Bagus Adi Nugroho

Mulawarman University of Indonesia

Donny Dhonanto

Mulawarman University of Indonesia

Odit Ferry Kurniadinata

Mulawarman University of Indonesia

Penny Pujowati

Mulawarman University of Indonesia

DOI: 10.19184/jsa.v5i1.60015  

ABSTRACT 

Riparian floodplains are dynamic agricultural environments where fluvial processes, hydrology, and soil formation create strong spatial variability in land suitability for irrigated lowland rice. This study evaluated rice suitability in the Kelinjau River floodplain, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, using a geopedological framework linking soil characteristics with geomorphological landforms. Two dominant landforms were identified: permanently waterlogged peaty floodplains and undulating sandy terraces. Land suitability was assessed using the matching approach and maximum limitation principle, integrating CHIRPS rainfall data, DEMNAS-derived terrain attributes, and soil physical and chemical properties from field and laboratory analyses. Results showed that both landforms were classified as marginally suitable (S3) for irrigated rice despite favorable climatic conditions and relatively flat terrain. Low nitrogen (0.10-0.20 %), phosphorus (10-15 mg kg−1), and potassium (10-20 mg kg−1) indicated poor nutrient availability in both landforms, although the severity of individual nutrient limitations varied. Phosphorus was classified as an S3 limitation in both landforms, while nitrogen reached S3 in the sandy terrace. Furthermore, persistent waterlogging characterized the floodplain, whereas the sandy terrace had a coarser soil texture and shallower effective soil depth, indicating contrasting landform-specific conditions associated with nutrient availabilityThus, the same S3 suitability class reflected different soil and hydrological constraints between the two landforms. Geopedological stratification can therefore provide a useful basis for developing landform specific soil fertility and nutrient management strategies for irrigated rice in tropical riparian landscapes.

Keyword: Floodplain agriculture; Land evaluation; Landscape stratification; Soil fertility limitation; Tropical agroecosystems.

REFERENCES

Choudhary, K., Boori, M. S., Shi, W., Valiev, A., & Kupriyanov, A. (2023). Agricultural land suitability assessment for sustainable development using remote sensing techniques with analytic hierarchy process. Remote Sensing Applications: Society and Environment, 32, 101051. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.RSASE.2023.101051   

Climate Hazards Center. (2025). CHIRPS: Rainfall Estimates from Rain Gauge and Satellite Observations. https://www.chc.ucsb.edu/data/chirps  

De Feudis, M., Falsone, G., Gherardi, M., Speranza, M., Vianello, G., & Vittori Antisari, L. (2021). GIS-based soil maps as tools to evaluate land capability and suitability in a coastal reclaimed area (Ravenna, northern Italy). International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 9(2), 167–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ISWCR.2020.11.007   

Dobermann, A., & White, P. F. (1998). Strategies for nutrient management in irrigated and rainfed lowland rice systems. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 53(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009795032575/METRICS    

Fageria, N. K., Carvalho, G. D., Santos, A. B., Ferreira, E. P. B., & Knupp, A. M. (2011). Chemistry of lowland rice soils and nutrient availability. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 42(16), 1913–1933. https://doi.org/10.1080/00103624.2011.591467   

FAO. (1976). Chapter 3 : Land suitability classifications. A Framework for Land Evaluation. Soils Bulletin 32., 1–9. http://www.fao.org/3/X5310E/x5310e00.htm   

Funk, C., Peterson, P., Landsfeld, M., Pedreros, D., Verdin, J., Shukla, S., Husak, G., Rowland, J., Harrison, L., Hoell, A., & Michaelsen, J. (2015). The climate hazards infrared precipitation with stations - A new environmental record for monitoring extremes. Scientific Data, 2(1), 150066-. https://doi.org/10.1038/SDATA.2015.66;SUBJMETA   

Geospatial Information Agency of Indonesia. (2018). DEMNAS (Digital Elevation Model Nasional) Indonesia. In Badan Informasi Geospasial. https://tanahair.indonesia.go.id/portal-web/unduh   

Gyekye, M., Sadick, A., Ababio, F. O., Marfo-Ahinkora, E., Frimpong-Manso, J., & Gyekye, P. M. (2025). Evaluating Soil Fertility and Suitability for Sustainable Rice Cultivation in Central Tongu District, Volta Region, Ghana. Open Journal of Applied Sciences, 2025(6), 1580–1604. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojapps.2025.156109    

