TY - JOUR T1 - Evaluating the consistency of results for the agricultural land evaluation and site assessment (LESA) system JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 615 LP - 620 VL - 44 IS - 6 AU - T. G. Van Horn AU - G. C. Steinhardt AU - J. E. Yahner Y1 - 1989/11/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/44/6/615.abstract N2 - Two tests of the agricultural Land Evaluation and Site Assessment (LESA) system were conducted. The LESA system uses a measure of soil productivity to evaluate land quality and a series of questions or site factors to evaluate suitability of a site for urban development. The tests were part of a class exercise for a land use course in agronomy to determine, first, if student responses to LESA were the same as the instructors and if the students were consistent among themselves and, second, to determine if any of the site factors used in LESA were especially difficult to analyze. Five sites in Hamilton County, Indiana, were selected for analysis. The students were given a variety of information, including aerial photographs and maps, to complete the site assessment but few specifics about how to make measurements or analyze capability of land for given uses. The results of the first test were inconsistent. Site factors that required distance measurements were more variable than other factors. Site factors that asked for a conclusion from the information given most often were given a response in the middle of the range of possible options. Based on analysis of results in the first test, LESA was modified in three ways: (a) measurable quantities were used for all site factors, (b) a wider range of distances in the site assessment was used, and (c) procedures to determine each site factor, including measurements for each site, were developed. Subsequent tests with the improved LESA produced more consistent results. Based on results of this study, LESA can be a valuable tool for the evaluation of land for alternative uses. However, the LESA system alone is not adequate to deliver consistent, reproducible analyses regardless of the validity of the site factors chosen. An objective procedure must be developed for all site factors so that every analyst will obtain the same evaluation. ER -