A theoretical framework for land evaluation

Land evaluation is the process of predicting the use potential of land on the basis of its attributes. A variety of analytical models can be used in these predictions, ranging from qualitative to quantitative, functional to mechanistic, and specific to general. This paper classifies land evaluation models by how they take time and space into account, and whether they use land qualities as an intermediate between land characteristics and land suitability. Temporally, models can be of a static resource base and static land suitability, a dynamic resource base but static land suitability, or both a dynamic resource base and dynamic land suitability. Spatially, land evaluation models can be of a single area with no interaction between areas, with static inter-area effects, or dynamic inter-area effects. In the most complex case, land suitabilities for several land uses are interdependent. * References to the paper should include the discussion and should be cited as: Rossiter, D.G., (1996) A theoretical framework for land evaluation (with Discussion). Geoderma, xx: ???-??? References to parts of the Discussion should be cited as, e.g., Bouma, J., (1996) In Discussion of: D.G. Rossiter, A theoretical framework for land evaluation. Geoderma, xx: ???-???. † Senior Research Associate, Department of Soil, Crop & Atmospheric Sciences (SCAS), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-1901 USA. Current address: International Institute for Aerospace Survey & Earth Sciences (ITC), Postbus 6, 7500AA Enschede, the Netherlands.