Indonesian Center for Agricultural Land Resources Research and Development. (2016). Technical guidelines for land suitability evaluation of strategic agricultural commodities at semi-detailed scale (1:50,000). Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia. www.litbang.pertanian.go.id  

Irawan, L. Y., Prasetyo, W. E., Devy, M. M. R., & Ditian, D. (2022). Geomorphological Mapping for Land Suitability Evaluation. KnE Social Sciences, 259-274–259–274. https://doi.org/10.18502/KSS.V7I16.12172   

Irianto, I., Lizawati, L., Pramusintho, B., Yatno, Y., Zulfanetti, Z., Dahmiri, D., Gusti, D. R., & Wicaksana, E. J. (2023). Identification of Land Fertility on the Productivity of Lowland Rice and Vegetable Crops in Mudung Laut Village, Pelayangan District, Jambi City. Proceedings of the 3rd Progress in Social Science, Humanities and Education Research Symposium (PSSHERS 2021), 324–333. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-33-6_39   

Julzarika, A., & Harintaka. (2019). Indonesian DEMNAS: DSM or DTM? AGERS 2019 - 2nd IEEE Asia-Pacific Conference on Geoscience, Electronics and Remote Sensing Technology: Understanding and Forecasting the Dynamics of Land, Ocean and Maritime, Proceeding, 31–36. https://doi.org/10.1109/AGERS48446.2019.9034351   

Maghami Moghim, F., Karimi, A., Bagheri-Bodaghabadi, M., Emami, H., & Duraisamy, V. (2024). Evaluation of soil quality and land suitability in different management systems. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 70(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/03650340.2023.2298851 

Mulyadi, M., Nugroho, B. A., Dhonanto, D., & Setianingsih, T. E. (2026). Pedogenic Differentiation Across Volcanic Landforms in Tropical Rainforest: Evidence from Clay Activity and Carbon Dynamics in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science, 38(9), 282–293. https://doi.org/10.9734/ijpss/2026/v38i96290 

Muslim, R. Q., Suprihatin, A., Fatimah, A. S., Waluyo, Suparwoto, Jumakir, Yustisia, Ratmini, N. P. S., & Raharjo, B. (2025). Dynamics of soil fertility and rice productivity in irrigated rice fields under different cropping patterns. SAINS TANAH - Journal of Soil Science and Agroclimatology, 22(1), 179–190. https://doi.org/10.20961/STJSSA.V22I1.98500   

Nabiollahi, K., Kebonye, N. M., Molani, F., Tahari-Mehrjardi, M. H., Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, R., Shokati, H., Scholten, T., Nabiollahi, K., Kebonye, N. M., Molani, F., Tahari-Mehrjardi, M. H., Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, R., Shokati, H., & Scholten, T. (2024). Assessment of Land Suitability Potential Using Ensemble Approaches of Advanced Multi-Criteria Decision Models and Machine Learning for Wheat Cultivation. Remote Sensing 2024, Vol. 16, 16(14). https://doi.org/10.3390/RS16142566 

Nugroho, B. A., Dhonanto, D., Kurniadinata, O. F., & Pujowati, P. (2026). Integrating Geopedology and Land Evaluation to Diagnose Soil Constraints for Maize in Tropical Riparian Landscapes. Acta Solum, 4(2), 110-120. https://doi.org/10.20527/actasolum.v4i2.3608 

Nugroho, B. A., Setianingsih, T. E., Salsabila, G., Mulyadi, M., Makhrawie, M., & Dhonanto, D. (2025). Evaluasi kesesuaian lahan sawah potensial berdasarkan bentuk lahan di Kelurahan Makroman, Samarinda. Jurnal Agroekoteknologi Tropika Lembab, 8(1), 36–48. https://doi.org/10.30872/JATL.8.1.2025.19472.36-48 

Nungula, E. Z., Mugwe, J., Massawe, B. H. J., Seleiman, M. F., Ali, N., & Gitari, H. I. (2024). GIS-AHP based approach in land evaluation and suitability assessment for sunflower (Helianthus annus) production. Cogent Food and Agriculture, 10(1), 2309831. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2024.2309831 

Paramesh, V., Kumar, P., Bhagat, T., Nath, A. J., Manohara, K. K., Das, B., Desai, B. F., Jha, P. K., Prasad, P. V. V., Paramesh, V., Kumar, P., Bhagat, T., Nath, A. J., Manohara, K. K., Das, B., Desai, B. F., Jha, P. K., & Prasad, P. V. V. (2023). Integrated Nutrient Management Enhances Yield, Improves Soil Quality, and Conserves Energy under the Lowland Rice–Rice Cropping System. Agronomy 2023, Vol. 13, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRONOMY13061557 

