TY - JOUR
T1 - Multi-criteria evaluation of irrigated agriculture suitability to achieve food security in an arid environment
AU - Aldababseh, Amal
AU - Temimi, Marouane
AU - Maghelal, Praveen
AU - Branch, Oliver
AU - Wulfmeyer, Volker
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by the authors.
PY - 2018/3/13
Y1 - 2018/3/13
N2 - This research aims at assessing land suitability for large-scale agriculture using multiple spatial datasets which include climate conditions, water potential, soil capabilities, topography and land management. The study case is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in the UAE. The aridity of climate in the region requires accounting for non-renewable sources like desalination and treated sewage effluent (TSE) for an accurate and realistic assessment of irrigated agriculture suitability. All datasets were systematically aggregated using an analytical hierarchical process (AHP) in a GIS model. A hierarchal structure is built and pairwise comparisons matrices are used to calculate weights of the criteria. All spatial processes were integrated to model land suitability and different types of crops are considered in the analysis. Results show that jojoba and sorghum show the best capabilities to survive under the current conditions, followed by date palm, fruits and forage. Vegetables and cereals proved to be the least preferable options. Introducing desalinated water and TSE enhanced land suitability for irrigated agriculture. These findings have positive implications for national planning, the decision-making process of land alteration for agricultural use and addressing sustainable land management and food security issues.
AB - This research aims at assessing land suitability for large-scale agriculture using multiple spatial datasets which include climate conditions, water potential, soil capabilities, topography and land management. The study case is in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, in the UAE. The aridity of climate in the region requires accounting for non-renewable sources like desalination and treated sewage effluent (TSE) for an accurate and realistic assessment of irrigated agriculture suitability. All datasets were systematically aggregated using an analytical hierarchical process (AHP) in a GIS model. A hierarchal structure is built and pairwise comparisons matrices are used to calculate weights of the criteria. All spatial processes were integrated to model land suitability and different types of crops are considered in the analysis. Results show that jojoba and sorghum show the best capabilities to survive under the current conditions, followed by date palm, fruits and forage. Vegetables and cereals proved to be the least preferable options. Introducing desalinated water and TSE enhanced land suitability for irrigated agriculture. These findings have positive implications for national planning, the decision-making process of land alteration for agricultural use and addressing sustainable land management and food security issues.
KW - AHP-GIS modeling
KW - Food security
KW - Irrigated agriculture
KW - Land suitability analysis
KW - Multi-criteria decision making
KW - Sustainable
KW - Treated sewage effluent
KW - United Arab Emirates
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85043712422&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3390/su10030803
DO - 10.3390/su10030803
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85043712422
VL - 10
JO - Sustainability (Switzerland)
JF - Sustainability (Switzerland)
IS - 3
M1 - 803
ER -