Assessment of land use suitability based on erosion susceptibility

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Urban areas constitute complex entities where biophysical and socioeconomic environments interact through processes that determine the distribution of land use. Given Chile's variety of landscapes, erosion, and mass movement, and rapid expansion of its cities, straightforward techniques for assessment of land use suitability are essential. Through evaluation of water erosion susceptibility, it is possible to determine suitability of land use in medium-sized cities and their adjacent environments. The application of the Erosion Response Units concept (Märker et al., 2001) in the cities of Colina and Melipilla, Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile, enabled an improved understanding of the relationship among erosion and land use potential in urban environments. Since publicly available remote sensor and ancillary GIS data were incorporated, this approach has application beyond the cities studied. The results indicate it is possible to assess the land use suitability of medium-sized urban areas based on water erosion susceptibility by using an integrated modeling framework. Thus, the highest degrees of land use suitability are associated with lowest degrees of erosion susceptibility.