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Selection of suitable areas for rubber tree (Hevea


brasiliensi) plantation using GISdata in Laos
a

Khitlaxay Kokmila , WooKyun Lee , Seongjin Yoo , JaeGyun Byun & Sangcheol Lee
a
a

Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University,


Seoul, 136713, Korea
b

Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University,


Seoul, 136713, Korea E-mail: leewk@korea.ac.kr
Available online: 24 Feb 2011

To cite this article: Khitlaxay Kokmila, WooKyun Lee, Seongjin Yoo, JaeGyun Byun & Sangcheol Lee (2010): Selection of
suitable areas for rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensi) plantation using GISdata in Laos, Forest Science and Technology, 6:2,
55-66
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21580103.2010.9671973

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Forest Science and Technology Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 55~66 (2010)

Forest Science and


Technology

Short Communication

Selection of Suitable Areas for Rubber Tree (Hevea brasiliensi)


Plantation Using GIS-data in Laos
Khitlaxay Kokmila, Woo-Kyun Lee*, Seongjin Yoo, Jae-Gyun Byun and Sangcheol Lee
Department of Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, Korea University, Seoul 136-713, Korea

(Received July 29, 2010; Accepted December 14, 2010)

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The Lao government has a policy of promoting Laos to become a leading rubber
exporter in the world market by the year 2020. However, the implementation
showed serious problems in terms of land allocation. Land leased to investors
overlapped with farmlands of local people, creating conflicts between local people
and investors, as well as between local people and local government authorities.
In addition, the concession of areas without previous forestry survey has led to
massive deforestations. These problems demonstrated that the local government
needs to plan for and implement good land use management strategies. The aim
of this study is not only to identify suitable areas for rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) plantation (SARTP) but also areas for forest and agriculture to model sustainable land use management in local areas. The study area conducted in Pakxong
District, southern part of Laos, which total area covers approximately 345,545 ha,
with forest covering about 232,721 ha. The geography database such as land use
type; forest types; digital elevation model (DEM) resolution with 50m and soil characteristic were used integrate geographic information system (GIS) technique.
Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) and restriction for producing suitable maps based
on geographic data was defined. These information combines with overlay tools
and weight overlay processing identify a land and forest allocation map, which
includes SARTP, as well as a forest functions and agriculture area map.
geographic information system (GIS), weight overlay, forest functions,
agriculture area map, suitable area for rubber tree plantation
Key words :

INTRODUCTION

capita estimated in 2005 was 491 US dollars. In


2004, about 71% of the population lived on less
than 2 US dollar per day and 27% on less than 1
US dollar per day (Nolintha, 2008). The majority of
the people live near and use forests for their livelihood, but the forest has become a second home
for those who live in the rural area and it is important for the structure of the economy of Laos: Agriculture (40.3% of GDP) and Industry (34.1% of
GDP) in 2008(World Bank, 2008).
The most important priority of the government of
Laos is to eliminate poverty by 2020. Indeed, the
government had been considering various strategies, and saw that while rubber tree plantation is a
part of the land and forest allocation program, it
can also increase peoples income. Rubber tree
plantations have been emphasized by the government of Laos to replace shifting cultivation, and

Background

The Laos Peoples Democratic Republic (Laos


PDR) is located in the middle of Southeast Asia. It
is completely landlocked, being surrounded by
such countries as Burma, China, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam (Figure 1). The total land area
covers 236,800 km , with a population of 6.8 million (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs,
2010). About 80% of the people of Laos depend
on natural resources for food, fuel and fiber (Badenoch, 1999). RIGG (2006) used such words as
farming, needy, distant, subsistence-adapted and
folk-ways to describe the country. The GDP per
2

*Corresponding author
E-mail: leewk@korea.ac.kr
55

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Forest Science and Technology Vol. 6, No. 2 (2010)

