NIPA PALM SUITABILITY MODEL DEVELOPMENT
Figure 2 shows the processes that were performed to create a GIS-based land suitability map for Nipa palm in Khanak Nak, Pak Phanang, Thailand.
Reconnaissance Survey Reconnaissance survey was executed rapidly and at limited time prior to field survey to provide general information and to become familiar with the study area that will be useful in detailed planning of the field survey. During this process, a subset of the study area from Advanced Land Observing Satellite, Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer Type II (ALOS AVNIR-2) data (10-m resolution, acquired in March 31, 2009 from Japan Aerospace and Exploration Agency) in natural color composite was used as a reference, and a hand-held Garmin GPS was also used to track routes.
Field Survey Field survey was conducted to collect water and soil samples of the study area. Areas where to collect soil and water samples were identified in ALOS AVNIR-2 satellite data and using the previous information gathered during the reconnaissance survey. A total of fifty five water and soil samples were collected in the area.