There is a growing need to site new power generating plants that use cleaner energy sources due to increased regulations on air and water pollution and a sociopolitical desire to develop more clean energy sources. To assist utility and energy companies as well as policy-makers in evaluating potential areas for siting new plants in the contiguous United States, an adaptation of a geographic information system (GIS)-based multicriteria decision analysis approach is presented in this paper.

Land suitability analysis is a prerequisite to achieving optimum utilization of the available land resources. Lack of knowledge on best combination of factors that suit production of rice has contributed to the low production. The aim of this study were to determine the most suitable areas for rice crop (Oryza sativa) based on some physic-chemical properties of various alluvial soils in the Gokirmak catchment located on the Sinop-Boyabat district in the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey.

Black truffle (Tuber melanosporum Vitt) is an agro-forest resource with great development potentiality in Mediterranean calcareous mountains. In this study, we analyse the ectomycorrhizal inoculum potential of the soil and the competitiveness of Tuber melanosporum ectomycorrhizas to this inoculum in the different land uses present in a truffle-producing region with the aim of assessing their suitability for establishing truffle orchards. Soil samples collected from forests, croplands and wastelands in El Toro (Valencian Region, Eastern Spain) were used to perform four greenhouse bioassays.

Under discussion is the FAO algorithm modified to estimate the suita-bility of lands and soils for agricultural purposes using the definite LUI index (land unit index). The latter is calculated by rating of soil indices taken into complete account and accepted by FAO, USDA (USA) and the Ministry of Agriculture in the Russian Federation. The algorithm and proposed computer programs of interactive expert systems ((ADAPTER, LAND, PLANT) are universal and make it possible to use the indices for solving a number of intricate tasks in off-line regime.

The cadastre structure in the system of land and real estate management is determined by existing and technologically dependent kinds of works and procedures on registration, recording and valuation of real estate. A general approach to land evaluation of all categories is a differential rent income taking into account natural characteristics and location of pieces of land.

This paper is part of a GIS-based approach aiming to develop the map of ecological suitability for grape growing in Huşi wine-growing centre, Huşi vineyard (Romania). The database underlying this study includes ten climatic factors and indicators that are considered to be defining for the climatic suitability of a geographic area.

The suitability of land animal by‐products (ABPs) in feed for Atlantic salmon postsmolts (initial weight 372 g) in sea water was studied in a feeding experiment, using poultry by‐product meal (PBM) and porcine blood meal (BM) as protein sources and poultry oil as fat source. Four extruded feeds were tested in a 2 * 2 factorial model, with or without ABP protein sources and with or without poultry oil. The control feed contained a mix of marine and plant ingredients. Initial feed intake was highest in the ABP protein‐based diets, whereas poultry oil had a weak opposite effect.

This paper presents some preliminary results from a research study conducted on solar energy resource assessment in Oman. GIS-based spatial multi-criteria evaluation approach, in terms of the FLOWA module was used to assess the land suitability for large PV farms implementation in Oman. The tool used applies fuzzy quantifiers within ArcGIS environment allowing the integration of a multi-criteria decision analysis. Land suitability analysis for large PV farms implementation was carried out for the case study of Oman.

This paper presents a geographic information system–based multi-criteria site selection tool of an olive mill wastewater (OMW) disposal site in Sidi Bouzid Region, Tunisia. The multi-criteria decision framework integrates ten constraints and six factors that relate to environmental and economic concerns, and builds a hierarchy model for OMW disposal site suitability. The methodology is used for preliminary assessment of the most suitable OMW disposal sites by combining fuzzy set theory and analytic hierarchy process (AHP).

An area suitability assessment for crop production requires a considerable effort, which can provide necessary information for optimum land use. Agricultural land use has benefited significantly from the use of suitability systems in recent years.