A WebGIS & Model-Based Agriculture Spatial Information Management System

Agricultural information management system, as the carrier of agricultural informationization, is considered to be increasingly important for promoting the modernization and digitalization of agricultural industry. By applying the system methodology and mathematical modeling technique to analyzing the dynamic relationships between agricultural management patterns and environment conditions, a set of knowledge models with general and dynamic characters were developed from summarization and extraction of agricultural information management, evaluation theory and technology. By further using WebGIS as spatial information platform, a WebGIS and model-based agriculture spatial information management system (ASIMS) with the functions of agricultural spatial information query and analysis, ecological layout and precision management for agriculture farming, and visual display of results was established based on the Browser/Server distributitive network structure and database technology. The results provided a technical platform for digital and comprehensive management of agricultural spatial information.The fuzzy mathematics and modeling technique were adopted to the assessment of environmental quality in the farmland production. The assessment factors were firstly confirmed, and then a model on the assessment of farmland production environment quality, involving multi-factors and multi-levels with scientific and general characters, was developed according to the fuzzy theory and the criteria of national environmental quality standard. In the model, multi-level fuzzy cluster evaluation method was used as assessment means, and improved standard weight deciding method and Analytic Hierarchy Process were used, respectively, as weight deciding means of single-factor and multi-factor assessment.Considering the temporal, spatial and dynamic characters of agriculture information, and applying WebGIS to agriculture information management, a double database structure with attribute and spatial database was constructed. Furthermore, by applying agriculture management knowledge model to agriculture information management system and usingBrowser/Server mode as distributitive network platform, a WebGIS and model-based agriculture spatial information management system was developed. The system realized the functions as basic map handling, agriculture spatial information query and analysis, cropping system design, ecological distribution of farm products, cropping productivity evaluation, precision farming management, visual display of results, system maintenance and help.Case studies on the system with the datasets in Jiangsu province indicated that the design idea and structure framework of system accorded with the development demand of modern agricultural information management system, and realized standard and digital management of agriculture spatial information. With Internet, users can simply operate the system without requirement of the GIS platform. The system exhibited higher information management efficiency and query speed, as well as good applicability and guidance on ecological layout and decision support for agricultural farming. The case study of the system with the datasets in Yizheng city indicated that the assessment results were basically consistent with the practical local farmland production environment quality, and showed a good guidance on ecological zoning of quality farm products. The other case study of the system with the datasets in Tuqiao town indicated that the system could automatically generate diverse management prescriptions on the basis of the field differences. After practice of these prescriptions, grain yield differences among the fileds were reduced while the average yield increased, and fertilization efficiency and output benefit were obviously enhanced.