Editing Land use (section)

== Analytical methods ==
[[Land change science]] relies heavily on the synthesis of a wide range of data and a diverse range of data collection methods, some of which are detailed below.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Magliocca |first1=Nicholas R. |last2=Rudel |first2=Thomas K. |last3=Verburg |first3=Peter H. |last4=McConnell |first4=William J. |last5=Mertz |first5=Ole |last6=Gerstner |first6=Katharina |last7=Heinimann |first7=Andreas |last8=Ellis |first8=Erle C. |date=February 2015 |title=Synthesis in land change science: methodological patterns, challenges, and guidelines |journal=Regional Environmental Change |language=en |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=211–226 |bibcode=2015REnvC..15..211M |doi=10.1007/s10113-014-0626-8 |issn=1436-3798 |pmc=4372122 |pmid=25821402 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== Land cover monitoring and assessments ===
A primary function of land change science is to document and model long-term patterns of landscape change, which may result from both human activity and natural processes.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Land Cover Monitoring and Assessments {{!}} USGS.gov |url=https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/land-cover-monitoring-and-assessments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210074940/https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/land-cover-monitoring-and-assessments |archive-date=2021-02-10 |access-date=2021-02-09 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref> In the course of monitoring and assessing land cover and land use changes, scientists look at several factors, including where [[Land cover|land-cover]] and land-use are changing, the extent and timescale of changes, and how changes vary through time.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=The Science of LCLUC {{!}} LCLUC |url=https://lcluc.umd.edu/content/science-lcluc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117170607/https://lcluc.umd.edu/content/science-lcluc |archive-date=2021-01-17 |access-date=2021-03-08 |website=lcluc.umd.edu}}</ref> To this end, scientists use a variety of tools, including [[satellite imagery]] and other sources of [[Remote sensing|remotely sensed data]] (e.g., aircraft imagery), field observations, historical accounts, and reconstruction modeling.<ref name=":3" /> These tools, particularly satellite imagery, allow land change scientists to accurately monitor land-change rates and create a consistent, long-term record to quantify change variability over time.<ref name=":7" /> Through observing patterns in land cover changes, scientists can determine the consequences of these changes, predict the impact of future changes, and use this information to inform strategic [[land management]].

=== Modeling risk and vulnerability ===
Modeling [[risk assessment|risk]] and [[Vulnerability assessment|vulnerability]] is also one of land change science's practical applications. Accurate predictions of how human activity will influence [[land cover]] change over time, as well as the impact that such changes have on the sustainability of ecological and human systems, can inform the creation of policy designed to address these changes.<ref name=":82">{{Cite journal |last1=Mayer |first1=Audrey L. |last2=Buma |first2=Brian |last3=Davis |first3=Amélie |last4=Gagné |first4=Sara A. |last5=Loudermilk |first5=E. Louise |last6=Scheller |first6=Robert M. |last7=Schmiegelow |first7=Fiona K.A. |last8=Wiersma |first8=Yolanda F. |last9=Franklin |first9=Janet |date=2016-04-27 |title=How Landscape Ecology Informs Global Land-Change Science and Policy |journal=BioScience |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=458–469 |doi=10.1093/biosci/biw035 |issn=0006-3568 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=11122/8174}}</ref>

Studying risk and vulnerability entails the development of [[Quantitative research|quantitative]], [[Qualitative research|qualitative]], and [[geospatial]] models, methods, and support tools.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Risk and Vulnerability {{!}} USGS.gov |url=https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/risk-and-vulnerability |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125165350/https://www.usgs.gov/core-science-systems/land-change-science-program/science/risk-and-vulnerability |archive-date=2021-01-25 |access-date=2021-02-09 |website=www.usgs.gov}}</ref> The purpose of these tools is to communicate the vulnerability of both human communities and natural ecosystems to hazard events or long-term land change. Modeling risk and vulnerability requires analyses of community sensitivity to hazards, an understanding of geographic distributions of people and infrastructure, and accurate calculation of the probability of specific [[Disturbance (ecology)|disturbances]] occurring.<ref name=":4" />

=== Land change modeling ===
A key method for studying risk and vulnerability is [[land change modeling]] (LCM), which can be used to simulate changes and land use and land cover.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last1=Van Vliet |first1=Jasper |last2=Bregt |first2=Arnold K. |last3=Brown |first3=Daniel G. |last4=Van Delden |first4=Hedwig |last5=Heckbert |first5=Scott |last6=Verburg |first6=Peter H. |date=2016-08-01 |title=A review of current calibration and validation practices in land-change modeling |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364815216301128 |url-status=live |journal=Environmental Modelling & Software |language=en |volume=82 |pages=174–182 |bibcode=2016EnvMS..82..174V |doi=10.1016/j.envsoft.2016.04.017 |issn=1364-8152 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418185310/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1364815216301128 |archive-date=2021-04-18 |access-date=2021-04-09}}</ref> LCMs can be used to predict how land use and land cover may change under alternate circumstances, which is useful for risk assessment, in that it allows for the prediction of potential impacts and can be used to inform policy decisions, albeit with some uncertainty.<ref name=":10" />{{excerpt|land change modeling}}