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Digital Soil Mapping and GIS-Based Land Evaluation for Rice Suitability in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania

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Digital Soil Mapping and GIS-Based Land Evaluation for Rice Suitability in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania Digital Soil Mapping and GIS-based Land Evaluation for Rice Suitability in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Boniface Hussein John Massawe, M.S. Graduate Program in Environment and Natural Resources The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Brian Slater, Advisor Dr. Warren Dick Dr. Laura Lindsey i Copyrighted by Boniface Hussein John Massawe 2015 ii Abstract A GIS-based multi-criteria land evaluation was performed in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania in order to avail decision makers and farmers with evidence based decision support tool for improved and sustainable rice production in this important region for agricultural investment. Five most important criteria for rice production in the area were identified through literature search and discussion with local agronomists and farmers. The identified criteria were 1) soil properties, 2) surface water resources, 3) accessibility, 4) distance to markets, and 5) topography. Spatial information for these criteria for the study area was generated. To generate spatial soil information, field survey and lab analysis was conducted using base map generated from a legacy soil map and 30 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM). OSACA, a k-means based clustering application was used to perform distance metric numerical classification of soil profiles. The profiles were classified into 13 clusters. The clusters were demonstrated to be different from each other through comparison of modeled continuous vertical variability of selected attributes of modal soil cluster centroids by using equal area spline functions. Two decision tree based algorithms, J48 and Random Forest (RF) were applied to construct models to spatially predict the soil clusters using environmental correlates derived from 30 m DEM, 5 m RapidEye satellite ii image and legacy soil map using the scorpan digital soil mapping framework. The RF predicted soil cluster map was picked for land evaluation because the algorithm demonstrated superiority by having comparatively higher predictive rate and pixel contiguity. Topsoil attributes values of predicted soil clusters were used to produce soil physical and chemical properties maps. On-screen digitization, reclassifications and overlays in ArcMap and Whitebox GIS software were used to create spatial layers of the other identified criteria. Rivers were digitized from the satellite image and topographic map of the study area to create surface water resources map. Roads were digitized to create accessibility map and market centers’ coordinate points were digitized to create distance to market map. Slope gradient derivative from DEM was used to create topography map. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was used to score the criteria by the local extension staff and lead farmers on a scale of 0.0 – 1.0. Surface water resource scored the highest weight (0.462) followed by soil chemical properties (0.234). Other criteria and their weight in paranthesis are soil physical properties (0.19), topography (0.052), accessibility (0.036), and distance to market (0.025). The multi-criteria land evaluation results showed that about 8% of the study area was classified as having low suitability for rice production while only 2% was highly suitable. The majority of the area (about 89%) was classified as having medium suitability for rice production. Since the suitability decision was dominated by the surface water resource iii criterion, the rice suitability in the study area can be greatly improved by improving the water resources management. iv Dedicated to my children v Acknowledgments I first and foremost thank God, the Almighty for His unconditional love, guidance, protection and blessings. Words cannot express my gratitude for all He has done to me. This work was made possible by the scholarship I was offered through a USAID funded project - innovative Agricultural Research Initiative (iAGRI). I greatly appreciate kind and timely support I got from the iAGRI Project Management Unit in Tanzania under Dr. David Kraybill when I was in my research work and from the Ohio State University’s International Programs in Agriculture (IPA) office under Dr. Mark Erbaugh when I was doing my course work and dissertation writing. All staffs have been very supportive, but I would like to especially mention Pat Rigby for being like a mother to me, Wendi Howell for being like a good sister and Dave Hansen for his encouraging confidence on me. I also appreciate Norman E. Borlaug Leadership Enhancement in Agriculture Program (Borlaug LEAP) for offering me a grant which facilitated additional field trips for my dissertation research. The trips facilitated early completion of this work. I heartily appreciate Dr. Leigh Winowiecki of Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Nairobi for her contributions and readiness to work with me as a co-mentor in this grant. vi I sincerely thank my Dissertation Committee: Dr. Brian Slater, Dr. Warren Dick, and Dr. Laura Lindsey for their constructive criticism which helped me to shape this dissertation. I especially thank my Advisor, Dr. Brian Slater for his professional guidance and criticism throughout this work. His expertise in digital soil mapping and GIS, and the comments thereof have made me a better scientist. I also sincerely thank Dr. Abel Kaaya of Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) for agreeing to serve as my Tanzania based advisor as per iAGRI scholarship format. His field work participation and logistic support are deeply appreciated. I appreciate support offered by Dr. Namik Sonmez in the Remote Sensing part of my work, and Dr. Sakthi Subburayalu in the Machine Learning work. Your support and advice were invaluable. I am grateful to my employer, Sokoine University of Agriculture for granting me the study leave which gave me time to concentrate on my course work and research. I would like to acknowledge dedicated and unlimited support from Kilombero District extension staff for facilitating and participating in the field works, and lab technicians from soil lab of the Department of Soil Science, Sokoine University of Agriculture for sometimes accepting my request to prioritize working on my samples. You all made my work smoother and less stressful. Special thanks are due to all my family members and true friends who stood with me through good and challenging times. Resilience and understanding shown by my vii children were a true motivation for me to finish this work. Mr. Ignas Chilewa and his wife Neema deserve a mention for being true and generous friends in Columbus. Thanks for being there when I needed time-out from academic stresses. The live NBA games, Super Bowl events, match madness, Thanksgivings, and some outings to enjoy real American life you facilitated will make me feel indebted throughout mylife. It is not possible to mention everybody who helped me in one way or another to successfully finish this work. I thank you all. viii Vita 1990 ...............................................................Leganga Primary School, Arusha, Tanzania 1994 ...............................................................Moshi Secondary School (Ordinary level), Kilimanjaro, Tanzania 1997 ...............................................................Moshi Secondary School (Advanced level), Kilimanjaro, Tanzania 2002 ...............................................................B.Sc. Agronomy, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania 2003 - 2004 ....................................................Company Agronomist, Balton (Tanzania) Limited 2004 - 2008 ....................................................Project Officer, Producer Empowerment and Market Linkage, FARM Africa - Tanzania 2008 - 2010 ....................................................Tutorial Assistant, Department of Soil Science, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania ix 2010 - 2014 ....................................................Assistant Lecturer, Department of Soil Science, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania 2011 ...............................................................M.Sc. Land Use Planning and Management, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania 2014 to present .............................................Lecturer, Department of Soil Science, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania Fields of Study Major Field: Environment and Natural Resources x Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... vi Vita .................................................................................................................................................. ix Fields of Study .................................................................................................................................. x List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xvii List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. xx Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background Information
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