Open Access

ARTICLE

Group Decision-Making Based on GIS and MultiCriteria Analysis for Assessing Land Suitability for Agriculture

Abdelkader Mendas^*, Abdellah Mebrek, Zohra Mekranfar

Algerian Space Agency, Centre des Techniques Spatiales, Arzew, 31200, Algeria

* Corresponding Author: Abdelkader Mendas. Email:

Revue Internationale de Géomatique 2024, 33, 383-398. https://doi.org/10.32604/rig.2024.055321

Received 23 June 2024; Accepted 04 September 2024; Issue published 25 September 2024

Abstract

The main purpose of this work is to propose a methodology that considers the multicriteria and multi-actor aspects for assessing land suitability for agriculture. This involves offering a group spatial decision-making approach. The members of a multidisciplinary team can decide on the relative importance of the criteria and the ranking of alternatives. Each member provides his judgment and contributes in a distinct and identifiable manner to find a compromise solution. Twelve criteria (easily available water reserve, cation exchange capacity, electric conductivity, potential of hydrogen (pH), drainage, permeability, active limestone, soil texture, soil useful depth, slopes, labor availability, and proximity to roads) grouped into four factors (agronomy, planning and socio-economy, land enhancement and improvement, conservation of soils and environmental protection) were selected in this study. The methodology consists of calculating the initial criteria weights using the AHP method. The final weights are obtained using the Consensual Convergence Model (CCM), and the decision-maker’s performance is aggregated using the ELECTRE Tri method. All the required processing methods were integrated into a GIS environment. The methodological developments were motivated by an application to the suitability of land for durum wheat cultivation in a study area in Mleta, Algeria, which is comprised of 74 land units. Every criterion was classified from the best to the poor based on its values and used for assessing land suitability for agriculture. The land units were assigned to different predefined classes. The final results are presented as a map produced according to the optimistic procedure of ELECTRE Tri. The greatest contribution of this research lies in integrating group decision-making in multicriteria spatial decisions, particularly the land suitability for agriculture, which has never been previously addressed. The consistency of the obtained map confirms the methods’ effectiveness.

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Keywords

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