SUMMARYSite and soil characteristics associated with existing plantings of whitewood (Endospermum medullosum Euphorbiaceae) were characterised across Espiritu Santo Island in Vanuatu. Two hundred, generally small (most commonly around 0.5 ha), plantations dominated by whitewood have been planted across the eastern side of the island. These plantations range up to 20 years in age and provide a guide to the expected growth rates of whitewood in plantation in those areas.

Sewage sludge (SS) amendment of agricultural soils has recently become an issue of great interest because improvements in wastewater treatment systems have increased production of this type of waste. This practice is known to benefit soil and crops. However, the potential contamination of the environmental matrices has been rarely assessed because suitable models and data regarding the diffuse contamination of SS in agricultural fields are limited.

Protected areas are established to conserve unique features and biodiversity of the nature. Accordingly, wherever has one of the natural, ecological and/or cultural values it should be considered a protected area. Kave-Deh No-hunting Area is located on extremely east of Tehran Province in an area of 94,961 ha. Due to rich and diverse land cover, distinctive wildlife species, and unique monuments the area was selected as a case study to examine the possibility of its promotion to the protected area using Spatial Multi Criteria Evaluation (SMCE) Method.

The purpose of this work was to adapt the MicroLEIS - Land Evaluation Information System developed in Spain to the Brazilian Southeast conditions. Twelve (12) variables were considered, as follows: A - Relief Factor: 1) Slope; B - Soil Factor: 2) Effective depth, 3) Texture, 4) Stoniness, 5) Drainage, 6) Salinity; C - Erosion Factor: 7) Erodibility, 8) Slope, 9) Vegetation density, 10) Rainfall erosivity; D - Bioclimatic Deficiency Factor: 11) Frost, 12) Available water. For each of them, the control parameters were changed, according to conditions of the soils of the State of São Paulo.

Creation of the Land Information System integrated in the Geographical Information System (GIS) is the main objective of this article in assisting local Government for the sustainable management of land resources. Through this study it was made possible to provide a spatial database at communal level, was also carried out the study of soil and land suitability, data on land use, analysis on land use changes and agricultural land urbanization. The geographical space, in which LIS is set, which is also the objective of this study is Shales commune, Elbasani district.

Rainfed paddy soils that are derived from lacustrine and include of E4 agroclimatic zone have many unique properties and potentially for paddy and corn plantations. This sreseach was aimed to: (1) study the soil development of rainfed paddy soils derived from lacustrine and (2) evaluate rainfed paddy soils potency for paddy and corn in Paguyaman. Soil samples were taken from three profiles according to toposequent, and they were analyzed in laboratory. Data were analyzed with descriptive-quantitative analysis.

The hyper-arid conditions, low inherent soil fertility, water scarcity, and marginal water quality collectively constrain the local agriculture production in Abu Dhabi, UAE. To achieve this, an integrated suitability assessment was conducted considering soil resources, relief/slope, and water resources and forms the focus of the present study. The soils were classified using Soil Taxonomy (ST).

Agricultural land suitability evaluation for crop production is a process that requires specialized geo-environmental information and the expertise of a computer scientist to analyze and interpret the information. This paper presents ALSE, an intelligent system for assessing land suitability for different types of crops in tropical and subtropical regions (e.g. mango, banana, papaya, citrus, and guava) based on geo-environmental factors that automates the process of evaluation and illustrates the results on an attribute table.

Suitability evaluation of urban construction land based on geo-environmental factors is the process of determining the fitness of a given tract of land for construction. This process involves a consideration of the geomorphology, geology, engineering geology, geological hazards, and other geological factors and is the basis of urban construction land planning and management.

Recently, solar PV technologies witnessed a commercial vigor due to their tremendously decreasing prices. However, these technologies are vulnerable to dust and temperature which can significantly degrade their efficiency. Taking into account, the effect of dust and temperature during the site assessment for large PV power plant will reduce their vulnerability and optimize their operation efficiency. Most of the site assessment for large PV power plants does not take into consideration spatio-temporal variability of dust and temperature effects due to their measurement complexity.

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.

Recent advances in ecological modeling have focused on novel methods for characterizing the environment that use presence-only data and machine-learning algorithms to predict the likelihood of species occurrence. These novel methods may have great potential for land suitability applications in the developing world where detailed land cover information is often unavailable or incomplete.