Using Soft Computing Logic and the Logic Scoring of Preference Method for Agricultural Land Suitability Evaluation

Abstract

A need exists for expanding agricultural lands due to increased demand for food production and security. Some regions can convert available land to agricultural land use. To evaluate available land for future agricultural production, geographic information systems (GIS) and GIS-based multicriteria evaluation (MCE) methods can be used to identify land suitability. This study proposes and implements the soft computing logic of the logic scoring of preference (LSP) method as an improved GIS-based MCE method for evaluating areas suitable for agriculture. Datasets from Boulder County, Colorado, USA, have been used to apply the GIS-based LSP method. The GIS-based MCE methods using additive scoring as simple aggregation has also been used to determine suitability and to compare with the LSP method. Results indicated that the LSP method can produce more refined agricultural land suitability maps. The proposed methodology can be used as an integral part of land use planning.