An evaluation of land-use capability using the LESA method coupled with geostatistics in a GIS environment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Land-use effectiveness can be ensured by utilizing GIS and geostatistical tools in conjunction with land assessment methods to prevent soil erosion and salinization. This study employs a GIS-based LESA methodology, combined with geostatistics, to evaluate the land’s capacity to produce agricultural crops on calcareous soils. Land Evaluation for Agricultural Uses (LESA) key components are site assessment and land evaluation, with the former being non-soil-dependent and the latter being soil-dependent. Geostatical kriging was used to interpolate and generalize a GIS map of land capability. The study found that 27.88, 47.94, 18.76, and 5.41 % of the study area were unsuitable for crop farming, marginally suitable, moderately suitable, and highly suitable, respectively. Our research demonstrates that a flexible GIS framework can assist decision-makers in more accurately assessing land resources, including unsuitable, marginally-suitable, and reforested lands.