Question

Discuss the importance of land capability.

Answer 1

• Land capability is the ability of a piece of land to provide sustainable support for a specific land use.
• Land capability is based on the understanding that every components of land has its own particular capacity to provide ecosystem services.
• Land capability assessment enables the reconciliation of production and protection.
• Land capability does not include social or economic components. It focuses entirely on requirements for sustainability of the ecosystem. There is the requirement to overlay this with the social and economic constraints. Thus we have land suitability assessment.
• Land capability is the inherent physical capacity of the land to sustain a range of land uses and management practices in long term without degradation to soil, air and water resources. .
• If land is used beyond its capacity, degradation is the consequence, which leads to a decline in natural ecosystem values, agricultural productivity and infrastructure functionality.