A GIS based Land Capability Classification of Guang Watershed, Highlands of Ethiopia

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to spatially classify lands of Guang watershed, Ethiopia based on their capability for sustainable use by USDA criteria in 2014. Land use land cover was determined from LANDSAT satellite image by applying supervised classification method in ENVI 5.0 software. “Spatial Analyst Tool Extract by Mask” in GIS environment was used to obtain soil depth and soil texture map of the watershed from Amhara Regional digital soil map. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data of 30 m resolution was used to derive slope. Intersect overlay analysis method was applied to obtain the spatial and attribute information of all the input parameters using Geographical Information System (GIS) 10.1 soft ware. The study demonstrates that GIS provide advantage to analyze multi-layer of data spatially and classify land based on its capability. The study revealed that 1,540 ha (61.6%), 442.25 ha (17.69%) and 518 ha (20.52%) of the watershed was categorized in the range of land classes I to IV, V to VII and VIII, respectively. It was observed that present land use land cover was not as per the capability of the land.

Keywords:  land capability classification, GIS, Guang watershed