A CA-based land system change model: LANDSCAPE

Cellular automata (CA) models are widely used to simulate land-use changes because of their simplicity, flexibility, intuitiveness and ability to incorporate the spatial and temporal dimensions of processes. A small number of CA-based models have been developed to simulate changes in multiple land uses, most of which use the hierarchical allocation strategy and/or inertia factors to enable these CA models to do so accurately. However, only some of these models allow explicit determination of the allocation sequence for active land uses according to the hierarchical allocation strategy and the objective calculation of inertia factors. In this paper, we proposed a CA-based model, i.e. the LAND System Cellular Automata model for Potential Effects (LANDSCAPE), with a hierarchical allocation strategy and resistances, to simulate changes in multiple land uses. Furthermore, we introduced effective ways to objectively determine the allocation sequence for active land uses and calculate resistances for individual land uses. The results show that the LANDSCAPE model, with a calibrated allocation sequence and resistances, is reliable and accurate for simulating multiple land-use changes.