A review of approaches to land use changes modeling

Being a widespread phenomenon, land use changes are being increasingly evaluated by modeling methods, including statistical modeling. Land use changes models facilitate interpreting the causes and consequences of land use dynamics and support policy-makers in taking rational decisions. Literature offers numerous land use models developed by researchers from various fields. The goal of the article was to review the existing methods of land use change modeling, in particular, statistical models. It is, therefore, a synthesis of the knowledge found in previous studies in this domain. The discussion is based on four areas: (1) the role of modeling and models in land use changes studies, (2) major land use changes modeling methods, their advantages and limitations, (3) integrated approach to modeling, (4) and land use changes modeling in Poland. Results indicate that there are many land use changes modeling methods, each with its advantages and drawbacks. It is not an easy challenge to select the right one. Such factors as the goal of the model and research problem should be taken into consideration. The article is intended first of all for researchers and modelers in pursuit of new research methods or improving their models.