Laos aims to become a world leading rubber


exporter by the year 2020. Rubber trees have
many advantages; they not only provide revenue
to farmers, but also influence GDP growth. Rubber wood can be used to produce furniture, kitchen
tools and toys (Krukanont et al., 2004). Moreover,
rubber tree plants can absorb carbon dioxide;
thereby, help reduce climate change (Wauters et
al., 2008). In the 1930s, rubber trees were introduced to Laos by the French, and from 1994 to
1996 the amount of rubber tree plants began to
increase (Manivong et al., 2008). In 1995, the
area of rubber trees grown in Champasak province was about 50 ha, and was managed by a
state company called DAFI. From 2003 until now,
the total area of rubber tree plantation in the country was estimated at about 28,000 ha, which will
continue to rise up to 300,000 ha by the year 2020
(NAFRI, 2007). Rubber tree plantations are expanding and booming throughout Laos. As Asias market demand increased, backer from China and
Vietnam have invested in rubber plantations in the
north and south of Laos (Charlotte et al., 2009).
Chinas demand for rubber is expected to increase
to 11.5 million tones of natural rubber by 2020
(China Business, 2007). According to data of NAFRI
year 2007 the rubber trees were planted on about
39,000 ha in the Southern part of Laos in 2008.
This is continuing to increase, with 249,360 ha
planned for 2010. Therefore, the government needs
to prepare a greater land area to support the
investment in rubber tree plantation between 2010
and 2020.

Signification of the problem

Foreign investment in rubber tree plantation is


growing. The Laos Committee for Planning and
Investment (2007) pointed out that in 2005, 21
projects worth US$17.3 million were in place, but
this increased to 39 projects worth US$458.5 million in 2006, and by February 2007, 9 further projects
had been approved, with 16 pending, totaling to a
value of US$342 million.
Although rubber tree cultivation can help increase
farmers income and influence economic growth in
Laos, clearing forests for cultivation has various
implications (Lestrelin, 2009). A case study in the
northern part of Laos (Simon et al., 2007) showed
that farmers had converted their agriculture land
to grow rubber trees. This not only caused a decline
in forest cover, but also affected food, fuel and forest
production (Cohen, 2009). These problems are affecting others whose livelihoods depend on natural

resources. In addition, previous implementation of


rubber tree plantation showed serious land allocation problems. Land leased to investors overlapped with farmlands of local people, which has
created conflicts between local people and investors, as well as between local people and local
government authorities. The concession of areas
without a previous forestry survey has led to massive deforestation, which has impacted on the
environment (NLMA, 2007). These problems demonstrate a lack of efficient land use planning and
management at the local government level.

MATERIALS AND METHOD


Materials

Study area
Pakxong District is in Champasak Province in
the southern part of Laos, and is located in the
Bolivian plateau area, which has been chosen as
an area of great expansion of agriculture plantation. The total area is about 345,545 ha, with forest covering about 232,721 ha, or 67% of the total
of land use area, and other land uses are covered
with savanna 17%; scrub1%; ray 2%; rice and paddy
5%; agriculture 1% and other agriculture plantation 8%. It is geographically located in between
latitude 15 10' 48" N to 15 28' 39" N and longitude 106 13' 42" E to 106 23' 22" E. The area
has a mean annual rainfall between 2,500 and
3,500 mm. The average annual temperature of wet
season is about 23 and 29 C and mean temperature of the drought season is between 2 and 4 C,
with elevation ranging from 600-1400 meters above
sea level. This location was chosen as an area of
great expansion of agriculture plantation, and is
arable land for the production of crops and for protecting the watershed (Figure 1). The area has
recently been under pressure. The forest is being
destroyed for agricultural and other purposes. In
order to rehabilitate this area, a planning for sustainable forest management is required.
o

Data preparation
The data used in this study included two sets: priority data and secondary data. The priority data
mainly came from a geography database, compiled
from different sources, such as the Mekong River
Commission (MRC), National Geography Department (NGD) and National Agriculture and Forestry
Institute (NAFRI) in Laos PDR. The secondary
data included land laws from the land department; forestry and agriculture laws from the Minis-

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Khitlaxay Kokmila et al.

Figure 1.

Table 1.

Item
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Location of study site at Pakxong District.

