Presentation of Software for potential relative assessment and land use suitability classification of agricultural land in Bulgaria
Ivelina Radovanova
Abstract: In 2023, I developed “Software for potential land use suitability classification of agricultural land in Bulgaria” (Radovanova, 2023). It works in MS Office terms, programmed entirely through Microsoft Excel.
The software with the corresponding methodology is essentially an update of the legally adopted “Methodology for work on the cadastre of agricultural land in Bulgaria” (Petrov E. et al., 1988), and this was achieved by a newly developed “Methodology for potential assessment of agricultural land in Bulgaria” (Radovanova, 2020). Actual and potential assessment are fully comparable in terms of approach, scheme, parameters, etc. The difference between actual and potential assessment, as in the case of software, is that in the case of potential assessment of agricultural land, potential characteristics (subject to improvement by external intervention) are used. These characteristics are: depth of the humus horizon, soil reaction, humus content, groundwater level, stoniness of the plough soil and degree of salinity and/or alkalinity. For these characteristics, 86 newly developed Bonite scales and algorithms have been applied (Radovanova, 2020).
The software uses the built-in functions of Microsoft Excel. The mechanism of the existing final land use suitability categorisation of the assessed land is fully maintained, but is now considered in a “potential” aspect and uses the new potential algorithms.
The software allows the printing of an official document of the potential assessment of the agricultural land concerned.
The software with the corresponding methodology is essentially an update of the legally adopted “Methodology for work on the cadastre of agricultural land in Bulgaria” (Petrov E. et al., 1988), and this was achieved by a newly developed “Methodology for potential assessment of agricultural land in Bulgaria” (Radovanova, 2020). Actual and potential assessment are fully comparable in terms of approach, scheme, parameters, etc. The difference between actual and potential assessment, as in the case of software, is that in the case of potential assessment of agricultural land, potential characteristics (subject to improvement by external intervention) are used. These characteristics are: depth of the humus horizon, soil reaction, humus content, groundwater level, stoniness of the plough soil and degree of salinity and/or alkalinity. For these characteristics, 86 newly developed Bonite scales and algorithms have been applied (Radovanova, 2020).
The software uses the built-in functions of Microsoft Excel. The mechanism of the existing final land use suitability categorisation of the assessed land is fully maintained, but is now considered in a “potential” aspect and uses the new potential algorithms.
The software allows the printing of an official document of the potential assessment of the agricultural land concerned.
Keywords: agricultural land; agricultural land potential assessment; potential assessment and categorisation; software
Citation: Radovanova, I. (2023). Presentation of “Software for potential relative assessment and land use suitability classification of agricultural land in Bulgaria”, Bulgarian Journal of Soil Science Agrochemisty and Ecology, 57(4), 63-69 (Bg).
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Date published: 2023-12-20
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