importing outputs into GIS

3 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

4 INITIAL CONSULTATIONS - Objectives Data and assumptions Planning of the land evaluation Major kinds of land use or land utilization types Land Mapping Unit Comparison of Land use with land -matching -economic and social analysis -Environmental Impact Land Use Requirements and Limitations Land Suitability Classification Land Qualities Presentation of Results

5 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.

6 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

7 Components of ALES (Cont’d) 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.

8 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.

9 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.

10 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.

11 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.

12 USEFULLNESS OF ALES Aid in the development approval process of the town and country authorities. Aid in developing agricultural zones

13 37 STRUCTURE OF THE LAND SUITABILITY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM Land Suitability Orders: S, N Reflects kinds of suitability Land Suitability Classes: S1, 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.

14 Land Qualities and Diagnostic Characteristics Used in the ALES Crop Model SYMBOL DESCRIPTIONLAND CHARACTERISTICS DIAGNOSTIC LAND CHARACTERISTICS c Temperature regimeT-an T-GP Mean annual temperature e Erosion hazardEs-s S1 sd Soil erosion status Dominant slope class Effective soil depth f Flooding hazardF1Frequency of flooding k Soil workabilityText-tTexture of the top soil (0-30 cm)

15 SYMBOL DESCRIPTIONLAND CHARACTERISTICS DIAGNOSTIC LAND CHARACTERISTICS m Moisture regimeLGP 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 Land Qualities and Diagnostic Characteristics Used in the ALES Crop Model

16 SYMBOL DESCRIPTIONLAND CHARACTERISTICS DIAGNOSTIC LAND CHARACTERISTICS n Soil nutrient availability NPKNPK Nitrogen (0-50 cm) Phosphorus (0-50) Potassium (0-50) r Rooting conditionSd Rmf Effective soil depth Rock and mineral fragments in the profile t Nutrient retention capacity CECCation exchange capacity (0-50cm) w Oxygen availabilityDrSoil drainage class x Soil reactionpHMean soil reaction (0-50 cm) Land Qualities and Diagnostic Characteristics Used in the ALES Crop Model

17 LAND UTILIZATION TYPES IN ALES

18 LAND UTILIZATION TYPES IN ALES