Data used in the study.


Geography Database
Land use (1997-2002)
Forest types (1997-2002)
DEM resolution with 50 m 1998
Soil characters 1998
Soil ph (1998-2002)
Soil texture (1998-2002)
Soil depth (1998-2002)
Soil drainage (1998-2002)
Climatic (rainfall, temperature and humidity)
Slope 1998
Forest functions in the study area (2008)
Agriculture area in the study area (2009)

try of Forestry and Agriculture in Laos and other


information from the internet. Based on the secondary data, a Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) was
created to support weigh overlay processing. The
MCE outlines a land and forest allocation map,
especially SARTP, by identifying the suitability and
physical condition of land quality. The database
used in the study is shown in Table 1. Those databases converted into raster data, because raster
data is more efficient when processing the weight
overlay (Janrunton et al., 2004). All of the procedure of database processing was analyzed by
ArcGIS9.2 application, which was driven by weight
overlay processing and overlay tool.

Method

57

The main objective of this study focused on the

Data type
Polygon
Polygon
Raster
Polygon
Polygon
Polygon
Polygon
Polygon
Excel
Raster
Polygon
Polygon

Sources

NGD
NGD
MRC
MRC
NAFRI
NAFRI
NAFRI
NAFRI
NAFRI
Created from DEM 50 m
Forest functions paper
Agriculture paper

assessment of a suitable area for SARTP and the


mapping land and forest allocation for protection,
production, conservation and agriculture, as well
as a suitable area for rubber tree plantation. This
will be a helpful decision-making for land use planning and forest allocation. It can also be utilized in
land and forest watershed management activities
to maintain the health of land, forests and water
resources, and to improve the condition of degraded
forests and livelihoods in the forest watershed
area. The study focused not only on identifying
SARTP, but also on delineating a land and forest
allocation map for the Pakxong District. Figure 2
shows the overall procedure of the analysis, which
consists of two methodologies: general theory and
practical. General theory is composed of four
important steps: first, both of agriculture and forest

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Forest Science and Technology Vol. 6, No. 2 (2010)

Figure 2.

Procedure for the study analysis.

functions, such as protection forest, production


forest and conservation forest maps created in a
previous study. Second, a SARTP map was produced using the weight overlay processing technique. Thereafter, the three maps were combined
using a GIS technique as an overlay tool. A LFA
(Land and Forest Allocation) map was then produced as the final output. These steps were made
possible by the use of such tools as MCE, ranking
and weighting, reclassification, weight overlay, restriction and overlay, and normalization. More details on
these are provided in the next paragraph.
Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE)
MCE is a technique used to assist decisionmaking (Alejandro and Jorge, 2003). In this study,
MCE was used to consider multiple factors for
assessing SARTP. However, the MCE in this
study was created based only on the physical suitability for SARTP, but does not cover forest functions and agricultural areas. The use of MCE is
shown in Table 2.
Ranking and weighting
The MCE data was weighted and ranked based
on the suggestion of Paul (2008). Weighting and
ranking of factors were determined according to
the importance of the data (see Table 3).
The soil pH and temperature have the same
values in the weighting because they are both

Multiple criteria for SARTP (suitable area for


rubber tree plantation).
Item
Suitable condition for rubber tree plant
1 Slope from 1 to 60
2 Soil depth at least >1 m
3 Soil texture: referred to clay, loam and sand
4 Very good drainage class 5 or 3
5 Soil ph value about 4.5 to 5.5
6 Elevation not over 800 m from sea level
about 2000 to 2500 mm/year ( about
7 Rainfall
100 to 150 d/y)
and humidity between 75 to 80 ,
8 Temperature
winter season not lower than 0
Table 2.

suitable characteristics for SARTP. The formulae


below were used to calculate the level of weighting as percentages.
Numerator =

n r + 3 = 45
n

=3

W = (n r + 3) (n r + 3)
n

=3

(1)
(2)

Equation 1 shows the sum of the numerators,


while equation 2 shows the weighting of the layers, where W is the weighting for criterion i, n the
number of criteria, k the counter for summing
across all criteria, and (r) the order of range from
(1), the most important factor, to (7) the least
important factor.
i

Khitlaxay Kokmila et al.

