Development of a Land Suitability Framework for Sustainable Manure Utilization

Abstract

HighlightsWe developed a land suitability framework for sustainable manure utilization based on seven water quality-related environmental vulnerability factors.ArcGIS-based decision-support tools were developed that use readily available data for the U.S.The tools can be adapted to any location in the U.S. for any livestock agricultural system.In a case study, 19.9% of the study area was identified as potentially suitable for manure utilization.2%, 33%, and 44% of the potential areas were highly, moderately, and marginally suitable, respectively.Abstract. Intensive livestock agriculture is a significant source of nutrient pollution that contributes to water quality degradation worldwide. This study presents a land suitability framework and accompanying decision-support tools for sustainable manure management. The developed framework identifies potentially suitable areas for manure application in a user-defined area and further classifies the land as highly suitable, moderately suitable, marginally suitable, and unsuitable using seven environmental vulnerability factors considering landscape biophysical characteristics and proximity to streams. The decision-support tools, built in ArcGIS, were applied in a case study in western Pennsylvania. The ArcGIS toolbox, available from ScholarSphere (https://doi.org/10.26207/99tk-sn24), classified 2% of the case study area as highly suitable for manure application and 21% as unsuitable. Landscape slope and proximity to streams were the dominant vulnerability factors in the case study area. The framework and accompanying tools are transferable across watershed boundaries and can help identify areas where environmentally sustainable animal agriculture can be developed. Keywords: Decision-support tool, Land suitability analysis, Sustainable manure management, Vulnerability analysis.