Editing Land use (section)

=== 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" />