TITLE:
Effectiveness of Fuzzy Overlay Function for Multi-Criteria Spatial Modeling—A Case Study on Preparation of Land Resources Map for Mawsynram Block of East Khasi Hills District of Meghalaya, India
AUTHORS:
Priyanka Baidya, Dibyajyoti Chutia, Singuluri Sudhakar, Chandan Goswami, Jonali Goswami, Victor Saikhom, Puyam S. Singh, Kamini Kanta Sarma
KEYWORDS:
Multi-Criteria Spatial Modeling, Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS), Weighted Overlay, Fuzzy Overlay
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geographic Information System,
Vol.6 No.6,
December
8,
2014
ABSTRACT: Multi-criteria spatial
modeling is one of the important components of spatial decision support system
(SDSS). Multi-criteria spatial modeling often requires a common scale of values
for diverse and dissimilar inputs to create an integrated analysis. Weighted
overlay function is most commonly used for site suitability analysis which
identifies the most preferred locations for a specific phenomenon. However,
weighted overlay function gives inconsistent and erroneous results for highly
dissimilar inputs as it assumes that most favorable factors result in the
higher values of raster, while identifying the best sites. This paper conveys
the effectiveness of fuzzy overlay function for multi-criteria spatial
modeling. It is based on the principle of fuzzy logic theory which defines
membership using Gaussian function on each of the input rasters instead of
giving individual rank to them like in weighted overlay function. A case study
on preparation of land resources map for Mawsynram block of East Khasi Hills
district of Meghalaya, India is presented here. It was observed that fuzzy
overlay function has given more satisfactory output in terms of site
suitability while comparing with the result of weighted overlay function.