Determination of the Land Suitability of Sugarcane Fields Based on Soil Quality Index Using a Geographic Information System

Determination of land suitability is one of the land evaluation methods that can determine the best use of land in each area. The purpose of this research was to determine the land suitability of Mirza Kuchak Khan's cultivation and industry fields based on the soil quality indicators and a geographic information system (GIS), and compare the results with those obtained by methods of land evaluation and root strategies. For this purpose, information on soil profiles and the amount of organic matter, phosphorus, nitrogen, potassium, zinc, drainage, texture, depth, topography, surface rocks and gravel, impervious layer depth, hydraulic conductivity, water holding capacity, electrical conductivity, reaction PH), calcium carbonate, and exchangeable sodium percent of the study area were collected. Land suitability classes based on the quality indices of fertility, chemical quality, and physical quality of soil were defined. The results showed that 27.4% of the land belonged to the very good class (S1), 62.83% of the land could be assigned to the suitable class (S2), 11.7% of the land was put in the low proportion class (S3), and 2.66% the land was in the inappropriate class (N). Also, based on the comparison of the results of the method based on the soil quality with the square root method, Kappa coefficient was 0.82, while it was equal to 0.38 for the Storie method.