SITE SUITABILITY ANALYSIS
Problem
Biologists at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park are having issues with relocating bears. The biologists hope to use suitability analysis to determine areas with favorable conditions for the bears. By identifying areas that are suitable as bear habitats, the biologists can relocate bears away from roads and trails limit their interaction with humans.
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Analysis Procedures
To address this issue, I will use several data layers for features in and around the park. The data I have available include an elevation raster and vector layers of vegetation, roads, trails, and streams.
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I used the Model Builder to conduct all analyses for this project (Fig. 1). I began by loading the elevation, vegetation, roads, trails, and streams layers into a new model. First, I used the Slope tool to calculate slope based off the elevation raster. Then, I used the Feature to Raster tool to convert the vegetation layer to raster format. Next, I used the Euclidean Distance tool on the roads, streams, and trails layers to create new raster layers.
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I then used the Reclassify tool to categorize the values within each raster into their associated suitability categories. I used the values listed in Table 1 to reclassify each raster, assigning new values of “1” to values in the “Least Favorable” category, “2” to values in the “Favorable” category, and “3” to values in the “Most Favorable” category. Lastly, I used the Weighted Overlay tool to combine the values of the reclassified rasters and conduct suitability analysis. Each of the five reclassified rasters had an equal value for the weighted overlay.
Figure 1. Diagram of methods used in the form of a model created in Model Builder.
Results
Figure 2. Aspect derived from elevation.
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Figure 2. Map of bear habitat suitability.
Application & Reflection
Suitability analysis is a useful way to determine areas that meet certain criteria. The methods used in this analysis enable GIS analysts to use many datasets and several levels within those datasets to customize the desired parameters.
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Problem Description: This type of suitability analysis could be extremely useful for a farmer looking for the best area to grow a specific crop. For instance, coffee is typically grown on steep slopes, making it quite different from most other crops that prefer flat ground.
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Data Needed: If a coffee farmer was looking for a new site to plant coffee trees, they would probably want to obtain data for slope, soil type, distance from streams, solar radiation, and even accessibility to roads.
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Analysis Procedures: These data can be used to identify areas that are best suited for coffee production by meeting specific criteria, such as moderate to high slope, acidic soil, close proximity to water, and many others. This would be accomplished by using the Euclidean Distance tool and then reclassifying based on criteria desirability.