Expanding and comparing GIS-based multi-criteria decision making methods: a soft computing logic for agricultural land suitability evaluation

The Logic Scoring of Preference (LSP) method is a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method that expands the commonly used multi-criteria decision making approaches. The LSP method is used to determine various evaluation objectives; it is based on soft computing logic and provides enhanced human decision-making. As a result, the LSP method is flexible and has the ability to incorporate a larger amount of evaluation criteria. The main objective of this research is to integrate the LSP method with geographic information systems (GIS) for agricultural land suitability evaluation. In addition, the LSP method has been compared with commonly used MCE methods within the GIS framework. Geospatial datasets for Boulder County, Colorado, USA were utilized for this study to determine various scenarios for agricultural land suitability evaluation. The obtained results indicate that the LSP method can be used as a useful tool to assist land use planning and the decision making process.