Browsing by Author "Mathew, Laurent"

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    Comparative assessment of land suitability evaluation based on land mapping units and agroecological zones: a case study of Morogoro rural district, Tanzania
    (Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2003) Mathew, Laurent
    A study was conducted in Morogoro rural District to compare land evaluation based on land mapping units (LMUs) and Agro ecological zones (AEZs) as a land unit criterion for land suitability classification and evaluates their effectiveness for land evaluation at district level in Tanzania. The study comprised of Agro economic survey using semi-structured questionnaires, compilation of land resource and Agro economic databases, and physical and Agro economic land suitability evaluation of LMUs and AEZs for maize, paddy and sesame as the main land utilization types (LUTs) using Automated Land Evaluation System (ALES). The results showed that parts of land units Vai (50%), Va2 (50%), AEZ IX (50%), MO21 (35%), AEZ V (35%), AEZ VI (35%), Pe3 (30%), AEZ III (20%) and AEZ VII (5%) are moderately of yields and gross margins by ALES were better (P<0.05) when AEZs were used as a land unit criterion for land suitability evaluation than when were based on LMUs. The study has demonstrated that land suitability evaluations using Agroecological zones criteria as a unit for land evaluation is much better and more effective (P< 0.5) than LMUs criterion particularly when working on small scale surveys for land use planning at District level. Similar studies should be carried out elsewhere in Tanzania in areas with similar environmental conditions to verify the applicability of AEZs as an evaluation land unit in land evaluation in favour of the LMUs. Further research to assess on-farm land evaluation methodologies taking into consideration climatic variability over a long time is also recommended. suitable for maize production. The rest are either marginally or currently not suitable for maize production. Parts of land units Vai (50%) and AEZ VII (45%) are highly suitable for paddy production. While land unit Va2 and, parts of the land units Pel (55%) and AEZ IV (75%) are moderately suitable for paddy production. The rest are either marginally or currently not suitable for paddy production. Also the results indicates that parts of land units AEZ IX (50%), AEZ V (35%), Pe3 (30%), AEZ VI (5%) and AEZ VII (5%) are moderately suitable for sesame production. The rest are either marginally or currently not suitable for sesame cultivation. The major limiting factors for production of these LUTs are erosion hazards, oxygen availability to root zones, rooting condition, moisture availability, nutrient availability and nutrient retention. The study also revealed that there is positive correlation between ALES predictions and farmers’ reported yields and gross margins with correlation ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 and 0.2 to 0.8 for yields and gross margins respectively. Predictions