The first problem that I find when I start this project is that I do not really understand what is the data about. I cannot tell it from the legend. For instance, the legends of the 3D DEM (Digital Elevation Model) images (3d-elev, 3d-temp,3-rain) are in 15 categories in the legends, but they do not indicate what do that 15 categories mean. There are 2 different dimensions for the layers in the data file, one is the landscape of the continent of Africa only, another one is included the peninsula of Saudi Arabia and Middle East. I do not aware of the different dimensions until I combine all layers in MCE. I need to give up some of the layers and redo it again and again. Besides the problems of the dimensions or the projections, I encounter another obstacle about the rows and columns among layers. I discover this problem when I start to overlay the layers. It results in the failure of my analysis on some important layers when it combines with other data, such as the layer of the vegetation type overlaying the rainfall per year. To a user, IDRISI is not as user-friendly as ARCVIEW. The layers in ARCVIEW come with the attribute tables at the same time. Attribute tables show all the data that is easily to work with. However, the "database workshop" in IDRISI is often do not link with the map layers. In the data file of "africa" provided from the S drive, there is no file for the "database workshop". The "cursor inquiry mode" cannot tell me about what I want. Assigning the weight for comparison in the WEIGHT operation in MCE is by no means easy. I just do it with my subjective assumption. I do not really  understand how to weight the importance.

                    Although I have encountered numerous problems during the process of analysis, I have learned a lot from the errors, especially the operations in IDRISI . Finally, my project is successfully conveyed on net (hopefully!! haha). Here, I would like to give thanks to my instructor, Dr. Nadine Schuurman and my TA, Aparna Deshpande. If I have not taken this course, I would not have a chance to learn the technical issue in GIS through this project.

1. Low rainfall alley farming system-- http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/dhtml/ss/section.php?sectID=298&tempID=13

2. Africa tropical seed species--  http://www.agroforester.com/agfor/speciescharac.html

3. Alley farming: Have resource-poor farmers benefited-- http://www.odi.org.uk/nrp/odi_alleyfarming.html
 

Want to be back to index?? click here