Integration of MultiCriteria Decision Analysis in GIS to develop land suitability for agriculture: Application to durum wheat cultivation in the region of Mleta in Algeria

Due to constant decrease in farmlands, it is important to identify the best lands useful for sustainable agriculture (productive and profitable agriculture that protects the environment and that is socially equitable). This requirement has resulted in the development of land suitability maps for agriculture by combining several factors of various natures and of differing importance. The integration of MultiCriteria Decision Analysis approaches (MCDA) in a Geographical Information System (GIS) provides a powerful spatial decision support system which offers the opportunity to efficiently produce these land suitability maps. Indeed, GIS is a powerful tool for analyzing spatial data and establishing a process for decision support. Because of their spatial aggregation functions, MCDA methods can facilitate decision making in situations where several solutions are available, various criteria have to be taken into account and decision-makers are in conflict (Dias et al., 2002). The parameters and the classification system used in this work are inspired from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) approach dedicated to a sustainable agriculture. A spatial decision support system has been developed for establishing the land suitability map for agriculture. It incorporates the multicriteria analysis method ELECTRE Tri (ELimitation Et Choix Traduisant la REalite) in a GIS (ArcGIS) within the GIS program package environment. This approach has been tested on the area of Mleta in Algeria. A land suitability map for durum wheat has been produced. Through the obtained results, it appears that ELECTRE Tri method, integrated into ArcGIS 9.2 of ESRI, is better suited to the problem of land suitability for agriculture. The time saving during the development of the land suitability map for the agriculture of the durum wheat was considerable. The coherence of the obtained maps confirms the system effectiveness. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.