Methodology for soil suitability

Step 1: Suitability based on physical characteristics and water management

In a first step, the suitability for land is evaluated against the physical soil and the watermanagement characteristics. The evaluation is carried out for each of the selected crops.

Suitability is expressed in the following categories:

1. 1 : very suitable : 90 - 100 %
2. 2 : suitable : 75 - 90 %
3. 3 : moderately suitable : 55 - 75 %
4. 4 : hardly suitable : 30 - 55 %
5. 5 : unsuitable : < 30 %

Step 2: Refining the suitability using the soil type

In this step the created suitability matrices are re-evaluated using information of the soil type. Certain soil types can improve or reduce the suitability for certain crops.

Step 3: Suitability in relation to the relief

For those crops where also the relief is important, the suitability maps are overlayed with the information about the slope and the direction of the slope.

For vineyards, only south oriented slopes will be taken into account. For greenhouses, a maximum slope of 5% will be allowed and no greenhouses will be allowed on the north side of a slope.