Ranking and weighting of factors.


Layers name Rank Numerator Weight (%)
Temperature
7
7-7+3=3
7
Rainfall
6
7-6+3=4
9
Slope
5
7-5+3=5
11
Soil drainage
4
7-4+3=6
13
Soil texture
3
7-3+3=7
16
Soil depth
2
7-2+3=8
17
Soil ph
7
7-7+3=3
7
Land use
1
7-1+3=9
20
Total
45
100
Note: Weighted low percentage factors are not important. On the other hand, high percentage values are
relevant. These are the main factors that determine
the SARTP.
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Table 3.

Re-classification
This step re-classified and converted all layers
of data from table 3 into raster data (Table 4). This
process re-classified 9 data factors. First, land use
data, it was re-classified into 14 classes. These
classes based on the land use type in Laos. SecData re-classified.
No: Data inputted Re-class
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1
Land use
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
1
2
3
2
Rainfall
4
5
1
2
3
3 Temperature
4
5

59

ond, rainfall data, it was re-classified into 5 classes.


Because the rainfall amount in this area is totally
difference from the neighborhood district. And also
it can influence the processing of weight overlay
technique for indicating the SARTP. Thirdly, the
temperature data, it was re-classified into 5 classes
(see Table 4). It is an important factor, the same
as the rainfall data. Next, forest type, it helps the
weigh overlay processing to define SARTP. And it
is a part of restriction data to assist the weight
overlay processing point out the final of the allocation map (Figure 3). After, soil pH, it was re-classified in 3 classes. It defines physical soil condition
of SARTP. Then, soil texture, it is an import factor
can support rubber tree well growth. It refers to
soil characteristics as sand; clay and loam, and
relates to the MCE for SARTP in table 3. Later,
soil depth, it refers to soil characteristics, it is similar the soil texture. In addition, soil drainage, it
refers to water supply system, it is significant for
helping weigh overlay processing to indicate the
SARTP. This factor is useful to agriculture plantation and also SARTP. Finally, slop data, it refers to
the different level of the land surface, in this study

Table 4.

Raster detail
Mixed deciduous
Dry dipterocarp
Coniferous
Mixed board leaved
coniferous
Bamboo
Unstocked forest
Ray
Scrub
Rice paddy
Agriculture plantation
Other agriculture
Grass land
Urban or built up area
water
2260-2572
2576.1-2788
2788.1-3008
3008.1-3234
3234.1-3489
23-25
25.1-27
27.1-27.6
27.7-28.5
28.6-29

No:
4
5

7
8
9

Data inputted Re-class


1
2
Forest types
3
1
Soil ph
2
3
1
2
3
4
Soil texture
5
6
7
1
2
Soil depth
3
4
5
1
Soil drainage
2
slope

Raster detail
Production forest
Protection forest
Conservation forest
0-3.8
3.83-4.4
4.48-5.71
LS(loamy sand)
SL( Sand loam)
CL(Clay loam)
LL(Loam)
HC(Hard clay)
SA(Sand)
LC(Light clay
R(Rock)
S(Surface)
T(Thin)
M(moderate)
D(Deep)
Moderate
Well

0-32

32>

60

Forest Science and Technology Vol. 6, No. 2 (2010)

Weighting of Scale value.


