Friday, March 30, 2012

Analysis 1: Finlay's Fern Reintroduction Horticulture Land Suitability Project 2012


Created using Fuzzy Classification in ESRI's ArcMap 10, a horticulture suitability map shows the best and most poor locations to plant a new species of fern. This process using ESRI's GIS technology has reduced costs and time associated with project planning.

Below my study site, located in the Niagara Region, is displayed:


Below are criteria used to assess the most suitable land cover:

Slope, Aspect and Hillshade were classified using Fuzzy Classification. This method groups elements with similar properties. In the examples below, a midpoint of the data is entered. Using the gaussian (Bayesian) probability curve, all other points around the midpoint are dispersed with a widely stretched variability of 0.01.


  • Slope Output   *Fuzzy


  • Hillshade Output *Fuzzy


  • Aspect Output *Fuzzy



  • Soil Reclassed Output



Combined using the raster calculator in ArcMap 10, weights by percentage were added to each of the above criteria. This method works best when each layer has a different significance to the final outcome.

 

Below is the formula used in the raster calculator:

(Slope Output * 0.461538) + (Aspect Output * 0.230769) + (Hillshade Output * 0.153846) + (Soil Reclassed Output * 0.153846)

 

The result of the above is a map showing groups/categories of land class suitability from best to most poor. This is seen below:


The Fuzzy method displays the small nuances between classes.



The Fuzzy Classification method was chosen by myself because in this study it provided the best land suitability analysis.

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