THE ENHANCEMENT OF A COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION-SYSTEM (ARC INFO) WITH FUZZY PROCESSING CAPABILITIES FOR THE EVALUATION OF LAND RESOURCES/

The paper presents the design considerations of FUZZYLAND; a geographi cal information system with fuzzy processing capabilities. The GIS pac kage ARC/INFO was augmented with new commands to allow the easy applic ation of fuzzy sets theory methods to geographical data. The system wa s programmed in AML (the ARC/INFO Macro Language) and operates as a se t of ARC/INFO commands. This type of development makes the system very easy to use and allows complete control of every stage of the process . Examples of the operation of the FUZZYLAND system are presented, thr ough a case study which demonstrates its application for the classific ation of the soils of an area of Western Greece in thematic classes ac cording to their (a) degradation from agricultural uses and (b) to the ir suitability for growing alfalfa. The proposed system maintains all the advantages of the GIS ARC/INFO but enhances it in three ways: (1) it can easily manipulate the natural variation of soil properties; (2) users are allowed to express their subjective view on the stored data in the form of membership grades; and (3) it presents a more precise and realistic classification and assessment of land resources. (C) 199 8 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.