GIS-Based Land Capability Classification in Relation to Existing Land Use/Land Cover in Weja Sub-Watershed, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract

The main objective of this study was classifying the land of the study area (Weja sub-watershed) according to its capability and compare with the existing land use/land cover using GIS and Remote Sensing (RS). Land use/land cover was determined from Landsat satellite image by applying supervised classification method in Erdas Imagine 9.1 software. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data of 30 m resolution was used to derive slope. Information on land and soil characteristics, and the specified limitations and criteria were captured in a spatial digital format. Based on the specified parameters, the limitations were separately mapped out in the form of thematic layers suitable for analysis in Arc GIS. Intersect overlay analysis method was applied to obtain the spatial and attribute information of all the input parameters using Arc GIS 10.3 software. Five land capability classes were arrived at classes II, III, IV, VI and VII. The result revealed that out of the five land capability classes, 479.25 ha (58.78%) were categorized in the range of land classes II to IV. The remaining 336.06ha (15.73%) of the study was categorize as class VI and VII. The GIS overlay analysis of the existing land use/land cover and the land capability map indicates that, 364.57ha (44.71%) cultivated land falls under land capability class II-IV respectively. The remaining 107.57 (13.2%) of the cultivated land in the study area falls under land capability class VI and VII, which is not at all suitable for annual cropping. The study result indicated that the existing land use and land cover were not as per the capability of the land.

Keywords: Land capability classes, Sustainable, Land use/Land cover, GIS, Overlay analysis, Digital Elevation Model (DEM).

DOI: 10.7176/JEES/12-10-02

Publication date:October 31^st 2022