Use of remote sensing and geographic information system technologies for developing greenhouse databases

This model study was conducted in Antalya region greenhouses for the determination and registration of agricultural resources as a part of adjustment efforts for the European Union (EU) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The aim was to create new database systems based on remote sensing (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS), rather than conventional land measurement techniques. For this purpose, glass and plastic greenhouses were determined by visual data analysis of satellite image, and databases were created for each greenhouse by GIS. These databases included area, coordinates and other characteristics of each greenhouse. These databases were prepared in a format that is suitable to provide any kind of information regarding Antalya region greenhouses, including statistical data, in a fast and reliable fashion. In this context, greenhouse fields are determined as 2780 ha by this study method while they were reported as 3547.6 ha in the records of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. This study demonstrated that a methodology depending on RS and GIS technologies can be used to create databases that are compatible with EU and other international standards.