Land utilization types (LUT):

The first step in an AEZ application is the selection and description of land utilization types to be considered in the study. FAO (1984a) defines LUT as follows:

A Land Utilization Type consists of a set of technical specifications within a socioeconomic setting. As a minimum requirement, both the nature of the produce and the setting must be specified.

Attributes specific to particular land utilization types include crop information such as cultivation practices, input requirements, crop calendars, utilization of main produce, crop residues and byproducts. For the global study, the AEZ implementation distinguishes 154 crop, fodder and pasture LUTs , each at three generically defined levels of inputs and management, termed high, intermediate and low level of inputs, respectively.