Integrated geo-referenced data and statistical analysis for dividing livestock farms into geographical zones in the Valencian Community (Spain)

The livestock sector in the Valencian Community (Spain) has experienced an increase in the intensity of farming with an increase in the number and size of pig and poultry facilities. The absence of previous environmental requirements in this region has produced a high concentration of facilities in some areas, and urban sprawl has resulted in many farms located in problematic areas close to villages or towns, residential areas and protected areas. Conflicts surrounding land use and environmental issues have been a problem in the region for many years. The initial step to solve this problem is to produce a territorial planning system to intervene and correct the current development and adapt to new European environmental regulations. The objectives of this study are to group farms with homogeneous characteristics in the Valencian Community and to characterise and search for spatial dependency patterns within the livestock sector. These objectives have the final aim of contributing basic scientific information to subsequent administrative planning decisions for livestock. This study presented methodology based on Geographic Information Systems and statistical methods for dividing livestock farms into zones and for characterising these areas. We obtained nineteen livestock geographical areas with unique characteristics (such as livestock species composition) and verified that these areas did not follow a spatial pattern. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.