This book provides a detailed overview of the concepts, techniques, applications, and methodological approaches involved in land use and cover change (LUCC) modeling, also known simply as land change modeling. More than 40 international experts in this field have participated in this book, which illustrates recent advances in LUCC modeling with examples from North and South America, the Middle East, and Europe. Given the broad range of geomatic approaches available, it helps readers select the approach that best meets their needs. The book is structured into five parts preceded by a foreword written by Roger White and a general introduction. Part I consists of four chapters, each of which focuses on a specific stage in the modeling process: calibration, simulation, validation, and scenarios. It presents and explains the fundamental ideas and concepts underlying LUCC modeling. This is complemented by a comparative analysis of the selected software packages, practically applied in various case studies in Part II and Part III. Part II discusses recently proposed methodological developments that have enhanced modeling procedures and results while Part III offers case studies as well as interesting, innovative methodological proposals. Part IV revises different fundamental techniques used in LUCC modeling and finally Part V describes the best-known software packages used in the applications presented in Parts II and III.
María Teresa Camacho Olmedo, PhD, is a tenured Professor at the University of Granada, Spain, where she is currently Head of the Department of Geographical Regional Analysis and Physical Geography. She is also head of the Geomatic simulations for modeling environmental dynamics II. Horizon 2020 project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness and the FEDER European Regional Development Fund. Her current research areas are land use and cover modeling, simulation models and scenarios, and environmental dynamics. She has published numerous scientific papers and books.
Martin Paegelow, PhD, is a Professor at the Department of Geography, Land Planning and Environment at the University of Toulouse Jean Jaurès, France and a member of GEODE (Geography of Environment) UMR 5602 CNRS laboratory. In 1991 he obtained his PhD in geography and was accredited to supervise research in 2004. He is a specialist in environmental geography and geomatics. His principal research areas are environmental management and geomatic solutions with a special focus on geomatic land change modeling and its validation.
Jean-Francois Mas, PhD, is a tenured Professor at the National University of Mexico’s Center of Research in Environmental Geography. His research interests include land use/cover change monitoring and modeling, accuracy assessment of spatial data, forest inventory and vegetation cartography. He has published more than 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications and participated in 34 research projects.
Francisco Escobar, PhD, is a tenured Professor at the Department of Geology, Geography and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alcalá, Spain. He has previously worked as a researcher at the European Commission, RMIT University and the University of Melbourne, and as Guest Professor at the University of Strasbourg and the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research. His current research areas include the analysis and evaluation of modeling outcomes, and developing geospatial techniques for the characterization of neighborhoods in relationship to cardiovascular health, as well as for the analysis of the spatial distribution of rare and work-related diseases. He has published numerous scientific papers, books and atlases, and web-based cartographic tools in these areas.