Data
ReData
ReScale
No. inputted
Raster detail Scale value No. inputted
class
class Raster detail value
1 Mixed deciduous
1
1 0-3.8
1
2 Dry dipterocarp
1
4 Soil ph
2 3.83-4.4
2
3 Coniferous
1
3 4.48-5.71
3
Mixed
board
leaved
4 coniferous
1
1 LS(loamy sand)
2
5 Bamboo
1
2 SL( Sand loam)
1
6 Unstocked forest
3
3 CL(Clay loam)
2
5 Soil texture 4 LL(Loam)
7 Ray
3
1
1 Land use
8 Scrub
2
5 HC(Hard clay)
3
9 Rice paddy
restricted
6 SA(Sand)
1
3
10 Agriculture plantation restricted
7 LC(Light clay)
11 Other agriculture restricted
1 R(Rock)
3
12 Grass land
2
2 S(Surface)
1
13 Urban or built up area restricted 6 Soil depth 3 T(Thin)
1
14 water
1
4 M(moderate)
1
1 2260-2572
1
5 D(Deep)
2
2 2576.1-2788
2
1 Moderate
2
Soil
7 drainage
3
3 2788.1-3008
3
2 Well
2 Rainfall
4 3008.1-3234
1
1 0-32
3
8
Slope
5 3234.1-3489
1
2 32>
2
1
1 23-25
2 25.1-27
1
2
3 Temperature 3 27.1-27.6
4 27.7-28.5
2
5 28.6-29
3
Note: Restrictive data inputted in this process for limitation of SARTP, the result of restricted data is represented by
0, S0 (not suitable area)

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Table 5.

SARTP in the study area from the weight overlay processing.


Code
Forest types
Area3_h
Area2_h Area1_h
13
Mixed deciduous
2,374
13,4134
13
15
Dry dipterocarp
38
2,915
0
17
Coniferous
20
234
0
18
Mixed board leaved coniferous
41
3,125
0
21
Bamboo
40
8,997
0
22
Unstocked forest
59,105
14,155
0
24
Ray
474
147
0
32
Scrub
3,056
649
0
41
Rice and paddy
0
16
0
42
Agriculture plantation
785
1,225
0
43
Other agriculture
244
148
4
52
Grass land
25,895
10,597
0
54
Urban or built up area
13
8
0
61
Water
335
438
0
Total area
92,420
176,788
17
S3 = Area3_h; S2 = Area2_h; S1 =Area1_h and S0 =Area0_h and h = hectare

Table 6.

area was re-classified slop into 2 classes: class1


is slop from 0-32 and class2 is slop from 32 up.
o

Area0_h
1,052
35
7
0
0
1,269
44
0
243
55,944
15,213
38
541
124
74,510

Total area
137,573
2,988
261
3,166
9 037
74,529
665
3,705
259
57,954
15,609
36,530
562
897
343,735

Because some of lands slop in this study is limited


for SARTP.

Khitlaxay Kokmila et al.

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Weight overlay
The weight overlay technique used in this
study was similar to that used by Paul (2008).
Raster data were added into the weight overlay
window. The basic rule of the weight overlay
technique is based on an equation scale of 1 to
3 by 1 (Table 5). This means that the results of
the most suitable areas for a rubber tree plantation can be 3, 2, 1 or 0, with 3 being the most
suitable area (S3); 2 a suitable area (S2); 1 the
least suitable area (S1) and 0 an unsuitable area
(S0). Table 6 shows SARTP output from weight
overlays processing.

61

Overlay and normalization


This step overlaid forest functions, agriculture
area and SARTP maps together. The restrictive
data, as forest conservation and agriculture areas,
were then input into the overlay tool to separate
the individual maps. Some areas for forest functions, such as those for protection and production, are completed in SARTP because of their
suitability in terms of land and soil characteristics
and have; therefore, reduced. Conversely, forest
conservation and agriculture areas have remained
the same because they have been made restrictive areas, either for sustainable preservation of
biodiversity (Boyd, 1987) or for plantation of other
crops. The result from this step provides an illustration of land and forest allocation, such as production forest, protection forest, conservation
forest, agriculture area and SARTP: S2 and S3
(Figure 3).

