1. Raynard Lozano and Regena Ngeam
Aloha, Wine Lovers!
Raynard Lozano and Regena Ngeam
Berkeley, CA
Problem:
A retired wine enthusiast is relocating to Hawaii and plans to plant a small vineyard. The tropical climate and natural geology of the island pose new difficulties for successful wine growing, so a suitability analysis incorporating environmental and geological factors is necessary to site the vineyard. The ideal location would be fertile, far from environmental hazards, and satisfy certain climate conditions.
Flow Chart:
Suitability Analysis
Raster Data
Constraints Opportunities
TIN to Polygon Conversion
Negative Weights Positive Weights
Constraint Map Opportunity Map
Method
Conduct a vector-based suitability analysis to determine the most appropriate location for a vineyard.
Union
Union
Constraints
Opportunities
Moderate to high fire risk
Within 500’ of roads
Soil highly likely to erode
Within 500’ of streams
Barren land
Soil not likely to erode
High elevation
Low elevation
Steep slopes
Flat to moderate slopes
Residential land
Suitable agricultural land
Suitability Map
Constraint Map
Opportunity Map
Limitations:
Hawaii is known for its micro-climates, that range from desert-like areas to tropical rainforest. Because of lack of microclimate data, there may be some limitations in the suitability analysis because of unknown environmental factors.
Using the McHargian method, negative weights are assigned to constraints and positive weights assigned to opportunities.
The data layers were chosen to satisfy a range of requirements, including proximity to transportation, access to water, natural hazards, land fertility, and climate.
Conclusion:
Based on our data and suitability map, there are two optimal locations to site a vineyard in Hawaii. We found that grapes are best suited for growth in the more temperate microclimates of the island, particularly in low-laying coastal areas. These are areas least susceptible to natural hazards, as well as the most fertile soils. Their proximity to existing infrastructure such as roads and streams is also ideal, cutting principle costs down in siting the vineyard.
TIN Modeling – Polygon Conversion
Acknowledgements
Sources: Hawaii Statewide GIS Program, Office of Planning. The Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology.
Projection: Universal Trans Mercator Zone 4 (Meters)
Raynard Lozano and Regena Ngeam at the University of California, Berkeley
November 2011
We combined the weights all the geographic and environmental factors in ArcMap to create a final suitability map. The insets pictured above reveal the ideal locations to site a vineyard.
Elevation and slope data provided upper and lower limits on viable grape-growing environmental conditions. LANDSAT data was converted into TIN polygons and dissolved for ease of use in the suitability analysis.