Riza, S., Sekine, M., Kanno, A., Yamamoto, K., Imai, T., & Higuchi, T. (2022). Land Suitability Analysis for Agricultural Land Use using Hyperscale DEM Data. AGRIVITA Journal of Agricultural Science, 44(2), 187–198. https://doi.org/10.17503/AGRIVITA.V44I2.2985 

Sabudu, R. S., Zulfajrin, M., Sataral, M., Katili, H. A., & Yatim, H. (2021). Soil fertility status and land suitability evaluation for rice crops on former shrimp ponds: Soil fertility status and land evaluation assessment. CELEBES Agricultural, 2(1), 10–36. https://doi.org/10.52045/JCA.V2I1.184 

Samiei-Fard, R., Heidari, A., Drohan, P. J., Mahmoodi, S., Ghatrehsamani, S., Samiei-Fard, R., Heidari, A., Drohan, P. J., Mahmoodi, S., & Ghatrehsamani, S. (2024). The Effect of Using a Geopedological Approach in Determining Land Quality Indicators, Land Degradation, and Development (Case Study: Caspian Sea Coast). Environments 2024, Vol. 11, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/ENVIRONMENTS11010020 

Sappe, N. J., Baja, S., Neswati, R., & Rukmana, D. (2022). Land suitability assessment for agricultural crops in Enrekang, Indonesia: combination of principal component analysis and fuzzy methods. SAINS TANAH - Journal of Soil Science and Agroclimatology, 19(2), 165–179. https://doi.org/10.20961/STJSSA.V19I2.61973  

Shawon, I. H., Suphiyan, M. A., & Ferdous, M. S. (2025). Land suitability Analysis for Sustainable Agriculture Development using Multi-Criteria Analysis and Machine Learning Techniques: Case Study of Shibpur Upazila. Journal of Tropical Resources and Sustainable Science (JTRSS), 13(1), 138–148. https://doi.org/10.47253/JTRSS.V13I1.1531   

Singha, C., & Swain, K. C. (2016). Land suitability evaluation criteria for agricultural crop selection: A review. Agricultural Reviews, 37(2). https://doi.org/10.18805/AR.V37I2.10737 

Suntoro, S., Herdiansyah, G., & Mujiyo, M. (2024). Nutrient status and soil fertility index as a basis for sustainable rice field management in Madiun Regency, Indonesia. SAINS TANAH - Journal of Soil Science and Agroclimatology, 21(1), 22–31. https://doi.org/10.20961/STJSSA.V21I1.73845   

Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, R., Nabiollahi, K., Rasoli, L., Kerry, R., Scholten, T., Taghizadeh-Mehrjardi, R., Nabiollahi, K., Rasoli, L., Kerry, R., & Scholten, T. (2020). Land Suitability Assessment and Agricultural Production Sustainability Using Machine Learning Models. Agronomy 2020, Vol. 10, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRONOMY10040573   

Usman, S., Amana, S. M., & Jayeoba, J. O. (2025). Evaluation of surface soil quality and land suitability for agricultural soils affected by soil erosion. Discover Soil, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1007/S44378-025-00031-W 

Wang, B., & Cheng, W. (2023). Geomorphic influences on land use/cover diversity and pattern. CATENA, 230, 107245. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CATENA.2023.107245  

Watson, C. J., Mazzei, R., Bourgeois, B., Smedbol, É., Guiraud, N., Félix-Faure, J., Damar, H., Tremblay, M., Bordeleau, P. A., Vaillancourt, M., Bertolo, A., Cabana, G., Campeau, S., Doyon, M., Fournier, V., Fugère, V., Gravel, V., Guillemette, F., Halde, C., … Proulx, R. (2024). Towards sustainable agricultural landscapes: Lessons from an interdisciplinary research-based framework applied to the Saint Lawrence floodplain. Basic and Applied Ecology, 80, 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BAAE.2024.07.005   

Xu, J., Jiao, C., Zheng, D., Li, L., Xu, J., Jiao, C., Zheng, D., & Li, L. (2023). Agricultural Land Suitability Assessment at the County Scale in Taiyuan, China. Agriculture 2024, Vol. 14, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/AGRICULTURE14010016