Restriction
This step involves the creation of restrictive
data in identifying SARTP. Some land use types,
such as those for agriculture and forest functions, are a restriction for SARTP. This restriction
is based on NLMA (1997; 2003), forest and MFA
(1996; 1997) in Laos, which was categorized
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
into five parts: 1. SARTP should not cover paddy,
rice, agriculture plant, and other agriculture area
Suitable area for rubber tree plantation (SARTP)
or forest plant; 2. SARTP should cover urban or
The SARTP output after processing the weight
built up area; 3. SARTP should cover conservaoverlay is shown in Table 6. SARTP combines
tion forest area; 4. SARTP should cover producfour categories; namely, an unsuitable area (S0),
tion forest if local people gain much from the
which covers about 74,510 ha; a less suitable
forest area and 5. SARTP should not cover
area (S1), covering 17 ha; a suitable area (S2),
important area of protection forest (e.g. natural
which is about 176,788 ha and the most suitable
hazard, biodiversity or national defense). These
area (S3), which covers about 92,420 ha or 27%
restrictions are provided in the weight overlay,
of total area. At present; however, these areas are
as well as in the overlay and normalization analused for forest functions and agriculture. It is not
yses.
possible to allocate these as SARTP. One objecSARTP in the study area from the overlay and normalization processing.
Code
Forest types
Area3_ha
Area2_ha
Total
13
Mixed deciduous
358
25,890
26,248
15
Dry dipterocarp
0
231
231
17
Coniferous
0
60
60
18
Mixed board leaved coniferous
0
0
0
21
Bamboo
2
1,899
1901
22
Unstocked forest
22,313
3,026
25339
24
Ray
119
27
246
32
Scrub
447
66
513
41
Rice and paddy
0
370
370
42
Agriculture plantation
215
686
901
43
Other agriculture
28
165
193
52
Grass land
9,450
4,262
13,712
54
Urban or built up area
0
3
3
61
Water
0
202
202
Total area
32,930
36,887
69,817
This table compared to the total area in the table6. The total area of SARTP in this study covers about 69,817 ha
or about 20%. But noticed that the area of S3 decrease from S3 area in the table6 about 59,490 ha or 35%.
Table 7.

62

Forest Science and Technology Vol. 6, No. 2 (2010)

tive of this study was to create a land and forest


allocation map; the SARPT is allocated considering restrictive data, such as land use types, conservation forest area and agriculture area.
Consequently, the process of overlay and normalization was achieved using an overlay tool. The
SARTP is presented in Table 7. The remaining
SARTP include only two categories of suitable land,
i.e., S3 and S2, as the rest had been merged with
other functions. Some areas even disappeared;
and thereby reduced S2 and S3 to an estimated
36,887 and 32,930 ha respectively (Table 7).

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Forest functions

Forest functions are known to provide utilities for


both timber and non-timber products (Erwin,
2000). The forest functions in this study used the
database from a previous study (Kokmila et al.,
2008), which was combined with tree categories;
namely, production forest, protection forest and
conservation forest. A protection forests protect
watersheds and prevent soil erosion, and include
areas of national security significance; production
forests are those used on a regular basis for
national development and for peoples livelihood,
while conservation forests are those for the protection and conservation of biodiversity, tourism,
culture and education (MAF, 1996; 1998). The
Table 8.

Forest function areas in the study area.

total area of these forests covers about 345,635


ha with production forest covering 152,946 ha,
protection forest 154,109 ha and conservation forest 38,580 ha.
The process of overlay and normalization in this
study showed that the forest function areas
remained at about 196,891 ha, 57% of the study
area, and those of production and protection forests were 37,777 and 120,656 ha, respectively.
Conversely, forest conservation remained stable
at 38,458 ha because this type of area is utilized
for the preservation of biodiversity (Boyd, 1987).
Table 8 shows the forest function areas.

