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To retire or expand? A fuzzy GIS‐based spatial multi‐criteria evaluation framework for irrigated agriculture
Author(s) -
Chen Yun,
Khan Shahbaz,
Paydar Zahra
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.470
Subject(s) - analytic hierarchy process , fuzzy logic , computer science , scale (ratio) , process (computing) , hierarchy , geographic information system , irrigation , agriculture , operations research , water resource management , environmental resource management , environmental science , geography , mathematics , cartography , artificial intelligence , economics , ecology , archaeology , market economy , biology , operating system
This paper presents a GIS framework for multi‐criteria evaluation of land suitability for the expansion or retirement of irrigated cropland at a catchment scale in Australia. This framework is based on the fuzzy linguistic ordered weighted averaging (FLOWA) approach which integrates the analytical hierarchy procedure (AHP) and quantifier‐guided OWA operators in an ArcGIS 9.2 environment. The FLOWA module proved to be highly flexible and efficient in generating and visualising a wide range of different multi‐criteria decision strategies. Several scenarios were derived to show how the uncertainties involved in the suitability decision‐making process can influence the outcomes. This framework has helped us understand the need for retirement as well as the potential for expanding irrigation in suitable areas of the catchment if water is available. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.