339 Chapter 16 MicroLEIS DSS: For Planning Agro-Ecological Soil Use and Management Systems D. de la Rosa Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain M. Anaya-Romero Institute of Natural Resources and Agrobiology, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain ABSTRACT The main focus of this chapter is that using soil type information in decision making is at the heart for sustainable use and management of agricultural land. The MicroLEIS decision support system (DSS) is based on the multifunctional evaluation of biophysical soil quality, using basically input data collected in standard soil inventories, and with particular reference to the peculiarities of the Mediterranean region. Its design philosophy is a toolkit approach, integrating many software instruments: databases, statistic models, expert systems, neural networks, Web and GIS applications, and other information technolo- gies. As a case study applying MicroLEIS DSS to Cordoba Province (Spain), soil specific strategies to maximize land productivity and to prevent land degradation are predicted within two major topics: i) strategies related to land use planning at a regional scale, and ii) strategies related to soil manage- ment planning at a farm level. This DSS has proved to be an appropriate methodology for converting knowledge on land use and management systems, as estimated by research scientists, into information that is readily comprehensible to policy makers and farmers. INTRODUCTION in decision-making (Ball & De la Rosa, 2006). Soils can be used for almost all agricultural pur- To develop a new and truly sustainable agriculture poses if sufficient inputs are supplied. The applica- that reverses environmental deterioration and at tion of inputs can be such that they dominate the the same time augmenting the supply of food, conditions in which crops are grown, as can be the agro-ecological innovations are necessary which case in greenhouse cultivation. However, each soil consider the importance of using soil information unit has its own potentialities and limitations, and each soil use its own biophysical requirements. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-881-4.ch016 External inputs or improvements are expressed in Copyright © 2010, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. MicroLEIS DSS terms of capital, energy, or environmental costs. A al., 2001). For example, in 2002 the Commission main aim of sustainable agriculture is to minimize of the European Communities issued a Commu- these socio-economic and environmental costs nication entitled “Towards a Thematic Strategy by predicting the inherent capacity of a soil unit for Soil Protection” (CEC, 2002). This was a first to support a specific soil use and management step towards an integrated strategy on the issue for a long period of time without deterioration. at the European level, and was followed in 2004 Sustainable soil use and management must sustain by the European Strategy for Soil Protection biophysical soil potentiality and, at the same time, (CEC, 2004). diversify the agricultural soil system, considering The new concept of soil quality as “the capacity all the possible options to increase crop production: of a specific kind of soil to function with its sur- i) expansion of the agricultural land surface; ii) roundings, sustain plant and animal productivity, introduction of improved crop varieties; iii) use maintain or enhance soil, water and air quality and of irrigation techniques; iv) application of fertil- support human health and habitation” (Karlen et izers and pesticides; and v) rationalization of soil al., 1997), based on data collected in standard tillage practices (Robert et al., 1993). In brief, in soil surveys, appears to be the most appropriate the design of sustainable agro-ecosystems, the framework. The soil physical, chemical, and challenge for the near future will be to increase biological quality is of manifest importance in the crop production on less land, and with less achieving sustainable agricultural systems, which labor, water and pesticides. balance productivity and environmental protec- Agro-ecological innovations are based on tion. Although soil biological quality indicators similar scientific principles considered by FAO in are not considered in land evaluation, this agro- its Agro-ecological Zoning Project (AEZ; FAO, ecological approach can be a useful procedure for 1978) which was a milestone in the history of analyzing the soil physical and chemical quality land evaluation. Technical guides for implement- from the viewpoint of long-term changes (Ball & ing agro-ecological approaches must be prepared De la Rosa, 2006). in considerable detail, and localized so that they Emerging technology in data and knowledge apply specifically to the soil type for which they engineering provides excellent possibilities in land are intended. In this way, research information evaluation development and application processes. produced by academic, government, and private The application phase of land evaluation systems organizations must be consistently compiled, is a process of scaling-up from the representative evaluated, and formatted for use by specialists and areas of the development phase to implementation lay people (Arnold, 2004). As the best example, in unknown scenarios. The application phase– the Electronic Field Office Technical Guides previously accomplished manually–can now be (eFOTG; USDA, 2004) are the primary scientific executed with computer-assisted procedures. This references for the US Natural Resources Conser- involves the development and linkage of integrated vation Service. They contain specific information databases, computer programs, and spatialization about the use and conservation of soil and related tools, constituting decision support systems (De resources. Appropriate parts of the eFOTG are la Rosa & Van Diepen, 2002). automated as databases, computer programs, and Decision support systems are computerized other electronic-based elements, in order to make technology that can be used to support complex recommendations more site-specific. In Europe, decision-making and problem-solving (Shim et it is now beginning to see the start of a proactive al., 2002). Opinions are wide-ranging as to what approach to soil protection strategies to promote constitutes a decision support system. A database sustainable land use and management (Stoate et management system could arguably be used as a 340 MicroLEIS DSS decision support system for certain applications. to WINDOWS in the late 1990s. Since 1998, Many people consider geographic information the MicroLEIS system has also been considered systems very useful decision support systems well-suited to take advantage of the opportunities (Booty et al., 2001). Classic decision support that the Internet presents, especially the rapid dis- system design comprises of components for i) semination of information and knowledge, making sophisticated database management capabilities the system more efficient and more widely used. with access to internal and external data, informa- The MicroLEIS DSS system was developed tion, and knowledge, ii) powerful modeling func- to assist specific types of decision-makers faced tions accessed by a model management system, with specific agro-ecological problems. It has and iii) simple user interface designs that enable been designed as a knowledge-based approach interactive queries, reporting, and graphing func- which incorporates a set of information tools, tions (Shim et al., 2002). as illustrated in Figure 1. Each of these tools is In this chapter, the approaches used and experi- directly linked to another, and custom applications ence gained in the development of the MicroLEIS can be carried out on a wide range of problems DSS project are discussed. Emphasis is given to related to land productivity and land degrada- the achievements made in passing from a land tion. They are grouped into the following main evaluation system to a land resources information modules: i) environmental data warehousing, ii) system, and in the beginnings of a land evaluation agro-ecological land evaluation modeling, and decision support system. Also, examples of apply- iii) application user-interface. The architecture ing MicroLEIS DSS in selected application areas of is open in design. Cordoba province, Southern Spain, are presented and discussed in this chapter. Concrete measures Environmental Data Warehousing to combat soil degradation on agricultural lands, with special reference to the Mediterranean region, Data warehousing can be greatly facilitated if the are analyzed within two major topics: i) land use nearly infinite list of basic data are systematically planning at a regional level, and ii) soil manage- arranged and stored in an ordered format for ment recommendations at a farm level. With this ready sorting and retrieval. Database management case study is intended to show the possibilities of systems are responsible for these tasks and con- using an agro-ecological land evaluation decision sist of attribute tables manipulated by relational support system, such as MicroLEIS DSS, to draw database management systems, and a geometric up site-specific sustainable agricultural practices. component handled by geographical information systems (GIS). THE MICROLEIS DSS The land attributes used in MicroLEIS DSS correspond to the following three main factors: The evolution of the MicroLEIS (Mediterranean soil/site, climate, and crop/management