The use of landscape metrics to assess parcel conditions pre- and post-land consolidation

Abstract

Land consolidation is of vital importance for reducing agricultural investment costs, improving working conditions on agricultural lands, and establishing areas suitable for modern agriculture in countries such as Turkey, where resources are limited and agricultural infrastructure is incomplete. Structural measures such as the elimination of scattered land forms and landform amelioration, in addition to other improvements such as changes in farmers' working conditions and the provision of services to agricultural lands, may be efficiently implemented through land consolidation works. Land consolidation is considered a prerequisite for higher crop yield and quality, higher productivity and higher net income for farms; an improved crop production environment; and a more economical use of agricultural labor. To gain these benefits from land consolidation projects, optimum project conditions must be met. The future success of a project can be predicted using a number of different indices. This study investigates the utility of metric parameters such as shape index and fractal dimension for analyzing parcel conditions pre- and post-land consolidation. Four villages within the county of Karacabey in the province of Bursa, where intensive land consolidation is occurring, were selected as the study area. The results of an analysis determining the effects of land consolidation on length-to-width ratio showed that the length-to-width ratio in the study area ranged from 1/2 to 1/1. Fractal Dimension (FD), one of the most common indices of parcel shape, ranged from 1.35 to 1.40 after land consolidation was completed, whereas the same ratio was between 1.40 and 1.60 before the work was performed. It was also observed that irregularly shaped parcels (long and thin) became regularly shaped parcels (roughly square-shaped) after the implementation of the land consolidation project.