Agriculture area

The database of the agriculture area from the


previous study was limited from SARTP because
this area has a physically suitable quality of land.
An agriculture area, according to the National
Land Management Authority (NLMA) 1997 and 2003,
is composed of lands used for agriculture, farming, irrigation and agriculture research, with a total
area of about 82,094 ha or 23.75% of the study
area. This area was used as restrictive data for
SARTP, since it is more appropriate for agriculture
than SARTP, and has actually been used for agriculture (see Table 9). In fact, ray covers 523 ha;
rice paddies account for 82 ha; plantations for

Forest functions
Total
areas(ha) Conservation Protection
Production
11
Upper dry evergreen forest
31,237
23,355
7,882
13
Upper mixed deciduous
52,174
6,962
44,826
386
15
Dry dipterocarp
3,134
3,099
35
16
Gallery forest
152
152
17
Coniferous forest
1,820
1,820
18
Mixed broad-leaved and coniferous
8,367
8,367
21
Bamboo
899
899
22
Unstocked forest
39,348
5,010
33,616
722
24
Ray
24
24
31
Savannah
3,295
3,295
32
Scrub
155
155
41
Rice and paddy
57
57
42
Agricultural plantation
28,373
28,373
43
Other agricultural land
7,665
7,665
52
Grassland
18,046
3,131
14,913
2
54
Urban or built up area
438
438
61
Water
1,707
1,632
75
Sum of area
196,891
38,458
120,656
37,777
Total area of forest functions covers in this table compared to previous paper of forest function (Kokmila et al.,
2008) was decreased to 196,891 ha or 57%.
Code

Forest types

Khitlaxay Kokmila et al.


Table 9.

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Code
11
13
15
17
22
24
32
41
42
43
52
53
54
61

63

Area covered by agriculture in the study area.


Name types
Area(ha)
Upper Dry Evergreen forest
6,227
Upper Mixed deciduous forest
21,795
Dry Dipterocarp forest
1,623
Coniferous forest
35
Unstocked forest
10,207
Ray (Upland rice fields)
523
Savannah
536
Rice and paddy
82
Plantations
36,686
Other agricultural land
828
Grasslands
3,424
Swamps
32
Urban or built up areas
19
Water
77
Total agriculture area
82,094

36,686 ha and other agriculture for about 828 ha,


with a total about 38,119 ha or about 46% of study
area for agriculture. This area was created using a
GIS approach, integrated with geographical data
referring to the physical condition, in particular, the
Soil Map of the Lower Mekong Basin (1998).
Table 10 shows the physical condition suitable for
agriculture, as referred to by the FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organization).
This study observed that the SARTP was identified by the equation scale of 1 to 3 by 1 in the part
of weight overlay, which scale value 3 is the most

Figure 3.

District.

Land and forest allocation map of Pakxong

suitable area for rubber tree plantation in this


study. Referring to table 6 the SARTP covered on
the land use types in class 6 and 7; rainfall in
class 3; temperature in class 5; soil pH in class3;
soil texture in class 5 and 7; soil depth in class1;
soil drainage in class 2 and slop in class1. These

Physical conditions suitable for agriculture according to the FAO soil classification.
Physical suitable condition of
Item
Factors
Definitions
agriculture area in the study
Characteristics
Capacity of soil which contains amount of nega- Class1, no problem
1 Soil
AF Anion fixation
tively charged ions
This gives an indication of the soil volume which
2 SD Effective soil depth can be utilized by the plant and which is condu- Class 1, shallow (<30 cm)
cive to moisture retention.
Amount
of minerals soil which are beneficial for Class 3, high
3 MR Mineral reserve
take nutrients
Capacity of soil to stay in natural condition, it Class 2, moderate
4 SS Soil stability
means stable soil has less effect by water
Size of soil particles in upper layer of soil, nor- Class 3, fine
5 TT Topsoil texture
mally(Clay, silt and sand)
It is the natural or artificial removal of surface and
sub surface water from an area. Many agricul- Class 2, well
6 DR Drainage
tural soils need drainage to improve production or
to manage water supplies.
Soil
types which refer to suitable soil or un suit- Class 1, arcrisol
7 Major soil
able soil for agriculture
It refers to soil acidity or soil alkalinity, can effect A bout 4.5-5.71
8 Soil PH
agriculture growth, and depends on crops types.

Table 10.

