GIS-based dairy-industry sludge application plan in Galiza (NW Spain)

A site-specific dairy-industry sludge application plan (GIS-based) has been development in Vilalba municipality, Galiza (NW Spain). Sites suitable for sludge application were identified using GIS based weighted linear combination (WLC) model. The degree of land suitability for dairy sludge was determined using a range of environmental, agronomic and socio-economic factors: water runoff and groundwater risk of pollution, heavy metals input to system, proximity to watercourses and potable water sources, presence of sensitive areas (protected and flooded land), land use, soil depth, plot suitability for mechanisation, distance from human settlements and main roads, and sludge spread cost were included in the model.