Scholarlink

<p>Land is a vital resource for agriculture. To ensure food security, it is necessary to identify suitable land for agriculture and irrigation expansion. Developing irrigation infrastructure to support productive agriculture remains a challenge, particularly in mountainous regions such as Nepal. Prior land suitability studies in Nepal have focused on agriculture and specific crops, and very limited researchers have explored the land suitability for surface irrigation. Almost no studies, in Nepal or globally, provide guidelines for assessing land suitability for river-based lift irrigation. Considering the facts above, this study was carried out to identify land suitable for agriculture, surface irrigation, and lift irrigation in the Sudurpaschim province in Nepal, covering a 19,552 km<sup>2</sup> area. For agriculture and surface irrigation suitability, several factors were considered, including elevation, slope, soil depth, soil pH, soil organic carbon content, soil texture, proximity to water sources, and land cover. Suitability for lift irrigation was based on the proximity to the water source and the elevation difference between the water source and the agricultural land, i.e., economically viable pumping head. Results showed that 6.77% of the land was highly suitable, 9.83% was moderately suitable, 2.36% was marginally suitable, and 81.04% was unsuitable for agriculture. For surface irrigation, 4.72% of the land was highly suitable, 4.39% was moderately suitable, 0.10% was marginally suitable, and 90.8% was unsuitable. A total of 1799 km<sup>2</sup> area was found suitable for surface irrigation. Around 1656 km<sup>2</sup> of agricultural land was suitable for lift irrigation, which is 8.47% of the total province area. The spatial maps generated in the study could assist in land use planning and irrigation infrastructure development in the region. The findings could help in preventing the conversion of suitable farmland to other land uses. The methodology adopted for surface and lift irrigation suitability can be further refined and applied in different parts of the world.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

A GIS-Based Land Suitability Assessment for Agriculture, Surface and Lift Irrigation in Sudurpaschim Province, Nepal

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月27日

查看全文
  • Nabin Raj Joshi,
  • Kritika Kothari

摘要

Land is a vital resource for agriculture. To ensure food security, it is necessary to identify suitable land for agriculture and irrigation expansion. Developing irrigation infrastructure to support productive agriculture remains a challenge, particularly in mountainous regions such as Nepal. Prior land suitability studies in Nepal have focused on agriculture and specific crops, and very limited researchers have explored the land suitability for surface irrigation. Almost no studies, in Nepal or globally, provide guidelines for assessing land suitability for river-based lift irrigation. Considering the facts above, this study was carried out to identify land suitable for agriculture, surface irrigation, and lift irrigation in the Sudurpaschim province in Nepal, covering a 19,552 km2 area. For agriculture and surface irrigation suitability, several factors were considered, including elevation, slope, soil depth, soil pH, soil organic carbon content, soil texture, proximity to water sources, and land cover. Suitability for lift irrigation was based on the proximity to the water source and the elevation difference between the water source and the agricultural land, i.e., economically viable pumping head. Results showed that 6.77% of the land was highly suitable, 9.83% was moderately suitable, 2.36% was marginally suitable, and 81.04% was unsuitable for agriculture. For surface irrigation, 4.72% of the land was highly suitable, 4.39% was moderately suitable, 0.10% was marginally suitable, and 90.8% was unsuitable. A total of 1799 km2 area was found suitable for surface irrigation. Around 1656 km2 of agricultural land was suitable for lift irrigation, which is 8.47% of the total province area. The spatial maps generated in the study could assist in land use planning and irrigation infrastructure development in the region. The findings could help in preventing the conversion of suitable farmland to other land uses. The methodology adopted for surface and lift irrigation suitability can be further refined and applied in different parts of the world.