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64

Forest Science and Technology Vol. 6, No. 2 (2010)

are bases on the MCE and the real condition of


rubber tree plant in Laos. However, some area in
these classes had been already occupied by other
activities of agriculture plant. Hence, the most suitable area for rubber tree plantation was reconsidered by restrictions data in the restriction part. In
addition, the scale value 2 and 1 are also suitable
for planting rubber tree, but the restricted scale
value in the table is not suitable for planting due to
it is a limitation of SARTP condition as mentioned
in the restriction part. Finally, to identify the most
SARTP and land and forest allocation map, the
overlay tool in the ArcGIS9.2 application used into
overlay and normalizations part. The end of the
processing the suitable area for rubber tree plant
in the study covers only 69,819 ha or about 20%
of study area (Table 7 and 11).
The overall results for land and forest allocation
are shown in Figure 3, which combines five zones;
namely, forest production, forest protection, forest
conservation, agriculture area and SARTP. The
areas are presented in Table 11. This LFA does
not cover all eight categories, i.e. agriculture land,
forest land, water area land, industrial land, communication land, cultural land, land for national
and security defense, and construction land (NLMA,
1997; 2003). However, it is an illustration of land use
management using geographical data and the
GIS technique. The map was created using GIS
integrated with geographical data, with weight
overlay used as a support technique, which has
limitations in terms of accuracy because of the following: Firstly, the geographical data came from
various sources, such as the NGD, MRC and
NAFRI, which were difficult to merge together as
well as the lack of updated information in these
databases. Another challenge was in the analysis
of such data. Secondly, there were limitations in
terms of the number of factors in the MCE data.
The study only had eight factors (Table 2), focusing mainly on the general terms of SARTP, but not
on the specific kinds of rubber tree, which will
necessitate different soil conditions and qualities
(NAFRI, 2002).
In addition, this study was performed in the laboratory of the Korea University, Department of
Environmental Science and Ecological Engineering, GIS/RS lab, without ground data detecting.
The results can not be deemed 100% accurate,
and will need modification via further studies. Nevertheless, this study was a good illustration of the
Land and Forest Allocation using geographical
data integrated with GIS technique. The Land

The area for land and forest allocation.


Area
Percentage
No.
Detail
covered(h)
(%)
Forest functions
196,891
56.44
Production
37,777
10.83
1
Protection
120,656
34.59
Conservation
38,458
11.02
2 Agriculture area
82,094
23.53
SARTP
69,817
20.03
3 S3
32,930
9.45
S2
36,887
10.58
Total area 1+2+3 = 348,802
100
Note: S3 (most suitable area) and S2 (very suitable or
suitable area)
Table 11.

authority in Laos can use this model to develop


eight land categories/classifications for land use
management.

CONCLUSION
Implementation of the land and forest allocation
is part of an important priority to support land policy, with the objective is to allocate land to farmers
and individuals for agricultural use, especially plantation investment. This is because previous implementation arrangements where associated with
many problems and overlaps between land allocated for tree plantation and agricultural and/or
forest production for people in the rural areas. To
support and enhance land policy, this study
assessed appropriate land areas suitable for rubber tree plantation (SARTP). The study outlined
SARTP as S0 (unsuitable area), S1 (less suitable
area), S2 (a suitable area) and S3 (a most suitable area) after the weight overlay. These data
were merged with forest functions and agriculture
to create the LAF map in overlay and normalization. The result of LAF areas are presented in the
table 7.
This study emphasized the use of GIS and geographical databases, integrated with regulations
and laws, in developing a pattern for good land
use management. The land authority may modify
this study for land use planning in terms of preserving suitable areas for appropriate land use.
Although the accuracy did not reach 100%, the
study did highlight land and forest allocation,
especially SARTP, using a GIS technique, and
may provide direction for local governments to
reconsider and follow when implementing their

Khitlaxay Kokmila et al.

LAF management. It must be noted; however, that


investment in rubber tree plantation is an important key influencing increases in farmers revenue
and economic growth in Laos by 2020. However,
it should not have negative impacts on agriculture,
forest functions, livelihoods and biodiversity.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work was supported by the Korea Science
& Engineering Foundation through the Joint Research
Program (Grant No. F01-2008-000-10143-0).

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