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Mapping made easier thanks to new web-based technology

CLUES, an Internet-based spatial decision support system based on geographic information systems (GIS), makes it easier and cheaper for consultants and decision makers to draw up specific land suitability maps.

Land suitability maps are often used to visually depict whether a piece of land is suitable for development, agricultural purposes or conservation use.

CLUES (Cape Land Use Expert System) was developed by Dr Adriaan van Niekerk, a lecturer in the Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Studies at Stellenbosch University.

The web technology can be used to compile maps to determine land suitability analysis, and provides more user-friendly and cost-effective GIS technology for especially Western Cape decision makers.

“The development and demonstration of CLUES exposed several advantages and limitations of current technology and has demonstrated that the Internet offers great opportunities for the deployment of spatial analysis and modelling functionality to a wide audience,” Dr van Niekerk says.

GIS has revolutionized geographic analysis and spatial decision support and has greatly enhanced our understanding of the real world though its mapping and spatial modelling capabilities.

Although GIS software is becoming more powerful, less expensive and more user-friendly, GIS still remains the domain of a selected few who can operate and afford these systems.

“Since the introduction of web mapping tools such as Google Earth, accessibility to geographic information has escalated,” Dr van Niekerk says. “Such tools enable anyone with access to a computer and the Internet to explore geographic data online and to produce maps on demand.”

Web mapping products have, however, a very narrow range of functionality. In contrast to GIS that focuses on spatial data capture, storage, manipulation, analysis and presentation, the function of web mapping tools is to visualize and communicate geographical data.

“The positive impact of web mapping tools suggests, however, that GIS has not yet developed to a level where anyone can use the technology to support spatial decisions and enhance productivity,” he says.

He believes that a possible solution is to close the functional gap between web mapping tools and GIS to make spatial analysis more accessible, thereby promoting geographical awareness and supporting better spatial decisions.

As work conducted towards his PhD, with host Prof Hannes van der Merwe, van Niekerk developed a web-based spatial decision support system (SDSS) to demonstrate how the Internet can be used to deliver low-cost, user-friendly and interactive spatial analysis functionality to a wide audience.

Although the resulting Cape Land Use Expert System (CLUES) was specifically developed to perform land suitability analysis in the Western Cape, he believes that the technology can also be applied to other regions and modified for other applications.

CLUES consists of five components: a land unit database (LUD), knowledge base, inference engine, web map service (WMS) and graphical user interface (GUI). The LUD consists of polygons (land units) and attributes (land properties), while the knowledge base stores each user’s land use requirement rules. These rules are used by the inference engine to rate the suitability of each land unit in the LUD. The result is then mapped by the WMS and presented to the users as suitability maps. Users can direct the entire analysis through a user-friendly GUI.

More information:

 Dr Adriaan van Niekerk, Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Study
021 8083101 / 8083218 of 0829205133 avn@sun.ac.za

Stellenbosch University: www.sun.ac.za

Engela Duvenage, Media: Faculty of Science, Stellenbosch University
(021) 808 2684 science@sun.ac.za  082 874 1291
 

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