Geomorphometric landscape analysis using a semi-automated GIS-approach

This paper presents LANDFORM, a customized GIS application for semi-automated classification of landform elements, based on topographic attributes like curvature or elevation percentile. These parameters are derived from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and used as thresholds for the classification of landform elements like crests, flats, depressions and slopes. With a new method, slopes were further subdivided into upper, mid and lower slopes at significant breakpoints along slope profiles. The paper discusses the results of a fuzzy set algorithm used to compare the similarity between the map generated by LANDFORM and the visual photo-interpretation conducted by a soil expert over the same area. The classification results can be used in applications related to precision agriculture, land degradation studies, and spatial modelling applications where landscape morphometry is identified as an influential factor in the processes under study. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.