Landbou en sy biofisiese omgewing : 'n GIS gebaseerde analise van die volhoubaarheid van landboupraktyke in die Piketbergse landdrosdistrik

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Agriculture occupies 86 percent of land that is being utilised for the needs of a growingpopulation in the Western Cape. This implies that there has to be certain impacts on theenvironment regarding the practices associated with different agricultural activities.Negative impacts pertain to soil degradation, water quality problems, loss of biodiversityand vegetation deterioration. It must also be taken into consideration that each land usewithin agriculture has a different interaction with the environment. The nature of landuse and environment will therefore determine the most important issues influencing theextent of impact on the environment. Certain problem areas in the Western Cape havebeen identified as the result of conflict between agriculture and the environment.However, if agriculture is practiced and managed in a sustainable manner, it can beproductive, while at the same time assuring a healthy environment. To achieve such asituation a protocol has to exist whereby sensitive areas, with regard to potential impacton the environment by agriculture, can be identified. Considering this, the mostimportant concept of the study was to develop methodology appropriate for evaluatingand identifying farming areas where current practices threaten the sustainable use ofnatural resources. The result is a model that aims to identify the different land uses andthen evaluate each agricultural activity through a holistic approach with regard to impacton the environment. The Piketberg magisterial district was chosen as study region to putthe methodology into practice. Datasets regarding soil types, climate, water quality,vegetation and agricultural practices, specific to the study area, were gathered. By usingGeographical Information Systems, the datasets could be manipulated to derive thenecessary information needed for running the model. This produced maps showing areasof low to high impact on the environment and indicating the specific landuse responsiblefor each impact.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University