Factors Affecting the Extension of Fallow Period in Heavy-metal Contaminated Areas

Case Study of the Northern Region of Changhua County, Taiwan

Abstract

In Taiwan, decontamination of heavy-metal polluted land has been conducted since 2000 under the Soil Contamination Countermeasures Act. About eighty percent of the polluted-farmland has been decontaminated successfully since then. However, it has been reported that some of the farmlands have been kept idle even after the decontamination treatments. The objective of this study is to identify factors affecting re-cultivation of the contaminated-farmland after the decontamination treatments, through questionnaire survey and geographical information system (GIS).