An expert system for the identification of environmental impact based on a geographic information system

The identification and assessment of the environmental impacts of engineering projects is an essential step in studies on environmental impact (IES). There are methods that allow both tasks to be performed and methods that allow each of them to be carried out separately. Normally, traditional methods are used to identify and evaluate environmental impacts, such as matrices, cause-effect network diagrams or check lists. Here we report the configuration of an expert system as a tool that allows environmental impacts to be identified. The expert system is based on a geographic information system to configure the knowledge base, the inference motor and the user interface. The knowledge base comprises declarative knowledge (structured in an alphanumeric and spatial database from official cartographic information) and procedural knowledge (via heuristic rules that superimpose project actions over environmental factors). We then describe the application of the expert system to the study of the environmental impact of the R-3 motorway in the Community of Madrid, Spain. As results, running the expert system allows the identification of environmental impacts on environmental factors defined at the 1:5000 and 1:25000 cartographic scales. Finally, analysis of the results or conclusions allows the validity of the use of graphic expert systems to be compared for the identification of environmental impacts. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.