Optimization of the Weighted Linear Combination Method for Agricultural Land Suitability Evaluation Considering Current Land Use and Regional Differences

Shouqiang Yin, Jing Li, Jiaxin Liang, Kejing Jia, Zhen Yang and Yuan Wang
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Shouqiang Yin: Department of Surveying and Land Use, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Jing Li: Department of Surveying and Land Use, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Jiaxin Liang: Department of Surveying and Land Use, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Kejing Jia: Department of Land Planning, China Land Surveying and Planning Institute, Beijing 100035, China
Zhen Yang: Department of Spatial Information, College of Information Science and Engineering, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Yuan Wang: Department of Surveying and Land Use, College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 23, 1-25

Abstract: This study was aimed at optimizing the weighted linear combination method (WLC) for agricultural land suitability evaluation (ALSE) through indicator selection, weight determination, and classification of overall suitability scores in Handan, China. Handan is a representative research area with distinct agricultural advantages and regional differences in land use, where the expansion of construction land has led to a rapid decrease of agricultural land in recent years. Natural factors (topography, climate, soil conditions, and vegetation cover) and socioeconomic factors (land use and spatial accessibility) were selected to establish a more comprehensive evaluation system. The index weight was calculated by the mutual information between index suitability and current land use. The consistency index was used to identify the boundary value dividing the overall suitability score into a suitable category and unsuitable category in each sub-region. The results demonstrated that the optimized WLC-ALSE model outperformed the comparison models using conventional methods in terms of the consistency between the evaluation results and current land use. Owing to the increasing limitations of topography, soil conditions, spatial accessibility, and land use, the proportions of suitable land in Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone 3 were 77.4%, 67.5%, and 30.9%, respectively. The agricultural land unsuitable for agriculture (14.5%) was less than non-agricultural land suitable for agriculture (7.4%), indicating that agricultural land had low growth potential in Handan. Finally, specific recommendations were made to improve agricultural land suitability, alleviate land use conflicts, and further optimize the model. The results can provide effective guidance for WLC-ALSE and land use decision-making for sustainable agriculture.

Keywords: agricultural land suitability; weighted linear combination; land use; regional difference; mutual information; consistency index; limiting factor; land use conflict (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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