Course module: Land evaluation and land use planning

Share on:

The course "Land evaluation and land use planning" is currently under development.

Course title:	Land evaluation and land use planning
Course code:
Subject areas (Curriculum):	Biophysical land evaluation, land suitability assessment, land management zonation
Duration:	16-40 hrs (depending on agreed curriculum)
Short description:	This course provides an introduction to land evaluation methods for (physical) land suitability assessment. Methods for supporting decision making on sustainable land use and management at a regional level are discussed. Examples are provided and hands-on exercises are done. Works is done in small groups and results are presented and discussed. The course includes the following subjects: FAO framework for land evaluation, qualitative methods in land suitability assessment, quantitative methods in land quality assessment, physical land use planning/land management zonation.
Moderators:	S. (Stephan) Mantel N.H. (Niels) Batjes J.(Johan) Leenaars Guest lecturers
Target audience:	BSc and MSc level students in soil science, and students of other environmental sciences with a background in soils
Requirements:	Knowledge requirements: Knowledge of soils and their properties, geography. Good knowledge of English.
Programme:	Lectures (each of about 45 min) on: Principles of FAO framework for land evaluation, assessment of land qualities, Agro-Ecological Zonation, Quantitative methods in land evaluation, Land management zonation to support decision making on land use. Lectures are followed by exercises done individually or in small groups.
Objective:	After this introductory course, participants should have an understanding of: 1) terminology and concepts in land evaluation, 2) use of soil survey information for the assessment of land quality, 3) the various methods available for land suitability assessment, 4) use of land quality assessment as an input to decision making on optimization of sustainable land use and management.
Software / materials:	-
Case studies:	Course materials and supporting booklets will be made available to course participants
Literature:	Driessen, P. M. and N. T. Konijn (1992). Land-use systems analysis. Wageningen, Wageningen Agricultural University. FAO (1976). A framework for land evaluation. Rome, FAO: 72. Rossiter, D. G. and A. R. Van Wambeke (1993). Automated Land Evaluation System, ALES Version 4 User's Manual. Ithaca, Department of Soil, Crop and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University. Van Reeuwijk, L.P., Spaargaren, O.C. & Mantel, S. Soil Science: soil, soil classification, problem soils, land evaluation, land resources information systems. ISRIC World Soil Information, Wageningen. Selected papers on land evaluation.
Minimum number of participants:	15
Maximum number of participants:	25

Contact: